Tag Archives: thriller

The Bone Collector Review

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Recently, I’ve been on a streak of feel good movies or action movies. Movies filled with things like superheroes or family fluff. Despite that, I wouldn’t have picked this movie on my own. But thanks to my CSI class, I got a taste of a new genre and a good movie. 

The Bone Collector is an older movie, coming out in 1999, classified as a crime thriller movie. Following policewoman Amelia Donaghy on her shift, she discovers a murder scene leading her to become involved in a much more intricate case. Despite not wanting to get involved further, forensic criminology expert Lincoln Rhyme does his best to persuade her to help. After heavy convincing, she joins Rhyme and his leading team of detectives and forensics in order to uncover the murderer and next victims. 

The Bone Collector was a super interesting movie. I am not a fanatic for thriller or horror or suspense. If I even sense a single jumpscare, I begin to cover my face and peak out through my fingers. Which is what I did for various moments in this movie. The Bone Collector was not extremely scary, if anything, it was only a slight thriller; but it still had me anxious for something to come out of the screen. Despite that, it was still a fun watch. I haven’t watched a good mystery in a while, so I had a great time tying together pieces of the puzzle and where the mystery was going. The overall motive was interesting, but I just wish it were developed further or had more details. I felt it came out of the blue and wasn’t really developed and not too in depth.  While the movie gained some extra points towards the movie because it had some interesting CSI forensic scenes that piqued my interest, it had some scenes that felt like there were some dead ends, or were unneeded. 

There was just one main thing that irked me throughout the movie: the romance. I personally felt that the romance was unnecessary and even made me feel slightly uncomfortable. In my opinion, the relationship between Donaghy and Rhyme would have been better as a more platonic relationship, even seeming more like a father-daughter relationship. The romance didn’t feel natural and it would have been better if romance hadn’t been included at all. 

Overall, The Bone Collector was a fun movie to watch, while it may have its spots that were dry or unnecessary, the mystery itself was interesting to figure out and the thriller aspect made the movie more appealing. It is a good movie in the end, but if you get scared easily or grossed out easily, I might not recommend it to you. If you like thrillers and mysteries, this movie might be a good one to check out.

-Nicole R.

The Bone Collector is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library. 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Book Review

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Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a masterful work of suspense and mystery, often hailed as one of her finest achievements. First published in 1939, the novel introduces readers to a group of ten strangers who are invited to an isolated island under various pretexts. Each guest has a hidden past, with secrets they hope to keep buried, but soon, a series of eerie events unfold. As the guests begin to die one by one, the novel becomes an intense psychological game of survival, with no one knowing who can be trusted.

Christie’s skillful plotting and brilliant misdirection keep the reader guessing until the very end. The novel is a prime example of the “locked-room mystery” genre, as the isolated island setting creates an atmosphere of confinement and paranoia. Each chapter ratchets up the tension as the characters’ anxieties grow, and the clever use of nursery rhymes as a thematic device ties together the chilling sequence of murders.

I personally loved the constant suspense Christie gave us throughout the book. I loved how I could predict what would happen based on the poem “Ten Little Solider Boys” from the 1600’s, but was still left with unknown elements of the story. I also enjoyed reading about each character’s past and true natures. Not only were they all unique, but I loved how Christie highlighted human fear and suspicion and demonstrated the destruction death and fear can bring. Additionally, I loved the unexpected and haunting ending of the novel as it left me completely stunned and unsettled.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller murder mystery. If you like to read about a variety of unique characters and how they all become intertwined, I recommend giving this book a read!

Kaiya T.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Loop by Shandy Lawson

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What if you were stuck in a world where time never moved forward, forcing you to relive the same terrifying events again and again? That’s exactly what happens to Ben, a teenager who finds himself stuck in a time loop, reliving the same deadly events over and over. With danger closing in and no clear way out, The Loop by Shandy Lawson is a thrilling ride that keeps you guessing until the very end.

One part of the story I really liked was Ben’s growing friendship with Maggie. At first, Ben is confused and scared, but Maggie already knows what’s happening—she’s been stuck in the loop longer than him. She’s not just a companion; she’s his guide to surviving the nightmare they’re trapped in. Maggie’s determination and quick thinking make her a strong character, and I liked how she never gave up, no matter how many times they had to start over.

Then there are the loopers, the men chasing Ben and Maggie. They’re mysterious, dangerous, and always seem to know what’s coming next. Unlike Ben and Maggie, the loopers don’t seem surprised by the time resets, which made me wonder—are they part of something bigger? Do they control the loop, or are they just as trapped? Every time Ben and Maggie try to escape, the loopers are there, making the story feel like a mix of mystery and action.

One of the most intense parts of the book was Jerry, the ruthless hitman working for the loopers. He’s a serious threat to Ben and Maggie, and his presence makes the stakes even higher. Unlike the loopers, who are mysterious, Jerry is direct—he has a job to do, and he won’t stop until it’s done.

I also liked Ben’s friend, Todd, because he represents the normal life Ben wants to return to. Todd has no idea what’s happening to Ben, which adds to the frustration and loneliness of being stuck in the loop. Ben’s mom also plays a small but important role, reminding us of the life he’s desperately trying to hold onto.

What I loved most about The Loop was its fast-paced suspense and unpredictable twists. Just when I thought Ben and Maggie had figured things out, something would change, throwing them back into chaos. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, making me wonder—will they ever escape, or is the loop unbreakable? If you like thrilling stories with mystery, action, and high stakes, I highly recommend The Loop!

-Adarsh V.

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

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To Remy, Elise was everything—car rides in a bright pink Chevy, blissful nights away from arguing parents, and little bursts of support that made everything okay.

Until Jack.

Jack was the calm, steadying presence in Remy’s life. Rational and kind, sensible and compassionate, everything Remy ever wanted.

Remy and Elise lived on the wild side of life. Elise made days seem effortlessly thrilling. In fact, her favorite movie, Kill Bill, featured a fearless main character that she aspired to be: reckless in the face of danger, courageous when aiding others, and morally right when distributing punishments to those who wronged her.

If anyone came across her or Remy, Elise would make sure they got what they deserved. She exploded fireworks, released mice, and corroded cars, all in the name of justice.

What’s more, Elise was the person who guided Remy outside of her comfort zones, who helped her experience life without fear. Elise was, seemingly, an angel in the form of a rebellious teenage girl, sent just for Remy. When Jack cautions their behavior and disapproves of their ways, Remy has to choose between her two soulmates.

As Elise and Jack’s conflict turns deadly, Remy desperately wishes that she and Elise never met in the first place.

The Best Lies was an excellently crafted novel. Elise’s disobedient nature and Remy’s meek personality are the perfect blend of two entirely different characteristics to develop the plot.

The book was suspenseful and intriguing; I only wanted to discover Elise’s motive, just like Remy. The complicated relationship between Remy, Elise, and Jack was a definite page turner.

I really enjoyed reading Lyu’s writing style and experiencing the story alongside Remy. As her character learns to cope with struggles and eventually overcome them, I felt my own mood reflect Remy’s feelings.

Remy experiences the unimaginable throughout the novel. Love, friendship, betrayal, obsession. All of it. By the end of the novel, Remy learns that only the truth is the best lie.

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

The Outsider by Stephen King Review

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Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

  In the town of Flint City, Oklahoma tragedy strikes when Frankie Peterson, a young child, is found dead. The culprit- Terry Maitland: little league coach and a friendly neighbor. But the question is, did Terry Maitland really commit this brutal act, and if not, then why did several witnesses describe seeing Maitland committing the crime and why was his DNA found on the Peterson boy’s body. 

Terry Maitland constantly shows his innocence and that he did not commit this crime, with his attitude and a strong alibi, however, then how did his DNA get traced onto the victim. Despite everything, the detective Ralph Anderson, refuses to let the case die after this and tries to continue the investigation, moving the question from who to how this case happened.

The Outsider by Stephen King is a suspenseful thrilling novel full of twists and turns: ensuring the reader will want to stay in their seat and not put the book down until they finish.

Review:

I would easily give this book an 8/10, and there are many things to note: 

  1. This book was very dark at points, so to read and understand the book you probably should be a little older.
  1. This novel was very captivating, with many twists and turns, sure to keep anyone who reads it from putting the book down.
  1. This book was very good, while starting out as an investigative whodunnit, but as the story moves on, it becomes more of a supernatural thriller.
  1. One notable thing I liked was how Stephen King creatively lightens the mood of this book with creatively and concise moments of happiness and humor to prevent this book from getting too dark

I liked this book very much and I would easily recommend it to anyone who likes books that are suspenseful and scary. I would consider this an example of Stephen King’s finest work.

The Outsider by Stephen King is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Coraline: Book VS Movie

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Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, is a fictional thriller, originally written as a novel, but later turned into a movie. The basic plot of the story is that a little girl named Coraline and her family move into a new house. Coraline finds a door in their new house that leads to a magical world where everything is perfect. Inside her perfect world, Coraline has ‘Other-Parents’ with sewn on button eyes. They try to convince Coraline to stay with them forever, on the condition that Coraline sews buttons into her eyes. This terrifies Coraline, who then tries to escape.

While I love both versions of the story, there are some major differences between the book and the movie.

Firstly, book Coraline’s parents are much nicer than they are in the movie. In the book, Coraline’s parents are stressed and tired. While they could have been nicer to their daughter, they were very busy and Coraline was being negative and bothersome. In the book, there is a very touching scene where Coraline tells The Cat about when her dad took her ‘adventuring’ and accidentally stepped on a wasp’s nest. Her dad took 39 stings to protect Coraline. So, in the book, Coraline’s parents are much nicer, and Coraline was mostly at fault. Throughout the book, she learns to appreciate her parents. In the movie, Coraline’s parents ignore Coraline and are unnecessarily snappish with her. In my opinion, the movie’s portrayal of Coraline’s parents makes more sense, because her parents’ unkindness is what drives Coraline to prefer the other world.

Secondly, in the book, Coraline visits the other world once and decides she doesn’t want to stay. In the movie, Coraline visits the other world three times before she decides to escape. Coraline in the book is very wary of other world and doesn’t trust her ‘Other Mother’. Movie Coraline was quick to accept the new world and wanted to stay there forever, until she learned that she would have to sew buttons on her eyes.

Thirdly, there is a character in the movie that was not present in the book. His name is Wybie, short for Wyborne. His grandmother’s sister was also taken by the Other Mother. Wybie finds a doll that looks exactly like Coraline, so he gives it to her. The doll was secretly a spy for the Other Mother, trying to find out what Coraline’s insecurities were to lure her to the other world. In the book, both the character Wybie and the doll he found did not exist.

There are many other small differences between the book and the movie (like Mr. Bobo AKA Bobinski, the singing rats, and Coraline’s blue hair), both the book and the movie were excellent. Would recommend!

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: The Silent Patient

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The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller book written by Alex Michaelides. The story focuses on Alicia Berenson, who is said to be a murderer as she shot her husband in the face six years ago and hasn’t spoken a word since then. The murder, together with Alicia’s refusal to speak up regarding her husband’s death has caught the attention of the public and sparked the curiosity of a psychotherapist named Theo Faber. Ever since Theo had the chance to work with Alicia while she was in a psychiatric unit, he has been determined to discover the truth behind Alicia’s mystery.

I discovered The Silent Patient due to its rising popularity among readers. Despite not being a fan of thriller books, I was encouraged to grab the book and borrow it from the Mission Viejo Library because of the hype, and I could say that I do not regret choosing to do so. While reading the first few chapters of the book, there are certain parts where I felt like it was uninteresting. Although since Theo, the psychotherapist, continues to dig deeper into Alicia’s mystery, it kept me intrigued until the end of the book. There are various reveals presented throughout the story, making me wonder more why Alicia decided to carry out such actions. In the end, it did not disappoint me. The final twist was a shocker and I felt completely fooled as I absolutely did not see it coming. 

I highly recommend reading The Silent Patient to all the readers out there, especially those who are a lover of thriller stories. Also, even if you are not a fan of thriller books like me, it is still worth the try of reading it!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Silent Patient Review

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Author: Alex Michaelides 

Pages: 325

Genre: Thriller, mystery

The Silent Patient begins with a glimpse at Alicia Berenson’s picturesque life through her diary. This famous painter is married to a renowned photographer and lived the perfect life in a nice house in London. However, Alicia’s perfect life does not stop her from shooting her husband five times in the face when he returns from work. After this crime, she never speaks a word again. Five years later, psychotherapist Theo Faber finds a job opportunity at the psychiatric ward Alicia is being held and takes the job in order to examine Alicia with whom he has been entranced since her story stormed the press. Theo is determined to discover the events of that night as well as Alicia’s motive to brutally kill her husband. We get to follow him as he investigates personal aspects of Alicia’s life like her friends and family. However, each character introduces new information that makes her motive appear ever more convoluted.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While it was a bit of a slow start as we hear about Theo’s life and mundane daily activities, the end is worth the wait. As the story continued, I too found myself anticipating the reasoning behind Alicia’s actions and definitely was not disappointed. There were a lot of hidden details throughout the book that made the resolution much more intense and mind-blowing. I would recommend this book to all readers, for while I do not particularly read many thriller novels, this one was very good.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon

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I read this book a while ago because my mother gave it to me as a gift. Of course I was going to read it. When I first read it, I thought whatever about it until I re-read it. I mean the girl wakes up from coma at age 17 after her house was attacked and her mother was killed. She was in a coma for 4 years! The crazy thing is that she was the only person that saw the person who killed her mother.

Stacy is now trying to recover memories with the help of new face Jeff. So many twists, lies, and secrets to discover with the mental age of 13, in a 17 year old body. Who can she trust? Who can she not trust? Who should she listen to and so forth?

This was a fun thriller that I took my time with because I could. If you are looking for a suspenseful, thrilling, and eerie book this is definitely the read for you! I highly recommend this book even though it was written quite a while ago.

-Coralie D.

The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon is available to download for free from Libby.

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz

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Seventeen-year-old Kamran Smith is living the life—he’s the star of his football team; dates a popular, beautiful girl; and—though his family originally comes from Iran—has always felt like a 100% accepted American.

And then Kamran’s older brother, Darius, is accused of being a terrorist. Kamran can’t bring himself to believe any of it, but hard evidence has been exposed to the public—films of Darius threatening his country and implying a looming fatal attack.

Suddenly, in the whole world’s eyes, Kamran is labeled as a terrorist as well. His closest, supposedly loyal friends abruptly turn on him. Kamran is determined to prove to the world that Darius is not a terrorist.

Racing against time, Kamran discovers a sequence of clues and codes that he must unscramble to guide him to the truth about Darius and the dangers that lie ahead. As he puts his life at risk in saving his brother and the world, he never ceases to believe that his brother is not a terrorist. No matter what evidence there is, he knows Darius is innocent. No matter how much the world thinks otherwise, he is convinced Darius would never betray his country

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz, the story of Kamran Smith; is a thrilling, action-packed read that brings to light themes of loyalty, doubt, prejudice, and perseverance. Though it is slightly unrealistic, it’s still an incredible novel. I would definitely recommend Code of Honor, especially to those interested in historical fiction, current events, or action novels.

-Lam T.

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.