August Book Competition - Mystery or Thriller

For August, I wanted to challenge my friends to a mystery or thriller. This genre is wildly popular and definitely Leslie’s favorite genre to read. I was excited to see what my friends chose.

The Ground Rules

To help keep things mostly apples-to-apples, I selected a theme each month. Then, Leslie and Noah each submit a book to me for reading. Neither knows what the other shared with me. Then, over the course of a month, I read the books and choose a winner for the best book that month.

August 2022: Mystery/Thriller

Leslie submitted The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Noah submitted The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben as his selection.

The Silent Patient has been recommended all over the place, and everyone seems to love it. I’ve been meaning to read it, so I was quite happy to be forced to make the time for this month’s competition. I’ve heard many things about the amazing plot twist, and I was excited to dive in. We meet Alicia, who lives a perfect life and was a perfect woman but then shot her husband in the face five times. (This is not a spoiler.) She then goes on to remain completely silent for six years about the murder until psychotherapist Theo transfers to her facility to treat her.

The book started slowly for me. I couldn’t get into the writing, and the characters, well, the female characters, weren’t relatable. I felt very frustrated with our main character, Alicia, and I found myself losing sympathy for her. The twist was quite good, however, and I did like how the book ended.

4/5 Stars

The Boy from the Woods was a new book and new author for me. I have never read anything by Harlan Coben, however Noah’s January book won, so I was quite excited to see what was in store this month. We meet Wilde, who was found feral in the woods as boy, now in his thirties. And from there, Wilde doesn’t really feel like the main character. I found too many subplots throughout the book, but despite that, I did not see the twist and wrap-up coming.

4/5 Stars

Two Will Enter, One Will Win

I classify both of these books as mystery (not thriller). I feel like thrillers are edge-of-your-seat anticipation while mysteries are compelling. They were both engaging and, ultimately enjoyable. There were both likes and dislikes in both of these novels, which made the decision very difficult this month.. For August, Leslie is our winner!

Here’s a recap of point totals:

January: Noah | February: Tie | March: Leslie

April: Leslie | May: Leslie | June: Noah

July: Noah | August: Leslie

Leslie pulls ahead! Noah is now at four points, while Leslie gains one for a total of five points (isn’t math fun!). September’s book selection is “Historical Fiction (preferably spooky) just in time for Halloween!