WWW Wednesdays #99 – July 13th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading Wanderlost by Jen Malone, which is turning out to be a quick and entertaining road trip story from what I can see so far. I’ve also started reading The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse because I was in the mood for a Peter Pan retelling, but I can’t say I’m enjoying it. The tone and prose don’t seem to fit the theme at all and I’m struggling to continue this one… Same goes for The Stepmother by Claire Seeber: I started reading it last week, but I couldn’t get into the story and decided to keep it temporarily on hold and read a few other titles instead.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is My Girl by Jack Jordan, which is probably one of the most twisted and disturbing thrillers I’ve read so far this year. If you are into the genre, definitely make sure to check out this book!
* I then finished Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys, which is without doubt my new favorite of this author. The setting, prose and character development are excellent and I really felt like I was right there in the 1950s along with the characters.
* I also read The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza, which by no means suffers from the ‘weak-second-book’ syndrome. It’s fast-paced, well written and has an intriguing plot and plot twists. It’s without doubt a very entertaining read!
* I then read The Straw King by Danielle Paige. This novella was surprisingly good compared to the last few previous stories, but I still wasn’t overwhelmed by it.
* I’ve also been able to finish Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, a title that was on my 2015 most-antipated-releases list. I enjoyed reading it and I admit it was a ‘cute’ read, but I did have some problems with the credibility of the plot. I mean, if the main character is really that sick, doing what she did is incredibly stupid.
* The last book I managed to finish is The Sister by Louise Jensen, which I ended up really enjoying. It’s dark, messed with your mind and has many plot twists… The story jumps back and forth between the past and present and there are quite a few unreliable characters, but it only added to the whole mystery around Grace and Charlie.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Depending on what genre I’m in the mood for, I will read When We Collided by Emery Lord. Although I really want to read The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne as well, both because I’ve heard great things about it and because I want to The Fire Child by the same author. If I want something different, The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey is also high on my list… And my latest TBR jar pick is still The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz. (Which I should read soon since it’s been too long since I last read a TBR jar book.)

ARC REVIEW: The Night Stalker – by Robert Bryndza

Title: The Night Stalker
(DCI Erika Foster #2)
Author: Robert Bryndza
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: June 2nd 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: July 8th 2016
Pages: 384

“The world is filled with good, but it’s equally overwhelmed with bad. People who commit horror and evil. You have to concentrate on what you can do, what you can influence. The ones who you can hunt down.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I read and enjoyed the first book in the series, The Girl In The Ice, earlier this year, so when I had the chance to get a Netgalley copy of the sequel I grabbed it with both hands. And I have to say, The Night Stalker by no means suffers from the ‘weak-second-book’ syndrome. In fact, I actually grew to like the main character Erika better since the sequel doesn’t have the constant bitching between the characters that made me enjoy the first book less. Erika is without doubt a strong character and like many detective stories out there ‘damaged goods’, but really good at her job. The case she is investigating in The Night Stalker is quite different from the last one, but in a good way. I actually found the plot and plot twists to be slightly more credible this time, and the identity of the killer was definitely a surprise. The story is well written with detailed descriptions that really set the right atmosphere; the fast pace and intriguing murder case make it hard to stop reading before you reach the last page. All in all The Night Stalker is without doubt a very entertaining read for everyone who enjoys reading a good whodunit. Recommended!

WARNING: Possible spoilers! Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read the first book of this series yet. I’ll keep the summary super short but it’s impossible to keep it completely spoiler-free…

Detective Erika Foster is called to another murder scene, and what she finds isn’t pretty. The victim is a doctor and found naked in bed with his wrists bound and a plastic bag tied tight over his head. They first suspected his death might have something to do with the gay magazines they found, but that changes when a second victim is found dead in exactly the same circumstances. Erika and her team start digging deeper, but as they discover new facts about the seemingly calculated serial killer, her superiors don’t seem to like what they found. The serial killer, stalking their victims before choosing the right moment to strike, might be someone completely different than they originally had profiled… What links the victims to the killer? And will Erika be able to discover the truth and capture the killer when her superiors seem to ignore her findings?

The Night Stalker turned out to be even better than the first book! Like The Girl In The Ice, this sequel is well written, full of detailed descriptions and has an intriguing plot and plot twists. It’s fast-paced and without doubt a pageturner, and even better: the bitchy characters that seemed to bother me in the first book sure seem to have calmed down a lot. I actually liked Erika a lot better in the sequel, and the plot was more credible as well. I’m hoping that there will be a third book, because I’m really enjoying this series so far!

WWW Wednesdays #98 – July 6th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading one of my pending Netgalley reads: My Girl by Jack Jordan. It’s still too early to tell what I will think of it, but it looks like it’s a fast read. I have also finally started Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys; a book I have been wanted to read for a while and it is a nice change of scenery after all those mystery/thriller reads. So far I’m really enjoying it! I also want to continue Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain, but I might read another pending Netgalley mystery/thriller or two before that.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* After a few disappointing reads last week, All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda definitely made up for it all. This book is without doubt one of the best mystery/thriller reads I’ve read this year and on my favorites list!
* I then finished Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate, which was quite good, although the many different POVs did make this read a little more difficult to read and less entertaining. Also, I liked some of the characters and prose better than others and I would have liked to see the whole seven sins theme playing a bigger role in the book.
* Last To Die by Arlene Hunt started off slow, but completely recovered with an explosive ending that definitely made this read worth reading! If you like twisted, creepy and intense reads, this one is definitely for you.
* I also read As Red As Blood by Salla Simukka on a whim after thinking about possibly seeing one of my Finnish friends again this summer (who lived in Tampere as well). I really liked the beginning of this read and the setting, but the whole plot and main character was a bit fantastical for a mystery/thriller read and it wasn’t as good as I hoped.
* I’ve also been able to finish Cascadia by H.W. “Buzz” Bernard yesterday evening. I ended up really enjoying this suspense/natural disaster/science story, definitely worth reading! More in the upcoming review…

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

As soon as I finish at least one of my current reads, I will most likely start reading The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza. I really enjoyed the first book, so I was so glad Netgalley approved my request for the sequel! 😀 I also want to read Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, a book that has been on my TBR pile for way too long now and really want to read. The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne is high on my list as well, both because I’ve heard great things about it and I was able to get a Netgalley copy of the just published The Fire Child by the same author and I want to read the other book first. My latest TBR jar pick is still The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz. (Which I should read soon since it’s been too long since I last read a TBR jar book.)