Liz Between The Lines

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...

Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse.  Lily’s childhood was not easy but getting out of small Maine and moving to Boston, coupled with a lot of hard work, has made her the bold businesswoman she is. Merely hours after fleeing her father’s funeral, Lily Bloom meets the unrealistically attractive neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid, on the rooftop of a building in Boston and when the spark between them blazes, nothing could be better. Not only is Ryle attractive and smart, but he’s also confident, compassionate and caring – well most times. His aversion to romantic relationships is affirmed when their relationship is threatened by the resurfacing of Atlas, Lily’s first love.  Whenever we hear about a woman being abused (which happens way too often), the question “why doesn’t she leave?” is always posed. Besides the risk of being killed for leaving and the threat of financial insecurity, Colleen also explores another factor we often forget to consider when looking at domes...

I usually avoid or get bored by anything set before the 1990s, so I have absolutely no idea how this Historical Fiction novel made it onto my ‘to be read’ pile. I was shocked when I read the first few pages and realized it was set shortly after world war 2, but could not abandon the network.  Charlotte, or Charlie as she prefers, visited England with her mother to sort out her ‘Little Problem’. In Southampton, Charlie is haunted by the memories of her closest cousin who disappeared in the country during the second world war. Charlotte meets Eve, an ex-spy, and her ex-con (I’m not sure how I feel about this word) acquaintance, and the unlikely trio sets out on adventure to find Charlie’s long-lost cousin.  Recounts of the first world war from Eve show how violently wars ruined people. Those who survived the war were emotionally killed by the grief and the trauma. Kate Quinn based The Alice Network on the story of a true war heroine who showed that women were at t...

Disclaimer: I am just an avid thriller and suspense reader; not an expert. This recipe is based on nothing but my observations and what I like when reading. Suspense, Crime or Mystery Thriller books are some of the highest earning genres of books (2nd only to Romance/Erotica). With so many books already published, how do authors still manage to write bestsellers? I've decided to compile a recipe from what I've observed from a few of my favourite authors. 1. UNRELIABLE NARRATOR  This is the main ingredient in The Perfect Thriller recipe. Unreliable first person narrators do not necessarily lie (except Amy Dunn from Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl) but give the reader just omit enough material information to steer the reader in the direction they want them to go. Your narrator must be pretty convincing for this to work. 2. TRUST and SECRETS I love a mess. Fragile relationships between the characters due to a lack of trust or keeping secrets from each other helps drive th...

Day 11 of Lockdown and 5 books later, I've just finished Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough. This is the second thriller I've read by Sarah. (The first was Behind Her Eyes - another thriller I've recently discussed with 2 friends and still enjoyed.) Lisa has lived a sheltered life, constantly looking over her shoulder, for the past 10 years with just her teenage daughter (Ava), her best friend (Marilyn) and her job for company. Lisa's overprotective parenting style strains the mother-daughter relationship, but if Ava knew what Lisa's history entailed, she'd understand. Ava thinks she's the most mature 16 year old woman and the rest of her friendship circle is simply childish - at least that's what he tells her. He is just one of Ava's many secrets, vaguely shared with her best friend Jodie. The sassy Marilyn has been Lisa's pillar of strength, both in and outside the workplace, for as long as they've known each other. Lisa and her ...

The beautiful Bontle Tau has Johannesburg’s most influential men dancing on the palm of her hand in this hilarious South African novel. Competition is tough as they, unknowingly, compete to pay for her penthouse, pay for her cars, local and international getaways as well as give her stipend to live on. Other than focusing on ensuring she always looks Instagram perfect, no matter the cost or circumstance, Bontle also directs her attention (well, sometimes) on her start-up business while simultaneously dealing with her ex-husband-to-be and healing from childhood and family trauma. Bontle’s live-for-today attitude might get her through the short term but could be detrimental in the long term.  Like most of my favourite first-person narrators, Bontle is as unreliable as they come. However, her interactive narration feels as though she’s talking directly to the reader and Angela Makholwa’s witty style of writing leaves you laughing in disbelief. As much as I enjoye...

I was on a quest to find African literature so I visited the City of Cape Town Library (for the first time in almost 5 years) and created a library card. On Black Sisters' Street was the first book that caught my attention. On Black Sisters'  Street is centred around four women doing their best to survive in Europe by opening their bodies to clients but their souls to no one - not even each other. The violent murder of one of the ladies draws the surviving sisters together, thereby forcing them to unravel lifelong secrets they've never said out loud to each other. Ama who ran away from an abusive and traumatic home; Sisi, an unemployed graduate, tired of an unambitious life; Efe, a young mom abandoned by the much older father of her son and Joyce who thought she had found a reason to live again but only gained betrayal which led her to Zuidsusterstraat . A few trigger warnings: rape and blatant misogyny. Although I found it uncomfortable, the hatred of women by...