Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Lucky #13 in this fun and hilarious series. This time around Stephanie is reunited with her two-timing lawyer ex-husband, Dickie Orr, while doing a favor for the mysterious, sexy Ranger. Noticing a recent photo of Dickie with her arch nemesis, Joyce Barnhardt, (aka fluzie he had an affair with while they were still married) and it looks like they are now dating. But when Dickie disappears from his house leaving behind only bloodstains and bullet holes, Plum becomes the main suspect in her ex-husband's disappearance; mainly because she attacked him in his office, again. But this time everyone thinks he has been murdered and Stephanie is prime suspect #1. Now Joyce is after Stephanie, especially when Dickie's unchanged will surfaces making Stephanie the heir to his estate, valued at over $40 million.
Determined to clear her name, Plum and her on-again off-again Trenton cop boyfriend, the irresistible Joe Morelli, uncover Dickie's ties to a shady group of men involved in everything from money laundering to drug running. And when Dickie's jilted business partners decide Stephanie holds the key to the $40 million they believe Dickie stole from them, she's in for a wild ride.
Grandma is still around going attending the various funeral viewings. Lola seems to have changed her hoing ways and is focused on one man - Tank! Thankfully we see nothing of Stephanie's sister and her family. They were really annoying me in the last few books. Some new parole violators, a taxidermist with a penchant for bombs to a grave-robbing tax man life is never dull in the burbs.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Happy 4th of July!
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements. Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
This book took me almost a week to read. I kept going back and re-reading passages. I didn't want the book to end and cried during the final chapters. It is a lovely thought provoking book. Wow.
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements. Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
This book took me almost a week to read. I kept going back and re-reading passages. I didn't want the book to end and cried during the final chapters. It is a lovely thought provoking book. Wow.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
This is a story of a man without a past, rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by some fishermen. He is very ill, and his body has suffered the impact of many bullets. The man is taken by the fishermen to a doctor in a nearby island, who helps him to recover physically and mentally. Our protagonist doesn't remember who he is, but with the help of the doctor he finds some clues he doesn't like too much. He only knows for certain some things, for instance that his face has been altered by plastic surgery, that he knows a lot about firearms and that he carried on him a microfilm that contains the code to an account of four million dollars.
In the Swiss bank where the account is he also finds a name: Jason Bourne. But... is he Jason Bourne?. He cannot remember, and if it were for quite a few people, he won't. From the moment he leaves the island onwards, our man without a past will be followed, and attacked. He doesn't understand why, but he reacts in order to stay alive. Add to this already interesting mixture a woman he takes as a hostage, Marie, a number of assasins (including the most famous assassin in the world, Carlos), and the possibility that he is an assassin. The main character will be hunted all throughout the book not only by the "bad guys", but also by the "good" ones (mainly agents from the USA Government).
You won't be able to stop reading this book, and you will find yourself asking aloud to nobody in particular "who on earth is this man?" and "what started this whole mess"?.
I read this back in the 1980's and with the movies coming out decided I should re-read and see if enjoyed it as much as I did back then. The only bad side is that the technology is obiously dated as who would have a piece of microfilm inserted under the skin when we have tiny microchips. Of course in 20 years that will seem dated. But I really enjoyed the ride and love the movies. I need to read the rest over the summer.
This is a story of a man without a past, rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by some fishermen. He is very ill, and his body has suffered the impact of many bullets. The man is taken by the fishermen to a doctor in a nearby island, who helps him to recover physically and mentally. Our protagonist doesn't remember who he is, but with the help of the doctor he finds some clues he doesn't like too much. He only knows for certain some things, for instance that his face has been altered by plastic surgery, that he knows a lot about firearms and that he carried on him a microfilm that contains the code to an account of four million dollars.
In the Swiss bank where the account is he also finds a name: Jason Bourne. But... is he Jason Bourne?. He cannot remember, and if it were for quite a few people, he won't. From the moment he leaves the island onwards, our man without a past will be followed, and attacked. He doesn't understand why, but he reacts in order to stay alive. Add to this already interesting mixture a woman he takes as a hostage, Marie, a number of assasins (including the most famous assassin in the world, Carlos), and the possibility that he is an assassin. The main character will be hunted all throughout the book not only by the "bad guys", but also by the "good" ones (mainly agents from the USA Government).
You won't be able to stop reading this book, and you will find yourself asking aloud to nobody in particular "who on earth is this man?" and "what started this whole mess"?.
I read this back in the 1980's and with the movies coming out decided I should re-read and see if enjoyed it as much as I did back then. The only bad side is that the technology is obiously dated as who would have a piece of microfilm inserted under the skin when we have tiny microchips. Of course in 20 years that will seem dated. But I really enjoyed the ride and love the movies. I need to read the rest over the summer.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
A classic suspenseful read from my past. I vaguely remember reading this when I was in high school so really enjoyed reading this again.
Miss Lucy Pym is spending the weekend at an all girls school, Leys Physical Training College. She was pleased and flattered to be invited to give a psychology lecture there. She is quickly swept into the life of the young girls by being invited to parties and walks on the grounds. There is much anticipation as the girls wait for the various awards and scholarships to be announced. When a sullen, unpopular girl is awarded a valuable scholarship, instead of the candidate favored by their classmates and teachers no one is sure what to think. But when the former is found "accidentally" dead under suspicious circumstances, Miss Pym is drawn involuntarily into helping to solve the mystery. Her analysis of who could have done it -- psychologically as well as physically -- is fascinating and logical.
The conclusion is stunning: Miss Pym discovers that her own desire to do "the right thing" is not all that different from the murderer's motives, and the results were no less devastating. The basis of the mystery novel, as a genre, is moral -- find out and punish wrongdoing -- but this is much more morally complex and will leave you thinking.
A classic suspenseful read from my past. I vaguely remember reading this when I was in high school so really enjoyed reading this again.
Miss Lucy Pym is spending the weekend at an all girls school, Leys Physical Training College. She was pleased and flattered to be invited to give a psychology lecture there. She is quickly swept into the life of the young girls by being invited to parties and walks on the grounds. There is much anticipation as the girls wait for the various awards and scholarships to be announced. When a sullen, unpopular girl is awarded a valuable scholarship, instead of the candidate favored by their classmates and teachers no one is sure what to think. But when the former is found "accidentally" dead under suspicious circumstances, Miss Pym is drawn involuntarily into helping to solve the mystery. Her analysis of who could have done it -- psychologically as well as physically -- is fascinating and logical.
The conclusion is stunning: Miss Pym discovers that her own desire to do "the right thing" is not all that different from the murderer's motives, and the results were no less devastating. The basis of the mystery novel, as a genre, is moral -- find out and punish wrongdoing -- but this is much more morally complex and will leave you thinking.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
In Big Trouble by Laura Lippman
Tess Monaghan series - book 4
When Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan receives an envelope postmarked Boerne, Tex., containing a photo of Crow, her former musician boyfriend, and a scrap of newspaper headline reading "in big trouble," a day's outing to visit Crow's parents in Charlottesville which turns into a road trip to Texas. Tough and street savvy in her hometown, the former reporter feels lost in the land of the Alamo. Crow seems to have disappeared with a mysterious blonde singer, and as Tess searches for them, she encounters a wall of family secrets behind which may lie the reason for the body count rising around her.
This is a complex plot about relationships. Crow has left Tess and taken his band (Poe White Trash) to Texas. Now his parents contact Tess because he is no longer in contact and they are worried. Tess has also received a message with an indication that he is in trouble. The search should be simple. She has a recent photo and is looking for a performing musician. But the trail is initially cold, and things are complicated by Tess finding an overripe body, someone of interest to the police in connection with a cold case from 20 years earlier. Tess loses her lunch and decides that she will never eat another Moon Pie.
Tess eventually tracks down Crow, playing at local clubs with a new band, but it drawn into the cold case which involves the new woman in Crow's life. There is a complex web of relationships related to the woman's family and dating back to a triple murder 20 years earlier. Tess finds a second overripe body, also a man of interest to the local police. There are a few surprises as the novel moves towards a climax. There are questions about a past kidnapping, and questions about who was responsible for the various murders. And there are questions about motives including sex, money, and revenge.
Lippman does an excellent job at making you feel that you are in San Antonio and other Texas areas. As someone who lived in Houston for a few years I always feel rather nostalgic when it comes to books set in Texas. While feeling lost and lonely in Texas as nothing is familiar Tess quickly finds her niche there. She is a likeable character who I always enjoy reading her latest adventure.
Tess Monaghan series - book 4
When Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan receives an envelope postmarked Boerne, Tex., containing a photo of Crow, her former musician boyfriend, and a scrap of newspaper headline reading "in big trouble," a day's outing to visit Crow's parents in Charlottesville which turns into a road trip to Texas. Tough and street savvy in her hometown, the former reporter feels lost in the land of the Alamo. Crow seems to have disappeared with a mysterious blonde singer, and as Tess searches for them, she encounters a wall of family secrets behind which may lie the reason for the body count rising around her.
This is a complex plot about relationships. Crow has left Tess and taken his band (Poe White Trash) to Texas. Now his parents contact Tess because he is no longer in contact and they are worried. Tess has also received a message with an indication that he is in trouble. The search should be simple. She has a recent photo and is looking for a performing musician. But the trail is initially cold, and things are complicated by Tess finding an overripe body, someone of interest to the police in connection with a cold case from 20 years earlier. Tess loses her lunch and decides that she will never eat another Moon Pie.
Tess eventually tracks down Crow, playing at local clubs with a new band, but it drawn into the cold case which involves the new woman in Crow's life. There is a complex web of relationships related to the woman's family and dating back to a triple murder 20 years earlier. Tess finds a second overripe body, also a man of interest to the local police. There are a few surprises as the novel moves towards a climax. There are questions about a past kidnapping, and questions about who was responsible for the various murders. And there are questions about motives including sex, money, and revenge.
Lippman does an excellent job at making you feel that you are in San Antonio and other Texas areas. As someone who lived in Houston for a few years I always feel rather nostalgic when it comes to books set in Texas. While feeling lost and lonely in Texas as nothing is familiar Tess quickly finds her niche there. She is a likeable character who I always enjoy reading her latest adventure.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Oryx and Crake by by Margaret Atwood
The novel takes place in the distant future, where global warming has changed the earth so much that the coastal cities no longer exist, and New York is now New New York. Going outside in the sun is a death sentence, so the wealthier areas of the world are protected under places known as compounds, although areas known as The Pleebands still exist, where people live and are still exposed to nature in all its glory.
The other major plot line has to do with three central characters. Snowman is the narrator, also known as Jimmy, who at the start of the book is the only known surviving human being on the face of the planet. The book starts off with Snowman sleeping in a tree, barely alive, knowing that he does not have too much longer to live. Food is scarce, the sun is so hot he has blisters all over his body, and the genetically engineered creatures the wolvogs and the pigoons that have escaped are now roaming the grounds.
While he tries to keep alive, Snowman also keeps watch over a group of humanoid creatures called the Crakers, named after his "best" friend Crake, who was somehow responsible over the creation of these people. These Crakers are supposedly the ideal humans. They have no emotional desires, in particular no sex drives, except to pro-create. There is no reason for war, with this new type of human being. They are vegetarians, and do not desire meat. They are very simple people, and Snowman had promised to care for them if anything happened to Crake.
As Snowman goes back in time to reflect on the past, we learn more about Crake, who was an egotistical brilliant young man who had visions of a so-called better world. The third main character is Oryx, a woman whose history takes the reader to a third world Asian country where she was sold into a type of servitude, and eventually becomes a prostitute. She then finds her way to the western world and ends up working with Crake, becoming part of his plan when he creates the Crakers. Their story is revealed in pieces, told while Snowman goes on an adventure to find food and seek out the compound where it had all began. Snowman wants to go back to this place, hoping to find answers and food and supplies, and to remember the reasons why the human race was nearly obliterated. It's the story of these three and their lopsided relationship that leads us to answers of why the world "ended".
Atwood is a truly aweinspiring author. I'm always amazed at the varied books she has written over the years. This book really makes you think and wonder what our future will hold.
The novel takes place in the distant future, where global warming has changed the earth so much that the coastal cities no longer exist, and New York is now New New York. Going outside in the sun is a death sentence, so the wealthier areas of the world are protected under places known as compounds, although areas known as The Pleebands still exist, where people live and are still exposed to nature in all its glory.
The other major plot line has to do with three central characters. Snowman is the narrator, also known as Jimmy, who at the start of the book is the only known surviving human being on the face of the planet. The book starts off with Snowman sleeping in a tree, barely alive, knowing that he does not have too much longer to live. Food is scarce, the sun is so hot he has blisters all over his body, and the genetically engineered creatures the wolvogs and the pigoons that have escaped are now roaming the grounds.
While he tries to keep alive, Snowman also keeps watch over a group of humanoid creatures called the Crakers, named after his "best" friend Crake, who was somehow responsible over the creation of these people. These Crakers are supposedly the ideal humans. They have no emotional desires, in particular no sex drives, except to pro-create. There is no reason for war, with this new type of human being. They are vegetarians, and do not desire meat. They are very simple people, and Snowman had promised to care for them if anything happened to Crake.
As Snowman goes back in time to reflect on the past, we learn more about Crake, who was an egotistical brilliant young man who had visions of a so-called better world. The third main character is Oryx, a woman whose history takes the reader to a third world Asian country where she was sold into a type of servitude, and eventually becomes a prostitute. She then finds her way to the western world and ends up working with Crake, becoming part of his plan when he creates the Crakers. Their story is revealed in pieces, told while Snowman goes on an adventure to find food and seek out the compound where it had all began. Snowman wants to go back to this place, hoping to find answers and food and supplies, and to remember the reasons why the human race was nearly obliterated. It's the story of these three and their lopsided relationship that leads us to answers of why the world "ended".
Atwood is a truly aweinspiring author. I'm always amazed at the varied books she has written over the years. This book really makes you think and wonder what our future will hold.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself By Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern
She write columns and books with her husband, Michael Stern, such titles as Roadfood, Eat Your Way Across the USA and they also speak on NPR's show Where We Eat.
At 52, Stern, a well-known foodie-she and her husband, Michael, have coauthored some 20 books on American culture and food she found herself profoundly depressed. Holed up in the couple's Connecticut home, she'd lost interest in doing much of anything. Phobias (bus riding, air travel, claustrophobia, etc.) made her isolation worse. One day, on a whim, she responded to the "volunteers wanted" notice at the local firehouse and signed up for EMT training. No one teaching "boot camp"-style classes would have tolerated a queasy (much less depressed or phobic) recruit, so she had to tough it out. Humor definitely helped. As Stern remarks, after a few classes covering major trauma, "I am no longer clinically depressed but instead am dying of everything simultaneously."
Some of her class notes are funny, like her list of EMT no-nos: don't replace organs hanging from bodies, don't give CPR to a severed head, don't attempt to revive someone in a "state of advanced decomposition" and if "you have a patient whose leg or arm is partially amputated, do not pull it off to make things `neat.' " After training and certification, the real work started, and while initially it did the trick-"in helping others I learned to help myself"-the ultimate truth, that she couldn't save everyone, brought back her depression.
I read this for my bookclub at work and found myself enjoying it. I did get tired of her talk about the firemen being so good looking. But her interactions with people she met and finding her inner strength to get over her phobias was truly amazing and inspiring. I wish we could all find our inner calling to get us through the hard stuff.
This book was made into a movie starring Kathy Bates.
She write columns and books with her husband, Michael Stern, such titles as Roadfood, Eat Your Way Across the USA and they also speak on NPR's show Where We Eat.
At 52, Stern, a well-known foodie-she and her husband, Michael, have coauthored some 20 books on American culture and food she found herself profoundly depressed. Holed up in the couple's Connecticut home, she'd lost interest in doing much of anything. Phobias (bus riding, air travel, claustrophobia, etc.) made her isolation worse. One day, on a whim, she responded to the "volunteers wanted" notice at the local firehouse and signed up for EMT training. No one teaching "boot camp"-style classes would have tolerated a queasy (much less depressed or phobic) recruit, so she had to tough it out. Humor definitely helped. As Stern remarks, after a few classes covering major trauma, "I am no longer clinically depressed but instead am dying of everything simultaneously."
Some of her class notes are funny, like her list of EMT no-nos: don't replace organs hanging from bodies, don't give CPR to a severed head, don't attempt to revive someone in a "state of advanced decomposition" and if "you have a patient whose leg or arm is partially amputated, do not pull it off to make things `neat.' " After training and certification, the real work started, and while initially it did the trick-"in helping others I learned to help myself"-the ultimate truth, that she couldn't save everyone, brought back her depression.
I read this for my bookclub at work and found myself enjoying it. I did get tired of her talk about the firemen being so good looking. But her interactions with people she met and finding her inner strength to get over her phobias was truly amazing and inspiring. I wish we could all find our inner calling to get us through the hard stuff.
This book was made into a movie starring Kathy Bates.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Book of Jane by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt
Jane has it all - a career in public relations, the perfect boyfriend, a great West Village apartment, and a strong faith in God. That faith is tested when, in quick succession, her boyfriend leaves her, an untrue rumor costs Jane her job, and a storm floods her apartment. She finds her way out of this mess with some unlikely help from her ex-boss' nephew Coates, who challenges her to be spontaneous and to follow her true calling. Loosely based on the Book of Job.
Ok, book. Got a bit tired of the marter attitude of the main character by the end. But it was an interesting premise and I was curious to see how this new type of Christian fiction would be.
Jane has it all - a career in public relations, the perfect boyfriend, a great West Village apartment, and a strong faith in God. That faith is tested when, in quick succession, her boyfriend leaves her, an untrue rumor costs Jane her job, and a storm floods her apartment. She finds her way out of this mess with some unlikely help from her ex-boss' nephew Coates, who challenges her to be spontaneous and to follow her true calling. Loosely based on the Book of Job.
Ok, book. Got a bit tired of the marter attitude of the main character by the end. But it was an interesting premise and I was curious to see how this new type of Christian fiction would be.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
Imagine a town where toys and nursery rhymes come to life and pursue human activities: they walk, talk, eat, drink and commit heinous crimes. This is the land that Rankin creates. 13-year-old Jack goes to the City to find his fortune, unaware that the City is in fact Toy City, where legends and fables walk (or stumble, if they've had too much to drink). He meets up with detective teddy bear, Eddie, who is investigating the murder of Humpty Dumpty. When Little Boy Blue is offed, it's clear that a serial killer is prowling Toy City, leaving behind the titular chocolate bunnies as his calling card.
We see a lot of familiar characters but we get to see their riotous back stories: Miss Muffett hosts a daytime TV talk show called "The Tuffet"; Mother Goose (who prefers to be called Madame Goose) runs a brothel; Humpty Dumpty was likely a failed television stuntman named Terry Horsey. Although the story is wickedly clever and the payoff is a great and satisfying surprise, the real delight comes from watching Rankin work his linguistic magic: characters talk in hilariously circular and self-aware dialogue, and puns and wordplay are packed into the prose like sardines in a tin.
Jasper Fforde is one of my favorite authors so I thought I would give this a try. This is not for the faint of heart as it is in the gutter humor. No holds bared as the saying goes. I would go out hunting for more but down the road when I'm in the mood for raunchy British humor I might see what else he has to offer.
Imagine a town where toys and nursery rhymes come to life and pursue human activities: they walk, talk, eat, drink and commit heinous crimes. This is the land that Rankin creates. 13-year-old Jack goes to the City to find his fortune, unaware that the City is in fact Toy City, where legends and fables walk (or stumble, if they've had too much to drink). He meets up with detective teddy bear, Eddie, who is investigating the murder of Humpty Dumpty. When Little Boy Blue is offed, it's clear that a serial killer is prowling Toy City, leaving behind the titular chocolate bunnies as his calling card.
We see a lot of familiar characters but we get to see their riotous back stories: Miss Muffett hosts a daytime TV talk show called "The Tuffet"; Mother Goose (who prefers to be called Madame Goose) runs a brothel; Humpty Dumpty was likely a failed television stuntman named Terry Horsey. Although the story is wickedly clever and the payoff is a great and satisfying surprise, the real delight comes from watching Rankin work his linguistic magic: characters talk in hilariously circular and self-aware dialogue, and puns and wordplay are packed into the prose like sardines in a tin.
Jasper Fforde is one of my favorite authors so I thought I would give this a try. This is not for the faint of heart as it is in the gutter humor. No holds bared as the saying goes. I would go out hunting for more but down the road when I'm in the mood for raunchy British humor I might see what else he has to offer.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
This is the journey of Milo, a boy bored of basically everything around him. One day he receives a mysterious package that turns out to be a tollbooth. For lack of anything better to do, he puts it together and begins to play, only to find himself driving in an entirely different world. There he meets all sort of curious creatures, from a giant watchdog (literally, a dog whose body is a watch) and a humbug the size of a person. Juster plays with words as if they were tangible objects to juggle, and continually surprises the reader by turning ordinary events into magical occurrences. This book very much exemplifies the quote "The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to get sharper" Eden Phillpots."
As most adult readers I read this as a child but it didn't make much of an impression of me at the time so it was great fun to read it as an adult and rediscover it. Utterly delightful.
This is the journey of Milo, a boy bored of basically everything around him. One day he receives a mysterious package that turns out to be a tollbooth. For lack of anything better to do, he puts it together and begins to play, only to find himself driving in an entirely different world. There he meets all sort of curious creatures, from a giant watchdog (literally, a dog whose body is a watch) and a humbug the size of a person. Juster plays with words as if they were tangible objects to juggle, and continually surprises the reader by turning ordinary events into magical occurrences. This book very much exemplifies the quote "The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to get sharper" Eden Phillpots."
As most adult readers I read this as a child but it didn't make much of an impression of me at the time so it was great fun to read it as an adult and rediscover it. Utterly delightful.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Sophie Metropolis series by Tori Carrington
Sofie is in transition. She was engaged to marry Thomas-the-(...)-Toad Chalikis - not that it was love, mind you - but being twenty-six and single was not easy in a Greek family. It might not be love, but there are other uses for a man, such as carrying rugs up to her apartment. Only, when she catches Mr. (...)-Toad on the day of her wedding locked in an embrace with her maid of honor (honor?), Sofie sees the handwriting on the wall, so to speak. She stopped waiting tables at her father's and grandfather's cafés (the cafés are across the street from each other, mind you, even though there is long standing fuel between them!) dumps the groom, keeps the wedding presents and sets out to find her own way. The biggest wedding gift was a six-unit apartment building her family bought as a nest egg for her new marriage. Sofie now struggles to collect rent from her oddball tenants and also is taking over her uncle's detective agency. So far, the cases haven't been all that exciting, such as dog hunting and wife tracking.
However, her newest cases does have promise. Old Mr. Romanoff down the street - affectionately known as "the vampire" has vanished. His equally creeping nephew came for a visit and suddenly the old man is nowhere to be found. Odd, in the estimation of Sofie's office manager. She insists Sofie find out what happened to the old vamp...man. Then while tailing a wayward wife, Sofie lands in the middle of a shoot-out and is rescued by a sexy mystery man, Jake Porter. Life is definitely looking up! What is Jake doing in the middle of her cheating wife case? Why is the wife wanted by the FBI?
Very similiar to Stephanie Plum novels by Evanovich. But a fun, light summer read.
Sofie is in transition. She was engaged to marry Thomas-the-(...)-Toad Chalikis - not that it was love, mind you - but being twenty-six and single was not easy in a Greek family. It might not be love, but there are other uses for a man, such as carrying rugs up to her apartment. Only, when she catches Mr. (...)-Toad on the day of her wedding locked in an embrace with her maid of honor (honor?), Sofie sees the handwriting on the wall, so to speak. She stopped waiting tables at her father's and grandfather's cafés (the cafés are across the street from each other, mind you, even though there is long standing fuel between them!) dumps the groom, keeps the wedding presents and sets out to find her own way. The biggest wedding gift was a six-unit apartment building her family bought as a nest egg for her new marriage. Sofie now struggles to collect rent from her oddball tenants and also is taking over her uncle's detective agency. So far, the cases haven't been all that exciting, such as dog hunting and wife tracking.
However, her newest cases does have promise. Old Mr. Romanoff down the street - affectionately known as "the vampire" has vanished. His equally creeping nephew came for a visit and suddenly the old man is nowhere to be found. Odd, in the estimation of Sofie's office manager. She insists Sofie find out what happened to the old vamp...man. Then while tailing a wayward wife, Sofie lands in the middle of a shoot-out and is rescued by a sexy mystery man, Jake Porter. Life is definitely looking up! What is Jake doing in the middle of her cheating wife case? Why is the wife wanted by the FBI?
Very similiar to Stephanie Plum novels by Evanovich. But a fun, light summer read.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Can you Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella
Things are suddenly starting to look up for the hapless but optimistic Emma Corrigan. She has kept her job at Panther Cola for nearly a year, has the perfect boyfriend and hopes for a promotion to marketing executive should her first opportunity to strut her stuff and land a business deal be successful. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned, and on her unusually turbulent return flight from a disappointing client meeting, in a terrified state, she confesses her innermost secrets to the good-looking stranger sitting beside her. When she shows up at work the next morning, she is horrified to discover that her mystery man is none other than the revered and brilliant Jack Harper, American CEO of Panther Cola, on a weeklong visit to the company's U.K. branch.
Thus begins a series of chaotic, emotionally exhausting and funny episodes that thrust Emma, with her workaholic best friend, Lissy, and their awful flatmate Jemima, into a world of fairy tales, secrets and deceit. We see her compeate with her nemesis cousin who her parents favor over her and her grandfather who is constantly giving her self defense advice.
When Emma's every secrets are revealed on national television can she find the nerve to survive and actually tell people what she really thinks? and be honest - even when it hurts? Plus will she ever learn to trust again?
Kind of reminiscent of Sex and the City crossed with Bridget Jones' Diary. I really enjoyed this read as it gave me some escape from my own kind of mundane life. I have not read any of her other works which include the popular "Shopaholic" books. But I'll give them a try. Very fun and perfect for summer.
Things are suddenly starting to look up for the hapless but optimistic Emma Corrigan. She has kept her job at Panther Cola for nearly a year, has the perfect boyfriend and hopes for a promotion to marketing executive should her first opportunity to strut her stuff and land a business deal be successful. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned, and on her unusually turbulent return flight from a disappointing client meeting, in a terrified state, she confesses her innermost secrets to the good-looking stranger sitting beside her. When she shows up at work the next morning, she is horrified to discover that her mystery man is none other than the revered and brilliant Jack Harper, American CEO of Panther Cola, on a weeklong visit to the company's U.K. branch.
Thus begins a series of chaotic, emotionally exhausting and funny episodes that thrust Emma, with her workaholic best friend, Lissy, and their awful flatmate Jemima, into a world of fairy tales, secrets and deceit. We see her compeate with her nemesis cousin who her parents favor over her and her grandfather who is constantly giving her self defense advice.
When Emma's every secrets are revealed on national television can she find the nerve to survive and actually tell people what she really thinks? and be honest - even when it hurts? Plus will she ever learn to trust again?
Kind of reminiscent of Sex and the City crossed with Bridget Jones' Diary. I really enjoyed this read as it gave me some escape from my own kind of mundane life. I have not read any of her other works which include the popular "Shopaholic" books. But I'll give them a try. Very fun and perfect for summer.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
8th in the series featuring the #1 Ladies Detective Agency - Mma Ramotswe and her friends
As with the previous novels there are several cases going on at one time. But now the cases are shared with others besides Makutsi.
Dr. Cronje, who's half Xhosa and half Afrikaner, consults Smith's sleuth, the gentle and insightful Precious Ramotswe, because patients at his hospital who have occupied a particular bed have been dying mysteriously at the same time of day. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe's recently engaged assistant, Grace Makutsi, threatens to break their longstanding association. Mma Ramotswe must adjust their relationship in order to retain Mma Makutsi's services. J. L. B. Matekoni also tries his hand at the detective business, catering to a rude client who suspects her husband of infidelity. The case prompts Mr. Matekoni to wonder whether he's exciting enough for his cherished wife. Charlie, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's older assistant branches out on his own when he buys a Mercedes from him with disastrous consequences.
Of course, no matter what dramas the day brings, Mma Ramotswe always has time to enjoy a cup of red bush tea and revel in the beauty of her native land.
Delightful as always and so nice to hear it read outloud as the reader is excellent. Plus now I have a better idea of how the names should be pronouced. One of my most favorite series.
8th in the series featuring the #1 Ladies Detective Agency - Mma Ramotswe and her friends
As with the previous novels there are several cases going on at one time. But now the cases are shared with others besides Makutsi.
Dr. Cronje, who's half Xhosa and half Afrikaner, consults Smith's sleuth, the gentle and insightful Precious Ramotswe, because patients at his hospital who have occupied a particular bed have been dying mysteriously at the same time of day. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe's recently engaged assistant, Grace Makutsi, threatens to break their longstanding association. Mma Ramotswe must adjust their relationship in order to retain Mma Makutsi's services. J. L. B. Matekoni also tries his hand at the detective business, catering to a rude client who suspects her husband of infidelity. The case prompts Mr. Matekoni to wonder whether he's exciting enough for his cherished wife. Charlie, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's older assistant branches out on his own when he buys a Mercedes from him with disastrous consequences.
Of course, no matter what dramas the day brings, Mma Ramotswe always has time to enjoy a cup of red bush tea and revel in the beauty of her native land.
Delightful as always and so nice to hear it read outloud as the reader is excellent. Plus now I have a better idea of how the names should be pronouced. One of my most favorite series.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
First book in a new series aimed at teenage girls, DC comics recruited novelist Castellucci (Boy Proof, 2004, and The Queen of Cool, 2005) to write this story about outsiders who come together, calling up themes from the author's popular YA novels.
Relocated to suburbia after a brush with disaster in the big city (aka Metro City) Jane and her family relocate to Suburbia. She has changed her entire phsical image down to coloring and cutting her hair drastically, interestingly enough both of her parents are hair dressers so can get jobs anywhere! We learn through the novel that Jane was close to a bomb that explouded leaving a mysterious man in a coma. She would visit him daily in the hospital, sharing her inner most thoughts and worries. Fueled by a notebook she found from a man she takes it with her and continues his diary so to speak.
She finds the urge not to be terrified of the world as a result, Jane rallies a small group of outcasts (all named some form or spelling of Jane) into a team of "art terrorists," called P.L.A.I.N. -- People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. Shaking the high school and town from its conservative complacency by putting bubbles in the city fountain and wrapping objects on the street as Christmas packages. Their activities end up rallying the local teenagers to their cause and working the adults into a dither. The book has its share of stereotypes--popular barbie dolls, droll drauma queen, the science geek, the psychotically overprotective mother, the irrepressible gay teen and the seemingly uninterested, distant boy who she is of course attracted to.
This book has been getting a lot of positive reviews hence why I wanted to read it but it felt rather flat and safe to me. After reading such fabulous graphic novels featuring rebel teens in "Ghost World" I was disappointed. I was discussing it with a friend of mine and we both agreed that it was for those who fear graphic novels so this helps them feel like now here is something not too risque. Too bad as it had a good premise.
First book in a new series aimed at teenage girls, DC comics recruited novelist Castellucci (Boy Proof, 2004, and The Queen of Cool, 2005) to write this story about outsiders who come together, calling up themes from the author's popular YA novels.
Relocated to suburbia after a brush with disaster in the big city (aka Metro City) Jane and her family relocate to Suburbia. She has changed her entire phsical image down to coloring and cutting her hair drastically, interestingly enough both of her parents are hair dressers so can get jobs anywhere! We learn through the novel that Jane was close to a bomb that explouded leaving a mysterious man in a coma. She would visit him daily in the hospital, sharing her inner most thoughts and worries. Fueled by a notebook she found from a man she takes it with her and continues his diary so to speak.
She finds the urge not to be terrified of the world as a result, Jane rallies a small group of outcasts (all named some form or spelling of Jane) into a team of "art terrorists," called P.L.A.I.N. -- People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. Shaking the high school and town from its conservative complacency by putting bubbles in the city fountain and wrapping objects on the street as Christmas packages. Their activities end up rallying the local teenagers to their cause and working the adults into a dither. The book has its share of stereotypes--popular barbie dolls, droll drauma queen, the science geek, the psychotically overprotective mother, the irrepressible gay teen and the seemingly uninterested, distant boy who she is of course attracted to.
This book has been getting a lot of positive reviews hence why I wanted to read it but it felt rather flat and safe to me. After reading such fabulous graphic novels featuring rebel teens in "Ghost World" I was disappointed. I was discussing it with a friend of mine and we both agreed that it was for those who fear graphic novels so this helps them feel like now here is something not too risque. Too bad as it had a good premise.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart
Mary Grey is enjoying her day off by taking in the local tourist sights near her new home. She has recently left her native Canada to return to Northumberland where her great-grand parents had been born. Suddenly a young man confronts her, calling her Annabel and insisting that she is his cousin who disappeared eight years earlier. Mary manages to convince him of her identity but soon finds herself embroiled in a plot to impersonate the missing Annabel in her family home, Whitescar.
Gradually it becomes apparent that all is not quite as it seems, everyone there seems to have a secret, her Grandfather has not disclosed who will inherit the family farm, 'cousin' Con has not revealed the depths of his ambition, the missing Annabel left behind secrets when she fled, even the estate itself has been keeping things hidden. Eventually all is revealed with the usual Stewart flair for drama and romance.
I have always enjoyed a good Mary Stewart novel and this one did not disappoint. She is most well-known for her Merlin & other middle ages fantasy. But she wrote a lot of suspenseful romantic fiction in the 1950's & 1970's. She really does make you read and re-read passages as so much description and in this case clues to the ending are all there right for you. Stewart is able to write such intense characters but not so it feels cliched.
Mary Grey is enjoying her day off by taking in the local tourist sights near her new home. She has recently left her native Canada to return to Northumberland where her great-grand parents had been born. Suddenly a young man confronts her, calling her Annabel and insisting that she is his cousin who disappeared eight years earlier. Mary manages to convince him of her identity but soon finds herself embroiled in a plot to impersonate the missing Annabel in her family home, Whitescar.
Gradually it becomes apparent that all is not quite as it seems, everyone there seems to have a secret, her Grandfather has not disclosed who will inherit the family farm, 'cousin' Con has not revealed the depths of his ambition, the missing Annabel left behind secrets when she fled, even the estate itself has been keeping things hidden. Eventually all is revealed with the usual Stewart flair for drama and romance.
I have always enjoyed a good Mary Stewart novel and this one did not disappoint. She is most well-known for her Merlin & other middle ages fantasy. But she wrote a lot of suspenseful romantic fiction in the 1950's & 1970's. She really does make you read and re-read passages as so much description and in this case clues to the ending are all there right for you. Stewart is able to write such intense characters but not so it feels cliched.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Spanning across 25 years, the story begins when newlyweds Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli emigrate to Cambridge, Mass., in 1968, where Ashima immediately gives birth to a son, Gogol. A pet name that becomes permanent when his formal name, traditionally bestowed by the maternal grandmother, is posted in a letter from India, but lost in transit. Ashoke becomes a professor of engineering, but Ashima has a harder time assimilating, unwilling to give up her ties to India.
There are several small scenes dealing with Gogol as a young child to a teen becoming ashamed of his Indian heritage and his unusual name. He sheds his embarrassing name as he moves on to college at Yale and graduate school at Columbia, legally changing it to Nikhil. In one of the most telling chapters, Gogol moves into the home of a family of wealthy Manhattan WASPs and is initiated into a lifestyle idealized in Ralph Lauren ads. After the death of Gogol's father interrupts this interlude, we see Gogol's attitude toward his mother and his culture change and he learns to embrace it. The story then move ahead a year, quickly moving Gogol into marriage, divorce and his role as a dutiful if a bit guilt-stricken son.
I liked this book more than I thought I would as it deals with so much guilt, taking one's family for granted and missed opportunities. Both Gogol and his mother evolve into better people because of life's struggles.
The book was made into a movie with the same name in 2006.
Spanning across 25 years, the story begins when newlyweds Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli emigrate to Cambridge, Mass., in 1968, where Ashima immediately gives birth to a son, Gogol. A pet name that becomes permanent when his formal name, traditionally bestowed by the maternal grandmother, is posted in a letter from India, but lost in transit. Ashoke becomes a professor of engineering, but Ashima has a harder time assimilating, unwilling to give up her ties to India.
There are several small scenes dealing with Gogol as a young child to a teen becoming ashamed of his Indian heritage and his unusual name. He sheds his embarrassing name as he moves on to college at Yale and graduate school at Columbia, legally changing it to Nikhil. In one of the most telling chapters, Gogol moves into the home of a family of wealthy Manhattan WASPs and is initiated into a lifestyle idealized in Ralph Lauren ads. After the death of Gogol's father interrupts this interlude, we see Gogol's attitude toward his mother and his culture change and he learns to embrace it. The story then move ahead a year, quickly moving Gogol into marriage, divorce and his role as a dutiful if a bit guilt-stricken son.
I liked this book more than I thought I would as it deals with so much guilt, taking one's family for granted and missed opportunities. Both Gogol and his mother evolve into better people because of life's struggles.
The book was made into a movie with the same name in 2006.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Blind Spot by Terri Persons
Female FBI agent, Bernadette Saint Clare, has the power to see through the eyes of a serial killer as he goes about his killing sprees. She's been kicked around field offices all over the United States and her latest assignment is in St. Paul. Hoping that her unusual vision and strange ability will be more welcome than they usually are to both her bosses and her fellow agents. She immediately draws a case involving bodies bound with unusual knots and each missing a right hand. A ring found at one of the sites leads her into the eyes of the killer, but his identity and motives remain unclear.
Because Bernadette makes wrong choices, I found myself wanting to shake her and say "it's him you idiot" as the author gives us almost too much information and not enough for the character to really develope herself.
Honestly I thought it was ok, but not as good as some of the reviews have been. It is an interesting concept but has been done before.
Female FBI agent, Bernadette Saint Clare, has the power to see through the eyes of a serial killer as he goes about his killing sprees. She's been kicked around field offices all over the United States and her latest assignment is in St. Paul. Hoping that her unusual vision and strange ability will be more welcome than they usually are to both her bosses and her fellow agents. She immediately draws a case involving bodies bound with unusual knots and each missing a right hand. A ring found at one of the sites leads her into the eyes of the killer, but his identity and motives remain unclear.
Because Bernadette makes wrong choices, I found myself wanting to shake her and say "it's him you idiot" as the author gives us almost too much information and not enough for the character to really develope herself.
Honestly I thought it was ok, but not as good as some of the reviews have been. It is an interesting concept but has been done before.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Thirty-three-year-old Jane Hayes, who has a fairly serious addiction to the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, inherits a trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England, the location of a resort where guests dress, talk, think, and act in ways that Jane Austen would approve. Refusing to lie about her age, even on vacation in a place right out of Austen's England, Jane finds herself quickly overcoming the obsession with Mr. Darcy that may very well have jeopardized her 13 "relationships" over the years. Left to walk in last to dinner, mildly obsessed with one of the hotel's gardeners, and annoyed by another guest's overeager attempts to bag a man, Jane is eager to return to Manhattan. Then she decides to give it all one more chance, since Great-Aunt Carolyn did see fit to pay for the entire vacation.
Very enjoyable read, I've read a few of Hales children's and YA novels so it was fun to see how she writes for adults. You can really see her love for Jane Austen.
Thirty-three-year-old Jane Hayes, who has a fairly serious addiction to the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, inherits a trip to Pembrook Park, Kent, England, the location of a resort where guests dress, talk, think, and act in ways that Jane Austen would approve. Refusing to lie about her age, even on vacation in a place right out of Austen's England, Jane finds herself quickly overcoming the obsession with Mr. Darcy that may very well have jeopardized her 13 "relationships" over the years. Left to walk in last to dinner, mildly obsessed with one of the hotel's gardeners, and annoyed by another guest's overeager attempts to bag a man, Jane is eager to return to Manhattan. Then she decides to give it all one more chance, since Great-Aunt Carolyn did see fit to pay for the entire vacation.
Very enjoyable read, I've read a few of Hales children's and YA novels so it was fun to see how she writes for adults. You can really see her love for Jane Austen.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
Book 2 in the Arcane Society series - though this is set in contemporary times while book 1, Second Sight, is set in late Victorian era.
Clare Lancaster is a Level Ten para-sensitive – and a “human lie detector” and a member of the modern day Arcane Society. Over the years she has come to accept that someone with her extraordinary talent is doomed to have relationship issues. Clare has even been rejected as “unmatchable” by the Society’s matchmaking agency, arcanematch.com To her frustration she has ben applying to the Jones & Jones, a pyschic detective agency, and continually turned down for a job. In a way, Clare’s whole life has been a lie. Now, however, she has just met the half sister and family whom she never knew until seven months ago.
Her father summons her from California to play a role in his business empire. Clare rejects the offer. But after meeting Jake Salter, Archer Lancaster’s “financial consultant”, she is convinced that things aren’t what they seem. Salter’s careful conversation seems to walk a delicate line between truth and deception. Something sparks and sizzles between them – something more than the usual electricity between a man and a woman. Jake Salter is also a Level Ten para-sensitive with some dangerous psychic talents of his own. He, too, has been declared “unmatchable” by the Society’s matchmakers.
This one heats up pretty quickly as Clare and Jake are immediately attracted to one another and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where that is heading. The storyline flows fast as there is a murder within the first few chapters, Clare discovering the body, and several attempts on both Clare & Jake's life. The story leaves it open ended for continuation of the series. I've read quite a bit of Krentz and under her two of pseudonyms "Amanda Quick" and "Jayne Castle" and really enjoy her paranormal romances the best.
Book 2 in the Arcane Society series - though this is set in contemporary times while book 1, Second Sight, is set in late Victorian era.
Clare Lancaster is a Level Ten para-sensitive – and a “human lie detector” and a member of the modern day Arcane Society. Over the years she has come to accept that someone with her extraordinary talent is doomed to have relationship issues. Clare has even been rejected as “unmatchable” by the Society’s matchmaking agency, arcanematch.com To her frustration she has ben applying to the Jones & Jones, a pyschic detective agency, and continually turned down for a job. In a way, Clare’s whole life has been a lie. Now, however, she has just met the half sister and family whom she never knew until seven months ago.
Her father summons her from California to play a role in his business empire. Clare rejects the offer. But after meeting Jake Salter, Archer Lancaster’s “financial consultant”, she is convinced that things aren’t what they seem. Salter’s careful conversation seems to walk a delicate line between truth and deception. Something sparks and sizzles between them – something more than the usual electricity between a man and a woman. Jake Salter is also a Level Ten para-sensitive with some dangerous psychic talents of his own. He, too, has been declared “unmatchable” by the Society’s matchmakers.
This one heats up pretty quickly as Clare and Jake are immediately attracted to one another and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where that is heading. The storyline flows fast as there is a murder within the first few chapters, Clare discovering the body, and several attempts on both Clare & Jake's life. The story leaves it open ended for continuation of the series. I've read quite a bit of Krentz and under her two of pseudonyms "Amanda Quick" and "Jayne Castle" and really enjoy her paranormal romances the best.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman
Tess Monaghan has finally made the move and hung out the shingle as a P.I.-for-hire, complete with an office in Butchers Hill. Her first client is Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who five years ago shot a boy for vandalizing his car, just sprung from jail. He wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime for his own peace of mind, so he needs Tess to find them. But once she starts snooping, the witnesses she locates start dying. Is the "Butcher of Butchers Hill" as it again? Or is there another, even more sinister force at work?
She reluctantly accepts a 2nd case of a woman looking for her sister. Tess quickly finds out that there is no sister and the woman she is looking for is the woman's real idenity. Passing the test she is then assigned to find out what happened to a daughter she gave up for adoption 13 years before. Both cases overlap as Tess tries to discover the truth buried under all the lies.
This novel was inspired by a real-life Baltimore homicide, the story of a man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who had thrown rocks at his car. I find myself really liking this character with each book. We see how she is developing into herself. Lots of plot twists and I found myself wondering who was really the bad guy here.
Tess Monaghan has finally made the move and hung out the shingle as a P.I.-for-hire, complete with an office in Butchers Hill. Her first client is Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who five years ago shot a boy for vandalizing his car, just sprung from jail. He wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime for his own peace of mind, so he needs Tess to find them. But once she starts snooping, the witnesses she locates start dying. Is the "Butcher of Butchers Hill" as it again? Or is there another, even more sinister force at work?
She reluctantly accepts a 2nd case of a woman looking for her sister. Tess quickly finds out that there is no sister and the woman she is looking for is the woman's real idenity. Passing the test she is then assigned to find out what happened to a daughter she gave up for adoption 13 years before. Both cases overlap as Tess tries to discover the truth buried under all the lies.
This novel was inspired by a real-life Baltimore homicide, the story of a man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who had thrown rocks at his car. I find myself really liking this character with each book. We see how she is developing into herself. Lots of plot twists and I found myself wondering who was really the bad guy here.
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