Tipton County Public Library’s Comments (group member since Dec 30, 2015)

Tipton County Public Library’s comments from the Tipton County Public Library Hidden Gems group.

Does anyone remember the TV show “This Is Your Life”? It aired in the late 40’s and early 50’s. The shows premise was to honor a person by showing the highlights of their life. This book is based on the idea of that show. Throughout the story you flash back and forth from the present day to some past point in the life of Harriet Chance. Her husband of 55 years died recently and she decides to set sail on an Alaskan cruise that he had planned. Little did she know until after the ship sailed that he had planned to take the cruise with his mistress of many years, not his wife! Add in that his mistress was one of her best friends and you have quite a surprise. Once she realizes the truth, she looks back and reviews her entire life.

Summary: When New York journalist and recently bereaved mother Charlotte “Charlie” Cates begins to experience vivid dreams about children she’s sure that she’s lost her mind. Yet these are not the nightmares of a grieving parent, she soon realizes. They are messages and warnings that will help Charlie and the children she sees, if only she can make sense of them.

After a little boy in a boat appears in Charlie’s dreams asking for her help, Charlie finds herself entangled in a thirty-year-old missing-child case that has never ceased to haunt Louisiana’s prestigious Deveau family. Armed with an invitation to Evangeline, the family’s sprawling estate, Charlie heads south, where new friendships and an unlikely romance bring healing. But as she uncovers long-buried secrets of love, money, betrayal, and murder, the facts begin to implicate those she most wants to trust—and her visions reveal an evil closer than she could’ve imagined.

A Southern Gothic mystery debut that combines literary suspense and romance with a mystical twist, THE GATES OF EVANGELINE is a story that readers of Gillian Flynn, Kate Atkinson, and Alice Sebold won't be able to put down.

Angie's Comments: I never realized that “Southern Gothic mystery” was a genre, but that description fits The Gates of Evangeline. I enjoyed the plot, which had its share of delightful twists. This is one mystery book in which I can identify with the characters. Author Young dealt with the paranormal element well, using it to advance the plot without overwhelming the characters.

Recommended for mystery readers.

Hostage Taker was named one of the best books of 2015 by Library Journal, and I couldn’t agree more. It is a tense, gripping read from beginning to end. Award-winning author Stefanie Pintoff begins her captivating new thriller series, featuring Eve Ross, with a bang. Eve is the head of a secret division of the FBI made up of ex-convicts with rare talents. This story begins on a rainy morning in Manhattan. Just as it’s time for morning mass, a young woman steps out of the immense bronze doors of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, holding a sign that reads, HELP ME. No one knows how many people are inside the Cathedral, why they are being held hostage, or who is holding them. Eve must manage a dangerous hostage situation while thousands of tourists are in New York City for the holidays. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes thrillers, or for anyone who is just looking for a great read.