Happy Thursday and first day of my yearly personal awards!
Today I’ll be choosing my favorite thriller read this year.
I am not a big reader of the genre but I have two books that impressed the hell out of me for different reasons!
The first one is a psychological thriller , very twisted and that had me tense the whole read! Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe.
To give you an idea, I took 19 pages of notes while reading… 19!
That story gave me so many thoughts and feelings I needed to write them. Also I literally couldn’t stop reading once Sayers had been abducted. I finished my read in the evening, heart thudding, shoulders aching for having been tense all the time and looking like a sad panda as I had bawled like a baby the last 30% of the book!
This is a hell of a psychological thriller dissecting all that you would do or rather what your mind would do to survive! It had me on pins and needles, horrified more than once!
I can’t count the time I thought: “Oh no Robin, don’t do this, don’t do this, don’t do this to me!” Yet she did. Never did she shy away from a difficult scene to hit us in the chest with the feelings, the dread, the tension, the horror but also… the hope.
Robin did an amazing job showing us mind manipulation and all the strong and mixed feelings someone can have for his captor.
My second winner is more of an atmospheric thriller that I would compare to Where the Crawdads Sing for its beauty! Nature has a front seat and it mesmerized me!
These Silent Woods by Kimmy Cunningham Grant.
Well, I think the last part of the blurb with : ” Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.” Is actually perfect to sum up my feelings while listening to that book!
I might also add, having just finished listening on my Sunday walk, that I was choking on tears all while attempting to keep my pace! The last part of that story was VERY intense and poignant and I am sure other walkers lust have thought I was either grieving someone, either living a bad break up! 😉
That story was a slow burn, going crescendo until the shocking final twist! All along I couldn’t help but wait for a dramatic finale that will leave me gutted because I couldn’t help rooting for Cooper, even if what he did to keep Finch was reckless because, what would I do to protect and care for my own kid really?
Also special mention to the narrator Bronson Pinchot whose soft, deep and sometimes rumbling voice was just perfect to embody Cooper.
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
I definitely want to pick up Dark Room Etiquette. My library still had it on order last time I checked so I need to check again.
I’ve read both and you chose well! These Silent Woods was one of my favorite books last year
Oooh that makes me very happy Tammy!
I don’t read too many thrillers but always enjoy them when I do. These two are new to me and you definitely have me wanting to check them both out!
I hope you’ll find your next best read Suzanne!
I am trying to think if anything I read would be classified as a thriller. Maybe The Last Thing He Said by Laura Dave? It was great.
Oh I was waiting for your feedback on that one as I was considering reading it!
Love that you loved these! Best atmospheric book for me would be Spells for Forgetting!
I liked that one too Caro!
Thrillers are always so much fun and these both sound so intense of reads for you. I love how psychological thrillers really get so involved with the reader. Looks like 2022 delivered some great thrillers for you.
It did even if I don’t read that many it’s been quality over quantity!