Jessica Fellowes: The Mitford Murders

Jessica Fellowes' book The Mitford Murders (affiliate link) promises that Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie. As a (former?) Downton Abbey fan, I grabbed this book.

It's 1920. Florence Shore, a nurse who served in the war and Florence Nightingale's goddaughter, is killed on a train. Who is guilty? Poor Louisa sets out to solve the murder together with Nancy, the daughter of a rich family. Of course, incompetent police officers are also encountered along the way, and some romances are also set up.

If you're looking for a suspenseful and fast-paced thriller, this isn't it. The plot progresses really slowly. Even watching that famous paint dry would be more exciting.

I thought I had guessed the culprit and what happened too early, but I was at least partly wrong.

I always get annoyed when real people are used as characters in a fictional work, it should be prohibited by law. But even worse is to blame a real murder on the shoulders of a real person, even though that person was never actually suspected of the murder.

 

It was only afterwards that I realized that this book was the start of a series, so it's probably pointless to assume that the plot twists would be wrapped up in a pretty package. I don't plan on reading the next parts of the series.

 

Colleen Hoover: Verity

Verity (affiliate link) is the first book I read by the hugely popular Colleen Hoover. She usually writes romantic stories, but Verity is a thriller, or pretends to be one. 

Struggling author Lowen gets the chance of a lifetime to finish Verity's popular book series. Verity was badly injured in a car accident. To get started on her work, Lowen moves in with Verity's family to study her notes, but what does she find? 

I devoured the book a day, expecting the promised thrills and surprising plot twists, but they never came. So once again, a "thriller" without suspense. I guess it's my fault. 

This book is also being made into a movie.

 

 

WARNING!! 

 

PLOT SPOILER!! 

 

If you can't stand violence against children/babies, don't read this book!

 

Alex Michaelides: The Silent Patient

What a crappy book.

Alicia kills her husband and ends up in a mental hospital. After the murder, Alicia has refused to say a word. Some psychotic psychotherapist is obsessed with her case, and tricks himself into working in the same mental hospital.

Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient (affiliate link) is a really boring book. Pointless rambling about the life, everyday life, past, thoughts of the pointless main character, a psycho. It's not interesting, and none of it has any significance to the plot.

When compared to the previous thriller I read, "The Inmate", which was a real thriller unlike this boredom.

How can anyone praise this as "smart and inventive"? Who can read hundreds of pages of nonsense just for the sake of some kind of resolution? Yeah, of course everything is wrapped up in a really nice package at the end.

I regret dragging this 454-page book home from the library, and I'm not interested in reading more by this author.

Sovijärvi, Arina, Halmetoja: Biohacker's Handbook

Biohacker's Handbook (affiliate link) is a giant, heavy book. A nightmare to lug home and read. My health is simply not good enough to read this book, my arms are too weak. I had to weigh this monstrosity.

weight: 2.1 kg

And then when the book is structured so that there are maybe two sentences on one page. These things could have been presented much more compactly. A terrible waste of paper. Not like this! In the end, those sources could have been left out, and published only online.

I also happen think that hardcover books should be banned by law.

What about the content of the Biohacker's Handbook then?

All food is toxic. There is actually no food that is not unhealthy and full of toxins. Plants are known to protect themselves with all sorts of toxins and antinutrients.

The authors of this book also recommend not drinking tap water.

The recommendation to drink tea with meals was strange, since tea at least prevents iron absorption.

The best advice in the book: Minimize human contact. (I maybe left out a few words from that sentence)

 

 

I personally couldn't become a biohacker, or at least not monitor myself. That would just stress me out. And I don't think it's very healthy to have electronic devices in bed, for example.