Review: Our Share of Night

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bizarre. Brutal. Brilliant.

Loved it from start to finish.

Honestly, I was so captivated by the strangeness of this novel. We're greeted with an ailing man, Juan, and his young son, Gaspar, and escorted into The Order - a macabre sect that worships 'the Darkness'- an entity for which Juan is a medium. That's the very, VERY short version.

I loved the story here, and was entranced watching it unfold. It spans many decades, so we hear from a variety of characters who all tell the story their own way. It rounds out our experience of events and allows us to connect with each of these characters - no matter how minor some parts may be. Plus it's all set to a backdrop of turmoil - Argentina was just not a fun place to be in the late 70s/early 80s.

The writing is exquisite - this is what I'd consider award-worthy fiction. The way the story is crafted is sheer brilliance. The elegance of how it all comes together; how chapters begin, progress, and end; how important ideas are woven in seamlessly; how seemingly insignificant details still stick enough that they're easily remembered later. It was a truly pleasurable reading experience.

In terms of the 'horror', this was less atmospheric and more about the notion of worshipping this dark god, and how that manifests in its disciples. Things alluded to yet not written, with enough gory details that we're still satisfied and properly offended. I enjoyed it all immensely.

Thinking on it, this probably tops the list for me this year. I can't think of a single thing I didn't enjoy about it - even the size of it didn't bother me because it went down so easily.

A twisted tale, a dark delight. Highly recommend.

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Review: The Other Side of Night

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What the heck did you do to me, Adam Handy?

This story popped up outta nowhere and just attached itself to me then took a chunk out.

I may never be okay again.

I can't go too further into the plot than the blurb does - essentially, this is about three people and how their lives connect. Harri is the beat down cop looking to prove herself, Elliot is the orphan, and Ben is his carer and Harri's 'one that got away'. But there's the murder of Elliot's parents to solve, and someone is keeping too many secrets.

This is an absorbing novel that travels the full spectrum of human emotion. Ben is a questionable character and it's so hard to even guess at his motives. I felt a range of emotions reading about his actions because you really do question what his goal is. Harri rubbed me the wrong way to begin with but she grew on me and I really enjoyed the way she interacted with Elliot. All the characters were brilliantly written.

This is a story-within-a-story, and at times that aspect didn't really work for me. The reasoning for the 'author' having so much detail was a little weak to me and it tarnished the overall feel a little. Towards the end the logic made a little more sense, but I'm still not sure that story-within-a-story was the right way to tell this one. Still, the writing is quite concise and put together well, making this an easy read.

The way everything tied together at the end really threw me, and made this a standout novel in my eyes. I wasn't expecting it, and I loved how beautiful it became with its dedication to expressing love in all its forms.

A memorable novel that I'll likely be thinking about for a while. It may take a little patience to begin with but the payoff is worth it and those looking for something out of the ordinary will do well to pick this one up.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy

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Review: Shelter

Shelter by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another highly addictive read from Harlan Coben!

I enjoyed how this series jumped on from the end of the last one. Mickey is a fun kid and I like the more teenage side of things. The school drama from the perspective of a kid who doesn't take crap. FINALLY.

More than anything, I really enjoyed the fight talk. Clearly the author knows his stuff here, and I can clearly see these fights playing out. There's logic to go with the action, and Mickey is a good fighter but he's still not pulling any godly stunts. I appreciate that.

The mystery was quite fascinating and took me in a surprising direction. I loved how diverse the case was - it drew in so many random elements.

The characters are a lot of fun, too - a motley crew of outcasts, all solving crime under the shadow of Mickey's badass uncle.

An addictive read for sure, and one that held my interest through every page. Highly recommend for crime fans.

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