Accidents Happen by Louise Millar

3.0 out of 5 stars "Beat the odds and change your life..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kate Parker, single mother to Jack, is really great at one thing: worrying. She investigates and compiles statistics about accidents. Obsessed with safety and protecting herself and Jack, she refrains from allowing herself and her son anything resembling a normal life. Kate became like this because of a series of horribly freak occurrences that have traumatized her and rendered her anxious and full of doom and gloom: her parents were killed in a taxi accident on her wedding day and her husband, Hugo, was murdered in a home invasion and then her home was burglarized twice. Her overly protective actions are smothering Jack and now her in-laws are making noises about taking him to live with them while Kate gets herself back together. A chance meeting at a juice bar brings Jago Martin into her life. Professor Martin, a handsome Scot from Edinburgh, is doing a guest lectureship on the topic of chance and probability at the nearby university and Kate discovers he has written a book on the topic. Eager to immerse herself in endless calculations about risk and danger with an expert, she is amazed to find herself wanting to spend time with him and opens herself up to a possible romance. Jago seems to instantly understand Kate's fear and obsession and suggests that they work together to help her by doing a series of experiments to increase empowerment so she doesn't feel so threatened. Kate jumps in, desperate to free herself from her thoughts that have created a prison-like world for her and Jack.

 

At this point in the book, the reader knows what is likely going to happen and wants to shake Kate until her teeth rattle. Kate is 30 years old, what in the heck is she thinking? It is clear that her emotional state has blocked most of her common sense and the worry has been transferred to the reader wondering what next bad thing will happen as Kate begins to take risks and do crazy things -- at Jago's urging. The choices she makes are hard to understand given her history, but desperate times apparently call for desperate measures. The narrative has some suspense but plays out predictably with few surprises.

It's a quick, entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ebook to review.

A Spear of Summer Grass

3.5 stars out of 5 - Sometimes you just need to go "all in..."

This novel provided a predicament for me: how to rate a book whose main character I totally despised while absolutely loving the way the author brought Africa in the 1920s to life on the page.

Delilah Drummond is banished to Kenya in 1923 when her scandalous behavior becomes too notorious even for her socially prominent family. She arrives at Fairlight, owned by her favorite stepfather, to find it crumbling under the weight of neglect. Accompanied by Dora, her cousin and erstwhile chaperone/maid, she is overwhelmed first of all by the sheer savageness of the savannah and secondly by the natives who have learned to live in a sort of harmony with the land and the animals there. As she acclimates herself to her exile, she slowly begins to find that Africa has become her lover and ultimately finds her soul. And her soulmate of course. There's a predictable romance with a stereotypical alpha male, Ryder White, and a series of events that cement their relationship, but the main appeal of this story is Africa. Its harshness, beauty, and circle of life are all laid out in vividly written descriptions that made me want to go off on safari and discover it all for myself just as it was then.

Now back to Delilah. The author attempts to imbue her with some saving characteristics as expected, but I never developed anything approaching identification for the various parts she played in the dramas that developed over the course of her stay at Fairlight. Other characters provided only secondary roles to the wonders of the lushness and complexity of the central focus of the book: Africa itself. So despite the fact that I detested Delilah and that she never redeemed herself in my eyes despite the author's attempts to make it so, I really ended up liking the book for what it was -- a lovingly depicted portrait of a land out of time, suffused with danger and extremes, and worthy of fighting for.

I recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA for a copy of the ebook to review.

The Returned by Jason Mott

3.0 out of 5 stars - We fear most what we do not understand...

Harold and Lucille Hargrave, in their early 70s, are living a quiet life in Arcadia, North Carolina when television news broadcasts report that people all over the world are returning from the dead. They had suffered a horrible tragedy 50 years previously when their beloved only son, Jacob, drowned in a river by their property on his eighth birthday. Time has dulled the pain and they have come to an acceptance of their fate. Lucille has embraced religion to make sense of her loss, but both of them live in a state of perpetual loneliness from the missing. They somehow moved on.

One afternoon, Federal Agent Martin Bellamy of the International Bureau of the Returned appears on their doorstep -- with their son. Jacob looks exactly as he did the day he died. Unchanged. Harold and Lucille are stunned, confused and conflicted. Then Agent Bellamy asks the question -- "Do you want to keep Jacob?"  of course they do...or do they?

This fairly short novel had a really interesting premise and I was so eager to read it but I must say I ended up being disappointed by the execution of the story. The action was confined to the North Carolina town and though there are glimpses of other stories, the scope of the phenomenon was diluted by its focus on Arcadia and what happened there.
It's a tale of fear and prejudice against the Returned who are basically sequestered and treated like prisoners. They are rounded up and brought from other places to Arcadia and put inside a compound guarded by soldiers. Far too much of the book is spent on describing conditions inside the prison than was necessary for the reader to get the point: different is scary and when we don't have answers or explanations we must protect ourselves from them and keep them away from the real living folks. Stereotypical characters go through the motions of demonstrating that prejudiced and the expected outcome - violence - occurs as predicted. I could never understand just how, since there were so many after all, people could tell who was a Returned. So many unanswered technical and obvious questions went unexplained so the story was in many ways quite superficial. I guess I prefer more science than paranormal.

The author explains his motivation for writing this book in an afterword and indicates that this novel was a cathartic process for him.

I hesitantly suppose, for anyone who has ever wondered, it is probably for the best that the dead stay dead. Despite our longing for our loved one(s) who have died, we could never probably understand how and why they would come back to life. And what we would do with them and for them if they did.

A good debut novel that leaves you with a lot of things to ponder.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ebook ARC.

Mollie Pride by Beverly Swerling

4.0 out of 5 stars "Moved by love, honor and duty."

By 

Denise Crawford "DC" (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    

 

 

Anyone who knows me or reads my reviews understands that I love historical fiction and that one of my favorite authors is Beverly Swerling. When I opened this book, because of the author's meticulous research, I was transported to the time period, the environment, and the culture that came alive under her skillful prose.

The time is 1930s in the period of unrest just before events led up to WW II and the initial setting is America. Citizens in the US weren't looking to be involved in any of what was going on "across the pond" and the isolationist views held by most businessmen and politicians were also supported by many of the people living in the country.

Mollie Pride's unique family and upbringing lead her to a broadcast career that eventually takes her from America to London during the Blitz when she is not even 20 years old. "Hello, America, this is Mollie Pride..." Live from the battered streets, she interviews people at the scene, bringing the horrors, scarcities and tribulations of war home to households in human interest stories that make the realities of war evident to them in a society where real news is typically a man's world. Though she herself has suffered personal heartbreak and loss, Mollie finds that she will need every ounce of bravery and courage that she possesses in order to provide encouragement and support for those so affected by Hitler's war on so many foreign fronts. When the US enters the war, finally, Mollie is called on to keep secrets that put her in grave danger as some in power are listening to every word she says on air.

I found the novel fascinating as a glimpse into both broadcast journalism during the 1930s and as a study of how one woman entered that male dominated occupation and brought something new to those listening on the other end of the radio. The power of the spoken word over the airwaves of the day was never so evident as during this period in history. Propaganda was coming from Germany and from Japan, enemies and alliances changed by the day, and every broadcast was censored and controlled. How then would the truth be told? Molly, though often afraid of the ramifications, reported honestly the events she witnessed even when her own interests and needs had to be put aside for the greater good. She was a heroine in a time where honor and duty were evident in the actions of people in the most unlikely circumstances. There was also great evil and terror, and Mollie faced those with her indomitable personality and strong spirit.

There is also romance amidst the fear, the secrecy and the background of war, and the reader will root for Mollie all the way. I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction set during the 1930s and early 1940s in both America and London.

I am eagerly looking forward to Beverly Swerling's next book!

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (pseudonym)

"I am become a name."

This is everything a good detective novel needs to be: smart, intricately plotted, descriptive, full of red herrings, and have at heart a plausible motive with all kinds of quirky characters.

PI Cormoran Strike, missing part of his lower leg as the result of a war injury, is hiding out from creditors and living in his dingy London office after a recent row and split from his longtime girlfriend. Although he has no major pending cases, a staffing agency mistakenly sends a secretary, 25-year-old newly engaged Robin Ellacott, for temporary employment. Despite the catastrophe his life has become, Strike allows that he can use her for maybe a week as he tries to get things together.

Then things change. He gets a wealthy client, John Bristow, who asks Strike to investigate his adopted sister's death. The police and press believe that the supermodel, known for a wild party lifestyle, a romantic liaison with a drug addict, and a history of depression, committed suicide by jumping to her death from her 3rd floor balcony. John thinks Lula was murdered. Strike agrees to look into the circumstances surrounding Lula's death and Robin steps into the role of Gal Friday.

I enjoyed this novel quite a lot for all the good things it was as stated above, but also for what it was not. It was not a gory chiller or a romantic suspense thriller, but a mystery that was unraveled slowly and methodically by a protagonist that I'd like to get to know better. I hope that JK Rowling writes another and makes this a series. This novel, her debut in crime fiction, was both classic and a tribute to others in the same vein such as those works by Agatha Christie, PD James, and Dorothy Sayers.

I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic mysteries set in London and written with a voice that actually takes the reader along as Strike tries to figure out the truth for his client instead of merely telling a story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC to review.

The First Affair by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

3.5 out of 5 stars - "Hope and After Hope."  read: July 17, 2013

Jamie McAllister is 22 and "needing to be liked." Her family has failed her and she has been unable to find a paying job when she manages to obtain an internship at the White House and the Department of Scheduling and Advance because of the recommendation of her best friend's mom. When the staffers are furloughed during a budget impasse forced by President Rutland, Jamie has a chance encounter with him that sets her on a path to scandal and total devastation. Channeling Monica Lewinsky and tabloid headlines, the character of Jamie is both naive and star-struck when she imagines that the affair is love rather than the older powerful man taking advantage of her for his own selfish purposes. What happens is predictable but it's the details of how the secret is revealed and how the situation is handled that make this book such a fun read.

This is a perfect book for summer and light beach reading though the themes of adultery and the fall of the famous man are extremely weighty but far too commonplace in our society. Without moralizing, the authors take the reader into the mind of the girl who hangs on to the promises of a troubled man who doesn't even try very hard to avoid the trap he creates. She is the seduced, not the seducer, and the novel makes it very clear that society is both titallated by and unforgiving of the victim, the other woman, the discarded one. Jamie's life was indeed torn apart by this ill-advised and risky affair with a man she really thought she loved and for whom she risked everything.

I'd recommend it to anyone interested in how horrible the judgment of strangers who get to proclaim "not whether the relationship was wrong -- it was. Or immoral -- the definition of. But its very veracity." You think you've heard it all before and maybe you have. Of course, we all KNOW what this was really about, right? Why he picked her, why she did it. Or do we?

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Crime of Privilege by Walter Walker

"Don't we pay for all the things we do?" OR DON'T DO?, read: July 15, 2013

3.5 out of 5 stars

A rape in Palm Springs in 1996 and a murder in Cape Cod in 1999. The Gregorys, a wealthy, privileged family is involved in both cases and is protected from consequences for years. Because of their reputation, all who may or may not have seen anything and those who know what really happened, well, they don't come forth. George Becket, the guest of a classmate and age 22, was in the library at the Gregory mansion when the violation of Kendrick Powell took place at the hands of two members of the Gregory family. Instead of supporting her, he helps her out and sends her home in her car all the while rationalizing that he isn't sure what went on because they were all drunk, and well, they are the Gregorys. Everyone forgets about it and no one is charged, except for the father of Kendrick Powell who is wealthy and powerful as well. He has his own agenda and sets it in motion when his daughter, Kendrick, commits suicide.

Years pass. George goes to law school and is hired by the Cape and Islands DA's office back in Cape Cod. Relegated to the basement office and prosecuting OUI cases, he lives a quiet life until one night when he is sitting at a bar eating his dinner. There he is confronted by the father of the girl who was found dead on a golf course close to the Gregory compound in 1999. Heidi Telford was home for the summer that Memorial Day and had gone out after work. Her body was found the next morning with her head bashed in, and wearing a dress that she had not let home in the evening before. "Anything new Telford" wants to know why the case was never solved and why none of the leads he had given to police was ever investigated further.

George Becket decides it is time he did something. But there are other forces at work that will, and have done, anything to keep the truth from coming to light.
He travels from one end of the world too another trying to locate those who might know what happened the night of Heidi's death -- all the while KNOWING that the Gregory boys must be involved as they were the night of the rape he witnessed. But what if his own involvement? How did that night change what has happened in his own life?

Fast paced and kept me reading! Enjoyed the terribly flawed protagonist trying desperately to right his own wrong even though I never grew to actually "like" him much! I felt that even though George supposedly was trying to make up for his complicity, he never came out publicly as a witness to explain in detail what had happened. So it was hard to respect him for chasing people all around the globe to get them to admit their knowledge of events since he did not really come clean. It was complicated and convoluted, bad guys and good guys -- wait -- who was which???

I'd recommend it! Yes, it definitely calls to mind another true life wealthy family with many similarities to actual cases, but that might also be what makes this such a fun read. Close your eyes, suspend your disbelief when some outlandish events occur, and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ebook ARC.

Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann

The past continues on in our worldly goods if we make sure to take care of them..., July 14, 2013

I am a total sucker for historical fiction set in New York at the turn of the century (1900s). This parallel novel uses the points of view of the two central characters -- Olive Wescott, a young woman who becomes a department store buyer for Siegel-Cooper in 1907 and Amanda Rosenbloom, the owner of a clothing shop in present day Manhattan that she's named Astor Place Vintage. Amanda "meets" Olive when she is called to collect and appraise clothing from Jane Kelly, a wealthy 98-year-old woman who is dying of cancer in a high-rise on Tenth Street. In the trunk she buys from Jane, Amanda finds a journal tucked inside an old fur stole. The journal was written during a difficult time in the city for single women by Olive after a tragedy that changes her life. In 1907, women had few rights and no power, poor job opportunities and no social standing without a man. Olive is very forward thinking and career minded while her contemporary, Amanda, is locked in the past.

I really enjoyed this novel! The descriptions of life and times in those days were fascinating and I loved that pictures of buildings and famous tourist sites were included. The characters were interesting and very realistic and I especially relished the details of life in New York in 1907-08. Women were treated as second class citizens and denied basic rights that most of us take for granted today. Historical events were embedded in the narrative to enhance the story, such as the murder of Standford White by Harry Thaw (over his wife Evelyn Nesbit), the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and the deadly influenza epidemic. I loved the comparison between then and now with the many changes that have attempted to erase the past of that wonderful city - New York!

I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the life and times of women during that period of history in New York. I hated to reach the conclusion of the story and wish it had gone on even longer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eGalley copy for review.

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

3.0 out of 5 stars - Abuse of power...read July 13, 2013 Jane Forrester, newly married and recently graduated from Woman's College in Greensboro with a degree in sociology, is hired on as a caseworker for the Department of Public Welfare in Raleigh, North Carolina circa 1960s. Idealistic and with a desire to help others, she is assigned to white and Negro ("colored") welfare families living in Grace County and laboring together on tobacco farms as hired workers. While working with one family in particular, the Harts, Jane comes face to face with the effects of the Eugenics Sterilization Program utilized in North Carolina to mandate population control for those considered unfit to bear and raise children. What transpires between Jane, the Hart family, and others on the Gardiner farm as she rebels against the concept of forced sterilization changes their lives forever. The story was interesting but the behavior of Jane required immense suspension of disbelief. For some reason I was unable to connect with her character, and though I felt immense sympathy for the Harts and the others, I was left unsatisfied by the unrealistic Lifetime movie-like conclusion. I did not read the short story prequel, THE FIRST LIE, and don't feel the need to go back and do so as everything in the novel was tied up neatly. The most interesting part of the book was the Author's Note at the end. I think the premise was fascinating, but the execution was predictable and the characters all just too one-dimensional. I have read all of Diane Chamberlain's previous novels. I prefer the ones that involve a mystery, and those that delve into relationships between family and friends -- more the lies, secrets, betrayals type. I would guess that her fans will want to read this, and that most all who like it will be women. The central topic, state mandated sterilization for certain welfare recipients, would make a good one for a book club discussion. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC ebook.

Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah

There's a huge difference between a memory and a story..., read: July 11, 2013

This was a very convoluted mystery that centered on solving two murder cases that had gone unsolved for years. It is part of a long series featuring Detectives Simon Waterhouse and Charolotte Zailer, and though it is probably good if you have read previous titles in order to know the history of these two characters, I had not and so was a bit confused by their relationship (they are married) and taken aback by their personalities. "Knowing" them better might have improved my reaction to the book.

Amber Hewerdine visits a hyponotherapist as a last resort because she can't sleep ever since her best friend Sharon died in an arson house fire and Amber and her husband Luke took in Sharon's two daughters. The police have never found the killer and Amber has not gotten over her death. During her visit to Ginny's therapy office, Amber meets Charlotte before she goes in to her session and during the hypnosis is told that she has said the words, Kind, Cruel, Kind of Cruel but has no idea where they come from. Amber feels that she has seen those words somewhere before but can't bring the memory to mind. Later that day, Amber is arrested for the murder of Kat Allen, a schoolteacher she has never met. All of this creates confusion and consternation as Amber tries to recall her past accurately and somehow she becomes involved in the investigation which is apparently tied to Sharon's murder as well.

The narrative shifts back and forth between Ginny's therapist notes and Amber's first person point of view. In addition, there is another line of storytelling that focuses on Charlie and Simon and the other detectives on the case so the reader is getting many different perspectives on the investigation and various relationships the characters have with each other. Frankly, I didn't like ANY of them. Amber was, to me, unlikeable and very annoying. Simon seems like a cold odd duck, and I found it hard to believe Charlie was so in love with him.

With all the shifts in point of view, and the SLOW SLOW SLOW revelations that brought the case to a close, I found the novel to be less than engrossing and quite confusing at times. The mysteries, and there are several going on at once, aren't that compelling and there was no suspense or thrill involved in the resolutions.

So, this was an OK read. Probably I would have enjoyed it more had I read previous books with the two main characters, but I don't feel strongly enough to go back and catch up. If you're a Sophie Hannah fan, and like the series, I have no doubt you will want to read this if only to hear Simon's conversation with Charlie toward the end of the book. It explains something profound about his nature.

ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

Trying to find some strength in what remains..., July 13, 2013

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?)

Maniuplative, melodramatic and relentlessly depressing, this sequel to FIREFLY LANE finishes the story of Tully and Kate. Theirs was a lifelong friendship that began on a summer night when both were feeling abaonded and misunderstood. They found a kindred spirit in each other and were inseparable through young adulthood and that story is told in the first novel that should definitely be read first.

FLY AWAY returns to the two women and the other characters about 30 years later. Kate's family and Tully are devastated by Kate's death and most of this book focuses on everyone trying to find a way to go on afterward. Let's just say that no one is able to do that and everything and everyone is basically a total mess. There's a complete breakdown of the relationships and communication. Tully is not the only one on a self destructive bent, but she manages to almost destroy herself. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the author uses a narrative twist and trick that I hate -- so either Tully has drug induced delusions and hallucinations or Kate is speaking to her from beyond.

I should have just skipped this one and can't believe that millions of fans were clamoring for this story but I bet that most who have read FIREFLY LANE will not be able to pass it up even if they end up being disappointed by the conclusion. Echoing other reviewers, I am just glad that there was no matchmaking involved as that was all that saved this. I really didn't like any of the characters or care how they repaired all the mistakes they made.

Swimming at Night by Lucy Clarke

4.0 out of 5 stars When you lose your sister, you lose part of yourself...

"There are some currents in a relationship between sisters that are so dark and run so deep, it's better for the people swimming on the surface never to know what's beneath."

I've read a couple of books lately that weave a story around the relationship between sisters, and I find that the authors -- who are all women -- have the same essential emotions as parts of that relationship: love, protectiveness, competition, comparison, anger, jealousy, yes and even hate. Of course these feelings are common to all relationships, and not exclusive to sisters, but definitely any sibling bond approaches and experiences them uniquely. Growing up together especially both seals and tests that bond and I would say it is also affected by how close they are to each other in age and stage of life. Very often, it seems, sisters strive to be DIFFERENT from each other and thus it is almost a cliche that one sister will be the "responsible one" and the other will be headstrong and adventurous.

In this debut novel, Katie and Mia are those sisters. Katie is the elder and falls into her role as the good student, helpful daughter, efficient employee, lucky fiancee while Mia seems directionless and suddenly gets the urge to experience a bohemian lifestyle and travel with her best male friend, Finn, soon after their mother's death. When Katie gets the news that Mia has died in Bali, apparently a suicide, she steps out of character, chucks her job and leaves her fiance, Ed, to use Mia's journal as her own travel guide. She follows in Mia's footsteps as she reads the journal entries seeking to discover why Mia would take her own life. Although I found this to be fairly implausible and rife with some unbelievable coincidences to advance the story, the journey Katie takes leads her to self-discovery as Mia's thoughts and revelations soothe, shock, and surprise. Mia's complicated life is told through the diary as well as with flashbacks of both Katie and Mia's past and in both points of view. Katie's experiences while retracing her sister's path help her see their relationship much more clearly and lead to an understanding of her sister and herself.

I found both characters (Katie and Mia) interesting but the males in the novel less so. The first part of the book drug a bit but picked up with incredible speed after the halfway point. It would make a great vacation book and I suggest you just suspend any disbelief and enjoy the trip! It definitely gave me the travel bug as the descriptions of the places the girls visited were amazingly enticing and I could almost smell the salt tinged air and feel the sea spray on my face! I love the ocean and could imagine the pounding surf against the cliffs and see the tides rolling in and out.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld

"The truth, ultimately, is what we choose to believe."

Violet and Daisy are twins who are more dissimilar than alike and have had ups and downs in their relationship since they were in middle school. Gifted with "senses" that give them foresight and premonitions about things to come, the sisters find themselves at odds with each other about having the ability. Vi embraces her psychic self but Daisy distances herself from it and changes her name to Kate to widen the gap even further. Kate marries and has two children but Vi tends to drift in and out of relationships and has not yet found herself or any stability in her life. When Vi, in business as a medium of sorts, begins to warn of an impending earthquake in St. Louis where they all live, events transpire that completely shake apart their lives and test the limits of Sisterland.

This was a quick, entertaining read about the fragility of relationships and about the notion of a "sense" for seeing the future as opposed to normal worry or anticipatory reactions to what might be in the road ahead. It begs the question, does one really want to know what is to come? Does it prepare one to handle a situation or outcome if it is known in advance? Things happen in life, some as the result of our own decisions and others not. This novel definitely probes the subject of ESP and how it can affect the lives of those with it and those it may be used by.

Although I didn't really grow to love any of the characters in the book, except perhaps for Kate's husband, Jeremy, I did empathize with them. Written from the point of view of Kate, it becomes clear that it is almost impossible to really KNOW another person.

I would say this book would be a good one for a book club and more enjoyed by women.

Amazon Vine/Netgalley

Inherit the Dead by Lee Child and others...

Fast and fun with multiple bestselling authors taking the reins with each new chapter! This is an entertaining and quick summer read for a great cause - Safe Horizon! The narrative blends seamlessly with lots of action and introspection as Perry Christo, a disgraced former NYPD detective turned Private Investigator tries to find a missing daughter for his very wealthy client. Julia Drusilla claims that her estranged daughter is coming into inheritance from a trust on her 21st birthday -- but only if she signs the papers on that day! Problems mount during his search, however, as he dashes to and fro from NYC to the Hamptons and back again. SOME ONE, maybe EVERY one, is lying to him. Who is Angelina Loki - devil or angel? Can Perry figure out what's going on before it's too late?! Ebook provided by Touchstone and Edelweiss.

A Tap on The Window by Linwood Barclay

3.0 out of 5 stars - Lesson: Do NOT pick up a hitchhiker! Everyone knows those moments in movies where you scream -- "Don't go in the basement!" or "Don't leave with that sketchy looking guy in the bar!" In this case, we all know it's taking a huge chance to pick up anyone on the side of the road no matter how forlorn or wet or desperate they look. Cal Weaver knows that too. But, when the teenaged and rain-soaked Claire mentions that she knew his dead son, Scott, the game was on. This thriller started out so great and I was totally engaged wondering where Barclay was going to take me this time. I've read all of his previous books, and he writes the "average family man on the hunt for justice" so well. I was sorry when events transpired that were predicable and reminded me of other books he's written. The suspense deteriorated and the body count rose -- though I should have expected it because it always happens in a Linwood Barclay novel. The mystery is not that engaging after all and was a bit of a let down -- all THAT for THIS??? I was disappointed with the main characters -- none of whom were without some serious flaws and a very high level of violence. Barclay has always been one of those authors whose books I automatically put on my TBR list, but I hope his next one is fresh and original. If you're a fan, however, you won't want to miss this one. It was entertaining and perfect for a summer read at the beach, on a plane or train, or on the back porch!   ARC from Amazon Vine

Always Watching by Chevy Stevens

3.0 out of 5 stars "You can sometimes leave the past, but you can never escape.", June 2, 2013

This third novel by Chevy Stevens was the least thrilling of them all. In this book, Dr. Nadine Lavoie, the psychiatrist who treated the women in the previous novels, Still Missing and Never Knowing, is facing her own personal demons.

When called to treat a suicidal patient at St. Adrian's Hospital on Vancouver Island where she has recently taken a position as an adult psychiatrist, Nadine is forced to confront her own memories of living in a cult-like commune with her brother and mother when she was almost 13 years old. As she delves into the woman's history and recent life events, Nadine has flashbacks that lead her thoughts back to the charismatic and dangerous leader of that group, Aaron Quinn, and his brother, Joseph. What happened to Nadine while she resided there so many years ago? At first she is unable to recall details about life at the commune by the Jordan River, but slowly the suppressed memories return and Nadine becomes embroiled in her investigation and attempts to bring Aaron Quinn to justice for what he had done to her and others there.

Nadine has other issues, one being that her daughter, Lisa, is a drug addict living somewhere on the streets of Vancouver. She's a widow as well, and spends many lonely hours looking in dark alleyways and flophouses for a trace of her daughter.

The story line is a bit uneven with memories erupting here and there in the course of the narrative. I never really felt the menace or experienced the suspense or dread one usually feels in a novel that is supposed to be a thriller. Nadine pursues her one track effort to expose the cult and tries to find others who know about what happened there years ago.

This was not a heart pounding, intense read, but more a slowly evolving and predictable reveal of Nadine's experience that occasionally requires quite a suspension of disbelief at the decisions she makes. It is quick and pleasurable entertainment.

The three novels don't need to be read in order though they have one recurring character in Dr. Nadine Lavoie. Still Missing is my favorite of the three. This is a review of an ARC from Amazon Vine.

Big Brother by Lionel Shriver

5.0 out of 5 stars - Am I my brother's keeper?

This novel was brilliant, insightful, bitingly truthful, and held me rapt from the moment I opened the book to its first page. I've read several of Shriver's other books and loved them all -- each takes a central theme and then expounds on it in ways that the reader can't anticipate. You don't read a Shriver novel and walk away unchanged. The central question: how severe is the obesity epidemic and what can a single person do to change an outcome for one she loves?

In this story, Shriver handles the increasingly sensitive issue of weight. In fact, the situation is about how a younger sister deals with an obese older brother. Pandora is married to Fletcher and has two two teenaged stepchildren when she receives a call that ends with her invitation to her brother, Edison, to come to Iowa for a visit. A struggling jazz pianist, Edison arrives weighing over 350 pounds and has changed into someone that his sister doesn't recognize. During the visit, it becomes clear that Edison's problems have both led to and resulted from his massive weight gain. What can an adoring younger sister do but try to fix him, right?

Without spoilers, I will say that Pandora's decision and what happens next in the book will have the reader both cheering and sighing. A masterpiece of invention, Baby Monotonous -- the product made by a company that Pandora started and that has made her a well known and wealthy entrepreneur, is such an original idea that I hope this item is actually being made and is protected or patented!

The novel is about love in its many guises and the responsibility that a single person has to help another, to ensure their happiness and success, and to help someone change IF they can. How responsible are we for fixing the problems and issues of our siblings and how far must we go to help those who won't help themselves. If obesity is a form of slow suicide, it surely requires treatment other than changing perspectives or habits about food, eating, and diets. Can a sister save a brother? And what will it cost her?

It wasn't until after I finished this book and was raving about it online that I discovered that the author based this novel on her own brother who died from complications of obesity.
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/05/30/big-brother-lionel-shriver.html?cmp=rss) We are bombarded by media that indicates a definite change in the size and weight of humans -- how BIG is this problem and what can be done about it. Most importantly, how can it be prevented? There are no shortcuts to losing weight and it is much easier to put on than to take off. As Shriver says, a person is much more than how much they weigh, but society looks askance at the obese in a judgment that doesn't wholly believe that the individual is not completely responsible for becoming that way.

I highly recommend this book. Shriver is an incredible writer and has an acerbic wit combined with intelligent observation that will leave the reader thinking about these characters long after the final page is turned. Pandora, Edison, Fletcher...all the characters come alive and are so believable that you feel you actually know them. I was rooting for them all and holding my breath for a "big save"...

Review copy from Amazon Vine

Lie Still by Julia Heaberlin

4.0 out of 5 stars -- Secrets and lies...

Pregnant Emily and her husband Mike move from New York because he is taking the job of Police Chief in Clairmont, Texas. Unfortunately, Emily is carrying more than a baby with her -- she is a woman with many secrets, a hidden past -- and she has not shared these with her husband.

Upon arrival in their new town, Emily is invited to a gathering of Clairmont's most wealthy matrons and is introduced to Caroline Warwick, the apparent power in this group of women. Caroline has secrets of her own and Clairmont's multimillion dollar mansions hide a multitude of sins committed by those pampered ladies in this odd sorority.

Soon Emily is caught up a maelstrom as her husband hunts for a murderer even as her own past catches up with her.

Interesting and quirky characters make this a fun and fast read. Grab it for your commute or summer summer vacation!

Goodreads first reads giveaway ARC.

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

Twisted!

Emily steps out of her life and marriage -- one day she gets on a train with money from her cleaned out bank account and a few clothes in a holdall. She leaves her wedding ring in a restroom on her way to a life that she reinvents day by day. The reader gets small hints that a tragedy has occurred which has propelled her to a strange city, a run down shared flophouse, and a new job. Without revealing any of her past, Emily, now Cat, tries to make new friends but gets caught up in her hysteria to leave memories buried thinking that everyone will be better off with her gone.

The narrative shifts in voice and time as the reader is given glimpses into Cat's family and the events that have led up to her choice to flee rather than to deal with her life. Although the reader might not really like Cat or understand the (bad!!) decisions she makes at every turn, empathy comes.

A delicious twist at the end that I didn't really see coming! It was quite entertaining and a very quick, enjoyable read. Will be recommending!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kirk Parolles for the ARC.

He's Gone by Deb Caletti

"People usually bring their same self wherever they go."

Couldn't put it down!

Dani and Ian had an affair that destroyed both of their marriages. Moving on together is challenging, but they believe they have found in each other a soulmate and that life can finally move on away from the misery in their old situations. They can be happy now that they have what they want. Dani's ex-husband used physical violence to control her and she feels rescued by intelligent, articulate and tender Ian. Ian's former wife lives in the expensive house with his two daughters and alternatively lures and punishes him with their former suburban life -- she got the spoils and the friends. Nevertheless, Dani and Ian finally can appear in public and they eventually marry and move to a houseboat on a beautiful lake where they can acknowledge that they have gone through hell to be together and build what they swore they wanted.

One morning, after a late night party where Dani drank too much, she awakens alone in bed. Her feet are muddy and she doesn't remember too many details of the evening. It isn't until later in the day that she realizes that Ian is gone. He's not picking up coffee or working or running an errand. His phone goes straight to voice mail. The police arrive and ask her questions she can't answer. Where has Ian gone? His car is still parked near the dock. His clothes, computer, razor - nothing is missing. In the course of searching for a husband that may be missing by choice, Dani comes to some shocking realizations and some very painful truths about herself and those she loves.

This is a suspenseful story with a mystery but more a very engrossing psychological study of family, marriage, and relationships. The characters were believable and fragile in their honesty. The self analysis Dani works through is a window into the soul of anyone who has tried to understand the nature of love in all its forms. How can we stop repeating the patterns of thought and behavior that take us down the same wrong path again and again.

I loved this book and recommend it to readers who like novels dealing with love, secrets and the search for answers to very difficult questions.

ARC compliments of Amazon Vine.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

3.0 out of 5 stars -- Interesting novel about a woman who has a Type A personality, who is a Harvard Business School graduate and who works 80 plus hours a week as a high powered human resources manager who has an automobile accident on her way to work one morning and wakes up with a neurological dysfunction known as Left Neglect.

Unable to see the left side of the world or use the left side of her body, Sarah has to slow down and learn to appreciate her life and her family in a whole new light. It was a bit too sappy for me, and too neatly tied up at the end, nevertheless was a reminder that even though a horrible accident is survivable, the rehabilitation and restoration to the level of function one had before is not always possible or may take a very very long time.

I never really connected with the main character in this novel - Sarah -- and agree with others that her point of view got tiresome with the extreme level of self-absorption she exhibited. It was a good story to educate others about this syndrome that is not only suffered by victims of accidents, but also by those with strokes or other brain injuries.

Inferno by Dan Brown

4.0 out 5 stars - "The power of the human spirit to endure any challenge, no matter how daunting."

Despite my reservations, because of all the hype for it, I enjoyed this 4th novel in the Robert Langdon series. It was a fast paced adventure with symbolist Langdon on the hunt for a 'plague' of some sort that was purportedly hidden in an mysterious underground lagoon by a brilliant genetic engineer and scientist. Bertrand Zobrist represented the epitome of the Transhumanist movement and put his belief into action to attempt to use technology and intellect to create better humans and end the possibility of human extinction because of overpopulation. Though some have panned the book because of the writing style and Brown's tendency for repetition and verbosity on obscure fact points, the novel was to me, pure and fun entertainment. Not only did I get a fantastic lesson in art history and a great 'tour' through Florence, Italy and many other wonderful wonders of the world, I learned a great deal about Dante's Inferno.

Suspend any disbelief and just go along with the ride. I think most readers will enjoy the book and be prompted to do a little investigating and research on their own! I can't wait to see the illustrated hardcover version of this novel.

Is this Tomorrow

4.0 out of 5 stars - "When someone disappears, what happens to the people who are left behind?"

This was a novel that I read and savored slowly, turning the pages was like peeling back an onion as the story unfolded and the characters developed. It is 1956 and Ava Lark is different. She works outside the home and is the only divorced, Jewish single mother in the quiet Boston suburb where they have moved to start a new life. Lewis, 12 years old, doesn't understand why his father has not come to claim or visit him, but he finds friendship with two other children on the block whose father has died. Jimmy and Rose, along with Lewis, roam free and are constant companions until the day that Jimmy goes missing.

The police and the suspicious neighbors question Ava and search diligently for Jimmy until they finally give up, believing he has run away, been kidnapped, murdered, had an accident...no clues were ever found. Lewis feels guilty because he was supposed to meet Jimmy the day he disappeared and did not show up. Rose moves away with her devastated mom. Ava is marginalized by her connection to the family and because she is so different from the other women in the neighborhood so she's left without friends or solace as her son retreats further from her in his own loneliness and guilt.

Lewis leaves home as he searches for a connection that will restore him to the person he was before Jimmy disappeared and for some sort of absolution. Ava, left on her own again, finds fulfillment in a surprising way.

I thought the tone of this novel was sad and it was touching and beautiful in a way that left me a little bit depressed. Even when the mystery of Jimmy's disappearance is solved, the happy ending I so wanted for them all was not assured.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin books for the ebook to review.

NetGalley Badge

I love to read advance copies of upcoming books and write reviews of them. Happy reading!

5 stars! The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian

5.0 out of 5 stars - "There is no greater sorrow than to recall our time of joy in wretchedness." (~Dante)

When I closed this book after being glued to the pages for hours, I was struck by many emotions -- chief among them -- satisfaction. It has been quite awhile since I've read a novel that touched me on so many levels. Simply, it is an enthralling tale of enduring love, family bonds, war's devastation, of inexplicable loss, and unending bereavement. It drew me in immediately and never let go. Put this one on your BUY list at publication: July, 2013!

The noble Rosati family lives in quiet luxury in a lovely villa south of Florence in 1943. War is raging throughout Europe and the Germans occupying the area initially come to their door seeking Etruscan artifacts from an ancient burial ground on Rosati land to send out of the country, demanding allegiance from the Italians, and eventually commandeering their property. What was once an idyllic life becomes a nightmare and their villa a prison as little by little the family is shattered.

Flash to 1955 and witness a cold blooded murder of the Rosati's daughter-in-law, Francesca, who had suffered horrendously at the hands of the Germans as they were fleeing Italy ahead of the Allies in 1944. The detective assigned to the investigation for the Florence Police Department is Serafina Bettini. She has unspeakable memories of the war and the scars to prove her own involvement and painful history.

Suspenseful and beautifully written, the story is both mystery and historical fashion blended into a book that will have the reader thinking about it long after the ending. I'm afraid I can't do the review justice or describe all the reasons explaining how much I loved it, but I'll be recommending it to everyone I know!

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Publishing for the ebook to review.

Seduction: A Novel of Suspense by MJ Rose

4.0 out of 5 stars - "There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the posture of the body, the soul is on its knees." (Victor Hugo)

This is a novel that inspired the researcher in me! I am a huge fan of author Victor Hugo so I was quite curious when reading the summary of the plot and wanted to see how he fit into this story of reincarnation and mythology. The book blends fact and fiction smoothly and the reader learns of Hugo's fascination with seances and his obsession with the spirit world.

This is the second novel (follows The Book of Lost Fragrances) featuring Jac L'Etoile, a mythologist, who travels to Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain, to investigate sites that are thought to be from the time of the Celtic Druids. Despite her intentions, she is drawn into another mystery by an old acquaintance, Theo Gaspard, who is desperate to uncover information about Hugo's conversations with the spirits he claims visited him during the over 100 seances held at the house he lived in during his exile from his beloved Paris. The seances were Hugo's grieving attempts to contact his beloved daughter who had drowned, but Gaspard's grandfather believed Hugo had communed with the Shadow of the Sepulcher (Lucifer?) and wanted to find any manuscripts that detailed this. Theo, whose family still lives on the island, seems haunted and he is a very troubled soul. Jac agrees to accompany him on his search through the secret caves that may hold the answers.

The narrative shifts back and forth in time and place from the 1850s to present day but is mostly set in Jersey. Jac, who doesn't believe in reincarnation, finds again that she has the ability to remember because scent is a trigger for her to experience certain happenings that seem to be from past lives. Not her own previous lives, but of those who lived there in ancient times.

I enjoyed the blend of fact and fiction that made this a very interesting reading experience. I loved the descriptions of the island and all of the other details about the ruins, the caves, and fragrances. It may seem complicated as there are quite a few plot lines coming together, but it meshes quite satisfactorily in the end.

Jac is an unusual character and I think it best if you read the previous book before this one so that her history is known; she has had a very troubled life and is very sensitive and it would help the reader understand her abilities a bit better. I hope there is another book featuring her.

I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries, and anyone interested in the subjects of reincarnation, Druid activity, and Victor Hugo. I really enjoy historical fiction and, though I don't believe in reincarnation or the ability to commune with the dead, the topic was fascinating.

ARC from publisher Simon and Schuster and Netgalley.

She Matters: A Life in Friendships

Sonnenberg, Susanna

3.o out of 5 stars - This memoir about female friendships was not exactly what I had expected, it was the author describing the ups and downs with her...more

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