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beastreader's review against another edition
2.0
It has been a while since I have read anything but this author. So when I saw this book and that it was the first one in a new series from the author I thought now was a good time to read something by this author again. I was disappointed in this book. There was hints of murders being conducted but there was none that really took place expect for a quick moment in the beginning. However if you blink you will miss it. Plus I did not find anyone in this book that particularly intriguing. I did read this book all the way which is amazing. I guess I just held out the whole time that it would get better. I would have to say this book is not one of the author's best showings.
greenvillemelissa's review against another edition
5.0
Book #84 Read in 2015
Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub
This is the first in a new trilogy and it is a book that will keep readers engaged from start to finished. Set in a town in the Hudson Valley--in theory not that far from where I live--called Mundy's Landing, there seems to be a serial killer targeting redheaded women. Who is his true target? Rowan, an elementary teacher and a redhead, has her own worries....her former neighbor, with whom she almost had an affair with years ago, seemingly has returned to her life by leaving her little gifts as a way to remind her of their time together. Will she lose her perfect husband and marriage if she confesses after all these years? Will the killer hit close to home for Rowan?
There are many layers to this mystery, some of which I figured out and some that kept me guessing to the very end. The characters were complex and interesting. The setting intrigued me since it mentioned places that I am familiar with....Catskill, Albany and Saratoga being just a few. I will continue this series. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub
This is the first in a new trilogy and it is a book that will keep readers engaged from start to finished. Set in a town in the Hudson Valley--in theory not that far from where I live--called Mundy's Landing, there seems to be a serial killer targeting redheaded women. Who is his true target? Rowan, an elementary teacher and a redhead, has her own worries....her former neighbor, with whom she almost had an affair with years ago, seemingly has returned to her life by leaving her little gifts as a way to remind her of their time together. Will she lose her perfect husband and marriage if she confesses after all these years? Will the killer hit close to home for Rowan?
There are many layers to this mystery, some of which I figured out and some that kept me guessing to the very end. The characters were complex and interesting. The setting intrigued me since it mentioned places that I am familiar with....Catskill, Albany and Saratoga being just a few. I will continue this series. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
melissapalmer404's review against another edition
5.0
Book #84 Read in 2015
Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub
This is the first in a new trilogy and it is a book that will keep readers engaged from start to finished. Set in a town in the Hudson Valley--in theory not that far from where I live--called Mundy's Landing, there seems to be a serial killer targeting redheaded women. Who is his true target? Rowan, an elementary teacher and a redhead, has her own worries....her former neighbor, with whom she almost had an affair with years ago, seemingly has returned to her life by leaving her little gifts as a way to remind her of their time together. Will she lose her perfect husband and marriage if she confesses after all these years? Will the killer hit close to home for Rowan?
There are many layers to this mystery, some of which I figured out and some that kept me guessing to the very end. The characters were complex and interesting. The setting intrigued me since it mentioned places that I am familiar with....Catskill, Albany and Saratoga being just a few. I will continue this series. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub
This is the first in a new trilogy and it is a book that will keep readers engaged from start to finished. Set in a town in the Hudson Valley--in theory not that far from where I live--called Mundy's Landing, there seems to be a serial killer targeting redheaded women. Who is his true target? Rowan, an elementary teacher and a redhead, has her own worries....her former neighbor, with whom she almost had an affair with years ago, seemingly has returned to her life by leaving her little gifts as a way to remind her of their time together. Will she lose her perfect husband and marriage if she confesses after all these years? Will the killer hit close to home for Rowan?
There are many layers to this mystery, some of which I figured out and some that kept me guessing to the very end. The characters were complex and interesting. The setting intrigued me since it mentioned places that I am familiar with....Catskill, Albany and Saratoga being just a few. I will continue this series. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
jpmrrtx's review against another edition
3.0
Blood Red is the first book I've read by Wendy Corsi Staub and I'm not sure if I'll be reading another one. The book wasn't bad but it dragged on for so long that it was difficult to stay engaged with the story. There is a pretty good twist in who we are led to believe the bad guy is and who it actually is, but the story drags and each chapter starts with a newspaper story regarding the town's history and they were just tedious and added nothing to the book. I'm glad I finished it but have no interest in the continuing the series.
erinecarroll's review against another edition
3.0
I always enjoy diving into a new Wendy Corsi Staub book around this time of year. The story line of this one fell a little flat for me. I felt like my attention wasn't grabbed and that I was skimming some of the chapters.
I guess I just felt like this book lacked action and it wasn't the classic "thriller/horror" that I have come to expect from Wendy. I have since started the second book in the series and it has already grabbed my attention more than Blood Red . I am interested to read more about the Sleeping Beauty Murders because I think that is a more interesting story line.
Spoiler
In the end it turns out that the murderer was Rick's step-son Kurt. Rick was the neighbor that Rowan almost had an affair with 14 years earlier. Kurt witnessed an incident of Rick and Rowan kissing when he was just a young boy. He became obsessed with watching his parents and became fixated on Rowan and her red hair. Years later, Kurt's mother committed suicide and Kurt blamed Rick for this. Kurt started to murder red-headed young women and one of his signature marks was to shave their heads until they were bald. Kurt ends up killing Rick and making it look like it was a suicide (in the same fashion that his wife killed herself years ago). In the end, Rowan's sister almost gets killed because Kurt mistakes her for Rowan (Rowan had since dyed her hair blonde and her sister Noreen had red hair). In the end, Rowan and her family are ok.I guess I just felt like this book lacked action and it wasn't the classic "thriller/horror" that I have come to expect from Wendy. I have since started the second book in the series and it has already grabbed my attention more than Blood Red . I am interested to read more about the Sleeping Beauty Murders because I think that is a more interesting story line.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Red by Wendy Corsi Staub is a 2015 William Morrow publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Blood Red gets the new 'Mundy’s Landing' series off to a great start with a psychological toned thriller that kept me glued to the pages from the first chapter to the last.
Mundy’s Landing is known by many as the setting for one the most puzzling unsolved mysteries of all time… The Sleeping Beauty Murders. There is even a museum of sorts, and every year amateur sleuths and crime buffs descend upon the town hoping to solve the mystery.
Otherwise Mundy’s Landing is a picturesque and peaceful place to live… until now.
Fourteen years ago, when her husband, Jake, was often working away from home, Rowan became close to her neighbor, Rick, a stay at home dad. One fateful day, the friendship nearly became a lot more, but Rowan was saved from making a monumental mistake by a batch of burning cookies and a smoke alarm.
Crisis averted, Rowan puts Rick out of her mind, and over the years learned she had adult ADHD, after her third child was diagnosed with the disorder. Now taking medication to control her impulsiveness, Rowan has settled into a normal, healthy life, teaching fourth grade and raising her children.
But, when a strange package arrives, with fourteen burned cookies inside, wrapped in a newspaper dated fourteen years ago, to the very day she and Rick nearly went too far, Rowan’s peaceful, mundane life is turned upside down.
There are several threads working at once here and all three are tense and upsetting. There is someone out there taunting Rowan, and that same person may be kidnapping and murdering other women, while Rowan struggles with trying to find out who is taunting her and why. We also follow Rowan’s son, who has a crush on a girl that could become the killer’s next victim.
I got so caught up in Rowan’s guilt, regret, and fear of discovery, that I sometimes forgot the real danger that lurked under the surface. Rowan was a potential victim, and in grave danger, but I occasionally lost sight of that due to her extreme distress over being found out and having her whole life upended.
But, I was also very curious about who was sending her these little packages and why it took them fourteen years to make a move. Was it Rick? Or one of the few people Rowan had confided in? Or someone Rick told? Or… Jake?
The reader has access to the killer’s inner thoughts, but we don’t know how he is connected to the players involved in this cat and mouse game, but we do know he has an affinity for redheads. In addition, we know before anyone else what he’s planning, but must sit by helplessly, as events unfold.
This is a crafty thriller, with outstanding pacing, bringing all the elements together, with a huge crescendo, that left me feeling like I had survived a harrowing situation myself.
While this story is most assuredly taut with suspense and mystery, it’s also a bit of a cautionary tale. Secrets and lies usually refuse to stay buried and will eventually find you out and the consequences could be deadly…
Overall, if this book is any indication, this series will be one to watch for.
4 stars
Blood Red gets the new 'Mundy’s Landing' series off to a great start with a psychological toned thriller that kept me glued to the pages from the first chapter to the last.
Mundy’s Landing is known by many as the setting for one the most puzzling unsolved mysteries of all time… The Sleeping Beauty Murders. There is even a museum of sorts, and every year amateur sleuths and crime buffs descend upon the town hoping to solve the mystery.
Otherwise Mundy’s Landing is a picturesque and peaceful place to live… until now.
Fourteen years ago, when her husband, Jake, was often working away from home, Rowan became close to her neighbor, Rick, a stay at home dad. One fateful day, the friendship nearly became a lot more, but Rowan was saved from making a monumental mistake by a batch of burning cookies and a smoke alarm.
Crisis averted, Rowan puts Rick out of her mind, and over the years learned she had adult ADHD, after her third child was diagnosed with the disorder. Now taking medication to control her impulsiveness, Rowan has settled into a normal, healthy life, teaching fourth grade and raising her children.
But, when a strange package arrives, with fourteen burned cookies inside, wrapped in a newspaper dated fourteen years ago, to the very day she and Rick nearly went too far, Rowan’s peaceful, mundane life is turned upside down.
There are several threads working at once here and all three are tense and upsetting. There is someone out there taunting Rowan, and that same person may be kidnapping and murdering other women, while Rowan struggles with trying to find out who is taunting her and why. We also follow Rowan’s son, who has a crush on a girl that could become the killer’s next victim.
I got so caught up in Rowan’s guilt, regret, and fear of discovery, that I sometimes forgot the real danger that lurked under the surface. Rowan was a potential victim, and in grave danger, but I occasionally lost sight of that due to her extreme distress over being found out and having her whole life upended.
But, I was also very curious about who was sending her these little packages and why it took them fourteen years to make a move. Was it Rick? Or one of the few people Rowan had confided in? Or someone Rick told? Or… Jake?
The reader has access to the killer’s inner thoughts, but we don’t know how he is connected to the players involved in this cat and mouse game, but we do know he has an affinity for redheads. In addition, we know before anyone else what he’s planning, but must sit by helplessly, as events unfold.
This is a crafty thriller, with outstanding pacing, bringing all the elements together, with a huge crescendo, that left me feeling like I had survived a harrowing situation myself.
While this story is most assuredly taut with suspense and mystery, it’s also a bit of a cautionary tale. Secrets and lies usually refuse to stay buried and will eventually find you out and the consequences could be deadly…
Overall, if this book is any indication, this series will be one to watch for.
4 stars
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