I took a break from reading in August because it was a very busy month and I didn’t have the time to pick up a book to finish. Luckily, I had a trip in September that allowed me to devour 2 books. This brings me to 35 out of 36 books for the year, leaving me with one more book to my goal. I’m sure that I’ll surpass this goal for the year but for now, we’ll discuss the books I read in September.
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THE NIGHT SHIFT BY ALEX FINLAY
This book has been sitting on my tbr pile for a while and I’m happy that I finally got to read. It’s a thriller/murder mystery that connects the past with the present. It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one (Jessica Duvall) makes it out alive. Both surviving victims recall the killer speaking only a few final words… “Goodnight, pretty girl.”
In the aftermath, three lives intersect the Ella the survivor of the first Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive her tragedy; the brother (Chris Whitaker) of the original suspect (Vince Whitaker), who’s convinced the police have it wrong; and the FBI Agent Sarah Keller, who’s determined to solve both cases. On a collision course toward the truth, all three lives will forever be changed, and not everyone will make it out alive.
The short chapters made it very easy to get through. I finished this book on the plane. There were so many twists that kept me hooked! While I didn’t guess who the culprit was – because of all the twists – I was not surprised by them. When the culprit was revealed, I realized all the clues I missed. I enjoyed the complexities and nuances of the characters, something that isn’t always seen in thrillers. This also made it really easy for me to root for them. This is it if you’re looking for a quick but great thriller.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
RAZORBLADE TEARS BY S.A. COSBY
This book has been on everyone’s recommendation. Every time I went to Goodreads it was in my feed that someone else had completed this book. I bought this book at the airport on the way to the wedding in March and it’s been sitting on my tbr pile since.
Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek’s father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed his father was a criminal. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy.
Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.
I was so enamored by this book that I read it one day. This was my first book by this author, and I will definitely be reading more from him. I loved the constant wrestling both Ike and Buddy Lee experienced as they mourned the death of their sons and how they both treated them when they were alive. An underlying theme of this book is the relationship development between Ike and Buddy Lee, especially on race. It was a great reminder that people’s perspectives can change when exposed to different people – neuroplasticity at its finest. I really enjoyed the dangerous adventure that Ike & Buddy Lee undertook, which made it easy to root for their revenge.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
