The Guest - B. A. Paris

I've enjoyed B.A. Paris's past titles and happily picked up her latest - The Guest - without reading the synopsis.

The opening prologue is the now, and the book then takes the reader back to the beginning.

When couple Laure and Pierre separate, Laure heads to the countryside home of their friends, Ivy and Gabriel. Ivy and Gabriel come home from a holiday of their own to find Laure ensconced in their bedroom. Wearing Ivy's clothes as well. A bit of a shock, but they want to help out their friends in any way they can.

I thought this was a great opening scenario. What next? And also a chance to meet the lead characters, especially Ivy. I was curious as to what would happen next.

What happens next is a slow burning tale. Ivy is a bit of a pushover. Laure takes advantage of her and Ivy makes excuses for her, over and over again. And as much Ivy and Gabriel are doing the right thing, I found it was really hard to like both of them. Gabriel is also dealing with an issue of his own. The supporting cast was newly arrived neighbours and a gardener. And as the book progressed I felt the same about them as well. Too friendly, too fast, too unbelievable.

Things pick up in the second half of the book as I waited to see if my suspicions were correct. Not quite on every thread, which is always appreciated. 

A good read, but not my favorite from Paris. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Guest.

The Last to Vanish - Megan Miranda

I have quite enjoyed all of Megan Miranda's books and was looking forward to listening to her latest - The Last to Vanish. The one thing that Miranda's books have in common is suspense. What's different about The Last to Vanish is how that suspense is played out.

The Last to Vanish is such a well paced book. Miranda builds the story with layers of atmospheric observations, happenings, interactions, suspicions and more - all seen through Abby's eyes. The sense of danger is not overt, but instead preys on the listener's imagination. I very much enjoyed the subtle hand Miranda used in building her story. 

I chose to listen to The Last to Vanish and I'm so glad I did. Alex Allwine was the reader. She's a new to me narrator and I thought she was was really good. She has a lovely low, well modulated, gravelly undertone tone to her voice that is easy on the ears. Her pace of speaking is thoughtful and matches the tone of Miranda's book. Her enunciation is clear. Her voice matched the mental image I had constructed for Abby.  Allwine interpreted and presented Miranda's book really well. Five stars for both the story and the performance!