I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.
–Neil Gaiman
I am sorry for writing the part 2 of Good reads a little late. I finished the year with reading these books and some more. I participated in the Goodreads book challenge and finished the target of 28 books. 
1) Game of Thrones (Book 1) – George R. R. Martin (Fantasy)
Game of Thrones, I guess doesn’t require much introduction. It’s been phenomenal since its release as a TV show. I am not keen on reading fantasy books or I should say not my kind of genre. But this was one book, my friend has been asking me to read for ages. So finally at an airport, I buy the book. But I keep it on the bookshelf for a long time before I read it. And I have to say once I started I couldn’t stop. I ended the year with this book.
The author wrote the book in POV format. That makes it interesting and shows all the simultaneous situations. You get attached to the characters. I did not see the show before I read the book (I tried once many years back, but couldn’t gather the interest to watch it). So I watched the show after reading the book and it made a lot more sense. I do not plan to read the other books as I have watched the series already, and the mystery is a kind of gone (maybe in future I might read the other books).
My rating for the book is 4 stars.
2) The Warning- Kathryn Croft (Suspense Thriller)
“Zoe has lost her son Ethan three years in a tragic accident. Ethan and his best friend Josh died in a river near home. Since then Zoe and her family (her husband and her youngest son) move to a new town to start life afresh. Zoe and her husband have been trying to get life back to normalcy and somewhat compromised on achieving it.
Then in their quiet life, a stir created by an anonymous email. Zoe receives this email that says Ethan’s death was not an accident. This not just disturbs Zoe but pushes her to think there’s more to her son’s death than meets the eye. She contacts the police with the email. She also gets in touch with Josh’s mother (Ethan’s best friend who died along with him). However, Josh’s parents do not react in the same way, in fact, they don’t believe her. This is not just with Josh’s parents but also with Zoe’s husband who does not believe there’s foul play.
What happens next reveals dark secrets that destroy not just her family but also a truth that Zoe could have never imagined!”
This was my first book by Kathryn Croft. I liked the author’s writing style. The book keeps you hooked until the end. The storytelling skills are fantastic. Again, the POV format is used. The characters are also well developed. There are twists and turns and blind turns as well ;-).
The only negative thing was the ending, which I think could have been better. I felt the ending could have been a lot more interesting (the ending was not at par with the rest of the book, is what I felt).
My rating is 3.5 stars.
3) Quiet Life in the Country (Lady Hardcastle Series)- T. E. Kinsey (Suspense)
Lady Hardcastle is a widow who just moved from London to country along with her maid and confidante Florence Armstrong. They intended to spend quiet time in the country and relax. However, a murder in the village changes the situation. The other unrelated events in the village compel Lady Hardcastle and Florence to get involved in the murder investigation conducted by the local police. By the end of the book, Lady Hardcastle and Florence not only realized who committed but also the fact they might not so much of quiet time.
If anyone has seen the series Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries can relate to this book completely. The two major differences are the age of Ms. Fischer (who’s quite younger than Lady Hardcastle) and the marital status. Lady Hardcastle is witty, smart and steers through any situation. She’s observant and breaks general known societal norms. It was a fun read.
My rating is 4 stars.
4) Silent Lies- Kathryn Croft (Suspense Thriller)
“Mia and Zach have a well-spun life around the two-year-old daughter. Their life changed completely when Zach committed suicide. Mia’s life turns upside with his death. Zach’s death coincided with his student gone missing the same night.
5 years later, Mia has made a life for herself and her daughter. Mia is a practicing psychologist and takes care of her daughter. Everything seems perfect until she receives a new client who says “Your husband didn’t kill himself.” These words just burst bubble she had formed in all these years. Alison, the new client, is in a violent relationship with her husband. Despite her situation, Alison says she will help Mia in finding the truth about her husband.
In the quest for the truth, Mia unearths secrets about her husband and Alison but is about to lose her mind and her daughter…”
This is the second book by Kathryn Croft. As above, she does a great job in storytelling. One can connect with Mia’s grief, her troubles with single parenting. The sequence of, Mia playing with her daughter to getting late for her session with Alison first time and then hearing the words ‘Your husband is alive’, seems like playing right in front of you. As a reader, you will feel the tense situations, decision making of Mia all too real. I think that what one makes a superb writer.
The book is written two POVs. One is Mia (that’s present) and other Josie (the girl who goes missing). There are well connected small subplots to the main plot. I am sure the end of the mystery comes as a surprise. However, the ending, I felt, is arbitrary. I couldn’t get the feel of that’s how it concluded. That was again a letdown for me.
My rating is 3.5 stars (it could have been better)
5) Fox- Frederick Forsyth (Thriller)
Fox is about a teen who is a powerful, potent weapon. If this boy falls in the wrong hands’ world can change as we know it. Thus he has moved around, kept safe and his talents smoothened. As described “race-against-time” thriller and moved across seven continents.
Frederick Forsyth is one of my favorite authors. I love the way he writes, the buildup and the excitement. It is modern-day espionage involving a teenager who breaks into the highly secured network in a blink of an eye. This kid has Asperger’s syndrome. He cannot comprehend that hacking into these highly secured sites might bring high figures of world intelligence over his doorstep.
The plot is set in April 2019 with current political leaders. Author has not named Trump but gives a similar description in the book, also the UK has a female Prime Minister. Similar incidents start to happen all around the world involving the hacker teenager. It becomes a race-against-time not just to save the kid but the world getting into a massive war.
It is not a usual Frederick Forsyth’s read. Anybody who has read his books knows there are inconsistencies in the writing. But, it’s interesting and worth a read.
My rating for this book is 4 stars
If you have read any of the books would love to hear thoughts on the books.
Confessions of a Reading Freak 