Book Review: The Crystal Cuckoo by Javier Castillo-Psychological Thriller

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of The Crystal Cuckoo by Javier Castillo.

Title: The Crystal Cuckoo

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: Javier Castillo

Publisher: Suma

Publication Date: April 04, 2023

Language: Spanish

Paperback: 450 pages
Meet the Author: Javier Castillo
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

¿ESTÁS PREPARADO PARA ARRIESGAR TU CORAZÓN?

Vuelve Javier Castillo, el autor del bestseller La chica de Nieve que inspiró la popular serie de Netflix

MAGNÉTICA - SALVAJE - MONUMENTAL - TREPIDANTE

El regreso más esperado

MÁS DE 1.700.000 EJEMPLARES VENDIDOS

Un trasplante de urgencia

Un donante lleno de secretos

¿Qué esconden los latidos de tu corazón?

Nueva York, 2017. Cora Merlo, médico residente de primer año, sufre un infarto fulminante que la obliga a un trasplante de corazón. Aún convaleciente la joven recibe la visita de una extraña mujer con una enigmática oferta: pasar unos días en Steelville, un pequeño pueblo de interior, para conocer la vida de su hijo Charles, el donante de su corazón.

Cora se adentra así en un hogar lleno de secretos, en un misterio que se extiende durante veinte años y en un pueblo hermético en el que, justo el día de su llegada, desaparece un bebé en un parque público.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

After the success of The Snow Girl and The Souls Game, Javier Castillo returns with his sixth novel.

Javier Castillo is a master of suspense and of constructing plots that manage to quicken the reader’s pulse by incorporating continuous twists. His talent and his connection with an audience devoted to genuine style make Javier Castillo a synonym for success.
 
In this novel, Castillo goes even further, trying to surprise his readers with a new development that will open the door to multiple mysteries.
 
Over 1 600 000 copies of his novels sold.

My Thoughts

Another well-written and full of suspense and twist book by Javier Castillo. 

I love how easy to read his books are, short chapters and fast-paced ones. I have found a new favorite author in Javier Castillo. His writing is simple in the sense that is to the point but he has the power to make you immersed in the story from page one. 

His characters are well-developed and always fascinated by how he sets the scene so well that you feel you are right there in the place with the character. 

Overall, another great read, and looking forward to more new books by Javier.

Wendy 

Book Review: Everything that happened to Miranda Huff by Javier Castillo-Psychological Thriller

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of Everything that happened to Miranda Huff by Javier Castillo.

Title: Everything that happened to Miranda Huff

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: Javier Castillo

Publisher: Suma

Publication Date: May 21, 2019

Language: English

Paperback: 448 pages
Meet the Author: Javier Castillo
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A weekend in a cabin in the woods.

A marriage in crisis.

A mysterious disappearance.

 

What happened to Miranda Huff?

 

A couple in crisis decides to spend a weekend away at a cabin in the woods in Hidden Springs, but when Ryan Huff arrives to meet up with Miranda, the door is open, there are two glasses of wine on the table, nobody is there, and the bathroom is covered in blood.

 

Everything That Happened to Miranda Huff is a dizzying psychological thriller in which it seems impossible that Miranda will ever be found alive. What Ryan doesn’t know is that his wife’s disappearance connects their story with that of his mentor, the great James Black, and with the discovery of the body of a woman who disappeared 30 years ago in the same forest.

 

After the overwhelming success of El día que se perdió la cordura (The Day Sanity Was Lost) and El día que se perdió el amor (The Day Love Was Lost), with more than 300,000 copies sold, Javier Castillo, master of suspense, displays his storytelling skill by delving into the mysteries of everyday life, there where our most primal fears hide. An intense reading experience that will leave you breathless.

My Thoughts

Another great story by Javier Castillo. 

I love how easy to read his books are, short chapters and fast-paced ones. I have found a new favorite author in Javier Castillo. His writing is simple in the sense that is to the point but he has the power to make you immerse in the story from page one. 

His characters are well-developed, and always fascinated at how he sets the scene so well that you feel you are right there in the place with the character. 

Overall, another great read and looking forward to more new books by Javier.

Wendy

Book Review: La Chica de Nieve by Javier Castillo-Psychological Thriller

Hello dear Readers,

My book review of La Chica de Nieve by Javier Castillo.

Title: La Chica de Nieve

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: Javier Castillo

Publisher: Suma

Publication Date: July 21, 2020

Language: English

Paperback: 450 pages
Meet the Author: Javier Castillo
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The perfect thriller that changes the rules of the genre.
 
The most famous Thanksgiving Day Parade on the planet.
 
A three-year-old girl goes missing.
 
Where is Kiera Templeton?
 
New York, 1998, Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kiera Templeton, only three years old, disappears into the crowd. After a frantic search throughout the city, someone finds a few strands of hair along with the clothes the little one was wearing that day.
 
In 2003, the day that would have been Kiera's eighth birthday, her parents, Aaron and Grace Templeton, receive a strange package with something unexpected: a VHS videotape with a one-minute recording of Kiera, playing in a room. Miren Triggs, a journalism student at Columbia University, is attracted to the case and begins a parallel investigation.
 
After his great success with El día que se perdió la cordura / The Day Sanity was Lost, El día que se perdió el amor / The Day Love Was Lost, and Todo lo que sucedió con Miranda Huff / Everything that Happened to Miranda Huff, with over 650,000 copies sold, Javier Castillo returns with Snow Girl, a game of mirrors and a dark journey into the deepest parts of despair. This is a novel that shows that the worst always goes unnoticed.

My Thoughts

Was eager to read something in Spanish, specifically a thriller. Had seen Javier Castillo books around for a while, and one day while browsing at the bookstore saw La Chica de Nieve, his most recent release, and decided to get it.

Glad I did. It was just what I needed. 

La chica de Nieve is the story of Kiera, who at the age of three disappears at the Thanksgiving Parade in New York in 1998, and the desperate and painful journey her parents, the Police, and a journalist, Miren Triggs, go through, for many years, to try to find Kiera.

The story goes back and forth between the different periods of time the story unfolds at. I have always loved books told this way because it makes it easier to follow through.

The story evolves mainly around Miren, the journalist, and Kiera. I found Miren to be a very enigmatic, and complex character. The author does a great job in developing her story. Found her willingness to not give up in finding Kiera very compelling, almost like if by finding her Miren could save herself from all the pain she has carried for so long. 

I love the setting of the story, New York. You can tell the author did a great job on his research. Description, dialogue, and character development, well done. 

Overall, I liked La Chica de Nieve a lot. All the elements there, suspense, twists, unique but relatable characters and unexpected ending. I recommend 100% for Thriller/Suspense lovers.

Wendy