Books for November 4th, 2025: Havoc (PsySusp- Maggie Burkhardt-Egypt-Contemp) Standalone - Christopher Bollen A twisty, atmospheric psychological suspense about a meddlesome elderly guest at a decadent luxury hotel who believes she has left her problematic past behind, until she decides to interfere in the lives of a young mother and her eight-year-old son, and finally meets her wicked match.
Helen – DNF – It was really dark. Couldn’t connect with the narrator. Hated the ending. Felt as though it was creepy just to be creepy. Not much of a mystery. Kathleen – Good - It was propulsive and kept me reading, despite the unreliable narrator and the mostly unlikeable characters (tho through the eyes of Maggie, so who knows? They may all have been quite likeable IRL). Two psychopaths meeting and recognizing one another as kindred (and malevolent) spirits instantly despite a 70+ year age difference is an interesting premise. I was dying for another narrative point of view to see how really off the rails Maggie was perceived to be. In the end, I found it depressing more than fun, but well plotted and well written. Nancy – Poor – The most interesting parts of this book was reading about Luxor and Egypt. Egypt’s heat was described so well I could almost feel it. But the story itself, about the continual competition between 81 year old Maggie and her 10 year old nemesis rapidly began to feel repetitive and tedious. And are we really supposed to believe a murdering schizophrenic could so easily travel from Switzerland to Egypt, with her antipsychotic meds being dispensed to her like candy along the way? And finally, the ending wasn’t shocking, it just felt tacked on. Ron – G+ - This is probably the most disturbing book we’ve read since I’ve been in the group. Getting in the mind of a psychotic/insane who continually justifies her actions to herself is chilling. There are clear similarities to Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in the lead characters’ mentalities and to Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” in the lead characters' self-talk. The book is also very well written, although it starts out slow. The setting is also well portrayed.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
The God of the Woods (Susp-Barbara Van Laar-New York State-Contemp) Standalone - Liz Moore Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
Gabriel – VG - Took me a while to get into it, but when I did I was quite impressed. Brings the world of countryside and small-town upstate New York alive, not just the environment but the milieu, the society. Made the stifling, corrupt world of the upper-class come alive too. Alice is almost as controlled and confined as Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby. Though the majority of the book isn't about the mystery itself, especially the detective work, the questions were answered in a well-done way. I didn't like the parts with Jacob Sluiter though--his interactions with Judyta were a shlocky cliche, not up to the level of the rest of the book. (Even if he was loosely based on a couple of serial killers in the area.) Also the title was unclear--other than one sentence, "Pan is the god of the woods," I couldn't see any connection. Helen – DNF – Three pages in and that’s enough. Won’t read about kids in danger. She’s done with deep family secret plots. Kathleen – VG - I really enjoyed this, and was already a fan of Liz Moore. It was the opposite of Havoc, with multiple points of view because there were SO many characters. It took a long time to sort them all out. The writing was lovely, but overall the book could have used an edit to shorten it--it was a very long read for the story line and it dragged in a few places. I liked all the women characters, and most of the resolution, which was unexpected for both Barbara and Bear. Ron – EX - Very well written, with interesting characters, a complex plot, and a satisfying ending.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
The Puzzle Box (AdvenThriller-Mike Brink-Japan-Contemp) Standalone - Denielle Trussoni A lost imperial treasure. The world’s greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the most dangerous mystery of his life . . . or die trying. Gabriel – DNS - The premise could have been fun. The main character could have been interesting in better hands. But the characters were so lacking in interest as to be off-putting, and so was the prose style. Ginny - VG – It deals with part of the world she finds interesting. Liked the idea of the puzzle box. Took the character of Mike as interesting and liked the concept of a cyclical objective interesting. She was engaged. Helen - Okay – She liked the setting, Got 10% in and felt as though it was the adult version of Kingfu Panda. The solutions to the problems were too neat. No sense of struggle, and it took the characters too long to find things out. The relationships between the characters didn’t have good chemistry. The ending was too neat. It felt like a first draft.
Havoc (PsySusp- Maggie Burkhardt-Egypt-Contemp) Standalone - Christopher Bollen
A twisty, atmospheric psychological suspense about a meddlesome elderly guest at a decadent luxury hotel who believes she has left her problematic past behind, until she decides to interfere in the lives of a young mother and her eight-year-old son, and finally meets her wicked match.
Helen – DNF – It was really dark. Couldn’t connect with the narrator. Hated the ending. Felt as though it was creepy just to be creepy. Not much of a mystery.
Kathleen – Good - It was propulsive and kept me reading, despite the unreliable narrator and the mostly unlikeable characters (tho through the eyes of Maggie, so who knows? They may all have been quite likeable IRL). Two psychopaths meeting and recognizing one another as kindred (and malevolent) spirits instantly despite a 70+ year age difference is an interesting premise. I was dying for another narrative point of view to see how really off the rails Maggie was perceived to be. In the end, I found it depressing more than fun, but well plotted and well written.
Nancy – Poor – The most interesting parts of this book was reading about Luxor and Egypt. Egypt’s heat was described so well I could almost feel it. But the story itself, about the continual competition between 81 year old Maggie and her 10 year old nemesis rapidly began to feel repetitive and tedious. And are we really supposed to believe a murdering schizophrenic could so easily travel from Switzerland to Egypt, with her antipsychotic meds being dispensed to her like candy along the way? And finally, the ending wasn’t shocking, it just felt tacked on.
Ron – G+ - This is probably the most disturbing book we’ve read since I’ve been in the group. Getting in the mind of a psychotic/insane who continually justifies her actions to herself is chilling. There are clear similarities to Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in the lead characters’ mentalities and to Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” in the lead characters' self-talk. The book is also very well written, although it starts out slow. The setting is also well portrayed.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
The God of the Woods (Susp-Barbara Van Laar-New York State-Contemp) Standalone - Liz Moore
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
Gabriel – VG - Took me a while to get into it, but when I did I was quite impressed. Brings the world of countryside and small-town upstate New York alive, not just the environment but the milieu, the society. Made the stifling, corrupt world of the upper-class come alive too. Alice is almost as controlled and confined as Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby. Though the majority of the book isn't about the mystery itself, especially the detective work, the questions were answered in a well-done way. I didn't like the parts with Jacob Sluiter though--his interactions with Judyta were a shlocky cliche, not up to the level of the rest of the book. (Even if he was loosely based on a couple of serial killers in the area.) Also the title was unclear--other than one sentence, "Pan is the god of the woods," I couldn't see any connection.
Helen – DNF – Three pages in and that’s enough. Won’t read about kids in danger. She’s done with deep family secret plots.
Kathleen – VG - I really enjoyed this, and was already a fan of Liz Moore. It was the opposite of Havoc, with multiple points of view because there were SO many characters. It took a long time to sort them all out. The writing was lovely, but overall the book could have used an edit to shorten it--it was a very long read for the story line and it dragged in a few places. I liked all the women characters, and most of the resolution, which was unexpected for both Barbara and Bear.
Ron – EX - Very well written, with interesting characters, a complex plot, and a satisfying ending.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
The Puzzle Box (AdvenThriller-Mike Brink-Japan-Contemp) Standalone - Denielle Trussoni
A lost imperial treasure. The world’s greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the most dangerous mystery of his life . . . or die trying.
Gabriel – DNS - The premise could have been fun. The main character could have been interesting in better hands. But the characters were so lacking in interest as to be off-putting, and so was the prose style.
Ginny - VG – It deals with part of the world she finds interesting. Liked the idea of the puzzle box. Took the character of Mike as interesting and liked the concept of a cyclical objective interesting. She was engaged.
Helen - Okay – She liked the setting, Got 10% in and felt as though it was the adult version of Kingfu Panda. The solutions to the problems were too neat. No sense of struggle, and it took the characters too long to find things out. The relationships between the characters didn’t have good chemistry. The ending was too neat. It felt like a first draft.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay