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After DNF’ing The Butcher’s Wife due to a severe case of boredom, here I am giving Sam Holland a chance.
A patient locked inside a secure psychiatric hospital confesses to a brutal murder he couldn’t possibly have committed. Yet Joe Sinclair knows details about the crime that only the killer should know.
As Detective Abby Fox returns to work after a suspension, she finds herself pulled into a chilling investigation that makes no sense on paper but becomes impossible to ignore. Is Joe a murderer, a witness, or the only person who can stop a killer still on the loose?
The Killer in Room Five is a dark, twist-filled thriller built around an impossible crime that kept me questioning what was really going on.
This book was a bit triggering for me because our main suspect is in a psychiatric facility and has already attempted to take his own life twice. Given where I am mentally right now, those topics definitely sent my anxiety through the roof. A lot of readers say they flew through this book, but that wasn’t my experience.
For a large portion of the story, we stay heavily focused on the investigation, circling around suspects and clues, while I kept waiting for the plot to really kick into gear. I love thrillers and mysteries, but I’m not always the biggest fan of investigation-heavy stories, so I struggled to fully connect with this one.
There’s a possible serial killer, horrific crimes in both the past and present, and it’s clear that the two timelines are heading toward a collision. Still, my main curiosity was simply finding out who was killing these seemingly random people.
I also spent a good chunk of the book waiting for the mind-blowing twists that everyone on Goodreads seems to rave about. That said, things definitely became more interesting after the 50% mark, and I found myself more invested from that point on.
I was somewhat surprised by the killer’s identity, but unfortunately, the reveal didn’t completely work for me. The story did raise my anxiety levels, though that’s largely because I’m currently doing ERP therapy and some of the themes hit close to home. In a strange way, it pushed me deeper into the work I’m doing, which is ultimately a positive thing for my recovery.
As for the book itself? Sadly, this one was a flop for me. But hey, we can’t all love the same things.
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A dead husband. A serial killer reveal. A woman running into the frozen wilderness chasing answers that could destroy what’s left of her sanity?
Yeah, this book came out SWINGING.
The first half genuinely had me hooked — the Alaska setting was terrifying, the paranoia was suffocating, and Chapter 2 honestly made my blood freeze. Finding out your husband was secretly murdering women after grieving him as dead is nightmare fuel.
But unfortunately… this dragged SO much. And yes, I did guessed a lot of things from the start, but never guessed how John actually died, and I loved it.
Just found out there’s a part II though… won’t be running towards it though.
For a 270-page thriller, it somehow felt twice as long. The mystery became repetitive, I guessed the twist early, and at some point I was just waiting for the plot to finally move again.
Still, Cameron was a solid main character, the atmosphere carried hard, and John’s downfall? Absolutely deserved.
Not a bad thriller at all — it just would’ve hit way harder at 150 pages instead of stretching itself thin.
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I normally just discuss books on my blog, but there was a time when I went deeper—trying to get to know you guys, form a connection, and honestly, get to know myself a little better too. Those posts are long archived now, but lately I’ve felt this need to talk about something different: overconsumption.
If you’re anything like me, you spend time scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, and probably YouTube too, searching for the next best thing. The best new books. The best makeup. The best phone. The best app. The best notebook (even though I somehow always end up choosing a Moleskine anyway).
There are always endless options, endless recommendations, endless “must-haves.” And somehow, despite having more choices than ever, nothing feels quite right. There’s always something newer, better, prettier, more aesthetic waiting around the corner.
At some point, the search itself becomes addictive.
And honestly? It’s chaos.
I don’t even know who to trust anymore. And even when I do trust someone’s opinion, there’s no guarantee I’ll actually like what they recommend. You don’t want to know how many products are sitting around my house after being hyped online only to turn out completely mid.
Meanwhile, I keep returning to the same holy grails over and over again. The same Sephora favorites. Kerastase. Moleskine notebooks. Korean skincare. The things that have already proven themselves.
And don’t even get me started on books.
If I love a book on Kindle, I’ll often buy the hardcover too. I’ve rehomed so many books over the years because I ended up not liking them as much as I thought I would. Right now I’m using the green Kindle, but before that I had the 2024 Paperwhite. Then I convinced myself I wanted the color version. Now I’m stuck wondering what I actually want anymore.
Sometimes it feels like I’m constantly chasing the “perfect” version of something instead of simply enjoying what I already have.
Am I the only one feeling this way?
Have you noticed this happening to you too? Do you find yourself caught in the cycle of researching, comparing, buying, and then immediately looking for the next thing?
I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts.
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Finally, an Alex Finlay thriller… and God, this one reminded me why people get addicted to thrillers in the first place.
One night in 1992 destroyed two lives forever.
A girl survives an attack from a serial killer who returns every May 1st.
A boy gets blamed for a crime that was never truly his.
And year after year, their lives keep colliding as buried secrets claw their way back to the surface.
The Anniversary feels dark, haunting, and dangerously addictive — the kind of thriller that whispers something terrible is coming, yet somehow makes it impossible to stop turning the pages anyway.
I’ve read a lot of thrillers since starting this thriller-obsessed journey of mine, but this? This feels like one of those books. The rare 5-star kind. The kind that keeps your brain spinning even after you put it down for five minutes. It kept me constantly engaged, constantly suspicious, constantly needing to know more.
And the web of tragedy in this story is absolutely insane.
Quinn’s mother being murdered over a work secret.
Jules surviving the May Day Killer after being brutally attacked.
The horrifying realization that several girls were left alive… and now he may be coming back to finish what he started.
The FBI involvement.
Jules’s little sister vanishing on May 1st.
Every single thread tightens the noose a little more.
I grew so attached to Quinn and Jules it was almost ridiculous. Their pain feels heavy, real, suffocating. Jules’s life is practically shaped by trauma, while Quinn’s story becomes its own devastating tragedy. And somehow, the darker this book became, the harder it was to stop reading. Every chapter felt like waiting for another punch to the ribs. Another secret. Another disaster. Another revelation capable of ruining everything.
And the plot twists? Insane.
I did catch the killer… but also not entirely, which is honestly the best kind of thriller reveal. I don’t want to spoil anything because this book deserves to be experienced completely blind, but trust me when I say the tension never lets up.
Also — spoiler-free but important — I love a satisfying ending, and this one absolutely delivered. I finished this in a day and a half, which says everything considering it’s not a short book by any means. I was obsessed. Fully locked in.
This might genuinely be my favorite thriller of the year so far, and that is not a statement I make lightly.
Highly, highly recommend.
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All the Lies doesn’t begin with answers — it begins with smoke, fractured memories, and the suffocating feeling that something horrifying is buried just beneath the surface. Reina Ellis wakes up trapped inside a life she can’t remember, engaged to a man who looks at her like she’s both a punishment and an obsession waiting to happen.
And Asher Carson?
That man does not feel like a savior.
He feels like the type of man who would stand in the middle of a burning world with his hands in his pockets just to see if you’d survive the flames.
A dead girl. A fire. A past stitched together with lies.
And somehow the truth feels far more dangerous than the missing memories.
Now listen… I was INVESTED in this mess immediately.
The mystery aspect completely carried me through the first part of the book because I needed answers like oxygen. Reina’s memory loss actually worked for me here because it made everything feel paranoid and off-balance in the best way possible. Everyone knows something. Everyone is hiding something. And poor girl is walking around with a destroyed memory, dead parents, police breathing down her neck, and somehow they’re all convinced she started the fire because of a switched bracelet? Absolutely suspicious behavior from everybody involved.
But honestly? I’m way more interested in the sister storyline because there is NO way that’s the full truth.
And Asher… God.
That man is such an asshole but unfortunately he’s MY asshole now.
I adored him. Cold, obsessive, emotionally constipated, dramatic for absolutely no reason — exactly the kind of Rina Kent man designed in a laboratory to ruin my peace. The mob aspect added such a good layer to the story too. It gave the whole book this darker atmosphere that worked perfectly with the mystery.
What shocked me the most though was OLD Reina.
Because why was she genuinely awful???
Like ma’am… Ash starts looking emotionally stable and saint-like compared to whatever pre-amnesia Reina had going on. I actually caught myself hoping the memory loss came with a personality transplant because old Reina sounded exhausting to survive.
The chemistry between them isn’t fully THERE yet for me emotionally — the attraction is obvious, the tension is tensioning, but I still want a stronger connection between them. I’m hoping that develops more either by the end or in the second book because YES, this is a duet and Rina Kent absolutely knew what she was doing ending it like that.
Also Ash being friends with Aiden?
I’m sorry but that tiny detail made me ridiculously happy. Royal Elite crumbs will always work on me.
I gave this 4⭐ because it felt different from the Royal Elite series in a way I actually needed. Same dark obsession energy, but with fresher drama and a more mystery-heavy plot. I did predict most of what happened pretty early on, but honestly? I was still fully entertained.
And Ash? Perfection. No notes.
I’m still desperately hoping Reina was somehow switched with her sister because I refuse to emotionally recover from the existence of old Reina.
Anyway… catch me immediately running to the second book right after I finish the new H. D. Carlton release because apparently peace is not an option anymore.
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First book took me out of a dark romance reading slump… yes, when I can’t find good thrillers that grip me in I run to mafia men and masked moffos who can give me a good time, call me hedonistic but it works for me., so I ran to the second instalment of The Perfect Marriage, which is The Perfect Divorce.
Sarah Morgan got a new husband, fucking Bob, a cute daughter called Summer, Adam is long gone… died guilty only of cheating on a psycho. She doesn’t work as a lawyer anymore and to make matters worse, her new husband Bob slept with someone else and that woman just went missing… cherry on top: Adam’s case suddenly reopens.
So now, it’s not just a divorce, it’s a full blown investigation and I’m here for it from the start. This woman is vile but she was hurt and cheated twice in her life and once is more than enough so I cannot judge her even though I so want to. If you didn’t guess by now Bob will be the focus of his missing mistress but the sherriff also thinks Sarah is guilty of Adam’s execution and yes, I started to like him more.
I don’t like it as much as the first one but we have less Sarah which is fine by me and I’m still flying through it, read 60% in one sitting so it’s the perfect popcorn thriller for me although I wish the plot twists will be more shocking by the end.
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Rise of a Queen doesn’t continue the story—it escalates it.
No more games, no more pretending. Jonathan is all control, all obsession, and Aurora? She’s not getting out of this war untouched. She tried to run. He made it very clear that wasn’t an option.
I really want to finish this duet so I can move faster in the rinaverse because I’m curious about other topics, other couples, other scene.
Okay, I did enjoy this book more than the first because I think it had much more action and I adore happy cute sexy endings so I was here for it. Can’t believe I only have one more book in this serie!!!!
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And just like that… the chaos ends.
Or at least pretends to.
Some series end quietly. Others slam the door shut, ruin your emotional stability, and leave fingerprints on your neck on the way out. Royal Elite Epilogue felt like returning to the scene of the crime: rich psychopaths in love, power games disguised as flirting, emotional trauma wrapped in designer suits, and the exact brand of toxic energy Rina Kent somehow turns into pure addiction.
Getting all five couples back together felt less like a reunion and more like the world’s most unhinged family dinner. Everyone’s married, everyone’s thriving, and somehow they’re still collectively one inconvenience away from committing crimes. Beautiful.
The children? Adorable.
The group chats? Absolute peak comedy.
Especially the men’s chat, which honestly read like five emotionally constipated mafia bosses discovering emojis for the first time.
And I loved seeing everyone shine again — especially Jonathan, because that man could breathe in a chapter and I’d still be seated.
Yes, TikTok spoiled half the emotional moments for me before I even finished the series. Tragic. Criminal, even. But somehow it still hit. I still smiled like an idiot through most of it.
A genuinely fun, chaotic, and satisfying goodbye to the Royal Elite universe.
And now… after all the obsession, manipulation, emotional warfare, and group-chat insanity… I can finally move on.
Probably.
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Mad Mabel follows an 81-year-old woman with a suspicious past… and a very unfortunate pattern of people around her dying. When a nosy little girl befriends her and starts digging into old secrets, it slowly becomes clear that “Mad Mabel” might not just be a cruel nickname after all.
I loved the approach to this thriller. It felt fresh, weirdly cozy, emotional, and dark at the same time. Normally, I’m really not into stories about 80+ year-old murderers, but Sally Hepworth has this terrifying talent for making morally questionable people feel ridiculously lovable.
And God, this book made me sad.
I loved Mabel to the core. I genuinely wasn’t expecting to get emotionally wrecked by a thriller, but here we are, folks.
The story is told through dual timelines: one in the present, where Mabel lives a quiet little life surrounded by neighbours, friendship, crime, and two YouTubers determined to prove she’s more than just a murderer — because she is so much more. Then there’s the second timeline: Mabel’s past.
That timeline destroyed me more than I expected.
This book felt strangely warm while casually stabbing me in the chest emotionally every few chapters. Strongly recommend. It was delicious.
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Okay… so I picked this up thinking it would be one of those dramatic “perfect marriage gone wrong” stories… and somehow it turned into a full-on obsession spiral.
Like… tell me why I was sitting there actually thinking: would I defend him?
And the answer?
Absolutely not. Jail. Immediately.
I don’t care how much I love you—if you cheat and then get accused of murdering your mistress, I’m not putting on a power suit and saving you. I’m watching the trial like it’s a Netflix documentary.
But Sarah?
She’s built DIFFERENT.
The way she just steps in—calm, controlled, ready to defend her husband like her entire world isn’t quietly falling apart… I don’t know if that’s strength or something else entirely. Maybe both.
And Adam…
I genuinely need to understand the psychology.
How are you telling your wife you love her, living in her house, benefiting from her entire life… and then turning around and telling your mistress “I’ll be there no matter what”?
Sir. Be serious.
That’s not romance. That’s multitasking gone criminal.
And Kelly??
Every time I thought I understood her, the story just said “no ❤️” and flipped everything again.
Married to a cop.
Connected to a dead husband.
Confessions that don’t feel… complete.
Nothing about this woman is simple, and I kind of loved that. It kept me in that constant state of “wait… what is actually going on?”
Which is probably why I flew through this in two days.
It’s one of those books where you don’t even realize how deep you’re in until you’re already halfway through and ignoring everything else in your life.
And the ending…
I’m not spoiling anything, but just know I had to sit there for a minute.
Not because I didn’t like it—but because I needed to process how far things actually went.
So yeah.
I’m continuing the series. No hesitation.
Verdict (if I even have one at this point): messy, addictive, slightly unhinged, and way too easy to binge.
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Reading in the Mountains 