kdickerson38's reviews
579 reviews

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POV
  • Dual timeline
  • Short chapters 
  • Secrets
  • Trust
  • Naive/gullible/weak FMC (can’t stand this and it’s in all of Freida’s books 😩)
• A page-turning suspense. 
• Fast paced and intriguing. 
• Kept my attention
• I didn’t think I was going to like this, based on the first chapter alone, but I was pleasantly mistaken. 
• Definitely fell for the red herrings; wasn’t predictable despite initially thinking it was. 
• The twist at the end was really great. I loved it. 
• The ending itself felt unsatisfying though. 
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Blood
  • Death
  • Domestic abuse
  • Stalking
  • Alcoholism
  • Sexual assault/harassment
  • Animal cruelty
  • Gaslighting

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

dark mysterious tense

2.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Murder mystery/whodunnit
  • Remote location in the mountains during a snowstorm
  • Short chapters
• Dark and suspenseful.
• Chilling and eerie; atmospheric.
• Similar vibes to Ruth Ware’s book (One by One in particular).
• The entire book just really dragged for me- it couldn’t keep my interest and I definitely zoned out MANY times.
• Very descriptive writing (which I tend to not be a big fan of).
• The concept is so incredibly far-fetched - everything about this and what played out was unrealistic.
• I really couldn’t even tell you much that happens in this- a combination of disinterest/disengagement and poor plot.
• I’m really hoping the other 2 books in the series are better!
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Death
  • Medical trauma
  • Violence
  • Blood
  • Torture
  • Confinement/isolation

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POV
  • LGBTQ+
  • Psychological thriller
  • Revenge
  • Vigilante justice
  • Dark academia
• During the first half of the book, I was trying to understand the hype of it, but the second half gave me my answers and was compelling and engaging.
• Yay for feminine rage.
• I enjoyed all the twists, even the ones that were slightly predictable.
• Far-fetched but entertaining.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Death
  • Violence
  • Rape
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Stalking
  • Infidelity
  • Fire
  • Toxic friendship
  • Alcohol
  • Suicide
  • Grief

Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Legal thriller/police procedural
  • Multiple POVs
  • Flashbacks
  • Justice
  • Morality
  • Motherhood
• Emotional, moving, and thought-provoking.
• Heart-breaking, gut-wrenching, and unsettling at times, while also heartwarming and inspiring at others.
• Very well-written; great storytelling.
• Compelling and gripping.
• As always, Picoult tackles a very challenging and heavy topic expertly and with sensitivity and grace.
• Great twists thrown in, even if some were slightly predictable.
• Some cons that I ultimately didn’t mind: A lot of it was pretty unrealistic, the MC was a little annoying, and the ending was kind of a little too perfect but I feel like any other ending would have made me mad.
• Content warnings:
  • Child SA
  • Graphic detail of child SA
  • Pedophelia/rape
  • Adult/minor relationship
  • Murder
  • Gun violence
  • Sexual violence
  • Blood
  • Mental illness
  • Infidelity

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Psychological thriller
  • Dual timeline
  • Whodunnit
  • Reuniting with childhood friends in hometown to face past
  • Amnesia
  • Secrets, betrayal, and lies
  • [Female] friendship
  • Trauma
• Such a dark, twisty, and suspenseful thriller.
• Woodsy, witchy vibes.
• One or two things were predictable but there were so many other things that shocked me.
• Kept me on the edge of my seat.
• Super captivating - it just lured me in so well and had me completely hooked.
• A little bit of a slow burn but things slowly unravel so it definitely wasn’t boring.
• I do wish that the final reveal of what really happened was ‘shown’ in the timeline of the past rather than ‘told’ in the timeline of the present, or at least a mix of the two. 
• Spoiler:
  This was very obviously based loosely on the Slender Man stabbing. Which, to clarify, is not a complaint whatsoever! It just made one of the many twists predictable for me because I’m so familiar with that case and that’s all I could think about. I’m also shocked it wasn’t mentioned in an author’s note or anything.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Violence
  • Gun violence
  • Death
  • Serial killer
  • Stabbing/injury detail
  • Stalking
  • Abuse
  • Sexual assault
  • Death of a friend
  • Mental illness
  • Grief
  • Adult/minor relationship

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual timeline
  • Dual POVs
  • True crime
  • Paranormal
  • Haunted house
  • Serial killers
  • Blogging
• Chilling and suspenseful.
• A little slow to start.
• Great character development and imagery.
• I don’t always love a paranormal twist, but this one did it for me.
• Engaging and a bit addictive.
• A little cliche at times but it didn’t stop me from enjoying it.
• Some brief courtroom action and blogging/podcasting interviews thrown in the mix.
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Serial killers
  • Rape/sexual assault
  • Child SA
  • Death of parent
  • Kidnapping
  • Pregnancy/infertility/IVF

Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi

lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Grumpy/sunshine
  • Wedding
  • Friendship
  • Mental health
• Kind of an extended epilogue.
• Cute and cheesy
• The smut in this one was unexpected and probably the spiciest from the whole series
• Not a lot really happened, and Warner’s negativity and grumpiness was a little annoying, but a little after halfway through, I started to enjoy it more, seeing how everyone came together to make the wedding happen.
• Love the representation of mental health- anxiety, panic attacks, OCD/control, therapy, etc.
  • Especially love how Kenji was the one to ease Warner’s anxiety at the alter 🫶🏻
• I wish we got more of the actual wedding :(

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Murder
  • Toxic families
  • Twins (separated at birth) (twin connection)
  • Secrets
  • Dual POVs (one in second person POV)
  • Short chapters
  • Psych ward
  • Corrupt healthcare workers/angel of death
  • Poor institutional care
  • Wealth and classism
• Another amazing book by Sarah Pekkanen.
• Suspenseful, tense, and super twisty.
• Engaging.
• Kept me on my toes and I never knew who I could trust or who the actual killer was.
• Made me wonder what I would do in that situation.
• Some small things were a bit predictable but most of it wasn’t.
• The ending was super satisfying but it did wrap things up very nicely.
• I could see this being an awesome movie.
• A little far-fetched.
• Binge-worthy
• Content warnings:
  • Murder
  • Death
    • Death of parents 
    • Death of child 
  • Attempted suicide
  • Classism
  • Rape
  • Stalking/obsession
  • Infidelity
  • Disassociation/mental illness
  • Child abuse
  • Confinement

Releases 8/5/25!

Special thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Sarah Pekkanen, and Netgalley for a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

• Tropes/themes:
  • Multiple POVs
  • Power/war
  • Soulmates
  • Friendship
• 6th book in the Shatter Me series- shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone. 
• I think my expectations were too high for this one - I did enjoy but I was expecting a little more.
• It did keep me on the edge of my seat a lot though and I about halfway through o could not understand how it could possibly end on a positive note so experiencing how it ended up playing out was an adventure.
• Awesome writing as usual and very captivating.
• Satisfying ending although a little cheesy
• Content warnings:
  • Death
  • Violence
  • Torture
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Confinement

The Crash by Freida McFadden

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

• Tropes/themes:
  • Dual POV (with a bonus POV at the end)
  • Popcorn thriller
  • Judgement
  • Locked room
• Quick and easy read.
• Tense and suspenseful.
• Very far-fetched with a lot of twists.
• At the beginning, I really didn’t think I was going to like this- then the crash happened and the aftermath began and I started to think it wouldn’t be as bad as I originally suspected- then it got a little drawn out and repetitive before it finally had me very decently hooked on finding out how it would all play out.
• Predictable in many ways but I still enjoyed it.
• The first MC introduced was very naive and made so many immediate judgements/assumptions and that always annoys me.
• I don’t think the very end was necessary but it was still interesting.
• Reminded me a bit of Misery by Stephen King.
• Entertaining.
• Not a book to take too seriously.
• Content warnings:
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder
  • Rape
  • Attempted suicide/suicidal thoughts
  • Car accident
  • Child abuse
  • Mental illness
  • Confinement
  • Injury/injury detail
  • Pregnancy
  • Infertility
  • Bribe