Liz Between The Lines

    Oh that was horrible — 5 stars, please!  🌟  Firstly, I borrowed this from the Manchester City Library solely because Gillian Flynn was on the cover. I often see “perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn/Gone Girl” (which I am), but hardly ever see the good sis endorse work herself so that got me. Sarah Pinborough (another top author on my thriller list) also described the book as a “bistering satire of suburban life with serious emotional stakes. A fantastic literary thriller.” The book is described as a ruthless portrayal of suburbia that excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear. These are so intricately interwoven it’s difficult to accept the characters’ ills, and they were all grotesque, without at least trying to understand what makes them who they are. Sarah did an excellent job of depicting these complexities. This book also included a map of the neighbourhood, wh...

 I just got home from the launch of Angela Makholwa's latest book, The Reed Dance Stalker. This is a sequel to Red Ink, which I read a few years ago and will be on Showmax later this year. Now this is not just about the book but my experience at the launch.  Firstly, Karabo Kgoleng. Karabo is an award-winning broadcast and print journalist and was the interviewer on the book launch panel tonight. I absolutely love it when interviewers thoroughly engage with the author's work prior to the interviews because, not only does it show in the quality of the questions asked, but it also makes the entire event a pleasurable experience for all. Karabo steered the boat very well and kept us fully engaged with her interview style.  Angela prefaced the interview by mentioning that parts of our protagonist (Lucy) are borrowed from her own personality (disclaimer: she emphasised that very, very little parts), which brings up a pattern I have noticed from attending book launches. Authors...

 Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent I want to preface this post by stating that Liz Nugent is one of my favourite authors of all time, therefore read my thoughts below with more than un peu de sel (I'm learning French here - a pinch of salt), albeit warranted praise given the Irish author's first-class narrative skills. The book started with five pages of reviews and praise from other renown authors and not a single lie was uttered.  A supreme skill of the author is encapsulating a steady plot, not just to get the reader to a resolution at the end of the book, but also unravelling the main character on a journey through their life. In fact, the detail (or what we'd expect to be the killer plot twist) is usually provided upfront in the early stages of the book. In this story, we're told in the blurb already that Sally's father has died, and she has followed his instructions to the tee by putting his dead body out with the rubbish. We then follow Sally's life as ...

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson  I want to preface this by saying I picked this book off the shelf without reading the blurb or any reviews. That’s how much I believe in Peter’s thrillers and I was not disappointed. Abigail’s fairytale seems to begin when millionaire Bruce Lamb asks for her hand in marriage, but a drunken one-night stand before the wedding results in consequences she could not have anticipated and neither can she comprehend.  When the other party to the affair shows up at their expensive honeymoon resort, with intention to reunite, does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own?  To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen on the island. No one believes when she mentions things are amiss; not even her perfect rich husband. At first I was very impressed with Abigail’s almost criminal thinking; but somewhere along the line, she seemed to be lack...

An under appreciated gem in the reading community is secondhand bookstores. These stores are usually kept by the owners so there is a personal feel to them and you can walk out with an entire stack of books for less than R300. Most also allow you to return books and purchase others at a lower price. (This doesn’t apply to the hoarders like me though. I want to keep all my books.) The affordability and generally good service is a good selling point, but you’re guaranteed that at my favourite bookstore chain (Bargain Books) anyway. Like most readers, I love the scent of books a lot. I suspect that this scent, like wine, only gets better with age. When reading a new book, I find myself literally sticking my nose into the book to enjoy that scent but, secondhand books just jump at you. I’m currently reading Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult that I bought at a bookstore in the small town of Sabie (Mpumalanga) and the scent is so strong I don’t want to make Forty Winks tea because I’m worried i...

If you were given the opportunity to take a DNA test that reveals exactly who your DNA match is, would you take it? And if you were already in a relationship with someone, would you want to find out if the person is your DNA match? Let's say the person isn't your match, do you stay? Do you seek your match? How far would you be willing to go to find The One ? Judy's life feels stagnant so when conversations with her DNA match warm her intestines, she figures she has nothing to lose by flying across the world to be with him. Except - he doesn't know she's coming and he's not the only one who'll be surprised. When Christopher isn't killing women, he's either stalking them on apps or reading up on serial killers and mental illness. When he signed up for his DNA match, he did not expect to be completely distracted by her. Do opposites really attract? Also, what's the opposite of a serial killer? Mandy hadn't even spoken to her DNA match wh...