diaryofdifference's reviews
951 reviews
The Shadow, by Melanie Raabe
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
I loved the concept of this book, but the execution and the final reveals were a bit underwhelming. I was hoping for a spookier reveal, a few more plot twists in the end, and we didn't even get to see what happens with some characters at the end, so there was no real closure. That being said, I was invested in the story and was wondering all the time what will Nora do.
Full review to come soon.
Full review to come soon.
Seven Percent of Ro Devereux, by Ellen O'Clover
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Away with the Penguins, by Hazel Prior
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Away With The Penguins took me on such a journey, a winter adventure that I never knew I needed!
“There are three types of people in this world, Very. There are those who make the world worse, those who make no difference and those who make the world better. Be one who makes the world better, if you can.”
I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to read Away With The Penguins. I knew I wanted to read it during the winter season, though, and I am glad I did. The scenes of Antarctica and the stories about the penguins, especially out penguin Pip (Patrick) made me glad to be wrapped in a warm blanket.
Veronica is such a funny character! I warmed up to her instantly, and I think if she were to ever team up with the gang from “The Thursday Murder Club”, she’s be a remarkable addition to the team. I loved how opening an old box and ready her old diary set her on a few new adventures that changed her life. It was interesting also having Patrick’s point of view in the book – Veronica’s grandson. There was an incredible contrast of lifestyles and personalities between him and granny. It created a realistic atmosphere and opened up a mystery I enjoyed reading so much.
Antarctica was beautifully described and when Veronica was there with the scientist, I could almost feel as if I was there with them too. With Veronica’s arrival, it was interesting to see how the scientists accepted her arrival and got used to her as time went on, but weren’t too keen at first. Their dynamic changed and Hazel wrote this amazingly. Away With The Penguins took me on such a journey, a winter adventure that I never knew I needed! There was a lot of raw emotion, the guilt of time lost, of the things that never happened, of the life that just keeps on going and the years pass on by.
I couldn’t help by feel the loss that Veronica felt, reading about her part, and seeing how it intertwined with her present. It was incredible, though, her stubbornness to keep fighting and try to do good in the world. Her resilience. Alongside her, I loved watching Patrick grow as a person too – his journey was also not very easy. But together, these two polar opposites (pun intended) found each other when they needed a companion the most. The messages this book sends are powerful; about the penguins, the extinction of other animals, saving the planet. But also about love, life, joy, being brave and being one of those people that tries to make the world a better place. Avery warm recommendation from me!
“There are three types of people in this world, Very. There are those who make the world worse, those who make no difference and those who make the world better. Be one who makes the world better, if you can.”
I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to read Away With The Penguins. I knew I wanted to read it during the winter season, though, and I am glad I did. The scenes of Antarctica and the stories about the penguins, especially out penguin Pip (Patrick) made me glad to be wrapped in a warm blanket.
Veronica is such a funny character! I warmed up to her instantly, and I think if she were to ever team up with the gang from “The Thursday Murder Club”, she’s be a remarkable addition to the team. I loved how opening an old box and ready her old diary set her on a few new adventures that changed her life. It was interesting also having Patrick’s point of view in the book – Veronica’s grandson. There was an incredible contrast of lifestyles and personalities between him and granny. It created a realistic atmosphere and opened up a mystery I enjoyed reading so much.
Antarctica was beautifully described and when Veronica was there with the scientist, I could almost feel as if I was there with them too. With Veronica’s arrival, it was interesting to see how the scientists accepted her arrival and got used to her as time went on, but weren’t too keen at first. Their dynamic changed and Hazel wrote this amazingly. Away With The Penguins took me on such a journey, a winter adventure that I never knew I needed! There was a lot of raw emotion, the guilt of time lost, of the things that never happened, of the life that just keeps on going and the years pass on by.
I couldn’t help by feel the loss that Veronica felt, reading about her part, and seeing how it intertwined with her present. It was incredible, though, her stubbornness to keep fighting and try to do good in the world. Her resilience. Alongside her, I loved watching Patrick grow as a person too – his journey was also not very easy. But together, these two polar opposites (pun intended) found each other when they needed a companion the most. The messages this book sends are powerful; about the penguins, the extinction of other animals, saving the planet. But also about love, life, joy, being brave and being one of those people that tries to make the world a better place. Avery warm recommendation from me!
Murder On The Christmas Express, by Alexandra Benedict
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
All aboard a cozy murder mystery on the Christmas Express. Think Agatha Christie meets anagrams, hidden word searches, a recipe and a pub quiz. It’s the perfect mysterious festive read.
Synopsis
Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.
Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?
My Thoughts:
“That was the magic of trains. The world seemed to pass you by while you were still, yet somehow you got to where you wanted to go. If only life were like that.”
I enjoyed this book so much, and reading it made me feel the Christmas spirit this year. It’s my first read in December and I couldn’t be happier to start my festive year with this title. The synopsis promises a similar plot to the famous “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, it was probably inspired by the title, and someone dies on a train so everyone is a suspect, but this is where the similarities end. The plot continues to thicken and no one can be trusted. Even Roz, the former detective, starts to make people question her integrity. I quite liked the open interrogation and the many twists that happened at the very end.
“Make lots of mistakes, Rosalind. Make them frequently. And do not give up who you are to be someone else, or someone you think you should be. It never works. Find your strengths and use them. You have many. No one can figure things out like you can. No one stands up for victims like you do.”
My favourite part was how interactive Murder on the Christmas Express is. I tried so hard to find all the anagrams, but I didn’t have too much luck, without knowing what page or chapter to look for. However, I thoroughly enjoyed finding all of Kate Bush’s songs that were hiding in plain sight. I also enjoyed the Christmas pub quiz and I will definitely be borrowing some questions this year.
When it came to the ending of the book and the killer, I wasn’t surprised.
I had my suspicions on a group of people, and it tied in nicely. A lot of signs and clues were already around, so it didn’t feel like too much of a surprise. I would have loved to get to know some of the characters more, and add a few of their secrets to thicken the plot a bit more. Some of the insight information that Roz received could have added to the suspense. As a cozy murder mystery, Murder on the Christmas Express made me feel exactly how I wanted it to; excited for Christmas, entertained and engrossed in solving a lot of mysteries. If you know a reader, this will be their perfect Christmas gift for them.
“Memories are like a tray full of water. They might seem clear to you, but they’re coloured by your own ink, your schema, made up of your past experiences, the way you view the world, your own sense of time, cultural identity and values, and so many other factors. If you lay a sheet of paper on top of the tray, then it will be one colour, one set of memories. But everyone else’s memories are shaded with their own ink, and if two or more of your memories mix, then they marble together and cannot be separated. If you lay a piece of paper on top, a very different image will emerge from the first. Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory. No one will give quite the same version of the same event.”
The Summer Job, by Lizzy Dent
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Inside Job: Treating Murderers and Sex Offenders. The Life of a Prison Psychologist., by Dr Rebecca Myers
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.0
The Politician, by Tim Sullivan
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
With “The Politician”, I enjoyed the book from the first chapter until the very last. The gathering of the evidence at the beginning was intriguing, making us aware of everything that is found at the scene and creating a certain scenario. I loved the abundance of suspects that this book had. With the suspect being a retired politician and a social media figure with a lot of following, it opened up a can of worms when it came to suspects. I also loved the involvement of other people in this case, and seeing some new faces at the police station.
DS Cross was the star of the book again, unsurprisingly. I just love his method of gathering evidence and eliminating suspects. The case was quite twisted with a lot going on, and he managed to stay on top of it, with Ottey always there to support. I enjoyed Carsons’s downfall too - it was funny how he always does the wrong thing. Maybe he learns something this time around and changes in the next book. Family relationships were a big topic in this book and it was interesting to see different family dynamics. Even DS Cross had his own family mystery to unravel.
“For someone who struggled to make relationships with the living, he had no such problems doing so with the dead.”
The pacing of the book wasn’t always great, but there was new evidence frequently enough to keep me going. I feel that involving a bit of a mafia family from Albania was a bit cliche, but being born in Macedonia and having seen some things in my life, the description wasn’t too far off.
I wasn’t surprised by the reveal - I could spot the signs from the second interaction. However, there wasn’t only one mystery to unravel this time. As we keep reading, and clues are being discovered, there are multiple things that require DS Cross’s attention and I was here for it. “The Politician” kept me entertained, and I never thought I would say that sentence in my life. But it did, I really enjoyed it, and same as “The Patient” I warmly recommend it. It’s not always that you have a DS on the spectrum that warms up to you as a reader as DS Cross did to me. His personality adds a uniqueness to a mystery book, and his methods are so amazing to read. Now I will have to get the first two books of the The DS Cross Mysteries series to complete my collection and eagerly wait to read about DS Cross’s next case.
DS Cross was the star of the book again, unsurprisingly. I just love his method of gathering evidence and eliminating suspects. The case was quite twisted with a lot going on, and he managed to stay on top of it, with Ottey always there to support. I enjoyed Carsons’s downfall too - it was funny how he always does the wrong thing. Maybe he learns something this time around and changes in the next book. Family relationships were a big topic in this book and it was interesting to see different family dynamics. Even DS Cross had his own family mystery to unravel.
“For someone who struggled to make relationships with the living, he had no such problems doing so with the dead.”
The pacing of the book wasn’t always great, but there was new evidence frequently enough to keep me going. I feel that involving a bit of a mafia family from Albania was a bit cliche, but being born in Macedonia and having seen some things in my life, the description wasn’t too far off.
I wasn’t surprised by the reveal - I could spot the signs from the second interaction. However, there wasn’t only one mystery to unravel this time. As we keep reading, and clues are being discovered, there are multiple things that require DS Cross’s attention and I was here for it. “The Politician” kept me entertained, and I never thought I would say that sentence in my life. But it did, I really enjoyed it, and same as “The Patient” I warmly recommend it. It’s not always that you have a DS on the spectrum that warms up to you as a reader as DS Cross did to me. His personality adds a uniqueness to a mystery book, and his methods are so amazing to read. Now I will have to get the first two books of the The DS Cross Mysteries series to complete my collection and eagerly wait to read about DS Cross’s next case.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
The Patient, by Tim Sullivan
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed “The Patient” very much, and it pleasantly surprised me on numerous occasions. Before I start, I should note that this book can easily be a standalone. I didn’t read the first 2 books of the DS Cross Mysteries series, and didn’t feel like anything was missing.
DS George Cross is a character that I warmed up to instantly. We need more characters on the spectrum in books. His personality shined through the pages and that only serves to prove the amazing writing skills of Tim Sullivan.
For a 400 page book, the pace is quite fast, although I struggled a bit around the middle. The pace at the end was incredible and I couldn’t put the book down. In regards to the investigation, I was intrigued by the unorthodox method of eliminating the suspects. Usually, we have a lot of suspects and near the end, they are still around as possibilities. However, in this book we don’t go by the rules. The suspects were eliminated one by one, which narrowed down the suspect list significantly as we were getting closer to the end of the book. I found this refreshing and welcomed it, although it did make me expect more plot twists.
At the very end, that last clue that was somewhat crucial to the case – I think it was very coincidentally discovered. And knowing DS Cross, it doesn’t seem like him to not explore that avenue much earlier. But aside from that, I really loved the case, the investigation, the interviews and the resolution. The book touches on some very sensitive topics on drug addiction, suicide, euthanasia, grief and therapy. I learnt a lot whilst reading the book and I always cherish that when it happens. “The Patient” was a clever adventure with a brutal twist and a thriller I enjoyed devouring. This one will keep me tinkering over it for quite some time.
DS George Cross is a character that I warmed up to instantly. We need more characters on the spectrum in books. His personality shined through the pages and that only serves to prove the amazing writing skills of Tim Sullivan.
For a 400 page book, the pace is quite fast, although I struggled a bit around the middle. The pace at the end was incredible and I couldn’t put the book down. In regards to the investigation, I was intrigued by the unorthodox method of eliminating the suspects. Usually, we have a lot of suspects and near the end, they are still around as possibilities. However, in this book we don’t go by the rules. The suspects were eliminated one by one, which narrowed down the suspect list significantly as we were getting closer to the end of the book. I found this refreshing and welcomed it, although it did make me expect more plot twists.
At the very end, that last clue that was somewhat crucial to the case – I think it was very coincidentally discovered. And knowing DS Cross, it doesn’t seem like him to not explore that avenue much earlier. But aside from that, I really loved the case, the investigation, the interviews and the resolution. The book touches on some very sensitive topics on drug addiction, suicide, euthanasia, grief and therapy. I learnt a lot whilst reading the book and I always cherish that when it happens. “The Patient” was a clever adventure with a brutal twist and a thriller I enjoyed devouring. This one will keep me tinkering over it for quite some time.