Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

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The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
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Book Review: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2) by Alvin Schwartz

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more scary stories to tell in the dark alvin schwartz
Since Halloween is right around the corner, I decided to reread a favorite book from my childhood . . . More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #2), which is a collection of stories from folklore and retold by Alvin Schwartz.

I first read this book and the other two books in the trilogy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories, #1) and Scary Stories 3:  More Tales to Chill Your Bones (Scary Stories, #3), in middle school, and I had fond memories of them. I also remember being terribly spooked after reading them, especially by the grotesque illustrations. If memory serves correctly, our teachers weren't thrilled with students reading them.

My favorite stories in this edition are Something Was Wrong and The Wreck. I also enjoyed A Ghost in the Mirror. These were the spookiest of the stories. The latter story made a friend and I try to summon "Bloody Mary", and we completely freaked ourselves out. So, this was a great read for nostalgia reasons.

With that being said, I was terribly disappointed in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark because it wasn't nearly as good, or as spooky, as I remembered. But, I am an adult now, and I'm not really the target audience for this book. It would likely scare its target audience of kids between the ages of eight years and twelve years because I do remember being creeped out by it when I read it in middle school.

The adult in me gives this book three out of five stars. My middle school self would have likely have given it five out of five stars.

 

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