Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A nurse is determined to deliver the message of a man who died in her care.
Bess Crawford is my new favorite character. She's an army nurse for the British in WWI (long before we ever knew there would be a WWII) and she is a tough cookie, having been injured when a nursing boat is damaged and sunk after an encounter with a bomb. While she's recovering, she travels to the family of a man she nursed, one she had begun to care for deeply.
She is coldly received by the family and yet when she delivers the message, she becomes even more concerned. Was Arthur, her wounded soldier, covering up a crime? And is his family covering up a greater one? At every turn, Bess is reminded that she has a duty to the dead, but does Bess also have a duty to the living? This was a surprising mystery and one that perfectly captured the mood and time of the setting as well.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A Memphis belle helps her husband open a B&B in snowy Vermont.
I liked everything about this book. I wavered between giving it 4 or 5 stars, but decided on 5 because, even as much as I could predict what would (and did) happen, I kept coming back to it and stayed up to finish it.
Leelee Satterfield has the perfect life in Memphis: her handsome husband, whom she nabbed in college, after she got boobs; a gorgeous house, supportive friends, and happy children. And one night her husband tells her he's profoundly unhappy and the only thing that will ever make him happy is to be the owner of an inn in Vermont. Since Leelee has never said no to Baker -ever-, she sells her house and uses the money along with her father's inheritance to buy the Vermont Haus Inn.
Despite all the red flags, including a smelly house and a tiny bedroom, Leelee reluctantly settles in to life in Vermont, constantly surprised at al the things she never knew about before: black ice, flies that bite, rook rakes, sonic booms and nor'easters. But the biggest surprise of all is when her husband forgets their wedding anniversary and instead leaves her a note telling her he's fallen in love with an older woman and will be taking a job managing her ski resort instead.
The weakest part of the novel for me was how capable and collected Leelee seemed after the man she has adored forever left her high and dry with a cook who hates her and a falling-down building. The rest of the book travels upon predictable paths - her new cook is single and gorgeous, her girlfriends from Memphis come to the rescue, but it worked in sweet and tender ways. I'm ready for more Leelee.
Summary: A Memphis belle helps her husband open a B&B in snowy Vermont.
I liked everything about this book. I wavered between giving it 4 or 5 stars, but decided on 5 because, even as much as I could predict what would (and did) happen, I kept coming back to it and stayed up to finish it.
Leelee Satterfield has the perfect life in Memphis: her handsome husband, whom she nabbed in college, after she got boobs; a gorgeous house, supportive friends, and happy children. And one night her husband tells her he's profoundly unhappy and the only thing that will ever make him happy is to be the owner of an inn in Vermont. Since Leelee has never said no to Baker -ever-, she sells her house and uses the money along with her father's inheritance to buy the Vermont Haus Inn.
Despite all the red flags, including a smelly house and a tiny bedroom, Leelee reluctantly settles in to life in Vermont, constantly surprised at al the things she never knew about before: black ice, flies that bite, rook rakes, sonic booms and nor'easters. But the biggest surprise of all is when her husband forgets their wedding anniversary and instead leaves her a note telling her he's fallen in love with an older woman and will be taking a job managing her ski resort instead.
The weakest part of the novel for me was how capable and collected Leelee seemed after the man she has adored forever left her high and dry with a cook who hates her and a falling-down building. The rest of the book travels upon predictable paths - her new cook is single and gorgeous, her girlfriends from Memphis come to the rescue, but it worked in sweet and tender ways. I'm ready for more Leelee.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A British detective must enlist the help of a jailed serial rapist to catch another serial rapist.
Another book featuring Detective Anna Travis, my second favorite character after La Plante's Jane Tennyson. When the battered naked body of a woman is found alongside the M1 motorway, it is the 3rd body found as such. Detective Travis is assigned to the case and starts the laborious task of going back through very cold cases.
At times it seems as if they'll never catch a break, but good old fashioned police work, pouring through files, reviewing CCTV and re-interviewing witnesses many times, they finally have a lead. In teh way that Prime Suspect focuses on one man and just wear him down, the same situation happens here. But during one of the many trips to listen to jailed psychopath muse over case files and listen to his creepy insinuations, Anna strikes up a friendship with a young guard there, Ken.
Anna and Ken quickly develop a romance and while Anna still doggedly tries to solve the case, she starts to realize that there might be more to life than police work. Finding the soft center of this hardened police woman was delightful as a reader and the story was dramatic in only Lynda La Plante's way.
Summary: A British detective must enlist the help of a jailed serial rapist to catch another serial rapist.
Another book featuring Detective Anna Travis, my second favorite character after La Plante's Jane Tennyson. When the battered naked body of a woman is found alongside the M1 motorway, it is the 3rd body found as such. Detective Travis is assigned to the case and starts the laborious task of going back through very cold cases.
At times it seems as if they'll never catch a break, but good old fashioned police work, pouring through files, reviewing CCTV and re-interviewing witnesses many times, they finally have a lead. In teh way that Prime Suspect focuses on one man and just wear him down, the same situation happens here. But during one of the many trips to listen to jailed psychopath muse over case files and listen to his creepy insinuations, Anna strikes up a friendship with a young guard there, Ken.
Anna and Ken quickly develop a romance and while Anna still doggedly tries to solve the case, she starts to realize that there might be more to life than police work. Finding the soft center of this hardened police woman was delightful as a reader and the story was dramatic in only Lynda La Plante's way.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Forbidden Sea by Sheila Nielson
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A young girl must sacrifice herself to save her town from the wrath of a mermaid.
Adrianne is always rescuing people. She ran the house after her father died, because her mother couldn't make any decisions. Unfortunately, Adrianne led them into poverty. She rescued dogs, horses and homeless children, often giving them the food from her own table. And when her sister Cecily goes missing, Adrianne climbs out on the rocks to save Cecily from the storm. A hand grabs onto Adrianne's arm and pulls her into water.
A mermaid? Is the Windwaithe Mermaid trying to kill Adrianne or drag her down to the depths of the sea to marry a merman? Adrianne resists the mermaid's call as long as she can, until finally she is dragged into the ocean.
Once she is under, Adrianne's panic resides a bit. She can breathe underwater and the mermaid, Jendayi, informs her that she is chosen to be the bride of the merpeople's prince. Where the story goes from here is surprising and I raced through the last chapters despite a slow middle section. Creative, unique and well-written. I enjoyed this more and would gladly welcome any sequel or spin-off.
Summary: A young girl must sacrifice herself to save her town from the wrath of a mermaid.
Adrianne is always rescuing people. She ran the house after her father died, because her mother couldn't make any decisions. Unfortunately, Adrianne led them into poverty. She rescued dogs, horses and homeless children, often giving them the food from her own table. And when her sister Cecily goes missing, Adrianne climbs out on the rocks to save Cecily from the storm. A hand grabs onto Adrianne's arm and pulls her into water.
A mermaid? Is the Windwaithe Mermaid trying to kill Adrianne or drag her down to the depths of the sea to marry a merman? Adrianne resists the mermaid's call as long as she can, until finally she is dragged into the ocean.
Once she is under, Adrianne's panic resides a bit. She can breathe underwater and the mermaid, Jendayi, informs her that she is chosen to be the bride of the merpeople's prince. Where the story goes from here is surprising and I raced through the last chapters despite a slow middle section. Creative, unique and well-written. I enjoyed this more and would gladly welcome any sequel or spin-off.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A steampunk novel about a young Victorian girl with extraordinary powers.
Finley Jayne is working as a housemaid in a house in London when she is attacked by the son of the master of the house. Instead of submitting, a voice inside Finley encourages her to fight back. This excites the young lord, but Finley soon realizes she is fighting for more than her virtue; she is fighting for her life. But that voice inside her takes over, helps Finley win the fight and ends with the lord crumpled and bleeding against a wall. Finley escapes into the night and runs straight into Lord Griffin King. Literally, she runs into his velocycle.
Since this is a steampunk novel, Griffin uses his wrist telegraph to communicate that he's bringing Finley home to his mansion. Finley joins Griff's motley crew of associates, Sam, who's part automaton; Emily, an Irish lass who's a mechanical genius, American cowboy Jasper Finn and Griffin himself, who can command the power of the Aether.
If this sounds a bit like that terrible Sean Connery movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you are not alone. In the acknowledgments, the author thanks her editor for letting her write The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets X-men teens. This is absolutely accurate, but did not make for an original book, even though this book is often recommended as a classic YA steampunk fiction. It has a teen heroine torn between two men, one who admires her dark side, and one who makes her aspire to be more, even as she is conscious of the difference in their status. Lots of fighting, lots of new technology, but it just felt stale to me. I wish I could have recommended it more.
Summary: A steampunk novel about a young Victorian girl with extraordinary powers.
Finley Jayne is working as a housemaid in a house in London when she is attacked by the son of the master of the house. Instead of submitting, a voice inside Finley encourages her to fight back. This excites the young lord, but Finley soon realizes she is fighting for more than her virtue; she is fighting for her life. But that voice inside her takes over, helps Finley win the fight and ends with the lord crumpled and bleeding against a wall. Finley escapes into the night and runs straight into Lord Griffin King. Literally, she runs into his velocycle.
Since this is a steampunk novel, Griffin uses his wrist telegraph to communicate that he's bringing Finley home to his mansion. Finley joins Griff's motley crew of associates, Sam, who's part automaton; Emily, an Irish lass who's a mechanical genius, American cowboy Jasper Finn and Griffin himself, who can command the power of the Aether.
If this sounds a bit like that terrible Sean Connery movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you are not alone. In the acknowledgments, the author thanks her editor for letting her write The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets X-men teens. This is absolutely accurate, but did not make for an original book, even though this book is often recommended as a classic YA steampunk fiction. It has a teen heroine torn between two men, one who admires her dark side, and one who makes her aspire to be more, even as she is conscious of the difference in their status. Lots of fighting, lots of new technology, but it just felt stale to me. I wish I could have recommended it more.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The GQ Candidate by Keli Goff
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: A black and Jewish man runs for president.
Of course, he's handsome. Although the press calls Luke Cooper "The GQ Candidate," and it's the title of the book, it's not really about him. At first, I thought it would be about his wife Laura (yes, the cutesy-ness of 'Luke & Laura' does not escape the author), then it seemed to focus on how the friends of the candiadte would deal with his new campiagn for president.
Luke Cooper is black, but was adopted by a Jewish family long ago. So he is both black and Jewish. The Jewish part seemed thrown in by the author, since it's obvious that Luke is some sort of disengaged Christian, as he certainly didn't practice any Judaism in the book. I could tell the author hadn't really researched that plot device well. Luke's best friend is a preacher and the preacher's father also a preacher, who calls Luke "son." Luke does far more Christian worshipping than any Jewish worshipping.
Despite Luke Cooper being both black and Jewish and a presidential candidate, there is no mention of any secret service detail or any death threats. Instead, the campaign scandals are a violent drunk friend who heckles the crowd, and former Muslim girlfriend with mild terrorist ties.
I felt that this book was good, but not great, needing more polish. There were grammatical errors early on, and many plot holes. Some characters come on strong and then fade out of memory, and there were many characters to keep in the story. It ended as you would expect, but with minimal closure for most of the characters. The concept was interesting but as a book, it wasn't strong.
Summary: A black and Jewish man runs for president.
Of course, he's handsome. Although the press calls Luke Cooper "The GQ Candidate," and it's the title of the book, it's not really about him. At first, I thought it would be about his wife Laura (yes, the cutesy-ness of 'Luke & Laura' does not escape the author), then it seemed to focus on how the friends of the candiadte would deal with his new campiagn for president.
Luke Cooper is black, but was adopted by a Jewish family long ago. So he is both black and Jewish. The Jewish part seemed thrown in by the author, since it's obvious that Luke is some sort of disengaged Christian, as he certainly didn't practice any Judaism in the book. I could tell the author hadn't really researched that plot device well. Luke's best friend is a preacher and the preacher's father also a preacher, who calls Luke "son." Luke does far more Christian worshipping than any Jewish worshipping.
Despite Luke Cooper being both black and Jewish and a presidential candidate, there is no mention of any secret service detail or any death threats. Instead, the campaign scandals are a violent drunk friend who heckles the crowd, and former Muslim girlfriend with mild terrorist ties.
I felt that this book was good, but not great, needing more polish. There were grammatical errors early on, and many plot holes. Some characters come on strong and then fade out of memory, and there were many characters to keep in the story. It ended as you would expect, but with minimal closure for most of the characters. The concept was interesting but as a book, it wasn't strong.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Save Me by Lisa Scottoline
Please note: Links pointing to Amazon contain my affiliate ID. Sales resulting from clicks on those links will earn me a percentage of the purchase price. So buy and read now!
Summary: During a school fire, a mom is torn between saving her daughter or the kids in her care, with deadly consequences.
I originally thought this was a book about bullying, but it was so much more. Rose volunteers as a lunch mom at her daughter Melly's school, hoping to intervene in the some of the constant bullying that Melly is a victim to.
On Rose's very first day, she sees Melly run away in tears and hide in the bathroom. Rose goes over to confront the girl, and the entire lunchroom is rocked by a gas explosion. In a split second, Rose must decide: Does she go back in towards the fire in hopes of saving Melly, or does she get the girls she's talking to to safety? Rose escorts the bullying girls to the door to outside and then runs back in, hoping to save Melly. Melly has locked the door and has passed out from smoke inhalation.
Rose does save Melly, but just barely. Unfortunately, the chief bully ran back inside for her ipod and lays in a coma. Rose goes from hero mom to social pariah in a day. Confession time here: I have never finished a Jodi Picoult book. I find her writing maudlin and cliched. The first part of this book seemed to be very much written in a Picoult-ish style (instead of Scottoline's style) and I almost didn't continue. In fact, it took me a long time to push through.
I'm glad I did persevere because the book became much of what I love about Lisa Scottoline's style: ordinary women doing sneaky adventurous things and escaping danger. The ending was a little too neat and tidy but certain scenes made my heart race. Not Scottoline's best, but decent.
Summary: During a school fire, a mom is torn between saving her daughter or the kids in her care, with deadly consequences.
I originally thought this was a book about bullying, but it was so much more. Rose volunteers as a lunch mom at her daughter Melly's school, hoping to intervene in the some of the constant bullying that Melly is a victim to.
On Rose's very first day, she sees Melly run away in tears and hide in the bathroom. Rose goes over to confront the girl, and the entire lunchroom is rocked by a gas explosion. In a split second, Rose must decide: Does she go back in towards the fire in hopes of saving Melly, or does she get the girls she's talking to to safety? Rose escorts the bullying girls to the door to outside and then runs back in, hoping to save Melly. Melly has locked the door and has passed out from smoke inhalation.
Rose does save Melly, but just barely. Unfortunately, the chief bully ran back inside for her ipod and lays in a coma. Rose goes from hero mom to social pariah in a day. Confession time here: I have never finished a Jodi Picoult book. I find her writing maudlin and cliched. The first part of this book seemed to be very much written in a Picoult-ish style (instead of Scottoline's style) and I almost didn't continue. In fact, it took me a long time to push through.
I'm glad I did persevere because the book became much of what I love about Lisa Scottoline's style: ordinary women doing sneaky adventurous things and escaping danger. The ending was a little too neat and tidy but certain scenes made my heart race. Not Scottoline's best, but decent.
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