Holly by Stephen King

 

I have just finished reading this book! I have to admit, compared to King's other works, it may not be the most standout read, considering I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the writing style and characters. At times, I even wondered if it was written by ghostwriters! But the last few chapters of this book alone were packed with raw emotion, more than most entire books. 

The story follows Penelope Dahl, who hires Holly Gibney to investigate her daughter's disappearance. Holly just inherited Finders Keepers, a private detective agency previously owned by Bill Hodges. Although Holly doesn't expect any breakthroughs, the similarities of location and belongings left behind seem to relate to another series of missing persons and human cannibalism was not at all on her mind. 

This slow-paced thriller even offers some realistic insights during the time of the coronavirus outbreak. Holly has appeared in several of King's previous works, but while reading this book, I didn't see her as a strong character and it was intentionally portrayed! 

Thanks to @definitelybooks #pansing for the review copy. Opinions are my own 💙 

*Available at all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia and their online stores

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The Fraud by Zadie Smith

 

Before starting to read this book, I considered doing some research on William Ainsworth. All in all, Ainsworth was a contemporary writer. He was a clean stylist and published 41 novels. His first success as a writer came with Rookwood in 1834 and Jack Sheppard, which did outsell the Oliver Twist. 

This novel is based on the life of William (1805-82) from the point of view of his cousin by marriage, Eliza Touchet. Her husband left her in poverty with William's household. It is written through time and anecdotes that struck her as significant moments and some meaningless from the outside literary world.

Eliza is incredibly brave, brilliant, loving, and kind. She gives a very fair and balanced view of the scandal that titillated Victorian England, The Tichborne Claimant cases. In 1852, Roger Charles Tichborne, heir to the Tichborne title, disappeared at sea. Twelve years later, Tom Castro, a large Cockney butcher from Wagga Wagga in outback Australia claimed to be him. But she was more obsessed with a formerly enslaved Jamaican man named Andrew Bogle, a key witness in the trial of the Tichborne Claimant. Zadie does very good work with the story of sympathetic characters, race, class and colonisation complexities.

Thanks to @times.reads and @putrifariza for the review copy. Opinions are my own 💙 

*Available at all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia and their online stores

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#donereading #TheFraud by #ZadieSmith #igreads #igbooks #bookstagram #goodreads #bookrecommendations #bookreview #emabaca #malaysiamembaca

The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin

 

In 1939, Ken Kourian went to a party at the house of Oliver Tooke, a wealthy young man who wanted to pursue life as a writer. They were immediately acquainted.

Oliver's life is not a bed of roses apparently. He died by suicide. Ken tried to think of a reason why Oliver might have done it. 

He had been thinking a lot about Oliver's new book, The Turnglass. He thinks Oliver left it as a sign in case something happened to him. He wanted Ken to let people know the truth if he couldn't himself. There are a lot of subtle messages in his book. 

The events in the book were based on what had happened to Oliver's grandfather almost sixty years earlier. He thinks those events were connected to what had happened to the family. His book took some unravelling about Turglass House which always had something corrupt and malign. 

His death was most likely linked to his mother's being in an asylum and his brother being abducted when they were small. It was why Oliver had spoken of the guilt a lot before he died. 

Oh my. The most underrated book I've read this year. This book is unique not only because of tete-beche. The plot and the author's writing are amazing. A story within a story is a captivating tale filled with mystery and mind-blowing endings. 5 ⭐️ !!

Thanks to @definitelybooks #pansing for the review copy. Opinions are my own 💙 

*Available at all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia and their online stores

📚

#donereading #TheTurnglass by #GarethRubin #igreads

#igbooks #bookstagram #goodreads #letsgetreading #definitelybooks #emabaca #malaysiamembaca #bookreview #bookrecommendations