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OutsmartYourShelf
The Bodies | Sam Lloyd
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Pickpick

In the early hours one morning, Joseph Carver finds his teenage son, Max, in the kitchen frantically trying to clean his bloodied hands. Max says there's been an accident - he killed someone with his car, tried to help them but when it was obvious they were dead, he panicked & fled the scene with the body. Joseph promised his late wife that he would always protect Max so he decides to cover it up & helps Max bury the body.

OutsmartYourShelf It's all sorted until Joseph finds out that Max lied to him about the accident as the car doesn't have any damage & he swore he didn't know who the victim was & yet Joseph found a wallet in Max's room. If Max lied about that what else could he be lying about? A few days later Max calls Joseph saying he needs his help & when he arrives there's another dead body.... 5h
OutsmartYourShelf Wow, this was a non-stop, fast-paced ride! It's intense, gripping, & almost gives the reader whiplash with the switch-back reveals. With the decisions Joseph makes, you're sitting there thinking “Really?!“, but there's no denying it grabs the attention. The reader has a front seat view into Joseph's mind as he starts to crumble from the pressure of it all. 5h
OutsmartYourShelf If you enjoyed the author's previous books 'The Memory Wood' & 'The Rising Tide' you'll love this one. 4.5🌟

TWs: [major] violence, murder / [minor] animal death

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Transworld Publishers/Bantam, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7595169546
Read 17th-18th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
(edited) 5h
13 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

When 90-year-old care home resident, Daphne St Clair, confesses to being a serial killer, everyone wants to be the one to break the story. Why would someone who has gotten away with decades of murders suddenly confess? Podcaster, Ruth King, is the person Daphne chooses to tell her story, but as they get to know each other during the interviews, it becomes clear that neither of them are telling the whole truth.....

OutsmartYourShelf This is a great read! Daphne is a mix of an even more ruthless Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind, & Debbie Jellinsky from Addams Family Values - scheming & marrying her way out of poverty & disposing of her rich husbands when they outstay their welcome. Daphne also has a very droll sense of humour about it all & is really quite unrepentant. It neatly skewers the double standards back then & also highlights the constant pressure on women 1d
OutsmartYourShelf to make being the perfect wife & mother their whole personality, without complaint.

The author doesn't shy away from making Daphne completely unlikeable in a lot of ways, yet the reader can't help but tag along to see what she does next. Unfortunately Ruth suffers from being in the bright light of Daphne's all-encompassing personality & seems rather drab & dull in comparison. It was a fascinating look at a female serial killer,
1d
OutsmartYourShelf albeit a fictional one, which isn't afraid to look at the darker aspects of ordinary life.
4🌟

TWs; sexual assault, murder, misogyny.

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Headline/Mountain Leopard Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7424270826
Read 14th-16th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
1d
OutsmartYourShelf albeit a fictional one, which isn't afraid to look at the darker aspects of ordinary life.
4🌟

TWs; sexual assault, murder, misogyny.

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Headline/Mountain Leopard Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7424270826
Read 14th-16th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
1d
DieAReader 🎉Fantastic!! 23h
30 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

The prequel to 'The Final Hunt' & 'The Last Hunt' is set in 1985 & is about the making of a serial killer. Weaving in parts of the story from the real-life Green River Killer, this one has pace & some surprising twists. Like Cameron (the female MC in the main two books), Holly Sparks is a lead character that the reader can't help rooting for & you really want her to find the evidence to uncover her sister's killer. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf The development of John from an unwilling witness to becoming the Teacher Killer (not a spoiler!) is very well done, but I'm still conflicted on whether the twist concerning Det. Tanner Mulholland was a twist too far or not. If you like fast-paced thrillers with sympathetic main characters & haven't read this short series yet, I recommend you do. 4🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, BooksGoSocial, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
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DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 3d
30 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Mehso-so

Ten lucky winners are on their way to the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon. Two weeks of luxury & pampering awaits, however, the guests soon discover all is not as it seems. It soon becomes clear that they are the only people there, all the staff have mysteriously left. Detective Penelope Strand is sure that something nefarious is about to happen & sure enough, the next morning one of the group is found dead. (cont)

OutsmartYourShelf Is someone else hiding at the hotel or is one of the 9 remaining guests a killer?

I've said before I love the isolated location trope & there's few places more isolated than being stuck on the moon. When I started this one, I thought it was going to be a lunar-themed take on 'And Then There Were None', but there's not enough deaths for that. In fact, to say that this was a group of people isolated in the most extreme of circumstances,
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OutsmartYourShelf there was hardly any jeopardy. There was a lot of back & forth, walking around the hotel & it felt quite slow for a thriller - the final 20% was much better but by then it was a bit too late. The MC (Penelope) was also a bit bland. It was an adequate thriller but I felt it was a little disappointing. 3.25⭐

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5737610191
Read 12th-14th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
5d
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 5d
28 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Into Thin Air | Jon Krakauer
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Pickpick

An account of an expedition to Everest which culminated in the deaths of 8 people including 2 experienced guides. In March 1996 three separate groups were caught out not far from the summit by a severe storm. This is a detailed account of the climb & an examination of the factors which led to the tragedy & leaves the reader wondering if such exploration is really worth the cost in lives.

OutsmartYourShelf The highest I've ever climbed is Snowden which is a mere 3560 ft - an eighth of Everest's 29,030 ft - & that was enough for me. I am fascinated with the history of mountaineering though so find these books riveting. It's easy reading in hindsight to wince at some of the decisions made but one must also remember that most climbers at that height are suffering from hypoxia which affects decision-making: “there but for the grace of God“ & all.

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OutsmartYourShelf This account is in turns intense, thrilling, exhilarating, & tragic as the author takes you with him every step of the way. 4.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2545308773
Read 8th - 14th June 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
6d
KCofKaysville @OutsmartYourShelf I really liked this a few years ago. 6d
DieAReader 🥳Fantastic! 6d
CoffeeK8 This is one of my favorite nonfiction books! 6d
30 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Fandom | Anna Day
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Pickpick

Violet is attending Comic Con where the actors from her favourite book-turned-into-a-film 'The Gallows Dance' are due to appear, when a freak accident transport Violet, younger brother Nate, & friends Alice & Katie into the story world for real. Now they are right in the midst of the struggle between the perfect 'Gems' & the 'Imps' (Imperfects) but their appearance derails the story & causes the death of 'Imp' heroine, Rose.

OutsmartYourShelf Now Violet has to take Rose's place & convince 'Gem' Willow to fall in love with her instead of Rose & kickstart the revolution. Violet knows the book by heart so it should be simple - except the characters don't stick to the storyline, there's much more going on behind the scenes than the book ever explained, & why is Violet so attracted to side character Ash? 1w
OutsmartYourShelf This one has been on my TBR shelf for ages & I have no idea why I haven't read it until now. I really enjoyed it & was actually rather sorry to finish it so I ordered the sequel straight after. I loved the 'Gallows Dance' world & there were some funny asides about YA dystopian tropes in series like the 'Hunger Games' & 'Allegiant'.
4.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2093564494
Read 10th-13th Jun 2025
1w
DieAReader 💖💖💖 6d
32 likes1 stack add4 comments