Sharon’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2024

1,747

pages read

books read

Sharon Rimmelzwaan

Shortest Book

284

pages

Longest Book

440

pages

Average book length in 2024

349

pages

Most Shelved

65,708

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Sharon’s average rating for 2024

5.0

it was amazing

5.0

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.56 average

Sharon’s first review of the year

it was amazing

6 Ripley Avenue is not my first book by Noelle Holten. I have also read her previous books. Every single one is superbly written. Her research and personal experience shine through each one.

This book is her first standalone psychological thriller. The plot revolves around a hostel that's been founded for dangerous criminals to stay in.

Ripley House is a place that has beaten all the criticism and the battles to stop it from being open. The commu 6 Ripley Avenue is not my first book by Noelle Holten. I have also read her previous books. Every single one is superbly written. Her research and personal experience shine through each one.

This book is her first standalone psychological thriller. The plot revolves around a hostel that's been founded for dangerous criminals to stay in.

Ripley House is a place that has beaten all the criticism and the battles to stop it from being open. The community is strongly against everything Ripley House stands for. So, when a murder occurs there, it justifies the arguments and fears of the community. Upon the murder of a resident of the hostel, everybody is suspicious of the whole household, including the probation officers who work with the residents.

The author has used her extensive knowledge of the probation service to create a psychological thriller that is so authentic that it felt real to me. Her characters are complex and flawed, too. Every single one. No character is completely perfect, and there is no black and white. Noelle Holten managed to bring characters that all had their 'shades of grey'. It made them feel so real and multi-layered.

I recognised the stress and pressure of the probation work, also, the pressure for journalists to come up with the next big story. I was intent on reading this book at every single spare moment I had. The pages sped by as the tension and atmosphere built. Suspicion grows in the hostel as staff and residents begin to wonder exactly who could be the killer. This isn't hard to consider when you see what the residents have done in their lives, either.

I was suspecting everyone myself and did make a guess or two only to be wrong. The twists and turns are placed so well within the plot. That is until I got to a point that I refused to stop reading until I finished the book! I loved it! It's such a great thriller and one that makes me want Noelle Holten to write another standalone! Highly recommended reading, and while you are there, check her other books out. They are well worth reading, too.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ebook to write my honest review. ...more

SHARON’S 2024 BOOKS

it was amazing

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Dawn Goodwin

Sharon’s last review of the year

it was amazing

Lisa Sell never fails to write a book that I can't put down! I have been waiting for a new book from her for so long. I was so eager to read The Professor, so as soon as it landed on my Kindle, I put everything aside and started it.

A unique plot and characters whom I got invested in pretty quick make this a read that stands out for me. I was gripped from the start. Vivid details and a great inclusion of the classics all come together so well, I ...more

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