Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Book Review

Synopsis

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

My Review

I am so glad I chose this book to read! It was such an interesting read. Took me only four days to complete it. So, here is my review.

We meet the female protagonist of the story, Kya Clark also called as the “Marsh Girl”. She is abandoned and she survives alone in the marsh. There is no one to teach her how to live or cook. Kya learns everything through nature. She gets quite use to the loneliness. While going through all the challenges of living alone, her love for the swamp and nature grows. She starts collecting different specimens and gathers so much of information about the swamp and it’s Eco-system.

Her life is filled with loneliness. Kya starts to look for love, which leads two young men to enter into her life. One of them is found dead at the latter part of the story, where Kya becomes a direct suspect.

Heart breaking yet a warm and wonderful story of a young girl. It is very rarely you find such amazing books. I must say, I enjoyed every bit of it. Surviving through loneliness, Kya is a strong character. Through her lifespan, so much happens and the way she accepts all these challenges, is simply amazing. The setting, characters and the plot was created in a way, where it speak to the hearts of the reader. The story is alive in your mind. Arouses the curiosity of the reader, with the need of wanting to know more.

Finally I was happy for Kya and even felt so proud about all her achievements. Finding her true love melted my heart. Literally I was living in the swamp, in 1960’s with Kya. Such an amazing story, and would highly recommend this book.

My Rating

Tremendous, I like it very much – 5/5 Stars

That is all for today folks. Do not forget to leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

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Until the next post,

XOXOX

From my Audible Library – for the Crime and Thriller lovers

Lately I have been obsessed with reading, (rather listening) to audio books, and most of them are in the crime and thriller genre. If you are a lover of crime and thriller, like me i would like to recommend you a few books from this post.

The Holiday by T.M.Logan

Seven days. Three families. One killer.

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday – a group of families enjoying a week together in the sun. Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France.

But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair. And a week away might just be the perfect opportunity to get the proof she needs – to catch him in the act once and for all. Because she suspects the other woman is one of her two best friends.

One of them is working against her, willing to sacrifice years of friendship to destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . .

Because someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden.

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain

Death stalked the Vale.
In every corner, every whisper.
They just didn’t know it yet.

Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.

In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people’s lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege – the residents have it all. Life is good.

There’s just one problem.

Olive Collins’ dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they’re shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight.

The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive’s neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

Stillhouse Lake by Rachele Caine

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.

With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop.

Single by K.L.Slater

‘I keep feeling like I’m being watched – dropping the boys off at school, choosing wine at the supermarket – but when I turn around there’s nobody there…’

When single mother Darcy’s son falls from a rope bridge at a local playground, life stands still. She clutches his small, limp body, frozen, until a pair of strong hands push her aside, and she watches as George, a local doctor, saves her son’s life.

George is a single parent too, and with his twinkling hazel eyes, easy charm, and lack of wedding band is almost too good to be true, but coffee becomes lunch, lunch becomes dinner, and soon they can’t go an evening without seeing each other. When he invites her to move into his beautiful home with its sprawling garden for her boys, Darcy doesn’t hesitate.

But as Darcy is settling in, she receives a bunch of flowers with a chilling message. George says they’re from an obsessed ex-girlfriend, Opal, and days later Opal turns up at Darcy’s son’s football match. She claims to have shocking information that could threaten George’s custody of his daughter.

Darcy doesn’t know who to trust, but she’s starting to suspect that, whatever the truth, she might have put her beloved boys into terrible danger…

The Daughter in Law by Nina Manning

No one is good enough for her son…
As a single mother, Annie has an especially close relationship with her son, Ben. They have always been together. Just the two of them. So, when Ben brings home his mysterious beautiful new wife, Daisy, immediately Annie doesn’t trust her. Who is this woman who has taken her son away from her? And what is she hiding?
She’ll protect him with her life… When Ben disappears, suddenly Annie and Daisy are all the other one has. Alone in Annie’s big, remote house, just the two of them, the tension is rising. And like any protective mother, Annie will stop at nothing to expose her new daughter in law, and the secrets she is hiding…

These are the five amazing crime and thriller books I wanted to share with you all. I have read the first four and the last book is my current read. My ratings for them are between 4/5 stars.

I hope that this post helpful, if you are looking for something to read in the crime and thriller genre. If you read them, do let me know your ideas in the comments below.

Until the next post,

XOXOX

Dirty Little Secrets by Jo Spain – Book Review

Synopsis

 

Death stalked the Vale.
In every corner, every whisper.
They just didn’t know it yet.

Six neighbours, six secrets, six reasons to want Olive Collins dead.

In the exclusive gated community of Withered Vale, people’s lives appear as perfect as their beautifully manicured lawns. Money, success, privilege – the residents have it all. Life is good.

There’s just one problem.

Olive Collins’ dead body has been rotting inside number four for the last three months. Her neighbours say they’re shocked at the discovery but nobody thought to check on her when she vanished from sight.

The police start to ask questions and the seemingly flawless facade begins to crack. Because, when it comes to Olive’s neighbours, it seems each of them has something to hide, something to lose and everything to gain from her death.

My Review

(I listened to the audio book by Audible, narrated by Michele Moran, which was really great)

Olive Collins was found, three months after she had died. Set in a closed community living in Withered Vale, there are six families who hides their very own secrets. Police starts investigations on how the death of Olive occurred. It brings out a difficult time for all of the neighbours, which in the end, makes all of them reveal their hidden, dirty secrets.

Olive Collins have been in one way or the other, interfering in the lives of each of her neighbours and creating unpleasantness among them.  So i felt that most of them were glad in the end, that she was no longer alive to bring them more trouble, to their lives.

At the beginning of the book, you really do not get, the whole idea of what Olive is up to. You feel sad for her for living alone and suddenly found dead in her own house.  But once you start reading the story, when each member of these households starts to reveal their own circumstances, we understand the real character of Olive Collins.

Jo Spain has done a great job, in creating the setting, characters and the plot. Her unique and careful writing style reveals all these hidden secrets of each family in a methodical manner, that would not confuse the reader. It creates a sense of wanting to know more about what will happen next. Definitely arouses the curiosity of the readers. I pretty much enjoyed the last chapter, where Olive speaks on how she died. The characters in the story does not find the exact answer for this question, but the reader finds the answer.    In the end I felt, that Olive got what she deserved.

My Rating

  4/5 Stars – Exceptional

Hope you enjoyed my review. Leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Until the next post, Stay at home!! Stay safe!!

XOXOX