Aggravated Momentum, a novel by Didi Oviatt (2016)

I should this start this review off by making a huge apology. I have made a promise to the author of this book to write a review for it in what seems like ages ago. It’s strange that I love reading so very much, but always get drawn back into the worlds of movie magic and anime so much faster. It makes me feel guilty even more when I tell you who the author of this book is (Okay, I guess that was kind of hard to miss when you look at the title for this post). Yes this book was written by none other than our very own Didi Oviatt. If you have somehow not come across her blog yet, you would be missing out on one of the most supportive people that are in this wordpress community. Always kind, always offering words of encouragement to other people, she really is one of the driving forces of the wordpress community and a really amazing person. So press on that link and go follow her blog, if you haven’t already done so. But, she is also an author. And a damn good one at that, as this novel I just read is pretty much one of the best thrillers I have ever come across in my life. So Didi, I’m sorry it took me so long, but this post is for you!

As you can pretty much see from the cover, Aggravated Momentum is not a novel that is telling a nice fluffy tale. But hey, as most of you know, I love the more darker and bloody stories anyway, and this one certainly is one of those. Markie is a woman who has recently lost her best friend Beth at the hands of a brutal serial killer. She has been trying to come to terms with that death as best she can. While she begins to pick up the pieces of her life again, her younger sister Kammie tries to support her in that. Urging her to go out more and just live life to the fullest. But it seems the unknown murderer’s work isn’t done yet. As a lot of horrific events are beginning to take place in Markie’s life, it is beginning to become clear to her that she seems to be at the centre of it all. With her unrelenting stalker coming ever closer, Markie’s world is beginning to unravel more and more around her. Fear and paranoia are taking control of her mind, and grip her like a vice. But the real nightmare has only just started….

I started reading this book a few weeks ago, and in between a flu and some other real life events happening I finally was able to finish it today. Now I can hear you thinking already: well this probably means the book didn’t grab my attention. Well, that’s where you’re wrong. Because I finished this book in pretty much two days of reading when I finally came back to it. This book is simply put an incredible pageturner that grips you tight from the opening sentence, and never let’s go of you until the final page. It really is that good. It’s told from a first person perspective, but not only from the point of view of the main character, but also all the others that are featured in this book. I usually am not a huge fan of that style, but this book was a very noteworthy exception to that rule. How I loved the characters in this book! All of them were lifelike and the way that Didi described them made them pretty much appear in your mind as if they were people you might have known all your life.

When an author is able to do that through his or her writing, that makes it all the more satisfying to me. But it’s not only the characters that are brought to life in such a great way. I never got bored for a single second. There usually is always some point in a book where your attention seems to waver or where the pacing feels a bit off. That never happened here. I loved the twists and shocks that the book offered. One of those was the reveal of the killer (yes, we also get his viewpoint in this book), and I think the loud bang of my jaw hitting the floor must have been heard pretty much all the way across the world. I at least did not see it coming, and there were many more of these wonderful twists that make your head spin. While the book was certainly bloody and at times very sexy as well, it never went overboard in any way. All of the scenes just felt right and weren’t just woven in the tale just for the sake of it all.

So with all these high words of praise was there anything I didn’t like in this book? Well, honestly, no. I could go for being very petty and say there were a few typos in the book, but that would be reaching, and pretty much every novel has them. What we have here is a truly solid thriller that everyone who loves stories of serial killers, and novels that crank up the tension to the breaking point should definitely check out. It’s a bloody, steamy and at times horrific but oh so delicious tale of mayhem that you just have to check out. My only regret is that I didn’t start reading this book sooner, and I’m definitely going to be on the look out for the rest of Didi’s books in the future. That is pretty much a given, and hey I was already a fan of her so there is that. Oh, just so you know: it might seem that Didi asked me to write all this, but I can assure you she did not. This was my own undertaking, and my own opinion on the book as well. So, all I can say is don’t take my word for it, download/buy this novel today. You need this in your life.

I give Aggravated Momentum a 10 out of 10 score.