I love a good locked-room thriller, especially those that take place in old houses. While I appreciated the characters in this book, the plot fell a little flat for me. It almost felt like there was a lot going on without really anything happening. I do think the story could have been a little shorter, and maybe a few less characters to up the suspense. BUT, the book was definitely creepy at points (the doll!) and kept me reading. The twist was written well, and overall, this is a solid three-stars for me.

There Should Have Been Eight never quite came together for me. I've been a fan of her paranormal romances for a long time and read A Madness of Sunshine, so I assumed I'd click with TSHBE as well, but I found it easy to put down and not return to for days at a time.
There have been a few misses for me in the long-running Psy-Changeling series, however, so I'll definitely try the next of Nalini Singh's thrillers.

Everyone is always raving about Singh's writing. When I saw this book pop up, I thought I'd give it a whirl.
Nothing pains me more than when an author's writing and me don't seem to mesh. Unfortunately that is the case with this one. I can see why people love her and this book, but it just wasn't for me. I had the hardest time staying interested in the story the whole way through. I found my mind wandering constantly; so much so, I don't think I retained much from this book.

This was a fun slow burn locked room thriller. The first half of the book is a bit on the slower side while it is setting up the characters and the setting. The author's ability to bring you right to the crumbling estate and make you feel like you are right there in this creepy setting was one of my favorite things about this book. You feel the setting rather than just reading about it, not every author can do that.
Once you get to the second half of the book the story starts to fly by and you are turning the pages furiously to get to the end.

I thought I would love this book but unfortunately I didn't. The problem started with too many POV's and not enough distinguishing characteristics between them. The second reason is that not much happens and it became boring. By the time things started progressing it was much to late for me.

It started sort of slow for me because there are so many characters to keep up with. I had trouble settling into the story with my digital copy, so I grabbed this print book to see if that would help—reading in print did! Slowly the twists started coming and by the middle point I felt pretty invested. From there, it was faster-paced until the ending. It was a fun read. A locked-room murder mystery story with a little suspense too. I think the long length and slow start kept it from feeling as suspenseful as it was probably intended. But a fun read nonetheless and my first by this author.

I’d like to thank Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for sending me a review copy.

This is quite a departure from the author's other books. I definitely applaud her for trying something new. The writing was very good but I just wasn't getting grabbed by the story. I'm going to blame myself here though because this isn't really my genre.

DNF at 25%.
This one was a little too slow for me. There were a ton of characters, and with the slow pace, it just wasn’t pulling me in.

There Should Have Been Eight
by Nalini Singh

There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh is a slow burn suspense read - a first for me from author Singh. I enjoy the setting being in New Zealand - haven’t read too many books set there so this was a fun one for me. I did enjoy the read though it was slow, it had a nice twist in the end that I enjoyed.

Singh ramps up the tension in her gothic atmospheric mystery where nothing and nobody is what it seems. Friendship has its limits when a group of college friends get together for a celebration and discover everything they thought they knew about a friend's death was a lie. As the clues slowly reveal themselves, the group soon learns that the truth about what happened is almost unbelievable. This multi-layered storyline kept me hooked with its complicated characters and the slow reveal of the mystery. My only issue was the ending. It felt abrupt and unfinished.

There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh

Published: November 21, 2023
Berkley
Genre: Murder Thrillers
Pages: 416
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

This was a twisted novel that kept me guessing. I love layered thrillers, and Nalini did not disappoint. I loved the darkness of her writing and how she told this story.

The ironies throughout this book are brilliantly played like Luna losing her eyesight and her career as a photographer. The emotions in that fragmented portion were sharp.

This novel made me grateful that I don’t have a sordid group of friends connected by tragedy and pent-up emotions. The way this story unraveled was fantastic. Every time I thought I knew what was coming, I was wrong.

This book kept me guessing, and in the end, I was wrong but blown away. Nalini is a new to me author, but I am excited to read any thriller she writes!

There Should Have Been Eight is an isolated, closed circle thriller. Told through the perspective of Luna, seven friends come together for a weekend get-away to reminisce about their friend Bea. Everyone has a secret and people start disappearing and dying. Honestly, there should have been a thriller here somewhere, but sadly there just wasn't.

I really wanted to love this one. But I just thought it was meh. I was honestly bored thorough most of it. I never really felt a sense of danger or urgency. The characters were insufferable. I couldn't find a character to root for. They are all supposed to be best friend, yet I never felt like they were. Luna was going blind, but she refused to tell her friends? Why? I know she was still coming to terms with it, but why wouldn't you clue in your "best friends"? I also got tired of her complaining about the way Bea's sister handled Bea's funeral. We get it, you are mad. Move on. The ending was predictable. I think fans of this author will like it, but it just wasn't thrilling enough for me.

THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHT
By Nalini Singh

Published by Berkley (November 21, 2023)
Hardcover $25.20
Kindle $14.99

Reviewed by Ashley Riggleson

If you loved Ruth Ware’s novel One by One and would like to know where to go next, allow me to suggest Nalini Singh’s new novel, There Should Have Been Eight. This locked room mystery set in a creepy house in New Zealand’s Southern Alps does not disappoint.

There Should Have Been Eight tells the story of a group of friends who, after years apart, all converge in a run-down mansion where, it soon becomes apparent, something is not right. To complicate matters, Luna, the novel’s narrator, is rapidly losing her eyesight, which calls her reliability into question. And, although this group seems normal enough at first, there are secrets lurking under the surface. The group is still reeling from their friend Bea’s apparent suicide some time earlier. Luna, who loved Bea more than anyone else, struggles with the fact that she was not able to say goodbye and has suspicions that the story she has been told about Bea’s last days is incomplete.

Meanwhile, in the novel’s present, strange things begin to happen. A life-like doll made in Bea’s image shows up in different areas of the house, and sinisterly, people soon end up sick, maimed, or dead. A bad snowstorm ensures that this group of “friends” is stranded in this gothic mansion with a dark history. As Luna struggles to understand what is happening in the present, she also learns about one of the mansion’s past occupants, Clara, an ancestor of one of the friends (a woman named Darcie, who now owns this dilapidated house).

The further readers get in this twisty thriller, the more muddled things become, and readers will find that, until the appropriate moment, they have more questions than answers.

I read most of There Should Have Been Eight while on a plane, and this compulsively readable novel kept me engaged the whole flight. Seemingly throwaway lines hint at big reveals, even as Singh continues to mislead the reader. While not everything in this novel was unpredictable, there were a lot of surprises in store. Singh skillfully plants many red herrings, and as the book progresses, no one is safe from suspicion.

There Should Have Been Eight is a contemporary thriller set close to the present moment, but it also pays homage to the classics of the genre. This pacey and chilling novel about obsession, envy, and encroaching darkness is sure to be a popular fall and winter read.

Ashley Riggleson is a free-lance book reviewer from Rappahannock County. When she is not reading or writing book reviews, she can usually be found playing with her pets, listening to podcasts, or watching television with friends and family.

Seven friends meet again for a reunion on a remote estate in New Zealand. They haven't been as close since their friend Bea died, but they meet up again and reminisce on old times. However, things quickly turn dark as reminders of Bea keep popping up and it seems like someone is targeting the friends. The estate is filled with secret passageways and a dark family history, adding to the foreboding feeling. Overall, a gripping thriller that keeps you guessing if there is really someone behind the acts and whether the attacks are coming from within the group. Fans of Ruth Ware or Lucy Foley will like this one.

🌟📚 “There Should Have Been Eight” is a gripping thriller that transports readers to a remote estate nestled in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Nalini Singh, known for her evocative storytelling, weaves a tale of secrets, friendship, and haunting memories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 📚 🌟

Plot Summary: Seven friends reunite at Bea’s family’s once-glorious mansion—a place straight out of a gothic novel. Best friends, old flames, secret enemies, and new lovers find themselves snowed in on Christmas morning. As the weather turns treacherous, the walls of the mansion close in, leaving no room for lies.

But there’s a missing piece—the eighth friend, Bea, who was lost nine years ago. As they reminisce, buried emotions resurface, and the truth about Bea’s death threatens to unravel. What really happened that fateful day? 🌹🕰️

Why You’ll Love It:
🌫️ Atmospheric Setting: The remote estate, half in ruins, adds to the eerie ambiance. You’ll feel the chill of the Southern Alps and the weight of secrets.

🤐 Character Dynamics: Nalini Singh masterfully portrays the complexities of friendship and love. Each character has their own hidden agenda.

🔍Unraveling Mystery: The suspense builds steadily, keeping you guessing until the final revelation. Prepare for jaw-dropping twists!

Thank you Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my review!

This was an excellent thriller. I love the “trapped in isolation with a murderer” trope and this novel made use of it expertly. There was an interesting cast of characters and the whodunnit was not easy to figure out. And just when you thought the twists were done, there was yet another shocking reveal. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.

I love a locked door mystery thriller just as much as anyone, but this one just fell a bit. The biggest thing was that there were just too many characters to keep track of. I found myself constantly going back to try and connect each one to things. So many are dry and bland. Many are unreliable which helped add to the story. This was just a big miss for me.

What sounded like a fantastic plot (a group of friends reunites at a country manor for the first time after losing the friend that held their group together, a sudden and fierce snowstorm leaves them all stranded, and they're suddenly being picked off one-by-one) sadly just didn't work for me. The writing was baffling, written in such a juvenile way that I would 100% believe this was an AI-created book.

If that plot is strong enough I can look past lackluster writing, but this wasn't for me.

Veena’s review of There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh
Crime Thriller published by Berkley 21 Nov 23

Ms. Singh is a superb writer. She has the rare talent of sweeping her readers into her world and taking them along for the ride that her words paint. The suspense is bone-chilling and, in fact, I still have goosebumps to show for it.


Luna has been living in London while the others have lived, loved, and thrived in New Zealand and yet it seems none of them has been able to shake the suicide of their friend Bea, most particularly Luna. When Bea’s sister Darcie invites everyone to the siblings’ isolated family home for a reunion, Luna is determined to find closure on Bea, especially because her own world is shrinking.

Against the sinister backdrop of a partially burnt Gothic mansion with ancient pipes and a cold front moving in, the friends are destined to find that things will never be the same again for any of them. The first incident is a doll that once belonged to Bea and was a childhood replica of her that supposedly was cremated with Bea but shows up on Darcie’s bed. Is Darcie’s reaction to the appearance of the doll extreme?

As Luna deciphers the story hidden in the midst of the recipes of the woman who came to this house as a bride and lived a solitary life under the thumb of a dominating and perhaps mad husband and a psychotic daughter, their own story plays out in real time.

Nothing is truly as it seems on the surface, and that’s before the accidents begin and one of their own is killed. The story that emerges is not pretty, but the subsequent actions leave an indelible impact on the reader. Would you bury a body if asked? That question is asked and answered, and the depths of human behavior revealed in remarkable fashion.



Grade: A

How are you with creepy books? I just read There Should Have Been Eight and whoa, this was intense and creepy. It is the story of a group of friends who reunite in a dilapidated estate in New Zealand full of secret passageways and hiding places. When the friends start to have freak accidents and fall very ill, Luna starts to question everything and everyone and starts to dig into the death of one of her old friends. This book was gothic and dark, twisted and suspenseful. It was a hold your breath, yell at the characters, and gasp out loud kind of books. And did I mention so intense?