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Book Review: The Similars by Rebecca Hanover

Publishing date: January 1, 2019

read courtesy of netgalley.com

I'm going to start at the end... there's a sequel in waiting. That gives you an idea about the ending: it's a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, I'll never find out how it all ends; I won't be purchasing the sequel for my high school library. I'm not sure how much my students recognize cliched writing, but since it interfered with my enjoyment of the book, I'm not going to expose them to the triteness.

As a mystery, Hanover did what she was supposed to do, provide clues or throw out distractions as to the "real" perpetrator. However, I found these clues too obvious -- they were spelled out instead of implied or alluded to -- which took some of the guesswork out of reading a mystery. Hanover also heavily depended on the readers' willingness to suspend disbelief that a 16-year-old girl would be able to save her best friend from the evil mad scientist when the friend'as own father couldn't or wouldn't -- in the guise of having to wait for his wife to die -- so it HAD to be the teenager to come to the rescue.

One of the Similars, who are all brilliant geniuses, couldn't estimate how large the place from which he came was, claiming that it was hard to "have a sense of scale" when you're inside the place. Really? That felt out of character. (If it sounds like a nitpick, it is; but it irked me to have such a blatant character misrepresentation.)

Basically, the story was a little too schizophrenic for me. the majority of the story was about cloning and clones, and then the last part suddenly became about virtual reality and two mad scientist brothers. Then at the end... I mean near the cliffhanger... a character who had been declared dead via suicide was found alive and returns to the boarding school. Clunk... the cliffhanger was only a 2-foot drop for me. In spite of those who knew cloning was involved, the rest of the world didn't (wouldn't the suicide have made the news?) How could a teenager reappear, and no one called the FBI?  No one did because then it wouldn't be a cliffhanger. But like I said, it wasn't a cliffhanger for me. I stepped back up the 2-foot drop and walked away. It was my suspension of disbelief that was the only thing left hanging.

⭐⭐☆☆☆

One of Us by Tawni O'Dell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for this suspense-filled mystery advance e-book . Danny Doyle was born and raised in a coal mining town (Lost Creek, PA) and continues to struggle with many demons from his childhood; being bullied in school and at home by his alcoholic father, and a mother, mentally unstable who is jailed for the death of her week old child and continuing nightmares throughout his life about the mines and his dead sister. Present day Danny is renowned as Sheridan Doyle, a forensic psychologist for the Philadelphia DA’S office. When Danny returns home for a visit to his recently recovered ninety something grandfather, he revisits the gallows where miners were hung in the 1800s and he finds the dead body of the new owner. At this same time, Scarlet Dawes, rich daughter of the mines, unexpectedly returns to Lost Creek. Rafe, the only detective in town and father figure to Danny find the suicide note but this is murder and they have to be extremely careful with this killer. As they delve into facts and many who believe the executed miners have ghosts; the reader is propelled into the world of a psychotic serial killer on the loose with everyone a target. I couldn’t put this down; especially enjoyable was reading from Danny and Scarlet’s viewpoints. Where Danny was methodical, lucid and vulnerable; Scarlet was devious, crafty, and had no remorse. The descriptions of the mines (the workers, their families and the owners) in the 1800s and present day were horrific. Lost Creek was a town you wanted to run away from with its family secrets, lies, and torments. For a mesmerizing glimpse into the workings of serial killers’ minds, this book will hold you captive until the last page. A great advanced read from NetGalley!


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The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura McHugh, Random House, and Spiegel and Grau for this advance copy of a thrilling, disturbing read. This novel, taking place in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, is captivating from the first page. Lucy Dane is shocked and bewildered to find out her childhood friend, Cheri, who disappeared, is found dismembered one year later. In the small town of Henbane, everyone is rocked by this grisly discovery. For a while, the town is cautious and rife with innuendo and theories. Lucy’s mother also disappeared when Lucy was a baby and was never found. It is how these two parallel mysteries connect and the effect it has on family (and kin) in Henbane that make for a spine tingling, can’t put it down, suspenseful read. The suffocating small town atmosphere is creepy with their suspicion of “outsiders” and their belief in witches, magic, lies and secrets, but Lucy is a strong female character who will not stop looking for answers. For book club, there would be so many great discussions and I know I will be recommending this as a great cross-over young adult title.

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Game by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG, I couldn't put down this 2nd installment from Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers. Jasper and Connie go to New York where murders are taking place and they are mimicking some of Billy Dent's and since he has escaped, Jasper is hoping to catch the killers and his father. But what he doesn't ever suspect is that there seem to be a few killers at work; each taking their instructions via throw away cell phones. When they are both sent home; Connie is forbidden to ever leave town and Jasper is now getting to know his aunt who came to take care of Jasper's grandmother while Jasper was in NY. When Jasper returns to NY; Connie is contacted by text and begins to sort out clues about Jasper's dad. When he finds out alarming information about Jaser's father; she returns to NY without her parents' permission. Things spiral out of control and the ending is crazy and I can't wait til the next book comes out; it is so not fair to have to wait to find out what happens. Read it and you WILL agree with me!!! The same sickening mind games; just when Jasper thinks he has it figured out-----he so doesn't!

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The Diviners by Libba Bray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Libba Bray’s The Diviners was thrilling to read; I did not want to rip myself away from the 1920s world Bray crafted of flappers, murder, mystery and an impending evil that is being felt by the diviners (those who have supernatural powers to see, feel and predict). Evie is seventeen, bored with her restricted family life but also aware she has powers, which she sometimes uses at parties to liven things up. This gets her into trouble and she is shipped off to live with her Uncle Will in NYC as a punishment. Uncle Will is a college professor who also owns the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. As soon as she reaches NY, Evie accompanies the police with her Uncle Will and his student, Jericho, to the scene of a murder and it is when she touches the dead girl’s shoe buckle that she sees the girl’s murderer. It is in this bustling NYC that we also meet many other characters with powers and pasts they want hidden; Theta, Memphis, Isaiah, Blind Bill and Miss Walker. What is particularly mesmerizing and unpleasant is evil of Naughty John Hobbes; as more are murdered Evie, her Uncle Will and Jericho try to unravel a mystery that involves ghosts, haunted houses, demons, and evil in 1920s New York. I can’t wait for the second book!

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Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The 2nd Mickey Bolitar book is a fast-paced mystery involving the shooting of Mickey's new romantic interest, Rachel and her the killing of her mother. As Mickey tries to visit her in the hospital with his friends providing a diversion, he finds her in her room, but must quickly hide because the sheriff is coming to question her. Mickey goes to Bat Lady in her haunted house to try to get some answers and he is further confused to find out the man from the ambulance when his father died was not part of the ambulance crew, but someone known as the Butcher. This someone also resembles a man who killed many children during the holocaust, but how can that be the same man? As a sophomore, Mickey is excited about trying out for the basketball team and hoping to make JV. But as Mickey digs deeper, he and his friends are at risk of being injured. It is only with his solo trip to the Bat Lady's house, finding someone in the house, seeing the halls filled with pictures of children during the Holocaust and also children who are missing now, and a fiery blaze that pushes him out of the house, that Mickey realizes there is much more at work than he realizes. He doesn't feel he can confide in anyone really, even his uncle. The mystery continues to deepen, I was so involved in the story, I did not want it to end. I was not very happy with the ending, Harlan Coben just didn't leave you hanging the way her did in the first book, Shelter. But I will read the 3rd book and hope the ending is a cliff hanger, like the first.

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This book did a great job of telling Ryan's story and then viewing the mystery through Sarah's videos. There was just the right amount of tension to give you that creepy, scary feeling throughout the whole book. I didn't really like the ending, but I will want to read the other books to follow old Joe Bush's ghost and his leg that he drags...A great book for kids who like mysteries, horror and the reluctant reader will enjoy the length, Ryan's journal entries, his pictures and the notes he uses tape to show Sarah but then erase the entry so his parents can't spy on him. What does this all mean----READ the book to find out, you will enjoy the haunted feeling you have as you turn the pages.