Night Film / Marisha Pessl

This is the story of horror film director Stanislas Cordova, who hasn't been seen in public for forty years or so. 

He is the mastermind behind 15 incredible horror films, which had been filmed in his very own estate, whose actors and actresses disappear to the remotest corners of the world after filming. Shown only in creepy secret underground screenings, the films are so disturbing that while some people lose their minds after watching them, the rest dedicate all their lives into the theories of these films.

When his daughter Ashley Cordova is found dead in a warehouse, it is speculated to be suicide, but journalist Scott McGrath doesn't think so and for some reason needs to know the truth as if his life depends on it. 

That's it for plot... because some books are better enjoyed if you jump into them without knowing much.

Night Film is a psychological thriller with photographs and articles, and there's also an app with extra content, though you don't miss out on the actual story even if you don't download it. (I didn't.)

First of all, this book is about 600 pages long. Thrillers aren't really my thing, they stopped being interesting after my excessive adult thriller phase about five years ago. Yet, I flew through this book, because it was just impossible to put down.

The plot wasn't rushed, but it wasn't draggy either. I enjoyed the bits where the characters would tell their own tales, because I thought they were interesting, and the articles in it helped me to understand the plot better too.

I wasn't exaggerating when I said this book really creeped me out. The writing was so good that I kept feeling afraid to even turn the page, even when I was reading in broad daylight. It would make a really good movie; I could just imagine the jumpscares and me closing my eyes the entire time!

To make a long story short, this is the kind of book where you would enjoy the journey more than the destination. The things that Scott unearths will mess with your mind like it did mine, make you go WTF???

As for the characters, the three musketeers who journey together aren't the most loveable or relatable, but I didn't exactly hate them. In fact I loved Nora for how passionate she seemed during the whole investigation, and she was so cute, believing everything she was told.

I didn't really like the ending but at the same time I think it's perfect, because it left me confused as to what was real, and that actually fits the plot of this book... You'll get it if you read it.

Now I am wishing Cordova's films are real, just to see how it would affect the people in this real world, how grotesque it could get and whether lives would change after viewing them. Even if they are real, I would not dare watch them at all.

Ps am I the only one who thinks Ashley Cordova looks like Cara Delevigne somehow???

Sovereign. Deadly. Perfect.