Please Tell Me by Mike Omer

 

First lines:  Kathy limped alongside the road in the dark, hugging her doll to her chest. The doll was scared, because of the shadows, which was why Kathy clutched her so tightly. Sometimes, when you're scared, the only things that helps is a hug.

The plot:  Kathy is eight when she's abducted; when she shows up on the side of the road a year later she won't tell anyone where she's been. In fact, she won't speak at all. Child therapist, Dr. Robin Hart, is called in to help. She uses play therapy to help Kathy process her traumatic memories. "But as their work continues, Kathy's playtime takes a grim turn: a doll stabs another doll, a tiny figurine is chained to a plastic toy couch. In every session, another toy dies. But the most disturbing detail of all? Kathy seems to be playacting real unsolved murders." Which makes Robin turn to the police. Because if there is a serial killer out there, Kathy just might hold the secret to his or her identity. 

My thoughts:  The chapters in this quietly suspenseful psychological thriller flip between Robin, Kathy's mother, Claire, and Nathaniel King, the police detective working on the case, as well as a few chapters from the POV of the killer himself. My favorite part was Robin's work with Kathy; I found their play therapy interesting. I also really liked Nathaniel.  My least favorite character was Robin's selfish and narcissistic mother. What a piece of work! The mystery was well-paced. And the murders, though dark and based on horror movie murders, are never described in graphic or gory detail, which I appreciated. And I thought the ending was very gripping. All in all, I really liked this mystery. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

R.I.P.

"It was in the middle of that summer of endless rain that the first child went missing. It all started on a Tuesday, an odd sort of day that could have passed like any other, but ended up being one that profoundly changed the lives of a number of people."

Title: Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Length: 353 pages
The Peril: It starts with a child's abduction from a Stockholm train. At first, the police suspect the girl's father. But when the little girl ends up dead, with the word 'Unwanted' written on her forehead, Inspector Alex Recht and police officer Fredrika Bergman soon realize they're hunting for a manipulative and ruthless murderer instead.

My thoughts: I loved the pacing; this novel begins on Monday, ends on Sunday, and never slows down once in between. The characters are nicely complicated, too, especially Fredrika who's new to the squad and not exactly a people person. In fact, the other members of the squad don't think she's suited for this job at all, but it's Fredrika who spots connections in this case that the others don't. I liked her a lot. I also liked the mystery itself; it's compelling and unpredictable--the moments with the murderer are especially chilling, but not graphic or explicit, which I really appreciated. The subject matter is a little dark, though. All in all, this is a great R.I.P. read (which stands for Readers Imbibing Peril). I'm hoping to read three more books with thrills and chills before the end of October. What about you? Read any good mysteries lately?

Happy Reading!