Her entry begins:
I’ve been having a fantastic run of reading just recently. Yes, my alphabetically-through-the-TBR policy has come good again. I’m in the Hs – Greg Herren, Mick Herron, Georgette Heyer – and these three I’m picking out today.About The Dead Room, from the publisher:
Edwin Hill is a pal and so I went to my local bookshop (Avid Reader, Davis) when I heard he had a new one out. Shamingly enough, though, I realised I was two books behind, rather than one, so it’s Edwin’s 2024 psychothriller Who to Believe that I’ve just devoured.
It’s a structural masterclass. I never mean that to suggest that the structure is what you’re going to notice – which sounds like no fun at all – but always that the structure is an advanced undertaking that disappears completely into an enjoyable read. That’s certainly true here. If I wrote a murder multiple times, once for each of the characters who was there at the metaphorical kill, I’d bore myself, my agent and possibly my editor. If my agent ever passed it on. I wouldn’t bore anyone else unless a burglar broke in and took it from the drawer where it belonged. But Edwin? Fantastic stuff. The murder, its lead-up and its aftermath get more fascinating with every new narrator. And, for once, even though each narrator is compelling, you’re never sorry when the change happens. I can’t recommend this highly enough. It’s a...[read on]
In this atmospheric thriller from Catriona McPherson, a young widow seeking refuge from her grief wades into the mists at the far end of memory lane―where something even darker awaits.Visit Catriona McPherson's website.
Reeling from the death of her husband, thirty-something audiobook narrator Lindsay Hale retreats to her Scottish hometown and the comforts of old times.The bungalow where she grew up is just as she left it, next to the scrapyard her family still owns. But something is wrong…something beyond grief.
Something she can only glimpse from the corner of her eye.
Lindsay’s brother and best friend are there to welcome her back. An elderly widow helps Lindsay make sense of her new normal, and a kind man hints at unexpected possibilities. But when her widow friend vanishes, only Lindsay seems to notice. And while she starts “recognizing” strangers, she begins forgetting familiar faces.
Every night, as Lindsay’s dream house fills with nightmares, she wonders whether she’s truly unraveling―or if something more sinister’s at play. Buried secrets surface and reality bends, forcing Lindsay to face the terrifying truth that her new haven isn’t so safe after all.
The Page 69 Test: Go to My Grave.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2018).
My Book, The Movie: The Turning Tide.
The Page 69 Test: The Turning Tide.
My Book, The Movie: A Gingerbread House.
The Page 69 Test: Hop Scot.
The Page 69 Test: Deep Beneath Us.
Q&A with Catriona McPherson.
The Page 69 Test: The Witching Hour.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (September 2024).
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (December 2024).
The Page 69 Test: Scotzilla.
My Book, The Movie: Scotzilla.
The Page 69 Test: Scot's Eggs.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2025).
The Page 69 Test: The Dead Room.
Writers Read: Catriona McPherson.
--Marshal Zeringue
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