This is the second in this series I've read, and I'm looking forward to the next from Joel Brown.
Baxter, a folk/pop singer who had one big hit decades ago, is trying to make a comeback when a local Lothario turns up dead. Naturally, Baxter's semi-involvement puts his new record contract at risk. Naturally, Baxter keeps prying into the murder. And naturally, more corpses turn up.
Poor Baxter. His romance with the record company's representative fizzles (after he spends a fortune treating her to an exclusive dinner in the top of the lighthouse). His comeback concert is hit by a thunderstorm. His ex-wife's husband still annoys him no end. But he keeps nosing around looking for the killer while trying to tend to his paternal duties. He's a likable guy in a hairy situation.
The atmosphere of the touristy harbor town is wonderful. The characters come to life. And the ending is one I didn't see coming. Good read!
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
GOLDEN LIES by Barbara Freethy
Barbara Freethy is a nice writer and delivers her usual entertaining story in GOLDEN LIES.
When Riley takes his grandmother to the House of Hathaway to have them appraise a Chinese dragon she found in her attic, the dragon disappears when one of the Hathaways takes it off site and disappears.
The culprit is Paige's father and at first she's disbelieving (he'd never take someone else's property out of their showroom and emplorium), then shocked, and finally frightened when her father turns up in an alley, unconscious and near death. Naturally the dragon is gone.
Riley's angry that the Hathaways would try to take advantage of his grandmother and is determined that they will return it one way or the other. Paige wants to know where her father took the dragon and why. Together they go on a search that takes them to San Francisco's Chinatown leads back to China itself.
Nice easy read.
When Riley takes his grandmother to the House of Hathaway to have them appraise a Chinese dragon she found in her attic, the dragon disappears when one of the Hathaways takes it off site and disappears.
The culprit is Paige's father and at first she's disbelieving (he'd never take someone else's property out of their showroom and emplorium), then shocked, and finally frightened when her father turns up in an alley, unconscious and near death. Naturally the dragon is gone.
Riley's angry that the Hathaways would try to take advantage of his grandmother and is determined that they will return it one way or the other. Paige wants to know where her father took the dragon and why. Together they go on a search that takes them to San Francisco's Chinatown leads back to China itself.
Nice easy read.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
DESERT FIRE
DESERT FIRE, by H.M Prevost, is an action packed YA novel where teenager Nick Chevalier accidentally happens on some military secrets that make him a target for terrorists.
When a jet crashes into the desert near Abu Dhabi, only a stowaway manages to eject safely.
Nick, an aspiring journalist, has just moved with his mother and sister to the United Arab Emirates. When he sees the plane going down, his investigative juices start flowing. Grabbing a ride with a couple of Arab kids, they arrive first on the scene. Nick notices the plane's military markings and then finds a survivor. The man tries to tell Nick something but dies as Nick sees a charred American insignia on his miitary uniform. The other kids, scared of trouble, grab him as sirens wail and a helicopter appears. They escape.
Only later does Nick find the soldier gave him something. A mini CD that lands Nick in big trouble.
I had to suspend disbelief a lot. From the moment Nick, a newcomer and a Canadian, jumped into a Hummer with Arab kids he didn't know, I kept wanting to say, "Dude! Think this over! You're new here and don't even speak the language!" But he kept doing stuff like that so finally, I just went with the flow because the description of the country and its citizens made me want to keep reading. The author has obviously lived a long time in the Arab world and loves it.
Very nice read.
When a jet crashes into the desert near Abu Dhabi, only a stowaway manages to eject safely.
Nick, an aspiring journalist, has just moved with his mother and sister to the United Arab Emirates. When he sees the plane going down, his investigative juices start flowing. Grabbing a ride with a couple of Arab kids, they arrive first on the scene. Nick notices the plane's military markings and then finds a survivor. The man tries to tell Nick something but dies as Nick sees a charred American insignia on his miitary uniform. The other kids, scared of trouble, grab him as sirens wail and a helicopter appears. They escape.
Only later does Nick find the soldier gave him something. A mini CD that lands Nick in big trouble.
I had to suspend disbelief a lot. From the moment Nick, a newcomer and a Canadian, jumped into a Hummer with Arab kids he didn't know, I kept wanting to say, "Dude! Think this over! You're new here and don't even speak the language!" But he kept doing stuff like that so finally, I just went with the flow because the description of the country and its citizens made me want to keep reading. The author has obviously lived a long time in the Arab world and loves it.
Very nice read.
Monday, December 19, 2011
THE MISREMEMBERED MAN
THE MISREMEMBERED MAN by Christine McKenna is an excellent read.
Ms. McKenna has a wonderful voice and does a wonderful job defining her characters. I know them as well as I might know my neighbors. I can see the Irish setting, hear the lilting speech patterns, visualize even the minor characters...all from her writing.
There were terrible parts of the story I didn't enjoy. Such places as the horrific orphanages Ms. McKenna writes about actually existed, and the ugliness of that reality isn't easy to learn about. But to balance things out, the characters got into situations where I laughed out loud.
When farmer Jamie becomes depressed after being left alone with his farm and its animals to care for, his friends decide he needs a good woman.
When schoolteacher Lydia gets out for the summer, her friend gives her something to look forward to besides remaining at the beck and call of her widowed, ailing mother.
This is not a romance, even though it sounds like the beginnings of one. It's a reminder of how inhumane caretakers of children can warp lives. It's also a portrait of how hope is an integral part of the human character. It's also a story of how strange life can sometimes be.
Great book.
Ms. McKenna has a wonderful voice and does a wonderful job defining her characters. I know them as well as I might know my neighbors. I can see the Irish setting, hear the lilting speech patterns, visualize even the minor characters...all from her writing.
There were terrible parts of the story I didn't enjoy. Such places as the horrific orphanages Ms. McKenna writes about actually existed, and the ugliness of that reality isn't easy to learn about. But to balance things out, the characters got into situations where I laughed out loud.
When farmer Jamie becomes depressed after being left alone with his farm and its animals to care for, his friends decide he needs a good woman.
When schoolteacher Lydia gets out for the summer, her friend gives her something to look forward to besides remaining at the beck and call of her widowed, ailing mother.
This is not a romance, even though it sounds like the beginnings of one. It's a reminder of how inhumane caretakers of children can warp lives. It's also a portrait of how hope is an integral part of the human character. It's also a story of how strange life can sometimes be.
Great book.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
SPIRIT FALLS
I really liked this book, SPIRIT FALLS by Robert E. Townsend. The time is the fifties, the place is northern Wisconsin, the community is comprised of immigrants and/or first generation descendents.
The main character is a sixteen-year-old boy. He and his best friend, a girl his age, trap and work together on the farm. Other people include a displaced person he crushes on, an abused girl who nowadays would be seen screaming for help, some male friends...and enemies. In this coming of age story, we see how he begins to think of places outside Wisconsin, dream of something other than farming.
The writing craft could have been better. The shifting points of view were sometimes abrupt with little transition, and with another abrupt shift within a few paragraphs so that I had to figure out who was thinking what. The characterizations were sometimes over the top, too, with some heavyhanded stereotyping and people behaving strangely. In one place an incident was referred to that didn't happen till later on in the story.
But I felt the lure of the beautiful northwest. I could see the beauty, hear the rushing water, feel the cold. Boy, could I feel the cold! This is one of the coldest books I've ever read.
And even when I put it down, I was wondering what was going to happen, and looking forward to picking it up again.
I liked it so much I intend to reread it, taking in things I missed in my haste to get through it.
This is an excellent read.
The main character is a sixteen-year-old boy. He and his best friend, a girl his age, trap and work together on the farm. Other people include a displaced person he crushes on, an abused girl who nowadays would be seen screaming for help, some male friends...and enemies. In this coming of age story, we see how he begins to think of places outside Wisconsin, dream of something other than farming.
The writing craft could have been better. The shifting points of view were sometimes abrupt with little transition, and with another abrupt shift within a few paragraphs so that I had to figure out who was thinking what. The characterizations were sometimes over the top, too, with some heavyhanded stereotyping and people behaving strangely. In one place an incident was referred to that didn't happen till later on in the story.
But I felt the lure of the beautiful northwest. I could see the beauty, hear the rushing water, feel the cold. Boy, could I feel the cold! This is one of the coldest books I've ever read.
And even when I put it down, I was wondering what was going to happen, and looking forward to picking it up again.
I liked it so much I intend to reread it, taking in things I missed in my haste to get through it.
This is an excellent read.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
EVERY SECRET THING
A nice story by Joanna Kearsley/Emma Cole, with more suspense than romance, that interwinds events of World War II with today.
Journalist Kate is covering a trial in England when an old man approaches her. He's trying to get justice for someone murdered long ago, he says, and he has a report about it he wants to give her. Busy, she puts him off. He leaves, but mentions she has her grandmother's eyes. Surprised, she watches him go, sees a car run over and kill him.
That's the beginning of this engrossing mystery. More murders follow, one close to Canadian Kate's home, others of people who knew the old man. When she realizes someone thinks the old man gave her his report and she knows what happened, she runs. She has to uncover his story to find out who's after her.
Kate's portion, in first person, chronicles her attempts to uncover the murder and murderer.
Facts of the old man's life unfold in third person narrative from him and people who knew him, including Kate's grandmother.
A bit kitschy at times, but if you like a good story with a sprinkle of romance and a quick lesson in Canada's part in training spies for WWII, this one's for you.
Journalist Kate is covering a trial in England when an old man approaches her. He's trying to get justice for someone murdered long ago, he says, and he has a report about it he wants to give her. Busy, she puts him off. He leaves, but mentions she has her grandmother's eyes. Surprised, she watches him go, sees a car run over and kill him.
That's the beginning of this engrossing mystery. More murders follow, one close to Canadian Kate's home, others of people who knew the old man. When she realizes someone thinks the old man gave her his report and she knows what happened, she runs. She has to uncover his story to find out who's after her.
Kate's portion, in first person, chronicles her attempts to uncover the murder and murderer.
Facts of the old man's life unfold in third person narrative from him and people who knew him, including Kate's grandmother.
A bit kitschy at times, but if you like a good story with a sprinkle of romance and a quick lesson in Canada's part in training spies for WWII, this one's for you.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
SLIM TO NONE
SLIM TO NONE by Jenny Gardiner is a light, humorous slice of gingerbread with whipped cream topping.
Not really. The food and recipes I salivated over throughout my reading brought up this metaphor, but it's still pretty apt. Not quite chick lit and not quite women's fiction, this kind of straddles the two.
Abbie, the overweight heroine, loses her job as a newspaper food critic because she's gotten so fat the restaurant owners recognize her. The editor puts her on a temporary part-time column and gives her an ultimatum: lose weight or forfeit her job.
Perfect. Especially since the sleazy food-section guy (who she thought was so nice because every day he brings her pastries and other exotic confections guaranteed to add the pounds) is filling in at her job!
Now Abbie not only has to lose the pounds to wrest her job away from her stand-in who wants to become permanent, she also has to deal with a husband who wants her to ride on a Vespa, a homeless man she wants to take under her wing, and a best friend who wants to use her to cover an affair.
And this brings her to having to face her own past and the reason she hankers after food so much.
Everyone who's been overweight will get a kick out of this book. No earthshattering problems but lots of funny situations.
But avoid the recipes like the plague.
Not really. The food and recipes I salivated over throughout my reading brought up this metaphor, but it's still pretty apt. Not quite chick lit and not quite women's fiction, this kind of straddles the two.
Abbie, the overweight heroine, loses her job as a newspaper food critic because she's gotten so fat the restaurant owners recognize her. The editor puts her on a temporary part-time column and gives her an ultimatum: lose weight or forfeit her job.
Perfect. Especially since the sleazy food-section guy (who she thought was so nice because every day he brings her pastries and other exotic confections guaranteed to add the pounds) is filling in at her job!
Now Abbie not only has to lose the pounds to wrest her job away from her stand-in who wants to become permanent, she also has to deal with a husband who wants her to ride on a Vespa, a homeless man she wants to take under her wing, and a best friend who wants to use her to cover an affair.
And this brings her to having to face her own past and the reason she hankers after food so much.
Everyone who's been overweight will get a kick out of this book. No earthshattering problems but lots of funny situations.
But avoid the recipes like the plague.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
BAREFOOT Book Review
BAREFOOT is by Elin Hilderbrand, another of her Nantucket Beach books that I always enjoy.
Three women, two of them sisters, head to the beach for the summer. All have baggage. The oldest sister has brought her two young boys and is about to undergo chemo for lung cancer. The younger sister has lost her job as college professor and reputation after sleeping with a student. The friend has found out that, after several in vitro attempts, she's finally pregnant. And that her husband is cheating.
As usual Hilderbrand does a great job of drawing each woman's personality as well as the babysitter hired to help with the boys, a college student who's drawn to each of the women in turn. They all have battles to fight and decisions to make. And we're with them all the way.
Seems to me the entire book is about choices. The choices each woman and the babysitter makes, the choices supporting characters make, the choices all of us might make. Some are good, some are bad, but in the end they must be lived with.
Good book.
Three women, two of them sisters, head to the beach for the summer. All have baggage. The oldest sister has brought her two young boys and is about to undergo chemo for lung cancer. The younger sister has lost her job as college professor and reputation after sleeping with a student. The friend has found out that, after several in vitro attempts, she's finally pregnant. And that her husband is cheating.
As usual Hilderbrand does a great job of drawing each woman's personality as well as the babysitter hired to help with the boys, a college student who's drawn to each of the women in turn. They all have battles to fight and decisions to make. And we're with them all the way.
Seems to me the entire book is about choices. The choices each woman and the babysitter makes, the choices supporting characters make, the choices all of us might make. Some are good, some are bad, but in the end they must be lived with.
Good book.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
DIARY OF A SMALL FISH
Pete Morin's first novel is about a lawyer, a small fish caught up in a net to expose government corruption.
Massachusetts attorney Paul Forte has a passion for golf. He loves it and plays it whenever he can with anyone he can. I'm not a golfer but evidently, when someone invites you to a golf game, you don't pay your own way; you reciprocate by inviting them to play your own club course. Paul never thought of it as a federal crime.
But one morning, he wakes up and opens his door to a federal marshall. He's been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury.
Paul's a little concerned but assumes the man they're after is a man he's golfed with. Nope. The prosecutor's set his sights on Paul. Seems he has a grudge. But no one knows why.
I consider this a 'smart' book. Not as in intelligent-smart, but as in stylish-smart. The offhand references to Hyannisport, the Shrivers, the MBTA all lend a realistic tone. The dialogue is crisp, sometimes funny. As at the end of the grand jury interrogation, after Paul had listed all the different lobbyists he'd golfed with and where they'd eaten afterward. The prosecutor asked if any of the jurors had questions for Paul. Only one of the twenty-three jurors raised a hand.
"Did you say your dinners were always at the Impudent Oyster?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How's the osso buco?"
That's what I mean about smart.
This is an entertaining read, with a hero you want to see come out on top. No dead bodies in this one, but I'd recommend it to anyone tired of the same old lawyer mysteries.
Good book.
Massachusetts attorney Paul Forte has a passion for golf. He loves it and plays it whenever he can with anyone he can. I'm not a golfer but evidently, when someone invites you to a golf game, you don't pay your own way; you reciprocate by inviting them to play your own club course. Paul never thought of it as a federal crime.
But one morning, he wakes up and opens his door to a federal marshall. He's been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury.
Paul's a little concerned but assumes the man they're after is a man he's golfed with. Nope. The prosecutor's set his sights on Paul. Seems he has a grudge. But no one knows why.
I consider this a 'smart' book. Not as in intelligent-smart, but as in stylish-smart. The offhand references to Hyannisport, the Shrivers, the MBTA all lend a realistic tone. The dialogue is crisp, sometimes funny. As at the end of the grand jury interrogation, after Paul had listed all the different lobbyists he'd golfed with and where they'd eaten afterward. The prosecutor asked if any of the jurors had questions for Paul. Only one of the twenty-three jurors raised a hand.
"Did you say your dinners were always at the Impudent Oyster?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How's the osso buco?"
That's what I mean about smart.
This is an entertaining read, with a hero you want to see come out on top. No dead bodies in this one, but I'd recommend it to anyone tired of the same old lawyer mysteries.
Good book.
Friday, September 2, 2011
CHASE
I just finished CHASE by Larion Wills. MuseItUp, publisher of this romantic suspense, is also pubbing my romantic mysteries as ebooks next year.
This is an enjoyable read. It starts off with Chase coming back to the town he left eleven years before to discover whether or not he'd fathered a child. His girl friend at the time had told him she was pregnant before her father had him beat up and run out of town. At eighteen, he didn't have many options and the girl wasn't always truthful.
He finds the girl wasn't lying. Chase does have a son. But the girl's disappeared and her younger sister Sydney has adopted his child and raised him.
This isn't the usual 'secret baby, fight between who gets it' romance. It's better, with the bad guy dead but still stirring up trouble. The heroine Sydney has OCD, but she was determined to save Chase's son for him because like her sister, she loved Chase. And turns out Chase loves her back.
Only now there are people who want her and him both out of the way.
I was kind of surprised at the villain's unmasking, only to be further surprised at the end though I shouldn't have been when I thought about it.
Nice story and serviceable writing. Kept me engrossed all the way through. If you like romantic suspense, you'll enjoy this.
This is an enjoyable read. It starts off with Chase coming back to the town he left eleven years before to discover whether or not he'd fathered a child. His girl friend at the time had told him she was pregnant before her father had him beat up and run out of town. At eighteen, he didn't have many options and the girl wasn't always truthful.
He finds the girl wasn't lying. Chase does have a son. But the girl's disappeared and her younger sister Sydney has adopted his child and raised him.
This isn't the usual 'secret baby, fight between who gets it' romance. It's better, with the bad guy dead but still stirring up trouble. The heroine Sydney has OCD, but she was determined to save Chase's son for him because like her sister, she loved Chase. And turns out Chase loves her back.
Only now there are people who want her and him both out of the way.
I was kind of surprised at the villain's unmasking, only to be further surprised at the end though I shouldn't have been when I thought about it.
Nice story and serviceable writing. Kept me engrossed all the way through. If you like romantic suspense, you'll enjoy this.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
REMEMBER ME
REMEMBER ME is by Sophie Kinsella, who also wrote the SHOPAHOLIC books, and is a romance in that same comedic vein.
The heroine wakes up in the hospital, thinking she's the same twenty-five-year-old office worker who took a fall and hit her head. Not so. She's in the hospital because of an auto accident. Three years after the fall she thought she had the night before. She's missing three years of her life. And boy howdy, what those three years must have been like!
Her crooked teeth are straight, she's lost twenty pounds, she's now a director of her company, and she lives in a large loftstyle apartment with a gorgeous millionnaire. Who happens to be her husband.
Of course there are drawbacks. She's on a carb-free diet, she wears nothing but beige business suits, she instinctively knows how to pin her hair into a severe bun, and she's been nicknamed the Cobra or the Bitch from Hell by her department. She's also lost the friends she loved, one of whom she's known since she was six.
Between trying to adjust to her new persona and keep from breaking any more three thousand pound glass leopards (that her husband invoices her for), she's not prepared for the cute man who knows all about her life during the past three years..
If she can't remember her husband, how can she expect to remember her lover?
Cute book.
The heroine wakes up in the hospital, thinking she's the same twenty-five-year-old office worker who took a fall and hit her head. Not so. She's in the hospital because of an auto accident. Three years after the fall she thought she had the night before. She's missing three years of her life. And boy howdy, what those three years must have been like!
Her crooked teeth are straight, she's lost twenty pounds, she's now a director of her company, and she lives in a large loftstyle apartment with a gorgeous millionnaire. Who happens to be her husband.
Of course there are drawbacks. She's on a carb-free diet, she wears nothing but beige business suits, she instinctively knows how to pin her hair into a severe bun, and she's been nicknamed the Cobra or the Bitch from Hell by her department. She's also lost the friends she loved, one of whom she's known since she was six.
Between trying to adjust to her new persona and keep from breaking any more three thousand pound glass leopards (that her husband invoices her for), she's not prepared for the cute man who knows all about her life during the past three years..
If she can't remember her husband, how can she expect to remember her lover?
Cute book.
Friday, August 5, 2011
DEATH OF A TROPHY WIFE
This is the first Jaine Austen mystery by Laura Levine that I've read, but it won't be the last. Jaine is a wonderful heroine who scoffs at designer clothes and health food. She'll keep her elastic-waisted pants, thank you very much, and chomp her way through fast food places without regret.
In this book, her neighbor and friend, the gay Lance with impeccable taste, is latched onto by the universally disliked Bunny. Bunny loves his fashion expertise and she has money to support his style advice. Of course, she got it when she snagged her rich husband by convincing him to leave his wife of thirty years. Now she's busy spending his money and lording it over the peons. The ex-wife hates her, her stepdaughter hates her, her cook hates her, and a woman whose boyfriend she stole hates her. Oh, and she's having an affair with her step-son-in-law.
Pretty evil person.
Then someone murders her and Lance is accused. On leave from his job till the murderer is found, he cooks healthy meals for Jaine that she's forced to eat and donates her clothes to a thrift store that makes her buy them back.
She's got to find out who murdered Bunny and fast, before she starves to death and her clothes disappear forever.
Adding to the fun is her snobby cat,Prozac and a suitor from Uzbekistan who thinks she's the next best thing to his goat.
Very entertaining book. I didn't see the ending coming. Nice cozy for anyone who likes their mysteries with a dab of humor.
In this book, her neighbor and friend, the gay Lance with impeccable taste, is latched onto by the universally disliked Bunny. Bunny loves his fashion expertise and she has money to support his style advice. Of course, she got it when she snagged her rich husband by convincing him to leave his wife of thirty years. Now she's busy spending his money and lording it over the peons. The ex-wife hates her, her stepdaughter hates her, her cook hates her, and a woman whose boyfriend she stole hates her. Oh, and she's having an affair with her step-son-in-law.
Pretty evil person.
Then someone murders her and Lance is accused. On leave from his job till the murderer is found, he cooks healthy meals for Jaine that she's forced to eat and donates her clothes to a thrift store that makes her buy them back.
She's got to find out who murdered Bunny and fast, before she starves to death and her clothes disappear forever.
Adding to the fun is her snobby cat,Prozac and a suitor from Uzbekistan who thinks she's the next best thing to his goat.
Very entertaining book. I didn't see the ending coming. Nice cozy for anyone who likes their mysteries with a dab of humor.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
AURARIA DEAD
This is the first book from a former critique partner, MELODY SCOTT.
'Real estate agent Maria Sebastian and another agent are walking property in north Georgia when the other agent falls into a deserted mind shaft. Inside is a skeleton. And he's dressed in a jacket suspiciously like Maria's ex-husband owned. But her ex is in California. Right?
The book opens with the body and takes us cross country as Maria and her hottie boy friend try to make sure the corpse wasn't her husband. Instead, they find a little boy with a murdered mother who was married to Maria's ex.
Now she must deal with a terrible real estate market, a dishonest partner, and suspicions her boy friend isn't telling her everything. And to top it off, she's about to lose the big real estate deal where the abandoned mine lies. And maybe her life.
Nice cozy. Keeps you entertained till the wrap-up! Way to go, Melody!
'Real estate agent Maria Sebastian and another agent are walking property in north Georgia when the other agent falls into a deserted mind shaft. Inside is a skeleton. And he's dressed in a jacket suspiciously like Maria's ex-husband owned. But her ex is in California. Right?
The book opens with the body and takes us cross country as Maria and her hottie boy friend try to make sure the corpse wasn't her husband. Instead, they find a little boy with a murdered mother who was married to Maria's ex.
Now she must deal with a terrible real estate market, a dishonest partner, and suspicions her boy friend isn't telling her everything. And to top it off, she's about to lose the big real estate deal where the abandoned mine lies. And maybe her life.
Nice cozy. Keeps you entertained till the wrap-up! Way to go, Melody!
Monday, June 13, 2011
SOCIAL BLUNDERS by Tim Sandlin
Just finished this book after reading SKIPPED PARTS This continues the story of Sam Callahan, the poor guy who became a father weeks short of his fourteenth birthday and who kind of bumbles through life. In 1984, he lives with his daughter, now nineteen, and his second wife has just left him. He's still in love with his daughter's mother but she's long since moved on. Except they're still friends. With Sam footing bills for her collection of misfits and ...
Never mind. Sam foots the bills for lots of people. His mother who sent poison to President Reagon's dog, a couple of unwed mothers he barely knows, and others. You get the picture.
This time, he's seeking out his birth father, one of five football players who raped his mother.
Between tearing up their lives and getting caught up in his daughter's mother's life and always doing the wrong thing -- like having sex with his possible stepmother while courting a possible cousin.
Sam was kind of cute in SKIPPED PARTS, but in this one, I want to shake him. Get a life! I want to scream.
Still, the quirky characters kind of make up for the inanity. It kept me interested all the way to the end.
Never mind. Sam foots the bills for lots of people. His mother who sent poison to President Reagon's dog, a couple of unwed mothers he barely knows, and others. You get the picture.
This time, he's seeking out his birth father, one of five football players who raped his mother.
Between tearing up their lives and getting caught up in his daughter's mother's life and always doing the wrong thing -- like having sex with his possible stepmother while courting a possible cousin.
Sam was kind of cute in SKIPPED PARTS, but in this one, I want to shake him. Get a life! I want to scream.
Still, the quirky characters kind of make up for the inanity. It kept me interested all the way to the end.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
DOGS OF ROME
Just finished The Dogs of Rome, a suspense/mystery by Conor Fitzgerald. Really enjoyed it.
The protagonist is an American who's been in Italy since he was a teenager. His parents were killed there, and the police were kind to him so now, at thirty-eight, he's a police commissioner himself in Rome.
The story deals with a political murder -- the dead man was an animal rights activist and the husband of an important politician -- that turns out not to be so political after all. But the higher ups want it solved and press Blume to go after the most likely suspect, a dog ring manager.
Blume is likeable and not on the take. He can't decide what to do when a friend and fellow policeman who specializes in getting information off the streets, gets too involved with his criminal informants. He's convinced he knows who the murderer is but is frustrated in his attempts to bring him to justice. Along the way, another policeman gets killed and Blume ends up with a broken arm and concussion. Still, he drags himself around to wrap up the case.
Nice guy with faults. One I can root for.
This is a very good read.
The protagonist is an American who's been in Italy since he was a teenager. His parents were killed there, and the police were kind to him so now, at thirty-eight, he's a police commissioner himself in Rome.
The story deals with a political murder -- the dead man was an animal rights activist and the husband of an important politician -- that turns out not to be so political after all. But the higher ups want it solved and press Blume to go after the most likely suspect, a dog ring manager.
Blume is likeable and not on the take. He can't decide what to do when a friend and fellow policeman who specializes in getting information off the streets, gets too involved with his criminal informants. He's convinced he knows who the murderer is but is frustrated in his attempts to bring him to justice. Along the way, another policeman gets killed and Blume ends up with a broken arm and concussion. Still, he drags himself around to wrap up the case.
Nice guy with faults. One I can root for.
This is a very good read.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
MURDER IS A FAMILY BUSINESS
Just finished MURDER IS A FAMILY BUSINESS by Heather Haven, published by MuseItUp.
Lee Alvarez is a PI for her family firm, an investigative agency that normally handles computer type crimes. They take on a possibly wandering husband because the wife being cheated on is Lee's mother's friend. While Lee's tailing him, he's shot and murdered. Out of curiosity or instinct or something, she goes back to check on him and finds him dead. She's a suspect but not for long. But he was killed while she was surveilling him and she can't get him off her conscience.
In the process of picking up and adopting a stray kitten, dealing with her fashion-plate mother, and talking her computer-geek brother into helping her solve the crime, she finally figures out whodunnit. Readers might have figured the killer out long before the end, but the ride is so much fun, it doesn't matter.
Good book.
Lee Alvarez is a PI for her family firm, an investigative agency that normally handles computer type crimes. They take on a possibly wandering husband because the wife being cheated on is Lee's mother's friend. While Lee's tailing him, he's shot and murdered. Out of curiosity or instinct or something, she goes back to check on him and finds him dead. She's a suspect but not for long. But he was killed while she was surveilling him and she can't get him off her conscience.
In the process of picking up and adopting a stray kitten, dealing with her fashion-plate mother, and talking her computer-geek brother into helping her solve the crime, she finally figures out whodunnit. Readers might have figured the killer out long before the end, but the ride is so much fun, it doesn't matter.
Good book.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
CREWKIN
CREWKIN is a space opera novel by Rhobin L. Courtright. The heroine, Renna, is bred specifically to work on long-haul spaceships where the crews go months, even years, in space isolation. When her ship is destroyed, the surviving crewkin are encouraged to commit suicide rather than try to live as norms (normal people). Renna is the only one to refuse. And now she can never work as a crewkin again.
So she signs on with a short-haul spaceship and tries hard to fit in with the rag-tag norms who mistrust crewkin. But the cargo they're carrying is an engine more advanced than any other spaceship engine ever conceived. An engine capable of thrusting deeper into space in a fraction of the time regular engines need. An engine with its own intelligence.
And though they don't know it, this advanced engine they're transporting is the very same engine that destroyed Renna's old ship.
HAL in 2001 was scary, but this engine is something else! It can do everything including rebuilding the ship!
Pacing is good, characters maybe not quite developed enough, but overall, a really good book! Anybody who likes SF will like it.
So she signs on with a short-haul spaceship and tries hard to fit in with the rag-tag norms who mistrust crewkin. But the cargo they're carrying is an engine more advanced than any other spaceship engine ever conceived. An engine capable of thrusting deeper into space in a fraction of the time regular engines need. An engine with its own intelligence.
And though they don't know it, this advanced engine they're transporting is the very same engine that destroyed Renna's old ship.
HAL in 2001 was scary, but this engine is something else! It can do everything including rebuilding the ship!
Pacing is good, characters maybe not quite developed enough, but overall, a really good book! Anybody who likes SF will like it.
Monday, March 14, 2011
THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER
A few days ago I finished this book by Oliver Potzsch. It's not a quick read, not a pageturner like some. But it was interesting.
It's about a medieval executioner who is thoughtful, learned, and kind. When several village children are murdered, the midwife who tended his wife in childbirth is accused of witchcraft. The executioner's job is to torture her to get her to confess.
But he and the village doctor's son (who loves the hangman's daughter and who's a better doctor than his father) are convinced the midwife is innocent.
Executioner families intermarried back then because no one wanted anything to do with them. They were always a reminder that death lay waiting. So the hangman is not pleased with his daughter's suitor but works with the doctor's son anyway to find the real murderer.
The description of the German village and its politics is engrossing. What I found more interesting is that, while this is a novel, the author is a descendent of the main character who actually existed.
Good read.
It's about a medieval executioner who is thoughtful, learned, and kind. When several village children are murdered, the midwife who tended his wife in childbirth is accused of witchcraft. The executioner's job is to torture her to get her to confess.
But he and the village doctor's son (who loves the hangman's daughter and who's a better doctor than his father) are convinced the midwife is innocent.
Executioner families intermarried back then because no one wanted anything to do with them. They were always a reminder that death lay waiting. So the hangman is not pleased with his daughter's suitor but works with the doctor's son anyway to find the real murderer.
The description of the German village and its politics is engrossing. What I found more interesting is that, while this is a novel, the author is a descendent of the main character who actually existed.
Good read.
Friday, February 18, 2011
SWITCHED
I just finished Amanda Hocking's SWITCHED, the first of her Trylle Trilogy. I got it on my Kindle because I'd read how Hocking self-published her YA paranormals after failing to sell to a big publisher. In January, 450,000 copies of her books, mostly ebooks, of the nine she's written. That's pretty impressive considering they've been out there only since last March.
SWITCHED was 99 cents (I think most of her titles are 99 cents to 2.99) so I wasn't out much by trying it.
The storyline was good. It was about trolls and teenage angst. I can see where it would appeal to the younger crowd.
Wendy finds she's a changeling. Her troll mother exchanged her for a human when she was born. Unfortunately, after her father died, her human mother somehow realizes Wendy's not her child and tried to kill six-year-old Wendy.
When Wendy, bring brought up by her brother and aunt, approaches eighteen, a tracker - hunky mysterious Finn - is sent to bring her to the trolls' kingdom/compound in Minnesota. There she discovers she's - dah dah! - not just a troll. She's the princess troll.
But her homecoming is not welcoming, her mother is cold, and a princess can't make it with a tracker like Finn (they're almost at the bottom of the rankings for trolls). Worse, a renegade band of trolls comes after her for her - wait for it - powers!
The writing craft needed some work, but mainly the book needed a good editor.
Since trolls, zombies, and vampires have palled on me and since I'm no longer a teenager, the book didn't enchant. But it was a quick read and I didn't stop in the middle as I've been prone to do lately. Youngsters will enjoy it.
SWITCHED was 99 cents (I think most of her titles are 99 cents to 2.99) so I wasn't out much by trying it.
The storyline was good. It was about trolls and teenage angst. I can see where it would appeal to the younger crowd.
Wendy finds she's a changeling. Her troll mother exchanged her for a human when she was born. Unfortunately, after her father died, her human mother somehow realizes Wendy's not her child and tried to kill six-year-old Wendy.
When Wendy, bring brought up by her brother and aunt, approaches eighteen, a tracker - hunky mysterious Finn - is sent to bring her to the trolls' kingdom/compound in Minnesota. There she discovers she's - dah dah! - not just a troll. She's the princess troll.
But her homecoming is not welcoming, her mother is cold, and a princess can't make it with a tracker like Finn (they're almost at the bottom of the rankings for trolls). Worse, a renegade band of trolls comes after her for her - wait for it - powers!
The writing craft needed some work, but mainly the book needed a good editor.
Since trolls, zombies, and vampires have palled on me and since I'm no longer a teenager, the book didn't enchant. But it was a quick read and I didn't stop in the middle as I've been prone to do lately. Youngsters will enjoy it.
Monday, January 24, 2011
THE HUNGER GAMES
We've been traveling so I downloaded several samples of books onto my Kindle. I zipped through the beginning excerpt from this book by Suzanne Collins and immediately bought it.
It's YA - though not for preteens because it's so brutal - but anyone who likes sci fi, fantasy, and/or postapocalyptic fiction will enjoy it. It grabs you and keeps moving.
The heroine lives in a disintegrated United States where there are 12 districts - the 13th once rebelled and was absorbed into the rest - and an authoritarian government. Much like ancient Rome used the gladiators to keep the population entertained and quiescent, this government uses the Hunger Games. Twenty-four young people are chosen for the games; at the end only one will live. Our heroine takes the place of her beloved young sister whose name was pulled.
The contestants are wined, dined, styled, dressed, and interviewed before being pitted against each other in an arena (which can be plains, forest, islands, volcanic rock formations, etc.). Cameras follow their every move, but the footage is edited each day to make sure none of the actions foment unrest.
The populace may be poor and starving but viewers of the Games are thrilled, titillated, fascinated and absorbed. Huge TV sets blare each day's hunt to the crowds. Gamblers bet huge sums on the winner. Sponsors offer gifts to favorites. Sound familiar?
Collins doesn't preach. She focuses on the heroine and the boy from her district who was chosen. But the slivers of truth in this story mean readers will never again view American Idol or Survivor or any other reality show in the same way.
I could hardly wait to finish the book. The concept is fascinating, the plot is interesting and the pace is perfect. And that makes it a great read.
It's YA - though not for preteens because it's so brutal - but anyone who likes sci fi, fantasy, and/or postapocalyptic fiction will enjoy it. It grabs you and keeps moving.
The heroine lives in a disintegrated United States where there are 12 districts - the 13th once rebelled and was absorbed into the rest - and an authoritarian government. Much like ancient Rome used the gladiators to keep the population entertained and quiescent, this government uses the Hunger Games. Twenty-four young people are chosen for the games; at the end only one will live. Our heroine takes the place of her beloved young sister whose name was pulled.
The contestants are wined, dined, styled, dressed, and interviewed before being pitted against each other in an arena (which can be plains, forest, islands, volcanic rock formations, etc.). Cameras follow their every move, but the footage is edited each day to make sure none of the actions foment unrest.
The populace may be poor and starving but viewers of the Games are thrilled, titillated, fascinated and absorbed. Huge TV sets blare each day's hunt to the crowds. Gamblers bet huge sums on the winner. Sponsors offer gifts to favorites. Sound familiar?
Collins doesn't preach. She focuses on the heroine and the boy from her district who was chosen. But the slivers of truth in this story mean readers will never again view American Idol or Survivor or any other reality show in the same way.
I could hardly wait to finish the book. The concept is fascinating, the plot is interesting and the pace is perfect. And that makes it a great read.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)