The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Format - Audio  Book
Length -14 Hours 14 Min

*Amazon Blurb*

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person - but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.
Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased...where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.
Full of spellbinding menace and told in Ruth Ware's signature suspenseful style, this is an addictive thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.

*My Review* 

This book too way longer to get through that I'd have liked. I bought the CD's at my local library and the only place I could listen to it was when I was driving in my truck alone. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often.

The book started off very slow and it didn't really seem to pick up for me at all. There was definitely a mystery behind who Hal really was and how she was related to the family, but there was a lot of "commotion" with Hal running off, coming back and running off again. I was annoyed that people didn't just come out and say what they were thinking or what they would have. The characters were boring in my opinion.

Finding out how Hal fits into the family was probably the best part of the whole story and one that I wouldn't have guessed.

Final Notice by Van Fleisher

Final Notice

by Van Fleisher

Availble on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘📘
Genre - Medical Thriller, Political Thriller, Suspense
Format - Ebook

*Amazon Blurb*
What Would You Do If You Knew – For Certain – That You Had 10 Days To Live?

Some would get their legal affairs in order. Others would contact family, friends, lovers, ex-lovers. Some might take a trip or make an exceptional donation. Still others might clean the house and do the laundry. And some…might kill.

The year is the very near future. A brilliant young doctor and mathematician, Vijay Patel, has invented a new health/sport watch that monitors blood chemistry so accurately, it can actually predict when someone will die – within 10, 20, or 30 days. The intention of this “Final Notice,” as it is called, is to allow people to get their affairs in order and reach out to loved ones before it’s too late. But when those notified have easy access to a gun, the result is sometimes lethal for more than just the watch-owner.

These are the stories of several people who receive their Final Notice and their very different reactions...including a desire to get revenge with impunity. They range from an 89-year-old resident in a retirement home to a U.S. Senator...from a benevolent widow to a crass tycoon to a noted climate change scientist.

But in this fresh, fast-paced, political thriller, page-turner, their stories are all set against the all-too-recognizable backdrop of a guns-gone-wild America, and the relentless push by the NRA and their surrogate politicians to make guns even easier to acquire.

Their stories are also connected by the involvement of several likeable protagonists. These include: the inventor of the watch ... the FBI agent charged with stopping the killings...and a recently retired, middle-class couple, Vince and Trudi Fuller, with their brave immigrant friends and a very endearing Corgi, Miles.

Vince and Trudi live happily in their “California bubble” until Vince is knocked down by a young punk in a parking lot. His sense of shame and rage, resulting from feelings of age-related vulnerability, triggers a first-time interest in guns. Trudi resists, but later, an unprovoked attack on Miles and Vince – and a growing friendship with two courageous Syrian refugees – changes her mind. With very unexpected consequences.

There is plenty of dark humor and political satire in FINAL NOTICE, as well as touching scenes and outright suspense. So expect to laugh out loud, dry some tears, and bite your nails (not necessarily in that order).

It is, despite the somewhat “sci-fi” premise of the watch, a very realistic reflection of American society and the many problems we face today.

*My Review*


What would you do if you knew exactly when you would die. Would you take revenge on people who did you wrong, right any wrongs you did or tie up loose ends?

I was so excited to read this book, until I started reading it. I thought it was going to be about what people would do, if they would take advantage of the Final Notice. I was expecting stories about various people and what they did when the received the notice. Don't get me wrong, it did include that, but it didn't seem to be the main focus of the book like the title led me to think. There was one couple that stayed constant throughout the book. But even their part seemed boring to me.

It did have some characters who did receive their final notice and reacted to it, some in a negative way and some positive. Unfortunately it seemed there was way more politics than anything else. There was a lot about the NRA and talk about the rights of the people in regards to the Second Amendment.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest

by Stieg Larsson

Availble on Amazon

Rating (1-5) 📘📘
 Genre - International Mystery & Crime, Thriller, Political, Murder
 Format - Audio Book

*Amazon Blurb*

In the third volume of the Millennium series, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head. But she's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll stand trial for three murders. With the help of Mikael Blomkvist, she'll need to identify those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she'll seek revenge--against the man who tried to killer her and against the corrupt government institutions that nearly destroyed her life.


*My Review* 

I was quite disappointed in this book for the Millennium series. There were so many characters, the book jumped all over the place and all in all, left me feeling confused for the majority of it.

I almost feel that there was no "main" character this time, but a combination of main characters. It almost seems like the author knew how he wanted the book to end, but wasn't sure how to get there so he threw a bunch of scenarios together until the book seemed long enough and then added a nice ending.