Welcome to Litsy!

Page turning literary thriller. I enjoyed it @Cathythoughts!

I‘m not sure what to make of “the observer” though. 🤔 Interesting it turns out the women are the “better” characters.

This is the story of a house in the woods where a murder happens. The house remains empty for many years, until a new family move in hoping to repair their relationships and their lives.
At times I wanted to bail because it was really very scary, and because of my intense dislike for a certain character. But I was too caught up in the story, so well written and unputdownable. The house is a character too and also the snow.

This is such a cool book. A family moves to a deserted house where a murder took place years before. A sex obsessed father, a mother who tries to save their marriage and their smart lovely kid, who is intrigued by the murder. More characters are introduced as is the sleepy town of Broken River, almost ghost town like. The setting, the atmosphere, the characters, the plot, the genre bending: it‘s all so good!!

Pic: Rabat, Morocco

A Valentine gift to myself 🤣 #backlisting

I couldn‘t put this one down. An immersive read with a great balance of creepy and funny, and with fantastic characters. Such a good story, too. I‘ve now loved both books I‘ve read by Lennon.

Having a pretty good Saturday. 😊 I‘m loving this book so far! @vivastory I think you recommended it after Subdivision. Great rec!

Day 18 of #21DaysofHorror
One of my goals with some of these posts was to highlight books that are under the radar. Such as my pick for today: J. Robert Lennon's Broken River. In a bid to save their marriage Karl & Eleanor move from Brooklyn to the rural town of Brooklyn River with their daughter Irina. Irina, along with her novelist mother, dives into the bloody past of the house. What is so remarkable about Lennon's book & why I included it👇

Eerie and unique, I loved this book!

Full review: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/

What a cool book. This is not a fast-paced psychological thriller, but a clever and slow-burning domestic drama with the fatalism of a Greek tragedy.

Lennon's writing is cerebral and metaphysical, exploring the nature of cause and effect, the line between existential randomness and predetermined outcomes. How much control do we possess over our own lives, limited beings that we are? Are we all just part of a meaningless and fatalistic narrative?

Well, yeah, why do you think I read so much? 😏

Hairdresser is perfect place to get reading in. I'm a spacelady. Really enjoying this one so far #currentlyreading

J. Robert Lennon was a great guest at the shop and I really enjoyed this unclassifiable read. Got some Twin Peaks action going on. Liked it a lot. Can't wait to hear what's he's up to next!

Karl, Eleanor & their daughter, Irina move to Broken River after learning Karl's infidelities. They move into a house that has an unsolved double murder. This is also told from the perspective of 'The Observer' who's a ghost/spirit that dwells in the home but can move around as it wants. It has a strong beginning but kind of meanders in the middle. I didn't find this suspenseful at all nor was this a psychological thriller. It was funny at times.

This month's subscription selection from Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville, NC... I have never heard of it, which is exactly why I have this subscription! I think this is the first thriller they have sent. #bookmail

A smart tale of dysfunctional marriage with thriller & supernatural elements. Lennon's voice, an opinionated third person narrator, called to mind Victor Lavalle (especially "The Devil in Silver"). "Broken River" features great characters, including an engaging pre-adolescent character. Lennon writes memorably about family relationships & the basic human craving for narrative.

The relationship between twelve year old Irina & her parents is one of the funniest I have read in awhile.

Lily and I are rudely ignoring the SO while I read and she snuggles down. That's just bad manners. Of course, the SO is actually reading, too.

The final haul. Home. Holy cats- that was the bomb!