They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

 

There are some books that you have to step back from reviewing for a while to get your thoughts in order but then there are those that leave you so breathless by the riotous thoughts and feelings a story evokes in you that you need to get it down on paper (well in type anyhow) whilst you are still riding the high. This is one of the latter. A surprisingly life affirming book about the importance of love and death. 

The blurb

This is a story set in an alternate present, one where you find out that you are entering your last 24 hours on Earth by a call from a Death-Cast herald.  Mateo and Rufus don’t know each other yet, their only connection is that they’ve both had the “The Call” and both only have up to 1 day left to live. The exact timing of your death is rather like ads on T.V. where “up to” is the catch- it might be 5 seconds into the period or you might make it to 23:59. 

The alternate world is utterly believable, of course a whole industry has built up around catering for Deckers (that’s what people who have had the call are called). So there’s an Tinder-esque app to find a Last Friend to spend whatever time you have left with. And just like on Tinder and Twitter, there are those who are trolls or rubberneckers .There are experience venues that let you virtually hang-glide, swim with sharks or embark on a round the world trip. There are Decker Discounts at the restaurants for that last meal and lots of hashtags on Instagram revolving around #EndDay. You can go to Clint’s Graveyard club & wow the crowd with a final karaoke (bet you’re now thinking about what your song would be, aren’t you?😉). The mixture of the familiar and the fantastical make this an immersive and compulsive read. 

The up to 24 hours period is told through first person view, time stamped snippets, alternating between the 2 main characters and others directly or indirectly involved in their lives. When Mateo & Rufus connect through Last Friend you know that you are in for something special. On the surface they couldn’t be more different, Rufus is a seize the day, act first, think later boy whilst Mateo is a cautious, think before you act type who is reluctant to leave the house. But together they set out on their last adventure, their impending end forging a bond like no other. The author expertly unpicks their innermost thoughts, fears and hopes as they meet their greatest and final life challenge. Warmth and humour shine through the tale and you will be rooting for the boys to make the most of End Day. You find yourself nodding as they choose to take the stairs rather than the lift, why take chances? It seems perfectly obvious that they make decisions based on the relative risk. I’ll leave it to you to see how that goes though.

So what would YOU do if you got the Death-Cast call? Each part is separated by quotes ranging from a Roman emperor to Oscar Wilde through to Steve Jobs,  all about living rather than existing. Makes you think doesn’t it? Perhaps we should all be a bit less cautious and a bit more carpe diem in our outlook? You never know what tomorrow may bring and there’s something to be said for living each day as if it’s your last.

An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating for this book

Off to start on the prequel now 😉

Secrets We Hide From Ourselves by Nigel Stewart

 

Having enjoyed Colouring In (if you’ve not read it, do- you can see what I thought of it here on my blog in case you need persuading!), I was excited to read this book about Simon Turner’s upcoming birthday bash. 

Unlike James in Colouring In, Simon appears to be emotionally intelligent, the glue that holds the friendship group and his family together. So when he starts planning his 60th birthday celebration you would think that everyone would stampede to get their RSVPs in. To Simon’s frustration some don’t seem that keen, especially his own family. 

You meet his friends and their partners & what a disparate group they are, despite their shared past. There’s Rick, a volatile, now quite well known actor who has caused mayhem over the years. Matthew is a stolid diplomat in Finland whilst John is a serial dater. Male bonding and its at times superficial/competitive nature is perfectly played out, grown men still reminiscing about long gone conquests (real or imaginary) and shenanigans whilst ignoring the emotional elephant in the room. Their partners are not merely satellites, they know what makes their men tick, what flaws they have & are often forthright in their words and actions. Flashbacks interleaved in the present day narrative peel the layers away from these enduring friendships, revealing the complexity of human relationships. It is here that you see how the author has grown in his storytelling, trusting the reader to pick up the nuances and subtext in the situations & draw their own conclusions. But will you be right? 

Simon is a widower having lost his wife in a car accident many years ago & seemingly content with just his friends, his family & his beloved band. Music features heavily through the story &, although his day job might bring in the money, it’s playing music which makes Simon whole. I may be wrong, but I think there’s more than a little of the author in Simon.

The Turner family reflect contemporary life, one sibling with a gammon of a husband who struggles to accept that his sister-in-law is happily loved up with another woman, another experiencing an abusive relationship and a father who tries to keep up with the times and his family(I adored George). Their love for each other is evident but will any of them come to the party? 

As the title suggests, all is not quite what it seems on the surface and there are plenty of eye openers along the way. After all, no one gets to their 6th decade without a few skeletons poking their heads out of the closet ( & before you ask, I’m keeping shtum on my own 😉). How those affect the party, Simon & those around him will be revealed at the end- no spoilers, but to say that the ending builds to a startling crescendo is an understatement. 

A superb book from start to finish, great story, believable, well drawn characters, all woven together with sensitivity, warmth and humour, ending with a stunning finale. 

It’s a massive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read and 👍 from me. 

Can’t wait to read his latest release Justinian’s Daughters. 

The Delegate by Ali Carter

I read and enjoyed Blood List a couple of years ago, so when I got the chance to read & review Ali Carter’s latest DCI Harry Longbridge thriller, I jumped at the chance. I’ll hold my hands up & confess that I missed the release of its follow up, Dead Girls Don’t Cry, so reading the blurb was enough for me to have a major “wait, what?!!” moment. 

No doubt that will make you wonder if you can read The Delegate as a stand-alone? The answer to that is YES, you get more than enough detail to piece together the back history. Would I have enjoyed this book even more if I’d read the second book? Almost certainly, Ali Carter is a genius in letting you see what makes people tick and I WILL seek it out and read it (& then reread The Delegate). 

This book is perfect for lovers of dark, psychological thrillers. Charlotte is as fascinatingly manipulative as before and the idea that she chooses and uses the wife of her nemesis to carry out her acts of revenge is so in character. I particularly enjoyed getting into Annie’s mind, seeing how the past impacted her present, making her the perfect stooge for Charlotte. Even more so, I loved seeing how the balance of power between the two women shifted over the course of the book. There are a satisfying number of deaths, some of which may give you pause for thought next time you are swiping right on a dating site or about to eat, and with each despatch the story builds to an exciting conclusion. 

All in all this was a great read and, somehow, I don’t think that we have heard the last about Charlotte Peterson. I’ll be over here… waiting…

Many thanks to Anne Cater & Random Things Tours for the opportunity to read & review this fab book. And thank you Ali Carter for writing another page turner!