Many thanks to JM Hewitt, author of Exclusion Zone for her ‘Best of 3’ today … Of course, JM has been featured on CRIMINALLY GOOD on this site before, so check out her interview HERE.
If you’re a crime author or screenwriter, DO submit your As to my Qs, which you can find HERE or by clicking the pic below. Over to you, JM!
The three that I have chosen are interestingly almost novellas in their size. I used to be wary of not getting my fill with a novella or a smaller book, but these three choices absolutely changed my mind and these days, I seek them out! I also had to only choose books that I’ve read in 2016 otherwise I’d have been able to do best of 100 or so!
1) Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
WHY I LIKE IT: The world created by Claire Fuller is mesmerising, chilling, haunting and THAT TWIST! When I read this book I was in the secluded woods, I could smell the autumn leaves and feel the snow. One talented author and my only regret is that I’ll never again be able to experience this book again for the first time.
2) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
WHY I LIKE IT: This one I read most recently, and it is the first novel of E. Lockhart’s that I have read – definitely not the last! The writing is almost poetic in places and the protagonist is a stand out. I thoroughly enjoy stories of ‘how the other half live’ and the ending was a bolt out of the blue. I did not see it coming and I was floored. I couldn’t get to sleep after I finished it for thinking about it, always a sign of a GREAT book. This is a YA book which had no negative impact on my reading pleasure at all.
3) We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
WHY I LIKE IT: Sometimes I worry that I enjoyed a book so much because of the location of where I read it. I read this one on board the Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, California, but then I re-read it again recently and happily the novel had the same effect on me so, in this case, definitely not the location! I wondered if this should fall into my crime fiction category, as it’s more gothic horror, but I’m taking my chances and including it for the mystery element! This book brings up so many questions; what’s with this family? What’s wrong with Merricat? Why are they treated the way they are by their community? It was amazing and I’ll certainly be reading this one again and again.
BIO: J.M Hewitt is the author of the bestselling crime fiction novel Exclusion Zone, published by Endeavour Press 2016. Her second novel, The Maze, is due for release later in the year. Follow as @jmhewitt on Twitter.
