September 2022: Books I Read Last Month

Written by Graeme

August was a mixed bag for me in terms of reading.

I traveled to the UK at the beginning of the month. While on that trip, I did very little reading.

However we then went to a rented cottage for the last week of the month, and I did a ton of reading there.

Love the cottage as I generally stick to psychological thrillers, and blast through one per day.

Here’s what I read in August:

The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson: Every time I am at the cottage, I try to discover a new author whose psychological thrillers I can add to my blindly buy list. Sarah was that author! This was the first book I read by her and I immediately bought a few more to read while there.

This is the story of two old friends who have drifted apart a bit and they try and get reacquainted via a vacation together. After a wild night out, the one friend wakes up to discover the other is missing. This was a great one that had me guessing throughout. There’s also a Netflix movie of it which I’ll be watching very soon hopefully.

The Cabin in the Woods by Sarah Alderson: The second book I read by Sarah and I loved it. It helped that I was staying at a cabin in the woods of course! This one had a twist that stunned me and I had to go back and reread that chapter just to take it all in.

One complaint and a little spoiler – sometimes it’s good to end the book as is. No need to just keep on going and trying to make the happiest ending possible. It can get nauseating.

In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson: Third one I read. It’s about a home invasion that goes wrong and results in a daughter being in a coma. Then it appears a member of the family may have been in on it all. The twists and story in this were good but it fell apart by the final act. Suspension of disbelief is one thing but this just got a bit too much for me. I’m glad I read this third as if I had read this one first, I likely wouldn’t have read anything else by Sarah just due to the final act.

My Little Brother by Diane Saxon: We don’t have a listing for Diane yet although I’ll get one up next month. This was another thriller and I just wasn’t a fan of it. About a little brother that goes missing then the story takes place 20 years later. Just didn’t really enjoy the writing and probably won’t read any more by her.

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin:I had read Escape Room by Megan which I thought was okay, then The Night Swim which was one of my favourite novels of 2021. This one was about a woman who loses the last two years of her memory every time she goes to sleep. It was decent.

The Travellers by Chris Pavone: I started listening to that one then decided to read it instead as Chris writes a LOT and it was a 17 hour audiobook or something. It was the right choice as I can read through it a lot faster and it can be a bit slow. This was a great book about spies and potential spies and just fantastic. Glad I read it though rather than listened to it as it helped me take it in a lot more. There was twists and mysteies on top of twists and mysteries and it was hard to keep track of! Big fan of Pavone.

True Believer by Jack Carr: I had read the Terminal List but didn’t enjoy it. Decided to listen to this one, the second in the James Reece series. I gave up aout 60% in. I’m not sure what it is as I know this series is loved by many – but it just doesn’t hook me like it should. Faceless evil terrorist after faceless eveil terrorist just gets old.

The Chain by Adrian McKinty: This is a multiple award winning novel, loved by many and many consider this his best work. I’d read one McKinty before which was The Island and really enjoyed it. I absolutely hated this one honestly. The premise of a blackmail chain involving having to kidnap a kid to get your own kid released was awesome – but the entire story and everything that was happening just seemed preposterous. Not one I’d personally be recommending although I should note I am the anomaly in this equation – 99% of people seem to love it.