Look Again Review

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Look Again ReviewI absolutely loved this book and disagree with other reviews that suggest Ellen should have simply called the birth parents and tried to work something out with them. That would likely never happened with the exception of a brief period of transition. This book portrayed a mother's love regardless of how you became a parent. Not only that, it had you asking yourself, would you, could you, make that call? There is a real emotional pull between doing what is right and NEVER wanting to give away your own child. I think that the way she goes about finding out the truth is a very real look at not wanting to show all your cards until you absolutely have to. Her reasons weren't completely selfish either, she clearly had the best interest of her child at heart or else she would have taken the advice of those telling her to just forget it. She knew it would haunt her always. Then you have to consider the fiction angle of a great writer. We wouldn't read the book if the story was sweet and simple and it wouldn't be a page turner without the drama and suspense of Ellen working the story through to find the truth and even when you think the truth is not in her favor, you are surprised to find you can't put this book down until you know the "truth". To me this book was so good, it stayed with me. I found I couldn't simply finish the book and move on to my next book. It was an emotional journey that had me just needing to take it all in and ask myself what I would do in the characters position's. My husband wouldn't even have to conversation with me when I tried to ask him what he or we would do. Just an impossible situation to ever have to consider. Loved it! Loved it!Look Again Overview

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The Scarecrow Review

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The Scarecrow ReviewMichael Connelly is easily one of the best crime fiction authors working today and The Scarecrow is a solid read, although I have to admit that after a great start the ending is a bit of let down. It isn't that the ending is bad (it isn't) - it's just that it follows a standard formula and was just too 'ordinary'.
The first half of The Scarecrow is exceptionally good. Connelly gives readers an insider's look at the inner workings of the newspaper business and the devastating effect that the internet and 24 hour cable news is having on it. I appreciated that our hero, reporter Jack McEvoy, starts chasing a story for reasons that are not entirely noble. When the grandmother of a gang member charged with murder insists her grandson is innocent, Jack follows up, not intending to prove the boy innocent, but rather to gain access to the family so he can profile the mind of a young killer. Of course, he does find evidence that leads the story in a different direction.
The greatest strength of Connelly's fiction is how thorough he is as a writer. For example: the killer is planning to frame someone (I don't want to give too much away) and Connelly has him address any holes in his plan, like the transportation of a firearm. Lesser authors would simply ignore the problem(s) and assume that readers wouldn't notice or would be willing to overlook the inconsistancies. Connelly though has his killer find a solution so that his plan is as realistic as possible. I appeciate that. I also appreciate that McEvoy and his partner FBI agent Rachel Walling don't just stumble around - they actually investigate, detect, and solve things. The criminals are intelligent too, which makes for a refreshingly smart read.
Unfortunately, after an exceptional start, it's as if Connelly switches onto autopilot for the second half of the novel and follows the Serial Killer Novel Playbook to the letter. Connelly uses one of the standard ploys of crime fiction: notably the `hero realizes the truth when he sees, hears, or says something unrelated to the crime that triggers a sudden epiphany, allowing him to save the day at the last possible moment." The other issue that I had with the final part of the novel is the behavior of the killer when he realizes that Jack and Rachel are onto him. He's been so cool and calculating throughout the novel but then over-reacts faced with Jack's flimsy `evidence'.
Is The Scarecrow worth reading? Absolutely. True, the ending was a bit of a let down after such a great start, but at least there was a great start and it wasn't that big of a let down. 3 ¾ stars.The Scarecrow Overview

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Jersey Law: A Novel Review

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Jersey Law: A Novel ReviewAn author who both understands the law and knows how to write -- a lot of fun with characters who become real personalities. His best book yet.Jersey Law: A Novel Overview

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Silver Girl: A Novel Review

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Silver Girl: A Novel ReviewMeredith Martin Delinn's world is crashing around her. She has been living the "high life" since her children were small. Her husband, Freddy, was one of those wonderful guys on Wall Street that got caught by the SEC (think Bernie Madoff) making off with his clients money and wonderful guy that he was, he dragged his wife and family down with him.
Freddy is now sitting in prison while Meredith and their son Leo are under investigation and filled with questions. Their son Carver never got into the family business so he is not facing the heat, but Leo has moved in with him and they can have no contact with their mother.
Meredith has lost everything except for some money she had of her own before she was married, but she has no home, no friends, can't talk to or see her sons, no social standing at all. She contacts her friend since childhood, Constance Flute. Their friendship fizzled out when they took all the money they had invested with Freddy out a couple of years ago. Connie's husband, Wolf, was dying and he just didn't think Freddy's numbers added up and thought he was doing something shady. But Meredith stood by her man and blamed Wolf's cancer for his poor judgement.
Connie is headed to Nantucket for the summer to try to heal from the devastating loss of not only her husband, but her daughter who is blaming her for not making her dad fight harder against the cancer that had returned. He chose his work over the treatments. He was an architect and he felt the work he was committed to needed to be completed and would be his legacy. Connie has called and left a voice mail every Sunday hoping that just once her daughter will pick up the phone or call her back.
Connie decides to take Meredith with her to Nantucket so they may also heal their friendship, but once the people of the island find out that Meredith is there, the friends become plagued with old and new troubles, adding even more stress in their lives at a place that was supposed to be healing, relaxing and full of happy memories. Can their friendship be restored? What kind of lives will they after when the summer ends? This is the quintessential summer beach read. It takes on the power of friendship, love, loss, forgiveness, trust, happiness, prosperity, misery, and bliss, along with an element of suspense. It is also very current due to the scandal that happened in New York with Bernie Madoff recently, like I said above, but it shows the other side, that maybe some of the spouses of the Wall Street Execs really could be oblivious to what was really happening. When they are bringing home that much money it is kind of taken for granted and the how and why is not always questioned. Unfortunately most of us are not in that position so I didn't trust Meredith for a good part of this story, which made it more of a mystery for me as the clues were uncovered and linked together.
I also loved the special ways history was remembered and tied to some very beautiful music. It made the story so much more real as they were songs I loved from my past. Just added a wonderful element that set the back stories and much more.
I had the privilege to read an review Hilderbrand's The Island last summer and declared it my Best General Fiction Read of 2010. Elin Hilderbrand has become one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to read her entire back list and anything she writes in the future.
The tagline of this blog is "Escape With A Good Book". This is the perfect "escape" book!! I did over the weekend and am so glad I did. Get yours today, fix a nice pitcher of lemonade, splash on a little sunscreen and hit the beach, deck chair, or porch swing and sit back and enjoy this wonderful story.Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reagan Arthur Books, Little Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."Silver Girl: A Novel Overview

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Game of Secrets: A Novel Review

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Game of Secrets: A Novel Review
In a time frame that moves between a father's disappearance in 1957 New England, the early 1960s and 2004, Tripp's tale is a magical blend of past and present, a drama begun of the infidelity of Luce Weld and the fiery Ada Varick, the seeds of their affair bearing fruit long after Luce's disappearance, his young daughter, Jane, watching hopefully for a father who never returns. In the 1960s, an excavation yields a skull pierced by a bullet, common rumor that this may be the fate of Luce Weld. It is seductively personal, this novel, fragments of poetry and genius, TS Eliot, Ingmar Bergman and the scattered letter tiles of a Scrabble game forming the language of family dysfunction, the vague resentments of a rebellious daughter and the weighted relationships of Jane Weld and the infamous Ada Varick. When Marne returns to the New England of her childhood, it is to a still difficult relationship with an enigmatic Jane, a mother with secrets, the tangled threads of the past as insubstantial as the Scrabble game played weekly by Ada Varick and the grown daughter of the man she loved indiscriminately.
All is revealed in this exquisitely-penned novel, random Scrabble tiles hinting of revelation, a winding down of transient hostilities and the healing attraction between a reluctant Marne and Ada's son, Ray. Tripp waves her wand over the past, discontent ameliorated by real intimacy, irresistible prose illuminating moments both fragile and tragic: "We have to go on loving what we love, knowing we will lose it." Resolution is experienced in pairs, Ada and Jane over a game board across a picnic table, Marne and Ray, Carleton and Jane's affection, Marne's paper origami flock symbolizing the elasticity of hope. Whatever was broken by Luce's obstinate passion has mended, if in unpredictable ways, the ties of fate and forgiveness inextricably woven. Tripp is a trickster, a pied piper strewing images like breadcrumbs, characters who embrace moments of absolute clarity, the unfathomable nature of "home", language that resonates in the secret landscape of the soul. Luan Gaines/2011.
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The Burning Soul Review

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The Burning Soul ReviewI love John Connelly's Charlie Parker and all his not so nice friends. He doesn't disappoint in the Burning Soul. Angel and Louis are back and even the Fulci twins. These books are not for everyone but if you want to read something just a little bit out of the ordinary then these books are for you. Graphic, yes, violent, yes, boring, never.The Burning Soul Overview

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Killing Kate: A Novel Review

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Killing Kate: A Novel ReviewThe headline above is an old Edward Gorey quote that I couldn't resist using. No, the eponymous Kate of Julie Kramer's fourth Riley Spartz mystery was actually bludgeoned with a baseball bat. So close. Kate's death basically opens the novel, and straight off the reader learns that she is the fourth victim of a serial killer. The authorities are not yet aware of this fact.
Local news reporter Riley has been lying off the violent crimes lately, since she had been making more news than covering it. But hearing the familiar address of this homicide, she grabs it before anyone can object. And her memory is correct. The crime happened at a house she once knew well. It was the home of her former college roommate, Laura, and the victim is Laura's younger sister, Kate. Kramer has the mechanics of creating suspense down pat. She keeps readers turning pages, ending chapters with lines like: "I didn't know yet that Kate had led a secret life, and that her secret did not die with her."
Riley and Laura, once the closest of friends, had split in a rift more than a decade ago. But this tragedy paves the way to an uneasy reconciliation. Investigative reporter that she is, Riley, of course, becomes far too involved in the hunt for this killer. As always, there's a "b" story in the novel involving an animal story her crazy news director wants her to cover. And the third narrative thread is Riley's long distance relationship with Nick Garnett.
I have outlined several things I like about this series in past reviews. I find Riley to be an immensely likable character with a distinctive voice. Reading each novel feels like visiting with an old friend. Also, I love the television news setting. I feel like I'm getting the inside scoop with each novel, and given the author's background, I guess I am. I can't watch a promo for the 11:00pm news with the same eyes after reading one of these books. It's fascinating! Plus, I like that while being fairly realistic, the novels aren't unnecessarily graphic. In other words, there's not too much sex and violence graphically depicted--which isn't to say there's none, but it's left more to the imagination.
One thing that was bugging me a little in this book was the relationship between Riley and Nick. There's always conflict between them, and conflict is what makes a great novel. But their relationship dynamics seemed a bit too simplistic and surface level. I guess four novels in, I'd hope for a little more depth there. But Kramer must be doing something right, because I'm always rooting for the two of them.
I don't know that I'd describe Killing Kate as a cozy mystery, but it's not entirely dissimilar. I bring this up, because while the mystery itself should not be predictable, there's a certain tone to these stories that is. Therefore, I have to tell you that the end of this novel shocked the hell out of me. And I LOVED it. Surprises are good. I have NO idea where this series is going next, but I will be the first in line to find out! Way to go, Julie Kramer!Killing Kate: A Novel Overview

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Now You See Me Review

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Now You See Me ReviewFirst Line: Leaves, mud, and grass deaden sound.
Young Detective Constable Lacey Flint has finished interviewing a witness at a London apartment complex when she stumbles into a woman brutally stabbed just seconds before in the complex's dark parking lot. Within twenty-four hours a freelance journalist receives an anonymous letter pointing out the similarities between this stabbing and Jack the Ripper's first murder-- and this letter mentions Lacey by name. If this is real, London has a killer determined to recreate the city's bloody past-- and the police have just five days until the next attempt.
Although the letter writer seems to be taunting Lacey, no one-- even her-- believes the connections are anything but a sadistic killer's game. However, as they begin to investigate deeper into the details of the case, Lacey is reminded more and more of a part of her past that she'd rather keep hidden. The only way to do that is to catch the killer herself.
Just when you think Jack the Ripper has been done to death, along comes a talented writer who proves to you that there's still life in the old geezer. What keeps this from being a tired rehash of the Ripper murders is twofold: (1) It's not a slavish copy of the original Jack the Ripper case. The killer is using the bits and pieces that fulfill the purpose, and discarding the rest. It's up to the readers and the police to figure out what the purpose is. (2) Taunting young DC Lacey Flint puts the focus on her and what a serial killer may want from her. As the focus sharpens, it's learned that Lacey has something big in her past that she wants no one else to know-- and her reliability as a narrator is put into question.
This book moves quickly and really gave me a workout as I tried to figure out the point the killer was trying to make... and what Lacey was trying to hide from everyone. Bolton lets us get to know Lacey and to trust her before putting her reliability in doubt. As the end of the book gets ever nearer, it's easy to feel that you've put all the pieces together and solved all the mysteries. Don't be too cocksure of yourself, though. I would imagine that Bolton has more than one surprise in store for you.
Don't you just love a book whose plot twists and turns, twists and turns, twists and turns... then suddenly stops, faces you, gives you a nice juicy raspberry, and proceeds to twist a few more times before coming to a halt, out of breath and laughing? I do!
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A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel Review

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A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel ReviewA Bad Day for Scandal is Sophie Littlefield's third mystery featuring Prosper, Missouri's answer to... I want to say Clint Eastwood, but that's not right. Stella Hardesty is one tough lady. Don't let the sewing machine shop fool you; it's a cover. Her real calling is meting out justice and vengeance, often in equal parts. Ever since she emancipated herself--permanently--from her abusive husband, she's been helping out other ladies in the same boat.
Therefore, it really isn't that unusual when Stella's phone rings in the middle of a social gathering. Like so many professionals, she's on call 24/7. Priss Porter's timing couldn't be much worse, though. Stella was entertaining, among others, the one man she should be keeping her distance from, Sheriff "Goat" Jones, and for once, things seem to be moving forward between the two of them. But Priss is over at her brother's, in town from Kansas City, insisting that she needs to see Stella immediately.
It has been said that friends will help you move, and that really good friends will help you move bodies. Well, rest assured, Stella and Priss aren't THAT close. Stella wants nothing to do with the little problem decomposing in Priss's trunk. When Stella proves to be unbuyable, Priss moves on to blackmail to elicit her help. That doesn't work either. Unfortunately, before Stella can get a feel for how to handle Priss, both she and her brother turn up missing. The Sheriff is looking at Stella askance. And Stella and her associates again find themselves following a convoluted path in search of answers.
What I described above are the opening scenes of an enjoyable enough mystery, but unusually for the genre, it's not the plots that make this series. The mysteries are well-plotted, fast-paced, and complex enough that I've never come near to figuring out who done it on my own. Perhaps more impressively, Ms. Littlefield hasn't fallen back on the same structure or type of story, though the series' premise suggests she would or could. Nonetheless, each outing finds Stella in a different kettle of fish. Still, for me, these stories are all about character.
I've always been able to hear Stella's distinctive voice in my head, but it was delightful to finally hear it in audiobook form, read by the talented Barbara Rosenblat. Ms. Littlefield strikes a perfect balance between the light elements and the dark ones in her novels, and Ms. Rosenblat gets this balance just right, too. There's no denying that these books are exceedingly funny, but there's nothing cute about them. Ms. Rosenblat mines all the humor while still bringing every character realistically to life. It's worth noting that she does an unusually good job with the male characters. And while Stella is at the center of this universe, over the course of three novels, her world has been fully peopled with individuals that jump off the page. There's her sidekick, Chrissy; Todd, the teenager across the street; and the Green Hat Ladies--to name but a few.
I guess you could jump into this series with any of the books, but when reading such delicious characters, personally, I think you'd get more pleasure starting at the beginning and watching the relationship and character arcs develop. Both Littlefield and Hardesty seem to be improving with each tale. So far, I'm three for three with Sophie and Stella. I've read them on paper, on my Kindle, and now on audio. As far as I can tell, there's no wrong way to enjoy these novels.A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel Overview

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The Nightmare Thief Review

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The Nightmare Thief ReviewI'm a great fan of Meg Gardiner's. Have been since she published her first book, "China Lake," which featured her intrepid character Evan Delaney squaring up against The Remnant, a fanatical church whose members use violence to create their heaven on earth. Following "China Lake," Gardiner gave us "Mission Canyon," "Jericho Point,""Crosscut," and, finally, "Kill Chain." With each novel, Gardiner honed her talent, shone brighter, and wove a tighter story.
Gardiner put Evan aside after five books, turning her sights to Jo Beckett, a forensic psychologist living in San Francisco. The first Jo book, "The Dirty Secrets Club," gained Gardiner a new circle of thriller fans, and each book in the series has upped the ante on action and thrills. The Jo books now number four, with "The Memory Collector," "The Liar's Lullaby," and now "The Nightmare Thief." In this latest book, Gardiner pulls out all the stops, gripping her readers from the get-go and not letting the action slow even for a moment as she follows Jo and her partner Gabe as they struggle to survive in the wilderness, while being hunted by trained killers.
It's an action thriller, but Gardiner takes the time to develop her characters, from full portraits to single-stroke images that are seared into the reader's mind. She knows her characters, both the main ones and the toss-asides, and, as a result, every action they take is believable, and inevitable. That's just excellent storytelling.
The story is filled with twists and turns, as are most of her novels, but every single thread is tied up by the end, with nothing left hanging loose or unexplained. The storyline makes sense in the end, and the reader understands the connections and seeming-tangents. Again, excellent storytelling.
Do yourself a favor. If you've never read a Gardiner book, start with this one. Just jump right in. (If you're the kind of reader who must know the beginning, then start with "The Dirty Secrets Club" and then choose any book after that.) If you have read her, continue. Unlike some authors who seem to "phone it in" after publishing their first few books, Gardiner clearly strives for perfection with each and every novel. She's getting closer.The Nightmare Thief Overview

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Flowering Judas: A Gregor Demarkian Novel Review

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Flowering Judas: A Gregor Demarkian Novel ReviewI've read all of Haddam's Gregor Demarkian books and have liked some better than others. Haddam always provides uniquely resonant characters, dialogue that you can hear -- even if it is so wordy and busy sometimes that it gives the characters, themselves, a headache, never mind the reader. Then, too, Haddam has the Cavanaugh Street neighborhood in Philadelphia in which Demarkian and his neighbors all live as an extended family of sorts; many reviewers have noted that the neighborhood has, itself, become a character in the books, but a multi-faceted and complex one, not the boorish and slapstick sort a few towns and their inhabitants have become in some of the rather sillier amateur detective series.
Sleuth Gregor Demarkian is fictionally the 'inventor' of the FBI's profiling section and who, now retired, is called in by local police forces that are making less progress in murder cases than is desirable. Demarkian is an extremely appealing protagonist because he thinks logically, works with authorities appropriately, handles crime scenes and evidence correctly, is polite and is also older and not an action hero; in short, he's the kind of guy you'd really LIKE to believe exists. He works the way you'd like to think someone works, within a system that needs a strong shepherding hand to bring confusion into order. You've seen the shirts "WWRD (what would Reacher do?)" I think I should have a notebook with a "WWDD" on it.
In this book, Demarkian travels to Mattatuck, New York, where the body of a man has been discovered hanging from a billboard, a billboard that happens to exist to publicize the disappearance of this same man from this same town twelve years ago. While the first question is whether the man killed himself, the bigger one is where he has been for the last dozen years. Inevitably, the reason for his disappearance as well as the drama of his showing up again -- dead -- initiate several series of events in this moderately-sized town where everyone seems to know everyone else, along with all their business.
Along the way, we see how economic stimulus funds were used to buy crime scene technology that no one knows how to use, while police radios don't work in half the county; we explore the unique economics of the adjunct instructor at the local community college, a 60-year-old PhD who receives less than $2000 to teach 14 weeks of a class but who, since adjuncts are prohibited by law in New York from teaching more than two courses a semester, is living in her car; Hard-working Albanian immigrants who have some interesting observations about the American welfare system and its inhabitants; a consideration of the importance of 'cultural context' in education as a diligent young scholar compares her own effort to that of the 'smart' kids and realizes that they just grew up knowing some things that she's had to struggle to just get into the same room with; some pretty dysfunctional families; and an exploration of the sunset of the life of one of the oldest and most beloved of the Cavanaugh street residents. Honestly, the mystery is pretty good, but it's the "getting there" -- all the meat in this book -- that makes it such a superlative read. This would make a FABULOUS book club book!!!!
Disclaimer -- One of the hardest things for me about reviewing Jane Haddam's books is that her dialogue, even the internal dialogue of the characters, is so distinct that I always find myself talking -- and writing -- like that while I'm reading the book. So if this sounds like Haddam at all, please don't think I was trying to be clever -- it just happens.Flowering Judas: A Gregor Demarkian Novel Overview

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Twice a Spy: A Novel Review

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Twice a Spy: A Novel ReviewEvery now and then, something comes along that you just can't get enough of. I'm thinking and hoping that readers will feel about the same way about the books Keith Thomson has put out. Because while I enjoyed "Once a Spy," I really, REALLY enjoyed "Twice a Spy," and thought his second effort was better than his debut! Among authors to talk about it are Christopher Reich, Chuck Hogan, and Lincoln Child, all with great things to say about this fresh, new talent.
Well, once again, we find Charlie at the racetrack to get things underway, and that racetrack is in Geneva, forty miles from Gstaad, where they've been staying. And with little to no warning, Alice finds herself kidnapped, and Charlie finds himself in trouble again. But the task for getting Alice back should be simple. That task is to simply find some ADMs (atomic demolitions munition) in a place called Martinique. No big deal there, right? Just call upon his Dad, Drummond, make sure he's in his right mind, then everybody can be safe and go home. That sounds like a plan, right? With Charlie and Drummond, such a plan is manageable, yet never remains so simple.
This is a world where you barely know who you can trust, especially for Charlie and Drummond. Your pilot could be talking about the simplest of pleasures, like eating ribs and enjoying a Bud beer, and for all you know, he could be a spook! And while trusting people is one thing, staying safe and alive is another matter.
Keith Thomson once again takes us to a place where the suspense is justified, and the adrenaline is fuel laced, and the hits keep right on coming! What hits me is that it isn't exactly so far-fetched that it could never happen. Terrorism can come in all shapes and sizes, and when you least expect it. Thomson isn't afraid to open up such possibilities, and he keeps the pages turning while doing so. And in the end, he does it so well that he has me starving for more! I'm hoping he cranks another one out just as good, just as quickly! Thanks again, Keith!Twice a Spy: A Novel Overview

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Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) Review

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Highway 61: A McKenzie Novel (Mac Mckenzie) ReviewRushmore McKenzie is sweet talked by his girlfriend's daughter, Erica, into helping her father, Jason Truhler, who is being blackmailed by persons unknown. Someone has photographs of Jason lying unconscious in bed; nearby, a young girl, with her throat slashed, lies in a spreading pool of blood. McKenzie travels on Highway 61 from the Twin Cities to the Chalet Motel in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the girl was stabbed. Jason is an unscrupulous pedophile who can't be trusted and McKenzie soon finds himself ensnared in a complex web involving drug trafficking, arson and internet prostitution. At the center of this web is a nineteen-year-old prostitute who has information for which everyone is willing to kill in order to obtain.
David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a prime example of modern noir. It has big guns, big thugs, car chases, illegal drugs and hot, young prostitutes who McKenzie must protect. All the while McKenzie's inner voice keeps telling him not to get involved in Jason Truhler's sordid existence; unfortunately, his love for Jason's ex-wife, Nina Truhler, owner of a classy jazz bar, and her daughter, compels him to continue his investigation. "Highway 61" is a fast-paced pot boiler that really explodes towards the end when the body count escalates. McKenzie doesn't know who to trust when betrayal runs rampant as characters desperately try to save their own skins.
"Highway 61" is the first novel I've read in the best-selling McKenzie mystery series, and now Housewright has me for a new fan. Honestly, if not for my research, I wouldn't have known "Highway 61" was the series' eighth installment. Nor does it seem to contain any major plot spoilers that would ruin the enjoyment of reading previous ones. Also, this is the first mystery that I've read that is set in the Twin Cities, a densely populated, metropolitan region, located in east central Minnesota, composed chiefly of Minneapolis and St. Paul. During his investigation, McKenzie travels the mean streets, seeking assistance from a wide assortment of unusual characters ranging from a career arsonist to a wealthy governor to an evil billionaire to a Heidi Fleiss-like madam.
I admire McKenzie. He's a large, handsome, mature man with a wry sense of humor; he enjoys jazz, quotes Robert Burns poetry and has a favorite Arabian proverb that performs an active role in this novel: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Often caught in the middle of a skirmish, McKenzie pits bad villains against bad villains in order to survive. He genuinely feels sorrow for murder victims and wishes to avenge them. He truly loves Nina Truhler and her daughter Erica. A former police officer, McKenzie knows how to fight and shoot a weapon; the Beretta seems to be his weapon of choice. Also, he promised his dead father he'd take care of the ducks living on the manmade pond behind his home in Falcon Heights; worried about them, he keeps calling his DNR friend, asking him when they'll leave for the winter.
The wealthiest people aren't always the most intelligent. My favorite part of the novel is McKenzie's discovery of an internet prostitution website known as "My Very First Time." Legal prostitutes, dressed up like little girls, strike various lewd poses on the homepage. Considered a selective, exclusive club, men pay Roberta Weltzin huge fees to have sex with these young girls. This is subject matter that has been ripped from today's headlines. Rep. Anthony Weiner recently joined an ever-growing list of celebrities/politicians who've sent explicit, sexually suggestive material over the internet, which is an uncontrollable means of distributing information. Business conducted over the internet is not sacred; anyone can find out about it.
If you are craving an exciting, shoot-'em-up thrill ride, David Housewright's "Highway 61" is a must read. There are some intense action scenes involving car chases and parking lot shootouts. There are also some gruesome torture deaths but they are described ex post facto, after the fact. As I expressed earlier, "Highway 61" contains all the key ingredients of a great modern noir. This McKenzie mystery series is destined to continue for many years and garner a legion of followers. Fans of vicious noir may also want to read Steve Ulfelder's "Purgatory Chasm," Darryl Wimberley's "Devil's Slew" and Wallace Stroby's "Cold Shot to the Heart."Joseph B. Hoyos
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Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel Review

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Darkness, My Old Friend: A Novel ReviewThis is a wonderful book about people changing their lives. It talks about how hard it is to make difficult changes in our lives-either good or bad. The story revolves about several people in flux:
*Jones Cooper- a retired cop who has to figure out what to do next with his life
*Willow Graves-a young teen-ager forced to move from New York City to the small town of Hollows after her parents divorce and quite unhappy about it
*Paula Carr-a mistreated housewife who must decide if living with her controlling husband is a good situation for her two young children and stepson
*Eloise- the town psychic who must decide if she should continue using her powers to help others or make a life for herself
*Michael Holt-wants to find out if his mother ran off and left him and his sister or if something evil has happened to her
When these characters meet and interact, all hell breaks loose. Willow sees Michael digging a grave, Eloise warns Jones about an alarming situation, Paula calls Jones for help and all of them discover moving forward, no matter how difficult, is a worthwhile goal.
The story is well written and told from the various characters viewpoints. This must be the new "in" thing as the last two books I've read, "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See and "Innocent" by Scott Turow, have been written in this manner. It can be quite effective but it is starting to be overdone.
This is a quite a page turner and an entertaining read.
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Northwest Corner: A Novel Review

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Northwest Corner: A Novel ReviewI did a quick second reading of Reservation Road prior to reading Northwest Corner. While it's not strictly necessary, I do recommend doing so if you have the time and inclination. It really enhanced my enjoyment of Northwest Corner to have the characters fresh in my mind and compare the past with the present.
When we last saw Sam Arno in Reservation Road, he was a sleepy boy of ten, asking his dad if they could go sledding later. He hadn't a clue that his life would change forever on that day.
Now Sam is a quiet, confused, surly 22-year-old UConn baseball star. His anger boils over one night in a bar, and he commits a savage act of violence. Fearing arrest, he flees to Southern California, seeking the father he hasn't seen or spoken to in twelve years. His father Dwight has made a fresh start in Santa Barbara, where no one knows about the hit-and-run death of Josh Learner all those years ago.
Sam's crisis gives us a chance to revisit some of Reservation Road's central characters and see the long-term effects of what happened twelve years ago. We get the story through the perspectives of five characters, with Dwight Arno's being the central, first-person narrative. Members of the Learner family are represented, but Northwest Corner is largely the story of what used to be the Arno family: Sam, Dwight, and his ex-wife Ruth. I found Ruth to be the most admirable character, which is quite a shift from the way I viewed her in Reservation Road. She has a lot of history to overcome, and she gives Dwight more grace than he deserves. Ruth has the additional burden of handling a serious health crisis alone, and she does so with strength and dignity.
Schwartz doesn't hit you in the face with what you're supposed to get from the book. These are damaged people doing what humans do. It's up to you to decide how well they've handled their pain, and what's possible for them in the future. If you have wounds of your own, always know where your tissues are. You may find yourself a little weepy. There are moments of clarity that will resonate with your experiences and, if you're lucky, show you a new way of seeing them.
This novel has greater complexity in both content and sentence structure than Reservation Road. The change in writing style does require some adjustment. For me, this wasn't a difficult adjustment to make, and I read Northwest Corner in about two days. (4.5 stars)
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Collateral Damage (Matt Royal Mystery) Review

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Collateral Damage (Matt Royal Mystery) ReviewTrouble surrounds Matt Royal despite his residence in paradise. It seems that Florida's Longboat Key isn't paradisiacal for everyone. A young man is shot by a sniper while he's walking on the beach near the Hilton, just a day after his wedding. Then a dinner boat runs aground after nearly colliding with Royal's boat. Then the bodies of two more murder victims are discovered, both of whom had been passengers on the dinner boat. When a town resident is killed, it looks like a serial killer has invaded paradise. The killings aren't connected in any obvious way, leaving Royal's friend, Detective J.D. Duncan, without any obvious hope of solving the crimes. Then a former soldier from Royal's past shows up, the father of one of the victims, and Royal joins the search for the elusive killer. Every now and then another death occurs, leaving the reader, like Royal, to puzzle out the connection that links the murders.
Some aspects of the plot are hard to accept. Royal is a retired lawyer. The victim's father wants Royal to start a lawsuit -- against whom, he's not sure -- to help gather information against the murderer of his son. I found it difficult to believe that the police would willingly hand over their investigative file to him; giving open files concerning recent unsolved murders to private lawyers just isn't done. If you can suspend your disbelief in that regard, however, the story that follows is entertaining. It isn't particularly credible but that's standard for a thriller, and it's not much more difficult to believe than some newspaper stories.
The need to suspend disbelief isn't limited to the plot. One of the characters -- a waitress -- is the typical part-time computer hacker; a couple of community college computer courses and she can hack into airline and bank records, not to mention databases maintained by rental car, credit card, and telephone companies. Another character works for a double secret American intelligence agency. Royal's convenient friendships with people who can instantly access any information he needs is good for plot development but not so good for verisimilitude.
The investigation sends Royal down several blind alleys, all in a reasonably effective attempt to keep the reader guessing. An interesting plot twist occurs when Royal begins to wonder whether he can trust the quasi-romantic interest in his life. The solution to the complex puzzle -- the link that binds the murders -- is interesting although I had the feeling I was reading plotlines recycled from other thrillers and mashed together in an attempt to create something new.
Although Royal engages in the occasional episode of hand-to-hand combat, he has a more fully developed personality than the standard tough guy character. Someone during the course of the novel accuses Royal of being a philosopher. He's no Aristotle, but he's capable of subtle thought, a trait often lacking in fictional tough guys. All the characters -- even the minor ones -- are refreshingly intelligent.
H. Terrell Griffin writes vividly, if not originally, about Royal's service as a Green Beret in Vietnam. His writing style in general is fluid, tight, and cliché-free. He blends action and exposition effectively, although the story is a bit exposition-heavy toward the end.
Collateral Damage is the sixth Matt Royal novel but the first I've read. It likely won't be the last.
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To Be Sung Underwater: A Novel Review

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To Be Sung Underwater: A Novel ReviewThis novel by Tom McNeal is about Judith, a young woman who, when her parents divorce, moves from Vermont to a small college town in Nebraska where her father is a professor. It is also about Willy, a young man she "abandoned, and yet never quite left behind."
The story is about two worlds: the surface and what lies beneath the surface; the present and the past; the world Judith finds herself in when she reaches a mid-life crisis, and the world she longs for.
Judith lives in Los Angeles with her husband of twenty years. She edits movies. The turning point or "swerve" in her life begins when her husband buys a new bedroom set for their daughter Camille and places the old set out by the pool. To Judy, this bedroom set is not just any furniture. It is a birds-eye maple bedroom set that has family history and a special significance to her.
Judith rents a storage unit and secretly reconstructs it to look like the room she had when she was a teen. She escapes her reality of editing movies and the façade of her marriage by thinking back to the simple joys of her high school years. She finds herself drawn to the storage unit, again and again losing track of all time while she naps peacefully on her birds-eye maple bed.
We quickly realize that Judith's life in Los Angeles is superficial. Her musings about the high plains of Nebraska have the depth of simplicity. Her memories reveal who Judith really is beneath the surface. Those memories involve Willy, a young carpenter who ushered her into womanhood on the birds-eye maple bed and helped her appreciate the beauty of a sunset and his dream of a little acreage where he would one day create a small lake.
Judith's transformation into an alternate world is so complete that she creates a new identity and hires a detective to find three friends from her past. Of course, one of them is Willy, the boy she left in Nebraska.
Tom McNeal, author of award winning "Goodnight, Nebraska," spent part of every summer in Nebraska, at a farm where his mother was raised. To those of us familiar with the area, we recognize Rufus Sage as Chadron and are pleasantly startled to read references to Hemingford, Highway 385, Herman the Germans and other local places. I was not surprised, however, to realize that what matters most happens in small communities in America's heartland, and not on either coast.
I wondered about the title of the book, but then I thought about when I was a kid, taking a bath, and I let my head rest on the bottom of the tub, ears completely submerged, nose above waterline. I remember singing and listening to how different the tune sounded underwater. I remember how the words and music were clear and pure and limited to the voice inside my own head. Those two worlds-- life on the surface and life beneath the surface--still mesmerize me and those same worlds are captured eloquently and reflectively by Tom McNeal.
Immerse yourself. This book is "to be sung underwater."To Be Sung Underwater: A Novel Overview

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Creep Review

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Creep ReviewI was so lucky to get my hands on this advanced reading copy. And I absolutely LOVED this book.
This psychological thriller is about a professor, Sheila Tao, who is a sex addict, and she has an affair with one of her HOT students right before her boyfriend pops the question. When she tries to dump the student, things turn ugly--because he isn't who she thought she was. He is...well, the bad guy (as in crazy bad). I don't want to give more away, but I thought it was bright and hooking and awesome.
It also has incredible plot twists and the characters are amazingly fleshed out. I usually don't read adult thrillers, but when I do, I normally find that I don't really care what happens to the persons, since most of them were more about the plot than the characters. But in CREEP I really cared about everyone, and when I wasn't reading, I was wondering what would happen to the protagonist--and to her boyfriend. Hell, even the bad guy had me wondering about what he'd do next.
I HIGHLY recommend it!Creep Overview

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Monument to Murder: A Capital Crimes Novel Review

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Monument to Murder: A Capital Crimes Novel ReviewThe latest, and probably last, Capital Crimes series novel written by the late Margaret Truman is titled, Monument to Murder. While series protagonists Mac and Annabelle appear in this novel, they don't show up until after one hundred pages of exposition are presented. A private detective has been hired to investigate a decades old murder, and he stumbles his way into a coverup that reaches to the highest levels of government. This novel provides quick, light reading, and the kind of mystery in which all the pieces unfold without requiring a lot of attention. Those readers who enjoy entertaining mysteries with interesting plots and reliable characters are those most likely to appreciate this book.
Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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A Dark and Lonely Place: A Novel Review

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A Dark and Lonely Place: A Novel ReviewOne hundred years ago in frontier Miami, Florida, John Ashley was accused of murder and sentenced to hang. Proclaiming his innocence, he went on the run with his lover, Laura, and their exploits became legend. A century later, in today's Miami, Homicide Sergeant John Ashley investigates a millionaire's murder and is inexplicably drawn to a stunning model linked to the case who bears an uncanny resemblence to an unknown woman who repeatedly appears in his dreams. Her name is Laura, and the attraction is mutual. Even more strange than their connection to each other is their connection to the infamous John and Laura from the past.

When the homicide case goes bad, Ashley is falsely accused of murder. He and Laura go on the run in a repeat of history as they try to prove his innocence, only to realize that the very people who are supposed to help may, in fact, be the ones who want him out of the way.

This is the first book I've ready by this author and I finished it in one day. It started out slow for me but the suspense built as the story progressed and by the end I was figuratively on the edge of my seat, wondering if the modern-day John and Laura would meet with the same fate as their namesakes a century earlier.

There are lots of characters, but the author does a good job working them all into the story without overwhelming the reader with names and relationships. While mostly a suspense novel, it also has elements of history and romance which makes it all the more interesting. I look forward to reading more titles by this author.
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required.A Dark and Lonely Place: A Novel Overview

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