Bloggin' 'bout Books: 07/13/17

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

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International:

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Debut Psychological Thriller Odd But Compelling

3:18 PM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When Nora Lawrence hops on a train from London to Oxfordshire, she's expecting to spend a peaceful weekend in the country with her older sister. She's shocked to her core when she finds Rachel stabbed to death in her home, her murdered dog nearby. A nurse practitioner who kept to herself, 31-year-old Rachel was hardly the type to attract enemies. Who could have committed such a brutal act against the woman and her canine companion?

As the police flounder around looking for suspects, Nora inserts herself into the investigation. While managing to offend nearly everyone in town, she comes to realize how little she really knew about her sister's life in this far-flung hamlet. Still, she wonders if Rachel's murder had anything to do with an unsolved assault Rachel suffered as a teen. Did her attacker come back to finish the job? Or did the killer have a more current motive? Nora's determined to find out, even if it means putting her own neck on the line.

Under the Harrow, a psychological thriller by debut author Flynn Berry, has earned the expected comparisons to books like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. And it is similar—in some ways. It's moody, atmospheric, and depressing. It's also just ... odd. With a sluggish plot and characters who just aren't that likable (both Nora and Rachel come off as cold, unfeeling, and weird), Under the Harrow is not exactly a page turner. It's compelling enough, though, that I wanted to know whodunit. I also found myself surprised by the murderer, so there's that. In the end, though, Under the Harrow was just an okay read for me.

(Readalikes: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins; and similar psychological thrillers)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love: Another library ~~fine~~ find

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)
25. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
26. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Feb)
27. A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
28. If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell (Feb)
29. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano [audio] (Feb)
30. Wool by Hugh Howey (Feb)
31. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb)
32. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
33. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan (Mar)
34. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (Mar)
35. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (Mar)
36. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mar)
37. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Mar)
38. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor [audio] (Mar)
39. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (Mar)
40. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (Mar)
41. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Mar)
42. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks With Monks and Amish Farmers helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker (Mar)
43. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (Mar)
44. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto* (Apr)
45. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams (Apr)
46. The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Apr)
47. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Apr)
48. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth [audio] (Apr)
49. That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Apr)
50. A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue (Apr)
51. The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Apr)
52. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Apr)
53. Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
54. Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry (Apr)
55. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (Apr)
56. Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan [audio] (Apr)
57. It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson (Apr)
58. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* [re-read] (May)
59. Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (May)
60. You Are Here: Connecting Flights by various authors, edited by Ellen Oh (May)
61. The Silver Shooter by Erin Lindsey* (May)
62. The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry* (May)
63. The Secret Room by Jane Casey* (May)
64. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (May)
65. The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson (May)

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Debut Psychological Thriller Odd But Compelling

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Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)