Camino Island by John Grisham

Other

Now THIS is some serious storytelling.

Maybe it is because I just met John Grisham at Sally's store, where he made small talk about my name and signed my copy of the book and then later recorded a podcast conversation with John Hart about writing styles and their next books, etc., that I witnessed.  I was still on cloud 9 from that experience when I read this book.  So I really heard Grisham's voice in this book since I was thinking of the writer as I read what he wrote.  Make sense??

The cool thing in this story is there is no mystery.  You know from the start who stole what and who got caught.  What you don't know is who else may or may not become involved.  So there is a lot of backstory and narration here, which I really enjoyed.  You can argue that at least two characters are the "main" character - it is shared I think.  And I do love a book about a book seller/writer/fellow reader.  Grisham throws in a lot of insider information about the world of books (and one hilarious comment about lawyers!!!).  He even shares his own voice with MC1 (Main Character 1) Bookseller Bruce when he reveals the rules of writing - these are actually Grisham's own rules and habits in writing his own books (tune in to Grisham's podcast series to find out how Hart writes HIS books - they are polar opposites but apparently good friends!!).

A really good, fun and easy read - a bit of intrigue as MC2 Mercer tries with varying degrees of success to spy on MC1 Bruce (she's a writer not a spy), and some great small town politics and dinner parties on Florida's Camino Island where Mercer grew up and Bruce settled down.  Throw in some priceless stolen F Scott Fitzgerald original manuscripts, one desperate insurance company,  several writers with writer's block but strong opinions, a successful local bookstore, two desperate thieves and a whole lot of money, and  you've got yourself one helluva mess.  This is not a typical Grisham novel, nary a courtroom in site, and I liked it that way.  Encore Mr. Grisham!!!!!

And thank you for signing my book!

The Awkward Age by Francesca Segal

I am so mad at this author.

It has taken me a week and another book between to come back to this review.  The Awkward Age was not at all what I expected.  I expected humor (British humor!!), family dysfunction, a light read.

Not.

This is a story of a middle aged couple who fall in love and decide to move in together, in London, while their daughter and son respectively are still teenagers and living at home.  At first, the kids hate each other.  And then....not so much.  And then.....well, they are teenagers.

I am all for love in middle age, and the feelings widowed Julia and divorced James have for one another are precious indeed.  And kudos to this author for really digging deep into honest feelings and letting us see inside the minds of each of our four main characters - the good, the bad, and the ugly thoughts they have about one another.  Their parenting styles are very different and when the kids reveal that they like each other, the parents begin projecting on their own lover's child. Brutal, but we all have been there in some form.

Here is what angered me - there is a scene between Julia and her daughter Gwen (who she has raised as a single parent for the last five or so years after the devastating illness and death of her first husband) which I just could not believe.  Julia has up until this point spoiled her daughter rotten, but also given her daughter a very firm safety net and exclusive, close relationship.  In this scene, Julia says some utterly unforgivable and uncharacteristic things to her daughter that NO mother, no decent mother, would EVER say to her child.  Ever.  No matter how angry or hurt.  And especially not Julia, who couldn't even say No to her daughter.  It was devastating and ripped my heart to read.  I wondered how Gwen would ever speak to her mother again, much less function.  Cue the therapy.

The story continues, the conflict explodes and then wanes and then, and then - Epilogue. Does the conflict rip the family apart?  Does love overcome all?  And if you had to choose, which love comes first - parental or romantic???   I wasn't very satisfied with the ending, it was too little too late really although it could have been worse, but mainly it was because these characters should never have let it go this far (BE THE PARENT!!) and it just seemed so set up and unrealistic. Yes, ok, I know it is fiction, but I believed Harry Potter more than I believed the way these characters acted toward the middle and end.

The teenage angst here is represented well I think though, so focus on that.  The difference in how the teenage girl reads a situation and the college boy's response to the same conversation is pretty typical I think.  And the grandparents in the book are probably my favorites - wait til you see how Philip Alden ends up!!  HAHA!  I loved that Julia was still close to her in-laws after their shared loss.
And the book is well written, I just had a hard time getting over that scene.

There is definitely sex in this book, but not graphically described.  There are also difficult references to the responsibility that comes with the decision to or not to have sex that are pretty deep and could be disturbing.  No rape, but this is a deep subject.  Proceed with caution.  There could be triggers here.

*Summer 2017 Book One Done!!!

The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis

Fabulous classic Patterson, I couldn't put it down. Full of twists and turns and misdirections, this story will keep you guessing, assuming, and doubting yourself about what is what and who is who. I had it figured out, then changed my mind, then changed my mind back, then switched again, then thought -OH!!! Got it. And was right, but still, the process was super fun.

Jenna Murphy is a red headed (ie hot tempered) young NY city cop who gets in trouble in Manhattan and moves to her Police Chief Uncle's small town in the Hamptons in order to stay in the force. Back in her hometown for the first time since her childhood and the deaths of her immediate family, she begins to have nightmares and panic attacks and also stirs things up tremendously in the small town police force there. In her first sensational case, her intuitive detective skills tell her that Noah Walker, arrested for a double murder discovered at 7 Ocean Drive (not the first dead bodies found in the "Murder House" over the years), just doesn't tick the boxes for a murderer.

They also tell her things aren't what they seem in this idyllic community when her investigations bring up past events - was Noah also responsible for the BB gun shootings at the elementary school years ago? Who is protecting whom? And why does her ex partner now seem to have it out for her? Jenna goes through a harrowing and traumatic time, knowing her life is now on the line, but determined that justice will prevail no matter the cost; she will not give up until she knows the truth - the whole truth. Can she handle it?? Who should she trust?

Switching in time to a slow build of gruesome murders and told in varying perspectives - Jenna's in first person, and several other suspects, including Noah's, from third - this is not your average murder mystery. If you pay attention, you'll catch the great red herring about 2/3 of the way through. But, a great beach read, might be a bit long to read in a day but then again, you never know what can happen with Patterson at the pen....

Summer 2017 Reading List, or My Summer is BOOKED.

Hooray for Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just know I am going to have hours and hours to sit in my sunroom and at Patti and Teri's respective pools and read read read!!

(Yeah, between camp carpool and VBS dropoff and "Mom can you take me to the mall???"  Ugh.)

Yet, I am basically a hopeful person.  I might be reading in the parking lot of the mall waiting on my teenager but by golly I'll be reading!!!

So here is my list of what I am excited about this summer.  I admit I am not as excited with this list as I was with last year's list (oh, maybe I will post that here too!).  And it is long,but just think of it as one book per week.  That is doable during summer....right??



1 - Camino Island, John Grisham - So excited to be going to meet Grisham next week at my local bookstore!!!  He rarely if ever does tours, so this is quite the coup (yea Sally!).  Not a bad way to spend the first week of summer - all afternoon in my LBS (Local Book Store) getting a new book signed by a famous author.  I have no idea what the book is about, but Grisham does not usually disappoint.  Plus, I am going with some book club mates so we will enjoy it no matter what!

2 - The Fix, David Baldacci - Ok, I am very excited about this one actually.  This is the third book in the excellent Amos Decker series (Memory Man, The Last Mile).   Please go read the first two first.  Amos is a character like no other - grumpy, abrasive, sometimes downright mean - but you'll love him.  He has an excellent memory for detail due to a brain injury on the football field years ago which stole his pro football career from him.  Now he uses his new (and improved?) brain to solve mysteries.  His injury also prevents him from feeling emotion, so there's that to contend with, sometimes with a giggle.  But his cohorts are super loyal, and his ability to see what others don't during an investigation is becoming legendary.  This will be a page turner!!!

3 - The Silent Corner, Dean Koontz - This might surprise those of you new to my book reviews, but I adore Dean Koontz.  He is one of my top 5 authors.  I once thought it would be fun to try to read all of his books - and then I saw the list.  The man writes more than James Patterson.  Sheesh.  This is the start of a new series starring a formidable but regular woman: Jane Hawk.  When her husband suddenly commits suicide, she goes on a hunt for the truth of his life and his death and subsequently gets involved in other "mysterious" suicides and becomes a target herself.  It helps that she is an FBI agent.  The classic "she stumbled on a dangerous truth" premise gets a twist with the addition of the issue of suicide as a cover. Most of Koontz's books have a supernatural bent which I love (hello Odd Thomas, From the Corner of His Eye, and 47 others or so), but doesn't look like this one is going there.  Stay tuned...

4 - Born a Crime, Trevor Noah - Another surprise on my list - an autobiography!  Born in South Africa to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, Noah was evidence of the crime of mixed fraternization during Apartheid.  His rise to fame as the now anchor of The Daily Show apparently makes for an educational and comic read.

5 - The Girls, Emma Cline - This is a book from last year that I just never got around to.  Sort of a cult brainwashes teenage girls story,   But a book of choices and a cautionary tale.  I am prepared to be scared (did I mention I have TWO teenage daughters???).

6 - Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance - I am late to the game on this one too but after loving Small Great Things back in January, this seems a good counter.  My book club is reading it, so I know I will get it done!

7 - Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, Diana Gabaldon - Had to do it.  An Anthology of a few "short" stories I have read before and two new ones, Gabaldon fills a few gaps in the Outlander universe about Roger's parents, Jamie's youth, and of course, "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies."  Insert smiley face here.

8- The Awkward Age, Francesca Segal - A Sally Book (meaning, my local bookseller, who I obviously worship, suggested it).  A British family, a divorce, a new marriage, and two teenage step-siblings.  Let the fun begin - complete with British humor which even my British husband might enjoy.  If I don't understand something, I'll just ask him.  (BTW, going to get a "ruby" does NOT entail going to the jewelry store.....)

9 - Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan - A sweeping family saga that starts with two Irish sisters coming to NY and ends with a huge family and one big secret that could make or break them.  Sounds like a beach read for me!!!!  Another Sally Book, I was skeptical because I did not really like The Engagements, but I trust Sally.  And she says you shouldn't dismiss one "sibling" of a book just because you didn't like the other one.  Hmmm.  Ironic much??

10 - I let You Go, Clare Mackintosh - Sally Book #3.  I don't usually go for a book where a child dies...but in this one the child is not the focus.  The focus is on the mother's life afterwards (and maybe prior??), how she flees to a small village on the Welsh coast - but from what is she actually fleeing??  Called a British procedural with a great twist at the end, this one intrigued me.

11 - Into the Water, Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train author is back with another novel of how memory affects the story.  Two women end up dead in the local river mere weeks apart; turns out they are not the only ones to lose their lives to the river.  The mystery deepens, memories are untrustworthy, and one teenage girl must learn to carry on with her new life.  Even the reviews are mixed on this one - yes, a different story altogether; yes, the same great writing; yes, it is fast paced...but maybe not for everyone.  I'll let you know!

12 - The Life She Was Given, Ellen Marie Wiseman - Historical fiction, finally!!  Another past meets present, but I am a little nervous about this premise.  In the 1930's, a little girl named Lilly is not allowed to leave her house, but then she is suddenly "sold" to the circus, where she apparently finds strength and a family to love her.  Fast forward 20 years and Julia is a 19 year old who returns to her unhappy childhood home and discovers photos of a young circus girl and goes in search of her story....tragedy and healing, heartbreak and hope all bind together in this one - compares to Water for Elephants said one review!

*13 - For the Baker's Dozen (Reader's Dozen??)  I will give you the rest of my list with brief comments:

Since We Fell - Dennis Lehane: a journalist breaks down on air, becomes a recluse until forced by a conspiracy to rejoin the world.  Psychological Thriller

The Thirst - Jo Nesbo:  #11 Harry Hole, an investigator who in this case hunts a killer who uses Tinder to find his victims.  Timely.

Full Wolf Moon - Lincoln Child (love his Pendergast series with his partner Douglas Preston!): just a tiny bit of The X Files here - Logan investigates strange phenomena, and this time it is a mauled body in the woods.....fifth in the series.

A Game of Ghosts - John Connolly: Deaths and disappearances blamed on ghosts??  What the what?  I'm in.  The FBI dispatches Charlie Parker to find their lead investigator who is working on a case that posits a link of hauntings....

The Identicals - Elin Hilderbrand:  Beach Read.  Twin Sisters, switch houses, chaos ensues.  Fun!

The Little French Bistro - Nina George:  I loved The Little Paris Bookshop, here comes another one!

Not Dead Yet - Phil Collins - my favorite musician's memoir!!

And maybe, just maybe, another run at The Prince of Tides. RIP Pat.

And there you have it!!  I will be back in September to see how well I did.  It is hard to write a description of a book I haven't read yet, so I am interested to see how my approach here compares to the actual experience of reading them.  Comment below if you plan to read any of these as well!!

Happy Reading!!!!

Rawles

Summer 2016 Reading List - reposted

For almost 3 years, I wrote book reviews for a local neighborhood magazine which is now out of print.  Here is the article I wrote last summer, detailing the books I wanted to read.  I read 8 of the 12 (marked with *) and still have one of those I missed in my stack (Before Versailles) and one on my Kindle (Cyberstorm).  Maybe I will get to them this year.......

(previously published)

Happy June!!!  Summertime means more time to relax in my sunroom and read lots of books, right?  So I always have a few that I have saved for this special time of year. Here are the books I am looking forward to reading this year.

*Redemption Road  by John Hart

                One of my favorite “local” authors, Hart lived in Greensboro until recently, and in his previous books he has mentioned Charlotte!  I have read all his books and he never disappoints.  I did not even need to know what this one was about before ordering a signed copy from the bookstore. (Thank you Liz for picking it up for me!)  I can hardly wait, this one might not make it to proper summertime…..

*The Nest  by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

                This was next on my stack until Redemption Road usurped it.  This has been a big buzz book this spring.  This is the story of four siblings who must work out their equal inheritances face a crisis with their older brother, threatening the inheritance that they’ve all planned for and already spent as well as their relationships with each other.

*Queen of the Night  by Alexander Cree

                My big historical fiction pick of the summer, this one is set in 1882 Paris and focuses on an American Opera singer looking for her big mark on opera.  When she is finally offered an original show of her own, the story mirrors her own secret past.  Who knows her secret and who would put her in a show about it?  History and Mystery, yes please.

*Over the Plain Houses  by Julia Franks

                 Set in the North Carolina mountains in the late 30’s, this is the story of a USDA agent, Virginia Furman, who is sent there to help the locals modernize their homes and farms.  There she meets Irenie, wife of a fundamentalist preacher.  Irenie is intrigued by the newcomer and begins to second guess her own life and crumbling marriage.  A tale woven with an older than old belief in black magic and an older way of life, this one comes to a dramatic and violent end as the husband chases his demons amidst the possibilities of the future.  Sounds like a good ole Southern mountain people read!

*The Passenger  by Lisa Lutz

                This is the book that Sally handpicked for me.  I just love that she knows her customers so well (or maybe all that tells me is that I am in my local bookstore too much…..??  Nah!!!).  A modern identity mystery, this is the story of Tanya, who must go on the run after her husband falls down a flight of stairs and dies.  Why does she run?  Well, her name isn’t really Tanya and she just doesn’t want to explain.  This one is supposed to be quite a page turner as “Tanya” goes across the country, changing her identity with each move, trying to stay ahead of anyone who might be chasing her.  Of course, running from your past only lasts so long and in the conclusion she will be forced to face it.  Fast paced and being compared to Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, this one will most likely keep me up at night! (edit - now in paperback!!)

Before Versailles  by Karleen Koen

                This one was published in 2012, and has been on my shelf ever since, so it is time!!  Koen is an excellent historical fiction author and wrote a trilogy that is one of my favorites (Through a Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels). Here she tackles Louis XIV, and his life before he became King.  The back of the book says: “Meticulously researched and gorgeously brought to life by New York Times bestselling author Karleen Koen, Before Versailles offers up a sumptuous, authentic exploration of a time that forged a man into a king.”  This will be one to delve into, perfect for that long plane ride this summer!

*In a dark, dark wood  by Ruth Ware

                When London based writer Nora gets an email from her estranged college friend, she thinks maybe this is the reconciliation she thought would never come.  She’s been invited to celebrate Clare’s upcoming wedding!  Nora goes to attend Clare’s bachelorette party (or, Hen-do as they call it across the pond), and, well… things go wrong.  Really wrong.  Billed as a dark creepy thriller, but with mixed reviews online, I picked this one up on Sally’s recommendation – plus Reese Witherspoon has picked it up to make a movie so you know you gotta read the book first!  Maybe not as dark as the title suggests, but hopefully worthy enough to keep me interested.  (If you want dark, check out Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates.  You’ll see the end coming, but that was one book that made me nervous reading it!! Or, better yet, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (shudder).)

*Lies and Other Acts of Love  by Kristy Woodson Harvey

                Let’s lighten up the mood now, shall we?  Whew.  Here is your Beach Read of the Summer!!  Billed as a new voice in Southern Fiction, Harvey wowed with her first book Dear Carolina.  Here she tells the story of two women, grandmother Lovey and her granddaughter Annabelle, as they weave their lives through lies big and small.  I am interested to see how the use of “little white lies” can make or break relationships, despite the good intentions that birthed those lies.  This one got excellent reviews on Goodreads (if you are a reader and not on Goodreads, I will come over immediately for an intervention and tutorial), and is a welcome addition to my stack of books.  I don’t read a lot of “chick lit” but I am reminded of Liane Moriarty’s books from the description of this one, and I LOVE her books.  She even has one titled Big Little Lies….I am seeing a theme here!

*A Thousand Acres  by Jane Smiley

                Another one that has been around for a while, this was a gift from my mom who recently met the author, ironically enough, with a group that included my neighbor Mary!  Small world.  This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012 and tells the King Lear-ish story of a farmer who decides to retire and divide his one thousand acre Iowa farm between his three daughters.  Problem is, the youngest daughter balks, the father gets angry, and events spiral from there.  Touted as not only a great character study but also a great study of the American farm life.  “A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity,” states the back of the book.  (Who writes this stuff?  I want that job!!!!)

CyberStorm  by Matthew Mather

                Here is my science fiction add to the summer list.  After my experience with Breakthrough, I am trusting my Discover Sci-Fi emails and have downloaded this title on my Kindle.  I also grabbed it for $0.99, so that was a no-brainer (and also the reason I somehow have 19 titles on my Kindle still to read).  It is currently listed at $4.99.  Here is how Discover Sci-Fi describes it:  “Now in development for film by 20th Century Fox, award-winning CyberStorm depicts, in realistic and terrifying detail, what a full-scale terrorist cyber attack against present-day New York City might look like from the perspective of one family trying to survive it.

“Mike Mitchell, an average New Yorker working to keep his family together, finds himself fighting just to keep them alive when a string of disasters shreds the world around them...the Internet and communication networks go down...a deadly viral epidemic rages across the country...then a monster snowstorm cuts New York off from the world. In the chaos, rumors fly about a foreign attack, but even this becomes unimportant as Mike and his family struggle to survive in the wintry tomb of a doomed New York.”

Now, just a warning here, last time a “foreign attack” was mentioned, they weren’t talking about the Russians, they meant foreign to our planet.  I haven’t read this one yet of course so I am not sure here, just a disclaimer!!!

Chasing the North Star  by Robert Morgan

                Another historical fiction novel recommended by Sally, this book is set in 1850 in South Carolina and tells the story of one man who ran away from slavery and headed north, chasing the titular star.  He is of course followed by those who would capture him, but he is also followed by another desperate soul, Angel, who sees her freedom in his flight.  Author of Gap Creek, Morgan is a well hailed writer and painstakingly meshes historical fact with characterization and gives us a wonderful story of perseverance.

Two if by Sea  by Jacquelyn Mitchard

                I might be the only person on the planet who didn’t like The Light Between Oceans.  Yes, it was beautifully written but my problem was with the story itself.  Who could pretend a baby was their own? That is just too big a secret even on this list of books with lots of secrets.  So when I first heard the premise of this book, I thought, “Oh no, not again, I can’t do it.”

Here’s the story: American ex-pat Frank Mercy (seriously with the foreshadowing??) is a former Police Officer who loses his wife and her family in a tsunami in Brisbane.  During the aftermath, he is volunteering to save others and barely manages to save the life of a little boy, pulling him from a submerged car.  He skips the Red Cross red tape and takes the boy home to his Midwestern farm where his family has raised and trained horses for generations.  Soon, amid coincidences he cannot explain, he begins to believe the little boy has unusual telepathic powers, and that other people may be after him.  Frank and his new girlfriend struggle to hold on to the frightened boy and keep him safe while building their own new relationship, and the story moves from Australia to America to a quiet English village.  This book is getting a lot of buzz.

And there you have it!  Twelve books for the twelve weeks of summer.  Bring on the reading glasses, sandy beaches, back porch swings, or comfy sofas and let’s read!!!

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

I had sworn off WWII books.  For several years now, I have point blank refused to read one.

Then somebody had to go and write about the women.

Plus, a CASTLE!!!!

This is the best "war" book since Those Who Save Us.  But I am not really even sure this is a proper WAR book.  It is about three particular women and what happened to them after said war.  After their husbands are killed trying to kill Hitler in a failed coup.  One, who lives in a castle, fares pretty well and keeps her promise to look after the other wives, if she can find them.  She finds two.  Both are in pretty bad shape and both have children, and they all together form a ragtag, somewhat reluctant, family.

Marianne is queen of the castle and a righteous bitch with a huge heart but a meddling tactic.  Benita, who married Marianne's best childhood friend Constantine "Connie" Fledermann, is a shadow of her former self after her post war experiences but holds it together for her son.  And Ania and her two boys add unlikely skills to their little group once they are found and brought to the castle as well.

The book jumps around a bit and not in any consistent format.  But I admit I was a bit charmed by these women.  Annoyed, yes, but it was more about what they did to survive - each woman had her own original approach to survival and right or wrong or no matter the consequences, each one acted as she saw fit.

They are all German; they are all victims; they all have their strengths and weaknesses.  Their relationships over the years are taut, emotional and necessary.  One big reveal near the end comes on slowly so pay attention.  This book was not so much the story of finding the widows and living after the war (which is what I honestly expected), this book was a bit slow, a bit overwrought maybe, but ultimately beautifully written and a good read.  The ending was pretty perfect, even if their lives, and the lives of those they affected, were not.