The Forgetting Place by John Burley

An absolutely amazing novel by our doctor author, John Burley who is still practicing medicine. Dr. Lise Shields is a psychiatrist at a correctional psychiatric hospital in Maryland for 5 years. As the story progresses you see her getting attached and intrigued with one particular patient whose history and case is closely guarded by the hospital. Initially , I had very strong suspicions about the main gist of the story but John Burley is very much adept in throwing in situations that make you doubt your initial hunches and couples it with medical descriptions that make you veer away from whatever you are thinking. Being an experienced mystery reader I did guess the ending correctly but with a totally different resolution from what the author will eventually explain in the end. A very good read!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

"The Girl on the Train" is the first thriller published by journalist Paula Hawkins. This spine chiller starts out innocently. Rachel entertains herself while riding the train by fixating on an adorable looking couple who she sees from afar as the train passes by their home regularly. Then she notices something "odd" about the picture that seems very off from the usual idyllic scene she always witnesses as she passes by these couple's home. As the story unravels, the reader will eventually find out that Rachel has actually a strong connection between these couple and their lives are additionally entwined with still another couple - her ex-husband and his present wife. What makes matters worse is that Rachel has a drinking problem which makes her susceptible to blackouts and memory loss. Then there are the bruises she discovers she has after she awakens from her mental relapse. Is she remembering something or has she lost the capacity of differentiating reality from fantasy? A very good first novel!

Madeline Roux's Mystery Combo

"Asylum" and it's sequel  "Sanctum" are two magnificent but sinister photo-illustrated novels reminiscent of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". It looked like the author has been inspired to adapt her novels from very old but ominous photos she has discovered depicting life in an old asylum.

You definitely have to read "Asylum" to better understand its spin-off , "Sanctum" because several references from the former book  is mentioned in the sequel. Though made for "young adults" or teens, these books still manage to create  a suspenseful atmosphere that could  intimidate mature mystery aficionados without the regular steamy sex and bloodshed typically seen in adult mystery novels.

"Asylum" starts with a summer program geared for teens being held at a college with residential facilities being placed at a former asylum. After several mysterious events occur, Asylum ends with the culprit of all these baffling events being unmasked. Still the story is left hanging with the readers wanting to seek "closure" by reading "Sanctum". "Sanctum" explains why these certain events happened and explained certain situations that were left unanswered in Asylum. Definite good reads for a cold rainy day!

The Absence of Mercy by John Burley

This is a horrifying book!I am not talking about the author's ability to write but rather the storyline of his novel. The author , being an actual doctor, begins the chapter with an extremely grisly description of a teenager's death. It was way too graphic for my taste. Though I have read worse, it appeared that the author was actually describing a particular macabre death he encountered in real life. Not just a wild imagination of a horror writer whose main aim was just to inflict terror on his audience. Burley's description depicted the death with so much detail that it reminded me of an actual case committed in 1993 that made headlines during that time. I could actually visualize the pain and suffering of the poor boy. The only thing I did not like about the book was the use of too much medical terms that made the reader more overwhelmed than informed. It would have been good if it were an actual movie or tv program wherein visuals could help the viewers understand all this medical rhetoric. Anyway, the killer came to me as a surprise as I had to skip some portions because of the confounding amount of details being given.

Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd

The storyline is wonderful and very intriguing. I have to admit though that I almost did not finish the book because there were quite a few factors that really annoyed me. But before I go off tangent again let me briefly give you the gist of the novel. Elizabeth Banner is returning to Virtue Falls 23 years after her highly intelligent but dull-looking father allegedly kills her beautiful but adulterous mother.

I had read a lot of murders involving cheating spouses but the story glorified the wayward mother so much as if she was such an image of  beauty that of course she was allowed to stray from that old, unattractive husband of hers! The poor dad eventually got humiliated and tortured by the murder for 23 years even though there was not enough evidence to throw him in prison.

Then the author gives a description of Elizabeth Banner. She is absolutely drop dead gorgeous with huge breasts, a small waistline, huge hips, long legs and a sexual appetite (with her ex-husband) enough to rival a porn star. And wait! Not only is she goddess like beautiful like her mother, she also inherited the astute brain of her plain looking dad that has allowed her to excel both academically and professionally! Hence, every single straight male lusts for her while her cousins tortured her just like Cinderella got tortured by her ugly step sisters. The proverbial "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

It was insinuated that her mother was killed by her lover but they don't know who he is! You see, every straight male wanted her mom so there was a big spectrum of potential lovers to choose from. The description of both women were like in an adult fairy tale. Both were beyond beautiful that all men went on an orgasmic trance just looking at them while all plain janes trembled at their sight. Okay! I'm exaggerating. But Ms. Dodd immediately immerses the reader with more fast paced events that I fell into the spell of reading the whole novel faster than my normal pace. It was good and suspenseful.

The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue

It's a chilling story about a boy named Jack Peter whose drawings of monsters came to life. These creatures not only haunt him but also starts to terrify his family and his best friend, Nick. An "accident" involving him and his friend Nick has caused him to develop a disorder that was later diagnosed as Asperger's syndrome. This is when the frantic drawing of monsters start . What started as a drawing "phase" eventually develops into a more malevolent exercise. I did not like the ending but just like "Pan's Labyrinth" it was necessary in order to explain the bizarre happenings and make the story more effective in creating an impact on the reader. 

Your Not Safe by Mary Burton

This is an excellent thriller. It's about former residents of an upscale mental health facility for suicidal patients who are gradually being killed off  several years after being released. It also manages to mix in a little romance that heightened the story line without evoking the cringe factor most romantic thrillers usually give. Being a regular murder mystery aficionado I managed to predict the murderer but more out of instinct rather than failure of the author to "deceive" the reader. She always manages to make you doubt every suspicion you have by always inserting some clues that would help mislead you until the very end. Mary Burton has definitely improved her writing style as I made a mistake of borrowing an earlier book after being impressed with this one. Very disappointing, I should say. Hence, I urge readers to stick to her later works .

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

This is an incredible book told through two time frames- the present and the time before the main character,Lucy, is born. It starts out with a brief description of the major characters involved, culminating into the horrifying death of Lucy's friend. Upset that no one appears to care about her friend's demise other than herself, she decides to investigate her friend's murder. As she searches for clues, she realizes that her friend's death appear to be connected to her mother's mysterious disappearance several years ago.  The story is voiced out by different characters, making the reader learn more about their backgrounds and slowly explaining why events have happened in the first place. Very well written.

Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

This is an amazing book that actually mixed the occult with murder and mystery without offering the standard story line people normally expect. All chapters were short but always ended either with an ominous tone or a suspenseful phrase that made the reader want to proceed to the next one. It also weaved the story of several families - a widow with 2 kids, a mother from a different century, a couple whose stash were found in the house, an artist and her photographer husband, an unstable woman and finally a "witch" whose presence have caused all the havoc that brought these lives together. Creepy but well told.

Under My Skin by Sabine Durrant

The start had the narrator mumbling some random thoughts that I believe tended to confuse rather than explain the main character's present situation. However, after the dead body is found during her walk, things pick up quickly. As the story progress, I start getting impatient with the lady for her lack of perception on what seems to be very obvious. And the trauma she had to endure! This is, however, explained at the very end. Everything falls right in place with the way a secondary character explains what has really happened . The beauty of it all was how the truth was clarified in print (Yes, folks! In print!) and how it actually paved the way for the success of "the master plan" ! Ah! Revenge is so sweet and to actually get away with it! Such bliss! To me - unscrupulous individuals just deserve death!