Grab a Book & Play Booktivity! discussion
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Finished No Second Chance by Harlan Coben for the book discussion that we do on the Mystery and Suspense group on Leafmarks. As with all of Coben's books it weaves a twisted and well plotted tale. I would highly recommend any of Harlan Coben's books for anyone that likes a mystery that will take your breath away.
On to Brotherhood In Death by J.D. Robb. Eve Dallas and that hunky Irishman:)
March 28: currently reading:Text --
What She Knew by Gilly MacmillanAudio in the Car --
Make Me by Lee Child --#20 in the Jack Reacher seriesPortable Audio -- still
Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham--really enjoying it
Currently reading
Dead Tomorrow by Peter James .
April 10, 2016 Currently reading:Text -
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann WeisgarberAudio in the car -
Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee BurkePersonal audio -
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
2.5★'s
Finished 4/10/16
This sounded like something that was right up my alley and I was very excited and anxious to begin reading it. The story of a young wife and mother, the victim of an ax murderer... the husband who found her and becomes the perfect and most logical suspect and his relentless search for the truth. Guess that was another book as it certainly wasn't this one. From the grand opening that held my interest straight off the bat we are suddenly taken back decades to the original owners and their history is told in page after page after page of details that went on forever it seemed. More than half the book is done before we ever see George and his dead wife again. I kept reading as we are occasionally offered the hope of getting on with the original story we were promised with a big, surprising reveal in the end...but the ending came and went with more questions raised than were answered. If a great psychological thriller that will keep you hooked for days is what you are hoping for you'll have to keep looking.
Book Concierge wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "March 16TEXT -
Peyton Place / Grace MetaliousAUDIO -
[book:Roots: The Saga of an Ameri..."I recently watched Roots on TV. Dont remember the channel. Loved it just as much as I did the first time and because it had been at least 35 years since the first time I saw it a lot of it I didnt remember. Catch it if you can.
Finished Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler3 stars
This book is tagged as memoir/humor. Not sure how accurate it is as a memoir but it is funny. She has a sarcastic wit and if political incorrectness and vulgar lang
uage are not your thing then you should probably skip it.
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I recently watched Roots on TV. Dont remember the channel. Loved it just as much as I did the first time and because it ..."
I've never seen the mini-series, but I do remember it was very popular.
April 15, 2016 Currently reading:Text --
The Last Runaway by Tracy ChevalierAudio in car --
A Painted House by John GrishamPersonal audio --
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Flawless by Heather Graham
3★'s
**** May Contain Spoilers****
I generally find Heather Graham's books to be easy and enjoyable reads...but this one's story line was just not totally believable. The characters did mindless things without really having any purpose behind them...like one of the characters getting a man that had a criminal background and was trying to go straight to steal a multi-million dollar diamond just to get her lying, slimy, almost ex-husband fired. Why would either of them ever think of doing that much less actually do it? The cops were good characters but one refused to even listen to the others theory about the crime even though it made perfect sense. And the alleged crooks were totally off the wall. How they even thought they could do what they did even once was beyond belief. I can't give it 2 stars because it did have some good parts but I have read better from this author. A generous 3 star rating.
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Atticus / Ron HansenAUDIO in the car -
Beautiful Ruins / Jess WalterPortable AUDIO -
The Kitchen House / Kathleen Grissom
Killer Dust by Sarah Andrews
3★'s
Forensic geologist sounded like something different that should be interesting. There were some problems with it that I just couldn't make work in my mystery books. First... Em is a strong professional woman...maybe a bit too strong. She professes to love the new man in her life and then as soon he leaves to finish a case he's investigating for the FBI, Em whines and cries because he's gone and then goes right back to her "I'm woman...hear me roar"..personality, which wasn't particularly likable to begin with. The second thing that I found unlikely is that when Em finds out that Jack is in Florida on his dangerous mission....and his mother lives in Florida...she uses that as an excuse to visit the Sunshine State. Em meets Jack's mother for the first time and instead of being reassured, she is put into adrenaline overdrive when a message from Jack mentions "code red" and his Mom grabs an already packed suitcase from the closet and leaves with hardly a goodbye.
On the plus side for the book...The "dust" part of the story line is interesting. Actually this is fact: It seems that very fine dust from the Sahara is carried by the winds 5,000 miles over the Atlantic, to be deposited on the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Florida. But the dust story part...which is supposed to be a major part of the plot seems forced into the book and offers almost nothing to do with the story. Wonder where this was going in the author's mind?
I have never been a solid fan of Nora Roberts' novels... (except those she writes as J.D. Robb) IMO her books are usually unnecessarily long and too much on the romantic side for my tastes. I needed the author's initials for a challenge...yeah...a great reason to read a book! Once I started it I couldn't put it down. I don't believe I have ever connected so much with a character as I did with Elizabeth/Abigail. The other characters...both good guys and bad guys... had such well developed personalities that they complimented her at every turn. Nora Roberts has written a first rate mystery novel with just the right amount of suspense and along the way has avoided all the cliches with how she ended it. I had some expectations of how things would go when Abigail and the bad guys finally confront each other after twelve years, but it didn't happen the way I thought. but still a very satisfying end. 5 stars Nora...you earned them!
I really enjoyed the previous two books, The Yard and Black Country. While the idea behind the story line was good and even intriguing...this book just didn't pull it together. Started out with a mysterious prisoner that was receiving someone's own ideas of punishment for his crimes and then went to a highly thought out prison break to the absurd and generally impossible or at least improbable. The characters that had done such a great job investigating and bringing the culprit to justice in the first two books somehow just didn't get the memo to show up in this one. When they made their appearances you would have been hard put to recognize them. I found the book bordering on just plain silly. I will try book #4 hoping that this was just a fluke on the part of what has up to this point... been a very good writer.
The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian3★'s
I really enjoyed the previous two books, The Yard and Black Country. While the idea behind the story line was good and even intriguing...this book just didn't pull it together. Started out with a mysterious prisoner that was receiving someone's own ideas of punishment for his crimes and then went to a highly thought out prison break to the absurd and generally impossible or at least improbable. The characters that had done such a great job investigating and bringing the culprit to justice in the first two books somehow just didn't get the memo to show up in this one. When they made their appearances you would have been hard put to recognize them. I found the book bordering on just plain silly. I will try book #4 hoping that this was just a fluke on the part of what has up to this point... been a very good writer.
I can't remember when I have a enjoyed a book out of my usual genre as much as I did this one.
Ove's world is one of anger and sadness and a great deal of loneliness. Ove may be one of the last absolutely honst men on the face of the Earth .The way that he views the world and what he expects from everyone around him...including a stray, half dead cat that he grudgingly befriends and a precocious three year old... is very funny and very sad in equal parts. I highly recommend this book to anyone no matter what your favorite genre is..you will fall in love with the grouchy old Swede and shed a few tears at the end.
April 24, 2016 Currently reading:TEXT -
Jane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëAUDIO in car -
The Stand by Stephen King--used to be my favorite Stephen King book until I read 11/22/63Portable AUDIO -
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
I didn't understand the whys of what he was doing. The book didn't provide us any reference point to even begin to work this out. It was Graeme Cameron's first book and maybe it underwent a great deal of editing before it was printed....whatever happened they left out a very important part. I'll give him 3 stars because the writing style was good.
April 30, 2016 Currently reading:TEXT -
The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II by Jan Jarboe Russell--reading this a second time for a different book club! San Antonio author!Portable AUDIO -
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta--very suspenseful to listen to
The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne
5★'s and a ❤
A wonderfully told tale in a hauntingly perfect atmospheric setting on an isolated Scottish Island. The story will keep you guessing and turning pages until the very end which also comes as a surprise. If you like a story that will chill your bones in a creepy but satisfying way...then I highly recommend The Ice Twins.
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The Sound of Glass / Karen WhiteAUDIO in the car -
Deep Down Dark / Héctor TobarPortable AUDIO -
The Road to Little Dribbling / Bill Bryson
Currently reading: (Hmm, all shades of blue.)AUDIO -
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My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
3★'s
We learn in the opening paragraph of the book that 15 year old Lindy has been knocked off her bike and raped. Then it's almost like the rape is a sideline in the story rather than the main focus. The narrator/main character only brings it up in the narration to claim his innocence or some other neighborhood boy's innocents. No one is looking for the rapist. From that point on the narrator tells his life story as he looks back upon his adolescence and the girl across the street and two doors down that he's had a crush on since elementary school. It seems like a typical school boy crush. As his story unfolds, however, it becomes more clear that it's much closer to obsession. While his story is interesting enough to hold the readers interest...it doesn't tell us anything about the rape or who did it. Seems the biography got in the way of the main story line. 3 stars because as I said...it was interesting but not what I thought the book was about.
Finished up two of my books:The Chase by Janet Evanovich - 5/2/16 ♥♥♥♥♥
Loved it, as expected. I guess I'd rate it 4.5 stars, but will round up because it was so much fun. The goals to be achieved are totally crazy, and the methods of achieving them are very Mission-Impossible-esque. Which means they're accomplished in the most complicated, but seemingly achievable, manner imaginable. I love the rapport between Nick and Kate, and Evanovich's dry humor is always entertaining. Secondary characters of Willie, Boyd, and Joe have returned (from Book #1) and are terrific additions, each having their own area of expertise but fitting into the group perfectly. Willie can drive anything but is totally irreverent, Boyd is hilarious as the intense actor who always overacts, and Joe is knowledgeable and dryly funny. I love Jake, Kate's dad, who is drawn into the action, giving him a chance to enjoy some dangerous missions after retirement. Very well read by Scott Brick. His "Kate" voice is much better, subtly feminine without him changing his voice too much.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - 5/3/16 ♥♥♥♥
This was a quick and pleasant read. This book finds Laura and family moving by covered wagon to the prairies of Kansas. It was fascinating to read how all the work was done, from building a house, building a chimney, digging a well, to planting a garden and plowing the fields. Hard to imagine how all that work had to be done by hand and mostly alone. And then to have to deal with politics even then, with the government and the soldiers and the Indians and trying to work out everyone's rights fairly. Very dangerous since each family pretty much lived by themselves, having just randomly picked a spot to set up their homestead. No wonder family was so insular and so important in those days since you all had to work together just to survive. Just imagine how they'd feel about our cell phones and internet of today when they had to wait months to mail a letter then months more before receiving a reply. Well written, very easy to read, and a good lesson in being a family.
Just happened to finish up a couple at once, but now my new reading list is:AUDIO -
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Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
Arkady Renko series Book #1
2★'s
From other reviews that I have read I know that I'm clearly in the minority but I just didn't find anything about this book or the characters to like. Ardaky Renko has possibilities but it may take some very creative writing on Martin Cruz Smith's part to bring out his "inner man" and turn him into a detective that readers will cheer for. As for this book...the murders in the park were a good beginning to the book but it soon became so wrapped up in Russian politics, mixed with corrupt Americans and a slut that had the morality of an ally cat and the intelligence of a Barbie doll...that the whole thing soon reached "train wreck" status. I'm not sure that I ever want to give this series any more time or effort...and believe me, it took effort to finish it.
Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman
Alex Delaware series Book #31
4★'s
This is book #31 in The Alex Delaware series so you should expect some of the story lines to become repetitive and this is true here to some extent... however it did nothing to erase or distract from the enjoyment factor. Milo and Alex worked together to bring about another satisfying and believable conclusion. I'm so glad to see that Jonathan Kellerman has brought these two characters back to their close working relationship as it was in the beginning.
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
3.5★'s
Not exactly what I thought it would be but not at all a bad read. It was a rather engrossing fantasy about women that could hold their breath under water for 10 minutes or more and a 16th century boy that could make himself invisible. Add the present day librarian and his less than likable sister and you get what seems to be a tangled mess but actually comes together and makes sense in the end. The past events are told in the third person which will bug some people to no end...but the present is a really fascinating story of the attempt of a middle aged librarian trying to figure out the mystery that has plagued all the women of his family...they all have died by drowning and all on July 24th. July 24th is only 10 days away in the story line and his sister has returned home...and she's the next female in the family. This is a first novel for the author Erika Swyler and she has done a remarkable job of enticing us with the next clue just around the corner..Keep reading you won't be sorry.
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The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy GilmanAUDIO in the car -
Zeitoun by Dave EggersPortable AUDIO -
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Who ever would have known that the way knives, forks, and spoons, were arranged in a drawer or the many uses for baking soda would be fascinating? To Britt-Marie those things are not only necessary but absolutely must be done with the correct rhyme and reason. Fredrik Backman has introduced to us to an adult Britt-Marie from his small child in his first novel that went around trying to make amends from her grandmother. In many ways the character is amusing in her picky, finicky ways and in another so very sad. She is used to being the one to put aside her hopes and dreams to fulfill those of those that she loves. She is used to being overlooked and taken for granted by, first her mother who told her the wrong daughter had died, to her lying, cheating husband. Using the courage to step out of her comfort zone, Britt-Marie finds herself with the first job she has held in many years as the head of a rundown recreation center in the middle of a town that is dying a slow death with a rat who she feeds Snicker's bars promptly at 6:00pm because that is when all civilized people eat dinner...for a room mate. With the help of a group of children and her newly appointed position as their soccer coach...which she knows absolutely nothing about, and a half blind old woman, Britt-Marie finds the person she thought was long dead and gone...herself...and she likes this woman a lot. Seems that Mr. Backman is on a roll...hope it continues.
The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleeverly
5★'s
I love the psycho killers and the serial murders that abound aplenty in the book world that I inhabitant so I was thinking that this one might be a bit tame for my taste. I'm happy to say that it more than lived up to my expectations in spite of the absence of the "usual suspects". This book stands out by the unique motive behind the murders of a bunch of "memsahibs" -- wives of Englishmen killed over a period of 12 years in India before it's independence. Barbara Cleverly has so cleverly plotted the deaths of the ladies to deceive the eye and appear as mere accidents or the work of an evil spirit. Scotland Yard Detective, Joe Sandilands, a young Indian police officer, and a friend of one of the murdered women believe that "something is rotten in Denmark" and set out to prove their theory that all the deaths are the work of one murderer. Suspense builds on top of suspense. I highly recommend this to any reader that loves mystery and suspense books mixed with historical annotations.
- ♥♥♥♥♥This is #11 in the In Death series, and I'm still enthralled, especially with the narration by Susan Ericksen. Although Eve and Roarke are fascinating and unique characters, they also have a strong and loving relationship. It was interesting to watch them struggle with normal marital differences while dealing with murder and mayhem in their work lives.
- ♥♥♥♥I was surprised to be so moved by this book. I expected a typical young adult struggle with leukemia and the effects it has on the child, her family, and her friends. But the format the author used, telling the story exclusively through texts, diary entries, emails, and medical reports, really had a strong impact and made me feel as though I was living the nightmare along with her.
- ♥♥♥♥Cute romance set up by the accidental switch of cell phones at an airport charging station. I liked the fact that the main characters were atypical of this genre, meaning that the heroine was rich and trying to hide her wealth while our hero was a struggling writer trying to make it in the journalism field.
The new group of reads includes:AUDIO -
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May 10, 2016 Currently Reading:TEXT -
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann--winner of a National Book Award, incredibly well writtenPersonal AUDIO--
Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
City of The Lost by Kelley Armstrong
Casey Duncan series Book #1
3 ★'s
This is Book #1 in this new series and to be truthful the jury is still out on this one. It had one really good point that will make it worth reading book 2, however there were more than one difficult points. To start with, Casey Duncan...the homicide detective, was the only character in the entire book that I liked and she is the reason I would even consider continuing with this series. The whole idea of a town devoted to deliberately housing people that have committed crimes or drawn the attention of unsavory types seems ludicrous to me not to mention extremely dangerous. They aren't in prison...they are escaping the law. The only way the sheriff and his department has of controlling them is by being bigger bullies than they were. Casey's friend(??) Diana was just a complete idiot and a total jerk. The sheriff spent most of his time withholding information that would enable Casey to solve the murder and trying to devise ways to make her "prove herself a good detective." Time will tell, and I probably will give book 2 a chance but I'm not going to be in any big hurry.
Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet
2.5★'s
It was an okay book. Anna, the mother, was the main reason I gave the book the extra half star. Unfortunately this just wasn't enough to make this into a 4 or 5 star book.
There were a couple of things that needed to be clearer in the story line and there needed to be a few less themes. I never understood why Anna starting hearing the voices after Lena was born and why only through Lena. She never sought help of any kind and it seemed that there was a lot of meaningless rambling with the characters doing unbelievable things. The whole thing just felt unresolved in the end.
May 14, 2016 Currently Reading:TEXT -
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder--can hardly lift this book, but it's interesting; the annotations are to the sides of each page, making it as large as a coffee table book!Personal AUDIO -
Hush Hush by Laura Lippman--had to give up on previous book I was reading, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery because it was too unpleasant!AUDIO in the car -
The Prophet by Michael Koryta--because we liked his other book, Those Who Wish Me Dead, so well
The Necromancer's House by Christopher Buehlman - 5/14/16 - 2.5★'s
There were parts of this that I really enjoyed and parts that I just didn't understand at all. I had read Christopher Buehlman's book Those Across The River and found it enjoyable and with just the right amount of "creep factor" . This one didn't even begin to be equal to it and the only "creep factor" it possessed was the title and the cover of the book. It became very confusing to be constantly jerked back and forth from New York to Russia and most of the characters were just plain weird. If it's goal was to be a horror story or a fantasy...it missed the boat.
Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo
5/15/16 - 5★'s
I have read all 11 of the books in the Oregon Files series and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. This was a reread and I have to say the fast-paced action of this story, the crew of the Oregon, and the details the authors pay to the historical and factual settings make this one of my absolutely favorite series. On a lighter note…. something that rather amused me was that at the beginning of the book, Eric The Red needed two men to lift the meteorite when it was first discovered. Centuries later, the Corporation and their enemies juggled the stone as if it were a pizza: one person handling it with no difficulty whenever and wherever it was moved during the adventure; up hills, into and out of helicopters, trains, cars…. Try lifting a 100 pound, bowling-ball-sized, smooth-sided sphere. I can only conclude that all of the characters in the book, with the exception of Eric the Red's men, had exceptional strength.
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The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth RobinsonAUDIO in the car -
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel SparkPortable AUDIO -
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
The Last Mile by David Baldacci
Amos Decker series Book #2
5★'s
I am a huge David Baldacci fan although I like some of his series more than others. Loved the King and Maxwell series and was so disappointed when he ended it...but then Baldacci brought us Amos Decker and I have almost forgiven him. In the first book we met a devastated Amos Decker...ex cop...all star football player that had just discovered his entire family slaughtered and set the course to find and distribute justice to the person or persons responsible. A football head injury had given Amos a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it...he NEVER forgets anything and he sees some numbers and words in brilliant colors. In book 2...
Amos is slowly pulling his life together and is on a special team formed by the FBI that will investigate not only cold cases but cases that seemed to be unfinished. Thus we meet Melvin Mars who is awaiting execution in Texas for the the murder of his parents. The case catches Amos's attention and the facts presented in the case just don't add up. From the time that Decker and the team meet Mars in the prison hospital the book takes so many different directions as the FBI team races back and forth from Texas to Alabama in search of the truth. All of the characters are very believable though some are not very likable. The story is riddled with surprise after surprise right up to the superlative ending. Keep up the good work here Mr. Baldacci.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April G. Tucholke
2.5★'s
It wasn't a bad book but it's not going to be anything to write home to mother about. I know that the "put-offs" that I had with the book was in no way because it was a YA book...I've read other YA books and found them well written and very enjoyable. The main things that lost the book stars was that the writing was often awkward. For some unknown reason the author repeated words in the same sentence throughout the book...."down, down. down" "hard, hard, harder" ... The characters would have been good if the author hadn't made Violet...the 17 year old girl...read like she was 10. Actually of all of the characters in the book, Violet had the most sense. There was some real moral issues with River... the character that just showed up out of nowhere and rented the guest house. Overall it was interesting but not enough to encourage me to recommend it or to read the sequel.
Playing God by Kate Clark Flora
Joe Burgess series Book #1
4.5★'s
Kate Flora has come up with an interesting and intriguing new character in Joe Burgess...the "meanest cop in the city of Portland." Even though there was no love lost between Joe and Dr. Stephen Pleasant... he was the best detective to get the murder case since he is also Portland's number one detective. Burgess pretty much said it all when he said, "This case has everything - unhappy wife, angry ex. Hookers. Drugs. Money problems. Maybe blackmail, and a vic nobody liked, including his patients." Joe Burgess reminds e a great deal of Michael Connlley's Harry Bosch,,,he won't stop looking until he gets his man. Playing God was a great introduction to this new series...just what I need...another series. deep sigh
Amber House by Kelly Moore
3.5★'s
"I was sixteen the first time my grandmother died."
Now that will surely get the attention of a ghost story lover...and it certainly got mine. Sarah's mother returns to Amber House for her mother's funeral. She has always had equal parts of hate and fear of Amber House and can't wait to leave. However Sarah... who is just shy of sixteen... has an entirely different view of the house. For Sarah and her six year old autistic brother, Sam... the house takes on a mysterious and haunting quality. It's almost like it's alive and has been waiting for her to come home. The walls of the house are rumored to hold a treasure of diamonds which intrigues Sarah and her new friend Richard but it also holds ghosts that quickly let Sarah know that only she can fix the mistakes of past generations and if she doesn't do this soon they will all be trapped with no way back. Amber House is a mixture of all the elements that make up a good ghost story.
May 21, 2016TEXT --
Roses by Leila Meacham--book club choice, and the author will be coming to our meeting next month since she lives in SA and has accepted our invitation!Personal AUDIO --
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder--since I read her autobiography, decided I should read at least one of her children's books!
Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Vera Stanhope series Book #3
4.5★'s
I have read all of Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island series, and was intrigued with the setting and the original story lines. I have also been a long time of the Vera Stanhope books of which Hidden Depths is the 3rd book. The setting for both series embraces very different...but equally beautiful settings. Inspector Vera Stanhope is a very different protagonist This story is essentially a dark drama peopled with a cast of unhappy, spiritually wounded and struggling characters. Two murders have been committed. The victims are both very young and unusually beautiful. One is a young male and the other a young woman. Inspector Stanhope... a woman with personal issues of her own... starts out on an investigation that gradually sorts through suspects and their misdeeds, to track down the killer who is about to add a third victim. The story builds well toward the revel which is provided by numerous clues that readers will have to pay very close attention to throughout the book if they hope to solve it.
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Grab a Book & Play Booktivity!
Books mentioned in this topic
Signature Kill (other topics)The Jefferson Key (other topics)
Friend Request (other topics)
The Charm School (other topics)
Hidden Figures (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nelson DeMille (other topics)Margot Lee Shetterly (other topics)
Nicole Krauss (other topics)
Daphne Sheldrick (other topics)
J.D. Vance (other topics)
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Unfortunately, I also came up on the OverDrive list for both The Rogue Lawyer by Grisham and The Light Between Oceans by Stedman. Any ideas which one I should take, if I only have time for one?
Edit: I decided to put The Turner House back on hold and take the Grisham and Stedman books. I hate to make these choices! I wish I could just buy them all.