Review of 'The Secret' by Katerina Diamond

I'm a wimp when it comes to scary things, but thrillers I can *just* about cope with. The Secret totally pushed me out of my thriller comfort zone, but in a good way. It was shocking and gory and kinda reminded me of the thrill of watching CSI as a kid.

The Secret is set in Devon - somewhere that I'd always thought of as safe, but now will be looking at through a slightly different lens. DS Imogen Grey is determined to put her traumatic past behind her, but a new case threatens to make it resurface. Her old work partner Sam Brown is back to help out on a case. The one problem with this? Two years ago he spilled the beans about her pregnancy to some guys who attacked her, cutting her stomach up so that she loses the baby. 

With this incident fresh in her mind, Imogen finds herself becoming more suspicious of Sam. His girlfriend is an undercover cop who's gone missing, and as Imogen searched for the truth, she uncovers more secrets that Sam's left behind.

This was an absolute page turner that had me almost peeking out from behind my fingers as things got more and more gruesome throughout the book. There were some real twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and as soon as I finished the book I went out to buy Katerina's earlier book 'The Teacher'. It's SO rare that I like a book enough to do this, but I was totally wowed by 'The Secret'.

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Re-reading 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'

This has always been one of my favourites of the Harry Potter series, so when it came to rereading I was terrified that I'd hyped it up so much in my mind that it could only be a disappointment. It wasn't. I completely devoured this book and I don't think there's any other way to really read it. I mean, it's Harry Potter after all.

It did break my heart a little I won't lie. The last 100 pages or so had me going through a hurricane of emotions and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't okay to cry on a public bus over Harry Potter, even if the feels were getting to me. 

This book is where the whole series really takes off. You meet Sirius and get to finally learn the real story behind what happened on *that* night when Harry got his scar. and you get to feel ALL THE RAGE against Wormtail aka Scabbers aka a total scumbag. I'd forgotten almost all of Lupin's backstory and that crops up too. And then there's the utter RAGE when Snape cocks everything up at the end. Also, did I mention Buckbeak?

If you're going to (re)read just one of the HP books, make it this one. It's the last in the series before the books get real long, and it's the most intense of the first three. I love it so much and honestly would read it over and over and over again.

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Review of 'Silent Child' by Sarah A. Denzil

Is it me or are crime thrillers getting hella dark at the moment? Maybe I just haven't read enough in the past, but each one I come across feels a little traumatic at the moment. This book has had me feeling pretty fucked up for weeks now. The content was so twisted and thrilling and I had a couple of 'oh no NO NO NO' gut wrenching moments when I had to put the book down because it was just too tense.

I won't lie, it took me a little while to get into this one. I found it so hard to relate to the main character, but once I was in I was hooked. There were so many WTF moments and the plot was so good that overlooking her character was something I'm glad I did.

Silent Child is all about a child who comes back from the dead. When Sarah's village floods, her son Aiden is swept away in the water: the only thing he leaves behind is his little red coat. Fast forward ten years and Sarah and Rob, Aiden's father, are no longer together. She's created a new life with her new husband Jake, and has a new child on the way.

Everything's going pretty well, until Aiden reappears. Staggering out of the local woods, Aiden is traumatised and cannot speak. Emma is forced to face the fact that her child is back, but she doesn't know who he is anymore.

Trying to find out what has happened over the last ten years leads Emma to some very disturbing findings. What did happen to Aiden? Who took him? And who exactly can she trust? 

This book is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It's so graphic and dark that it really is not suitable for younger readers either. But, if you're a fan of dark thrillers, then this is something that you should give a go!

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Review of 'Little Men' by Louisa May Alcott

Confession time: I've never read Little Women. I owned a truly ugly version of it up until about a year ago and it totally put me off the book. BUT, I have a hella cute vintage copy of Little Men that I just couldn't resist.

Louisa May Alcott's writing has a traditional storytelling vibe (shocking, I know), that reminds me of Robinson Crusoe, Little House on the Prairie or any of Enid Blyton's fiction. It was cute and childish and comforting. There were a whole load of skewed 'this is what girls do vs this is what boys do' outdated sexist chat, but for its time, it wasn't an overly restrictive view at all.

Little Men is all about a couple who run a boarding school for 12 boys. They open up their home to both orphaned children and those whose parents want them to get a good education. Each boy (and a coupe of girls too) are treated as a member of the family. Through a variety of lessons, both practical and theoretical, the mother and father help the children to improve in all aspects of their lives.

Each chapter contains a story about one of the children's mischievous adventures, and offers a resolve to what happens that makes the child a better parent. I loved reading what the boys got up to, and I think this book would make a fab read for a child before bedtime.  

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