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You are here: Home / Archives for thriller

Black Ice – ACHUKAreview

November 11, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

BlackIce

Black Ice

NOVEMBER 11, 2014 BY ADMIN LEAVE A COMMENT (EDIT)

Becca Ftzpatrick
Black Ice
9781471118142
September 2014
hardback
Finished
I read, and was pretty impressed by, this author’s debut novel back in 2009 – [Read my review of hush, hush] – the first in a sequence of four love fantasies. Although I hadn’t been inclined to read the other novels in that sequence this realistic, edge-of-your-seat thriller felt much more like the kind of reading I enjoy when it arrived from Simon & Schuster – especially so after I’d read the first few pages and the opening chapter. I was hooked, as they say.

I said of her first book: “Fitzpatrick is already a sufficiently skilful storyteller to be able to carry the reader along and create the necessary suspension of disbelief. This is all done in the atmosphere of a Sunday afternoon feature film.” That comment about the Sunday matinee feature film wasn’t meant as a criticism, but rather as a signal to readers of the review about what kind of read to expect. I then added, “I can’t say I was ever seriously moved or unsettled by the predicaments the main character, Nora, finds herself in, but I was always fully engaged.”In this book it is imperative that we do become moved and unsettled by Britt’s predicament. I was.

Britt and her best friend drive up into the mountains to go hiking. The weather closes in and they have to abandon their Wrangler. Britt’s companion, Korbie, is the sister of her first love, Calvin, a young man she is now estranged from. Whilst they are trapped on the mountains they become the captives of two strange and sinister men. Except that one is not entirely a stranger to Britt. For much of the book the reader is kept wondering which of these two captors is the most evil. And things become yet more complicated when Calvin arrives as rescuer.

Fitzgerald’s writing is rarely flashy, and all the more effective for that. There are a handful of moments when she becomes unnecessarily wordy, but these are mercifully few. The book is melodramatic, to be sure, and its fortunately/unfortunately twists and turns are paced a little predictably, but then in this kind of read its the momentum that keeps those pages a-turning.

http://www.achuka.co.uk/reviews/?p=466

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: psychological, review, reviews, thriller, YA

Quickfire interview: Robin Stevens

May 29, 2014 By achuka 1 Comment

from The Guardian’s quickfire interview series:

What was your favourite book when you were younger?
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones. One Easter holiday I read The Dalemark Quartet five times in a row and became convinced that Mitt was a real person.

Did you read a lot as a child and do you still read children’s books now?
I read everything within grabbing distance, almost at random. While other children were outside learning how to socialise I was taking up residence in my school library. These days I still read a huge amount of children’s fiction. I’m enormously lucky to actually have a job in children’s publishing, which means I get to work with children’s books all day.

via Quickfire interview: Robin Stevens | Children’s books | theguardian.com.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: crime, interview, mystery, thriller

Hush Hush Author In Deal For New YA Thriller

February 28, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

Becca Fitzpatrick, the young adult author behind the Hush, Hush saga, has landed a deal for a new book called Sapphire Skies.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers plans to publish this stand-alone thriller novel in Fall 2015. Executive editor Zareen Jaffery negotiated the deal with Inkwell Management literary agent Catherine Drayton. The story stars a 17-year-old girl named Stella Gordon who ends up in the witness protection program due to extraordinary circumstances.

via Becca Fitzpatrick Inks Deal For New YA Thriller – GalleyCat.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: deals, Simon & Schuster, thriller, YA

Red by Libby Gleeson – an ACHUKAreview

February 9, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

This isn’t a novel that is going to change your life. But it will entertain and thrill you. Not a word has been wasted in the telling.
In short, highly recommended.

Follow the link for the full review:

http://www.achuka.co.uk/reviews/?p=434

and here’s the video trailer:

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Reviews Tagged With: fiction, Libby Gleeson, reviews, thriller, YA

Quercus signs YA psychological thriller in major two-book deal

January 31, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

A “major new two-book deal” with Cat Clarke, author of YA novels Entangled, Torn and Undone, has been announced by Quercus.

Safe and Sound, publishing in spring 2015, is a taut psychological thriller, and marks a new direction for Clarke. It is about a girl whose young sister was abducted and returns to the family as a teenager.

Roisin Heycock, Publishing Director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Julia Churchill at AM Heath.

via Quercus | Quercus signs YA psychological thriller in major deal.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: Cat Clarke, deals, Julia Churchill, Quercus, thriller, YA

Thriller writer Baldacci to write children’s fantasy

October 9, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

Pan Macmillan managing director Anthony Forbes Watson said it was “hugely exciting to see David address his extraordinary storytelling to younger readers”.

Thriller writer David Baldacci is to publish fantasy novel The Finisher with Pan Macmillan Children’s Books.
The Finisher is described as “a thrilling epic adventure story” following heroine Vega Jane “who lives in an ordinary world with extraordinary secrets” and is said to be “aimed at children and teenagers but certain to be enjoyed by readers of any age”. Film rights have been optioned by Sony Pictures, with Matt Tolmach (“The Amazing Spider-Man”) producing.
Pan Macmillan fiction editorial directors Trisha Jackson and Venetia Gosling bought the book from Arabella Stein at Abner Stein on behalf of Aaron Priest.

via Baldacci to write children’s fantasy novel | The Bookseller.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: David Baldacci, fantasy, thriller

Beattie’s Book Blog – High praise for “a truly remarkable work of fiction”

October 7, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

High praise for I AM PILGRIM, a debut novel from an Australian screen-writer:

It is many years since I have been so impressed, captivated and intrigued by a work of fiction as I have been these past five days by the massive, (704 pages), contemporary spy thriller that is I AM PILGRIM. Remarkably it is a debut novel, the work of noted Australian award-winning screen writer and former journalist Terry Hayes.

via Beattie's Book Blog – unofficial homepage of the New Zealand book community: a truly remarkable work of fiction – debut novel.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: Australian, debut, suspense, thriller

Sophie McKenzie Interview

September 13, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

Sophie McKenzie’s new YA thriller, Split Second, explores a social and economic landscape where deprivation, uncertainty and fear drive a resurgence in extremist politics.

Here she is interviewed by the ReadingZone website:

Q: Why did you decide to turn to politics for your new thriller?

A: I saw two TV documentaries. One was about the economic situation today in parts of the Eurozone. It looked at the rise of extremist political parties in times of economic hardship and showed how such parties often gather support by, among many other things, offering free food handouts. The other documentary was an exploration of Hitler’s rise to power, with a focus on his personal appeal to millions of ordinary people.

I wanted to write about what can happen when austerity gets really tough and citizens lose faith in established governments. My aim was that everything in Split Second should have really happened – or be happening – somewhere in the real world.

SchoolZone.

Filed Under: Blog, Books, YA Tagged With: current affairs, interview, teen, thriller, YA

Book Trailer – Split Second by Sophie McKenzie pub 12 Sep 2013

August 9, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

Charlie’s life is torn apart by a terrorist bomb in a London market. Months later, she meets Nat, whose family has also been left devastated by the same explosion. But as Charlie gets closer to Nat she uncovers secrets and a whole cast of shady characters that lead her to believe Nat knows more about the attack than he is letting on. Split Second is a breathtaking thriller that shifts between the perspectives of its two main characters as their courage and their loyalties are tested to the limit. Watch the trailer to find out more:

via Books Split Second Split Second.

Split Second will be published on 12th September 2013.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: book trailer, thriller, trailer, video, YA

Bestselling Children’s Author Sophie McKenzie Talks to TheReadingRoom.com About her New Novel for Adults

June 12, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

cover

British author Sophie McKenzie’s latest novel Close My Eyes is a significant departure from the fiction her younger fans have come to know, but perfect to keep you awake all night. In her exclusive interview with TheReadingRoom.com, McKenzie reveals why the change.
Her previous books for children and young adults, include Girl, Missing and Sister, Missing. She has won numerous awards, including being twice long listed for the prestigious Carnegie Medal.
Close My Eyes is a psychological thriller for adults, perfect for readers who love a spine chilling read.

via Bestselling Children’s Author Sophie McKenzie Talks to TheReadingRoom.com About her New Novel for Adults.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: adult, Holy Grail, McKenzie, obsession, thriller

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