The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

So… It was a fast read. I only read it because it was my bookclub choice, as I have been disappointed by the author before. His books are always quick reads so there is definitely something going right. However, if – this time – I did not figure out the twist well before, the twist itself was… well surprising for sure but… [spoiler] Let’s just saw I did not expect a paranormal layer to this book and it was a little hard to swallow. I was not into the usual romance with the hot guy that of course ended up a suspect at some point, but hey, this time he was not guilty lol. [/spoiler]
I liked the setting of the lake houses, I liked the extra twist at the very end… at the end of the day, a lot of mixed feelings about this book!

 

What Lies Between Us
Nina keeps her mother Maggie chained their house. This is a tale of love and hate between two very dysfunctional characters. Damn this book was dark! This is a psychological thriller that contains a bunch of great plot twists and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I read (listened) Keri Blakinger’s book in two sittings. She describes the horror of incarceration while somewhat downplaying her own personal traumatic experiences (in and out of prison), which enlighten her will to expose and not ask for a pity party. The title is brilliant too!
It reminded me of so many people in prison, including my husband, who are going through the worst but still manage to get over that and be optimist. I even call it naivety at times but the truth is it’s resilience.

In July I took a break from books to catch up on podcasts instead. But I squeezed one quick read with Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova. Obviously, this is a very specific subject but if you are interested in tarot, this is a great beginner book.The first part of the book is a discussion about tarot in general, its community and I liked that she truly boost up your confidence. The second part is on card meanings. I was not always completely on board with her interpretation but she always have anecdotes to illustrate them. It was a short, informal but informative read!

 

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
Ok did I pick this book simply because the plot mentioned murders at a Blockbuster Video? Yes. The book goes beyond that because there are not only one set of murders, but a second timeline with another set of teen murders. Both time, there was only one survivor. The final girl from the Blockbuster murders is now trying to help the new girl survivor to go through her trauma and figure out who is the murderer – the same person, or a copycat?
I loved: the strong woman characters, the alleged original killer set free who disappeared, and the short binge-reading format.

How to be an antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I am not gonna lie it was not an easy read. It does require your full attention. I really enjoy that the author looked at his younger self and applies his theories to himself, enlightening the moment he was himself racist while thinking he was fighting racism. For hi, not being racist is not being antiracist, and this is maybe the most important idea in the book and I will surely take it with me. However, I had troubles with some of the extreme he goes to, for example the fact that you are an activist only if you make the laws change, which, in my opinion, you are an activist if you are actively trying to make the laws change. I am unable to say if some of my disagreements come from a possible internalized unconscious racism in me, so for sure the book raised some thinking.

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson
9 strangers each receive a list of names of strangers, except for their own. Quickly after, the people on the list start being murdered…
It was “fun” that one of the investigators was also on the list and overall it was entertaining enough, but I was really disappointed by the big reveal.