Tag Archives: psychological thriller

Book Review of The Wolf Road, by Beth Lewis

The Wolf Road

I won a copy of Beth LewisThe Wolf Road from Library Thing.

Description from Goodreads:
In the remote wilds of a ravaged land, Elka has been raised by a man who isn’t her father. Since finding her wandering in the woods when she was seven, he has taught her how to hunt, shoot, set snares and start fires–everything she needs to survive. All she knows of the world outside is gleaned from whispers of a cataclysmic event that turned the clock back on civilization by a hundred and fifty years and reduced governments and technology to shambles, leaving men at the mercy of the elements–and each other. 

Everything changes when Elka learns that the man she has been calling father is harboring a terrible secret. Armed with nothing but her knife and her wiles, she decides to escape his clutches and sets out on a long journey to the frozen north in the hope of finding her long-lost parents. 

But as the trail of blood and bodies grows in her path, Elka realizes that daddy won’t be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she’s going to survive, she’ll have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about what he’s turned her into.

Review:
Wow, I really liked this. I consider it one of my very few five-star reads of the year. It wasn’t perfect. There are a few convenient occurrences, the wolf is too anthropomorphized and I thought it dragged a little at certain points, but these are small complaints. I adored Elka’s narrative voice and her no-nonsense character. The taut story telling kept me invested and the way it all unfolded was marvelously paced. All in all, I can’t wait to read more of Lewis’ work in the future.


What I’m drinking: French pressed, decaffeinated black coffee of no notable blend or brand.

Sandrine's Case

Book Review of Sandrine’s Case, by Thomas H. Cook

Sandrine's Case

I won a copy of Sandrine’s Case, by Thomas Cook, quite a while ago. It feels good to finally get it read and reviewed.

Description from Goodreads:
Samuel Madison always wondered what Sandrine saw in him. He was a meek, stuffy doctorate student, and she a brilliant, beautiful, bohemian with limitless talents and imagination. On the surface their relationship and marriage semed perfectly tranquil: jobs at the same small, liberal arts college, a precocious young daughter, a home filled with art and literature, and trips to some of the world’s most beautiful cities and towns. And then one night Sandrine is found dead in their bed and Samuel is accused of her murder.

As the truth about their often tumultuous relationship comes to light, Samuel must face a town and media convinced of his guilt, a daughter whose faith in her father has been shaken to its core, and astonishing revelations about his wife that make him fall in love with her for a second time. A searing novel about love lost and rediscovered, from one of our greatest chroniclers of the human heart.

Review:
Oh, this is a hard one to review. I spent a lot of it feeling slightly bored and wishing the pace would pick up, knowing it wouldn’t. Despite that, it also kept the tension taut and I was never wholly sure which way the ending would go. Consider the whole book takes place in 9 days, most of those with the main character sitting idly in a courtroom, this narrative tension is quite the feat.

The book really made me think. What would I judge a man on, the person he once was, has recently been, is now or will be in the future? When there’s been or will be a significant breach between one and the other, this isn’t an easy question to answer.

For those who enjoy a slow, considered pace and tightly woven psychological thrillers. This is one worth picking up.


What I’m drinking: Just hot water and lemon.