The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Omgomgomgomg. What a sweet revenge! A pat on the back to the author. For this, I give 5 ⭐️. 

A group of so-called friends hasn't seen each other in over a decade, so this is an informal reunion after one of them, Alfred Smettle, celebrated his second year in business at the Hitchcock Hotel. A themed hotel is what they needed, as autumn is the perfect season to commemorate the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. What a coincidence that they share a first name! Alfred invited his five former friends from college for the weekend. They took a film studies class together. Little did they know, he planned some kind of revenge for all of them because of the 'betrayal' that took place before they graduated. Staging a perfect murder as an accident may evoke a mood and create enough suspense.

Maybe the story paced a bit slow in the first half of the book, but I think it's necessary. The author keeps intriguing interactions between the characters in every chapter. Weird things have been happening all weekend. What we know is that no one can be trusted after a body is found, until it's too late to realize that the reunion is a bad idea. The plot, the secrets, and the closure have contributed to this beautiful writing.

Nadi Mahir

Tadi aku pergi dengar taklimat Nadi Mahir. Walau pun google meet tapi menarik sebab dah lama aku nak join bab kemahiran ni. Ada 5 kursus pendek ditawarkan. Dan aku pilih Mahir Jahit. Impian aku nak buat baju sendiri sebelum terlambat.😅

Mahir Masak pun menarik jugak. Tapi takut clash pulak kelasnya. Apa² pun kelas start tahun depan. Sempat kot aku fikir.

Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar

This sibling rivalry is one of the fast-paced reads about things that don't go as planned, and lessons are learned about the nature of sisterly love after they're gone. I shed a few tears.

Grace and Maddy Stoll are siblings who are only 10 months apart. They have different circles, but they love each other nonetheless. Grace is the best sports student, outgoing, and has received a scholarship to college, while her sister, Maddy, is more reserved. She loves writing poems and tries her best to step out of her sister's shadow.

Their school is having a Senior Sabbatical week for the students as part of a traditional trip to Shady Oaks Lodge. The excitement turned into a nightmare when the sisters went missing from their room in the middle of the night, and only one was found on the side of the road the next morning, a mile from the lodge.

The search for Maddy Stoll continues, and there are rumors about a fight they had before the disappearance. While suffering from an injured head trauma, Grace becomes a suspect when the police treat it as a homicide. Her only solution is a journal that Maddy left behind and friends to clear things up because she's sure did not kill her own blood.

For a debut, I think the premise sounds familiar, but it's captivating with a twisted ending. Thanks to @times.reads and @putrifariza for the uncorrected proof copy. All views are my own 💙 

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

Derma darah

Hari Rabu yang lepas aku telah pergi ke hospital untuk menderma darah selepas 4 tahun. Ini kali ketiga.

Pekat betul darah aku. 

Elevator in Saigon by Thuan

An immigrant Vietnamese woman attends her estranged mother's funeral, traveling from Paris to Saigon. When an acquaintance of her mother pays a visit, he relays a story from fifty years ago when she was a liaison girl for the Viet Minh and was held as a political prisoner.

A notebook and a photo of a man named Paul Polotsky, dated 1954, are the only clues she has about her mother. This further investigation is more like a journey through Saigon to Paris. Her mother's life resembles a treasure trove, and she is playing detective to make things clearer. She also learns about her mother's extended family and their roles in Vietnam's Revolution. It's like time traveling back to the place where her mother's side of the story originated.

This is my second mellow and meandering read about Vietnam in a row. Although it's slow-paced, it is thought-provoking.