The Sixes by Kate White

3.0 out of 5 stars  

Secret society of mean girls causing trouble -- but capable of murder

This is a formulaic mystery involving a possible serial killer, a secret society of mean girls bent on causing damage, and several other sinister activities at Lyle College, located in a small town in Pennsylvania.

Phoebe Hall -- a 42-year-old disgraced reporter who left New York in the wake of a plagiarism accusation, is asked to fill in for a teacher on maternity leave at the behest of the college president, her former roommate and friend from boarding school, Glenda Johns. Phoebe is also healing from a recent romantic breakup and retreats to this small college to recover and wait until her reputation is repaired. Shortly after the fall term starts, a female student whom Phoebe talked with briefly on a walk in the rain across the quad, is found drowned. Was the dead girl a victim of a tragic accident or was she murdered? If so, who might be the killer? Because of rumors around campus of a secret and powerful women's sorority, and because of Phoebe's past experience of having been a target of such a group while in boarding school, Glenda asks her to look into this group -- known as The Sixes -- and to see what her investigative skills can uncover.

The rest of the narrative is fraught with predictable scenes and red herrings as Phoebe puts herself fully into the search for answers about the dead girl, the secret society, and other cases of missing persons that occurred over the previous two years. Are all of these deaths related? As she noses into details surrounding the events, she is targeted and harassed with home invasion and other warnings to back off the investigation. The death count rises the closer she gets to the truth. Although I thought I had figured out the entire 'whodunit' by the fourth chapter, I ended up being wrong. That's not to say that the conclusion is realistic or believable; just not what I had anticipated, and somewhat unsatisfactory. I did like that the main character, Phoebe Hall, was middle-aged.

This is an entertaining and mindless read -- perfect for passing time while on a plane, at the beach, or by a pool. It reminded me, at first, of another Gothic suspense novel that I read recently, The Raising: A Novel (P.S.), which I'd recommend if you like this type of suspenseful, secret girl society type of book.

The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

3.0 out of 5 stars  

Lives of quiet desperation...

I wanted to like this novel much more than I actually did. When I closed the book after reading the last chapter (which, in my opinion, was the best in the entire saga, actually), I was left with vague feelings of disquiet. As Blake states when his brother Ryan wonders how the "old-timers" felt about their lives: "They didn't think in terms of happy."

This novel was a series of disjointed vignettes spanning 1973-2003, told in alternating points of view, that give us a snapshot into both the banal and the significant moments in the lives of the large extended Nordic, Lutheran, Erikson family who were born and raised in the rural Midwestern small town of Grenada, Iowa. Each child tries to "leave" in his or her own way, and the picture that emerges as each person tells their story is one of hopeful alienation and the pain of self discovery. It was all somewhat depressing. The tales related in each section reflect the events going on in each of the main characters' lives -- Anita, Ryan, Blake, Torrie -- but also involve their cousins, parents and other relatives and how they all are a part of a family that was "built to last" despite all the trials and tribulations. There are some unfinished stories that left me with questions about what happened "after" or how things ended up the way they did, but though the author sometimes picks up that story line again in a later chapter, some were left dangling. The brothers and sisters seemed to limp painfully toward adulthood, but there are a few triumphs amidst their struggles. The last paragraph -- as one of the children sums up his analysis of his ancestral past and his hope for the future -- is absolutely one of the best parts of this book and one I will remember for a very long time. Any curious reader will simply have to get the book and read it.

Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder

4.0 out of 5 stars -   

How deep are your secrets buried?

This book contains all the ingredients necessary for a novel to earn the right to be called a true suspense thriller: enigmatic clever hero, young damsel in distress, horribly evil bad guys, ruthless, manipulative powerful men who like to get what they want, and lots of action.

Nick Heller is called to the home of billionaire financier Marshall Marcus, an old friend of the family who had employed Nick's mom, when his 17 year old daughter Alexa doesn't come home one night. Suspecting that she has been kidnapped for ransom, Nick sets his private investigation in motion using his own employees and calling in favors from all sorts of friends from his former experiences in the military and beyond. Who has taken Alexa? Where is she being held, and what will it take to bring her home alive? Although Nick moves at breakneck speed using all his resources, he's also suspicious that Marcus is keeping secrets from him that might prevent this from being a successful rescue. Will he be able to solve the mystery and uncover the buried secrets in time?

This is the second book in the Nick Heller series (the first one -- I did not read it -- was Vanished (Nick Heller 1)) and it stands well alone. To say that this was hard to put down is an understatement. The short chapters and change in point of view keep the narrative moving forward at a very rapid pace. I really enjoyed this novel and hope there's a third one in the works. Recommend for a great summer read -- but only if you have nothing else to do until you turn the last page!

Healer by Carol Cassella

4.0 out of 5 stars What's left when you've lost it all?

This second novel by medical doctor Carol Cassella explores the answer to the question -- what is left when you've lost all your material possessions, your home, your reputation, and your previous world of friends and social interaction? The answer lies, for these characters, in the rustic, rural former vacation home they never renovated, in a small town in Hallum, Washington. What remains is simple: hard work and love.

Claire is a stay-at-home mom to teen-aged Jory (the only child she can have, born prematurely) when her husband Addison, a wildly successful biochemist who had made them rich by discovering a test to diagnose ovarian cancer early, gambles their entire financial portfolio on a new anti-cancer drug he's trying to bring to market. Almost ready for FDA approval, lab data from clinical trials is suspicious, and the fledgling research venture folds along with Addison's integrity. Gone is all the money they had received from Addison's former triumph, and they have to sell their house and possessions and relocate to Hallum while Addison goes begging at medical conventions for investors in the project he can't give up.

Meanwhile, Claire -- who was almost done with residency when Jory arrived early -- needs a job to feed herself and her daughter. Because she's not board certified, she takes the only job she's offered -- in a free clinic for migrant workers run by an aging physician, Dr. Dan Zalaya. The position pays little, and Claire is nervous and anxious about actually working as a doctor again and has also a little difficulty with translating the patients' complaints from Spanish since she doesn't speak the language. She is forced to be a single parent to Jory and works long hours in the barely funded clinic. This was the best part of the novel for me, watching Claire develop her confidence in the art of practicing medicine, being the "healer" as doctora to these migrant workers. I loved the interactions between her and the patients, and between her and the staff at the clinic. It painted a bleak picture of the life of the illegal immigrants and it felt to me that Claire was getting back some of her self esteem.

A constant irritant in the book was the teenage daughter Jory, whom I could not stand. I realize that many teenagers are self absorbed and narcissistic, but the amount of patience that Claire had to use to deal with her defied my tolerance level. I just couldn't stand Jory's character and in my view she never redeemed herself or grew up any in the book. Addison was shallow and also selfish -- forging ahead with his dream when he should have taken a bench lab job to provide for his family. I saw him, who had basically stolen away the family fortune without ever discussing it with his wife, as a complete failure as husband and father. I also couldn't understand where the money to buy the food and pay the other bills was coming from as they were buying jewelry and food and paying utilities on only Claire's meager salary. Despite these discordant notes, the narrative moved along hopefully as the family tiptoes around each other trying to work their way back to being a unit and the loving trio they once had been.

Then, for some reason, the last part of the book attempts to set up a mystery using a Nicaraguan refugee with a lost daughter. This part of the novel fell flat and seemed tacked on, but other than that - the story moves to a conclusion that is somewhat satisfying. There is redemption of a sort, and the restoration of trust -- though hard won -- and above all, there is love.

The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry

4.0 out of 5 stars "Privateers are the nursery for pirates" (Captain Charles Johnson - 1724), 

What a rollicking adventure! I really enjoyed this fast-paced historical fiction tale about a secret society of privateers (pirates), the Commonwealth, who joined forces and were spurred to action in defense of the colonies during the American Revolution. With a loose connection to actual events that occurred during the early years of our nation's birth and bringing the Commonwealth to still active status in the present day, author Steve Berry devises a plot that is both plausible and entertaining.

Cotton Malone, previously a Justice Department operative, is called to New York for a meeting with an old friend and his former boss, Stephanie Nelle. He arrives in time to foil an assassination attempt on Danny Daniels, the US President! Discovering that the whole scene was a set-up, he and partner Casseopeia Vitt begin a hunt for the missing Stephanie and an investigation into the Commonwealth to find out who was involved with this plot and why.

This is great cross and double cross mystery adventure that uses some historical facts to create a complex situation that takes the characters from the quiet and secluded estates in Bath, North Carolina, to a deserted crumbling old fort in Nova Scotia. I raced through the pages as the action shifted from one point of view and scene to another. Along the way, the reader learns about the role of privateers in wartime and many interesting facts about early US presidents and a secret code devised for Thomas Jefferson that holds the key to the power the Commonwealth needs. It all makes for a nicely complex novel that readers and fans will find satisfying.

A short writer's note at the end of the book separates fact from fiction. All in all, a fun beach read with lots of action, short chapters, and a compelling story. Although this is part of a series, you don't need to have read the previous Cotton Malone books to enjoy this one -- but you might want to go back and start at the beginning with The Templar Legacy: A Novel, and read the author's other stand alone novels as well!

Pacific Heights by Paul Harper

What a great summer thrill ride -- and a fantastic debut for a new series featuring retired SID detective Marten Kane. Two wives of well-known San Francisco entrepreneurs are seeing a psychotherapist -- they don't know each other, but one man, Ryan Kroll, knows both of them -- very well. In fact, he knows their most intimate secrets, fantasies, hidden horrors and insecurities. AND he intends to use that knowledge against them in the most personal way possible. He seeks them out, contrives to meet them, and begins a love affair with both Elise and Lore and uses the knowledge he has stolen from the therapist's office files to control and manipulate them. What is his goal? Enter Marten Kane -- the ultimate "fix it" man -- he has both the discretion and the intelligence to figure out what Ryan Kroll is doing and to try to stop him before he carries out his plans with the two women.
High recommend this book to all fans of the suspense thriller genre! I am eagerly looking forward to Paul Harper's (a pseudonym for David Lindsey) next installment in the Marten Kane series.

I read this ARC for the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

Devil's Plaything by Matt Richtel

3.0 out of 5 stars Step away from your computer!, June 17, 2011

 

This was an OK thriller that has to do with the bad guys using computer technology to secretly mess with peoples' brains and their memories. But why? The main character, a medical blog writer and former doctor named Nat Idle, and his grandmother Lane are running around San Francisco trying to figure out why her dementia is progressing so rapidly and what memories of hers have been tampered with or altered. Nat is detracted from solving the mystery by suspicious characters at every turn. He can't seem to get answers from the caregivers at the nursing home where Lane lives or from her neurologist, nor from a quasi military type venture capitalist named Chuck who appears out of nowhere to save Nat and his grandmother from an attack by a gun toting man in a Prius.

The action scenes are there and the ingredients for a fast paced thriller are in place, but the story and the main plot really don't go anywhere. The narrative seems to be more a social commentary about the danger to human minds because of multitasking and the internet than a real suspense thriller. The revelations about the "big secret" that Grandma Lane has and the resultant case breaking clues that are finally exposed aren't really very exciting and the story sort of limps to a less than compelling or satisfying conclusion. The moral of the story seems to be that humans should stop using computers and have more face-to-face interactions with their loved ones lest we all forget simple things, ruin our long term memories and our brains.

Fine, escapist beach read -- don't expect a high octane thrill ride because it's not found in these pages.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

 

4.0 out of 5 stars The bond between sisters can be very strong..., June 15, 2011

It's very difficult to write a review of a book that doesn't allow the reader to discuss particulars that would be spoilers for anyone wanting to know whether or not to buy a book. I will make every effort to avoid giving anything away.

To be honest, however, I must say that I have a pet peeve -- and that is with books that have an ambiguous ending (or a non ending). I don't like them. This is that sort of a book. Despite that aggravation, I must say that if you like a good mystery story with an unusual twist, you will like this book.

Reminiscent of Chevy Stevens' Still Missing and Never Knowing, author Rosamund Lupton has her main character, Beatrice, use both a letter format and a lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service to tell her story. (Chevy Stevens uses therapy sessions notes and a therapist). The plot is simple -- Beatrice gets a call from her mother that her sister Tess is missing and she leaves New York to go to London to find out what happened. The narrative, in the form of a letter to her sister, describes what Beatrice found when she arrived and her own investigation into her sister's death. The police have ruled it a suicide but Beatrice knows her sister and knows that she would never have done that. Her discoveries about the life her sister was living give her pause; she wonders if she really did know her sister as well as she thought she did. Was the death of Tess really a suicide or was it murder? If so, who did it? Beatrice tells Mr. Wright, the lawyer for CPS, step by step what she finds as she delves into the mystery. Multiple suspects provide Beatrice with many avenues to explore. Lots of red herrings and a few surprising twists as discoveries are made and truths are uncovered.

There is foreshadowing and melodrama as the story comes to a shocking conclusion (you know something is off, but not quite sure what it is) and the reader is left momentarily holding her breath at the end. And then the reader says -- what the heck???

I liked most of the book really well, but I did not like how it concluded. If you like a gripping, dark and gothic type thriller, I think you will enjoy this book.

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain

2.0 out of 5 stars Not suspenseful and not a thriller..., May 31, 2011

This review is from: The Night Season (Archie and Gretchen) (Audio CD)

I have read the other books in the Gretchen Lowell-Archie Sheridan series to mixed review. This one is so unrelated as to be understandable if read as a stand alone.

First off -- the reader of this audio version, Christina Delaine, was the WORST narrator I have ever heard! I almost threw the CD box in the trash but forced myself through to the end hoping for improvement. There was none. Her pronunciation of words (skele DON instead of TON and BOOO kay instead of Bow) drove me up the wall as did her hoarse-voiced raspy attempt at Archie (and all the other male characters come to think of it. He sounds like he has no personality and is almost dead most of the time -- no emotion. Anyway, the audio version was horrible. If you want to read more in this series, at least get the book.

Now for the review of the story. Well, hate to tell you, but it was not very good either. Victims are found in the waters of the Willamette river - they drowned -- but wait -- what is that puncture wound??? The killing method (blue ringed octopus???) = ridiculous and the whole motivation for the murders quite lame. There was absolutely nothing in this book to redeem the boring characters or the plot. The relentless and pedantic descriptions of the Willamette flooding and the water, water, water, were redundant and uninteresting. The only thing that got me were the needless deaths of some perfectly fine people.

I do not like any of Cain's characters. Susan Ward makes me crazy -- she's so immature and stupid (you'll agree when you read how she manages to yet again insert herself into the clutches of the killer and I'm tired of Saint Archie and his sad sack life, addictions, and in-need-of-therapy self. I was bored by turns and irritated by others. I didn't even care when the climax occurred but wondered why the book went on for several more chapters of blah blah blah. Gretchen Lowell? Well she's not in this book :) This was not suspenseful and not a thriller. Pass.

I won't read another in this series and urge you to just say NO. It really isn't worth your time.

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

"At least I tried."

In this 5th book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, Ann Brashares brings back the characters we knew and loved as they enter their thirties. Four friends ten years later. How has the sisterhood fared - how has life treated them and where are they now?

Although the girls had gone their separate ways and had sort of lost touch with each other, Lena, Carmen and Bee gather in Greece for a reunion arranged by Tibby. What they find there changes their lives forever.

This is a story of enduring friendship and love. Although at times almost maudlin and certainly sentimental, the narrative makes us root for each of the girls to finally find true happiness.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it as a fitting conclusion to the series introduced to the world of young adult readers in 2001. Some have said that this novel is not for that YA market, but I think teens who enjoyed the other 4 books (and movies) will want to follow this sisterhood of best friends into adulthood.

Addendum: I'm adding this last part because of advice not to read it because it's sad. Yes -- some parts of the book are sad. But who among you has a perfect life that is not marred by some disappointment or other event that you wish you hadn't gone through? I think the things that happen to the girls in the book provide a more realistic depiction of how we all fare through adulthood. There is regret and loss. Everything for most of us is not always sunny and happy. Neither is it for the girls of the Sisterhood. And I think that's how it should be.

The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles

3.0 out of 5 stars Too long and too much, May 29, 2011

This review is from: The Devil's Punchbowl: A Novel (Hardcover)

3.5 of 5 stars
NOTE: this book contains graphic descriptions of animal and human torture, abuse, and dog fighting.

This third Penn Cage novel went on a bit too long. By the end, I decided that I really didn't like any of the main characters and I was tired of the story. Penn, formerly a DA and author, and now the ersatz mayor of Natchez, Mississippi -- his childhood home -- and Caitlin Masters, his former girlfriend reporter who has returned home for unknown reasons, team up again in a sordid story of gambling, prostitution, dog fighting and corruption at the riverboat casinos.

Penn has to call on his black op friends to protect his family and to help him figure out why his old friend Tim Jessup was murdered. Tim, trying to change his burnt out druggie reputation, has come upon some evidence of illegal activity that he brings to Penn. Before he can get the evidence to Penn, the evil Magnolia Queen boat owner/operators Sands and Quinn (Irish ex pats) take him out. In a race against time, Penn Cage joins up with a couple f elite special forces men, and a former Texas Ranger, in a somewhat unbelievable pursuit of justice and the saving of his town.

I really liked the previous two novels in this series, The Quiet Game and Turning Angel, but this one just didn't hit the same spot for me. The bad guys were over-the-top evil and Penn almost hit sainthood. I know fans of Greg Iles' novels will buy this one, but I hope that his next in the series will be an improvement.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

isbn 1594202842 isbn13 9781594202841 asin num pages 237 pp avg rating 3.41 num ratings 3,305 date pub Nov 17, 2010 date pub edition Jan 11, 2011 I did not like this book and really won't recommend it except to argue with anyone who agrees with author Chua that she has an imitable or admirable p...more  I did not like this book and really won't recommend it except to argue with anyone who agrees with author Chua that she has an imitable or admirable parenting style. Her tone was superior and smug, all the while mostly a "brag book" about her talented, abused daughters and how SHE made them so successful. I don't understand a husband and father standing by listening to the insults and humiliation, disguised and excused as a fierce maternal love, heaped by his wife onto his precious daughters. No, thank you. I guess I'm of the mind that parenting impressionable children and raising them to be responsible adults is difficult and lacks a fool proof road map, but I would choose a method and style that, though strict in some ways, would not be cruel.

The Cutting by James Hayman

A satisfying thriller!, May 21, 2011

I really enjoyed this fast-paced mystery thriller and immediately sought out the next book - The Chill of Night (Det. Michael Mccabe Mysteries) - in what I hope will be a long series featuring Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe and his partner, Maggie Savage.

A young teen-aged girl is found dead and mutilated in a scrap-metal yard. Her heart has been cut out in a manner that could pass for surgical precision. Earlier that morning, a jogger -- another blonde and beautiful athlete -- was abducted by what McCabe fears is a serial killer targeting this type of victim. The suspense builds as he and Maggie race to try to find this kidnapped woman before she too succumbs to the mutilation. They discover a string of similar crimes stretching from Portland, Maine to Florida. Who is behind these murders and what are they doing with the hearts they steal?

Another thing I really liked, besides the well-developed plot, were the two main characters. I want to get to know them and read more about them. Mike McCabe is a single father raising a 13 year old girl with an ex-wife who has returned for a visitation after several years of absence from their lives. Maggie is a bit mysterious and might have some secrets. The partners work well together and there seems to be a bit of chemistry as well.

If you like a good thriller, ignore the fact that you may or may not find some of the book predictable, and open the cover!

Fallen by Karin Slaughter

Secrets, lies, betrayal and murder..., May 19, 2011

The opening chapters of this book will draw in any thriller lover immediately! Faith Mitchell is late to her mother's house to pick up her infant daughter, Emma. When she arrives to find a blood-stained door, a hostage situation in the bedroom, a dead man in the laundry room, and her mother missing -- the real suspense begins. The kidnapped, retired policewoman, Evelyn Mitchell, has a long and complicated history as a former head of a drug investigation unit that ended up brought down on corruption charges. Who has taken her and what do they want? What follows is a complicated and involving effort to unravel the mystery and takes the characters on a wild chase from death row at a Georgia prison to a warehouse that fronts as a cabinet factory to a hospital morgue.

This is the third novel by author Karin Slaughter that features the characters of Will Trent and Faith Mitchell - both work for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They have connected with Sara Linton, a trauma doctor who was previously married to cop Jeffery Tolliver in the Grant County series. The two prior books, Triptych and Fractured, introduced the interesting duo of Will and Faith (he with severe dyslexia and she with a hard life past) and they met Sara when she returned to Atlanta to work in a hospital there. The complex characters have interesting and unique relationships to each other and this provides a great deal of depth to the narrative.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good suspense thriller. I do think it would be best if the reader started at the beginning of the Grant County series with Blindsighted (Dr. Sara Linton) and worked his/her way up to this one in order to fully see the changes and growth that have transpired in the characters, but I do suppose it could be enjoyed as a stand alone as well.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Fun and mindless beach read!, May 10, 2011

A friend brought this book in for me to read since the movie was about to be released. I don't typically read this genre, but found it to be a mindless, lighthearted and funny story about two "best friends" who are heading into their thirties with marriage on their minds.

Darcy is engaged to Dex, the man that Rachel discovers that she wants for herself. Unfortunately, Darcy is her best friend and Rachel is supposed to be the maid of honor at the upcoming nuptials. What happens when Rachel and Dex hook up and begin an affair?

Sure enough, as is common in a book of this type, the characters are over-the-top stereotypical. Does consummate good girl Rachel deserve Dex because Darcy is such a self absorbed party girl? Hey, there are rules between friends, and one of the primary girlfriend rules is that you don't go after your best friend's boyfriend (fiance, husband, whatever). Despite the fact that this behavior is reprehensible, the novel is fast paced and entertaining. The reader may or may not root for a happy ending for all.

Definitely one to take to the beach.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

"How can a woman know herself, if she doesn't really know her mother?", May 5, 2011

This was a very interesting and emotionally involving story that moved from a present day setting backward in time to Leningrad, Russia, during the siege of that city during WW II.

Middle aged sisters Meredith and Nina have had a very unhappy and unsatisfying relationship with their cold and reserved Russian mother, Anya. They both have spent years trying to reach her and to earn her love, but neither has been able to breech the barrier that has kept her estranged from them. They know nothing about her past, which seems to limit them in their own ability to fully live their lives and to develop good relationships with those they care about. Meredith is the super obsessive older sister who stayed behind to help her parents run their orchard; she uses chores and activities to avoid thinking about why she has never done what she wanted. Nina left the family behind to become a globetrotting photojournalist with no permanent ties and no need to settle down anywhere with anyone. The girls reunite at the family home when their beloved father, Evan, dies and leaves them devastated and alone with the stranger who is their mother.

Through a series of stories told to the girls by their mother -- at first in fairy-tale fashion -- Meredith and Nina discover that their mother has a past that she has tried to escape by never speaking of it. She tells of the horrors of living and trying to survive in war-torn Leningrad during World War II and the subsequent sacrifices she had to make in order to live. The girls finally find out who their mother is and why she is the way she is.

This is a very touching but horrible story that will keep the reader turning the pages until the stunning revelation at the end. This is a book that does more than entertain - it will make the reader think and feel and want to go hug their loved ones. A book like this can change and affect a reader long after the last words have been read. I recommend it.