#mystery book

[emilysidhe]

There was a book I read in high school that I remember as being the only book I’ve ever read that could accurately be described as a mystery novel where the mystery never gets solved.

I don’t remember the title, but it was about the (fictional) last woman to be executed by hanging in England. In the novel, she had killed her younger sister, and the book was from the POV of their now adult niece (their brother’s daughter). Years after the execution, a nonfiction writer was attempting to interview surviving family members to write a book about the case, and they were circling the wagons, but also discussing the case themselves and the niece was trying to piece together what she thought about it.

Spoilers for this unknown book, but the real mystery was not what happened (the older sister’s guilt was never in doubt), but why she had done it. I think the older sister’s name might have been Vera? Anyway, Vera killed her younger sister after the sister (who had married a lord and discovered she was infertile) started taking an unusual interest in Vera’s toddler, and Vera seemed frightened and threatened by that attention. The child had been born during WWII when Vera’s husband was serving overseas (in fact, the birth was 10 months after he shipped out) and Vera’s then unmarried sister had been living with her at the time and barely left the house because she was getting over a bad breakup. The obvious supposition is that it was the younger sister’s baby and Vera claimed it because she was respectably married and the sister wasn’t, but Vera was an unpleasant person and the family members who knew her best agreed that it would have been out of character for her to do something like that, especially without telling her husband or other family members, especially when the baby was born a month late and exposed her to whispers. But if she hadn’t, then why was she so certain that her sister would be able to take her child from her that she thought murder was her only option?

The narrator was probably in the best position to know the real truth as she had also been staying in the house during those crucial months when the husband had just shipped out and the sister’s boyfriend was still around, but she was only a child then and lacked context for the adult dynamics she was observing, and looking back on her memories, the narrator is unable to come to any conclusions.

I’m surprised how much this book stuck with me years later, so if it sounds familiar to anyone else, I’d love to know the title to try to find it again.

[othmeralia]

This has been sitting in the drafts for so long that I have no idea what book this is. Let’s just enjoy its anonymity for now.

[leondanteart]

Finished the second book in the Southern Reach trilogy!

I did not really enjoy it over the first book. The first book is a heavy hitter, but this one falls flat. Honestly, a sparks notes version might be the way to go for this book. There's a LOT of detailed writing about stuff not necessarily important. This book is twice as long as the first one, but probably didn't need to be. The story is about this man nick/code named Control, he's there to spy on the Southern Reach amongst other plot points. You get to witness how Area X affects the researchers despite them not heading over the Border. The lore you learn about the universe and the couple characters from the first book was the most interesting parts. In my opinion, this book was interesting in parts but also boring in more parts. Definitely not for everyone.

[the-officially-kat]

“In late October, journalist Autumn Jones goes to investigate the cases of seven missing people who were each last seen in the small town of Hallowton. However, the mystery she intends to solve might be more than she imagined, and she may uncover more than she ever hoped to…” 

** [GOOGLE DOCS PDF LINK] **

HAPPY HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN~!!! Today I’m celebrating by posting my short book HALLOWTON for all to read for free!!

The book includes character sketches (that contain spoilers) and a town map and I’ve put together a Spotify playlist for those who like a little music with their stories~ [Link]

And I’d love to hear from you folks after you read it <3

It would mean so much to me if you could reblog this, thank you~

[pearlmoney]

The Haunting of Miss Caroline Marsden (snippet)

The audience’s applause could be heard two storeys down, everyone knew the name Caroline Marsden. She stepped from behind the tall black curtains putting on her best smile, she had practised everyday since she was ten for this exact moment. Her sleek black heels clacked on the hardwood floor, she felt as if she would slip with every step she took. It seemed like their cheering would never stop, this stage was so big, it would take at least twenty seconds to walk to the desk. Caroline kept her performed smile on, waving back to the hundreds of staring faces who claimed to know everything about her; who all adored her. Finally, Caroline was on the other side of the stage, shaking hands with an equally, but not quite as, famous TV host. She sat down on the bouncy red couch, feeling the bumpy rhinestones on her dress under her. 

‘Welcome Caroline, it’s so lovely to have you here! Can we all give her another big round of applause?’ Oh god not again. Their hands must be red at this point. Did she even care though? The applause is what she lived for, she needed it. Caroline continued smiling, her face still like stone on the brink of collapse. The clapping slowly faded and Caroline locked eyes with the host once again.

‘So, Please Let Go, huh? Coming to theatres on March 10th; What an amazing piece of work this is!’

‘Oh yes, thank you John.’

‘Why don’t you tell us a little bit more about this film?’

As soon as that question is asked it feels as though everything fades, all sounds are muffled and her vision subsides, Caroline is only able to see her memories and her art.

‘Well, Please Let Go is a drama piece about a girl, Rachael, who is in a difficult first relationship and doesn’t know how to get out of it because she’s afraid of what her partner will say or do. It’s a very important piece of film that I think a lot of young people can relate to and find comfort in.’ she talked so highly of her work it made her want to vomit. Caroline never wanted to be one of those directors who were stuck up and talked freely about how amazing they were. She knew she and her art were perfect but no one was allowed to use that against her, so she had to be perceived as humble. But the applause gets to her, and she can’t help but talk like she’s the only person in the world. 

‘That’s amazing. Now what’s the backstory to this film? How did you come to create it?’

Caroline smiled wider than she thought possible and let out a breath of satisfaction. This was her favourite question. She sat up and fixed her posture, wanting to look her absolute best.

‘Well it’s actually based on the book my partner wrote with the same name. I remember reading it the first time and being so moved by it, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.’

‘Did you two write this together?’

‘Oh my partner Rose definitely helped me a lot, I mean it was based on their book, of course I’d look to her for guidance.’

There were soft ‘aaw’s in the crowd as Caroline spoke of Rose, someone these fans should be quite familiar with by now. The amount Caroline talks about them online and in interviews was astounding, she was shocked no one told her to be quiet by now.

‘That’s lovely, and where is Rose tonight?’

‘She’s in Seattle on her book tour, promoting her new limited edition version of Please Let Go. I hope they’re watching me in their hotel room tonight.’ Caroline spoke with a less forced and more fond smile, thinking about her loved partner watching her from afar. Caroline looked right down the barrel of one of the huge film cameras on set, ‘I love you Rosey, I hope you’re having a good time over there.’ The audience erupted in cheers once again, Caroline’s ears didn’t respond to it, blocking it out as she dreamt of her partner being here with her talking about their new movie.

The loud applause was cut short by the TV switching off, leaving Caroline in a dark, cold, empty room. Tissues, wrappers, bottles, anything else that would’ve been cleaned off the floor in an instant stayed there in a depressing tableau, almost waiting to be put away, watching in judgement at Caroline's newly found state. Caroline stared at the black screen, just able to see her now rejected reflection. Before she could think too hard on that, she pulled herself up from her chair and dragged her feet to the kitchen.

 She sighed, opening the fridge to find another drink, but she had already wasted them all. She hung her head in shame before turning to the clock on the microwave. ‘7:09AM’ it read, that familiar pit sat in her stomach realising she’s gone another night without sleep. How long has it been now? 75 hours? It was hard to keep track, Caroline had more important things to think about, like her premiere in two weeks, her fitting tomorrow, or well today. And the funeral on Friday. Before she could even stop herself she let out a quiet chuckle.

‘What kind of heartless bastard holds a funeral on a Friday? Like come on Jill, we all have better things to be doing, I’d rather spend my Friday dressed in a bikini on the beach with a drink in one hand and a woman in the other! Not standing around people I hate, mourning a person who shouldn’t even be having this so called fucking celebration!' Caroline shouted to no one, throwing her half empty bottle at the wall opposite her, gasping as it shattered against the paint. She stared at the wet stain on the wall, trying to slow her breathing back to normal but failing completely. She left the glass pile on the floor, too distressed to even think about cleaning it. She slowly walked back to her chair and slumped down, giving a long dramatic sigh. Caroline hadn’t felt like this since college. Excessive depression and nothing to help it, not a single thing could pull her out of her ‘funk’ as her mom would call it. Well there was one thing, but she was gone now.

Thank you so much for reading a short piece from my book I'm working on The Haunting of Miss Caroline Marsden!! If you want to learn a little more about it, have a look at my pinned post on my account. I have been working so hard on this project for a few months now and would love feedback on it. If you have any questions, comments, critiques, please share!!

[paigeypaige19]

In his manner he seemed a little too grown-up for his age—already displaying anger and resentment toward the world. - The Whisper Man, Alex North

[i-dont-r3member]

RANDOM SHOWER THOUGHT/MEMORY UNLOCKED/I NEED ANSWERS RIGHT THIS MINUTE

Does anyone else remember a book series from like…idk prolly the mid to late 2010s (or at least that’s when I think I read it it was probably older) where the main characters could like travel through mirrors??? And there was like this whole world in between the mirrors and these big bug creatures that they had to feed (?) so they would bring them to the correct exit mirror and there was like a lord of this mirror plane/world/dimension who was a jerk and they ended up like fighting(? Im p sure they outsmarted him technically) because I only remember this specific aspect and now I HAVE to know the series so I can remember the context around why they traveled by mirror

[pambreezy97]

Just finished reading "Murder in the Family" by Cara Hunter. I loved the book! 😍 It was a good read. 👍

The only thing that confused me was the summary for the plot at the book. Why did it say that Amelie and Maura Howard were Guy's half sisters when it was stated in the book that the 3 of them were full siblings? 🤨 The only confirmed half sibling was Rupert Howard.

Speaking of which, was it ever confirmed who Caroline's mystery child was? I know that JJ Norton was believed to be that mystery child at first, but he denied that plausibility.

[supermusicallee]

yeah okay so it's taylor 🥳🥳

[stvaralastvo]

,,Neko vreme sam se sek!a. To je bolelo, što mi je prijalo.Ali je takodje bilo vrlo glupo.I osećala sam se lažno, Kao, ako to uradiš sam sebi, to nije pravi bol.Zato to više ne radim.’’

,Sometimes I used to cut myse!f. It hurt, which I liked. But it was also very stupid. And I felt fake, Like, if you do it to yourself, it's not real pain. That's why I don't do it anymore.''

K.Dž.Doreti

[emi98338]

Save a long, rough day, with an adventure 💖

[booksformks]

Book Review: A Murder is Announced

A Murder Is Announcedby Agatha Christie 5 out of 5 stars An advertisement appears in the local newspaper saying that a murder will take place at a certain country house on Friday at 6:00pm. Friends of the family assume that it must be a murder mystery party, and they show up at the appointed time. What at first appears to be a mystery play turns into a deadly reality. Each of the persons…

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 2.5/5

Book Blurb:  From Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street, comes a masterful story about friendship and betrayal, dark obsessions, and the impossibility of escaping your own story. In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write. It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth in Whistler Bay, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. About the terrible secret he and his companions, Nat and Harper, discovered entombed in the coves off the bay. And how the pact they swore that day echoed down the decades, forever shaping their lives. But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself and his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real – notes hidden in his cupboards, from an old friend now dead; a woman with dark hair drowning in the icy waters below, calling for help; entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing, appearing overnight. Who, or what, is haunting Wilder? No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does. “An origami puzzle of a book, the mystery so beautifully crafted you don’t see the folds, with edges sharp as a paper cut.”—Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls

Review:

Friendship, betrayal, obsession, and murder. It all started when Wilder Harlow spent the summer in Whistler Bay and met his two friends, Nat and Harper... and how they became intertwined with the blood stained path of the killer that stalked the vacation town known as the Dagger Man. Wilder writes about his time there, about his friendship and about the dark secrets he discovered.... but the more he writes the less he can trust his memory. The story jumps between many different things and people, from Wilder’s POV, to Pearl’s POV, to the book that Wilder is writing to Skye and Skye’s book, honestly it was a lot of turns and twist and it got muddled, so muddled and it felt like it kept dragging on and on. I do love a mystery and I enjoyed Catriona Ward’s writing style, it’s gorgeous and really creates and eerie and atmospheric read, however I would have to say this was my least favorite book written by Ward as I just felt like the overall mystery and twists were not that great. The story deals with an unreliable narrator and you are trying to figure out the exact events of Wilder’s summer involved with the killer as well as the consequences of the summer that followed him after as well as it’s impact on Nat and Harper. Overall, if you like unreliable narrator mysteries with childhood secrets and complicated relationships as well as different “stories” being part of the structure then definitely give this one a go.

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, Tor Nightfire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[leondanteart]

Finished this book! Fun concept and had fun reading it when the plot picked up and started to run. It's not a murder mystery time loop story for everyone though. It takes some time to set up and feels long. But if you don't mind that, definitely give it the old college try! Ground Hog Day meets Clue is a good description. 4 out of 5 stars

[shotbyshe]

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Score: 4/5

Full review here.

[blam-marie]

Reminder that my romantic suspense novel SKIN DEEP comes out March 18th! Pre-order the ebook now or purchase the paperback on the release date :)

[Image ID: A book quote from the upcoming novel SKIN DEEP. It says: Three times already, Louison had been send to land to investigate the disappearance of a sibling. This time, however, the problem at hand was much worse than a missing Selkie, trapped by a human out of cruelty disguised as love. There was no one to save and no sibling to reunite with their family. Louison, for the first time in her life, had to solve a murder.]