Book Review - Strange Houses by Uketsu

Title: Strange Houses (Strange Houses #1)
Author: Uketsu
Genre: Horror/ Mystery
Published: 2021
 
Description: When a writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance, he finds himself investigating an eerie house for sale in Tokyo. At first, with its bright and spacious interior, it seems the perfect first home. But upon closer inspection, the building’s floor plans reveal a mysterious “dead space” hidden between its walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plans with his friend Kurihara, an architect, only to discover more unnerving details throughout.
 
What is the true purpose behind the house’s disturbing design? And what happened to the former owner who disappeared without a trace? When a body suddenly appears and a young woman reaches out about a second house, it soon becomes clear that the writer and his friend may be in over their heads.
 
Review: With “Strange Houses”, Japanese author Uketsu has created a true internet sensation. The book promises a unique blend of mystery, psychological horror, presented in a highly unconventional format.  
When an unnamed writer asks an architect friend to inspect a Tokyo home’s floor plan, they discover windowless, sealed-off dead space. They soon realize the bizarre layout is custom-designed for murder, dragging them into a terrifying investigation involving missing persons, twisted family secrets, and a second mysterious house.
 
“Strange Houses” is without a doubt one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time. Uketsu breaks with the traditional thriller structure by telling the story largely through dialogue, interviews, illustrations and floor plans. As a reader, you’re immediately thrust into the role of a detective; you study the drawings and try, together with the characters, to figure out what’s wrong. This interactive element ensures that the first part of the book moves along at a brisk pace. The suspense is masterfully built up, and the atmosphere is delightfully gloomy.
 
Unfortunately, the book was unable to maintain this high standard until the end. While the first part excels in its simplicity and tight focus on the first house, the second completely lost me. The plot shifted to a more complex backstory. So many new characters, intricate family trees, and historical motifs are introduced that the whole thing became quite confusing. The logic that was so strong at the beginning gave way for to far-fetched explanations that dampened the suspense rather than heightening it.
 
“Strange Houses” is a fascinating experiment that, thanks to its unique style and strong opening, is definitely worth reading. It’s just sad that the second half wasn’t as good.
 
Rating: 3,5/ 5 

Movie Review - The End of Oak Street

Director: David Robert Mitchell
Genre: Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
 
Description: The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown.
 
Review: In this adventure film, directed by David Robert Mitchell, the Platt family suddenly finds themselves in an unimaginable situation. It is the 1980s when a mysterious cosmic storm literally rips their American suburb from the ground an transports it to an unknown, prehistoric location.

Mitchell is best known for the indie horror film “It Follow”, but he proves with “The End of Oak Street” that a summer blockbuster budget can be perfectly combined with an original, fresh concept. Forget the CGI-heavy formulas; this film opts for a delightfully nostalgic, no-nonsense approach of the “Jurassic Park” films, with an 80’s and 90s vibe.

The film’s greatest strength is the chemistry within the family. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor deliver rock-solid performances as concerned yet determined parents. Despite the absurd premise, they give the film a believable and authentic emotional core.

Visually, fantastic choices were made. Instead of fast-paced, chaotic action montages, they opt for impressive, sweeping shots in broad daylight. And despite the PG13/ 12+ rating, they don’t shy away from a few delightfully unsettling, intense moments.

If you want a scientific explanation though, for what is happening, you may be left somewhat unsatisfied.

It’s one of the most enjoyable and original films I have seen this year.

Rating: 4/ 5

Book Review - The Unknown by Riley Sager

Title: The Unknown
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Thriller/ Horror
Published: 2026
 
Description: In 1926, five women disappeared from a remote island in Vermont. Now, one hundred years later, it’s happening again.
 
Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery on New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She’s even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.
 
Because New Avalon isn’t your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums. Until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.
 
Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island’s previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan, and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.
 
Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island’s alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy’s diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon. And how to keep the island’s terrible history from repeating itself.
 
Review: Riley Sager is back with his latest thriller “The Unknown”, and it makes for a very entertaining read. In my opinion, this is a big improvement over his last two books, which unfortunately fell short. His 2025 release “With a Vengeance” I didn’t even finish. Although it’s not a new favorite, Sager does prove with this book that he still has a knack for the suspenseful thriller genre.
 
We meet Marin, a struggling actress who unexpectedly lands a major role in a movie directed by a popular director. The movie centers around a century-old mystery. In 1926 five women mysteriously vanished from New Avalon, a remote commune in Lake Faraday. To prepare for the film, the director gathers the cast on this island for an immersive rehearsal week. However, as the cast dives into the history and begins reading the diary of one of the missing women, the line between fiction and reality start to blur. And history seems to repeat itself.
 
The atmosphere here is the best part: Gothic and deeply unsettling. The dual-timeline between the commune of 1926 and the modern-day indie film set is highly compelling. The isolated island setting immediately ramps up the tension and the concept of actor being trapped there gives it a psychological touch. The book has supernatural elements, that you will question the entire time.
 
Riley Sager is known for his plot twists and he succeeds for the most part in “The Unknown”. It’s surprising and it takes some dark and twisty turns, but the conclusion eventually feels a bit far-fetched. It requires a heavy suspension of disbelief. If you don’t think it through too much it’s pretty good, but there are a few plot holes that don’t make sense. I do love how Sager made you guessing whether certain things really happened or not, right until the very end.
 
Sager is back, I liked “The Unknown “ so much better than the two book that came before this. But it does not match “The Only One Left” or “Lock Every Door”.
 
Rating: 3, 5/ 5

Book Review - In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Title: In a Dark, Dark Wood
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Published: 2015
 
Description: When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a aunting realization is not alone in the woods.
 
Review: As a fan of psychological thrillers, I was looking forward to “In a Dark, Dark Wood”. It’s Ruth Ware’s debut novel. I have read three other books by her, mostly solid, disliked one of them. The ominous title and the promise of a claustrophobic setting led me to believe this would be a blood-curdling story. Unfortunately the reality turned out to be a lot less thrilling.
 
The story follows Leonora (Nora), a crime author who largely isolates herself from her past. To her great surprise, she is invited to the bachelorette party of Clare, an old high school friend she hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Together with a select group of friends, she travels to a remote, ultra-modern glass house deep in the forest of Northumberland. What begins as an awkward weekend full of old tension and secrets quickly escalates into a full-blown nightmare when someone is killed and Nora wakes up injured in the hospital, with no memory of exactly what happened that night.  
 
The dynamic between the characters was pretty much the best thing about the book. Constant passive-aggressive comments, clearly underlying emotions from the past that haven't been worked through yet, and jealousy. I eat this up.
 
Although the atmosphere in the glass house feels quite oppressive at first, the book quickly loses steam afterwards. My biggest frustration lies in the plot development. A good thriller relies on unexpected twists, but unfortunately, I saw the so-called twists in this book coming a mile away. Nothing about the dénouement was surprising to me. The motives and the culprit were pretty obvious that the book really left me unsatisfied. Add to that the fact that the main character makes choices that are downright illogical, and the suspense is completely gone.
 
For first time mystery/ thriller readers this would be a solid choice, but if you are well-read in this genre you can skip it. It’s pretty average, and due to the unsurprising developments it never manages to rise above that.
 
Rating: 2,5/ 5

Book Review - The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

Title: The Caretaker
Author: Marcus Kliewer
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Published: 2026
 
Description: Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all. Vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she’s not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.
 
Besides it’s only a three days’ work…
 
Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregan Coast wilderness.
 
What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property. And Macy might jus be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.
 
Review: After enjoying Marcus Kliewer’s previous book, “We Used to Live Here’, I was really looking forward to his latest release, “The Caretaker”. Although, in hindsight, I thought his debut was just a tiny bit better, Kliewer has once again proven with this new book that he is a master at creating an ominous atmosphere and gives us yet another original horror/ thriller.
 
The story follows Macy, who takes a job as a caretaker at a remote, mysterious estate. What begins as a quiet, well-paid routine job quickly turns into a full-blown nightmare. The enormous house harbors dark secrets, and before long, terrifying, inexplicable events begin to occur, blurring the line between reality and paranoia.
 
Just like “We Used to Live here”, this book was once again incredibly creepy and nerve-wrecking. Kliewer is so good at building up the underlying tension that I simply couldn’t put the book down; I just had to keep reading. Still, in the end, I couldn’t give this book 5 stars either, for exactly the same reason as with “We Used to Live Here”: there are simply too many unanswered questions. Although a bit of mystery is inherent to this genre, in this specific case I also found the ending not entirely satisfying. It left me with a feeling that was just a little too vague.
 
In short, a must-read for fans of psychological horror and nonstop suspense. And if you don’t mind that not all pieces of the puzzle will fall into place, this is the book for you.
 
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - The Wrecking Crew

Director: Ángel Manuel Soto
Genre: Action/ Comedy
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Morena Baccarin, Romaita Fox, Frankie Adams, Claes Bang, Jacob Batalon, Stephen Root

Description: Estranged half brothers Jonny (Jason Momoa), a volatile suspended cop, and James (Dave Bautista), a disciplined Navy SEAL, reluctantly reunite in Hawaii after their private investigator father is murdered, triggering a dangerous clash with Yakuza operatives.

Review: With “The Wrecking Crew” director Ángel Manuel Soto brings a true throwback to the action comedies of the 80s and 90s. The film relies entirely on the immense physical strength and comedic talent of the lead actors. Although the chemistry between powerhouses Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista is undeniable and the action scenes are delightfully over-the-top, the film’s predictable plot leaves it stuck in the middle of the pack withing the buddy genre.

The film follows two estranged half-brothers after the mysterious death of their father, who was working as a private detective in Hawaii. Both men reluctantly return to the island. As they struggle their deep-seated frustrations, they become entangles in a dangerous conspiracy rife with political corruption, illegal casinos, and ruthless yakuza operations. Together, they must dismantle the criminal organization to protect their family.

The biggest stringy is undoubtedly the duo. Jason Momoa is clearly having a blast playing the impulsive loose cannon, which clashes perfectly with Dave Bautista’s deadpan and serious demeanor. Their bickering and witty banter carry the film during the moments when the story stalls.

The action is also top-notch: hard-hitting, old-school stunts with plenty of very brutal confrontations that fans of the genre are sure to appreciate. Where the film falls short is in originality. It follows the familiar “Lethal Weapon” formula so closely that almost every plot twist can be predicted miles in advanced. And the villains lack the depth to truly make an impression.

“The Wrecking Crew” is highly entertaining, perfect for an evening of mindless entertainment. The fantastic chemistry between Bautista and Momoa elevates the film, but the lack of an original story keeps this action comedy just average.  

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Disclosure Day

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Science Fiction/ Thriller/ Mystery
Runtime: 145 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell
 
Description: If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?
 
Review: Expectations were high with the release of “Disclosure Day”. After all, an ambitious thriller that promises to explore the line between truth and conspiracy always grabs my attention. Unfortunately, the film fails to fully capitalize on the potential of its rock-solid premise.

The film follows a whistleblower and a team of investigative journalists who uncover a global conspiracy. On the day the government is forced to release shocking, top-secret documents, the so-called Disclosure Day, chaos erupts behind the scenes. As the clock ticks and shadowy forces try to destroy the evidence, the team must pull out all the stops to bring the truth to light before it’s too late.

The biggest strength of “Disclosure Day” is undoubtedly its central mystery. The premise is intriguing from the very first minute, and the film initially succeeds in creating a constant atmosphere of paranoia. In addition, the film is carried by an outstanding lead performance; Emily Blunt is excellent and, with her strong, nuanced acting, manages to anchor the film’s emotional core, even when the script lets her down. However, the film stumbles over its own ambitions. The plot is unnecessarily complicated, with countless side plot, plot twists, and characters who ultimately add little to the story. As a result, the whole thing feels very messy. Instead of a tight, suspenseful build-up, you lose track of the story halfway through due to the overload of information and the rushed editing.

“Disclosure Day” definitely has its strong moments, but it vacillates too much between an intellectually thriller and a chaotic science fiction movie to be truly convincing.

Rating: 2,5/ 5