The Midnight Feast - Lucy Foley - Book Review

 

                After a bunch of horror reads, I decided to break the chain and try something from the mystery genre. My second favourite go-to genre. This has been with me for quite some time, so I decided to give it a try.

                The Manor has just opened, and it is a high-end luxury getaway targeting the rich. No stones are left unturned to give the perfect experience. But beneath all the luxury and humbug, there is something dark and sinister waiting for the right moment. Some of the people in the Manor are not really guests, and the incidents that happened years ago are haunting the place. A major fire happens and there is a dead body is found. What happened at the Manor? What dark secrets does the place hold? forms the story.

             An interesting premise, right? Well, for me, it was. The blurb caught my attention before diving into the read. This was my first read of Lucy Foley. As I mentioned earlier, the premise was very good and has all the abilities to keep us invested in the book. The language was easy and good, and the book is divided into many small chapters. The book moves in a non-linear pattern through the point of view of the main characters, along with the journal entry telling us the flashback. Initially, it starts out all good. But as we read on, the reading starts getting cumbersome. There are many chapters, and the jump from one POV to another starts dragging the story. Most of the story seems to have a cliffhanger. When that story picks up after a chapter or two, we get irritated. It gives us a feeling that it is being forced upon us. The book could have done better with at least 30 - 40 pages fewer. The characters are well written, and the journal part, which tells us what transpired years back, is quite interesting. After the initial quarter of the story, it becomes lethargic till towards three quarter of the book. After that, it gets really interesting, and the way things unfolded was very satisfying. The book gives a feel of a movie with a great story, let down by a mediocre screenplay.

                To sum it up, a decent read for mystery lovers. An interesting story with great potential, let down by a lethargic structure and an average feel.

Cabin: 17 Tales of Terror. 1 Cabin: Book Review

 

                    Yet another anthology! And that too horror. This time, the book cover was not the pulling factor but the catchphrase of 17 stories that happen in a cabin. Well! That was enough fuel to ignite my curiosity.

                A cabin stands in the middle of the forest, a little away from the hiking trail. It gives all the bad vibes. The stories revolve around people who visit the cabin and the horrific experiences they encounter - murderous spouses, mysterious creatures from the forest, the hunger of the cabin and the unknown entity hiding in the darkest corners of the cabin. The place may be picturesque, but the cabin sure ain't, trying to lure people inside. 

                First of all, the whole idea was what pulled me into the anthology. The diverse angle of stories was enjoyable. There are topics ranging from abuse, psychological horror, supernatural, and creatures. Except for Blair Daniels, all the writers were new to me. I did enjoy most of their works. The favourite among them is the one by Blair Daniels that goes on as a review ranting, the story of a writer invited to the cabin to write a story, and the story 'Inhabitant', which tries to provide a backstory for the whole thing. All the stories were standalone except for two of them, where I could find references to other stories. The language was simple enough, except for one story, which was confusing me at the start. The stories might not be too scary, but they definitely give the creeps. It is interesting to see writers come up with stories on a common theme. And they have succeeded in giving a decent set of stories.

                In short, a good set of stories that make up a neat anthology for horror fans. Some of these can creep you up. A quick read in which I loved almost all the stories (after a long time!).

Birth of a Duo: A Radha Bose Novel: Chandrayan Gupta: Book Review

 

                I was recently browsing through my Kindle for a quick read when I noticed a book that had been there in my device for nearly two years. Seeing that this book is short, I decided to go with the read irrespective of what the genre may be.

            Adithya Gokhale is a teenager suffering from clinical depression who starts working for Radha Bose, a private investigator, on advice from his psychologist. Radha Bose is an ex-soldier who suffers from PTSD. They get a case to investigate the death of the son of a famous actor, whether it is a murder or a suicide. Does this unlikely pair solve the mystery? Will two broken people be able to work together as a team and help each other? forms the remaining plot.

              First things first. This was an extremely fast read. At around 90 pages, this was more like a novella. It can start off at a moderate pace, picking up speed as you progress. The novel turns out to be more of a self-help book sprinkled with mystery thriller. Having suffered from depression myself, I could connect well with the character of Aditya. The conversations did make an impact on me. The mystery element may not be as thrilling as you might expect in a usual thriller book. Various topics like feminism, sexual orientation, depression, self-harm, domestic violence, and PTSD are discussed. But none seem to be overwhelming. The conversations kept the story pretty engaged. Most of the space in the story revolves around these conversations. The other characters come like guest appearances. The story could have been a tad longer. It would have been better if there had been as much focus on the mystery element as well. 

              In short, a story that could be classified as a self-help conversational book instead of a mystery thriller. As a thriller fan, this was a damper for me. Nevertheless, an interesting and fast read. There are other parts to this book, and it would be interesting to see how things progress in them. Hoping it does not get preachy.

The Eyes Are The Best Part - Monika Kim - Book Review

 

                I've been thinking about taking a hiatus from reading horror stories. But someone sent me a copy of this, and here I am after reading the same. Plus, the book cover piqued my interest this time as well.

                Ji-won, a Korean American, has her life overturned when her father leaves the family. Her mother is having a meltdown and Ji-won, along with and younger sister, are left to handle the situation. Not long after, her mother starts seeing an American man, George. Shortly, the relationship progresses, and they end up fixing a wedding date. The girls are not happy with the decision. With all that is happening around her, Ji-won's studies dip. At the same time, she gets fixated on George's blue eyes. Dreams and hallucinations of eyes start affecting her, and her urge to eat blue eyes increases. Is this a sign of her deteriorating into madness, or is this due to the pressure she is facing?

                First of all, an interesting premise. Plus, the reading was quick, which was a good thing for me. The steady progress of the story kept the reading well paced. This was tagged as a horror genre, but I differ in my opinion. The cannibalism and the hallucinations involving eyes made me uncomfortable, but never at any point did the book scare me. The characters were written in a mediocre way. The main male characters were no doubt chauvinists, but the development of characters seemed forced, as if to make them look bad just for the main character to vent her rage. The ending did confuse me. I was confused if this was a revenge saga or the transition into madness. There are many trigger points like cannibalism, stalking, racial profiling, racial stereotyping, asian fetishism, depression, bottled up anger, etc. Some parts of the story can make people squirm. But this may not necessarily scare anyone. The cultural differences of people coming from different countries were interestingly brought out. As we read on, we might get a feel that there is more to Ji-won than just being a victim. That lessens our sympathy for the character. The writer does a good job of conveying how differently people handle depression in their lives. The female rage, which is the central point of the story, could have been handled better.

                To sum it all up, a pretty decent read which could have been a better one if the staging had been proper. Nevertheless, a quick read that may satisfy a certain set of readers.

Untold Night and Day - Bae Suah - Book Review

 

                    Apart from Japanese thrillers, I haven't tried many foreign translations lately. After The Vegetarian, I had always wanted to try another Korean translation. When one of my friends recommended this writer, I was eager to give it a try. This book seemed like a quick read, and I ended up selecting this.

               Ayami works in an audio theatre for the blind in Seoul. But the theatre is closing down shortly. Ayami spends the final night with her boss searching for their common friend who went missing. The next day, she spends the day with a visiting poet. As the day and night pass, the line between dream and reality fades around Ayami.

               To start with, this book was quite an experience. I had no idea of the genre of this. When I read, the magical realism took me by surprise. The story goes on a nonlinear mode, taking us on a journey through dream and reality with Ayami. There is a repetition that keeps occurring throughout the story with recurring words and lines. To be fair, I could not uncover the true meaning of the story, but the experience it gave was something magical. Life in Seoul was well depicted with references to the food, the heat, the way people dress and move around, a life of poverty during wartime and so on. The translator had done an incredible job of translating this somewhat complex book. The essence of the book is passed on exactly in the work as we are sucked into Seoul experiencing the heat, the small rooms, the bus etc.

               A highly impressive read that takes us on a trip to Seoul along with Ayami along the paths of reality and dream. You might be able to fully comprehend the underlying meaning. But go with the flow and enjoy the experience. Bae Suah is a writer whose works I would like to read more of.