Today the team at our Elizabeth store share their latest reads with us as they go under the Spotlight!
I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes: With so many people raving about this book currently, I decided to give this 800+ page spy thriller a go. I haven’t read too many spy thrillers in my time (I usually prefer to watch a spy movie rather than sit down with a book), however once I started reading Pilgrim, I found like many of my colleagues, I couldn’t put it down. The narrative sweeps you into the scene and puts you right in the mind of our hero, a mind that doesn’t think like normal. Primarily the book deals with a massive terrorist attack on the US that threatens 300 million lives and several smaller crimes that in turn, link up in a common thread. Pilgrim is the only person who has the ability to stop the terrorist before it’s too late. The search to find him had me intrigued for hundreds of pages and I certainly would recommend this book to anyone looking for something new and fresh to read. I can’t wait to see the movie if it eventually becomes one…. – Mark (Store Manager)
LA Confidential by James Ellroy: Running through the veins of Ellroy’s Los Angeles Police Department of the ’50s, was a culture of celebrity, brutality and corruption. Three very different cops are caught in the cross-hairs of murder, the heroin trade immediately after Mickey Cohen’s incarceration and the politics of a Police force investigating their own. Ed Exley steps out from behind his hero father’s shadow, policing by the book and exploiting his aptitude for politics, one promotion after another. Bud White is still hung up on his own childhood, taking his anger out on perpetrators as if the long arm of the law ends with his fists. Jack Vincennes revels in the fortunes of Hollywood that come from selling the stories behind his badge, until he realises, he’s forgotten all the reasons he joined the force in the first place. When this unlikely team band together, their investigations unearth a plethora of conspiracies, challenging their roles within the Police department and each man’s world view. This nihilistic, neo-noir story is a fantastic weave of character and plot. Blunt force prose hits all the hallmarks of a detailed crime story – minus the romanticism of pop culture cop tales – and shatters the hopeful myths associated with post WWII Hollywood and the American Dream. – Amy (2IC)
Gone by Michael Grant: Forget The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner series!
Gone, is book one of the best young adult fiction series you will ever read. Set in a small town in southern California. One day, everyone of the age of 15 and older simply vanishes out of thin air. Completely gone. The fictional American town of Perdido Beach and the surrounding area, become encased within an impenetrable energy barrier.
Cut off from the outside world, every teenager and child left trapped within must suddenly fend for themselves. As just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television and no way to get help.
Hunger begins to threaten. Bullies reign supreme against the weak, townies against the rich kids. Powerful against the powerless. The animals are mutating, and the teens and children themselves are changing. Developing unimaginable, dangerous and deadly powers. It’s a terrifying new world as sides are being chosen, as a fight for power is shaping up. For the teens, you begin to fear for your upcoming 15th birthday as on that day, you disappear just like everyone else. For the rest of the children, they’ll be lucky to live that long. As all the while, a sinister creature lurks in the darkness…
Gone, will hook you from the very first page and keep you guessing until the very end. By the time you’re done, you’ll be itching to push forward in to the next five books in the series that each live up to its predecessor. As the children grow stronger, and the stakes grow higher. Each book is one thrill ride after another.
It’s a world without adults and normal has crashed and burned. When life as you know it, ends at 15.- Todd
Palo Alto by James Franco: Palo Alto can be broken down into sixteen short stories about troubled adolescent youth growing up in California. the stories follow no order and are a little messed up, but I still found myself reading it in one go. Franco’s “take no prisoners” approach to writing makes it an interesting read, almost like the mumblings of a mad man in some aspects. His characters are embedded in a life of drugs, sex and alcohol and as much as I didn’t want to enjoy this book, it ended up being addictive. – Ashley
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Gillian Flynn’s critically acclaimed novel ‘Gone Girl’ sets an extraordinarily high benchmark for the thriller genre.
By far the most outstanding feature of the novel is the characterisation. Flynn steers clear of stereotypes as she presents two main characters, whose voices are so complex that the binary
of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ is 
shockingly insufficient to use anywhere near this review. This dynamic propells a winding plot, twisting and turning with unflinching intensity. The first part of the novel paints a vivid picture of the aforementioned character’s backgrounds and details their volatile relationship. While this is an important part of the narrative, the sometimes sluggish pace may detract from the immersiveness of the book for some readers. It is worth reading further because the rest of the book makes for exhilarating reading,
culminating in a surprising and satisfying finale. Once you’ve finished ‘Gone Girl’, you are left wanting more of Gillian Flynn. – Sarah
