After the Crash by Michel Bussi

ISBN-13: 9781780227320
Publisher: W&N
Publication Date: August 2015
Format: Paperback, 400 pgs
Source: Library 

December 23, 1980. A night flight bound for Paris crashed into Mont Terri, a snowy mountainside near the Turkish border. All the 169 passengers were perished except for an infant girl, who was thrown out from the plane before the plane caught fire. The media dubbed her as "the Miracle Child of Mont Terri", and just when the world is amazed and overjoyed by this little survivor, there comes a million dollars question. There were two infants on board and there are two families who came forward and claim the child. So is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The infants' age were merely a few months apart and given that DNA testing isn't introduced during that time, it was difficult to tell who's who given that family members who could recognise them were either perished or too young an age to be trusted. 

Eighteen years later, Crédule Grand Duc, a private detective is asked to investigate this mystery by one family. On the verge of giving up and committing suicide, the mystery suddenly dawned on him in his final moments. The notebook he had recorded during his investigations had now fallen into Marc's hands; a university student who has taken a liking to "Lylie", a beautiful university mate who has grown up from that unfortunate tragedy eighteen years ago. Marc intends to find out the truth but it seems he is not the only one who is looking for "Lylie". 

After the Crash is no doubt a very intense mystery that had me turning the pages. However, there was one thing that prevent me from enjoying and liking this book fully is the credibility part and the family melodrama which follows. While there are some characters who are interesting, such as the detective and even "Lylie" who remains vague, there are also some characters who would frustrate or infuriate readers. And then, there is that DNA part which perplexed me. It might be true that "Lylie's" identity wasn't identified due to the technology which wasn't common then, but the authorities or even the families would choose to remain "nonchalant" even when the girl has grown up and surely they could have her DNA tested and compare with the remaining family members? This book has a very interesting and intense premise but it lacks plausibility in my opinion. That said, the book was a page-turner and I'm sure it would appeal to readers who want an entertaining and an intense read. 

Travelers Rest by Keith Lee Morris

ISBN-13: 9780316335829
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: January 2016
Format: Hardcover, 368 pgs
Source: Library

I figured I better put up a review today since I might be swamped by the one-week school holidays next week. I hope you have a great weekend ahead and here's my thoughts on Travelers Rest. 

Tonio and Julia Addison, accompanied by their ten-year-old son Dewey, is travelling home across country after collecting Tonio’s brother, Robbie, from a rehab centre when the blizzard hit. Since it is night time and for safety reason, they decided to take refuge at Travelers Rest, an old hotel located at a small mining town called Good Night. 

However, Tonio finds Travelers Rest strange, and most of all it has no heating and the hotel looks quiet with only a staff at the reception. Tonio wants to continue with their drive but Julia is adamant about staying at Travelers Rest. With the snow piling and that there is a diner and bar nearby, Tonio gave in and they checked into Travelers Rest. 

Robbie is the first who check out this weird town. With his character and his somewhat lukewarm relationship with the Addisons family, it is not surprising that he would pocket Tonio’s money and wander to the nearby bar himself. Tonio may appear to be distant with Robbie, but Julia likes her brother-in-law and will subconsciously find herself comparing with Tonio. 

They managed to make do with their accommodation but the bad weather forces them to stay for another day and thus, they remain. However, it seems like the longer they stay they are bounded and allured by an unexplainable force which had them wander through the maze of the hotel's spectral interiors and soon the family members find themselves separated from one another and this is when the reader will follow their journey and enter into a strange realm where the past intersects with the present. 

Travelers Rest has all the elements of an intense supernatural thriller, but truth be told it is more of a case of characters study which allow readers to glimpse into the characters' minds and understand their individual feel of isolation; and how some past memories can have a hold upon us. While this isn't a bad story, I felt myself disappointed with Travelers Rest as I had expected it to be a spooky gothic read but it turned out to be something else. That said, it was still a worthy read once I got into the story and learnt something about this sad, trapped family. At times I found myself feeling sympathetic towards some of the characters; and it took me a while to connect with them. The only likeable (to say the least) character is young Dewey, who I think is smart at his age and appears to have some sense and control initially until he too was swept away by their circumstances. The ending offers the answers the readers have been wandering about but not necessarily a satisfying one. 

Hidden by Karen E. Olson

ISBN-13: 9780727885326
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: November 2015
Format: Hardcover, 224 pgs
Source: Library

Nicole Jones has been living happily in Block Island for the past fifteen years. She enjoys the close-knit community and that everyone seems to know everyone in that small island. Life there may not be as glittery as the mainland, but she knows she would be safe there. After all, Nicole has taken on a new identity and she intends to stay hidden there with no one who knew of her past except herself. 

Aside from staying hidden, Nicole is keeping herself away from computers and the Internet, not because she has no knowledge but on the contrary she is an expert and a computer hacker, too. When someone close from her past reappears in Block Island one day, she knew her new life is coming to an end and she has to face the past no matter she likes it or not. However, that person isn't the only one who is hot on her trails, for it seems there are other people who want her dead and in order to survive, she has to re-hone her computer and hacking skills to escape, even if that means putting herself and her friends in danger. 

I am new to Karen E. Olson's books but I am glad to say I quite enjoyed this intense suspense about a female hacker on the run. Nicole may have made mistakes years ago but she has matured and has become more conscientious than before. As I began to read more about her, the more empathy I felt towards her. This book also led me into thinking of the security of the Internet as well as the web services we so often use today; and that everything could be traced or hacked easily given the skills. 

Hidden is not fully the whodunit type (though it had kept me very curious!) nor a police procedural kind of thriller but instead it focuses more on the complexity of Nicole's double life and how she is dealing with her past which has eventually catches up to her. I'll be checking out her second book in the series, Shadowed,which I believe would be released in June 2016.  

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

ISBN-13: 9780385538497
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: February 2014
Format: Hardcover, 336 pgs
Source: Library

"Everyone in town had a story about the Devil's Hand, and though the stories differed in detail, one fact remained the same: it was an evil place, and bad luck to go there." Pg 59

To begin with, The Winter People is a disturbing, unsettling novel. The cold atmospheric setting, the characterisations and there of course the unsettling storyline. 

During the 1900s in West Hall, Vermont, there was a woman named Sara Harrison Shea. She had a happy family with her loving husband, Martin, and a little girl called Gertie. When Gertie was found dead one day, Sara went berserk. Martin tried to do anything to help bring his wife back, but Sara was gone emotionally. She was later found dead tragically one day. Nobody knew what happened; and from then onwards there were rumours that Sara's ghost walks the streets after midnight. The townspeople began to leave offerings on their doorsteps to prevent her from coming inside; and that practice continues to the present day. 

Present day: 19-year-old Ruthie Washburne never really believes in West Hall's rumours. Growing up in an isolated farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and younger sister, Fawn, her biggest dreams is to leave her sleepy town and live a "normal" life where Internet and phones are accessible. Life is simple and blissful for them until Alice goes missing one night. Ruthie only found out about her mother's disappearance the next morning since she was out late with Buzz, a boy whom she hangs out with. But that is not all, she also found an old journal belonging to Sara Harrison Shea hidden at her house. 

On the other end, Katherine is devastated over the loss of her young son, Austin, and her husband, Gary. Gary died in an accident two months after their son's passing. Katherine found out later that Gary visited West Hall on the day he died so she travelled to that place to search for some answers as to why Gary went there in the first place. 

What follows is a series of events that linked Ruthie and Katherine together; and through bits of legends and rumours surrounding West Hall as well as Sara's journal, they find out about the dark, horrific secrets which had happened so many years ago and how some people would do anything to get what they want despite the consequences. 

The Winter People has all the elements of a great psychological thriller. To top it off, the characters are all intriguing and the premise just blew me away. I wish I could say what most bothered me in this story but that would spoil everything. Suffice it to say it has a few topics worth thinking and discussing and the author pulled no punches when the imaginative is concerned; one factor which I truly appreciate in a story like this. A very absorbing story and an unforgettable premise; this would no doubt make it onto my top reads in 2016.