Tips for Tuesday - Books: The Water Tower & The Quiet Tenant

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Books: The Water Tower & The Quiet Tenant 

Today we are talking about The Water Tower by Amy Young.  Josie Ashbury, a famous Hollywood actress, suffers a breakdown so she returns to her small hometown and takes a teaching job. When she discovers the body of one of her students at the bottom of the town's water tower, she becomes embroiled in the mystery of what happened to the young girl. On the surface, it seems like it may be just a tragic accident as massive amounts of Fetanayl are found in the young girl's system, but Josie isn't so sure. When the police investigation is suddenly dropped, she begins to investigate on her own.

The tenacious heroine at the center of this book is admirable for her doggedness and determination. Most of the other characters are not as memorable. In fact, some of the characters are hard to distinguish from each other because they are so similar.

Although the story is somewhat intriguing as it is interesting to find out what Josie is going to do next, there is not much excitement to the mystery. It is pretty clear who the culprit is from very early on in the book, especially to regular readers of murder mysteries, due to the lack of viable suspects. Also, the story ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, and there is no indication of whether or not there will be a sequel. Accordingly, if you don't like to be left hanging or if you don't want to get caught up in a series in case there eventually is a sequel or two, you might want to think twice before choosing this book.

Today we are recommending The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon. Aidan Thomas is beloved by all who know him. He has a reputation for being a hard worker, helpful friend and neighbor, and most of all loving single father to his teenage daughter. No one knows about Aidan's darker menacing homicidal side no one knows except the one woman he's kept alive.

The reader is quickly drawn into this physiological thriller about a kidnapped woman. Although the book is told from varying points of view, the main part of the story is told from the kidnapped woman's point of view. The rare use of the second-person narrative for her portion of the story really puts the reader in her shoes and ramps up the tension. The fact that she is not given a name and is only called by the name he gave her just serves to draw the reader in even more and increase the shock and horror of it all. 

Reading this book is a little like watching a horror movie. At times, you want to scream and wonder why she did or didn't do this or that or the other thing. However, unless one is really in such a horrific situation, you can't really know what you would do. This exciting but terrifying thriller is about the closest you can come to knowing what it feels like.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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