Book Review: Broken by John Rector

Synopsis: 

Trust becomes a fatal mistake in this shocking thriller by the international bestselling author of The Ridge.

Welcome to Beaumont Cove, a slowly decaying tourist town at the edge of the world, and the place where Maggie James’s worst fears for her estranged twin sister, Lilly, have come true.

Lilly is dead, and Maggie has arrived to identify her body.

Lilly’s husband, Mike, is in custody for her murder. With his long history of abuse, no one in town is surprised at the inevitable end to their stormy marriage, least of all Maggie. All she wants is to clean up her sister’s affairs, see Mike punished, and get out of Beaumont Cove.

With the help of the local sheriff, a retired private investigator, and a strange but friendly carnival psychic, Maggie begins to uncover the truth about what really happened to her sister. But the truth comes at a price, and soon Maggie finds herself walking a dark path toward the same deadly trap that killed Lilly.

The more Maggie discovers about her sister’s final days, the more she realizes that nothing is as it appears in this strange boardwalk town.

*Synopsis taken from netgalley.com

It's been quite a while since I have read a good mystery/thriller book. I have to say that I enjoyed this book very much. I found Mr. Rector's writing style to be top notch. He did a wonderful job on world development and character depth. I was able to get a wonderful mental image of the town of Beaumont Cove. It was almost like I was there. The other thing that I really appreciated about this book was the attention to detail that Mr. Rector has for his writing.  There would be parts written in that didn't have a lot to do with the overall plot, but added an amazing amount of depth and texture to the book. 

The relationship between Mike and Lilly was so well written that I found myself hating Mike. That is the mark of a good book to me when it can trigger such a base instinct inside of me. 

Overall I though the plot was well developed and it had me guessing all the way to the end. Sometimes in these books I can spot the end a mile away, but not so with this one. It was very refreshing as a reader. 

Overall I would give this book a solid 4.5/5 stars. I would absolutely recommend reading it, especially if you are a fan of this genre of writing. It is well worth the time and it reads very quickly. 

Book Review: Wynter's Discontent by Nigel Draper

I enjoyed this book from the very beginning. I'm a big fan of books that switch from one character's point of view to another. It's a bonus when it is done well. That is the case with this book. The chapters float seamlessly from one character to another.

I'm also a big fan of the plot of this book. It's like your getting an inside look into the mind of a con man, and then you throw in the aspect of the secret service and that makes it even more interesting.

For me, world building and character development are a vital part of any story. The character development in this book is very well done. I was particularly a fan of Wynter and of Meredith. Those characters were both very compelling to me and I couldn't wait to hear what happened to them throughout the book. The author does a great job of working subtle details into the character descriptions. There were many times where there would just be short little descriptors of a character's demeanor that would totally put that character into my mind's eye. It was like I was standing there in the room with them. The world building is equally well done. I could see the scenes in vivid detail in my mind. To me, this is the mark of a really well done book.

The readability of this book is very good. It's a quick read and it keeps you engaged from start to finish. There is no slow build up at the beginning, you just jump right in and before you know it you are at the end.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I think it is a book that can appeal to a wide range of readers. It's well worth your time and I have no doubt you will enjoy it as much as I did.

My rating: 4/5