Book Review | The find

Title: The Find

Author: Gregg Bell

Genre: Thriller/crime

Pages: 305

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: Thriveco

Rating: 4 stars


What can a mother do when she has no money and a dangerously sick kid?

She can make a mistake.

In a moment of desperation, cleaning lady Phoebe Jackson tries to pawn the diamond-bejeweled Rolex she found in a mobster’s locker. Turns out the watch is a fake, but the mobster isn’t—and he’s on to her.

I was really excited to be given the chance to review this book as I have read one of Gregg Bell's other books (Jamie's Gamble) and I really enjoyed it. The synopsis also really drew me in, it's short yet gripping and I was highly anticipating this read.

The first thing I loved about the book was how clever the plot was. At the start the plot seemed to be pretty simple, it wasn't until you were nearing the end where I realised quite how complex and difficult the situations had turned out for the characters and this unexpected depth was really intriguing.

The second thing I liked was that it wasn't predictable *Hallelujah chorus* ! I find with so many books with crime/thriller genres that they are so predictable and with this style of book, this can totally ruin it! I was delighted to find that this certainly wasn't the case here and Gregg Bell really managed to keep twisting bits of the plot here and the to throw you off course just enough to keep you guessing.

I also adored the characters, especially the main character, Phoebe  As a female protagonist she was brave, down to earth, loyal and she always wants what's best for her girls. Other characters were cleverly done also and I loved how contrasting some were (I'm trying my hardest not to spoil you so i'm sorry for being vague!)

If I had to criticise the only thing I could say was that I thought at some points it was slightly repetitive in that when something happened, often rather than moving on and making the book even more action packed and fast-paced it seemed to me, that at points it was backtracking a bit.

That being said, I thought the book was magnificent and I definitely recommend it to anyone!

Happy reading,

Hebe x

Book Review | Unrelenting Nightmare

Title: Unrelenting Nightmare

Author: Stan Yocum

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 330 pages

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: iUniverse

Rating: 3.5 stars


Stuart Garrison, a brilliant virtual reality software developer, has his company poised on the threshold of industry dominance with the release of his newest virtual reality system--Next World. Among his competitors is Preston McBraid, the cutthroat CEO of a rival company. McBraid realizes that if he does not own Next World, his company is bound to lose its premier position atop the computer industry.

Driven by desperation and greed, McBraid hires the notorious Nomed, a highly sought-after assassin who commands millions to kill a target. The FBI learns of the assassination plot and intervenes to protect Stuart. He in turn quickly augments the FBI team, hiring two security specialists as additional defense: a monster of a man, nicknamed Superman--and Alex Nichols, an expert in the field of security. Stuart clings desperately to the hope that he can make it though the onslaught of Nomed's assassination attempts. If he does, his next ingenious virtual reality product--Mind Games--will blow the world away with its originality and staggering mass appeal, and catapult Stuart to the top of the computer industry as its reigning czar, and make him a billionaire many times over.

In this gripping suspense thriller, the wannabe czar of the computer industry is unwittingly catapulted into a deadly cat-and-mouse game against the infamous Nomed, and only time will tell who is clever enough to survive.

I must confess that I have not read a massive amount of thrillers and I am often scared off books by synopsis' that include vocabulary associated with the business world. (As a teenage girl the topic can be slightly daunting) However, I found I highly enjoyed Unrelenting Nightmare for many reasons.

One thing I particularly enjoyed about the book was the intelligent story line. The plot was detailed and well thought through, taking unexpected turns now and again, to ensure that it wasn't predictable. This not only made the reading experience a lot more exciting but it really gripped me, as the reader and made me plead with myself for one more chapter (Which, inevitably turned quickly into 2 or 3 more...ore maybe 10...). 

The Characters was another factor that lead to making this book such a great read. The 'goodies' were kick-ass and awesome and the 'baddy' was devious and truly malicious. All the characters also seemed to have more than one side to them and sometimes came across a lot different than the first impression that was gained upon first being introduced to them. This was an aspect I liked, as, like the plot it kept you guessing.

The genre of the book is not one that I usually read a lot of, but I really enjoyed this book and aspects that before have been a big unknown to me when reading, such as assassination and software developing. I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn't understand the story if too many unfamiliar terms cropped up, especially in the 'sciencey' parts, however, I found that this really wasn't the case and the book was easy to understand and I was intrigued by the new and astounding ideas that Stan Yocum introduced through his book.

My only pieces of criticism would be that sometimes I wasn't as hooked to the story as I would have liked to have been. In some chapters I craved more after it was finished, but in others I sometimes didn't really feel that interested. I found this especially to be the case in the business parts of the story. I also found that although the book had a great fast pace, especially towards the end, the book could go from action packed, to a bit hard to get through.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the book. I seriously thought it was excellent! I especially loved how clever the ending was and the fates of all the different characters. 

I highly recommend this book to any lovers of action, detective work and even science fiction lovers!

Happy reading,

Hebe x