Audiobook Review: Best Friends Forever by Shannon Hollinger
Best Friends Forever
Author: Shannon Hollinger
Narrator: Kate Handford
Published: January 12, 2023
Audiobook: 10 hours 57 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 20-28, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
I emerge from the trees, drenched in sweat, my voice lost as I take in the scene in front of me. The blood. The body. Emma’s eyes meet mine for a second. “It was an accident,” she whispers.
Emma and I were childhood best friends. We did everything together. Until that terrible night in the woods.
I couldn’t tell anyone what I’d seen. We never discussed it, but our bond was too strong; I could never betray my best friend. Even if she had killed someone.
But I also couldn’t stay in town and watch her live a normal life, knowing what she’d done. So I left.
Now, ten years later, I’m back. The guilt and the fear have stayed with me. And I have realized I need to reveal the truth if I’m ever going to move on.
But I never get the chance. Because the day I turn up, Emma is found dead, and the way she died means I start to doubt everything I thought I knew about that night all those years ago.
As my grief turns to anger at all those lost years of friendship, I realise with horror that Emma might not have been the only killer. Someone else is out there. Someone who was close to us both, someone who knew the smallest details of what had happened back then. Who from our small town could have murdered not once, but twice? And who’s next…?
Jessica’s Review:
Best Friends Forever just did not work for me. It reads more like a YA novel with the way the adult characters of 28 years old were acting, but there were some adult situations involved. It was also slower for me and a bit confusing as it went back and forth from present day to the past. For me it was obvious who the killer was so I wasn’t shocked when we got to that part. I was all excited because I figured it out, and I usually hate when I figure out who the killer is. It just wasn’t believable at all for me and the reason why just did not work for me. I would be willing to give the author another try.
I think some of my issues might have been the narrator. Maybe the novel is better to actually read. Some novels just don’t do well on audio.
Many thanks to the publisher Bookotoure Audio for granting me an audio arc, I just wish I could have written a favorable review.
Book Review: Asylum by William Johnston
Asylum
Author: William Johnston
Published: December 4, 1972
139 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Black magic, murder, and madness-most-bizarre stalk the tortured inmates of Dunsmoor, a mental institution in which life is a torment of horrors and death is the most desirable escape…ASYLUM, A New Experience in Heart-Stopping Terror!
Kim’s Review:
Again, is anyone surprised? I saw it and wanted it and read it! And it was fascinating! Now I do hate it when I say that I can’t say much because I don’t want to give anything away, but I don’t want to give anything away! At its most basic, this is a book filled with psychological twists and guess work and it felt like my opinions and rumination were all a part of the story. Overall, I liked this book almost as much as I like Shutter Island … and that’s saying something!
Purchase Link:
Amazon US
Blog Tour: Book Review: Dr. Glass by Louise Worthington
Today as a part of the blog tour I am sharing my review of Dr. Glass by Louise Worthington. This is the first book in the series and was just released on May 28, 2021.
Book Description:
Clinical psychologist Dr Emma-Jane Glass falls for her captor when the roles of client and therapist are reversed in a psychologically layered story of revenge and grief. Is it a case of Stockholm Syndrome, or something else?
When Dr Emma-Jane Glass’ interview on local radio is deemed to be sympathetic towards a mother’s actions to kill herself and young child, Drew Rogers hatches a plan to teach the psychologist a thing or two about being left behind as a spouse. Abducted and held captive in an empty property, Dr Glass swaps places in the psychologist’s chair.
Drew puts the motivation of his wife’s actions down to his extra-marital affairs, but then the sordid truth behind his family’s disappearance is revealed.
Hard-hitting and emotional, Dr Glass is the first novel in the Glass Minds Series from the author of Rachel’s Garden, The Entrepreneur, Willow Weeps and Rosie Shadow.
Dr. Glass
Series: Glass Minds #1
Author: Louise Worthington
Published: May 28, 2021
405 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 16-25, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Jessica’s Review:
**Trigger Warnings: Suicide and Self Harm**
This is one messed up book (in a good way) and the main character is a psychologist! So if a psychologist can suffer from Stockholm Syndrome what chance do the rest of us have if faced with a kidnap situation!?!?!
There was a long build up for the characters before the kidnaping, so don’t go in expecting that to happen right away. Dr. Glass (Emma-Jane) is a psychologist and her friend Lucy is a nutritionist who just started her business. We get to see both of their services being rendered, with Lucy’s client being disturbed yet also entertaining in a different sort of way. We see how the two offices could be connected and benefit from each other.
Once the kidnapping occurs, the story really gets going. Everything Emma-Jane experiences feels real to the reader, that’s how descriptive Worthington is. Emma-Jane is tied up and can’t go anywhere and Worthington describes everything from the smells to body hair growing. What I found hard to believe is that a psychologist herself could succumb to Stockholm Syndrome with everything that was done to her. The variety of feelings Emma describes I found hard to swallow.
This is a very dark novel that is very descriptive and disturbing yet you cannot put it down: It is like a train wreck. Please don’t take the trigger warnings lightly, this novel will not be for everyone. As I was reading I was wondering how much more will Worthington put Dr. Glass through? This is a novel that brings both physical health and mental health to the forefront. This is a first in a series, so readers can come back for more with Dr. Glass once the next books are available.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the Author:
Louise is the author of the psychological thrillers Rachel’s Garden, Willow Weeps, the Entrepreneur, and the horror novel, Rosie Shadow, book one in the Black Tongue Series.
Born in Cheshire, England, Louise studied literature at the University of Essex. As a teenager she read until the small hours, enjoying the darker worlds conjured by Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier.
When Louise isn’t reading or writing, you’ll most likely find her outside enjoying the Shropshire countryside with her husband or messing about with her daughter, and furry and feathered friends.
Contact Louise:
Website
Goodreads
Twitter: @louiseworthing9