On the Street Where You Live is a murder/mystery by Mary Higgins Clark. If you are familiar with Higgins Clark's work, you know that she is quite an accomplished mystery author. She is very adept at drawing the reader in and keeping you guessing until the very end. This novel was no different.
Emily is a defense attorney just coming off of a big case, having been the victim of a stalker and out of a nasty divorce. She decides to buy a second home in Spring Lake, NJ, a quaint town on the Jersey shore and spend some time there before beginning a new job. The home she buys was owned by her family a century ago. Her ancestor mysteriously disappeared and shortly after the family sold the home and moved. Emily wants to lovingly restore the home to its original glory. Unfortunately, as the back yard is being excavated for a pool (part of the previous owner's plans) skeletal remains are found. So begins a string of discoveries of murders that seem to tie into several disappearances from 100 years ago, including Emily's ancestor's disappearance.
Early in the book, the reader is introduced to many characters. So many that it can be a bit difficult to keep up. But once the reader gets them all straight, a possible suspect seems to emerge. Except that in the next chapter another suspect emerges, and then another. Higgins Clark is excellent and letting the reader believe that they have figured it out, only to give them another possibility. In addition, there is a subplot that evolves as Emily's stalker seemingly returns...But the police thought they had her stalker locked up.
I have to admit, early on I thought I knew who the madman was. But as the book moved along, I second and third guessed myself. The author easily pulled me along on her twists and turns, had me suspecting everyone and rooting for the police to catch their perp and had me mourning those that got in the way of the murderer. Excellently written to connect the past and the present, this novel was a pleasure to get lost in and a great mystery as you truly do not know "who done it" until the end. My only negative observation is that it felt like Emily's back story (the nasty divorce, stalker and big case) could have been delved into deeper. Her character could have been further developed if more detail was given about her past. We are only given bits and pieces and I honestly thought that maybe her character had been in a previous novel and I was just missing something. From what I can tell though, that is not the case. Even so, if you like mystery I would recommend this one.
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Lone Wolf
Jodi Piccoult's novels never fail to make the reader think: What would I do? Her novel Lone Wolf is no exception. Heart breaking, captivating, informative and thought provoking, this novel is not one that will leave you quickly.
After a car accident leaves their father in a vegetative state, Edward and Cara must make decisions for their father's care. But they believe he would want two completely different things. Edward has been living in another country for the past six years and has had no contact with his father. Cara has been living with her father, but is only 17 so, legally she doesn't have the right to make decisions for him. They both are keeping secrets that they think will tear them apart. Their situation is pretty unique, as is the man whose medical care is in question, though and the decision on who has the best ability to make medical decisions for Luke Warren is left to the state and a judge.
Luke Warren is an expert in wolf behavior and even left his family for a period of time to live with a wild pack of wolves. Throughout this novel, you are given the story from the perspective of Edward and Cara, but also of their mother Georgie and her husband Joe, and even of Luke Warren. Each of Luke's chapters are a look into the dynamics in a wolf pack and they each relate back to the family that could be torn apart by this tragedy. Expertly written, so that you not only learn quite a bit about wolves but you also find yourself sympathetic with all of the characters regardless of their flaws, this novel hooks you from the beginning. I found myself changing my mind about who I thought was 'right' twice while reading the book, and even ended up feeling sympathy for Luke Warren even if in the beginning of the novel I didn't agree with choices that he had made.
Definitely worth your time, as I have found Jodi Piccoult to be every time I have read one of her novels.
Happy Reading!
After a car accident leaves their father in a vegetative state, Edward and Cara must make decisions for their father's care. But they believe he would want two completely different things. Edward has been living in another country for the past six years and has had no contact with his father. Cara has been living with her father, but is only 17 so, legally she doesn't have the right to make decisions for him. They both are keeping secrets that they think will tear them apart. Their situation is pretty unique, as is the man whose medical care is in question, though and the decision on who has the best ability to make medical decisions for Luke Warren is left to the state and a judge.
Luke Warren is an expert in wolf behavior and even left his family for a period of time to live with a wild pack of wolves. Throughout this novel, you are given the story from the perspective of Edward and Cara, but also of their mother Georgie and her husband Joe, and even of Luke Warren. Each of Luke's chapters are a look into the dynamics in a wolf pack and they each relate back to the family that could be torn apart by this tragedy. Expertly written, so that you not only learn quite a bit about wolves but you also find yourself sympathetic with all of the characters regardless of their flaws, this novel hooks you from the beginning. I found myself changing my mind about who I thought was 'right' twice while reading the book, and even ended up feeling sympathy for Luke Warren even if in the beginning of the novel I didn't agree with choices that he had made.
Definitely worth your time, as I have found Jodi Piccoult to be every time I have read one of her novels.
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Exclusively Yours
Exclusively Yours is a contemporary romance by Shannon Stacey. It was a pretty predictable, if not formulaic romance. Enjoyable, with enough sexual tension but not too many gratuitous, cheesy romantic scenes. Beware that this story is one in a series, with all novels being stand alone and each about a different character that appears in the other books.
The main characters were high school sweethearts. But she didn't want to stay in the little New England town that they were from and he couldn't leave his family. So she leaves, attends college and becomes a successful career woman as a journalist for a popular entertainment magazine. He stays and finds quite a bit of success of his own writing best selling thrillers. Her next assignment, the one that could land her a big promotion, is to interview the elusive author that used to be her high school sweetheart. He sees this as a way to get closure. The two of them must navigate the reemergence of old feelings while camping for two weeks with his family, some of whom do not have the most welcoming attitude toward the old flame who broke his heart.
Typical romance? Yes. But there was not the typical 'misunderstanding' plot point that can be quite frustrating in novels of this nature. This was a good escapism book, a fast read and enjoyable. I am not sure that I will seek out the other books related to these characters though.
Another word of caution: This novel is sold as an eBook with the number of pages listed as 700+ however, on my device (nook) each page turn equaled 3 pages. Many of the readers' reviews for the book spoke about what a great deal it was for 700+ pages. Not that it really bothered me, but be warned this book is not that long. It is more like 250 - 300 pages.
Happy Reading!
The main characters were high school sweethearts. But she didn't want to stay in the little New England town that they were from and he couldn't leave his family. So she leaves, attends college and becomes a successful career woman as a journalist for a popular entertainment magazine. He stays and finds quite a bit of success of his own writing best selling thrillers. Her next assignment, the one that could land her a big promotion, is to interview the elusive author that used to be her high school sweetheart. He sees this as a way to get closure. The two of them must navigate the reemergence of old feelings while camping for two weeks with his family, some of whom do not have the most welcoming attitude toward the old flame who broke his heart.
Typical romance? Yes. But there was not the typical 'misunderstanding' plot point that can be quite frustrating in novels of this nature. This was a good escapism book, a fast read and enjoyable. I am not sure that I will seek out the other books related to these characters though.
Another word of caution: This novel is sold as an eBook with the number of pages listed as 700+ however, on my device (nook) each page turn equaled 3 pages. Many of the readers' reviews for the book spoke about what a great deal it was for 700+ pages. Not that it really bothered me, but be warned this book is not that long. It is more like 250 - 300 pages.
Happy Reading!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Year in Review: 2013
2013 has come to a close, so it is time for a "Year in Review" post. Forty-five books this year! I think that might be a new personal best - an average of 3.75 books per month. I guess with the youngest in first grade and my Dad on the mend and more independent, I have had more time to read this year. Yay me!
Of those 45, several stand out. As always, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (Notorious Nineteen & Takedown Twenty) top the list. In addition, The Last Noel was one of my favorites. I thoroughly enjoyed the otherworldly vampire huntress series and the spinoffs by Jeanine Frost, which includes 14 books on the list below. The series by Lou Aronica (Blue & Until Again) were also wonderful books. I would also highly recommend the novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and her other novels (Sharp Objects & Dark Places) for excellent thriller/mystery reads. Inferno, which was the latest installment in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon (Da Vinci Code) series was also a good mystery read.
As I read over the list below, there are so many that I would recommend that it would actually be easier to list the books I would not recommend. I think that makes 2013 a pretty good year! Happy Reading!
Of those 45, several stand out. As always, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (Notorious Nineteen & Takedown Twenty) top the list. In addition, The Last Noel was one of my favorites. I thoroughly enjoyed the otherworldly vampire huntress series and the spinoffs by Jeanine Frost, which includes 14 books on the list below. The series by Lou Aronica (Blue & Until Again) were also wonderful books. I would also highly recommend the novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and her other novels (Sharp Objects & Dark Places) for excellent thriller/mystery reads. Inferno, which was the latest installment in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon (Da Vinci Code) series was also a good mystery read.
As I read over the list below, there are so many that I would recommend that it would actually be easier to list the books I would not recommend. I think that makes 2013 a pretty good year! Happy Reading!
Books Read in 2013
Deadly Sanctuary
Devil's Cradle
The Last Noel
Cold Mountain (Book Club)
Halfway to the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
Happily Never After
At Grave's End
Devil to Pay
Destined for an Early Grave
Magic Graves
First Drop of Crimson
Eternal Kiss of Darkness
This Side of the Grave
One Grave at a Time
The Bite Before Christmas
Once Burned
The Glass Case
Of Love and Evil
Pets in a Pickle
The Ten Year Nap
Twice Tempted
Caught Up in Us
A Time to Love
Relentless
Spinning
Protector
Gone Girl
Sharp Objects
Dark Places
Shelter Me
Echoes
The Heist
Inferno (Book Club)
Silent Witness
A Texan's Promise
And When She Was Good
Until Again
Blue
The Liberation of Alice Love
Pros & Cons
The Book of Love (Book Club)
The Next Best Thing
Notorious Nineteen
Takedown Twenty
Devil to Pay
Destined for an Early Grave
Magic Graves
First Drop of Crimson
Eternal Kiss of Darkness
This Side of the Grave
One Grave at a Time
The Bite Before Christmas
Once Burned
The Glass Case
Of Love and Evil
Pets in a Pickle
The Ten Year Nap
Twice Tempted
Caught Up in Us
A Time to Love
Relentless
Spinning
Protector
Gone Girl
Sharp Objects
Dark Places
Shelter Me
Echoes
The Heist
Inferno (Book Club)
Silent Witness
A Texan's Promise
And When She Was Good
Until Again
Blue
The Liberation of Alice Love
Pros & Cons
The Book of Love (Book Club)
The Next Best Thing
Notorious Nineteen
Takedown Twenty
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
The Next Best Thing
Jennifer Weiner's book The Next Best Thing was an enjoyable, quick read. Set in Hollywood, it is a story about a writer who finally gets her chance to have a show on television. The book is more about Ruth discovering herself and trying to find her own happily every after.
Ruth's parents died in a car accident when she was a toddler. In that same accident, she was severely injured and left with scars that would require many surgeries over the years and leave her face and body permanently marred. She has spent her life, with her loving grandmother, learning to overcome her physical differences and learning to live with the pain and isolation that comes from being so visibly scarred.
She and her grandmother pick up and leave Boston in search of Ruth's dream of being a writer. She gets a job, falls in love a couple of times, has her heart broken, and makes some friends. When her idea for a show gets green lighted for a pilot it seems as if her life is about to change for the better. But then she sees the truth in how TV gets made. Can she compromise with the network without losing what her show was supposed to be about? Can she become a successful television writer and showrunner and maintain her own sense of herself? And will she find her happily ever after, too?
The storyline was enjoyable, but the characters are the ones who really shine in this book. They are so real, flawed and imperfectly perfect and the reader finds herself rooting for them every step of the way. Typical Jennifer Weiner magic.
Happy Reading!
Ruth's parents died in a car accident when she was a toddler. In that same accident, she was severely injured and left with scars that would require many surgeries over the years and leave her face and body permanently marred. She has spent her life, with her loving grandmother, learning to overcome her physical differences and learning to live with the pain and isolation that comes from being so visibly scarred.
She and her grandmother pick up and leave Boston in search of Ruth's dream of being a writer. She gets a job, falls in love a couple of times, has her heart broken, and makes some friends. When her idea for a show gets green lighted for a pilot it seems as if her life is about to change for the better. But then she sees the truth in how TV gets made. Can she compromise with the network without losing what her show was supposed to be about? Can she become a successful television writer and showrunner and maintain her own sense of herself? And will she find her happily ever after, too?
The storyline was enjoyable, but the characters are the ones who really shine in this book. They are so real, flawed and imperfectly perfect and the reader finds herself rooting for them every step of the way. Typical Jennifer Weiner magic.
Happy Reading!
Takedown Twenty
Takedown Twenty is the 20th installation in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I have been reading these books for too many years to count and love all of them. They are laugh out loud brain candy of the finest kind. This 20th book in the series does not disappoint.
In Takedown Twenty, Stephanie is up against a Trenton mobster that is very well liked, Uncle Sunny. No one is giving him up even though he was charged with 2nd Degree Murder and skipped out on his court date. Stephanie has to bring him in, but can't get any leads because no one is talking. To make things more complicated, Uncle Sunny happens to be the godfather of her on again off again boyfriend, cop Joe Morelli, and the nephew of Joe's very scary Grandma Bella. In addition to Uncle Sunny, there is someone killing elderly women and leaving them in dumpsters. Ranger, Stephanie's mentor and sometimes employer, has hired her to help look into the mystery. She also has a few other skips to bring in, including a gangster who is wanted for murder.
Hijinks ensue with Grandma Bella cursing Stephanie, Grandma Mazur (Stephanie's wild grandmother) getting in on the action of the dumpster killings, bingo games, Stephanie and Lula working side by side, and Stephanie wondering of bounty hunting is the best career choice for her. This was another laugh out loud episode of Stephanie and her gang of cohorts.
I read Notorious Nineteen prior to opening Takedown Twenty because I always like to get back up to speed on the relationships and timeline before opening the new book. I finished these two books entirely too soon, as always. Time spent in Stephanie's world is always too short, and then we have to wait another year for the next installment.
Happy Reading!
In Takedown Twenty, Stephanie is up against a Trenton mobster that is very well liked, Uncle Sunny. No one is giving him up even though he was charged with 2nd Degree Murder and skipped out on his court date. Stephanie has to bring him in, but can't get any leads because no one is talking. To make things more complicated, Uncle Sunny happens to be the godfather of her on again off again boyfriend, cop Joe Morelli, and the nephew of Joe's very scary Grandma Bella. In addition to Uncle Sunny, there is someone killing elderly women and leaving them in dumpsters. Ranger, Stephanie's mentor and sometimes employer, has hired her to help look into the mystery. She also has a few other skips to bring in, including a gangster who is wanted for murder.
Hijinks ensue with Grandma Bella cursing Stephanie, Grandma Mazur (Stephanie's wild grandmother) getting in on the action of the dumpster killings, bingo games, Stephanie and Lula working side by side, and Stephanie wondering of bounty hunting is the best career choice for her. This was another laugh out loud episode of Stephanie and her gang of cohorts.
I read Notorious Nineteen prior to opening Takedown Twenty because I always like to get back up to speed on the relationships and timeline before opening the new book. I finished these two books entirely too soon, as always. Time spent in Stephanie's world is always too short, and then we have to wait another year for the next installment.
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Behind in Blogging
My last post was back in April. That was 20 books ago. Life has been busy with 4 kids, and in my free time I choose other activities (like Facebook or reading) rather than keeping up with my blog. There is no way I can review those 20 books that span 7 months, so I will just let you know which ones are worth reading and which once you could skip.
Great reads, definitely worth the time:
Until Again - prequel to Blue (Lou Aronica)
Blue (Lou Aronica)
Inferno (Dan Brown)
Relentless (Dean Koontz)
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)
Silent Witness (Richard North Patterson)
Books I found to be 'meh':
A Texan's Promise
The Liberation of Alice Love
Caught Up In Us
I do enjoy writing about the books I read and sharing my thoughts. I love books and love to pass on my passion for them to others. I need to spend more time doing that and less time on Facebook. :)
Happy Reading!
Great reads, definitely worth the time:
Until Again - prequel to Blue (Lou Aronica)
Blue (Lou Aronica)
Inferno (Dan Brown)
Relentless (Dean Koontz)
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)
Silent Witness (Richard North Patterson)
Books I found to be 'meh':
A Texan's Promise
The Liberation of Alice Love
Caught Up In Us
I do enjoy writing about the books I read and sharing my thoughts. I love books and love to pass on my passion for them to others. I need to spend more time doing that and less time on Facebook. :)
Happy Reading!
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