beau_reads_books's reviews
210 reviews

Yeeeaaah, I’m not so sure about this one. It reads as problematic Amelia Bedelia but with murder? I was excited to grab this from the library because I see it vanish off of our mystery shelves at work. Ended up being less entertaining and more… mean? I have no idea how this hit top place on Goodreads Thrillers list of 2022 and I feel like someone should probably be in trouble for that.

Portraying what seems to be a neurodivergent protagonist, and laying those pretty trope-y details on terribly thick, felt like a weird creative choice from the author. I understand there are mixed reviews on the strengths and weaknesses identifying Molly as ND or spectrum aligned, but the absence of any meaningful discourse (which I think was maybe the intent) felt really hollow and, at some points, malevolent. Also, the racial stereotypes?? Lot going on here and none of it was good.

I don’t think it’s fair to place “Maid” in the locked room mystery category: the plot began there but really derailed in a distracting manner. It’s muddled, flimsy, and, honest to goodness, batshit bizarre in places and not in the fun way. Even the “big reveal” felt disingenuous.

1/5 This didn’t feel very good to read at all.

All my worries wash away as I open the book. I am immediately transfixed, awash with glee. What sort of trouble are my friends in the Thursday Murder Club going to get into this time? I already know this will be the highlight of my week. I could get a job promotion, win the lotto, etc., but this is my peak. I finish the first chapter and I am ravenous.

Action! Rheumatoid Arthritis! Not knowing how smartphones work! Murder! Octogenarians dating! What more do you need? I lost count of how many times I was overtook with giggles, kicking my feet around, full of unabashed glee. And then, just a few chapters later, my eyes well up with sympathy and grief. Something about Osman’s prose, character creation and dialogue just reaches the inner corners of my heart.

I’ve never once picked up a series and liked the following book more than the previous but here we are: the hits just keep coming out of Richard Osman; they just keep getting better. And now I have to wait until September to keep this win train going. Whatever will I do?!

5/5 I talk about these books once a day and I feel like it’s starting to ruin a few relationships but I don’t care.

“You can wrap a shotgun in the flowers, but that doesn’t make the blast less lethal.”

This was a challenging, brutal read for multitudes of reasons. Half crime noir, half supernatural horror, Iglesias nails down the disorienting feeling of reading gritty and dark situations in a very matter of fact tone. Poignant imagery, mixed with shifts in languages, the writing really plays into a very specific brand of tension. And, not beating around the bush here, this book is just all-encompassing, omnipresent violence. It’s clunky at times, and maybe a bit hard to navigate, but it’s pretty easy to see that was the point.

It’s hard to read books with hard endings. It’s hard to read books with choking tendrils of hurt that touch every single character in varying ways. Parts of this book feel like being too close to a big, unfamiliar barking dog and the confusing clarity when it stops.

I think it’s crucial to read any kind of literature, especially horror, from underrepresented authors that are breaking down the hegemonic pillars that keep the art exclusive and inaccessible. The reviewers saying this book is too “woke” are fucking morons.

5/5 for the heart and soul of horror.

“But like I said already, I hunt monsters.
And I got a sword that sings.”

Holy hell what a powerhouse. Visceral, mournful, and courageous. A perfect blend of historical and supernatural fiction, a good choice for fans of “Lovecraft Country” and the like. I am absolutely flabbergasted I did not read this sooner. More than literature itself, “Ring Shout” is a battle cry.

Coming in at just under 200 pages, it is safe and easy to say that I would have inhaled a tome of over 800 just to experience the feeling this book gave me on a deeper level. Novellas are accessible and fun to read but I would gladly have read “Ring Shout” for weeks. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long, long time.

5/5 absolute perfection.

A trans haunted house story? You know I’m there. Startlingly subversive, powerful and transgressive, “Tell Me I’m Worthless” exemplifies the dawning of a new age in horror lit: modern themes built on a tried and true foundation. Gender violence, racism, fascism, antisemitism, gang’s all here.

Rumfitt adeptly crafts multidimensional characters to an eerie level. Very, very good at making me sympathize with people I don’t want to. The personification and anthropomorphism of the haunted house rockets this story right through the ceiling.

A certain drawback of the often looping, stream of consciousness prose style utilized at times in “Tell Me” is a general, yet sticking, confusion. There’s a lot going on here and if you lose your momentum it’s hard to get back.

It’s pretty safe to say I have never read anything quite like this. I’m stoked to see what else this author is going to cook up.

4/5 for one of the most uniquely grisly scenes I will read all year.

Again, I am uncertain that I’ll continue the series but I just keep picking them up. I really enjoy 80% of the plots and twisting reveals in the mystery itself, but the main characters drive me up a wall. I guess it is something to say that they’re complex but it really feels like the author is narrowing all of the strong women characters down to this “when will he notice me” arc. And the “he” in that statement is not a catch! All of the potential in the characters is taken away and it just turns into a slog of weird, patronizing, misogynistic bullshit.


3/5 because the magician mystery concept is still super cool but all the gals fussing over the main detective nincompoop hurts the story.

I do love the “documentary film makers bite off a bit more than they can chew” concept to pieces and “The Lost Village” did certainly tickle that fancy. As the thriller/horror genre is often rife with hidden meanings, this book is about a lot of things. However, I found that if you don’t want to dig much deeper than the surface, the story will carry you just fine.

Saying that, there’s a bit here that readers need to ignore to really immerse themselves. I think the characters could have been fleshed more without it completely detracting from the story. We are given enough for connection and relation but that’s about it. The timeline/time passed from then to now is a bit long for the ending to really feel believable. But, I’m not going to nitpick what is a fine book.

4/5 it’s sort of like a found footage film but not and that vibe just feels right.

Ho-ly shiyet. What a blast! Wicked from the start, “The Devil Crept In” had me staying up into the wee hours just to get to the end: I needed to know what was going to happen next!

Visceral imagery, compelling character delivery, past and present story merging together in one brutal climax, all compounded into a hellish and terrifying novel! Every paragraph was a punch to the gut, following the young narrator along and just hoping for the best possible outcome but knowing nothing good around the corner. Reading this was like driving next to a car with a blown tire but their windows are up and you can’t get their attention.

As much as I couldn’t put it down I did struggle with some of the content. As I’ve been warned, a lot of Ahlborn’s writing includes some grim, bleak, and unsettling concepts. “Devil” was no different. It packed a punch I will remember. Little bit like if “Rosemary’s Baby” had a modern sequel.

5/5 This was my first Ahlborn and definitely won’t be my last.

Strong and hearty debut novel from Wurth. A ghost story, a family story, and a Native story all in one. For one thing, I’m not going to get tired of her writing voice: at times it felt like she was telling me a secret, soft and mischievous. Even in the starkest moments, Wurth weaves a comforting warmth into the words on page and it made the book that much more special to read.

I did think the book lacked a certain intensity. It ambled. There was a lot of power in the story but the details kind of crapped out at important places. This book could have and should have packed a bigger punch. There’s a fine line between being conversational but also poignant and I think it just missed the mark for me.

3.5/5 rounded to four because I did find it powerful and sharp and I’m looking forward to what comes next from her.

The new 3d rendered images of the Titanic shipwreck spurred me to finally pick this one up and woooof am I glad I did. Numerous times throughout this book I caught myself thinking, “I am scared. I am being scared now!”

“From Below” is not a cloying, punishing, malevolent dark smear that will plague me for the rest of my life like other horror novels I’ve read (Lookin’ at you, “The Deep”.) The ending was more light-hearted than I prefer but honestly, I’m not complaining on this one.

Coates expertly creates tension through setting descriptions, plot construction, and dialogue cues. Let’s be real: It’s a scary story about a shipwreck investigation. You throw in a couple combative characters, scary past tense story line, and some spooky shit and I’m gonna gobble that up like potato salad. Has it been done before? I’m not going to say no. Does Coates freaking nail this? Absolutely.

5/5 I’m never gonna learn how to swim and I’m sure as shit never going on a cruise, but I knew that before this book.