If I Die Tonight - A.L. Gaylin

There was a time when Jackie Reed knew her sons better than anyone. She used to be able to tell what they were thinking, feeling, if they were lying… 

But it's as though every day, every minute even, she knows them a little less. Her boys aren’t boys anymore, they’re becoming men - men she’s not sure she recognises, men she’s not sure she can trust.

So when one of her son’s classmates is killed in suspicious circumstances, people start asking questions. 

Was it really a hit and run? A car-jacking gone wrong? Or something much more sinister? 

Now Jackie must separate the truth from the lies.

How did that boy end up on the road? 

And where was her son that night?

What did I think?

I didn't plan to read If I Die Tonight in one sitting, but once I started it, I simply couldn't put it down.  The prologue hooked me immediately with a Facebook post from 17 year old Wade that tells the reader 'By the time you read this, I'll be dead.'  This suicide post was so sad and heartfelt that I just had to devour every single page to find out how Wade was left feeling this way.

Wade's post mentioned 'memory gifts' and I thought that was such a beautiful way to refer to a special memory.  One that we treasure so much that we wrap it up, tie it with a ribbon and store it in a special part of our brain until we're feeling low and need to unwrap the gift to rediscover our happy feelings from that time.  I'm going to remember that description (no pun intended).

Wade's schoolfriend, Liam Miller, was killed in an apparent car-jacking.  The only witness is the car's owner: a has-been rock star, Aimee-En, who seems to be hiding something.  Wade is also acting suspiciously and it's noticed by his Mom, Jackie and younger brother, Connor.  When Wade can't account for his whereabouts on the night Liam was killed, even Jackie starts to think that Wade might be guilty.  Mob mentality goes into overdrive when the townsfolk pick up on Wade's lack of alibi and they delight in finding someone to blame.  The reader is a little more forgiving as they are allowed to piece together all of the pieces of the puzzle before the truth is revealed.

I found it so interesting to see how easily people jump to conclusions.  I'm not saying I'm never guilty of this, but most of the time I do tend to look for all of the facts before making a decision - it's probably because I have read so many crime books!  The book also highlighted the effects of social media and how people can be so vicious when hiding behind a screen.

There are a lot of characters in If I Die Tonight so I sometimes found it confusing and didn't know who was who.  I picked up the main characters easily enough but sometimes had to flick back over the pages when a minor character reappeared.  That's the only real criticism I had but it's what makes this addictive and suspenseful book a four star rather than a five star read for me. 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

Friend Request - Laura Marshall

When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past she feels sick.

Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.

Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty-five years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life knowing herself responsible for Maria's disappearance. But now Maria is back. Or is she?

As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress, to try to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. But when another friend's body turns up in the woods outside their old school, Louise realises she can't trust anyone and that she must confront her own awful secret to discover the whole truth of what happened to Maria . . .

What did I think?

Ooooh this was a proper page turner that uses the tried and tested 'then' and 'now' formula that kept my eyes firmly glued to the page. I'm not a big fan of Facebook but found the idea of getting a friend request from someone you thought was dead was an absolutely brilliant storyline.  You immediately know that there are buried secrets to uncover and become suspicious of everyone, thinking that nobody is what they seem.

The last time this group of old schoolfriends got together was the school leaving party when one of them didn't make it home, although her body was never found.  Trying desperately to fit in with a crowd of 'mean girls' at school, Louise feels that she is to blame for Maria's death and Maria comes back to haunt her big style by requesting her friendship on Facebook.  Surely it must be a cruel joke, but with the school reunion looming Louise wouldn't be surprised to see Maria turn up...and then she starts to wonder who organised the reunion in the first place.

I loved the past and present storyline and it was almost like the rewind button was pressed at the school reunion as people lapsed into their school characters: the popular bitchy one, the boy everyone fancies, the one trying desperately to fit in and the swot who now has the flashy job and perfect life.  I found myself questioning everyone and I'm not going to tell you whether Maria is alive or dead as Laura Marshall kept me guessing right up to the very end.

Friend Request is a twisty fast-paced psychological thriller, choc-ful of secrets with a generous helping of mind-bending smoke and mirrors style deception.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest an unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Because I Was Lonely - Hayley Mitchell

Meet Rachel. She is caught in a spiral of endless crying, dirty nappies, and sleepless nights. She fears for her sanity and the safety of her children.

She's lonely.

Meet Adam. Suffering from the pain and trauma of a terrible accident that he blames himself for, he stays at home, unable to bring himself to leave the house.

He's lonely.

So when Rachel and Adam rekindle their long lost friendship online, what starts as a little harmless flirtation, soon becomes an unhealthy obsession, and slowly the threads of their lives unravel before them.

Four lonely people . Two unhappy marriages . One dangerous, but inevitable climax.

What did I think?

Ooh this was a book that quietly drew you in and then 'BAM!' pulled the rug out from underneath you.  I was happily reading along, learning about the the lives of two couples: Rachel (on the edge of crazy) and her husband David and Adam (a desperately shattered and lonely man) and his wife, Julia.  I loved the way that the first part of the book was set out with a chapter for each of the four characters before merging in spectacular fashion in part 2.

Rachel scared me from the start.  She is clearly verging on unhinged and I worried about what she could be capable of in a potential moment of madness with two young children in the house.  Rachel's husband, David, doesn't sleep in the same room as her as Rachel is a restless sleeper.  Obviously this has a disastrous effect on their relationship and David's eye begins to wander.  It is clear that he does love Rachel but he's not quite sure how to reach her.

Rachel finds an old friend, Adam, on Facebook.  Adam is perhaps the one that got away so a bit of harmless flirtation can't go wrong, can it?  Adam's relationship is also suffering due to the guilt he carries from his parents' death.  Adam is tied by his routine, making him a prisoner in his own home and his wife, Julia, being the sole breadwinner has to work away to keep the family afloat.  Adam breaks up his day by chatting to women on Facebook but Rachel is different to the others and suddenly Julia feels threatened.  Rachel and Adam live miles away from each other so surely Julia has nothing to worry about...

That's when the story takes on a slightly darker tone and obsession takes the driving seat - I thought absolutely anything could happen in the last quarter of the book.  Think Fatal Attraction bunny boiler and you'll be near where my mind was going.  It was actually a sobering thought for anyone who has 'met' somebody on the internet.  You never quite know who you are talking to and how much of your life you are giving away.  We must leave so many clues to our whole existence on the internet and all it takes is somebody with a mindset to follow the clues and turn up at our door - YIKES!

I really enjoyed the way that this book was written in two very distinctive parts - it really gave us a chance to get to know the characters and build a full picture of their thoughts and feelings.  I felt so much emotion for Adam, being stuck at home and feeling so much guilt - as human beings, we do like to beat ourselves up but this is the point at which we are vulnerable and a chink in the armour can let a psychopath into our lives.  You never really know what's going on in someone's mind and it was actually really frightening to see how something could be harmless to one party but meaningful to another.

Because I Was Lonely is such a fascinating book that I have thought about it long after I turned the last page.  In this digital age, where we all leave unknown fingerprints, virtual can quite quickly become reality.  An addictive book and one well worth reading.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.  I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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