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theboundless_bookworm's reviews
188 reviews
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
4.0
What this novel did to me, to my sense of understanding, as well to the inner recesses of my brain, can not be expressed in words. I learned about “My Lovely Wife” by Samantha Downing while researching for recommended fiction thrillers for 2019. I have read quite a few psychological thrillers in my lifetime that while some were presumably predictable, there were still those that surprised me. This fast-paced novel sent shivers down my spine but made me laugh and cringe at the same time. I have also questioned some character behaviors but those tiny flaws did not stop me from devouring this book. “My Lovely Wife” reminded me of a similar domestic thriller, “Gone Girl” - the first of the many novels that altered my preference from historical fiction to murder mystery and thrillers. “Gone Girl” set the pace for succeeding thriller novels because its ending was not what most readers expected.
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
4.0
“An Anonymous Girl” is the second psychological thriller novel co-authored by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen after their bestseller, “The Wife Between Us”. Through the first half of the novel, I admit to having been drawn, finding myself curious to see how the story unravels. This is the kind of psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes — distorts your judgments then draws you back to square one as soon as you find yourself betrayed. And just when you thought you are at the height of uncovering the lies and the secrets, you then become aware of the unlikelihood — like digging deep for fine treasures only to be fooled by run-of-the-mill trinkets. But that is not to say that the novel lacks literary merit. The narrative is both sententious and emphatic and the triggers explored (mental health, self-harm, sexual assault) are perennial social issues that continue to raise awareness. The novel also explores the elements of psychological and emotional manipulation to gain power and control over people, while narrating the perspectives of both sides of the power matrix: the manipulator and the subservient.