What I read in April

I read 4 books in April and am on target with my Goodreads goal. The 4th book was the one that everyone seemed to love and which I felt was not that great.

So warning: unpopular opinion alert at the end of this post!

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish

The Plot: It started as an ordinary day for Jamie, commuting to work by riverbus as he has done for months with Kit. When his friend fails to turn up one morning after Christmas, Jamie doesn’t suspect anything. Kit is often late and catches a later riverbus.

But when police are waiting for him at his stop he learns Kit is missing. They say another passenger saw him and Kit fighting a few days before. As they delve into the past year, the argument and incriminating text messages sent……the police say Jamie had a motive.

Jamie doesn’t know who the other passenger is or what they know about his life. He is innocent….isn’t he?

What I thought: This is another page turner by Louise Candlish! Jamie and his partner Clare meet Kit and Melia through Clare’s work. As the year progresses Clare feels it is time to distance themselves while Jamie is drawn to the couple and ends up spending more time with them. His decision has disastrous results and this book was full of twists and turns.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Invisible girl by Lisa Jewell

The plot: Saffyre went through something terrible when she was younger and the Dr who was supposed to heal her, never did. Now she hides and watches him.

Owen is also invisible. He has no girlfriend, no friends and only a dismissive aunt who he stays with.

When Saffyre goes missing outside Owen’s house on Valentine’s Day, he grows from unseen to front page news. Owen cannot remember what happened that evening but nobody seems to believe him.

What I thought: I’m a huge Lisa Jewell fan but found this book took me a little longer to get into than others. The books is told from a few characters points of view - Saffyre, Owen and Cate who is the wife of Roan - the Dr who treated Saffyre.

Some chapters felt a little drawn out but it is a good slow burning thriller. There is quite a twist at the end.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

An Unwanted guest by shari lapena

The plot: Guests arrive at a beautiful and remote inn looking forward to a peaceful weekend deep in the forest.

When a violent storm starts on their first night, the guests wake up to find they are completely cut off with no electricity or way to contact anyone outside the hotel. The snow makes it impossible to leave the hotel.

Then a body is found and they realise there is a killer amongst them.

What I thought: This book had such promise to be a thriller but almost ended up in my DNF pile. There were so many characters and most of them not very likable (and ironically mostly disliking each other from early in the book). As the weekend wears on, the guests start to turn on each other while suspecting that one of them is the killer. Everyone seems to have had some motive but the ending was a real surprise.

My Goodreads rating: 2 stars

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

The plot: Tiffy has just broken up with her boyfriend and needs a cheap place to stay. Leon needs cash. He works nights and Tiffy works days. Leon spends weekends with his girlfriend Kay.

Leon and Tiffy share a bed but have never met. The arrangements seems to work well - they communicate via post it notes left in the flat - what could go wrong?

What I thought: I heard so many good reviews about this book that I was sure I’d love it too.

But I just didn’t.

Leon was my favourite character. He works in a hospice doing the night shift, worries about his brother Richie who has been wrongfully imprisoned and he has a girlfriend Kay who is far from supportive and understanding. I loved the way he cared about his patients and how brave he had to be for his brother and mother. He was truly an awesome character.

BUT. I just didn’t warm to Tiffy. I found her incessant reliance on her friends to be a theme that grew old quickly. Anything that happens throughout the book - Mo, Gerty and Rachel have to hear about it and put Tiffy back together. I often wondered how old she was in the book - don’t think this is mentioned?

Another thing was that I kept thinking the book was going to go deeper into the issues of gaslighting and emotional abuse but the topics seem to be skimmed over and then shelved. Tiffy has an ex boyfriend that keeps popping up and it becomes irritating fast.

My Goodreads rating: I felt generous giving 3.

Linking up with the fabulous Steph https://www.lifeaccordingtosteph.com/ and Jana http://janasays.com/ with Show Us Your Books.