The 4th Man by Lisa
Gardner
Penguin Publishing Group: 12/27/16
eBook review copy; 76 pages
ISBN-13:
9781101986325
The 4th Man by Lisa
Gardner is a highly recommended police procedural short story featuring FBI Profiler Pierce Quincy, Officer
Rainie Conner, and Detective D. D. Warren.
Quincy and Rainie agree to look at a cold case for D. D. Warren and see
if they can build a case against one of the three suspects. Five years
ago a young college student was found strangled in the stairwell of a
college
library. There were no signs of a sexual assault, no physical
evidence left behind, and no witnesses. The only obvious thing missing
were her white sneakers. There are three definite suspects, her
boyfriend and two security guards, but is there an unidentified fourth
man?
Gardner gives us a well-written short story here with favorite
characters. Included in the eBook short is an excerpt from her new
novel, Right Behind You. The only drawback is that this is a very short
story, but it is satisfying to follow the clues as they reach a
resolution to the cold case.
Disclosure:
My advanced reading copy was courtesy
of the Penguin Publishing Group.
Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner
Penguin Publishing Group:1/31/17
digital review copy; 400 pages
hardcover ISBN-13:
9780525954583
FBI Profiler Series #7
Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner is a highly recommended police procedural/thriller due to be released 1/31/17.
Eight years ago, at age 9, Telly Ray Nash killed his drunken father
before he killed Telly and Sharlah May, his 5 year old sister. Now
Sharlah is 13 and about to be adopted by Pierce Quincy, retired FBI
profiler, and his partner, Rainie
Conner, an investigative consultant for the Bakersville County (Ore.)
sheriff’s
department. Sharlah hasn't seen Telly since that night. Although he was
never charged with any crime, Telly and Sharlah entered the foster
system separated from each other for her safety. "Sharlah loves one
thing best about her new family: They are all
experts on monsters."
When Quincy and Rainie receive a call about a double murder at a gas
station and an armed suspect on the loose, it appears that the killer is
Telly. Now 17, Telly was being fostered nearby. Quincy and Rainie need
to keep Sharlah safe. But, why is Telly suddenly becoming violent and
how far will his killing spree go? He saved Sharlah years ago, but is
she still safe from her brother now?
Gardner does an exemplary job keeping the pace steady while tension
incrementally increases until the action is accelerated to a breakneck
clip in this thriller. The plot twists mount and increase toward the end
as more information is revealed. The plot twists were a surprise this
time and I didn't see the end game at all. She always does an excellent
job with character development. The chapters from the children's point
of view are illuminating and significant, since these are two kids that
don't say what they think.
I read this in one sitting as I was so involved in the plot I couldn't
put it down. There was one little plot element that I couldn't quite
accept, but can't discuss since it is very spoiler-ish. I found it hard
to believe that it would happen with the subsequent results, but you'll
have to read this excellent novel to see if you feel the same way. 4
stars
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Atria: 7/15/14
eBook review copy; 352 pages
hardcover ISBN-13:
9781476738017
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is a very highly recommended
heart-warming and heart-breaking novel that I sobbed while reading, yet
adored every word. Ove is a curmudgeon with a plan that the darn people
in his neighborhood keep interrupting.
Ove, 59, has just been informed that he is being forced into retirement
"'Won’t it be nice to slow down a bit?' they said to Ove yesterday at
work. While explaining that there was a lack of employment prospects and
so they were 'retiring the older generation'. A third of a century in
the same workplace, and that’s how they refer to Ove. Suddenly he’s a
bloody 'generation'. Because nowadays people are all thirty-one and wear
too-tight trousers and no longer drink normal coffee."
As he has done for almost four decades, Ove is continuing to make coffee
the right way, and go on his daily early morning inspections of the
neighborhood at 5:50 AM to make sure everything is in order and the
rules are being followed. After all, the rules are there for a reason
and there is no reason to stay in bed all day and not follow them. Ove
won't have to worry about this much longer because he has a plan.
As he is getting out his box of useful stuff to make preparations, he
looks out his window: "The poser is jogging. Not that Ove is provoked by
jogging. Not at all.
Ove couldn’t give a damn about people jogging. What he can’t understand
is why they have to make such a big thing of it. With those smug smiles
on their faces, as if they were out there curing pulmonary emphysema.
Either they walk fast or they run slowly, that’s what joggers do. It’s a
forty-year-old man’s way of telling the world that he can’t do anything
right. Is it really necessary to dress up as a fourteen-year-old
Romanian gymnast in order to be able to do it? Or the Olympic
tobogganing team? Just because one shuffles aimlessly round the block
for three quarters of an hour?"
Well, none of this will matter soon. And then the new neighbors scrap
the side of his house, stop in his flowerbed, and knock down his mailbox
while trying to back a trailer into their driveway when it is clearly
marked that motor vehicles are not allowed in the area. Ove doesn't know
what he's getting into when he meets the couple, Parvaneh and Patrick,
and their two daughters. What he does know is that he misses his beloved
wife, Sonia, and is ready to go meet her. "People said Ove saw the
world in black and white. But she was colour. All the colour he had."
But all his careful plans keep getting interrupted by one neighborhood
crisis after another.
I love this book. It is poignant and sad, yet hilariously funny.
Chapters alternate between the past and the present as the background
and true character of Ove is slowly revealed. Backman has a simple
writing style that grants his work a fable-like quality. He cleverly
captures the contrast of Ove's few words and his actions, and slowly
reveals Ove's past. The pacing is perfect. In the end, there are good
feelings and hugs
and chocolate all around, even for those who seem to be unlovable,
because sometimes you have to look beyond a person's words to see their
heart. It is
how one person can make a difference. It encourages us to overlook a
person's flaws and accept them as they are. You will feel Ove's
pain and sadness, but also you will be sending him warm wishes and good
thoughts. Even though there are parts that are heartbreaking, it
is, at its core, an uplifting, hopeful book.
(Two drawbacks: I couldn't take this book along to read at work on
breaks because I could be reduced to a sobbing mess at any moment, and,
come-on, 59 is not that old.)
Disclosure:
My digital reading copy was courtesy
of the publisher.
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
Britt-Marie Was Here
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
Penguin Publishing Group: 2/7/17
eBook review copy; 384 pages
ISBN-13: 9781101985137
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai is a highly recommended novel of a screw-up, time travel, alternate universes, and romance.
Tom Barren comes from the world we were supposed to have in 2016, the
future as envisioned by all the science fiction in the nineteen fifties,
and The Jetsons (1962-63) - flying cars, all automatic
doors, food and clothes synthesizers, etc. This is because in his
universe on July 11, 1965 Lionel
Goettreider turns on his invention, the Goettreider Engine, in front of
the sixteen witnesses, and changes our future. His machine
generates an unlimited source of clean energy. But Tom screwed that all
up, and maybe Penelope did too.
Tom's father is a brilliant scientist in the field of time travel and is
developing the first successful time travel machine. Although his
father is arrogant and treats Tom with disdain, Tom is working for him,
sort of, because he can't seem to find his place or a direction to his
life in his 2016. When Tom falls in love, a totally unexpected
occurrence, it sets into motion an impetuous decision that sends Tom
into our 2016, a sharp contrast to the advanced 2016. Surprisingly, this
reality may be better in many ways, but is this where Tom really
belongs or does he need to try and get his 2016 back.
All Our Wrong Todays is a novel that you need to stick with
through what may seem like a weak start. Tom's lack of self-esteem and
confidence at the start of the novel as he tells us that he made a
mistake and changed our future doesn't make sense until you get further
into the novel. This means that the rather blundering diffident
character you meet at the beginning doesn't seem very appealing. What
Mastai is doing is developing Tom's character, which will contrast
nicely with what happens later. Once the novel takes off, it is
remarkable.
Mastai has created a time travel novel with interesting twists that open
up alternate paths, but also seems to promote the idea that of a
soulmate through all universes. It is extremely well written and, after
the sluggish start, pick up speed and is an intelligent novel filled
with insights. The dialogue sets it apart and elevates the plot. As
other reviews have mentioned, this would make a fantastic movie.
Disclosure:
My advanced reading copy was courtesy
of the publisher/author.
Searching for John Hughes by Jason Diamond
HarperCollins: 11/29/16
advanced reading copy; 304 pages
trade paperback ISBN-13: 9780062424839
Searching for John Hughes: Or Everything I Thought I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from Watching '80s Movies
by Jason Diamond
is a very highly recommended coming-of-age memoir about growing up in
Chicago and New York, and a poignant look at following your dreams.
After viewing his first Hughes movie, Jason Diamond was hooked. He felt
as if the writer/director understood him and he knew through Hughes'
oeuvre that, in the end, after all the angst and anxiety, everything
would turn out okay. Growing up in Chicago, Diamond also closely knew
the areas, homes, and life John Hughes portrayed as the writer and/or
director for many of his classic '80's movies. Hughes movies include, in
part: National Lampoon's Vacation ('83),
Mr. Mom ('83), Sixteen Candles ('84), The Breakfast Club ('85), Weird Science ('85), Pretty in Pink ('86), Ferris Bueller's Day Off ('86),
Some Kind of Wonderful ('87), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ('87)
She's Having a Baby ('88), Uncle Buck ('89) and the Home Alone movies (
'90, '92, '97)
In reality Diamond's life was anything but a Hughes movie. He was an
abused kid from a broken home. As a teen, his mother left him in
Chicago, alone and homeless, and he went through some horribly difficult
trials. Through all of it, even in adulthood, Diamond could make sense
of his life and the social castes in high school thanks to Hughes's
movies. After high school, Diamond went to NYC where he worked various
low-paying jobs, telling people that he was a writer. However, once he
started claiming that he was writing the unauthorized biography of John
Hughes, he devoted himself earnestly to that project for years. He may
have been delusional and his methodology for writing the biography
illogical, but he put his heart into it. Needless to say, no book
resulted in his years of work.
This is a well-written, intelligent, heartbreaking memoir with an
abundance of self-deprecating humor. Simultaneously, it is an
exploration of how one man's movies influenced his life and choices. As I
read, my heart went out to Diamond. I supported him, wished him well,
and wanted him to succeed. Diamond proves within these pages that he is a
writer. Perhaps he could have written the definitive biography of John
Hughes, but what Jason Diamond truly succeeded at was showing how, while
struggling through his 20's, he
learned his craft, found a purpose for his life, let go of his tragic
past, and grew up. I enjoyed this memoir immensely.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this
book from HarperCollins.
TLC Tour Schedule
The Seventh Plague by James Rollins
HarperCollins: 12/13/16
eBook review copy; 448 pages
hardcover ISBN-13:
9780062381682
Sigma Force Series # 12
The Seventh Plague by James Rollins is a very highly recommended
addition to the Sigma Force series. This time Rollins takes the Sigma
Force on globe-trotting investigations and confrontations as they try to
prevent a world-wide threat of Biblical proportions. Rollins is
guaranteed to provide bookish action/adventure junkies the escapism they
crave.
Professor Harold McCabe, the leader of a British
archeological expedition in the Sudanese desert, dies before he can
explain where he was and what he was uncovering. The professor was a
believer that the plagues Moses brought down upon the Egyptians were
real events and had been looking into this. An autopsy reveals that his
body was in the stages of being mummified while the professor was still
alive. But, when the medical team who performed the autopsy all become
ill with a mysterious disease that threatens to spread across the globe,
it becomes essential to discover where the professor was and what he
had discovered.
Painter Crowe and the Sigma Force are called in to help, but when a
mysterious group destroys all evidence and the body they must try to
retrace his steps. The professor's son, Rory is still missing. Jane
McCabe (some reviews are calling her Jean, but my review copy calls her
Jane) his daughter, and Derek Rankin, the professor's young protégé, are being protected and helping to try and solve the puzzle. Historical guests in this one include Mark Twain, Henry
Morgan Stanley, Nikola Tesla, and Dr. David Livingstone.
This is an exciting thrill-ride of a novel that provides plenty of
action and adventure. Those who have never read any of Rollin's Sigma
Force novels can jump into this one and I think they will still find it
enjoyable and the perfect choice for escapism, especially on a cold
winter night. Fans of the series know all the characters and at this
point they are all well-developed. Expect plenty of notes about the
research into a wide variety of facts, including historical and
scientific, that Rollins undertook when writing The Seventh Plague. Sure, I'll concede the point that Rollin's
novels may be following a formula, but even if that is true, he is one
of the best around at this genre, he still adds twists and surprises,
and his novels are always entertaining and compelling.
Disclosure:
My advanced reading copy was courtesy
of the publisher/author.
Kill the Next One by Federico Axat
Mulholland Books: 12/13/16
eBook review copy; 416 pages
hardcover ISBN-13:
9780316354219
Kill the Next One by Federico Axat is a highly recommended psychological thriller.
In the opening Ted
McKay is in his study, planning to kill himself, when the doorbell
rings. Whoever is there is very persistent, so Ted opens the door and
meets Justin Lynch. Lynch offers him a bizarre proposal: if Ted will
kill two men, one criminal who deserves to die and one man who has
terminal cancer and wants to die, then Ted will become the next target
and spare his family the shame of his suicide. Ted, who has been
diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, accepts the proposition and kills
the two men.
Only the men aren't quite who Lynch said they were. And Ted isn't quite
what he seems to be. Then Ted's reality/story resets itself and changes.
Nothing in the opening is quite what it seems and Ted may be
hallucinating. His therapist, Laura Hill, is trying to help him through
his crisis. What is reality and what is the truth? What do Ted's dreams
mean? And why is Ted being admitted to the psychiatric unit at Lavender
Memorial?
Honestly, I was ready to set Kill the Next One aside after the
first two parts (at 30% of the novel) because the premise seems so
absurd and there were so many holes in the story - but then I started
the third part
and was immediately hooked. After this point the novel dramatically
changes so, first things first: you have to get through the first two
parts of this four part novel for events to suddenly start to get
extremely intriguing and the plot takes a twist. Is Ted sane? You will
know that he might not be a reliable narrator from the first two parts.
You are going to have an inkling that what you think is true might not
be reality. It is also at this point that a mystery takes hold of the
narrative as you try to untangle the facts.
Translated from the original Spanish by David Frye, the writing is quite
good. This is one of those psychological thrillers/mysteries that you
can't say too much about or you are going to give away parts. In the
end, know that reading the first two parts is essential to understand
all the twisty bits that follow.
Warning: There is one horrific scene of animal torture toward the end
that you can just skip right over, but the presence of it might be way
too much for some readers.
Disclosure:
My advanced reading copy was courtesy
of the publisher/author.
