Category: Best Of

The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil

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What would you do if you were fifteen and being stalked by a creep? What if that creep was someone you knew… or thought you knew? This is exactly the premise of the newest psychological thriller, The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil.

I was surprised to be accepted for an advance reader copy of this book, because on paper this thriller was exactly what I needed to get me through this week, and I was not wrong. I devoured it in 2 days, which is quite impressive, as I wanted to make sure I finished the book before its release (it releases on the 10th of September 2026, in case you want to snag a copy). Thank you so much to Sarah A. Denzil and the team for accepting my request and sending me an ARC of The Safe Room.

If you enjoy thrillers that are fast-paced and make your heart flutter in your chest, The Safe Room is the read for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single aspect of this book. It enveloped me from the first page, held me in a choke hold until the last page, and then spit me out. It was honest, it was scary, and it caused me heart palpitations (no joke, my Apple Watch has sent me twice… TWICE… a notification asking me if I was working out while reading this book).

We follow the story of Amber in a dual POV, Now and Then. The narrative is polished to perfection. There is not a single word that stands weirdly on the page. Every single letter seemed to have intention in this story, and I, as a thriller reader and review writer, found it a lesson in how every book should be written.

Without giving away too much of the plot, Amber is dealing with a stalker who has haunted her life for over two decades. The tone of the book is set straight away, and I don’t think there was a lull in the pace at all. The characterisation, and I will give here an honourable mention to the piece of s*** Peter, because I wanted to throw my brand new e-reader at a wall so many times, specifically in the second act, is simply perfection, and whilst I have never been to Leeds, I feel like I’ve been there now. Not only is the characterisation fleshed out to perfection, but it is also twisted and intertwined with greatly layered motivations and flaws that shine in a psychological thriller setting.

I can continue to gush about the characters, and probably will on Instagram and X, but I want to also talk about the pace. This book felt snappy. It was like I blinked and was already reading another chapter, and another, and after my first sit-down with this book I was already 40% through it because I couldn’t put it down. I think the pace is greatly helped by the Then and Now POVs, which worked in tandem to give us nuggets into how we got to where we are in the story, while also cleverly planting a cliffhanger in the last sentence or paragraph of each, making me want to know what happens next in both. Whilst this is happening, not even once did I feel that this was a crutch; and that is the brilliance of Denzil’s writing.

All in all, this is a 100/10 psychological thriller. If you do pick up The Safe Room, my only advice to you is: close the door and make sure it’s locked, and do not read this book at night, especially alone in your house. You will start to doubt every single noise you hear and feel like someone is watching you…

The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil is out on the 10th of September 2026, and you can pre-order it now or get it when it releases. At the time of writing this review, it’s still 99p on Kindle (unfortunately I have not found it in the Kobo library, but I’m sure it will be made available there too).

Best of February 2021

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Although February has long been and gone I wanted to still make a post about the best books that I’ve managed to read in February. However please bear in mind that although some full reviews might still be pending and will shortly appear on the blog, the criteria for me to include books in a “Best of” is that the books have been read in that particular month.

Without further ado, here are the top 3 books I’ve read in February.

3rd Place – Good Samaritans by Will Carver

Will Carver is one of the best Noir writers (if not the best Noir writers in the UK) and it’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of him and his writing.

Good Samaritans by Will Carver is plotted to perfection, the pacing is marvelous and the twists are at every corner. I gasped out loud when I read this book because it swallowed me whole and by the time I came out on the other side, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

Good Samaritans came out in 2018 published by Orenda Books and is really really worth checking out. This can be ordered wherever you shop for books.

Carver has also a new novel coming out this year with Orenda Books called The Beresford which I can’t wait to read before I get Will Carver Withdrawal.

2nd Place – The Friend by Charlie Gallagher

The Friend was the first book I read by Charlie Gallagher. Shame on me as he is a brilliant author who managed to grip me with this novel.

I’m not going to go into many details about the plot and characters because the novel is coming out very very soon and I can’t wait to be able to speak with people about the brilliance of this novel.

Gallagher will definitely be one of the authors I’m going to follow when it comes to Police Procedural novels.

The Friend comes out on 01/04/2021 from Avon Books and can be pre-ordered everywhere good books are sold.

1st Place – The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Gosh, I loved this book. The way Catriona Ward writes just so enthralling and refreshing. The Last House on Needless Street is the type of book that you have to cancel your plans for the day and prepare yourself for a ride.

The multi-layered plot is brilliantly executed because there are red herrings peppered through it. Ward plays a fair game, giving you enough hints for you to be able to figure out the mystery at it’s heart but because her descriptions are so vivid I wasn’t able to guess in advance the plot twist.

I wouldn’t be surprised if The Last House on Needless Street will be considered the epitome of gothic and even psychological thrillers of this decade.

The Last House on Needless Street is out today, 18/03/2021 from Viper Books and can be bought everywhere good books are sold.

March has been as amazing as February so far and I have a few other highly anticipated reads lined up for this month which I know will give me trouble to make the Best of March. Nonetheless, keep on reading <3.

Best of January 2021

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BooksTechnica is now a month old. I’m so happy with the fact that I took the decision to invest time in a blog, to share my opinions of the books I read and try to share the love of reading books.

January was a bumpy start to the year. In retrospect I believe that I’ve never read as much as I did this January. Nonetheless this permitted me to make a top three of the best books I read in January, across all genres.

Without further ado, here are my top 3 novels I read in January 2021.

Third Place – THE INSTITUTE by Stephen King

This was my first ever thriller by Stephen King and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The story is complex, the characters are amazing, the idea behind the whole novel is mind blowing. King’s writing is so beloved by everyone for a reason and I can’t say I didn’t expect to be impressed by his way with words but to a certain degree I didn’t expect him to be this good.

The setting, the tone, everything is on point. There was not one crack in the whole novel that I could see and even though it was a farfetched idea and concept, by the end of the book I found myself believing everything I had just read and panicked thinking that this might be real. And might be happening without us knowing.

Second Place – DEAR CHILD by Romy Hausmann

This second place is very well deserved in my opinion. I think the only reason why I didn’t award Romy Hausmann with the first place wasn’t of the writers fault but because I had read a better thriller this month in my opinion.

I loved this. As I mentioned in the review of this book, I hope Quercus decides to publish, Hausmann’s debut as well. There is nothing I would change about the way this book has been executed. Translation is on point and makes sense although I know multiple people found it a bit clunky.

If you want a thriller that will make you want to go double check if you locked the door, pick Dear Child up and immerse yourself in this beauty.

First Place – THE SILENT SUSPECT by Nell Pattison

EVERYBODY. NEEDS. TO. READ. THIS. BOOK.

When I received an Advance Readers Copy of this I’m not going to lie, I was skeptical. I thought that maybe I won’t like it. I thought that maybe I would get bored after a few pages in.

I was sooooooo wrong. After reading THE SILENT SUSPECT I am a Nell Pattison stan. This series is amazing. From the character development to the execution and how we are being through this heart pounding novel.

Read this series. Now. You’ll thank me later.

I can’t wait to see what amazing books I will discover in February. I surely have my eyes set on a few novels that have been published in the first days of February and if they will be as good as the reads in January, then I’m not ready. Picking this top 3 was difficult for different reasons but I stand by my decision. All these books deserve to be checked out and I hope that you will and share your thoughts with me over on Twitter or via e-mail.