Thriller Reviews – Page 2

Stay Home is a mystery thriller which evolves around London during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. It centres around two main characters; Caitlin a mother of two and wife, who has been having an affair with the victim Daniel, and Ali, a just-about-functioning, lonely alcoholic whose main hobby is neighbourhood watch.

When Caitlin discovers Daniel dead one morning when she is supposed to be on her ‘daily run’ she is reluctant to tell a soul. After all she is breaking the lockdown rules, not to even mention reporting the incident to the police will unlock the truth of her affair and therefore she risks losing her family as a result of her deceptive secret. However, little does Caitlin know she is being watched.

I was really excited to read this book as it was the first mystery I have read which centres around the pandemic we are living through. Although, I was nervous- was it a bit soon? I have to say the bravery of the author did pay off!

Admittedly, I did find the start slow. However, the pace of the storyline started to pick up and before I knew it I was racing through the book, finding it difficult to put down as twists and turns occurred. I have to say I particularly loved the character development of Ali, Ava Pierce led me to really emphasise with her pain, and I enjoyed the growth of Ali and Caitlin’s ‘chalk and cheese’ companionship throughout the novel and how ultimately they were not very different from each other at all.

Without giving any spoilers, I did find the ending a tad predictable. Perhaps I just read too many thrillers and my guessing game has got good? As a result of this, was Stay Home the best thriller I have read? Unfortunately, not. However, that does not undermine how much I enjoyed the journey of the novel and I would give it a solid 3 stars.

Overall, a very current read, relatable and full of twists and turns.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shame On You, Amy Heydenrych

‘Shame On You’ tells the story of social media sensation, Holly who is an influencer, the face of clean eating, and a cancer survivor. One evening Holly meets a man in a coffee shop. Whilst he seems friendly at first, the evening ends when he brutally attacks Holly. He makes it clear he knows who she is, yet she doesn’t know him. Who is this man and why did he attack Holly?

As the investigation follows. Holly’s life begins to spiral out of control. This is a story of how one tiny lie can have a rippling effect on your entire life.

Having read ‘The Pact’ by Amy Heydenrych earlier this year, there was no question as to whether I was going to give ‘Shame on You’ a go and it for sure did not disappoint. What I loved about ‘The Pact’ was how niche and well researched it was and it came as no surprise that Amy is a ghost writer for tech companies. This is the same for ‘Shame on You’. The book surrounds itself around social media, the influencer culture and how we ‘trial people’ by social media. I have not come across many thrillers which are as modern and relatable as this thriller was.

I feel like I had a complete love/hate relationship with the main character. I felt bad for her because she was bullied at school and had a difficult home life. Yet, I hated her because of what she did. The same went for the man who hurt her. He did bad, but he lost his mum when he was young, he wasn’t allowed to grieve, and it was obvious he needed help and support. It wasn’t as clear cut as good vs. bad and I think Amy got this across to us very well. There was one quote in particular which was about women fitting in on social media and how if they don’t fit in then it can be seen as an invitation to harassment. This quote literally blew me away as it was very relatable and describes perfectly what we are up against in the influencer world. Whilst what Holly had done can be argued as inexcusable, these words provided an explanation for why she felt so under pressure to do what it is she did.

Overall, great themes and it really offered food for thought in today’s social media obsessed society.

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