The Existence of Bea Pearl Review

I received an ARC of The Existence of Bea Pearl by Candice Marley Conner in return for an honest review through NetGalley. Thank you so much to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.

 Sixteen-year-old Bea Pearl knows her brother isn’t dead. Even if her parents don’t agree. Even if the entire town doesn’t believe her. She knows it’s true. When orders came to evacuate Lake George due to rising floodwaters, Bea Pearl saw Jim head toward the river. She followed him. Only she returned.

When her parents have Jim declared legally dead, Bea Pearl decides it’s up to her to figure out where her brother could be if he is alive, and so begins to unravel the mystery of his disappearance. But it seems like someone else wants to know what he was hiding when his bedroom is ransacked. More clues come together: a scrap of paper, mysterious numbers that may lead to swamp monkeys, Jim’s shoes turning up in unexpected places. Bea Pearl can’t figure out what connects them all until she’s stolen from her bed in the dead of night.

Bea Pearl’s insistence that Jim’s alive and her quest to figure out why he went down to a flooding river in the first place takes a toll on her shattering family. But she must unearth the truth surrounding her presumed dead brother. Otherwise, the rumours are true and she has killed him. Because if Jim can stop existing, could she too?

OMG where to start with this book!!!

The existence of Bea Pearl is a southern mystery novel about family and deception, about really existing and what it means to exist. I loved everything about this book.  It clasped me in its grip from the very start and it couldn’t let me go. The novel kept me guessing throughout the whole thing which for someone who has read a lot of mystery/crime/thriller fiction that is quite hard to do.  I found all of the characters relatable and I loved the aspect that you never really knew who was good and who the villains of the piece were.  I also loved that the ending shocked me.

It is a great book and definitely worth a read whether this is your usual genre or not. A very strong 4 stars from me.

They Fly Silent Review

I received They Fly Silent by Barb Lanell through NetGalley and I am so glad that I did, so thanks are extended to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley also for allowing me to review this book.

They Fly Silent is a novel that follows the recovery of protagonist Cass Collard, a 25-year-old woman with amnesia, trauma and a repressed childhood.

First off it is important to say that this book contains the following which may be a trigger for some readers – mental illness, sexual assault, trauma, grief and animal.

They Fly Silent is a southern gothic story detailing a dysfunctional family. Growing up Cassandra listened to stories her great grandmother Maw Sue would talk about concerning mystical and cursed bloodlines, about the Seventh Tribe, spiritual beliefs, and the power of magic, and “seekers”.  Now twenty-five-year-old Cassandra’s life is currently full of madness and chaos. Divorced and accused of starting a mysterious fire that she doesn’t remember setting, she is having to face memories during therapy sessions with a psychiatrist.

The book itself, though it portrays as a mystery, has definite elements of psychological fiction as well as fantasy fiction and the elements of these three that were in the novel made it very interesting to read, the characters seemed to have real depth and I found myself drawn to them and likeable, the author certainly is able to create a world where it reflects everyday life even though it is fantastical at the same time.

As the book progressed the reader was introduced to more of the layers of the protagonist and her personality couple with the life she has lived are revealed. I found myself continually guessing whether she really did possess magical qualities and abilities or whether she needs to work through some very deep-seated psychological issues. The author also does a great job of setting the scene throughout the novel which allows the reader to see the sights, feel the heat and even smell the collard greens burning.

This book is by no means a gentle heart warming read but it is definitely a read that will stay with you for a while and will allow you imagination to run wild. It is a strong 4 star read.