A Whirlwind of Reads in May 2014 - Vanderlleef

[Vanderlleef]

Hi Everyone,

May was a good month for reading (unlike June, unfortunately).

1. The Quiet Game I read this in preparation for Natchez this month. My first experience with Greg Isles, and I am loving him. Would give this one 4 stars. I loved the writing, characters, pace, plot, etc. The only (minor) problem I had was that a few of the scenes were so far fetched that it jolted me back to reality. An excellent read though!

2. Fox Red by Nathan Protopapas I would also give this one 4 stars. This is an unusual novella with strong writing and an interesting plot. I enjoyed it.

3. Never Buried by Edie Claire 1 star. This one really wasn't for me. I found it tedious to get through. There was little character development, and the plot wasn't engaging enough to carry it.It didn't get interesting until more than halfway through the book.

4. Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie 4 stars. An oldie but a goodie. Love Poirot.

5. The Celtic Dagger by Jill Paterson 2 stars. Also not one of my favorites. It was very predictable and the writing was amateurish. It is #1 in the Alastair Fitzjohn series, but Fitzjohn is only peripherally involved in the book. The main character, a suspect and relative of the deceased, investigated and solved the crime. While this wouldn't necessarily bother me, it wasn't executed well. That character almost seemed like an afterthought so that the book could be turned into a series.

6. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva 4 stars. I very much enjoyed this one--fast paced, drew me in right away. I find in books involving espionage, there are often so many twists and characters that I can't keep track of what is going on. This wasn't the case here, but it wasn't overly simplified either.

7. Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath 3 1/2 stars. Liked this one. Very quick and easy read, interesting combination of humor and suspense.

8. An Appointment with Murder by Jennifer L. Jennings 2 1/2 stars. This was ok, simple, quick. I didn't predict the end until almost the very end. Not much to draw me to any others in the series though.

9. Turning Angel. 3 stars. I didn't like this one as much as the Quiet Game. I very much enjoyed the first half, but then it started getting a little preachy and creepy. I particularly didn't like the town norm of the teenage girls having sex with middle aged men (and that it's "ok" because teenage girls are more mature than they used to be). It was ok with the murdered girl and the doc, but the parallel relationship between Penn and his babysitter that was on the cusp of emerging was disturbing.

10. Track of the Cat byNevada Barr 3 stars. I enjoyed this one (first Anna Pigeon), like the national park setting. Anna is a likable character, and there was enough complexity in this one for me to continue reading this series. Sometimes I found the writing a little awkward and cumbersome.

11. A Test Of Wills by Charles Todd 4 stars. I was on the waiting list for 3 months at the library for this one, and I see why. It was a great book! This is the first Ian Rutledge book--for those of you who aren't familiar with the series, it is a historical fiction set in England. Rutledge is back from the war and newly back to work as an inspector, but he has PTSD and he constantly hears the voice of a man he served with (and killed) in his head. Very interesting premise and it was well done. I'm very much looking forward to reading the next one.

12. Bloody Mary. 4 stars. (Jack Daniels #2). This was even better than Whiskey Sour--funnier and scarier.

13. The English Assassin by Daniel Silva 3 1/2 stars. Second in the series. Liked it.

14. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult 3 stars. This took me forever to finish--it was audiobook, and I'm not able to listen often. This is typical Picoult. Some of the story lines worked for me and some didn't. I was very much drawn into the POV of the Nazi, particularly as he was telling the story of his past. I didn't feel that the part about the vampire added to the story--it would have been better as a less overused creature perhaps? In some parts she repeats part of the vampire story that we already heard. I definitely didn't need it twice. The story got a little draggy at the end, and then the loose ends were tied up far too quickly. There was far too much "tell" instead of "show" which was tedious. I think I would have enjoyed this more in print because I could then just skim through some parts.

15. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 4 stars. An unusual book, wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it.

16. The Death Factory This was ok just to prepare myself for Natchez. It was really just back story.

[Dawn]

Wow, great month! I loved the Konrath books. They have such fun names, I'm always surprised how violent they can be.

[Melodie]

Very nice count and pretty good quality, too! I haven't read a Jack Daniels or Anna Pigeon story in awhile, but like both series. Nevada Barr is good with place. The one that dealt with caves gave me the creeps as I'm a bit claustrophobic and she did an excellent job of making you feel like you were there!

[LizH]

Excellent list!!!

[Carol/Bonadie]

Boy, you had some great reads.
I remembered that I didn't like Turning Angel as much as I liked Quiet Game, but didn't remember why. You put your finger on it exactly.
You're reminding me that I need to get back to Charles Todd. I read Test of Wills and enjoyed it.

[Ann]

Vanderlleef, great month! You read a nice mix of books in May. I have seen The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and plan to read it, someday.

[Dan in AZ]

Strong month; both quantity and quality.

[Vanderlleef]

Dawn wrote: "Wow, great month! I loved the Konrath books. They have such fun names, I'm always surprised how violent they can be."

I agree--fun names, fun books overall, yet surprisingly violent (and scary)!

[Vanderlleef]

Melodie wrote: "Very nice count and pretty good quality, too! I haven't read a Jack Daniels or Anna Pigeon story in awhile, but like both series. Nevada Barr is good with place. The one that dealt with caves gave..."

She is definitely talented at immersing you in the different parks. I just finished A Superior Death but that one didn't hook me for some reason. Yet the diving part had me on edge as I suspect the caves one might as well!

[Vanderlleef]

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Boy, you had some great reads.
I remembered that I didn't like Turning Angel as much as I liked Quiet Game, but didn't remember why. You put your finger on it exactly.
You're reminding me tha..."

Yes, I was disappointed by Turning Angel, particularly because it had a strong start. I'm glad to be back in an Isles book though! (And I already purchased the second Ian Rutledge, looking forward to reading it.)

[Vanderlleef]

Ann wrote: "Vanderlleef, great month! You read a nice mix of books in May. I have seen The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and plan to read it, someday."

Yes, I enjoyed it--nice change of pace.

[Brakedrum]

What a list!

[Donnajo]

I read a article that was in one of the older issues of bookpage newspaper with greg iles about the new book. he doesn't do series so that is why natchez isn't really part of his past series. he considers it two separate sereis. I got the first book from the library which I only read 1 page. I bought the second book (who knows if I already had a copy I bought it anyway), I have the 3rd on the bookcase at the shore and hopefully at some point in the future I'll get to the new one which I'm so mad at myself that I didn't grab the arc copy to read/review when I had the chance. the quiet game I hope to start in the next week or so if I have to renew the book I can it's not due until sometime in july anyway. but what I started which was the first page I liked the storyline so far.