Tag Archives: Clare Mackintosh

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
They say the camera never lies.
But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for.

Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them.

And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

 

 

Review:

A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh is the 2nd book in her DC Morgan series.  The story revolves around a reality tv show, Exposure, with 7 contestants who have to spend two weeks in the Welsh mountains in Wales. The contestants each have a secret (A Game of Lies), that they hide, as they soon realize that they need to win, in order for their secrets not to be exposed; with possible danger of their futures.  The tv show has garnered a lot of attention, especially on social media.  The following morning, the police are notified that one of the contestants is missing.  This brings DC Ffion Morgan and DC Georgina(George) Kent to the set to investigate.

The contestants are each different, as we meet them. Ceri Jones, Pam Butler, Aliyah Brown, Jason Shenton, Henry Moore, Lucas Taylor, and Ryan Francis (now missing). Ffion and George interview the contestants, as well as the production staff, in trying to find the missing person. 

Ffion is stuck taking care of her rescue dog, Dave (just adopted him), who despite his weird behavior (needy, stays close to Ffion, farts), but he is dedicated to Ffion and always finds a way to find her; which will come in handy later in the book. George has just been transferred to the team, and she is somewhat introverted, as well as a work-acholic. She was very good, and impressive in helping to handle the case. I really liked her, and happy that she will team with Ffion.  Leo, who was in the first book, returns and joins the team as the lead investigator, which doesn’t really sit well with Ffion; the chemistry from the previous book is still apparent.

As Ffion, George and Leo are still trying to find Ryan, the missing contestant from the first night, things change drastically when someone is murdered.  The investigation now turns into a murder case, with the death of the producer.  Because Ffion keeps things to herself at times, without telling her cohorts, she finds herself taken off the case.  But Ffion remembers something about the murdered victim which will lead her to finding the real killer, and putting herself in danger.  Dave to the rescue. lol

A Game of Lies was a complex, entertaining and suspenseful story, that was a slow process early on, but as we get to the last half of the book, it does pick up. I really did not enjoy how the contestants were forced to sit in a small room, as secrets are revealed, such as creepy phobias, spiders, snakes, as well as bigamy, affairs, illegal activity.            

A Game of Lies was very well written by Clare Mackintosh. I have enjoyed her previous standalone thrillers, but this series was good, but not as good as the other thrillers. I do suggest you read this series, as I would like to see what Mackintosh has in store for DC Morgan.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
At midnight, one of them is dead.
By morning, all of them are suspects.

It’s a party to end all parties, but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.

But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn’t who wanted Rhys dead…but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

 

 

Review:

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh is the start of mystery thriller series. I have become a big fan of Mackintosh, having read all her wonderful thrillers.   On New Year’s Eve, during a big party thrown by a wealthy famous singer, Rhys Lloyd, was found dead in the freezing water of the lake by his mansion, later that night. The case is assigned to Detective Constable Ffion Morgan from North Wales CD and Leo Brady from Cheshire Major Crime; with Ffion being part of the Wales side and Leo being part of the English side.

Ffion, our heroine, is mostly the lead in this story, with Leo playing a big part.  She is a great protagonist, strong, determined, as well as having an emotional past; but she is a great detective. On the site, Ffion and Leo interview many of the people who attended the party, as well as the swim earlier in the day; Ffion knows all the locals, and there are so many suspects, which include her neighbors, friends and even family. Though all the locals were thrilled to be at the party, truth begins to show that Rhys Lloyd was hated by most of the town; he was not the good man he pretended to be.

The storyline switches often from the past and the present, learning more about Rhys, and the other locals who had past conflicts, tensions with many.  Ffion was under pressure during the interviews, which included those who were parts of Lloyd’s life; his wife Yasmin, his partner, Jonty, those who owed him money, and other locals who purchased lodges, Clemmie, Caleb, Dee and those who Lloyd used, such as Mia, Seren, Huw, etc.  Ffion also reflects back to her childhood, which comes back to haunt her.   To say too much more would be spoilers and this is an intriguing, complex psychological thriller that revealing anything would ruin it for you.

The Last Party was an intense small town murder mystery that kept me glued to my kindle.  There so many suspects, and every time Ffion and Leo thought they had the killer, things would change fast.  The Last Party was a psychological thriller, with surprising twists and turns, that was so very well written by Clare Mackintosh.  If you like thrillers, you most definitely need to read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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Hostage by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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Hostage by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
You can save hundreds of lives. Or the one that matters most.

A claustrophobic thriller set over twenty hours on one airplane flight, with the heart-stopping tension of The Last Flight and the wrenching emotional intensity of Room, Hostage takes us on board the inaugural nonstop flight from London to Sydney.

Mina is trying to focus on her job as a flight attendant, not the problems of her five-year-old daughter back home, or the fissures in her marriage. But the plane has barely taken off when Mina receives a chilling note from an anonymous passenger, someone intent on ensuring the plane never reaches its destination. Someone who needs Mina’s assistance and who knows exactly how to make her comply.

It’s twenty hours to landing. A lot can happen in twenty hours.

 

 

Review:

Hostage by Clare Macintosh is another one of her fantastic psychological thrillers.  I loved Mackintosh’s previous books, and could not wait to see what she had for us next.   I am happy to say that Hostage is another fabulous intense story, that keeps us totally glued to our seat.  There are two main POV’s in this story (Mina & Adam), with a number of thoughts by various passengers.

Mina, our heroine, is a stewardess on an inaugural 20-hour flight from London to Sydney, Australia. Mina was not scheduled to take this flight, but her marriage is on the rocks, especially when she suspects her husband, Adam was having an affair, and she needed to get away; leaving Adam to take care of their 5-year-old adopted daughter, Sophia.

The plane takes off on schedule, with crew and passengers excited to be on this trip.  In a short time, one of the passengers is dead; was it a heart attack or was it murder?  Mina spots a picture of her daughter in the dead man’s pocket, and she becomes concerned when she also finds an epi pen (daughter uses this) nearby, which has her checking out people on the plane. Shortly, she receives an anonymous note that tells her to do as she is told, or her daughter will die; she must within the hour, open the cockpit to allow someone else to hijack the plane.  Mina must decide to save her daughter, or possibly kill everyone on the plane.  Mina is unable to do her flight duties, as she is in a horrible predicament. What will Mina do?

Adam is home taking care of Sophia, with a babysitter helping him. He is beside himself that Mina thinks he had an affair, when in reality he is being threatened to pay off his enormous gambling debt or get himself killed.   But when the radio starts talking about the flight Mina is on being hijacked, both him and Sophia are worried; until he realizes that he has now become hostage too; the babysitter gives them something to knock them out, and is locked in the basement, with handcuffs on him.

What follows is an exciting and intense edge of your seat thriller, that was totally addictive with constant twists, suspense and action.  The 350 passengers and crew are facing terrifying danger, with struggles, injuries and death.  The first part of the book gives us a chance to meet the crew, passengers, and some pov thoughts from various passengers, who we try to see if they are part of the takeover; the tense action escalates in the second part.  I thought the reason for the hijacking was a bit different; climate change that is needed to do something about the world on the brink of disaster.

Hostage was a dark chilling scary thriller, that was exciting, with lots of tension, and some twists. To say too much more would ruin the book for you; as you need to read this from to start to finish. I will add there was a twist at the very end, that had me not crazy about, though I suspected about the person.  If you love psychological thrillers, you can never go wrong reading Clare Mackintosh, who wrote another fantastic story.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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After The End by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

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After The End by Clare Mackintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. They’re best friends, lovers—unshakable. But then their son gets sick and the doctors put the question of his survival into their hands. For the first time, Max and Pip can’t agree. They each want a different future for their son.

What if they could have both?

A gripping and propulsive exploration of love, marriage, parenthood, and the road not taken, After the End brings one unforgettable family from unimaginable loss to a surprising, satisfying, and redemptive ending and the life they are fated to find.

 

 

Review:

After the End by Clare Mackintosh is an emotional standalone novel.  I have read and loved all of Mackintosh’s previous suspense thrillers, and was surprised that this novel was not a suspense, but an emotional tearjerker.  After the End is a story that she needed to write, as it was so close to her heart.

We meet Pip and Max, a wonderful couple, happily married, but life changes when their son Dylan, becomes very sick with a brain tumor.  They both help each other get through the emotional agony of watching their son go through so many operations and medicine to find a way to cure him.

As Dylan becomes sicker, with the lead doctor, saying that they need to do the unthinkable, since the tumor has grown and his survival rate has decreased, and all they can hope for a few more years. Dylan is at the point where the damage to his brain is irreparable, with him unable to talk, walk or communicate. This is where the story changes, and Pip and Max become divided. Pip does not want to see her son suffer anymore, as ‘it is not a life’, and she wants to allow him to die peacefully.  Max is the opposite; he wants to try another procedure that will bring him to the United States that will prolong his life.

What follows is an emotional journey that will tragically divide and separate our couple. A major court case is publicized, with Max using all means to get money to fight, and at the same time Pip will receive bad publicity.  Who is right?  What would any of us do?

This story has a Before and After POV; before the court case and afterwards.  The difference here is that in the After, Mackintosh gives us a what if?  Just when the court decision is to be announced, we are thrown into what if Pip wins the case, and what if Max wins the case.  At first I was confused, then I realized what she was doing, and it was an interesting and different concept.

After the End was a heartbreaking storyline that was at times depressing, as we felt for both parents.  The decision making, the division and pain, as well as the final results can very well destroy marriages. Pip and Max were a great couple & very well portrayed by Mackintosh. After the End was so well written, that even though it was heart-wrenching, it was an excellent story.  My heart goes out to Clare Mackintosh, as she had to have used her own heart break to write this emotional story.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Let Me Lie by Clare MackIntosh – a Review

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Let Me Lie by Clare MacKintosh – a Review

 

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Description:
The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They’re both wrong.

One year ago, Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.

Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to question her parents’ deaths. But by digging up their past, she’ll put her future in danger. Sometimes it’s safer to let things lie…

 

 

Review:

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh is a standalone thriller, which the author has become known for after her successful debut with I Let You Go.

Let Me Lie revolves around Anna Johnson, who lives with her partner, Mark and their baby, Ella.  Anna is still grieving over the death by suicide of her mother, which was a year ago. Her father also killed himself around 7 months prior to her mother’s death.  Anna just can’t get past the fact that both of her parents died the same way.  On the day of the anniversary of her mother’s death, she receives an anonymous note questioning that their deaths were suicide, which convinces Anna that both of them were murdered.

She goes to the police with the note, and a retired cop, who works at the police desk takes the note and says he will look into it.  Besides Anna, we also get the Pov of the cop, Murray, who upon researching the case, begins to believe she is right, that her parents were murdered.  Murray was a good cop, and we also get to see him with his wife, who fights off mental illness.  On her good days, she helps discuss the case with him, and this was a nice element to the story and investigation.

As Anna is determined to find the truth, she will receive a shock that will change the game.   To say too much more would be spoilers, and throughout the book, there are so many twists and surprises that will further change everything.  There are a number of other characters who are part of Anna’s life; Mark, her partner, who wants to marry her; Laura, who is a friend to the family; Billy, her uncle from her father’s side.   Who can Anna trust?  

What follows is an exciting and intense story that bordered a bit on the wild side with all those twists and turns. Anna, the main character all the way through, was in the middle of every revelation, that by the end, her own life was very much in danger.  At the same time, the story took a bit of an unrealistic feel, though it was very much a thriller. 

Let Me Lie was a dark thriller, lots of excitement, action  and game changers that made you constantly guess wrong, especially since for the most part, the other characters could not really be trusted.  If you love psychological thrillers, you can never go wrong reading Clare Mackintosh, though I will say I loved the first two books better.     

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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