fuonlyknew

The Current

by Tim Johnston

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

My Review

Sometimes I think reading the synopsis for a book spoils the reading experience for me. Not in this case. Instead, in my eagerness to know what happened to the two young women on that cold, dark night, I made sure I set aside plenty of time to savor the story. I knew this was going to be a straight through read for me.

The two girls weren’t friends, but then they were.  How that came to be was a great idea by the author. It  made the girls real and likable. I quickly formed a connection with them and it saddened me. I knew the events of that night would leave one of them dead. It had me wishing I could change the outcome. That, to me, is a sure sign the rest of the book will take me places I might not want to go, make me feel things on a higher level and, perhaps, give me an ending I wish were different. Not that that is a bad thing.

All of those feelings, and that’s just the beginning of the book. What comes next is a string of events and reveals that had me both holding my breath, wringing my hands and thinking, oh no, that did not just happen.

I read Descent, another of Tim Johnston’s books. I liked his writing and how he could pen genuine characters and have me thinking I knew what was going to happen and then taking the story in a whole other direction. I got more of that with The Current. And a boatload more suspense. Lovers of this genre need to grab a copy and dive in. Just remember to breathe.

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Synopsis

A Stunning New Novel from the Bestselling Author of Descent

Tim Johnston, whose 2015 national bestseller Descent was called “astonishing” by the Washington Post and “unforgettable” by the Miami Herald, returns with another tour de force about the indelible impact of acrime on the lives of innocent people.

When two young women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them. One father is forced to relive his agony while another’s greatest desire—to bring a killer to justice—is revitalized . . . and the girl who survived the icy plunge cannot escape the sense that she is connected to that earlier unsolved case by more than a river. Soon enough she’s caught up in an investigation of her own that will unearth long-hidden secrets, and stoke the violence that has long simmered just below the surface of the town. Souls frozen in time, ghosts and demons, the accused and the guilty, all stir to life in this cold northern place where memories, like treachery, run just beneath the ice, and where a young woman can come home but still not be safe.

Brilliantly plotted, unrelentingly suspenseful, and beautifully realized, The Current is a gripping page-turner about how the past holds the key to the future as well as an unbreakable grip on the present.

Amazon / B&N

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

One of my goals for this year is to get to the books I’ve had for some time.

Today I’m sharing a book I won in a giveaway that is long overdue for a review. Enjoy!

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 Spiral Of Hooves

  by Roland Clarke

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

My Review

I love horses. Always have. I was one of those typical young girls who hounded their parents for a horse. As a teen I was lucky to be able to train and show Morgan horses with a friend. It was highly competitive and a lot of hard work, and we worked mostly with foals and yearlings.  I think this may be why I enjoyed this book despite some things that didn’t quite work for me.

Something that gave me pause was the characters. There were a lot of them, they hopped around from relationship to relationship and I didn’t really warm up to them. That was okay though. The author definitely knows his stuff. Scenes from the horse shows were exhilarating and put me right there in the arena. And  I was fascinated to learn about the behind the scenes operation of equestrian competitions. I had no idea about the breeding procedures, the training practices of riders and horses, and the amount of money that was involved. I always wondered how this sport could actually be profitable for the owners and riders. Sponsors and technological innovations are a big part of it.  This did sort of make my experience while reading Spiral Of Hooves more of a learning one than a solving a crime one. But, the mystery was pretty good. Not easily solved. And there were plenty of thrills.

 I do feel I would only recommend this book if you have a passion for horses. It is the main focus of the story and one I did enjoy.

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Synopsis

In Canada, researcher Armand Sabatier witnesses what could be the murder of groom Odette Fedon, but traumatic images from his past smother his memory, and a snowstorm buries the evidence. Harassed by nightmares but fighting through them, Armand remembers the crime a few months later. By then he is in England, where he is dragged into a plot involving international sport horse breeding.

Suspecting everyone around him, Armand is forced to brave the past that he has kept buried. But what made Armand leave France? Where did he learn to survive and fight for justice? Why is the English rider Carly Tanner treading the same path as the first victim, Odette?

Can he save Carly before he has more blood on his hands?

Amazon

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The above cover is for the paperback copy I own.

This is an alternative cover.

Which do you like more?

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