The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book.  I had relatively low expectations (although I LOVED the Twilight series - don't judge) of this one after I saw some not so great reviews on her sophomore attempt The Host, but I am wondering now if Meyer has found a better niche for herself in this more action-packed spy thriller genre.  My mom recommended it, and my only complaint is that I read it right after reading Dean Koontz's The Whispering Room - Jane could have taught Alex a lot, but I digress.......

Yes, there is a triangle of main characters. Yes, there is a love story.  And yes, they are all fighting a common evil.  But this evil is real - it is the government!!! 

Alex is a former chemist and secret agent employee who is given wide parameters in her research of certain, um, chemicals that are very efficient in getting information out of certain people.  A-hem.  But then apparently Alex learns something she is not supposed to learn in her super secret job and she has to go on the run.  Many identities, no strings, no liabilities, cash only, and yes my accessories are ALL WEAPONS, just in case.  She is book smart, learns to become street smart, and relationally challenged.  Enter her chance to become normal again - one last job for the super secret agency, because she IS the best at what she does.  Or, is it the final trap????

So the premise is not new, nor is the plot of hiding in plain sight or risking your life ONE LAST TIME.  But Meyer does manage to spin this one a bit differently and she is pretty good at the whole dialogue thing - especially at banter and barbs.  I liked Alex and her pessimistic attitude - that is her survival gear.  The romance is of course hard to believe (spoiler maybe: but I kept expecting that to be the trap; who is cynical now??).  There are some complaints here about plot - it was a bit hard to follow but the action kept me going until the plot was actually revealed in full glory nearer the end.  Loved the Epilogue too.  Nice touch.

A good beach read, probably ok for your teens (maybe one bad word and implied but not graphic sex).  Nice job Ms. Meyer.  Maybe I will go back to The Host and make my own judgement.  Right after I finish the 42 other books in my stack.......  sigh.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

I didn't want to read this book, but Sally said so (she's my local bookstore owner).  So now I am saying so too - read it.  But don't read all those other reviews - just dive in.  You'll be glad you did.


I thought this book was about a little boy that is killed in a hit and run accident.  That's not really the case.  That does happen in the prologue, but THAT is not what this book is about.  This story is about Jenna - she's lost, she's alone, she's devastated by the accident.....and she has secrets she doesn't want to talk about.

This book is a bit slow to start, and spends too much time on Detective Ray's homelife (it is just not relevant and is unrelated to the main story).  However, the second half is much more fast paced and the story really picks up.  And I mean, the story itself will wallop you.

I listened to this one on Audible and the narrators were excellent.   I enjoyed the very British-ness of this novel and the idea that a village like Pinfach in Wales does still exist - a simpler time!!  And where a cup of tea can answer all questions - except what Jenna is hiding!

I really enjoyed this one - it was so much more than I expected.

The Whispering Room (Jane Hawk #2) by Dean Koontz

Book Two in the Jane Hawk Series.
Thank Goodness Book Three comes out in three weeks!!!!

I absolutely love the way Dean Koontz writes.  Some of his sentences could be stand alone award winners - his imagery and word choice and how he always includes detailed descriptions of the outdoors (I am missing a doggie in this story however!) can be stunning without overdoing it.  His characters are fully fleshed, actually eat and take showers and hurt and drive and get sleepy - they are REAL.  And the idea behind this good old fashioned new fangled thriller - mind control, nanotechnology injected into unsuspecting people who become like robots, and tracking down the bad guys while staying off the grid and one step ahead - does not disappoint; nay it terrifies with its potential reality.

Lots has been said about the rare strong female protagonist we have here in Jane.  Move over Jack Reacher and Ethan Hunt.  While Jane is smart and thinks ahead through all the details and scenarios and is uber-prepared for every challenge, she is also human.  She misses her son who she has put into hiding.  She is grieving her lost husband, and places her gun under the pillow upon which his head will no longer lay. (paraphrasing Koontz's prose there....sigh!)  But she is determined, she is committed, and she will NOT give up.  She is tracking down the people responsible for her husband's commanded suicide to stop them from literally taking over the world.

What I like best here is yes the action, and the suspense, and the breakneck pace - but also the characters Jane meets along the way.  Dougal, Luther, Bernie, and her sweet in-laws help keep her grounded, focused, yet human.  Will she succeed in stopping this diabolical plan?  Not in this book - but she sure makes great strides.  A bit more violent than the first book (hello, chimpanzees!), but the stakes are higher too.  As with book one, we end with some questions answered and others posed, and Jane is on the way to regroup by hugging her son before the next phase of her mission. 

I also like how the conspiracy theory through media is explored - many of the people Jane meets almost immediately realize she is not the cold-blooded killer "they" are making her out to be.  The way she is able to stay under the radar and call in some favors is amazing.  I could never!  But then, you never know what you are capable of when your child has been threatened and your husband murdered by people who want to continue their grab for ultimate power.

Bring on Book Three.  I love it.

Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

My good friend Jeff recommended this book to me, and I am so glad he did.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, and granted, even the author says this is fictionalized history.  And if you read other reviews here you will see the common thread of complaint about the writing style.  Yeah, yeah, get over it.  Sullivan does over dramatize here and he admits that he consolidated some events for literary purpose.  I listened to this one on Audible, so maybe it was a bit less painful than had I read it, but do not read this for the prose or writing style, read it for Pino.  Read it for his story and to give acknowledgement to an oft overlooked chapter of world history.

Pino Lella was an 17-yr old Italian boy when war came to his hometown of Milan, Italy.  Knowing he is about to be drafted, his family sends him to Father Ray and the mountains, where he begins one of many adventures in helping defeat the Nazis before coming back to Milan and beginning an assignment he resisted and then embraced.  Over the next 18 months or so, the things Pino sees, experiences and witnesses seem made for the movies and seem too far fetched to be real.  But this is war - old timey get your guns and crash through the blockade War.  I don't want to give away too much here, but if you can get through the first 1/4 of the book (which is slow), you will be amazed at what you will experience through Pino's eyes.  An extraordinary man during an almost impossible time, his story is fantastical and leaves many questions unanswered about how things were run in Italy during the war.  Other WWII novels focus on Germany, but Italy not so much - even in the history books.  I was fascinated also by the afterword about the rest of Pino's amazing life, which even 60 years later is still shadowed by what he experienced, who he knew, and what happened.

Definitely worth a listen.