pulp_fiction_books's reviews
491 reviews

Master of Murder by Christopher Pike

2.0

This is definitely one of the weaker Christopher Pikes that I've read. It started off well and early on had plenty of intrigue relating to the two core mysteries of the story  but it just kind of mesndered on and never went anywhere of any great interest. It was quite dull and that's something I've never said of a Pike book before but it just never hooked me in at any point.

Get a Clue! by Lisa Banim, Terri Minsky

fast-paced

4.0

This series is always so much fun and so nostalgic. It always contains a solid, if extremely low stakes (which I think is part of it's charm) mystery and this entry is no different, hitting all those points. The only problem I had was that our culprits identity was extremely obvious as there was only ever really one actual suspect, so we really could have done with some red herring characters sprinkled in.

Why I'm Not Afraid of Ghosts by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, R.L. Stine

2.0

This had a great concept as we have dual pov's and one half of them that we're following are ghosts. Unfortunately the book never capitalises on its unique premise and ends up being very repetitive. There was nothing scary or even spooky about this, it had moments of good body horror imagry but even they didn't hit as they were all undercut by being portrayed in a silly comedic fashion rather than used as moments of horror. There's also two reveals late on, the first was extremely obvious and the second was absolutely ridiculous and completely out of left field.

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

3.0

This is a selection of short mysteries all tied together by an overarching narrative. I found it a very original and quite clever read and enjoyed how it all tied together but found that I was never blown away or overly engrossed at any point. Towards the end it gave me Clue (the great  80's movie based on the board game) vibes which was definitely welcomed.

The Trail of D.B Cooper by William James Lane

fast-paced

1.0

Idiotic ramblings. I've read cereal boxes with more to do with D.B Cooper. Nonsense.

The Haunting Returns (Goosebumps: The Season 1 Novel) by Kate Howard

2.0

So... I was not a fan of the TV show but as a goosebumps collector I had to pick this up and read it. This is an extremely faithful adaptation and while I did find it slightly less egregious in written form it still wasn't good. I hate to use this sentence but it's just not Goosebumps. It's cringy, filled with teen drama and worse still, it's boring. This book also advertises an alternate ending to the show and it's a whole pile of nothing, to the point where I have no idea why the would even bother to add it. I don't think any of the blame should fall with the author though as she was dealing with very poor source material in the first place.

They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman

2.0

My first thought whilst reading this was how similar it felt to a Karen M. McManus book, so if you're a fan of her there's definitely something here for you, although I prefer almost all McManus work more than this. A couple of reasons being... Firstly, the pacing was quite poor, the first half of  was very lackluster and really left me wanting anything to happen. There's is also zero  in here, we're dealing with a death that's happened before our story begins and from there you never feel anyone is ever in any danger which really negated any sense of tension. Also the 'Who' element of this was extremely obvious from very early on and you're just waiting for the protagonist to get to the realisation and that doesn't happen until very late on.  There's some good social commentary touched on regarding privilege and stature but it is just surface level and never really gets delved into.

The Graveyard Club: Revenge Game by R.L. Stine

3.0

We follow our protagonist Parker and his friends in small town America as they embark on a back and forth prank war with a local bully and his father who happens to be the Sheriff. This felt very much like an extremely condensed Fear Street book, There was some real stakes which was welcome and while it was a fun quick read, it lacked any real substance or intrigue and the "reveal" was quite obvious. I did think the artwork was pretty good though. 

Lally's Game by Kelly Parra, Scott Cawthon, Andrea Waggener

2.0

This book was my first exposure to any 'Five Nights At Freddy' s' media (unless you count the Nic Cage rip off movie) and the first thing that struck me was how much more mature this was than I had expected and I can't help feeling this is far flung from what the franchise is. There are three stories in here. The first felt like a modern day Christopher Pike about an outcast girl and had quite a lot of heart to it (3⭐) The second was an out and out adult, haunted doll, horror tale (2⭐) The third was a boring and extremely depressing story about everyone in the world getting cancer (1.5⭐). I mean what do any of these have to do with 'Five Nights At Freddy's'? I mean Throughout the whole book we only get one scene actually at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and we only get one animatronic mentioned (which as it turns out was only created for this book too).

How I Broke Up With Ernie by R.L. Stine

2.0

This was very bland, nothing happens and then we get a lackluster situation reverse at the end. I like the concept of an ex-boyfriend who refuses to go away but does it in a charming aloof way. Unfortunately it's just quite boring and feels like it all could of been resolved within a page but there's stupid barriers placed in the way that derail our protagonist when in reality they shouldn't have any effect.