A Game For All The Family

The thing about psychological thrillers is that you will undoubtedly get fans who love it or will be stuck like a deer in the headlights, not quite sure what just happened. That is to be expected. On the heels of such novels like The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, fans of this novel by Sophie Hannah, A Game For All The Family will be one of two. Either you will love it or you will be completely lost by what happened. That's what makes things like this novel work. You aren't supposed to make sense of it sometimes.

So how to describe this novel without giving too much away. You have a family that has sold their home and is moving into a new one complete with a new future ahead. For Justine Merrison, she has walked away from a career in the entertainment industry and is beginning a new one. One doing absolutely NOTHING. As she likes to explain. No where to be, no deadlines, no one to report to. Even the simple task like taking her daughter Ellen to school is an option, not required as the bus can take her to the prestigious school they have picked out. For her husband Alex, he travels quite a bit, so having a place in any one city is not a necessity. Another option.

But now enter the unexplained which readers hope will be explained later in the novel. Don't want to give it all away too soon right? They pass by a row of houses that don't look like the place anyone would ever want to live. They are run-down and in the midst of a busy freeway as well. But for some reason, Justine feels a pull to a particular house without understanding the reason why. Her daughter and husband think she has lost it, and soon once it is long gone in the rear view mirror, things begin to get back to normal. The family moves into a home called the Speedwell House as most homes in London don't really have house numbers but house names instead. Everything is as it should be and soon they all settle into what some would call a routine sense of normal. Until Ellen arrives home four months later from school with her latest assignment for English, writing a story. It is what is in the story that has Justine puzzled, as most readers would simply laugh it off as a fictional tale. But it is something about the names and the way she has laid out a family tree, that begins the tale of "what is going on?" in the novel.

Ellen begins to be withdrawn and her mother, wonders that is going on. She is definitely not the same daughter that she had more than four months ago. After countless attempts to discover what is going on, she learns that her best friend has been expelled from school under a misunderstanding about a coat she loaned him. As Justine goes to confront the head administrator at the school, she learns that no such child has existed at this school, therefore, no expulsion of a student she claimed was her best friend, George. Readers will then toggle between the story Ellen has written over time, in succeeding chapters, about a family of 5 that lived in this house and in which one of the daughters has murdered a childhood friend.

I received A Game for All The Family by Sophie Hannah compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. Don't get lost dear reader, hang in there til the end, where as most great novels, it all begins to make sense. You are taken back to look at everything and now see it with a different perspective but that is where things begin to accelerate until the end. I wasn't too happy with how it ended, leaving me wanting more than just what happened. But I let you make the decision for yourself. I would give this one a 4 out of 5 stars and the book does contain some strong language and a same sex storyline with one of the characters which some readers may not care for. One must disclose this if you are going to do an honest review right? I mean that is what I look for when reading a book review.

For more information about A Game For All The Family, Sophie Hannah or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

A Game For All The Family by Sophie Hannah

You can find Sophie Hannah on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Game For All The Family, please visit William Morrow's website. 

The Fireman

Gotta love it when you find a great suspense novel that finds something that no one has really written about, and turn it into a 750 page novel that keeps you glued to your seat until the very end. Joe Hill, son of Stephen King has taken on his father's talents to weave something truly unique that will gain the readers attention from the very first page. Don't let the number of pages overwhelm you because this novel is so good and well paced it won't feel like it is too long to enjoy. For once a writer takes his time to weave a story so amazing you will be thinking about it long after you finish.

The Fireman is an apocalyptic futuristic novel that begins when a spore based fungus takes on the characteristics of black and gold metallic marks on the skin that is now referred to as "Dragonscale." Those that have it are incurable and within weeks to months those that have it, spontaneous combust into a ball of fire leaving nothing behind but their ashes to scatter on the prevailing winds. It is highly contagious and no one knows how it might be transmitted except by skin to skin contact. Hospitals are beyond overcrowded and even the CDC is at a loss on what to do to help contain it.

Harper Grayson is a nurse that is stretched beyond her physical limits to help. Her husband Jakob believes she is putting herself at risk working in close proximity to those who have it. Yet despite all the best precautions, she does develop Dragonscale and at the same time learns that she is pregnant. Jakob blames her and decides he has to move out to ensure he doesn't get it as well. The incubation time is 6-weeks to know if he will have it too, but Harper feels that she has learned more about Jakob's true character than she wants to. All she knows is Jakob has been hiding his own set of secrets and she has been played. Now he joins a self appointed posse hunting down those who have the disease and isn't at all concerned it will mean taking out Harper in the process.

She joins a group of people who have the disease that have hidden themselves away in a camp that has found a way to control the combustion of the spore lingering inside of them and some, like the man known as the Fireman, can even manipulate it into a weapon of destruction he can use at will to help protect those that would seek to destroy them all. Harper wants to learn how to control it so she can live long enough to have her baby and hopefully it will be born without the disease if only the Fireman will teach her.

I received The Fireman by Joe Hill compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers. While the novel is engaging it does contain quite a bit of profanity laced throughout the book which man offend some readers as well as some sexual content. However, the novel is well-thought out and keeps the reader so well hooked, you can't put it down until you see how it will all play out by the end. For me this one was a 4 out of 5 stars only based on the content and profanity which has been part of my own personal rating system.

For more information about The Fireman, Joe Hill or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Fireman by Joe Hill

You can find Joe Hill on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Fireman, please visit William Morrow's website. 

Killfile

"I know what you're thinking. Most of the time, it's not impressive. Trust me."

Dozen of people move around me on the sidewalks in L.A.'s financial district, all of them on autopilot. Plugged into their phones, eyes locked on their screens, half-listening to the person on the other end, sleepwalking as they head for their jobs or their first hits of caffeine. The stuff inside their heads can barely even be called thoughts; slogans and buzzwords; half-remembered songs; the latest domestic cage match with whomever they left at home; dramas and gossip involving people they'll never meet in real life. And sex. Lots of sex."

That's what I live with constantly, all around me like audible smog. Most of the time, it's just annoying. But today, it makes it easy to find my targets. They're fully awake, jangling with adrenaline and anxiety. They stand out, hard and bright, a couple of rhinestones glittering in the usual muck."(pg 2).

John Smith can so more than simply read your thoughts. He can alter your actions and bring to mind anything he wants to you believe or imagine. It is why the CIA wanted him to work for him and also the reason why he left. Now as a private consultant, he decides whom he'll work for and also how much they can pay him. There isn't anything he doesn't know before they begin negotiations. When billionaire mogul Everett Sloan makes him an offer he has desired his entire life, silence to those ongoing, never-ending thoughts, it is simply too good of an offer to pass up. Sloan believes that a former employee of his, Eli Preston has stolen an algorithm that he has developed and now is employing to make himself untold amounts of wealth for his clients. Sloan wants his memory erased before he can become a serious threat to his company and John Smith is just the man to do it.

During a scheduled meeting with Preston, Smith's identify is compromised and now he becomes the hunted along with Preston's young associate Kelsey Foster and it will be a battle of intelligence, cyber terrorism and mind control that they have never faced before, and ultimately it may in fact cost John more than he ever imagined or thought possible.

I received Killfile by Christopher Farnsworth compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of this novel in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I absolutely LOVED this edge of your seat psychological thriller and it is truly non stop action. What I loved the most about this novel is that is vastly different from anything I have read and makes you wonder what would stand in the way of a man who could read your thoughts and could kill you without you even realizing what is happening. How would he be used by our own government and even worse his enemies if they found out what he could do? I only hope, that this novel is considered for the big screen because it is fresh, innovative and definitely worth the price of a movie ticket to see this played out in theaters. For me, this was a definitive 4 out of 5 stars and only wanes from the final star based on sexual content and language that some readers might find offensive according to my review standards. All in all, a definite addition to my must read by Christopher Farnsworth in the future.

For more information about Killfile, Christopher Farnsworth or where you can purchase a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Killfile by Christopher Farnsworth

You can find Christopher Farnsworth on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To see more reviews on Killfile, please visit William Morrow's website.