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Reviews for Dec 2023 theme: DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM DAY
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The Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman - latest in Thursday Murder Club series - 12/1 - 5*I got this from the library after a wait of several months. I love this series about septuagenarians solving crimes, sometimes helping and sometimes competing with the local police. In this case, our friends stand up to an international drug ring. The books are always funny, but in this one we also get touching looks into the personal lives of several characters. The author says he is going to write a different book about an uncle and niece solving crimes but that he will definitely return to this series.
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The Edge of the Earth – Christina Schwarz – 4****
The book jacket synopsis hints at danger in a remote location, not just from the elements but an unexpected prescence hiding in the wilderness. But this is so much more thana thriller based on isolation and fear of the unknown. Trudy is a wonderful character but the character that most surprised me was Euphemia (Mrs Crawley). While I saw the critical scene coming a mile off, I still enjoyed reading it and seeing how Schwarz would craft this denouement.
LINK to my full review
Secluded Cabin, Sleeps Six - Lisa Unger - (Georgia)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
5★
A luxury vacation quickly turns into anything but what it was supposed to be as a host of dark secrets rear their ugly heads. Hannah was fearful of being away from her baby daughter.... it was the first time, but she and her husband, Bruce, did need a break. Bruce was a workaholic and hadn't taken a break in years. The vacation Hannah’s older brother, Mako, has arranged sounded too good to pass on: so, a long weekend in a luxury cabin deep in the North Georgia woods, complete with a gourmet chef, in-house massage, and much more...Hell yes! Mako had become extremely wealthy by running a video game company, so the entire thing is his gift. Mako’s wife, Liza, will also be joining the group. Hannah and Liza don't know one another very well but Liza hopes the trip will change that. The guests that I thought seemed a bit odd to along was Hannah’s best friend....and Mako’s ex-girlfriend... Cricket, who could only e described as a good-time "party-girl". But they don't get Cricket without her new boyfriend, Joshua...which none of them know anything about. Hannah thinks that Joshua is the only unknown, but she’ll soon be proven wrong. The three couples arrive for the summer getaway even though there is a storm brewing in the Atlantic that could be headed their way. To add to the tension that is starting to brew we learn that There are tales of ghosts on the property that suggests there has been past violence there, but they could just be made up tales to add selling points to the property. The host and cabin owner, Bracken, definitely is very creepy and even scarier, is his promise of Wi-Fi along with other things...just might not be reliable. I thought, "do you think?" I've read this author for a long time, and she always writes a very good story. In this one she skillfully builds the tension right from the first page with a prologue about a Christmas dinner with Hannah’s family, that ends horribly when the mysterious gift of a DNA test kit for everyone is received. Strange gift, don't you think? Everyone claims to know nothing about it. By the time the vacationers reach the cabin, the ominous mood is firmly in place. Everything seems disturbing, from the gleaming array of knives in the kitchen to a skull-shaped chandelier. Before they even make it through dinner, one of them disappears, as does all contact with the outside world. The others begin a frantic search as the storm blows in and as it becomes clear that all of them are in danger...but from whom, and why? It will make you think about several things. How well do we truly know the people we let into our lives...what actually makes a family a family...and how far would we be willing to go to protect those that we love?
The Haunting on West 10th Street - Helen Phifer - (New York)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Supernatural
5★
We follow Detective Maria Miller and her partner, Frankie, as they investigate a brutal crime in the attic of a Greenwich brownstone, where decades earlier a beautiful actress was murdered in the same way. The detectives are puzzled by the disturbing similarities between the crimes occurring in this house and wonder if and how they could possibly be connected? They speculate that they may have a sadistic copycat on their hands or is it something much more sinister? Immediately upon entering the brownstone, Maria feels something dark. It’s a tickle in her senses...something equally unpleasant and unsettling. The way the crime scene has been staged only adds to those feelings. In both the past and present cases, body parts had been removed from the victims and not found. Also, there is strong evidence of satanic rituals at both the past and the present crime scenes. They question who could possibly want to recreate something so evil? The story is told in a dual timeline with Maria and Frankie in the present, and a historical perspective featuring the events leading up to the past murder in the house. We are also offered a modern perspective from an unknown individual, who appears to maybe be the "bad guy". I liked getting the multi-perspectives as well as the history. The past sections were a bit slower paced than the modern perspectives, but helpful when putting it all together. It helped to give the needed insight into the property and all the characters involved. The house itself became a major character itself in the story providing lots of chills and unexpected activities. Fans of haunted house stories and good murder mysteries will more than likely really like this offering.
None of This is True- Lisa Jewell - (England)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
3.5★
In a nutshell, the story is about two women who share a birthday and become the subject of their own "true crime" story. It's their 45th birthdays, and Josie Fair and Alix Summer meet at a pub and discover they were born not only on the same day, but also in the same hospital. Alix is a journalist, and Josie convinces her that their story would interest others. Josie met her husband when she was 13 and he was 40. Talk about an "age gap"! She tells Alix, “I can see that maybe I was being used, that maybe I was even being groomed”, “but that feeling of being powerful, right at the start, when I was still in control. I miss that sometimes. I really do. And what I’d like, more than anything, is to get it back.” From this premise Alix creates a Netflix series, "Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin!", which investigates Josie’s life as she relates what happened to her as a teen and seeks a new direction in her life. Her story is then left unfinished, and the narrative begins in the present tense, with prose that I can't believe anyone actually uses. “He turns to see if the girl is behind him, and sees her wishy-washy, wavy-wavy, in double vision through the glass windows of the hotel.” Does anyone actually talk like that? Alix is in equal parts, intrigued and repulsed by Josie, but she is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Alix’s husband, Nathan, has a drinking problem, and Alix knows what it’s like to be reluctant to leave a bad situation. But Josie seems more interested in being part of Alix’s seemingly glamorous life than she is in fixing her own. When three people end up dead and Alix’s life is turned upside down, the evidence points to...guess who...you got it... Josie! This turns the TV series into a real-life murder mystery. Transcripts from Alix’s interviews now alternate throughout the narrative, offering varied perspectives on Josie’s story as told by her neighbors, friends, and family members. With so many versions of events, the ending simply shatters, leaving readers to decide who is telling the truth. Can't say it was one of my Lisa Jewell favorites but it's not a bad story either.
The Uninvited: The True Story of The Union Screaming House - Steven A. LaChance - (Missouri)
Genera: Supernatural/Paranormal/Horror
5★
Possible Triggers: Supposedly true horror; Animal Killings
It began in May 2001. From the book:"Having been cramped in a small apartment with his children for a while, LaChance was eager to stretch out. His lease was up anyway and fearing homelessness he looked at every classified ad for a possible lead. So, when an opportunity arose to look at a real house for rent in Union, Missouri he jumped at the chance. Not only was it big, but it also had a yard and quiet neighborhood. Or so he thought. Moving day came on a Friday and nothing of note happened inside the house, however, a local pulled up to the curb and said something odd: “Hope you get along okay here.” LaChance consults paranormal investigators, psychics, and priests, but the demonic attacks, screams, growls, putrid odors, invisible shoves, bites, and other physical violations only grow worse. The entities clearly demonstrate their wrath and power: killing family pets, sexually assaulting individuals, even causing two people to be institutionalized." Shortly after moving in he began to watch how his neighbors reacted to the house. He noticed that people would NEVER walk in front of the house...instead they went out of their way to cross the street...even in bad weather where walking in from of the house side would have offered a shorter route. The author and his three children soon found out that they weren't dealing with "Casper the Friendly Ghost".... this, entity was evil incarnated...what his son had labeled the "Basement Monster" ...a thing possibly from the bowels of Hell whose only form seemed to be oily black fog and mist. They had watched in horror as it would drift through the house as if searching for them. They had heard as it screamed either in pain or rage or a hellish combination of both; plenty of time as had other people in the neighborhood including all the dogs in a four-block radius. The author and his children finally saw its face for the first and last time, as they fled the house leaving most of their belongings behind, mere weeks after moving in. Is it true or is it a work of fiction? I don't know and I'm certainly not willing to put it a test. It doesn't really matter rather you read this as fiction or as the truth in which it's told, but please treat the authors feelings with delicacy. This is the story of people who glimpsed Hell and lived to talk about it. I have wondered why they didn't burn the thing and salt the Earth it stood on. I believe there is a sequel to this book.
Every Last One - Anna Quindlen - (Vermont)
Genera: Contemporary Fiction/Family Drama
3★
Mary Beth Latham, who runs a landscaping business, and her eye-doctor husband Glen are the parents of 14-year-old twins Alex and Max and 17-year-old Ruby. The first half of the story is Mary Beth’s biased narration of her family’s life. She's the first to admit that her marriage to dull but decent (her word, not mine), Glen, continues on slow burn. Son Alex, the soccer star, is popular in his own way as is self-confident Ruby, who is finally past her bout of anorexia. Only Max, geeky and socially awkward, seems to still be struggling, although he does seem to like his therapist who specializes in twins and is a twin himself. His only friend is Ruby’s boyfriend, Kiernan. Ruby is sure that she has outgrown Kiernan, but he continues to hang around her house "mooning" over her and adopting her family as his surrogate family since his own parents’ have had a nasty divorce. Mary Beth handles small business crises and her Mexican workman. That could be another story by itself. She and her friends commiserate over their children, in not quite believable language...but not much is said about their marriages, Kiernan, has mental problems that Mary Beth has either missed or simply ignored, although they’ll seem glaringly apparent to the reader. She goes berserk and commits a horrendous act of violence against Mary Beth’s family and only Mary Beth and Alex survive, and the remainder of the book details their road to emotional recovery. Unfortunately, while Anna Quindlen’s a pro at writing of the life of a woman like Mary Beth, the actual plot is hard to believe. The murders are obviously meant to shock.... and they do. Mary Beth’s guilt over a brief affair she had with Kiernan’s womanizing dad years ago just doesn't ring true. The outpouring of support she receives from friends and family is just too sweet and much too redemptive. I didn't hate the story, and I have really liked other books by this author, but this one seemed to be an unsatisfying mix of melodrama and the mundane. Three stars for old times sake.
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The Innocent – Harlan Coben – 3.5***
Matt Hunter’s an ex-con working as a paralegal and making a go of it. He always maintained that the fight that led to his conviction for murder was really self-defense. Now a puzzling set of occurrences have the police suspecting Matt of another murder (or two). Coben knows how to craft a fast-paced thriller that kept me turning pages, though I nearly gave up in the first third, the plot was too convoluted. And I hated Matt’s wife, Olivia.
LINK to my full review
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On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong – 3.5***
A young Vietnamese man, now living in America, writes a letter to his mother who cannot read. Vuong uses a nonlinear storyline but weaves an intricate tapestry from Vietnam to Connecticut, incorporating his thoughts on war, racism, drugs, love, and culture. The author is a poet and this novel has the ethereal feel of poetry, with some passages so beautiful as to take my breath away, and others so raw with pain as to make me wince, even cringe.
LINK to my full review
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Infinite Country – Patricia Engle – 4****
Engle has crafted a story of immigration and emigration, of oppression and prejudice, of hopes and dreams, and of the bonds of family. The storyline moves back and forth in time from current-day adolescent Talia, to her young parents’ first meeting and falling in love, to their struggles in the USA, and how Talia, a US born citizen, wound up in Columbia with her father rather than in New Jersey with her mother and two siblings. We see the sacrifices made by parents for the sake of their children, but also the hurt and feelings of abandonment suffered by the children separated from a parent.
LINK to my full review
Either Side of Midnight - Tori de Clare
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
3★
We first meet Naomi Hamilton Stone six hours after her wedding. It's then that she discovers her special cross necklace is missing...the one she’d never taken off her neck except to replace it with a family heirloom for the wedding. She searches her room and realizes that in all the confusion after the reception and travel, it must have fallen out of the travel bag and been left behind in the car. Naomi tells Nathan that she's going to the car to look for her necklace and will then be back. He asks her to wait for him to dress and go with her, but she is already out the door. He has not yet caught up with her, and she is obviously enjoying playing chase with him. They talk to one another on their cells as she runs to the car while he is still trying to dress. They continue to tease each other as he tries to catch up. That's the last time Nathan hears his new wife's voice. A figure appears at the car and kidnaps Naomi and the nightmare begins. From that point the story gets more exciting, with some really well-done twists and turns. Naomi nightmare begins when she thinks she is being buried alive in an old open grave...but then the story suddenly flashes back to her parents, driving home from the wedding. Naomi’s mother is complaining about Nathan, convinced that Naomi has ruined her life by marrying him. Her mother had her own plans for Naomi's future, and it didn't include Nathan, or anyone else. Now we learn that Naomi has a twin sister, Annabel, who is a "social butterfly" The book continues to jump from Naomi’s current predicament to the events leading up to it. We clearly see the dysfunction of the Hamilton family and the competition between the twins, as well as some of the secrets Naomi has told Nathan. We meet Lorie, the employee that is responsible for keeping the Hamilton household running, but who has also become Naomi’s friend and confidant. Then there is Tom, the ex-boyfriend who badly hurt Naomi. We meet more people than I could keep straight. I wish the author had made more obvious breaks when moving from one scene to another. I found it really very disorienting and difficult to remember who was who, and who did what. I would recommend this book to those who love suspense and are willing to work for the end results...but be prepared to do a lot of mental exercise trying to follow the abrupt changes in the setting and remember what has happened before the changes.
Kept Secrets - Shawn McGuire - (Wisconsin)
Whispering Pines Series Book #2
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
2.5★
I read book 1 and had my doubts about trying any others since I absolutely, positively hated the main character. I know that's not good advertisement for a series...but Jane is pushy, judgmental and downright obnoxious. Every other character in the books except Jayne is fine...but I don't think you can build a series on secondary characters. I became fed up with her browbeating witnesses and the suspects alike, she's a police officer and should have had better training. Maybe she was absent the day that protocol was taught:). SHE knows everything and does it better than anyone else, from investigating to brewing coffee. Oh...and let's not forget how she excels above everyone else because she is the only person in the entire precinct...maybe the entire town... who can solve a murder! I thought it was funny and wanted to hit her upside the head with my book when she questioned why another character in the story didn't like her. Really??? Could it possibly be because you accused this person of killing her own daughter in the first book! The solution to the murder in this book was farfetched, rushed. I did like how the author respectfully portrayed people that are gender fluid and those with disabilities. Thank you for that. For those reasons alone, I will more than likely try Book 3....but please, with the royalties from the two books in this series, could you give Jane a personality transplant.
The Innocent Wife - Lisa Regan
Josie Quinn Series Book #16
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
5★
It's hard to believe that this is book 16 in this series. I've read it off and on since book 1...of course I read most of them out of order:) Like all the Joie Quinn stories, it moves fast and is loaded with plenty of plenty of secrets, lies and twists for Josie and her team to unravel. The plot itself is intense, with a race against the clock and a very, very unlikeable victim and a suspect who seems to be hiding a lot. While I did guess part of the big twist, I never saw the full truth coming until it was finally presented to us...which I really like in a good mystery story. Don't make things too simple. The Innocent Wife turned out to be yet another highly addictive and extremely engaging detective thriller sequel of a series I consider to be one of my favorites. Things have been said in other reviews about the credibility of the plot...to each his own and we can't all like the same things... but I personally don’t mind as this series is well worth the read for its entertainment value alone. If you like your detective thrillers on the fast and intense side, you have this one and 15 more before it...so happy reading.
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Solito – Javier Zamora – 5***** and a ❤
This is a memoir of the author’s own harrowing journey from El Salvador to the USA when he was only nine years old. He started out with joy and excitement, anticipating a couple of weeks of adventure ending in a reunion with his parents. But the reality was a months-long feat of endurance, deprivation and courage.
LINK to my full review
The Night House - Jo Nesbo - (Norway)
Genera: Paranormal/Mystery
3.5★
I've always liked Jo Nesbo's writing style and the way that great imagination can create a story that stays with the reader long after the book is closed. Sometimes it stays TOO much:)...but to be honest...with this one I am still very much confused, and it hurts my head to try...so I stopped trying. We find ourselves in the town of Ballantyne, and we meet Richard Elauved. Richard is a 14-year-old boy who takes a great deal of pleasure in bulling his classmates. He tricks Tom into going into a phone booth and gets him to call Imu Jonasson. Neither boy knows Imu Jonasson...it's part of Richrd's fun...a random person whose name he picks out of the phone book. Now the story begins to become strange as the phone takes a mind of its own and digs into Imu's flesh and eats him alive until all traces disappear. I don't think that phones are supposed to behave like this and neither does Richard...so he goes to the police. Of course, they don't take him seriously, and he can't persuade them that he's telling the truth. First of all, they can’t even find Jonasson’s name in the phone book...and they come to the conclusion that Tom must have drowned in the river. In the first part of the story, all the main characters are teens. Then as it moves along, fifteen years have passed, and we find Richard attending a class reunion. Now he is also the author of the novel, The Night House... the story of himself and Tom. He says that it is “the teenage horror novel that changed my life.” He tells people at the reunion that he came to apologize for having bullied everyone, yet all his fellow classmates insist he’d always been a good kid...not the nasty bully he’d portrayed in his famous book. Now we have the problem of determining what is going on and who is right. Creepy things continue to happen, a death by hanging, blood seeping down a car window, and even someone transforming into a cockroach...you know, all the standard horror fare.... though the cockroach is a new one for me. What adds to this bewilderment, is when we learn that Richard had invented the surname “Elauved” for some strange reason. Now we don't know if anything he has told us is true or is the detritus of his obviously fevered brain. Could it be a dream within a dream? Some of the evil comes from a surprising source, who advises young Richard, “If you really want to kill them, you have to do it twice. If you don’t, they come back.” I thought that an ill-fated fiend named Jack had the best line: “We’d actually prefer it if you tried to escape. It’s a well-known fact that adrenaline gives meat a bit of extra flavor.” I don't know any more than I did in the beginning, and I'm not at all sure that I really want to know.
1 star
I stopped reading on page 134. I am not going to write a long review, I tried to make myself finish it but was underwhelmed with the Authors presentation of the story.
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Time Was Soft There – Jeremy Mercer – 3***
Several bad decision derailed Mercer’s journalism career in Canada, so he ran to Paris, where he stumbled upon Shakespeare & Co on a rainy afternoon and wound up being offered a bed in one of the many rooms of this crowded book shop. I found this very entertaining. I loved reading about his adventures scrounging for the cheapest food, picnics with friends along the Seine, the joys of free museums, and the eccentric residents of the shop, not least of which was the owner.
LINK to my full review
See Her Die - Melinda Leigh - (New York)
Bree Taggart Series Book #2
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Thriller
4★
The book is described as a "blood-freezing thriller of murder, rage, and revenge". Yes...it does cover those categories.... some much more than others. Sheriff Bree Taggert is called to a shooting in a campground that is shut down for the winter. When she arrives, she finds that the crime is not as simple as it should have been. Actually, there is no evidence of any crime being carried out at all...no shooter, no victim, and no blood. No one believes the witness, Alyssa, no one but Bree that is. What would this young woman gain by lying about what happened to her friend? Alyssa is a homeless teen who continually insists that she saw her friend shot. Bree asks the help of former deputy Matt Flynn and his dog to track the killer and search for the victim, who may have just been injured in spite of Alyssa insistence that she saw the shooting happen. They discover the beaten corpse of a missing university student under the ice in Grey Lake, but even though it is a body, and it is indeed dead, it's not the victim they're looking for. Then two more students go missing and additional bodies are found, and Bree knows that she must find what ties these victims together. The one thing that is obvious is that these murders were fueled by intense rage. Her first witness Alyssa, then disappears. The question now is now will the witness herself become a victim? I liked the characters...especially the dog. The only "down" thing I can say about it was that it was a tad slow. It could have used a bit more in the action department.
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Candy Cane Murder – Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine and Leslie Meier – 2.5***
Three short novels make up this anthology. Candy Cane Murder (Fluke), The Dangers of Candy Canes (Levine) and Candy Canes of Christmas Past (Meier).
The first is a typical Hannah Swenson cookie cozy. I didn’t like the second at all. The last was light on the mystery but still a charming holiday tale.
LINK to my full review
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Her Christmas Cowboy – Jessica Clare – 3***
Caleb is painfully shy around women, and not all that open even around his brothers. But the moment he saw new local school teacher Amy, he knew she was the woman for him. Of course, there’s at least one jerk in the picture, and Amy, recovering from a bad divorce, is vulnerable. But Caleb is just so sweet and considerate and it’s inevitable that they’ll get together and the sex will be incredible for both of them. Well, what did you expect? It’s a Christmas Cowboy Romance … capital ‘C’ and capital ‘R’. Fun to read and a great escape.
LINK to my full review
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The Haunting Season – Bridget Collins, et al – 3.5***
Subtitle: Eight Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights. I enjoy short stories. I marvel at how much a talented author can cram into them. No wasted words. No over-the-top exposition. No cast of thousands. In this case they are, as the title hints, “haunting” tales featuring ghosts, monsters, witches, and evil spirits. All are set during winter months, with several being set around Christmas. But there is no holiday cheer here. They are Spooky with a capital ‘S’!
LINK to my full review
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Aunty Lee’s Delights – Ovidia Yu – 2.5**
I had hopes for this first in a new cozy mystery series. I’ve visited Singapore and love the cuisine. And I love cozy mysteries with fun amateur sleuths. But this one just fell flat for me. I thought Yu was trying too hard to craft a complicated mystery and NOT doing enough to endear Aunty Lee and her trusty sidekick/maid, Nina, to the reader.
LINK to my full review
The Winner - David Baldacci - (Virginia/Sweden/Switzerland)
4★
Genera: Mystery & Suspense
LuAnn Tyler is a beautiful, "white trash" truck stop waitress with a useless husband and a really cute baby daughter. A few months after the birth of the daughter, Lisa, LuAnn gets a phone call telling her to go to an office in an unrented storefront of the local shopping mall. Now why anyone would do this after receiving a summons like this and especially after seeing the location...would be anybody's guess. Most sensible people would never have done this in a hundred million years. Once there, she gets an unbelievable offer from a "Mr. Jackson", a monomaniacal, cross-dressing... (I liked that touch) ...manipulator who says he knows the winning numbers in the national lottery before the numbers are drawn. (Maybe I can use Mr. Jackson's talents after all!) He says that LuAnn fits the media's idea of what a lottery winner should be...namely. poor, undereducated...but still mighty proud. I began to question LuAnn's mentality a lot at this point. Mr. Jackson tells her that IF she's willing to buy the right ticket.... at the right time... and then when she wins, transfer most of her huge jackpot winnings to him...then she'll be able to retire in luxury. Of course, as we knew would be the case, there is more that he doesn't tell her. Jackson fails to inform her, that if she refuses his offer, he'll simply...just have her killed. Here's where it became even worse for delusional LuAnn. She barely escapes death when one of her husband's drug deals goes bad. She hops on a train to Manhattan with the hired executioner in hot pursuit. The executioner is one of Jackson's paid handlers and he can't help but hear wedding bells loud and clear when he sees LuAnn with her baby daughter. Wouldn't you know it!?...a winning 100-million-dollar lottery drawing complicates everything....as if things weren't already complicated enough...Jackson now spirits LuAnn and Lisa away to Sweden, with Charlie in, as they say..."hot pursuit". Never fear dear reader...not only will LuAnn escape a series of increasingly violent, and more unbelievable predicaments, but she'll also manage to outwit Jackson, pay an enormous tax bill to the IRS, and have enough left over to honeymoon in luxury in Switzerland. Overall...it's too preposterous to call feminine wish-fulfillment and too formulaic to be really suspenseful. I could hardly believe that David Baldacci actually wrote this. Maybe he was a victim of an alien invasion that took over his body and wrote a "best seller". The ridiculousness of it was in itself entertaining, and I do usually like what David Baldacci pens when his head is on straight...so 4 stars.
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The Christmas Dare – Lori Wilde – 2**
Two immature people with lust in their hearts, but somehow think this is love. There are some nice steamy sex scenes to distract from all the drama of Kelsey’s unhealthy relationship with her narcissistic mother. I think Wilde was trying too hard to be “relevant.” Just give me schmaltz (and sex)… that’s all I’m looking for when I pick up books such as this.
LINK to my full review
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The Santa Klaus Murder – Mavis Doriel Hay – 3***
This is a classic locked-room mystery. There are plenty of suspects, not only family members, but two male guests, as well as Sir Osmond’s private secretary and other staff members. It moves a bit slowly by today’s standards for the genre, but I was engaged and interested throughout.
LINK to my full review
Back To The Garden - Laurie R. King - (California)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Police Procedural
4.5★
During that summer of 1979, someone placed a dead body in a hole that was about to be filled with concrete, and there it had sat for over 40 years....
Waiting to be uncovered. The Gardener Estate was once one of the residences of California’s rich and famous. Then it was turned into an almost equally famous commune by an heir. Years have passed and it has become a tourist attraction, known for its eclectic history, its beautiful gardens, and its collection of feminist artworks by a once famous artist. One of those artworks, a statue showing the three faces of Eve, has been hiding a grave. As the statue begins to topple, conservators rush to save it and to keep it from falling on any of those tourists whose money keeps the place financially solvent. That’s where Inspector Laing comes in. She’s been working on a cold case that has just become much too hot for the police departments in Northern California. A serial killer that was known to be operating in the 1970s, who was not only never caught but was never even thought to be anything more than an urban legend. They called him "The Highwayman". His real name was Michael Johnson. When cancer caused him to need paid care his terrible secrets were at last uncovered. Now with him dying, Laing needs for him to give her the details about all his victims so that their families can have their closures. The body under the statue might be one of the "Highwayman’s" victims and if it is, it might help close the biggest cold case that Laing has ever worked.... or it might just open an entirely new case. The story is told in two timelines...the 1970s past and the 2020s present. Laing needs to solve this case as her career is hanging by a thread....so she uses her sister, who has her fingers in the "Dark Web", to try to gather information that is not available on police files. What makes this story so compelling are all the unanswered questions from the past. She may not actually know who was buried under the statue, but she does know when it happened because of the date the statue was erected.... the late 70's. A picture begins to emerge of the body's those final days. A picture that brings 1979 back to life in all of its drug-hazed glory...and tragedy. Laurie King does a beautiful job of not only bringing this decade alive but also teasing us that remembers this decade, with remnants of a few memories from our past.
72.
4 stars
I enjoyed the stories, history and the photo's sprinkled throughout the book, but it was a dry read. Edward Curtis and many others could have never foreseen the impact his photos would be in the future. Edward Curtis took great care in presenting his subjects pure and real. I just wish him, and other early photographers would have taken that same care in dates, names and places and put them on the back of the photos as well as a log. It breaks my heart with so many beautiful pictures with Unknown on them.
The Burning Girls - C.J. Tudor - (England)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Horror
5★
The fresh start for the Vicar and her daughter, turns out to be anything but. The Vicar, Jack Brooks’ has been asked to leave her Parrish, St. Anne’s, in Nottingham for an assignment in the small, rural, Sussex village of Chapel Croft. Actually, it sounded like it was more of an order than really asking for a favor. She's assured that she will serve as interim vicar only until a suitable replacement for the former vicar can be found. Jack has a 15-year-old daughter, Flo, who is...let's just say she is less than thrilled, and that's putting it mildly, to leave the city. She knows that the move will be good for her mother who could use some distance from a horrific tragedy that recently occurred at St. Anne’s, that Jack feels she was mostly responsible for. Soon after they arrive at Chapel Croft, however, they learn that their new village has more than its share of strangeness...weirdness...and tragedy. The vicar that Jack is replacing allegedly hung himself in the chapel. Then there were the two teen girls, Merry & Joy... (don't you love these cute names?) who disappeared without a trace 30 years ago... and oh yeah...did anyone tell Jack that the village is known for the "Burning Girls", also known as the "Sussex Martyrs", who were burned at the stake in the 16th century? I would certainly want to live there...NOT! Jack soon starts finding strange things...twig dolls on the church grounds...disturbing accounts of exorcisms having been performed in the cellar of her cottage. Flo also experiences the strange weirdness when she begins to catch glimpses of strange figures in the graveyard. She also makes a questionable friend. Lucas Wrigley is a troubled boy with a less than desirable past. Oh, it keeps getting better when bodies keep turning up and dark secrets emerge about a local, very powerful, family. The scares and suspense are steadily cranked up while effortlessly switching between multiple narratives...one that indicates Jack’s past may be about to catch up with her. I rather liked Jack. She's not the angelic Vicar by any means. She curses and smokes, and her faith, which she continues to explore throughout, is...shall we say... complicated. Jack and Flo do share a strong bond, and they are going to need it in order to face what’s coming. The final breathless twist is deliciously creepy and well worth waiting for.
Mod
You Sound Like a White Girl – Julissa Arce – 3.5***
Arce came to the USA from Mexico as an eleven-year-old. She learned English, excelled at school, finished college, and was hired by Goldman Sachs. But she never felt that she fit in. Her take on this is that the white people in power will never allow brown and black people to actually assimilate in the USA culture. Arce gives many examples of ways in which white people have harmed indigenous populations, but the tone of her arguments was so angry and uncompromising that it turned me off. She has some valid points to make in this book, but in the end, I think “she doth protest too much.”
LINK to my full review
Our House - Louise Candlish - (England)
Genera: Mystery & Suspense/Psychological Thriller
3★
Fiona. "Fi", discovers strangers moving into her home and her estranged husband and her sons are nowhere to be found. Little does she know that it’s only the beginning of the nightmare that will turn her life upside down. “Fi", loves her house in the posh Alder Rise neighborhood. She loves it almost as much as she loves her idea of her "picture-perfect" family that consists of her husband, Bram, and two adorable sons, Harry and Leo. I had fairly high hopes for this story for both the suspense and the compassion, but the characters of Fi and Bram quickly put those hopes on the back burner. I knew by the second chapter that I was going to hate her and have no respect whatsoever for him. She was stubborn and cluelessness about the state of her marriage to Bram who is a big-time adulterer, among other things...and, later on she insists that she is a victim. She goes on a podcast called "The Victim" and tells the whole world that is listening that she is a "victim". I thought "you sure are. A victim of stupidly maybe. Get a clue lady!" She was a sour protagonist at best. When Fi catches Bram having sex with someone in, of all places, the children’s garden playhouse... (wow! that must have been comfortable), she throws him out but then gets the idea to try a custody arrangement known as a "bird’s nest"...an arrangement where the children stay in the family home and the parents take alternate days or weekends living there or at their newly acquired flat. The setup sounds good on paper, but it doesn’t take into account the depth of Bram’s lies and the yearlong driving ban that he’s managed to somehow hide from Fi, but all that soon becomes the least of his worries. The lengths that he goes to try to save himself is unbelievable, and that he managed to pull most of them off was even more so. The narrative confusingly splits into sections from Fi’s podcast segment, a "Word" document that is allegedly Bram’s suicide note, and the perspectives from both spouses, makes it difficult to keep up with the timeline and to actually care as Bram enters into an unnecessarily complicated blackmail scheme and Fi remains annoyingly oblivious on all fronts even when Bram disappears, and sells the Alder Rise home without her knowledge. Wasn't her name ever on the deed? Didn't people come to look at the house? Another act that I found also unbelievable. Things just didn't "connect" very well...well, actually mostly not at all. The characters were so incredibly unlikeable and so wrapped up in their own problems, which were mostly of their own makings, that “family” "trust" or "loyalty" were merely words that they had absolutely no concept of.
5 stars
Stephen A. Townsend did a wonderful job putting this book together. The beginning chapters have you stepping back in time watching a town develop and grow and then with each chapter after he brings you up to the current days. Like many small towns in New Mexico, it has some growing pains.
I enjoyed all the pictures and the book had lots of familiar names.
A Dash of Salt and Pepper - Kosoko Jackson - (Maine)
Genera: M/M Romance/Humor
4.5★
It's been a disastrous two months for Xavier Reynolds. In that short period of time, he is sure that the "Gods of the Universe" must hate him, or he has really done something to tick them off. He has lost his job, lost his fellowship opportunity with the Carey Foundation, and has even lost his boyfriend. He has now moved back into his childhood bedroom, no less, in Harper's Cove, Maine. His parents and his longtime best friend, Mya, are very happy to have him around...almost "too happy"... and for some reason they think that they can meddle in both his professional and his personal life. Xavier has already made a disastrous first impression on Logan O'Hare, an older local restaurant owner who is friends with his parents. Word travels fast, after all it is a small town. The Carey Foundation calls to offer Xavier another spot in their program, and he agrees, knowing that the cost to attend is going to be really steep, so he needs a job, fast. The Wharf, Logan's restaurant, is in desperate need of a sous chef, and Xavier's family legacy in the kitchen seems like a perfect match for a temporary solution. Not at all a smooth start. Can you say, "Immediate attraction"? Sounds good but this situation is like putting a bull up against a brick wall. The two stubborn men dance around their attraction...their banter over delectable New England fare seems to be their idea of foreplay. Xavier's point of view is charming and snappy; but unfortunately, Logan's falls short. With his smarmy attitude and frequent undermining, Logan often treats Xavier more like his preteen child than a grown man with his own wants and needs. Sadly, the romance element of the book feels unnecessary and even, at times, detrimental to Xavier's growth. Logan and Xavier eventually resolve their communication issues, but this is a romance in which the main character deserves so much more. Though the author is right-on with the tone of the story and the humor, the romance parts seemed to get short changed. It was still a delightfully good read and well deserving of the 4.5★ rating.
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Books mentioned in this topic
A Dash of Salt and Pepper (other topics)Jal: The Trail Ahead (other topics)
Our House (other topics)
You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation (other topics)
The Burning Girls (other topics)
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