Book Review: Security by Gina Wohlsdorf

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf is officially one of my new favorite books!!

Before I start this review, I wanted to tell about the deal I got on this book. If you have a GoodReads account, you can sign up for their Deals email list. After you’ve signed up, they will send you an email when a book on your “To Be Read List” goes on sale. I received an email one morning last week that said “A Book On Your GoodReads List Is On Sale!” I opened it up and Security was on sale for $2.99! I immediately purchased it. Can’t beat that!

Here’s the info:

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Security

by Gina Wohlsdorf

http://amzn.to/2eOpjnm

Synopsis:

“Original and imaginative . . . Ripping suspense, sheer terror, and a wrenching love story.” —Sandra Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Friction

The terrible truth about Manderley is that someone is always watching.

Manderley Resort is a gleaming, new twenty-story hotel on the California coast. It’s about to open its doors, and the world–at least those with the means to afford it–will be welcomed into a palace of opulence and unparalleled security. But someone is determined that Manderley will never open. The staff has no idea that their every move is being watched, and over the next twelve hours they will be killed off, one by one.

Writing in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, and with a deep bow to Daphne du Maurier, author Gina Wohlsdorf pairs narrative ingenuity and razor-wire prose with quick twists, sharp turns, and gasp-inducing terror. Security is grand guignol storytelling at its very best.

A shocking thriller, a brilliant narrative puzzle, and a multifaceted love story unlike any other, Security marks the debut of a fearless and gifted writer.

“Be surprised, be very surprised: Gina Wohlsdorf brings more than just plot twists and a terrifically tender love story to this thriller . . . It’s her playful homage to Hitchcock and du Maurier that had me reading, howling, and just plain loving this novel.” —Sara Gruen, author of At the Water’s Edge

“Grand Hotel meets Psycho in the age of surveillance . . . Security is cinematically vivid, crisply written, and sharp enough to cut . . . Wohlsdorf brilliantly subverts our expectations of the action genre in this smart, shocking, poignant thriller.” —Emily Croy Barker, author of The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic

“The thrill of this novel goes beyond its wickedly clever, split-screen, high-tech wizardry—a kind of video gamer’s literary retake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window–and emanates from its strange, disembodied narrator . . . The effect is terrifying, sexy, dizzying, and impossible to look away from.” —Tim Johnston, author of Descent

“Shocking and filled with Tarantino-ish dark humor. . . Structurally reminiscent of the amazing Jennifer Egan,Wohlsdorf’s book is certainly a hybrid, like nothing else. Get ready.” —Ann Beattie, author of The State We’re In

“Flawless . . . Security is perfectly tuned for blockbuster status . . . They don’t make a hotel big enough to house all the people who will want to read this, and soon, as in Manderley, all eyes will be on Wohlsdorf.” —Daniel Kraus, Booklist, starred review

My Review:

Ok this book is seriously twisted and really brutal but it still finds a sense of humor. I absolutely LOVED it! 5 Stars on GoodReads. It has been on my list for awhile and I’ve almost picked it up on Audible a few times. The only reason I hadn’t was that the audio version is only 8 hours and I need longer books to last me until my next Audible credit is available. Like I said above, once I saw this was on sale I pounced!

I started this book with very high hopes. From the minute I started reading it, I knew this one would live up to these expectations. Our story is set at The Manderley which is a new, top of the line, beautiful hotel that is getting ready to open on the beach in Santa Barbara, CA. Their slogan is “Safety, Luxury, Manderley.” The security part of that is a joke! More on that later…It was named after the fictional estate of the character Maxim de Winter, and it plays a central part in Daphne du Maurier‘s 1938 novel, Rebecca which was later made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock. The Manderley is getting ready for its grand opening celebration complete with a massive champagne glass tower display. The security team which is made up of former Navy Seals and private security professionals is working on security drills and testing the systems before the hotel opens to the public. Tessa, the hotel manager is strong, gorgeous and extremely good at her job. Brian who is someone from her dark and tragic past arrives at the hotel unannounced while she is working on the final things on her checklist before the Manderley is set to open. They have not seen or spoken to each other in 11 years and she is not pleased that he is there. But of course they slowly begin to forgive past transgressions and move forward throughout the course of this crazy day. Their chemistry is unmistakable and explosive. All the while Tessa and Brian are working through their issues, the book is told from multiple perspectives. The entire hotel staff is unaware that their is a twisted and terrifying killer in their midst who is picking them off one by one. The hotel is so large that it takes some time before anyone even notices the missing staff members. Each victim of the killer basically narrates their own death plus the killer also narrates it from his perspective. There is also someone watching from the 20th floor security office. Each camera in that office shows a different location in the hotel. Whoever is watching and narrating sees each murder as it happens. Why isn’t he doing anything about it? Is he part of the murder plot? Who is behind this terrible night of murder and why? There are some shocking plot twists along the way in this fantastic book. I think it was make an amazing movie too!

This book is pretty graphic. By that I mean it has very graphic murder scenes and has some sexual content. I really found myself looking forward to reading this everyday. I have never read a book like this and I actually plan on buying a hard copy for my bookshelf. Read this if you want a scary thriller/horror mystery. It is fantastic through the very last page!

Dream Movie Cast:

(There are about 10 characters but I only cast a few of the key leads.)

Tessa- Evan Rachel Wood