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smittenforfiction's review against another edition
5.0
Get Smitten For Fiction! 😸
Hello fellow book lovers! I'm back with an impressive book for you to check out this summer. Your Life Is Mine by Canadian author Nathan Ripley comes out June 4th and I tell ya, this was a wild ride. I received an ARC from Netgalley and I can't wait to tell you why I'm SMITTEN with this fierce novel.
About The Book 📚
Title: Your Life Is Mine
Author: Nathan Ripley
Publication Date: June 4, 2019
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format/Pages: e-book ARC 304 pages
Goodreads Link
Pre-Order on Amazon.com
Pre-Order on Chapters Indigo
I gave Ripley's début novel, Find You In the Dark, 3 stars. It was pretty good, but the pace was sluggish and I found the characters a little stale. Neither is the case for his second novel, Your Life Is Mine. I LOVED this book so much, and Ripley has solidified his spot on my auto-read list.
› Setting
August 17, 1966, Stilford, California, Cult leader Chuck Varner brings his seven-year-old daughter to a mall and has her watch him go on a killing spree, then turned the gun on himself.
"Before a shooter is a shooter, he's just a man in a room."
› Plot & Characters
• Blanche: 20 years after her father went on a killing spree, Blanche is in New Orleans, shooting a historical true crime documentary. As a child, she experienced a horrifying event that changed her forever. As a young woman, she's left her mother and dark history behind. She finds out her mother was murdered and returns to her hometown to find out what happened. She's convinced that her father's cult is going strong and another killing spree will happen again soon.
• Jaya: as a teen, Blanche moved in with Jaya and her parents. Jaya and Blanche are a tight-knit team, they are best friends and work together making documentaries.
• Emil: shows up just as Blanche, Jaya, and their crew is wrapping production. He tells Blanche that he knows who she really is, and is blackmailing her to hear what he has to say or he's going to spill the beans to the press.
• Chuck Varner: Blanche's biological father, cult leader, murderer. He believed chaos and violence were natural.
• Crissy Varner: adored and supported Blanche's father, Chuck. She continued to believe in his vision, even after he took his own life, until she's found murdered.
• The Boy: he's referred to as the one who would come after, he teamed up with Crissy and believes in Chuck's vision for violence and chaos.
"We followed his code. The code he called Your Life Is Mine."
› Writing Style
• I love Ripley's writing style, in particular the way Blanche's childhood trauma is told in flashbacks throughout the story.
• The morally gray characters are complicated, baffling, riveting and realistic. No person is simply good or evil, we all make our choices in that moment, for that situation. Do you like morally grey characters? Here's a list of books you might like: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/morally-grey-characters
• LGBT rep? I'm not 100% sure, but did anyone else get the feeling that Jaya and Blanche have had, or could have a romantic relationship?
› Themes
• Your Life Is Mine drives home the value of information, and how that knowledge can be used to dig up the truth. This is a story about a young girl who overcame the odds to become a successful woman, but who isn't done growing until she can deal with her guilt and trauma.
› Likes 😻
• When I learned what this book was about I was incredibly worried that it would glorify mass murderers, but I'm glad to report it does not do that. Instead, this story shows the impact that a shooting spree has, not just on the victims and their families, but also the lasting negative impact on the family of the shooter.
› Final Thoughts
• Your Life Is Mine is an engaging, intense, creepy novel that is one of the best thrillers I've ever read.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.
*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*
"Nathan Ripley is the pseudonym of Toronto resident and Journey Prize winner Naben Ruthnum. Find You in the Dark, Ripley’s first thriller, was an instant bestseller and an Arthur Ellis Awards finalist for Best First Novel. As Naben Ruthnum, he is the author of Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race. Follow him on Twitter @NabenRuthnum."
https://www.simonandschuster.ca/authors/Nathan-Ripley/2141394714
https://twitter.com/nabenruthnum/
Connect With Me 😊
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You can find more book reviews on my blog: http://www.amandadroverhartwick.wordpress.com
jennie_cole's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of this book is very interesting but I have one major issue with it that really did deter from my enjoyment of the novel. My issue is that I did not understand Chuck Varner's teachings. All I could seem to glean was that he believed in chaos. I think if I understood more it would make these men more believable.
That being said I did enjoy the book but it was just an okay for me and not a like.
bookswithemily's review against another edition
4.0
majorditzy230's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty good book. A true crime documentary duo is rocked when one girl finds out her mom has died. It's her mother and she needs to go back home and see her. But it's not because she's sad or even upset her mother is dead. No, she needs to make sure she is.
Blanche was raised by a terrorist - a terrorist that planned and completed a mass shooting years earlier. Her father. He created a cult following that he attributed to chaos. But Blanche knew, even after the first mass shooting and her father's death, that it wasn't the end. Now that her mother's dead, she has no idea when or how it will all be starting again. She just knows that one day it will.
The story is definitely good - well written with suspense and draw that keeps you flipping the pages. Blanche is mesmerizing. She is controlled and disciplined, quick to read a room and anyone she's talking to. As a main character, she was great to see the world through her eyes and be a bit more clued in than those around her. I liked that the plot unfolded slowly and then with quick succession, answering all the question you had.
The end is left with just a small nudge, like maybe there is a possibility of a book 2 and/or 3. I'd definitely read more of this series or from this author.
novelesque_life's review
3.0
2019; Atria Books
The creepy amazing cover with an even more intriguing synopsis had me clamouring to read Your Life is Mine. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype I had in my head. It just wasn't as suspenseful as I thought it would be. I was expecting this to be gritty and dark and it was just okay. This is my first novel by Nathan Ripley but I would try hie first book, or a future one. I have heard great things about [b:Find You in the Dark|50658108|Find You in the Dark|Nathan Ripley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580010260l/50658108._SY75_.jpg|75674594] so we will see.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
melkirkman's review against another edition
2.0
When Blanche's past shows up, a cult her father was the head of, she heads back to her home town investigate.
I thought there could be more to this book, it was easy to read but didn't grab me like I thought it would. I liked the idea of the book but I thought it could have been much more thriller - like.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Blanche Potter is the daughter of a notorious cult leader who went on a spree killing then committed suicide. She no longer has contact with her mother, Crissy, and Blanche has changed her name in order to keep anyone from knowing her true identity. Which is why she is so angry when Crissy tracks her down in New Orleans where Blanche and her best friend and business partner Jaya Chauhan are filming their latest true crime documentary. Then a few weeks later, she is furious when she is broadsided by a journalist Emil Chadwick who essentially tries to blackmail her into co-operating with his current project. But what really takes Blanche off guard is discovery that Crissy was murdered in her home right after her visit to her daughter. Blanche returns to Stilford, CA where she meets with Officer Dan Maitland to try to learn more information about Crissy's death. But can she trust that Maitland is being completely forthcoming with her? And if he is not, what reason does he have for withholding information?
As a child, Blanche is extremely close with her murderous father, Chuck. He indoctrinates her with his crazy ideas and theories and she is present when he goes on his killing spree in the local mall. Despite numerous visits by social services and police, Blanche remains living with Crissy after Chuck's suicide where her mother continues brainwashing her with her father's philosophies. Blanche's life finally becomes normal in her late teens when she moves in with Jaya and her mother. Blanche wants nothing to do with those long ago events but with Crissy's murder, she has no choice but to try to understand if her mother's death is the end or the beginning of another killing spree.
Blanche has always been very closemouthed about her childhood. She has kept much of her past a secret from Jaya and she tries to keep her friend from becoming mixed up with Crissy's murder. She returns to Stilford by herself and she is immediately assailed by horrifying memories from her childhood. Blanche has no doubt that her mother's murder is tied to the cult, but Dan is quite evasive when she tries to get information from him. Despite not having all of the details, Blanche has absolutely no doubt that Crissy's death is meant to draw her back to Stilford. While waiting to see what will happen next, Jaya unexpectedly shows up and Blanche is eventually forced to tell her friend the painful and devastating truth about her life with Chuck and Crissy.
Although a little slow-paced, Your Life Is Mine is an intriguing mystery with a suspenseful and somewhat dark storyline. Blanche is an interesting character who has worked hard to rise above her tragic childhood. Does the truth about what is happening in the present lie in the detritus of her shattered past? Nathan Ripley provides the answer that this very pivotal question in the novel's absolutely stunning dénouement. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this compelling mystery to fans of the genre.
musingsfromamandalyn's review against another edition
4.0
challe232's review against another edition
2.0
The first few chapters were interesting, but as I read further I couldn’t take the characters and the cult seriously. Blanche’s father seemed more petty than as a charismatic leader. Many of the characters revealed their true motives too soon and to only their detriment. This had a good start and could have gone somewhere and I felt like it didn’t have much of a story. It starts with the shooter acting irrationally and then follows his successor who doesn’t appear to achieve anything.
I want to thank Atria Books, Netgalley and the author for my honest opinion. 2/5 stars.