The Night Book

By Richard Madeley

I didn't expect to enjoy this at all but I was pleasantly surprised!  Despite having read a review with spoilers by accident on Amazon (thank you to whoever posted that!!!) I did still manage to enjoy this.

Almost everyone who was alive in 1976 will remember the summer being the hottest on record.  In the Lake District, there are warnings not to swim, due to the high number of drownings caused by the hot weather.  Where better for Meriel Kidd to take revenge on her abusive husband?

First of all, the blurb for this book is very misleading.  It describes Meriel as "biding her time", when in fact she has never seriously considered killing her husband.  Fantasised about it yes, but she never planned to go through with it. When she does cause his death, it's done on a whim and she surprises even herself.  

Although I did enjoy this, Meriel's relationship with the other main character, Seb, is totally unbelievable.  It springs up out of nowhere and I suppose could be described as "love at first sight".  They fall in love immediately and the things they call each other and the way they speak to one another are totally cringeworthy.  I don't know if this is what every couple were like back then but I couldn't help but roll my eyes whenever they spoke to each other.  Having said that, I did root for them and I wanted them to get their happy ending, I could've just done with the soppiness.  I did like both of them individually.  Meriel had that likeability that made you want to get away with killing her husband despite knowing yourself that it is wrong.  Because of what she'd been through at the hands of him you wanted her to get her happy ending.  However, there are a countless number of other characters present in the book that I found difficult to keep track of and so I had to keep looking back to see who was who.

I also loved the setting.  I've never visited the Lake District but after reading this I definitely would like to go (although I don't think I'll ever set foot in one of the lakes!).  The descriptions were done very well and I managed to picture everything clearly.  The only thing that I wasn't that keen on was the time setting - I couldn't grasp that it was set in the 1970s.  I often forgot and would imagine them in modern cars and clothes and I often wondered why they wouldn't text or email each other for example.  This was minor, however.

I did love Madeley's writing style but I don't think I'll pick up any of his existing books - they don't really seem my thing.  If he does release a book that is similar to this I'll definitely pick it up though.

Rating: 7.5/10

Date read: June 2017.

The Kind Worth Killing

By Peter Swanson

I honestly can't believe I put off reading this for so long! One of the best thrillers I have ever read.

When Ted Severson meets Lily Kintner in an airport bar when their flight is delayed, he jokes how he wants to kill his adulterous wife.  Without blinking, Lily offers to help him carry out the task...

This was just amazing.  Honestly.  I couldn't put it down.  The characters were superbly written and I was hooked from the start.  What I found weird and unsettling was that as I was reading, I was rooting for the two characters.  I wanted them to succeed in their mission in killing Ted's wife and getting away with it, even though we all know killing is wrong.  I loved their backstories - particularly Lily's, as it was revealed she had already killed people numerous times, beginning in her youth.  She believed her reasons were always justified.  Because I loved her character, I agreed with her and thought that they deserved the fate she gave them.  I was probably wrong in thinking this as after I finished the book I actually began to think that she was a bit of a psychopath - she often expressed her desire to kill.  But she was just wonderfully written that she was so likeable and you actually wanted her to get away with everything.  Ted's backstory was also very interesting - it details how he found out about his wife cheating and how he came up with his ideas of killing her.

I also loved the setting.  Since the two characters met in Heathrow Airport, I thought that most of the book would be set in the UK (not realising that since they met in the airport bar they were most likely taking a flight out of Britain).  Most of the book is set on the east coast of the US, which I loved, with only a fraction of one character's backstory being set in London.  

The plot twists were done brilliantly and were totally unexpected.  I'll admit that the one in the middle I did consider early on but then dismissed so I was still completely shocked when it happened.  I thought that if it was going to happen then it would be right at the very end.  The connection between the characters was also unexpected - after the connection was revealed I then noticed the various clues that had been presented throughout the book.  There's also a major plot twist on the very last page that was BRILLIANT.  On the second last page I thought that the book was ending brilliantly and then it came out of nowhere and threw me.  It was brilliant.

I love Peter Swanson's writing style and so I will definitely pick up his other thrillers.  I've read quite a number of books this year already and this is in my top two.  I would definitely recommend!

Date read: June 2017

Rating: 10/10.