Roger's Reads

Author & Book Reviewer

Review of The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

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Turn of the keyI’ve read other Ruth Ware books which I’ve enjoyed and was excited when I heard that she was coming out with a reimagining of Henry James’ novel “Turn of the Screw.” Well, I wasn’t really excited about the Turn of the Screw thing as I read it years ago when I was young and found it totally boring. I probably should give it a reread because I was pretty young when I read it.

Regardless, I ended up absolutely loving The Turn of the Key, a gothic-style thriller about a nannying position that has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

The story is told in epistolary format and follows a young potentially murderous nanny named Rowan Caine who is writing to an attorney named Mr. Wrexham from prison, in the hopes that he’ll represent her.

She is charged with murdering one of the children in her care. Through the letters, Rowan recounts her story about what really happened and all the events leading up to it. She ends her first letter by stating that she is innocent, meaning the true murderer is still on the loose.

As we learn, she spotted an ad for a live-in-nanny offering an unbelievably generous salary. When she arrives at Heatherbrae house for an interview, she finds a large, secluded gothic-style home situated in the remote Scottish countryside.

But she learns that though gothic on the outside, the house is, in fact, a “smart home” with everything from the lights to the locks to the appliance controlled via an app. I thought the blend of a Victorian-style house fully equipped with modern smart devices lent an extra bit of intrigue to the story, especially once we get the gothic horror element combined with the modern gadgets. It’s as if the house had a split personality.

So also learns that several recent nannies have left — four in the past year — because of their belief that the house is haunted, and as we learn, the house has quite a dark history. This is, of course, our first clue that something’s amiss with this too-good-to-be-true nanny position and of course, Rowan wonders what could have driven off so many nannies, especially those who left abruptly in the middle of the night. But the salary is too generous to pass up, and she’s determined to get the job. A job offer soon follows, and Rowan finds herself the nanny of four children ranging from 18 months to 14 years old.

When she arrives at the house, she’s more than surprised to discover that she’s to be immediately left alone with the children for a couple of weeks while the parents are out of town, meaning that she doesn’t even have a chance to become acclimated to her new environment. But she’s confident that she can handle it. That is until strange things begin to happen — things that very well could be supernatural in nature, such as malfunctioning smart devices, cold spots, creaking floors, missing belongings, and disappearing keys.

Oh – and there’s also a garden chock full of poisonous flowers and plants next to the house.

We also learn that Rowan isn’t completely innocent here and she arrives at the house with her own set of secrets. It’s hinted at early on that she may not be quite the person she presents herself to be and that her resume may have been embellished a bit, suggesting that she may have been unsuitable for the position. Of course, all her secrets come out at the end.

There was quite a desperate and claustrophobic feeling to this story as Rowan struggled to understand the smart home’s various controls, panels, switches, and apps, completely cut off from the rest of the world. I also found the idea of being under constant surveillance in every room of the house to be a tad unsettling as well as being in charge of mistrusting and openly hostile children.

There were so many delightful plot twists and red herrings in the story, most of which I didn’t see coming and I did not see the ending coming at all (speaking of the ending, make sure you read the Epilogue!). The story itself is fast-paced and picked up even more during the second half, especially once Rowan’s terror escalates.

It’s an unnerving and unsettling story, and it set my heart racing several times as I white-knuckled my way through the harrowing events. It was atmospheric and super-creepy, though it probably didn’t help that I read during the middle of the night while alone in a strange hotel room in a strange town.

But all in all, I found The Turn of the Key to be rich, complicated, creative, and clever — a spine-tingling, tension-packed gripper of a tale. I thought that Ware did a masterful job of layering on the twisty intrigue and mysteries until the reader is almost frantically turning the pages, impatient to find out what the hell is going on.

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Review of Tin Man by Sarah Winman

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Tin manTin Man is an emotional character-driven story that opens in the 1960s and follows our two protagonists, Ellis and Michael who have been friends since they were children. But somewhere along the way, the friendship grew into something more.

Then the novel fast-forwards to the mid-1990s, and we learn that Ellis is married to a woman named Annie and Michael is out of the picture. Shifting back and forth between past and present, the author fills in the blanks, complete with agonizing pining, multiple tragedies, and death, rendering this a genuinely heart-wrenching story. I’ve seen this book referred to as “almost a love story” and I feel that’s an excellent description for it because it is definitely NOT a romance; but it is a profound exploration of the strong bonds of friendship.

The first half of the book is told from Ellis’s point of view and the second is told from Michael’s as they drift in and out of each other’s lives. I felt that the dual perspectives really added a depth and richness to the story as we experience both of their viewpoints in relation to the events in their lives.

There really isn’t much of a plot or storyline here — but rather, it’s more of an in-depth, introspective character study/memoir of two people and the bittersweet, complex story of their lives, loves, and losses. The story is at times dreamy and ethereal — almost haunting in places — as we flow in and out of each of the characters’ lives, so in this regard, I found it quite atmospheric and evocative.

Tin Man is a short book, so I can’t say too much about it without spoiling it, but even though it’s short, it packs a considerable punch. It’s a tender, beautiful tale of a first love with lush, lyrical writing that will break your heart in places. The story deals with some hard-hitting topics such as grief, longing, loss, sadness, regret, and loneliness.

It’s worth mentioning that there are no quotation marks used in the novel nor are there any chapter breaks so that, along with the switching back and forth between past and present (which isn’t always distinctive) may prove to be challenging for some folks. It definitely takes some getting used to.

Still, if you enjoy meandering character-driven novels, then I feel Tin Man is well worth a read as it is a beautiful, deeply emotional story and deals with many important topics such as friendship, desire, fitting in, family, and of course, grief and loss. There’s a lot going on here for such a small book and I don’t think it’s a story that I’ll forget about anytime soon.

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Review of Seance on a Summer’s Night by Josh Lanyon

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Seance on a summers nightSeance on a Summer’s Night follows theater critic Artemus who is summoned by his Aunt Halcyone to come to the Green Lantern Inn, her home in California. When Artie arrives, he learns the reason for the summons: Aunt Halcyone is having ghost problems and believes that her house is haunted. In fact, the ghosts have frightened off all the guests, and because of it, the inn is beginning to fall into disrepair. Halcyone believes it’s her late husband Ogden, who was killed in a car crash the year before, who is haunting the inn.

Now Artie is a skeptic and does not believe in ghosts; yet right after his arrival, he notices strange happenings such as footsteps walking on the floor above him at night. Ogden’s distraught sister Liana, who spends her days alone in her room reading Tarot cards, insists on hosting regular seances with the aid of a local psychic medium/spiritualist named Roma Loveridge to communicate with her brother. Artie reluctantly joins in, and as it turns out, the seances are quite creepy; yet Artie isn’t sure whether they’re real or a hoax.

Though everyone else in the house believes the place is haunted, Artie isn’t buying it and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, especially once the so-called ghost threatens his Aunt. But he is certain that it is the living and not the dead who is behind the strange occurrences. Though because of the accusations by the ghost, Artie can help but wonder whether his staunch Aunt did have something to do with his uncle’s death after all.

So I’m a massive fan of the haunted house trope, and this one did not disappoint. It had all of the classic elements of a gothic ghost story: a psychic medium, creepy and hostile housekeepers, a mysterious (and hunky!) gardener, dim lighting, strange noises, an enormous old house, secret passages, possible murder and of course, ghostly apparitions.

What’s funny about this story, is that it had an old-time gothic feel to it, though it is a modern-day story. I kept forgetting that it takes place in recent times and not during the 1920s or 1930s, and I found the modern references a tad jarring in places. That being said, because of the descriptions and dialog, this story might have worked better were it set in an earlier time period.

I really enjoyed the mystery and loved journeying along with this oddball set of characters as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fit into place. I also loved all the clues peppered throughout the story that made figuring out the mystery all the more fun.

Josh Lanyon is known for writing M/M romance novels, but as is typical with most of her books, the romance is secondary to the mystery, and that certainly is the case here. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the ghost story plot so if you’re looking for a steamy gay romance, you won’t find that here. What you will find, however, is a fun cozy mystery featuring a witty and sarcastic protagonist, a zany cast of well-thought-out secondary characters with plenty of secrets and plenty of flirting between the two male leads. There were also several laugh-out-loud scenes as well, which added to the light-heartedness/coziness of the story.

I’ve read quite a few Josh Lanyon novels, and this one did not disappoint. All in all, Seance on a Summer’s Night is a smart and original cozy mystery/gay romance story with a rapidly moving plot, irresistible characters and a good number of twists that kept me engaged throughout.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and to Josh Lanyon for providing me with a review copy of this book.

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Review of Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

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Whered you go bernadetteWhere’d You Go Bernadette is told in epistolary format and revolves around anti-social Bernadette Fox, a former genius-level architect who appears to be agoraphobic, impulsive and suffers from severe social anxiety; her mostly-absent husband Elgie who is an executive computer engineer at Microsoft; and their fifteen-year-old daughter Bee, who has overcome a congenital heart condition and is now a straight-A student at a progressive charter school. Bernadette doesn’t get along with any of the other mothers at her daughter’s school (she refers to them all as “gnats”) and is in a bitter battle with her next-door neighbor Audrey Griffin, who definitely has it out for Bernadette. When her daughter Bee states that she wants a trip to Antartica as the promised reward for her perfect grade, Bernadette freaks out about the trip and begins to have sort of a meltdown.

Everything comes crashing down on Bernadette after her rivalry with Audrey escalates resulting in a mudslide (yes, a mudslide!). After a failed intervention by her husband Elgie, Bernadette disappears without a trace. Now it’s up to her daughter Bee to figure out what happened to her mother. And that’s what she does: by putting together a gigantic compilation of a complex series of emails, voicemails, school memos to parents, faxes, doctor bills, newspaper articles and even doctor reports, all of which reveal Bernadette’s backstory and secret past, of which most people were unaware (I won’t spoil what her secret is). It through all of these devices that Bee tells her mother’s story.

This novel ended up being a fun and entertaining satire on wealth and privilege, with many of the characters being self-deluded and clueless, resulting in some quite humorous over-the-top scenes. Come to think of it, Bernadette’s entire family and all of those around her are all over-the-top caricatures. In fact, everyone seems a bit mad.

I especially loved Bernadette’s character. She’s wildly eccentric, quirky and super complex: a brilliant woman whose suppressed artist talents have resulted in depression and anxiety, yet she’s still hopeful at the end of the day.

There were also quite a few surprising plot twists in the story, and everything came together beautifully at the end. This was such a humorous and inventive novel, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I found myself chuckling out loud several times while working my way through the story.

I also appreciated that one of the themes of the story points out what can happen to our mental state if we suppress our inner talents and instead, simply choose to “settle.” All in all, I loved this wacky novel, and if you can appreciate satire with plenty of dark humor, and are willing to suspend disbelief a little, then this book is well worth the read.

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Review of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Gods of jade and shadowThis was last month’s Book of the Month Club selection whose synopsis grabbed my attention right from the get-go. I just couldn’t resist a book was the words “Mayan Death God” and “1920’s” in the description and turned out to be a delightful Mayan folklore story chock full of mythology.

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a standalone fantasy story that takes place during the Jazz Age in the Roaring ’20s and follows a young woman named Casiopea Tun who lives in Yucatán, Mexico. She and her mother are considered the poor relations and are pretty much servants, spending their days slaving away for their wealthy and tyrannical grandfather.

So one day, she discovers that her grandfather has left the key for the strange wooden trunk in his room, a trunk that has always remained locked. Unable to resist her curiosity, Casiopea opens the chest and inadvertently releases the Mayan god of Death, Hun-Kamé, who was apparently imprisoned in the trunk.

We learn that Hun-Kamé was the king of his realm and his twin brother, Vucub-Kamé, trapped him in the trunk and stole the kingdom, which is their Underworld called Xibalba, which is basically the land of Death. So Hun-Kamé, the rightful king and Supreme Lord of Xilbalba, requests Casiopea’s help in getting back his throne. Well, I shouldn’t say request — as it turns out, she doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter (for reasons I won’t go into).

Now the kicker is, is that if she fails, she dies. But if she succeeds, her deepest desire can come true. What follows is a harrowing journey as Casiopea, along with the handsome yet commanding death-god, embark on a treacherous adventure into Mexico City and subsequently into the dark Underworld, and along the way, encounter all manner of gods, demons and creatures.

I love a book where there’s an adventurous quest, and this one didn’t disappoint. From what I understand, this story is a fairytale-inspired by Mexican folklore. Now don’t worry if your knowledge of Mayan history and culture is lacking, as the author lays it all out in an easy-to-understand and compelling manner — there’s even a handy glossary in the back of the book. All the details you need are worked seamlessly into the action.

The prose in the story is luxurious, lyrical, and incredibly imaginative with vivid descriptions, a truly magical plot and a vast arrayP of exciting and complex characters. I loved the otherworldly, fairytale aspect to this tale and found it utterly enchanting. The blending of the old Mayan myths, legends, and gods with the new lifestyle of the 1920s really worked well for me.

I also thought that the world-building was terrific! It was so much fun to immerse myself into it and watch as the story slowly expanded it. The vibrant world that the author created here in this story was magical, captivating, twisty, and compelling yet also dark and dangerous. I felt that the detail that went into the storytelling here really brought it to life — at least it did for me.

I loved Casiopea’s character and felt she’s a phenomenal heroine. She’s feisty, headstrong, brave, determined, defiant, proud and refuses to take crap from anyone — even from Death himself — and I found myself falling in love with her more and more as the story progressed.

All in all, I loved this inventive and addictive story. It was elegantly written and well-constructed, with an evocative and gripping plot that I found fascinating. I thought that the author seamlessly blended the real and the mythic in a way that was a joy to read.

It also had a satisfying character arc for both of our protagonists, which I appreciated as both of them really changed and grew throughout the story. There was also an exceptional chemistry between the two main characters, which only increased as the story progressed.

So yeah, I loved the book, and I hope to read more of this author’s work.

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Review of Grace Logan and the Goblin Bones by Pam Binder

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Grace logan and the goblin bonesThe story follows fifteen-year-old Grace Logan, a free-spirited young woman who yearns for adventure and longs to be a pirate like her father. But instead, all she has to look forward to is an arranged marriage.

But before her wedding can take place, the unthinkable happens: an unknown enemy has captured her father. Once an attempt is made on her life and a sleeping/death curse is placed on her home, Grace’s eyes are opened for the first time, and she discovers that she is surrounded by magic and magical beings.

Determined, she makes the decision to go on a quest to rescue her father from the Goblin underworld. Additionally, she discovers that a student, John Dee (yes, THAT John Dee) has stolen a magical book from her family and unless she retrieves it, the world will be thrown in utter chaos.

So Grace, along with two Sidhe friends, embark on a harrowing adventure into the world of Goblin, an adventure fraught with danger. Grace faces all manner of instances and comes face-to-face with a variety of monsters/creatures from Irish myth and along the way, learns more about herself, her family and friend than she ever thought possible.

This story is actually chock-full of Irish history, myth, and mythology, including faeries and folktales, and it was a delight to read about it. I will say, however, that for someone who isn’t familiar with Irish mythology (and the Book of Invasions), some of the information may seem a tad overwhelming. I have studied Irish mythology a bit, so I quite enjoyed the manner in which the author wove in these myths and legends, which added extra depth to the storytelling.

I loved Grace Logan and the Goblin Bones and found it to be an atmospheric novel where magic can be found in the mundane. This is a pulse-quickening story, and I loved how the author took these old myths and legends and turned them into something new and fresh. It was an exciting novel with fascinating characters and a fast-moving storyline which kept me on the edge of my seat. Prepare to be dazzled.

Many thanks to Pam Binder and The Wild Rose Press for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

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