Tag Archives: book review
Unsheltered: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver
Reviewed by Teri Davis
A single run-down home is what combines two families about one-hundred years apart. Unfortunately, the house is in poor condition for both families. Part of the house with water for the kitchen and bathroom appears to be leaning in mid-air no foundation under this addition. Fortunately, the other part seems somewhat more substantial.
Willa Knox finds that her plans for this stage in her life as she planned. By now, she had expected herself to be a successfully published author and her husband, Iano being comfortably tenured at a college or university. Instead, Willa finds herself jobless with no prospects and her husband as an adjunct professor at a college with the two barely able to make ends meet. She believes her son is successful in life with career and family and her daughter, Tig, is just hopeless.
One-hundred years ago, Thatcher Greenwood moved into the house along with his wife and of course, his mother-in-law. Both are disappointed in Thatcher. They both expect to lead a high-class and wealthy lifestyle which could be difficult on a science teacher’s salary. Thatcher chooses to teach evolution in his classroom based on Darwin’s recent discoveries. Along with his neighbor, the two continue
It does seem strange with both families suffer from the uncertainty of the future, both with worry about the house, feeling of the insecurity of becoming unsheltered is a fear.
You Don’t Own Me (An Under Suspicion Novel) by Mary Higgins Clark
Reviewed by Allen Hott
This is one in the series, Under Suspicion, written by Mary Higgins Clark and is a pretty good read overall. This is also my first read of any of Clark’s books.
Caroline Radcliffe is working as a nanny for Doctor Martin Bell and his wife, Kendra when she hears what she thinks to be fireworks being shot off outside as she watches over the two young Bell children. However as she goes out to check she finds the doctor shot to death in the driveway in his automobile.
Caroline runs into the house and tries to tell Kendra but Kendra is in one of her stupors or at least appears to be. Kendra has been suffering from some sort of postpartum depression for quite a while and she doesn’t always respond very quickly. The police are called and investigations are done but no one can be found to be responsible.
Five years later Kendra is doing much better and is taking care of the children with the help of Caroline. However the parents of Doctor Bell have never accepted the fact that (a) no one was found to be guilty and (b) they suspect Kendra of being involved plus they do not like having her take care of their grandchildren.
The Bell parents decide to contact Laurie Moran of a widely known television program called Under Suspicion. This program with Laurie and her staff do more in depth searching and investigating on cases that though worked on by law enforcement agencies they have never been solved. Laurie had looked into Martin Bell’s murder several years ago but really did not spend a lot of time with it nor did she find out anything of significant value. However now with the pressure of the Bells she agrees to take another in depth look at the situation.
Strong As Steel (Caitlin Strong Novels) by Jon Land
Reviewed by Russell Ilg
The tenth time is clearly the charm for the in dominatable Jon Land whose decennial effort in his Caitlin Strong series, Strong as Steel, cements his Texas Ranger’s status as the best female protagonist in thriller fiction today and maybe ever.
The high-octane plot features the classic thriller staple of a long buried, and of course deadly, secret being unearthed, this time from the Texas desert. Caitlin’s father Jim Strong, apparently, was somehow involved in burying three shipping crates there twenty-five years before as part of a case he was working on. Indeed, a particular staple of this series is the seamless intermixing of the past and the present, with Caitlin picking up on a trail left by one of her ancestors. It was William Faulkner who said, “The past isn’t dead, it’s not even past.” Well, nothing describes Strong as Steel better than that, with “dead” being the operative word.
But Caitlin isn’t the only one on the trail of the contents of those three crates; far from it, in fact. Hot on their trail, and hers, is Molinari, an especially maniacal head of an especially fanatical band of religious zealots out to safeguard a two-thousand-year-old secret at all costs. Being once set ablaze by his enemies has left Molinari almost literally faceless and he has long pursued his quest with a degree of violence and rage befitting the grotesque he’s become.
Wrong Light (The Rick Cahill Series) by Matt Coyle
Reviewed by Vickie Dailey
This was my first Rick Cahill novel – I really like the character – he is a no nonsense PI.
Rick is hired by a local radio station to find out who is stalking their late-night talent via her call-in line. After Rick meets Naomi, he begins the process of finding her stalker – when it walks the Russian Mafia – pulling him in another direction.
While trying to work both cases, Rick spends many sleepless nights which leads to mistakes and death for others. Rick enlists his PI friend Moria to help with Naomi’s case while he pursues the other trying to tie all the trails together toward the final end pulling in favors from the police and FBI.
I really liked the fast pace of the book and waiting to find out if Rick could pull off working two unrelated cases at the same time – lots of story plot to hold your interest.
Splinter in the A Novel Blood (Carver and Lake) by Ashley Dyer
Reviewed by Teri Davis
Have you ever noticed that murderers who have a touch of creativity in their killings seem to be remembered by a particular nickname making them more infamous? The Son of Sam, The Zodiac Killer, and Jack the Ripper are only a few with this notorious distinction. Add to this list now is The Thorn Killer who slowly poisons his victims from a poisonous ink tattooed to their bodies with thorns, instead of needles. This unusual technique creates the Splinter in the Blood.
Imagine a murder where the hunter becomes the hunted. That is Splinter in the Blood.
Detective Greg Carver is in the sitting room of his home. He has blood on him, obviously from being shot in the chest. His partner, Detective Sergeant Ruth Lake is holding a 1911 Colt pistol. She quickly places the gun, files, posters about The Thorn Killer grabbing anything connected with the case and carrying it to the trunk of her car. All evidence is always left at the police station, not at the lead detective’s home. As she wipes the house of fingerprints, she notices that there seems to be some movement from Greg’s eyes. Could he be alive?
Edge: A Novel by Jeffery Deaver
Reviewed by Allen Hott
Quite a bit of a different story overall and pretty good except that Corte, the hero, seems to be overly involved with game playing. And mostly board games as he is constantly referring to them or how they are played while he goes about his business.
Corte’s business is working as a undercover federal agent as a shepherd or guard over people who have been targeted by lifters. Lifters are criminals who hunt down (for a price) individuals, who one way or another, have become knowledgeable about a person’s indiscretions. The particular lifter in Edge is a gentleman named Henry Loving and Corte has seen how he works. Loving had recently killed Corte’s buddy and co-worker after using inhumane torture on the man.
Now it appears that Loving is after a D.C. cop named Ryan Kessler and it is up to Corte to protect Kessler and his family. This means he will take them often from one safe house to another and all the while protecting them and their whereabouts from Loving.
Money Please Come Back: Changing Your Relationship with Money and Growing It by Jeremy Kho
Reviewed by Timea Barabas
Jeremy Kho came back with another significant book about how to manage your finances. Following The Journey from Poor Procrastinator to Invested Millennia, which encouraged the reader to take charge of his or her finances and become an active economic agent, Money Please Come Back takes things to the next level. This book works as an easy to read step by step guide toward reaching not just financial independence but freedom.
It is easy to get drawn in by the friendly and informal writing style of Jeremy Kho which is more reminiscent of a leisurely but informative conversation than a written text. Also, the financial terminology, which might scare away some, is used in a considerate manner followed by ample explanation and exemplification. The complexity of the economic system is presented in a structured and simplified way so that it can be easily assimilated by those who do not have a background in this domain. However, the most valuable part of the book is its practicality. While relying on a solid theoretical framework, the author put forward a series of steps to follow. The reader can easily act upon the advice presented in the book if he/she desires so. Needless to say, this does not imply that the road will necessarily be easy or risk-free, only that financial freedom is within reach for anyone.
Jeremy Kho encourages the reader to treat finances like any relationship. And as we all know, not all types of relationships are beneficial. The first step is to analyze and define it in order to gain an accurate image of the situation. Once you have a clear vision of where you currently are, you need to do the same with the future. Of course, there is a colorful variety of goals one can have, but the endgame should always be to break free of the shackles of financial strain and reach freedom.
Money Please Come Back was written by Jeremy Kho with the intention of passing on his academic and empirical knowledge. It will certainly prove a useful read for anyone who struggles with money-related issues. The main aim of the book is to help build a healthy relationship with one’s finances and what is more to reach freedom.
In Her Bones: A Novel by Kate Moretti
Reviewed by Allen Hott
This is a very different book. Edie Beckett, the daughter of Lilith Wade, has a hard time understanding and accepting her mother’s killing instincts. Supposedly Lilith has killed as many as five different women and possibly more. She is now in prison on death row and Edie’s brain seems to be deteriorating every day because of the whole situation.
Edie can’t seem to get enough of the families that have been hurt by her mother’s actions. However as she begins getting closer to them (under pretenses of course) she discovers many things.
In most cases Edie pretty well stays away from too close a contact because she doesn’t want them to know who she is. She actually becomes so infatuated however with one of the men that she meets up with him and things go very far.
Other than that one Edie does seem to just hover in the background scoping the families out. And all the time Edie’s own brain appears to be getting more and more confused. She begins having problems staying in touch with her own brother with whom she has been very close her whole life.
Not too unusual is the breakup, however, as her brother is also having many problems with his own thinking and behaving. The two of them do remain somewhat close, in a strange way, up to the end when everything appears to be falling apart between them.
That breakup at first seems to be really bothering Edie but she not only moves on pretty much on her own but she seems to almost be getting better in some of her actions.
However when she does hook up with that one man from her mother’s past everything seems to not fall apart but actually blow up. And none of it is good for Edie.
Quite a book overall, that I attempted several times to put down and quit reading. Mainly because of all the different characters who kept popping up. Not only did they seem to appear for no reason but they also did not seem to fit in the part of the story where they appeared.
I am not sure that I would recommend this one but also not sure that I would degrade it. So much of it turned out very well in the end but it seems like there were lots of problems getting to that place. Give it a good read (don’t quit on it) and see what your thoughts are!
Stay Hidden A Novel (Mike Bowditch Mysteries) by Paul Doiron
Reviewed by Allen Hott
Mike Bowditch, the Maine Warden Investigator, is out on his first case as an investigator. He has been a Maine Game Warden for some time but just recently earned this promotion. And it appears from the way he handled his first case in his new job his supervisors may not be overly thrilled with his work. However overall when they sit down with him and others involved I believe they will end up realizing he did a very good job based on all of the circumstances.
A very well-known controversial author, Ariel Evans, has been shot to death by a hunter on Maquoit Island. That is a very remote island off the coast of Maine with a very sparse population and is known somewhat by some battles between several factions on the island. It is also known as a spot for drug usage, sales, and people associated with the whole drug mess.
However when Mike arrives on the island he finds out a lot of different things that neither he nor his superiors were aware of. To begin with there are definitely two factions. But the ones mainly supposedly connected with the drug business are pretty well off on their own. The rest of the inhabitants seem to be getting along pretty well together under the guidance or “rule” of Harmon Reed. Harmon Reed is the harbormaster, first assessor, chairman of the planning board, and pretty much dictates what goes on in their faction of the island.
Vicious Circle by Wilbur Smith
Reviewed by Allen Hott
A somewhat different book that holds your interest if parts of it don’t drive you away! Hector Cross lived a life of high risks and actual warfare and then he met and married Hazel Bannock. Hazel was the daughter of the founder of Bannock Oil which was one of the largest refinery type businesses in the English Empire. Hazel had previously lost a daughter from a previous marriage but was now pregnant with a daughter to be by Henry. All seemed to be going well until she was brutally murdered while out driving her Ferrari as Hector followed in his Land Rover.
He was able to get two of the criminals who were involved in Hazel’s shooting but one of them got away. This thus became his passion to find not only that one but the entire group that was behind this killing.