Contemporary Reads

Reviews & recommendations of contemporary books.
Literary Fiction, Thrillers, Feel Good Books, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction & more…

18 October 2022 | Tuesday · 5:51 PM

The Housemaid: The Spine Chilling Read of 2022

The Housemaid | Freida McFadden | Book Review

An intriguing name, enticing you just enough to pick this one outright. The Housemaid comes from the house of Freida McFadden – an acclaimed name when it comes to thrillers. It is the first in The Housemaid Series and you can be assured of a roller coaster of a ride guaranteeing a flurry of adrenaline rush.

Speaking of the name, one cannot help draw a comparison with one of the most successful books of the year – The Maid by Nita Prose. What’s more, even the names of the protagonists sound similar – Molly The Maid and here it is Millie. But that is where the similarity ends!

The Housemaid begins with one of the central characters – Nina – sitting in her home, with the detectives investigating something, which is not immediately disclosed to the reader. From there on, the story goes into flashback – 3 months …

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11 October 2022 | Tuesday · 4:56 PM

Next In Line (Jeffrey Archer)

Next In Line | Jeffrey Archer

Its celebration time as Willam Warwick and the team are back! Next In Line brings back all your favorite characters, for those of us who have followed the William Warwick series. Few things give the high that reading a Jeffrey Archer book on a lazed out, relaxed Saturday afternoon!

Next In Line conforms to the same set pattern that this series has so diligently stuck to. The ongoing story of the shrewd Miles Faulkner picks up from where it had left in Over My Dead Body. And, it continues to thread together all the books of this series. While in addition to it – just as in previous books – there is a fresh case at hand for Warwick and his team, which is unique to this book. From painting heists, drug cartels, corruption and murders, this time round they are tasked with Royalty Protection.

An interesting aspect of …

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28 September 2022 | Wednesday · 5:37 PM

The Botanist: Washington Poe Book #5

The Botanist | M.W. Craven | Book Review

So, yet another thriller. And yet another thriller series. The Botanist is the 5th in the DS Washington Poe series of books. But it is my first. There were quite a few deterrents as I picked this book up. First, with so many thrillers one after another, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to read another. And second, at 500 odd pages, this was threatening to test my patience for sure! But whoa! Am I not glad I read this. I would have missed such an enjoyable & engaging read.

The plot in a nutshell – some well known people of the city are mysteriously dying, each receiving a weird poem & a dried flower as a warning (or threat). And despite the most stringent of security measures in place, the security forces are failing to save them. So, this basically forms the case that DS Poe and his team …

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13 September 2022 | Tuesday · 5:24 PM

Dream Town: Aloysius Archer (Book 3)

Dream Town | David Baldacci | Aloysius Archer

The 3rd book in the Aloysius Archer Series, Dream Town carries forward the adventurous & lethally dangerous journey of PI Archer as he continues to strive towards making this world a better place, notwithstanding the threats to his own life, miraculously escaping death on more than one occasion.

The story picks up from where The Gambling Man ended, except that 3 years have passed since. And Archer is now on his way to LA to meet his friend and aspiring actress from the previous book – Liberty Callahan. And as he does so, he finds himself unwittingly a part of a complex and dangerous ploy with it’s roots running deep. The story thus makes it’s transition from the dark undertone of Bay Town from the previous book to a bright & glittering LA – the city of dreams.

It was revelling to see the old characters return! The …

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2 September 2022 | Friday · 4:38 PM

Carrie Soto Is Back (Taylor Jenkins Reid) 🥇🔰

Carrie Soto Is Back | Book Review

Winner:
Book Of The Year 2022;
Best Character 2022 (Carrie Soto);
All Time Best Reads

What’s the feeling like when someone meets your expectations and betters them? Carrie Soto Is Back makes the hitherto great books I read this year seem outrageously dwarfed. For, this is the real thing. This is exemplary writing at it’s lethal best. This is what a Classic is all about. And TJR, you are a legend and no less. For, barely 10% into the book and it is hard to believe that Carrie Soto is not real. That this is fiction. What. A. Book. !!

The release of this book coincided with the start of the US Open 2022. And of course it now seems intentional as this is central to the theme of this amazing book. Taylor Jenkins Reid has hinted in her interviews of this book being modelled around Serena Williams …

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29 August 2022 | Monday · 3:41 PM

The Last Party: Introducing DC Ffion Morgan

The Last Party | Clare Mackintosh | Book Review

A new detective series from the much acclaimed Clare Mackintosh. A new line of novels always manages to garner interest for the sheer excitement and expectation from a new set of recurring characters. Likewise, The Last Party has already succeeded in creating a buzz about itself, introducing the promising character of DC Ffion Morgan.

The book starts with an enchanting setting at the Welsh-English border, at the center of which is Llyn Drych – the serpent shaped mirror lake – the focal point of all the happenings that follow. The discovery of a body in this lake on New Year’s Day sets things rolling. The search for the murderer, many sub plots and intertwined stories leading to it. With it’s mystic setting accentuated by a lonely, witchy cottage in the woods, a boathouse, some mysterious lodge owners on the far end – it makes for an intriguing whodunnit…

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