Time for another round of Yvonne’s Shorties! This time around two thrillers and two books I really enjoyed my time with.

Title: The Last Word
Author: Taylor Adams
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
First published: April 25th 2023
Publisher: William Morrow
Finished reading: August 7th 2023
Pages: 320

“Coincidences are fine in real life. But in fiction, they’re bad writing.”


REVIEW

I’ve been meaning to try his books for years now, and of course there was no way that I was going to resist the blurb of The Last Word for long. I love books with bookish angles, and what is more fascinating AND terrifying than a thriller read where an author slash killer goes after a person leaving him a one star review? And while things can be said about the plot being over the top and you definitely have to suspend your belief, I personally didn’t care because I was too busy enjoying the ride. This was exactly the dark, twisted and exhilarating read I needed! There is just something about the writing style that makes it very easy to fly through the pages, and the plot itself only increases that pace. The POVs are somehow blurred in points, and at times it takes a second before you realize who is in the spotlight; this would usually highly annoy me, but somehow in The Last Word it only added to the suspense. There are plenty of twists along the way as well, and with (at times) two contrasting POVs telling how the events happened it makes you wonder what is the real version. Again, this is usually something that would bother me, but in this case it somehow worked. Even the characters: none of them are exactly likeable, but since the main focus is on the plot and the life or death situation it’s not as important. The Last Word definitely tips its toe in the horror genre though, and warnings are in place for particularly gruesome and graphic scenes as well as animal cruelty. If you think you can stomach those and like your thrillers on the dark and twisted side, I can highly recommend this story.

Title: First Born
Author: Will Dean
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: April 12th 2022
Publisher: Atria
Finished reading: August 10th 2023
Pages: 368

“Never underestimate the capabilities of a person, no matter how reasonable or normal they seem.”


REVIEW

I KNEW that I could count on Will Dean to deliver a story that would keep me fully intrigued! There is just something about his writing style that draws you right in, and First Born is no exception. I’ve been wanting to read this story ever since it was published last year, and I’m still not sure why it took me this long… But it couldn’t have come at a better time. I love a good murder mystery; add in the whole twin connection and things only get more interesting. Sure, things can be said about the credibility of certain twists and especially the second half can get a bit over the top, but I personally didn’t mind. If you are able to suspend your belief and just enjoy whatever twist is thrown at you next, you will be in for a treat! I confess that I did see some of the twists coming, but I was still very much invested in discovering what really happened that day. As for the characters… Molly is without doubt a quirky character, and while she is not exactly likeable, I was also fully intrigued by her. And then I’m not talking about a certain reveal near the end that will put the whole story on its head… There are so many suspects for Katie’s murder, and I enjoyed following the clues and see where everybody stood. As a whole, I ended up having an excellent time reading First Born, and it has made me even more excited to read his newest story some time soon.

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