Little Lies by Heather Gudenkauf

Little Lies by Heather Gudenkauf

Publisher: Mira, May 2014

Genre: Fiction

Pages: eBook, 45 pages

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

When the body of a woman is discovered in a local park-with her bewildered four-year-old son sitting beside her-veteran social worker Ellen Moore is called in to assist in the police investigation. Positioned beneath a statue of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, the crime is weighted with meaning and, Ellen discovers, remarkably similar to one from a decade past. Ellen's professional duty is to protect the child, but she's not equipped to contend with a killer. As she races to connect the dots, she knows her time is running out. And the stakes are high: if she fails, another mother is sure to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Review:

When I found out this was a short story/prequel, I decided to download the ebook from my library and blow through it in an afternoon. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did but WOW, what a roller coaster ride of pure adventure.

Heather Gudenkauf is an author that I have picked up here and there over the years but not someone that I continually pay attention to and I have to wonder why that is. This is likely the third book of hers that I have read and can honestly say that I loved all of them. It's taking everything in me NOT to order up the book 'Little Mercies' that this book is the prequel to because I have that MUST READ MORE feeling.

Now, with short stories/prequels, I have always read the actual book they are based on before it so I am not sure how exactly Ellen (and family) and Joe are connected in the main story. Whether it is based around the original crime from 13-years ago or if the crimes of 'Little Lies' have nothing to do with it but either way, I am excited about the potential of reading more of these characters. I liked both Ellen and Joe and think there is definitely 'more to the story' of their relationship.

Overall, a very worthwhile read for those who enjoy quick, fast-faced, stories.

The Other Side by Chevy Stevens

The Other Side by Chevy Stevens

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, April 2013

Genre: Fiction, Short Story

Pages: eBook, 44 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

An original ebook short story from bestselling author Chevy Stevens featuring Psychiatrist Nadine Lavoie and Staff Sergeant Sandy McBride, from Sandy is working the biggest case of her life - the Campsite Killer, who has been hunting women for almost forty years.  She's finally close to nailing him, if she can just keep her head in the game.  But when an old friend calls with a lead about Sandy's mother's murder, Sandy is pulled into the past—a past she thought she'd closed the door on. Her life is about to get real complicated, real fast.

Review:

Even at 44 pages long, Chevy Stevens has me pulled in with her amazing writing style. I absolutely love how she weaves a story and how her characters feel like real people.

The Other Side is a short story based off the characters and plot of the book Never Knowing so I definitely recommend reading that first. There was a significant amount of overlap between the two and at least half of this story was pulled directly from Never Knowing so if you read them back-to-back, it may come off as redundant. As it was a while between the stories for me, it was a nice refresher. I did enjoy the added elements to Sandy McBride's story.

As with all of Chevy Stevens work, this was a worthwhile, and very quick, read!

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown/Archetype, November 2015

Genre: Fiction, Short Story/Novella

Pages: eBook, 64 pages

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan’s terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan’s teenage stepson, doesn’t help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.

Review:

I really enjoy Gillian Flynn's book and have read all of them so when I saw that she had a short story out, I picked it up from the local library but I feel very conflicted.

While the middle section of the story was amazing, a page-turner that I couldn't stop reading, both the beginning and end were boring. In fact, I almost stopped reading about 3-4 pages before it got interesting and then when it ended, I felt a little like "what the heck just happened... did it actually end that way?". I was left feeling disappointed and unfulfilled... is that possible when you are reading a 'book' that has less than 100 pages? I don't know but if you end a story with a sour taste, it really doesn't make you want to recommend it to others and this is a really cool 'supernatural' story that I think had the bones to be an awesome full-length book.

So, taking all that in, I would say it IS worth the read because of how quick you will get through it but will warn you to be prepared for an ending that may leave you wanting something more.