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rhifallows's review against another edition
4.0
I told you I was deep into my thriller era this summer so here we are with another thriller review! This is one that I randomly picked up in Tesco for no other reason than I thought the premise was interesting and I wanted to buy myself a book! The Clubcard deals are too good to turn down! And I really bloody enjoyed this one.
The Murder List is centred around Mary, an American freelance journalist living in the UK. The daughter of a well know author who died when she was younger, she is no stranger to tragedy, but is now living a fairly quiet and peaceful life. That is until she receives a Christmas gift from an unknown sender that contains a diary and within in, a list of people, dates and places. It gets sinister when she realises the first entry is a lady that has already been murdered. It gets more sinister when she realises that her own name and location is the final entry in the diary.
A super cool premise which catapults us into the action and the pace was kept up throughout. I kept thinking I had it all figured out and on numerous occasions I thought "this is so obvious", but no, I had it wrong every single time. I love a thriller that’s so twisty that I just keep getting it wrong but isn’t soooo far fetched that I can’t get on board with it. IMO this toed the line perfectly.
So yeah, thrillers are my bag at the moment and this was one I v much enjoyed. I shall be checking out more from Jackie Kabler for sure!
The Murder List is centred around Mary, an American freelance journalist living in the UK. The daughter of a well know author who died when she was younger, she is no stranger to tragedy, but is now living a fairly quiet and peaceful life. That is until she receives a Christmas gift from an unknown sender that contains a diary and within in, a list of people, dates and places. It gets sinister when she realises the first entry is a lady that has already been murdered. It gets more sinister when she realises that her own name and location is the final entry in the diary.
A super cool premise which catapults us into the action and the pace was kept up throughout. I kept thinking I had it all figured out and on numerous occasions I thought "this is so obvious", but no, I had it wrong every single time. I love a thriller that’s so twisty that I just keep getting it wrong but isn’t soooo far fetched that I can’t get on board with it. IMO this toed the line perfectly.
So yeah, thrillers are my bag at the moment and this was one I v much enjoyed. I shall be checking out more from Jackie Kabler for sure!
sarahlee2000's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
sharada_mohan's review against another edition
5.0
Clever, crafty & trickery at its best! I am obsessed!
With the approval of the book “The Trial” by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, I stumbled upon their #TheMurderListReadAlong & got to join their whatsapp group. I am so glad I did!
I absolutely loved every bit of it.
Thanks NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the e-ARC & the opportunity to read it with the #ReadAlong!
Synopsis -
Mary, a crime fiction writer receives a blank diary as a Christmas present. Having ignored it for long, she casually opens it before disposing it off. She sees some notes to murder a few people, on certain dates, at a particular place. To her horror, she herself is the last one in the entry. She now has to live with a clock dangling over her head, counting down until she becomes the victim.
Review -
The narrative is primarily of Mary’s POV, but the addition of the police perspective was smartly done by Kabler. This worked best in keeping the boredom at bay, having the curious cat coming back for more.
Kabler’s mastery in deceit & misdirection really shines through the plot construction. The mazes she weaves into her plot lead the readers astray, grappling with clues & red herrings.
With every murder that’s committed exactly as promised with ultimate perfection by this killer, the intensity builds & builds, leaving the police clueless every time, until in no time it is Mary’s turn.
Just when you think everything’s settled & you could breathe a sigh of relief, there comes another shocker of a revelation, smacking right in your face!
With my theories & speculations derailed time & again, I couldn’t help but laugh at how foolish I’d been, getting duped like a moron.
I can guarantee as a regular thriller reader, that you will NOT see those twists coming. You might as well get knocked over by a feather.
If you a fan of psychological thrillers, that is unputdownable & transcends your mind’s workings, then you will do yourself a favor & pick this up! I’d say run & not walk!
With the approval of the book “The Trial” by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, I stumbled upon their #TheMurderListReadAlong & got to join their whatsapp group. I am so glad I did!
I absolutely loved every bit of it.
Thanks NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the e-ARC & the opportunity to read it with the #ReadAlong!
Synopsis -
Mary, a crime fiction writer receives a blank diary as a Christmas present. Having ignored it for long, she casually opens it before disposing it off. She sees some notes to murder a few people, on certain dates, at a particular place. To her horror, she herself is the last one in the entry. She now has to live with a clock dangling over her head, counting down until she becomes the victim.
Review -
The narrative is primarily of Mary’s POV, but the addition of the police perspective was smartly done by Kabler. This worked best in keeping the boredom at bay, having the curious cat coming back for more.
Kabler’s mastery in deceit & misdirection really shines through the plot construction. The mazes she weaves into her plot lead the readers astray, grappling with clues & red herrings.
With every murder that’s committed exactly as promised with ultimate perfection by this killer, the intensity builds & builds, leaving the police clueless every time, until in no time it is Mary’s turn.
Just when you think everything’s settled & you could breathe a sigh of relief, there comes another shocker of a revelation, smacking right in your face!
With my theories & speculations derailed time & again, I couldn’t help but laugh at how foolish I’d been, getting duped like a moron.
I can guarantee as a regular thriller reader, that you will NOT see those twists coming. You might as well get knocked over by a feather.
If you a fan of psychological thrillers, that is unputdownable & transcends your mind’s workings, then you will do yourself a favor & pick this up! I’d say run & not walk!
jadesaunders72's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nixbix_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fast paced wild ride! There were plenty of twists & red herrings that had me suspecting almost everyone in Mary’s life. This was a story where I never guessed who the killer was, so when that was revealed, my jaw dropped. I really enjoyed the build up & tension in this - one random person being killed a month, and the police knowing the first name & city of the victim but not being able to do much to stop it. Seeing both Mary’s perspective as the months passed as well as that of the police from the four cities made that tension all the more palpable. I was hooked right from the start & was on the edge of my seat for the entire time.
georginamay22's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A good bedtime read. A little predictable at times and quite unlikable characters that try to justify their actions badly.
lbettsyy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
cleg11's review against another edition
5.0
My Recommendation
Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.
Mary receives a blank diary as a present. Little does she know it contains the details of murders that will happen on the 1st of every month, until she opens it at the end of January. She realises a murder has already been committed and another 3 are scheduled Jane - 1st February, David - 1st March and Mary - 1st April, Can she find out if there is a killer out there before her murder is scheduled for?
My first book by Jackie and couldn’t put it down.
Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.
Mary receives a blank diary as a present. Little does she know it contains the details of murders that will happen on the 1st of every month, until she opens it at the end of January. She realises a murder has already been committed and another 3 are scheduled Jane - 1st February, David - 1st March and Mary - 1st April, Can she find out if there is a killer out there before her murder is scheduled for?
My first book by Jackie and couldn’t put it down.
anna_w_o's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
2.5
Way too slow, too much detail about every little thing. Predictable
champagnepr0blem's review against another edition
3.0
Some good twists and turns but honestly not sure if it's as neat as I'd want it to be idk