Under The Whispering Door

 

I have been eyeing T.J. Klune's work at the bookstore but was not ready to commit. When I found Under The Whispering Door at a second hand store for a dollar I was ready to give it at try.

While overall I did not like the book I loved the writing. So elegant, flowed well, and just seemed magical in it's own way. I also like the premise of the book. The main issue was the main character, totally unbelievable and the Mr. Klune seemed to forget what type of character he had written at the start of the story.

Wallace is a ruthless, mean, lonely, and cruel man. He has no friends, no life outside of work, and no drive except to crush people in court. I wanted to see Wallace learn humility, kindness, and love over time. Instead one chapter ended and in the next one Wallace was suddenly this understanding, kind, fun, friendly person who did not fit the narrative of the original living Wallace at all. 

I may consider trying more of Mr. Klune's work but I hope the characters show development not overnight becoming a new person totally. 

The Intruder

 

I almost skipped The Intruder. I read the first chapter at the end of The Surrogate and it did not draw me in but I figured I would give it a try. Thankfully I still ordered The Intruder from the library and what a ride it was. 

I liked Casey she is a down to earth woman who lives in a cabin in the forest. Sounds like a dream until the story continues and you realize that Casey may be hiding something or maybe it is the girl who showed up right before the storm started covered in blood. Lets not forget Lee who is her closest neighbor and something seems off about him. 

Everyone has secrets some are just more deadly then others. I really do not know how Mrs. McFadden does it. By now I figured I knew all her tricks for twists and turns. Nope the twist caught me off guard so badly I had to stop reading and put the book down for 24 hours. It was just so unexpected for me and I love that. The pace of the writing was perfect, the characters were all developed and had me caring about them, and I liked how everything was explained. After Never Lie this is my favorite book by Mrs. McFadden.