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The year is 1932, and Georgie lives in a drafty Scottish castle with her brother's family. As soon as she turns twenty-one, she is cut off from her allowance and forced to marry a ghastly prince that she does not like. To support herself and living a freedom-filled life, she flees her ancestral home to London and takes up nontraditional jobs. The queen hampers her fresh start, asking Georgie to spy on Prince William and Wallis Simpson. To make matters worse, a dead body appears in Georgie's bathtub. Not just any dead body, but the body of someone who wanted to take her family's estate. Georgie must investigate and find the killer to clear her family's name.

I had a hard time getting through this book. Despite the author's intention to create some background for Georgie, it took over 100 pages to begin the mystery. My perception of Georgie is that she's a Mary Sue. In order not to be recognized by others, Georgie delegated too many investigative tasks to friends and relatives. It is not interesting to hear her friends and family update her on their findings. It was more important to me that Georgie was out there investigating than she was! Currently, she is not an active amateur detective. Despite its mystery, I found it too predictable. The clues felt glaringly obvious, and I guessed the killer right away.

I would recommend skipping this book if you're looking for a mystery.

Meredith Fenner, a third victim, doesn't fit that profile and has also escaped from her captors. Investigators discovered that Alex Mason, a prominent defense attorney, owned the cabin where she was held captive. Even though Alex hopes Regina will save him, his wife unveils vivid details of their sex life that match Meredith's description of her captor.

The investigation is not limited to Alex. There is also a rogue cop on the list, but Regina is adamant that they avoid exploring that avenue too closely. Aside from that, Robin notices her boss is struggling with glaring gaps in her memory, which could affect their case.

Despite its average plot, The Third Victim is a good thriller. This book presents an interesting storyline with an intriguing premise regarding a subject that many of us deal with in our elderly lives. I was a little disappointed with the storyline, but there was enough keeping me from reading. Though the pace was consistent, it could improve the writing in some places. I think he could have improved his introduction, perhaps by using more descriptive language, or by using less abrupt language.

An unlikely group of teenagers is invited to a secluded ski lodge for a weekend. During a Truth or Dare game, April reveals how much she knows about Ken's summer affair. The game becomes too hostile when other strange fellows act up during the game. Next morning, they found Dara dead in the snow with an axe in her back. About 50 pages follow, with the teens accusing each other of murder, but no other attempts to kill anyone and no suspense.
My opinion of the book is mixed. I did not absolutely love it, but I did not hate it either.

Compared to Stine's other works, it wasn't as interesting. The dialogue was tacky and fake; the whole situation was completely unrealistic, leaving for an awful read. My favorite part of it was the ending. There was not much interaction between the characters, but it could have been improved.
If you are looking for something light and slightly creepy, this book is for you. You should skip it if you want absolute horror.


You can also find this review on my blog

True rating: 1.5 stars.

As the Doctor travels through Galaxy Seven, he finds himself on a distant planet. He arrives at the abandoned city of Acropolis. Approximately fifteen years ago, a mysterious fortress wiped out the entire population. As a result, only ghosts remain.

The plot starts with intriguing settings, great world building, interesting characters, a mystery, a problem, and a mission. As a result, the author has to cut out the exploration, so the Doctor can attack the bad guys... before bringing it to a close with the big finale.

‘The Eyeless’ occurs in a destroyed world, where the few survivors are trying to re-establish a society far from the once-high-tech cities. As they are constantly having babies, the older kids left on their own, and sometimes they get killed by ghosts in the ruins of their old city.

I find it weird that the Doctor is okay with women being forced into procreation. Honestly, I could have done without them in this one.

Then there’s character motivation. Teenagers are unstable maniacs, which is already a boring (and insulting) trope. What kind of plot device is that, with no explanation? I found that to be lazy storytelling.

This is not a novel I would recommend to anyone.

You can also find this review on my blog