Crime reads and thrillers seem to be all the rage these days, and I am certainly no different when it comes to getting my fix of murder and mayhem, especially if cleverly written, with an atmosphere that builds and deepens as opposed to relying on lots of gory, graphic detail.
Take All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda for example. Every time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I would find myself sneaking pages here and there, just to see what happened next. I loved, laughed and felt terror, anger and suspicion.
The choking claustrophobic nostalgia of a broken heart, that is so ironically also the comfort of things past, carefree childhoods and first loves, all depending on your determination to see it that way, and the levels of stubbornness we cling to, in an attempt to justify the decisions we made.
ALSO READ: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
The past features strongly and I love that. I felt solidarity with Nicolette, adored Tyler and wanted to shake Corinne while at the same time suspecting that we all know someone like her, and sometimes it’s us. I never saw the ending coming but I loved this book. Just for a while, I was part of their world and I was sad to see them go off into the proverbial sunset.
Which just goes to show how different degrees of a good book (pertaining to each specific reader of course!) appeal to something emotional, as well as intellectual, in each of us. Or perhaps this analogy belongs predominantly to people, like me, who live half (no wait, more) of their lives in books!
ALSO READ: Wood for sheep, anyone? The Settlers of Catan explored
