One of my favourite things about being a writer is that I can read as much as I like and call it work.
Not that I need an excuse to read.
I’ve started this year strong though, with some really gripping bestsellers and one incredible Australian tale that deserves all of the praise it’s received already.
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So if you’re searching for something to curl up with while you wait for winter to finally get lost, here are the best books I’ve read lately:
The Dry by Jane Harper
I really admire authors who manage to craft a tangible sense of place, and Jane Harper has done just that in The Dry. I was transported through its pages to a small town in outback Australia in the middle of a drought, where tensions are high and temperatures are even higher. You almost want to read it with a huge glass of cold water at hand, just to reassure yourself that you’re not about to die of thirst.
Aaron Falk, a financial crime investigator, returns to his hometown of Kiewarra after learning that his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, killed his family and then turned the gun on himself. But there are people who don’t believe Luke really did it, so Aaron sets out to learn the truth. And that means unravelling his own troubled past.
There’s a good reason why The Dry was The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2017 – if you haven’t read it yet, now’s the time (because nothing makes you appreciate a British winter like reading about an Australian heatwave).
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
When I read The Wife Between Us, I had no idea that it was written by two authors, and I’m amazed that they pulled it off without any inconsistencies. It’s about a woman obsessed with her ex-husband’s new fiancée – her replacement, as she sees it. And at the same time, it’s about a young woman who’s in love with a man who seems too good to be true.
I must admit, I thought I knew where the story was going, and about a quarter of the way through I wondered how there was still another 75% of plot remaining.
But then that twist came along, and I genuinely yelled ‘What?’ at the page. Out loud. It’s not often that a book does that for me, but this was a really clever revelation that turned all of my preconceptions upside down. From there, I couldn’t put it down. There was a simmering sense of dread that built and intensified throughout, and the twists kept changing everything I’d once assumed to be true.
I just read that this is going to be made into a film, which I’m really intrigued about. I have no idea how they’ll pull it off, but if they do, it’ll be worth a watch for sure!
Friend Request by Laura Marshall
I actually finished this one late last year, and it was one of the best psychological thrillers I read in 2017.
The concept is so creepy: Maria wants to be friends. But Maria is dead…isn’t she?
When Louise Williams receives a Facebook request from a school friend who went missing over 25 years ago, the past that she was trying hard to forget starts rearing its ugly head, and she’s forced to ask questions. About her friends, and about the people she trusts, but most of all, about herself.
Friend Request follows Louise’s journey as she looks into events that she’d really prefer to leave where they belong: in the past. It’s a fast-paced and suspenseful read, made even more tense by the all-too-real scenarios. I highly recommend this fantastic page-turner, but just be warned: you might be forced to check your Facebook security settings once you’re done!
The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd
Ever since I listened to Serial (the podcast that you need to listen to if you haven’t already), I’ve become a little bit obsessed with wrongful convictions. Because it’s absolutely nuts to me that such a terrible miscarriage of justice can (and does) happen to innocent people. So I obviously watched, and was equally gripped by, Making a Murderer for many of the same reasons.
The Innocent Wife (which, admittedly, I read out of curiosity because of its title) grabbed me from the start because it follows the story of a wrongfully convicted man, Dennis, and the woman who married him while he was still in prison.
Once he is released, and the initial media storm dies down, Samantha and Dennis have to come to terms with their relationship in the real world, and they must each work out who the other person really is…which leads to some troubling and dark discoveries.
It made for a deliciously uncomfortable read because I knew early on that something was wrong, but it was almost impossible to untangle the truth from my own assumptions and unconscious prejudices. The Innocent Wife is an absolute page-turner, and definitely one to add to your list if, like me, you love Serial and Making a Murderer.
I’m always looking for book recommendations, so I’d love to hear from you. Which books have you read and loved lately?
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Elle Croft, thank you for your blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.