Genre: Fiction / Crime

No One Saw It Coming by Susan Lewis

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from HarperCollins UK to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!
No One Saw It Coming by Susan LewisNo One Saw It Coming by Susan Lewis
Published by HarperCollins UK on 08/15/2023
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / Family Life / General, Fiction / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: HarperCollins UK
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // IndieBound
Goodreads

Don’t miss this utterly gripping and emotional thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Lewis! Secrets lie at the heart of every family...

When the unthinkable happens...

Hanna’s world is crumbling.

An unimaginable crime has been committed, and everyone’s looking for someone to blame. Her loved ones are under suspicion.

Now Hanna must work out who is threatening her family – before it’s too late.

No one could have seen this coming...

Real readers love No One Saw It Coming

‘Master storyteller Susan Lewis blends emotional family drama, heart-stopping tension and nail-biting suspense’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A mesmerizing, immersive and emotional tale that is a struggle to put down’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Had me hooked from the start’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Best book I’ve had the pleasure to read in a very long time’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I haven’t been reading much lately, I think being a college student has gotten me into a slump – I read so much for school, I don’t want to read anything else when I’m done with my homework! But… I did manage to read a book over the past couple of days, so maybe I’ll get back into the swing of it! The book in question? No One Saw It Coming by Susan Lewis – a mystery that involves family secrets, murder, and mental health.

Characters

The main characters in this story are hard to define in some cases. We have Hanna and Jack, a married couple who’ve been together for decades. Hanna is the main focus of this book – you’ll understand when you read it. There are Leo and Cait, Hanna and Jack’s two children, who each have issues of their own. Next comes Sebastian, Jack’s best friend, who plays a major part in the story line. Finally, for main characters, there is Riona… who isn’t quite who and what she seems.

You’ll meet other characters along the way – Jenny (Jack’s stepmom), Andee (Hanna’s best friend), Graeme (Andee’s husband), Sophia (Cait’s toddler daughter), Ishan (Sophia’s father), Freya (you’ll understand when you read it), and Blanche, who has her own chapters and is tied to Riona… it is complicated, and a few others.

I liked Hanna, Jack, Leo, Cait, and Sebastian. I liked Riona as well. I felt the characters were relatable and they felt like real people to me, not just flat characters on the page, which is good. Some of the more minor characters were also real, but some were just flat characters on the page, because while they played a part in the story, it wasn’t enough of a part for me to really care about them.

Atmosphere/Setting

Not being overly familiar with the layout of the UK, I am assuming that this book is set in Great Britain, as it is referenced that Riona came from Ireland and has an Irish accent. Not having a bloody clue about where anything in the book is (or even if the locations are actually real) did not detract from my enjoyment of this book in any way. It was a great setting for the novel and kept me from being overly bored with it – or overly critical if the book happened to be set in a place I know.

I do wish a bit more description of some of the areas in which the characters found themselves had been given – especially Riona’s home, but I suppose that might have spoiled part of the big twist of the book.

Writing

Despite being written using British English spelling and vernacular, I found the writing style to be easy to read and easy to digest. I didn’t get that feeling like I had no clue what was happening because Ms. Lewis did not write in circles as some mystery/thriller authors have been known to. I thoroughly enjoyed the book for the writing style and it is one of the reasons I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Lewis.

Plot

So the plot to this one is standard, but not standard at the same time. Someone is hurting Hanna’s family and she needs to figure out who it is and why they want to hurt her family. At the same time, there is a secondary plot involving one of the characters believing fully that they have found their long-lost sister, but yet keeping their distance from said sister.

I’m sad to say that I’d already guessed part of the big twist within the first quarter of the book. That isn’t to say that it was something that was telegraphed or easy to guess! I just recognized that part of the twist for what it was. It didn’t mean I didn’t want to know what would happen. I mean, no one had even gotten hurt yet! There wasn’t yet a mystery to actually solve when I figured out that part of the big twist. So if you figure that part out super early, just keep reading, there’s so much more to the story than just that part of the twist!

Intrigue

Despite having figured out the big twist of the book super early, I still found that this book had a huge amount of intrigue. Figuring out who had done each of the crimes that are committed because there are suspects, but no definitive answers – at least not until the twist comes up. Then, yes, there are answers. And what an answer it is! But of course, you have to read it, I’m not going to give it away here.

Ms. Lewis knows how to write a mystery that will keep you reading!

Relationships

There are some pretty complicated relationships in No One Saw It Coming. First, there’s Sebastian and Riona’s relationship – where it seems she wants him as much as he wants her, but then it doesn’t seem like she wants him after all. Then there’s Cait’s antagonistic attitude toward her parents, especially her father, Jack, that no one seems to be able to figure out. Finally, there’s Jack’s relationship with someone else that Hanna didn’t know about (Hanna and Jack have flings/affairs but never keep them secret, except this time). So relationships in this book are complicated at best, but very interesting.

Ending

The book ends on a note that makes you wonder if perhaps in the future there could be a second book. After the big twist, after everything goes down and all is “well”, it seems like there could potentially be more to this story – as though book is finished but the story isn’t, if you know what I mean.

If Ms. Lewis was intending to write a sequel, I fully intend to read it!

Conclusion

Ms. Lewis has written a solid four-star book here. While it wasn’t “can’t put it down” good, it was definitely good enough to make me want to read more of her work.

The Vow by Debbie Howells

Published on by Charli1 Comment

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Vow by Debbie HowellsThe Vow by Debbie Howells
Published by HarperCollins UK on 10/15/2020
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Psychological, Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Fiction / Thrillers / Domestic, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 368
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Amazon
Goodreads

**Pre-order The Secret now – the new edge-of-your-seat thriller from Debbie Howells, coming soon!**

Everything was perfect. And then her fiancé disappeared...

‘Dazzling’ DAILY MAIL
‘A terrific new talent’ PETER JAMES

Two weeks before her wedding, a stranger stops Amy in the street and warns her she’s in danger. Then that night, Matt, her fiancé, doesn’t come home. Desperate, Amy calls the police – but when Matt fails to emerge, she’s forced to call off her wedding day.

Then another man is reported missing, by a woman called Fiona – a man meeting Matt’s description, who was about to leave his fiancée for her. He was supposed to be moving in with her – but instead, he’s vanished.

Amy refuses to believe Fiona’s lover can be her Matt – but photos prove otherwise, and it soon becomes clear that Matt has been leading a double life. As the police dig deeper, two conflicting, yet equally plausible stories emerge from two women who allegedly have never met.

The wedding day never happened. But the funeral might.

Real readers are hooked by No.1 eBook bestseller The Vow...

‘A breathtaking, suspenseful thriller with more plot twists and turns than you can imagine’ *****

‘Couldn’t stop reading ... Superb story and twisty ending’ *****

‘OMG what a brilliant book, full of twists and turns’ *****

‘Mesmerising from the start’ *****

‘Lies, deceptions and red herrings galore’ *****

‘Truly a roller coaster of a read’ *****

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my links, I will receive a small commission or free services from the sale at no additional cost to you.

After a few false starts, I finally got around to actually reading The Vow by Debbie Howells. When I say I devoured the book, I’m not kidding. I actually stayed up until almost 5:30AM to finish the book. That’s how engrossed in the story I was.

I won’t lie, the book starts out a little bit on the slow side. The “action” starts right away – the groom-to-be disappears, but after that it just takes a bit for the book to get going. You just have to hang on to get there because once you do… BOOM. It’s way faster paced and it’s way more intriguing.

You’ll get several points of view in this book – Amy, the bride-to-be, Jess – Amy’s daughter, Fiona – a character you’ll meet later, and then there are the flashbacks to 1996 – where you’re never quite sure who is doing the talking, but you know something’s going on – and it’s not good.

Out of all the characters I think I like Jess the best. While her point of view chapters don’t come as often as Amy’s or Fiona’s, she seems to be the only person who isn’t hiding something and who doesn’t have a past she wants to forget. Amy and Fiona share a past and they do want to forget it – even if they can’t.

The plot twists in this book are amazing. While you might see some of them coming, because they’re telegraphed and easy to spot, those twists serve to make the ones you don’t see coming that much better. For me, the best part was the reveal as to who was actually behind the groom-to-be’s disappearance. To say I never saw it coming was an understatement. I’d never in a million years have guessed that – although you do get some setup to it so it isn’t just turn the page and BANG – a shocking reveal. But it’s set up in a way that makes you question if the characters are correct or not.

This was a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to people who are willing to go with a slow burn mystery to get to a finish that will make you say “never thought of that”.

The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin YocumThe Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum
Published by Simon and Schuster on 04/27/2021
Genres: Fiction / Crime, Fiction / Political, Fiction / Thrillers / Crime
Pages: 288
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
Amazon
Goodreads

** Finalist for the 2022 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing **

Lester Yates is the notorious Egypt Valley Strangler, one of the country’s most prolific serial killers. Or, is he? Yates is two months from his date with the executioner when Ohio Attorney General Hutch Van Buren is presented with evidence that could exonerate him. But Yates is a political pawn, and forces exist that don’t want him exonerated, regardless of the evidence. To do so could derail presidential aspirations and change the national political landscape. Yates’ execution will clear a wide political path for many influential people, including Van Buren, who must battle both the clock and a political machine of which he is a part.
 
Robin Yocum has been compared with E. Annie Proulx for his authenticity of place, and Elmore Leonard for his well-laid plots and perfect pacing. Arcade is thrilled to publish The Sacrifice of Lester Yates, which is Yocum at his best: suspenseful, political, and smart.   
 

I know my last couple of reviews have been romance novels, but this time, I’m pulling out a mystery/thriller for you. I’ve been a fan of mysteries and thrillers for years and if you look back at my review history, you’ll see that I’ve reviewed my fair share of them. So today I’m bringing you a new one – The Sacrifice of Lester Yates by Robin Yocum.

This one has been in my NetGalley queue for far too long. I’m honestly disgusted with myself for not having read this book sooner.

Characters

Allow me to preface this characters section by saying there are a LOT of characters at play here. I’m only going to touch on a couple of them for the sake of my dear readers not having to spend hours reading a review.

Hutchinson Van Buren

Our illustrious main character, from whose point of view the story is being told, is an interesting character. He’s the Attorney General for the State of Ohio. He’s also overly concerned about whether or not the right man is being executed for a series of murders. I like him, I like him a lot. He’s not afraid to go after the real culprit no matter who that person may be.

Lester Yates

We don’t see a lot of him even though he’s the title character. He’s a likable fellow though, seems very sweet, though not very bright. I like him too.

Big Jim Wilinski

I really hope I spelled his name right – actually, I dislike this one so I don’t really care. He’s the kind of person you love to hate. He’s the Governor of Ohio and is a complete dog. He has an annoying habit of calling people “padnah” and it makes me what to smack him through the pages of the book. Obviously not a favorite of mine.

Alfonso Majestro

If you think I dislike Wilinski, I really can’t stand this guy. He’s Wilinski’s chief of staff and honestly, he’s a greasy piece of junk. He’s the kind of person who pulls all the strings for his politician because his politician has no idea what he’s doing. He’s a real piece of work and not very likable.

Del Brown

He goes by another name in the book as well, but I’m too damned lazy to look it up. He’s the sheriff who arrested Lester Yates and he’s a piece of work as well. He drinks too much diet soda and he has a really gross habit of sucking saliva back in his mouth when he talks. I’m obviously not fond of him. He was known as Del Brown when he arrested Lester, but got himself a cushier job and started referring to himself by a fancier name. He wasn’t worth it.

Review

The Sacrifice of Lester Yates sounds like something John Grisham would have written. The Attorney General of the State of Ohio investigating to make sure a man who was convicted of a murder and sentenced to death is truly the right man before he’s executed. I admit, it’s a book that is right up my alley. Again, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. As you progress through the book, you are introduced to more evidence of Lester’s innocence and to new suspects for the murders committed by the Egypt Valley Strangler. You never quite know what they’ll uncover next and just when you think you might know who committed a particular murder, the plot twists and you’re left wondering who really did it then.

The book is well written, with the usual typo, missing word, or extra word here and there. Nothing to really be annoyed or upset by – in fact, most of the time I had to re-read a sentence or word to realize anything was amiss. Pretty much every book I read has these types of things in them and they don’t detract from the story because they aren’t so prolific that you can’t ignore them.

The author’s writing style is easy to read and easy to follow. While the plot has twists, you can easily follow along and won’t get completely lost. By the time the book ends, you’ll know who did what and you’ll be able to understand how they got to that conclusion.

One of my favorite things is that it wasn’t easy to guess who did what in the story. While I would tell myself that so-and-so did this or that, it usually ended up not being the case, which made the book all the more interesting to read.

If you’re a mystery fan and you like legal and/or political thrillers, I’d recommend you give this book a try.