Fierce Kingdom

by Gin Phillips
July 4-7, 2018

A super quick read, not necessarily because of the intended suspense. I am not really a fan of thrillers or this genre in general, but was intrigued by the short length and light investment while on vacation.

A woman and her 5-year old son are at the zoo near closing time. They know all the ins and outs of the place. As they make their way to the exit they hear gun shots and find a place to hide. OK, sounds good, right? My first issue is that terror is not an enjoyable feeling for me when I'm reading. Especially when it involves children. The second issue, and this is a big one, is how Joan decides to handle the situation. Now I understand that no one could predict how she would react in a terrifying life or death situation, but I gotta believe it wouldn't be anything like this. In the beginning, Joan communicates with her husband via cell phone as she shares news of their hiding and tries to learn more of the situation. But suddenly she thinks the light on the phone will get them caught, so she throws her phone away. WHAT?! I get that it makes for a more dramatic story, but it's just not plausible. It's her only connection to the outside.

Finally, while I'm the first to criticize a plot for wrapping up neatly in a bow, this one just stops at the most uninformative moment. What the hell happened to the baby in the garbage can? What happened to the woman with the bad knee?? I can probably assume that everyone made it out safely, but aren't books like this supposed to not have happy endings? Overall, an extremely flawed delivery on a decent premise.

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The Address

by Fiona Davis
Feb 23-Mar 13, 2018

I saw the Dakota just one time. I wish I would have paid more attention to it. At the time we were more interested in heading to the park to see Strawberry Fields. In the first few chapters of The Address, I was enthralled. How cool to take a look back at the opening days of this famous residence. The story is told in alternating chapters from 1885 and its beginning to "present" day 1985 and its hundred-year anniversary. It feels it's almost needless to say, but the 19th century parts were incomparably better than the modern day perspective. Every single character in the present was unlikable. The dialogue was laughable. But the continued story of Theo and Sara was romantic and fun. And then the story derails...

I bought into this one for the historical fiction aspect, but I somehow missed that it was also a mystery. A silly, trite and far-fetched "twist" that lost all credibility in my eyes. As the two timelines begin to merge, the present day characters become even less likable and the mystery from the past is totally unconvincing. Did people really get wrongfully committed to asylums when they "got in the way?" I might have to read up on that (if I cared enough to keep this book top-of-mind).

Three stars, but only for the first half.

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Never Knowing

by Chevy Stevens
May-July 2014

I really struggled through this one. Immediately, I was turned off by the narrator's voice; it was so affected and forced. Kind of like a bad acting job, but in her defense, she didn't exactly have exciting or intelligent dialogue to work with. The only reason I felt the need to stick it out was because of how much I enjoyed Still Missing.

The main character, Sara, was quite possibly the most annoying protagonist I've read in a long time. Whiny, selfish and just an overall pain in the ass, I would actually find myself clicking my tongue while listening to her antics. Her relationship with her fiancé felt forced. Her attitude with the police was completely obnoxious. None of her relationships were the least bit genuine.

In the same style as Still Missing, Sara is speaking to a voiceless therapist in each chapter. I guess this is Stevens' "thing?" Just because it was successful once does not mean it should be reused. This time it came across as obvious and trite.

The twist at the end was not only expected, but also proved to have no real bearing on the story. It was thrown in as an afterthought. Since I paid money for this audiobook I hung on until the end, torturous as it was. It's funny, I was reading some other reader reviews and it seems it's either a love it or hate it book. The complaints I read were exactly like my own. With so many books out there, I think I need to stop being loyal to random authors. It's one thing to read several titles by an author I consider a favorite, but just because I discover a great new book doesn't mean I need to read an author's complete repertoire. Enough of that.

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Help for the Haunted

by John Searles
October 28-Nov19, 2013

What a waste of three precious weeks of reading time. I can't remember now what made me want to read this book, but it had to be something significant because this genre is never chosen by me. I'm just not a fan of mystery or suspense. And while I think a book can accomplish way more than a movie can, I found myself thinking that this book will be way scarier if (when) it gets made into a movie.

Since I'm not going to recommend Help for the Haunted to any of my book friends, spoilers will abound in this review. Please keep reading though because I'm telling you it's not worth your time anyway.

The whole time I was reading, I felt as though I stepped into the middle of the conversation. It's not like when chapters leave you hanging in suspense, but more like I wasn't in on the secret, which was incredibly frustrating. I just never found my stride. The gist of this book is that Sylvie and her sister Rose are left orphaned after their parents are murdered. Sylvester and Rose Mason have the unusual, but highly publicized career of helping those who have been haunted in one way or another. Sylvie has been coerced by her evil, cruel sister to give the police a story which leads them away from Rose being the prime suspect, but Sylvie can't help but think that there is another side to the story. From here the book drags and drags, weaving from present to past and throwing in a handful of stories meant to throw the reader off. I found myself bored, but not really giving up because I had to find out who the murderer was. And if I'm being honest, Searles writing style is easy to read. But the creepy stuff and learning more about the Mason's "healing" work didn't seem to accomplish its task ... to scare me, the reader. There's a doll at the crux of the story that had ill-effects on its owner until the Masons came and removed it. The doll then proceeded to bring chaos and sickness to Sylvie's mom, until they locked it away in a rabbit cage in the basement. This is where I think visuals would be more successful.

I could continue to ramble on, but I made my point about the scattered story line. Still, I pressed on, sure that the payoff would be worth it. And then, AND THEN, it turns out the Masons were fakes!!!! No one or nothing was haunted and they healed no one!! Seriously?! The father just drugged people making them believe they were being possessed. All in the name of publicity!! There's even an undercurrent of homophobia and intolerance connected to Rose. What a giant waste of time!!!! If I'm going to pick up a book that promises suspense, mystery and the supernatural, WHY do I want it to turn out to be a hoax after all?? Waste. There's three weeks I will never get back. Lesson learned.

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The Last Summer of the Camperdowns

by Elizabeth Kelly
Aug 20-Sept 9, 2013

Alas, my last book of the summer was appropriately titled. I hate the end of summer. I'm probably the only person on the planet who loathes the fall. Darker, quieter mornings sans chirping birds; cooler, earlier nights when socks are required. Awful. Not for me. Time to start hibernating.

When I finished this book a few weeks ago, I had so many thoughts and a lot to say for this post. But I quickly dismissed this book and apparently my opinions along with it. What I do remember is feeling that Kelly tried to cram too many side stories into the book instead of focusing on the one or two that could have really been better developed. But I also have nothing but praise for her crisp, smart dialog and her ability to transport the reader to a better place with her metaphors:

"His voice sounded like a graham cracker tastes."

Doesn't that sentence just make you sigh? I love it. Sentences like that are what kept me going through to the end, even when I felt the book had lost its way. I read a review someone wrote that said the momentum of the book couldn't hold up after the first few chapters, and I couldn't agree more.

Starting out in present day, Riddle Camperdown, runs into the elusive Harry Devlin at a party, having gone 20 years since last seeing him. He proceeds to walk past her and out the door without a word, and thus the tone is set. The reader is then whisked back to 1972, when Riddle is 13. For the most part we remain here, but then suddenly we're drawn into WWII while the author tries to make parallels with Riddle and her father, Camp. The whole time I wanted to rejoin present day and find out why Harry walked out the door. This gets wrapped up in the last 50 pages of the book, and that's what disappointed me. The relationship between Harry and Riddle never felt fully fleshed out to me. Or maybe I just wanted more? Or really what I don't like is trying to mix mystery, drama, romance and coming-of-age all in one book? And don't even get me started on how much I detested Riddle's mother, Greer. Kudos to Kelly for evoking such strong emotions.

No regrets on this one, just a wish for something more.

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Defending Jacob

by William Landay December 2012-January2013 When my mom recommended Defending Jacob to me last summer, I was fairly quick to dismiss her. Most of the time we have the same reading tastes, but where we differ is in the murder/mystery category. She loves them: she's a huge fan of James Patterson. I liked the first few Alex Cross books, but quickly lost interest. I tried reading a few of the other series by Patterson, but yuck. That's it. Yuck. Not my cup o' tea. And while I continually proclaim to my mother that I'm not a lover of this genre, she continues to "persuade" me to read certain novels. She also has much more time to read, so therefore picks up just about anything from library because she can breeze through 350+ pages in a few days. I need to be more finicky since my reading time can be precious and limited. But after a few more positive reviews and the generosity of Joanna, who lent me the audiobook, I succumbed. The assistant district attorney's son has been accused of murder. All signs point to Jacob's guilt, but isn't it a parent's duty to defend their child under any circumstance? Thus is the crux of Landay's third crime novel. I think what drew me in this time was the fact that I was reading a more character-driven novel with the focus on the family's relationship, unlike the usual whodunit. And although I am terrible at predicting the outcome of any book, I dare say that no one could have seen this ending coming. Defending Jacob was a welcomed change. It even had me thinking about it for a few days afterward...always a good sign. Can you inherit a "murder gene?" Are you willing to defend a loved one at any cost? At what point does it simply become unbearable? Do you give up? * * * * *

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

October 21-November 19, 2012

I have never claimed to be a fan of mystery or suspense dramas. But the hype this book was getting intrigued me. A few chapters in and I was hooked. This isn't what I would typically expect from a mystery and I loved it.

Nick and Amy are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. When Nick returns from the bar that he owns with his twin sister, he finds the house ransacked and his wife missing. The police begin an immediate investigation and discover that the pieces aren't quite fitting together. It's not long before Nick becomes the prime and obvious suspect; while he continuously insists that he is innocent. Each alternate chapter is told by Nick and Amy respectively. Nick comes across truly set-up and scammed, yet a crappy husband who is incapable of showing proper emotion. Amy is an insipid, spoiled sociopath who is completely unlikable from the start. I can't say much more than that without spoiling pieces of the plot.

Flynn does such a great job at keeping the reader in the dark until the very end. The twists and turns never stop. The narrators, Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne, portray Nick and Amy flawlessly. This was the kind of audiobook that I listened to long after I pulled into the garage in the evening. I would also sneak a chapter or two here and there while doing household chores. I even listened to Gone Girl while running on the treadmill! For an avid reader like me, that says a lot. This isn't the type of story I'm normally drawn to, but what a great distraction from the usual.

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