Book Review - The Lioness; Chris Bohjalian

 

The Lioness; Chris Bohjalian

Doubleday and Random House Audio

May 2022

It's 1964 when Katie Barstow, an A-List Hollywood actress marries David Hill, an art gallery owner. The couple decides to invite Katie's brother, Billy Stepanov, who is also David's best friend, Billy's pregnant wife, Margie, and some other wealthy Hollywood actors and friends on a Serengeti safari honeymoon destination.  As the guests settle into their home base enjoying the beauty and taking photos, the day after isn't anything they could have anticipated. Pretty quickly, the much anticipated adventure turns into a nightmare when Russian mercenaries arrive at the home base as they are about to set out on safari and kidnap the Americans and their safari guides.

The story pulled me in and I liked the adventure, suspense, time period as well.  The beautiful setting, the descriptions of the beautiful animals in the wild was vividly described.  There were some gory parts but nothing too hard to take. I found the background info on Katie and Billy's childhood at the hands of their Broadway theatre parents interesting and felt for Billy who was often abused while sister Katie was groomed for the stage/screen. 

The audiobook was excellent and narrated by: January Lavoy, Grace Experience and Gabrielle DeCuir.  I also had the eGalley which came in handy while waiting for an oil change and at a doctor's appointment last week.  Even though the audio was addictive, there were far too many characters for me to be able to fully appreciate whose POV I was getting at various times.  I found that a bit confusing and frustrating even though the audio and eGalley lists the characters at the beginning of each.  Overall, I enjoyed this story and the wrap up was satisfying. I did think it would make a good story for the big screen.

Rating - 4/5 stars

NOTE: Thanks go to Doubleday, Random House Audio and NetGalley for allowing me access to these electronic downloads in exchange for my unbiased review.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Lioness; Chris Bohjalian

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book we are reading or plan to read soon. 

 The Lioness; Chris Bohjalian

Doubleday and Random House Audio - May 10, 2022

PROLOGUE

Oh, I can't speak for the dead. And I won't speak for the missing. I can only tell you what I think happened.  Others--the dead and the missing--would probably have their own versions.  Blame, I can tell you firsthand, is every bit as subjective as truth.

Of course, I am also confident that the missing will never be found: the Serengeti is vast and it's been years. Years.  But Africa is changing. One never knows.  Someday it's possible that some of their bones--a femur that is recognizably human or a skull that was clearly a woman's or a man's --will be spotted beside a dirt road where a jackal or hyena or magnificent lappet-faced vulture decades ago finished off what a leopard or lion didn't.  Just think for a moment of the age of the fossils and remnants of ancient man that have been found a little south of where we were in the Olduvai Gorge.  Mary Leakey began piecing together the Nutcracker Man only five years before we were there when she saw what looked like two teeth in a jaw.  Nutcracker Man lived two million years ago.  We were there and (most of us, anyway) died there in 1964.

Chris Bohjalian is a favorite author and, from this intro, I can't wait to begin.  What do you think--read more or pass?

Book Review - Lessons in Chemistry ; Bonnie Garmus

 

Lessons in Chemistry ; Bonnie Garmus

Doubleday - 2022 - Random House Audio

Narrators - Miranda Ralson and Pandora Sykes  (very good)

(Combo - read/listen)

Set in CA in the early 1960s Elizabeth Zott is brilliant research chemist working at the Hastings Institute.  As the only female scientist in her work group, she has to fight harder to prove herself and to be taken seriously.  Why should be expected to make copies and fetch coffee for the men she works with? The only male who seems to recognize her brilliance is her fellow coworker - Calvin Evans, who has been nominated for the Nobel prize for his work. Together there is "chemistry" beyond the lab.  

When several years later Elizabeth finds herself unemployed and a single mother of a daughter, her friends Harriet and Walter help her out.  She finds herself in a new job, a cooking show called Supper at Six, with a live audience  - because cooking is chemistry.  While her wing-it style infuriates the producer and sponsors, the show becomes an instant success, not just because of her cooking tips but, because she also challenges her female viewers to question the way things have always been done and the importance of taking time for themselves and the things that they want out of life.

This book spoke to me in many ways, I loved the time period. Elizabeth was a wonderful, strong, quirky heroine and a champion for women.  Her no nonsense style and her matter-of-fact way made the men who hoped she would fail step back and take notice. Thanks to her mother, her daughter Mad (Madeline) was wise beyond her years and not afraid to question adults when things don't seem quite right.  There was also a stray dog named Six-Thirty who joined the family, the dog, a keen observer of character  understood hundreds of words despite having flunked out of his bomb sniffing training.  The story is heartwarming and infused with much dry wit. Readers who enjoy strong women characters will likely enjoy the debut gem. I can't wait to see what this talented new author will write next. DON'T MISS IT!

Rating - 5/5 stars

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Lessons in Chemistry; Bonnie Garmus

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book we are reading or plan to read soon. Today's pick is a book that's been on my Kindle for about a year. 

Lessons in Chemistry; Bonnie Garmus

Doubleday - 2022

Chapter 1

November 1961

Back in 1961, when women wore shirtwaist dresses and joined garden clubs and drove legions of children around in seatbeltless cars without giving it a second thought; back before anyone knew there'd even be a sixties movement, much less one that its participants would spend the next sixty years chronicling; back when the big wars was over and the secret wars had just begun and people were starting to think fresh and believe everything was possible, the thirty-year-old mother of Madeline Zott rose before dawn every morning and felt certain of just one thing: her life was over.

Despite that certainty, she made her way to the lab to pack her daughter's lunch.

What do you think -- read more or pass?

Book Reviews - To Paradise; Hanya Yanagihara and The End of Getting Lost; Robin Kirman

How was your week? I've had better for sure. I had a couple routine annual appointments and (1) turned into anything but routine - a call back, an ultrasound and now a biopsy tomorrow....positive vibes sent this way are appreciated.  So happy I read Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times last week - it has helped.  It's snowing here today - very lightly with less than an inch right now - yesterday it was near 60 degrees and sunny; I'm happy warmer weather is around the corner.  Super Bowl tonight and the hub always loves that. I am not a huge football fan unless our teen is in it LOL but, it's alway fun to watch the commercials. Good luck to your team if they are competing this year.

On the reading front, except for Wintering, my reading week wasn't very satisfying.  I was so looking forward to Hanya Yanagihara's new book, To Paradise, after a (5) year wait since I read, A Little Life.  I loved that book and still think about it even though it left me feeling gutted at times and took me forever to find another quality read.  Her new book is 700 pp and after investing about 8 days, I was left scratching my head after I finished - the writing was really good but the story just wasn't for me.   I had another so so read as well, The End of Getting Lost, Robin Kirman and then a DNF called Valdimir by Julia May Jonas.  Here's a few thoughts on (2) of these.  I also have a review in the works (maybe tomorrow) for The Elephant of Belfast which  I liked.  Hoping this week is a better week.

To Paradise; Hanya Yanagihara

Doubleday and Penguin Random House Audio - 2022

To Paradise, is an unusual story which spans a period of 200 years!  At 700+ pages, it is divided into (3) books: Book 1 (1893), Book 2 in (2) parts (1993) and Book 3 in (5) parts 2093-2094. I enjoyed Book 1 and 2 but, Book 3 not so much.

In Book 1, it is (1893) New York and New York is a free state where same sex couples are free to marry.  David Bingham is a 28 year old man who lives with his wealthy grandfather Nathaniel and the servants in the Washington Square area of the city where he has led a life of privilege in this prominent banking family. His other siblings have already established their own lives so David spends most of his time with his grandfather and, part time teaching an art class at an orphanage.  It is here that David meets Edward Bishop. Edward is a music teacher at the orphanage/school and, David falls fast in love with Edward.  Edward is not a man of social status and David's grandfather has other plans for him. He plans an arranged marriage for David to Charles Griffith, a once married much older man with a respectable background whose same sexed husband died of cancer.  Then we get a vibe of a possible yet undisclosed illness?

In Book 2 (1993) David is working as a paralegal in Hawaii and, he is involved with a senior partner named Charles.....yes same names as book 1 -- hmm. The two move into a mansion and we learn that David's origins seem to stem from Hawaiian royalty. We also learn that David's father (Wika) is ill and it is the height of the AIDS epidemic. There is also another Edward in this part - why did the author choose to use the same names?  Perhaps making us think that history does repeat itself. This part takes a darker turn where we see the injustice of America's past. 

Book 3 (2093) is divided into (5) parts - Autumn 2093, Autumn (50 years earlier), Winter 2094, Winter 40 years earlier and Spring 2094. The story here moves into a full blown dystopian totalitarian world. Back in New York where districts are divided into zones and illness and plague is rampant. Charlie appears here as well but, this time she is a female and she works in a laboratory. It's all somewhat complicated and at times just a bit too much for me.  It was not the satisfying wrap up or the kind of story I was hoping and I was disappointed I didn't enjoy it more.

This author is no doubt talented and a deep thinker and while the story itself is expansive in scope, IMO, Too Paradise, is more likely the kind of book that may appeal to fewer readers than all who enjoyed, A Little Life so much. 

This was a combo read/listen for me. The eGalley was provided by Doubleday and NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The audio download was provided by PRH Audio and was excellent with a full cast:  Feodor Chin, Edoardo Ballerini, Bd Wong, Catherine Ho, Kurt Kanazawa .

Rating - 3.5/5

The End of Getting Lost; Robin Kirman

Simon & Schuster Audio - 2022

Gina is a young woman who was a professional dancer. She had suffered a head injury after a fall outside a hotel in Berlin and her memory of what happened then as well as months before is an issue.  She and Duncan, a composer, seem very much in love. He wants to take her away to Vienna to begin enjoying life once again but, something about his secretiveness and the way he has been acting seems off.  They are soon all over Europe - Vienna, Prague, Rome  almost as if Duncan is trying to run from something of someone. The truth is both Gina and Duncan have secrets.  

The story takes place in 1996, a time before cellphones and social media so the set up for this story works well.  I liked that the story is told from the POV of both characters who I didn't develop a connection to. The writing style seemed different with looks back and then present but, with not a lot of insight into what was going on until around the halfway point.  This book was compared to Patricia Highsmith but, I just never saw a similarity. For me it did not feel like a psychological thriller but, more like a romantic suspense.  This was a rather quick read/listen at under 300 pp and 8+ hours on audio. The audio version was read by dual narrators - Alex Allwine and Michael David Axtell  both very good but,  it wasn't the kind of psych thriller I had hoped for .

Rating - 3.5/5

Print edition and Audio download provided by the publisher: Simon & Schuster in exchange for my unbiased review.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro - To Paradise; Hanya Yanagihara

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book we are reading or plan to read soon.  I've read and enjoyed this author's previous (2) books: The People in the Trees and A Little Life so this (720pp.) is a "must read" for me. I've read 13 chapters so far and, although it is different, I am enjoying it.

To Paradise; Hanya Yanagihara

Doubleday - January 2022

Book 1

Washington Square

He had come into the habit, before dinner, of taking a walk around the park: ten laps, as slow as he pleased on some evenings, briskly on others, and then back up the stairs of the house and to his room to wash his hands and straighten he tie before descending again to the table.  Today, though, as he was leaving, the little maid handing him his gloves said, "Mister Bingham says to remind you that your brother and sister are coming tonight for supper," and he said, "Yes, thank you, Jane, for reminding me," as if he'd in fact forgotten, and she made a little curtsy and closed the door behind him.

What do you think. Have you read anything by this author?  

Book Review - Harlem Shuffle; Colson Whitehead

 

Harlem Shuffle; Colson Whitehead

Doubleday & Penguin Random House Audio - 9/2021

After being so impressed and moved by Colson Whitehead's last book, The Nickel Boys,  I decided anything the author wrote next would be an automatic read for me.

In Harlem Shuffle the reader is transported to 1959 Harlem, NY where we meet Ray Carney, a black man and the owner of Carney's Furniture on 125th Street.  Ray went to business school and tries to be an upstanding business man unlike his father Mike, a shady character and not at all a role model for his son.  Ray is also a decent family man who definitely married above his class as his wife Elizabeth comes from a prominent family.  Elizabeth is expecting their second child which means their small apartment will soon be a little more cramped.  For a little extra cash flow Ray begins to take in a few items from his cousin Freddie to sell, of course the items are likely stolen.  What starts out as only slightly dirty hands soon turns into something bigger and involves a bad element from bad cops, gangsters , crooked politicians and bankers and other bad-seed elements of society.  Ray's job now is to find the balance and survive and that won't be easy.

This novel is divided into tile periods: 1959, 1961 and 1964 and the real life Harlem Riots.  This story is vastly different fro The Nickel Boys, but it has well developed, memorable characters that help drive the story as well as a sense of place that seems to come alive as well.  I thought this novel was different and enjoyable. I liked the way the author captured Harlem, its people, the discrimination and the police violence.  The genre is hard to characterize but, to me it was darker crime story but, it did have more than a few funny scenes.  

This book was a combo read (eBook) and audio download. The audio was narrated by Dion Graham, the same person that narrated John Grisham's book: Sooley. He did an excellent job once again.  These books were made available to me at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

Rating - 4/5 stars

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Harlem Shuffle; Colson Whitehead

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. 

Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book we are reading or plan to read soon.

 

Harlem Shuffle; Colson Whitehead

Doubleday - 9/14/2021

THE TRUCK

1959

"Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..."

ONE

His cousin Freddie brought him on the heist one hot night in early June. Ray Carney was having on of his run-around days--uptown, downtown, zipping across the city.  Keeping the machine humming.  First up was Radio Row, to unload the final three consoles, two RCAs and a Magnavox, and pick up the TV he left.  He'd given up on radios, hadn't sold one in a year and a half no matter how much he marked them down and begged.  Now they took up space in the basement that he needed for the new recliners coming in from Argent next week and whatever he picked up from the dead lady's apartment that afternoon.  The radios were top-of-the-line three years ago; now padded blankets hid their slick mahogany cabinets, fastened by leather straps to the truck bed.  The pickup bounced in the unholy rut of the West Side Highway.

What do you think --read more or pass? I love the initial description of Carney and, I've enjoyed this author in the past as well.

Book Review - Hour of the Witch; Chris Bohjalian

TITLE/AUTHOR:  Hour of the Witch; Chris Bohjalian

PUBLISHER: Doubleday

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021

GENRE: Fiction / Historical

FORMAT:  eGalley LENGTH: 416 pp.

SOURCE:  NetGalley/publisher

SETTING(s):  1662 Massachusetts

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:  A young woman risks everything, including her life, in 1662 Massachusetts when she decides to divorce her abusive husband.

BRIEF REVIEW:   Having grown up in Massachusetts where tales of witchcraft were plentiful, Hour of the Witch, felt very different.   At the heart of the novel is Mary Deerfield, the 24 year old daughter of well-to-do Puritan parents and wife toThomas Deerfield, a widower twice her age. The couple has been married for five years and Mary has not been able to conceive.  Thomas is a mean and physically, verbally and sexually abusive spouse and, Mary has the bruises to prove it which she has tried repeatedly to cover up. The worst of the abuse comes when Thomas has been out drinking. One night he drives a 3-tined fork through her hand breaking her bones. Mary is determined to flee her five-year marriage by filing for divorce and heading back to the home to her parents. 

The cards seemed stacked against Mary once testimony from witnesses is heard and evidence associated with witchcraft is introduced and used against her at a trial.  

I loved the story and I especially loved Mary's character -  a strong woman who was not afraid to take a stand and speak out against her prominent husband despite the risks and possible consequences of doing so at that time in history. The author did his homework and the story felt rich in period and historical detail but, I did have issues while reading this.  The story itself was excellent but, I almost gave up early on because of the constant use of the Old English over and over again --- "Thy thou didst leave?"   "Hast thou pondered?" "Doust thou sayest?"   This really annoyed me and as a result the book took me much longer to read as once I put it down I was less enthused about picking it up again. I am glad I persisted, the payoff was worth it.  

This would be a good book to discuss for book groups - the silencing of non-conforming women, public shaming, spousal abuse etc.   I do recommend this book if you are not bothered by the writing style.

RATING:  3.5/5 stars

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Hour of the Witch; Chris Bohjalian

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon.  This week's pick is by an author I always look forward to reading and, his latest book will be released on May 4th.

Hour of the Witch; Chris Bohjalian

Doubleday - 5/2021

Prologue

It was always possible that the Devil was present.

Certainly, God was watching. And their Savior.

And so they were never completely alone.  Not even when they might wander out toward the mudflats or the salt marshes which, because they all but disappeared at high tide, they called the back Bay, or they happened to scale the Trimountain--three separate hills, really, Cotton and Sentry and Beacon--they had virtually flattened as they moved the earth to create the jetties and wharves and foundations for the war-houses.  Not even along the narrow neck that led to the mainland, or when they were in the woods (most definitely not when they were in the woods) on the far side of the slender split.

What do you think read more or pass?   (I hope to start this one in a few days, Chris Bohjalian has always been a go-to author.)

Book Review - Brood; Jackie Polzin

 

TITLE/AUTHOR: Brood; Jackie Polzin

PUBLISHER: Doubleday

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2020

GENRE: Fiction 

FORMAT:  eGalley/LENGTH: 240 pp.

SOURCE: NetGalley

SETTING(s): Minnesota

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:  A story about emerging from grief by caring for a feathered flock.

BRIEF REVIEW:  Brood, a work of fiction, is a story about chickens, four of them, and a broken woman's determination to see these chickens survive. Told over the course of a year, the Brood: Darkness, Gloria, Gam Gam and Miss Hennepin County,  and their caretaker lived in Minnesota with it's sub-zero winters and scorching hot summers.   Our unnamed narrator certainly had her work cut out for her.  As she tells her story we learn of the challenges she faced along the way, not only in caring for her "brood" but, we also learn of her personal challenges and the deep sorrow and grief of having suffered an earlier miscarriage.

From the perspective of someone like me who has never tried to raise chickens or experienced a miscarriage, I had a somewhat difficult time engaging with this brief novel.  While I loved the cover and was curious about work involved in raising chickens, I thought that the writing felt a bit flat. I did learn quite a bit about raising chickens.

RATING: 3/5

Book Review - Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family; Robert Kolker

TITLE:  Hidden Valley Road

AUTHOR:  Robert Kolker

PUBLISHER:  Doubleday

PUB. YEAR: 2020

Setting: Colorado

Format: eGalley 

Rating - 3.5/5

Hidden Valley Road is a well-written, yet often upsetting, story about one family devastated by mental illness.

Mimi and Don Galvin were married in 1945 and had (12) children. The first (10) were boys and the last (2) were girls. The family, at least in the 50s and 60s seemed to be an all American family. Don a driven man,  military service and then a successful businessman. He was a womanizer and rarely home but, wife Mimi, held down the fort overseeing things on the home front. Things changed in the 1970s when (6) of the couple's boys were diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the sons behavior and violence grew more out of control, they boys spent time in hospitals as their diagnosis was not well understood.  Their story became the subject of research by the National Institute of Health.

The author does a great job with research and interviews from medical professionals to family members. Everyone from Mimi to all of the adult siblings spoken often had different stories to report.  I was fascinated by the more technical aspects of this book regarding mental illness advances and breakthroughs.  I found it difficult to get through some of the details in which the young sisters were sexually abused by older brothers when they were as young as 5 years of age.  Some of the abuse was pretty specific.

I couldn't help from being a bit judgmental as I read. I didn't understand Mini's mindset. She had a husband who was rarely home, he was a womanizer and yet she bore (12) children with him. How do you fail to protect your other younger or more vulnerable children from the violent ones suffering from mental illness.  I definitely can't say that I'm happy I read this book. Not only was it upsetting at times it also felt repetitive as well.  Again, while the medical component was deep and informative, I would have preferred more editing and less detail about the harsh reality of the family dysfunction.

 

Book Review - The Red Lotus; Chris Bohjalian

TITLE:  The Red Lotus

AUTHOR:  Chris Bohjalian

PUBLISHER:  Doubleday

PUB. YEAR: 2020

SETTING: NYC and Vietnam
FORMAT: eGalley/audio combo
RATING: - 4/5

The Red Lotus shows readers the dark side of a relationship, one built on lies and evil.

Alexis is an Emergency Room doctor in NYC. One night in walks Austin, an avid cyclist, with a gunshot wound to his arm. The two hit it off and after dating several months he asks her to accompany him to Vietnam for a bike tour.  He says he'd also like to visit the area where is father and uncle had served during the war.  After checking out the sights together, Austin heads off for a bike ride while Alexis returns to the hotel. When Austin doesn't return, authorities get involved and a search for him begins.  

Alexis is not satisfied with what she has been told and her strong personality makes her desperate for answers. Why did Austin really bring her to Vietnam? What was he involved in?

This book started out a bit slow but once Austin disappeared the pace accelerated.  Alexis was an interesting character, a strong character with some baggage of her own. The story definitely has a dark side to it and, getting to the truth of it all made for some interesting fiction.  The audio was read by Rebecca Lowman who did a great job. I've read most every book written by this author and, although this wasn't my favorite, it was an entertaining read given our stay-at-home order.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Illness Lesson; Clare Beams

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by  Socrates Book Reviews. Thanks to Yvonne for taking over FCFPTI. Each week readers post the first paragraph (sometimes 2) of a book they are reading or planning to read. Feel free to join in.

The Illness Lesson; Clare Beams

Doubleday - 2020

BIRDS, AGAIN

Ashwell, Massachusetts 1871

The first of the birds Caroline mistook for her own mind's work. When the streak of red crossed the kitchen windowpane, fast, disastrous-bright, she thought it was some bloody piece come loose inside herself.

Then her father appeared from the study and held the doorframe leaning in, "Caroline! Did you see it?"

Based on the intro above, what do you think - pass or read more?

The Nickel Boys; Colson Whitehead

TITLE: The Nickel Boys

AUTHOR:  Colson Whitehead

PUBLISHER: Doubleday/Random House Audio
PUB. YEAR: 2019
SETTING: FL
FORMAT: combo/eBook/audio
RATING: - 5/5

Set in the 1960s, Jim Crow era, The Nickel Boys is a work of fiction but, based on an actual place: The Dozier school, a horrible reform school in Marianna, FL that remained in operation for 100+ years. In this story that reform school is known as The Nickel Academy.

Elwood Curtis is a smart black boy who is being raised by his strict grandmother. He's on the right path, headed for college but, one bad decision lands him at the Nickel Academy. It's a place where young men are brutally abused: tortured and sexually assaulted. Despite all he must endure he tries to keep Dr. Martin Luther King's messages and ideals on his mind and in his heart.  His friend Turner is more skeptical, he calls his friend naive. The boys try to follow the rules and not buck the system knowing full well that their lives are at risk.

The Nickel Boys is a relatively short book. It's a tough yet important story about a terrible time in US history. I thought the story was well written, heartbreaking at times, with a rather shocking and abrupt ending.

Week in Review and a mini book review - Let Me Lie; Clare Mackintosh

I'm always a bit hesitant to say this but, I think spring might just be here. The birds are nesting and singing and although there aren't any flowers blooming this week, they will be, very soon. I'm also out there walking more and more as well. Our cat is enjoying having the windows open for a few hours each day as well.  Last week was 3 days of yoga, book group meeting, lunches out and time with my daughter. We also took a ride to the casino (something we do about twice a year) and, I won $387.00, so I picked out some spring clothes which was fun. I also managed to find some reading time and some min review catch up time, and finally...

It's been a while since I posted my new book acquisitions, sent to me thanks to various publishers. So many sound good that I haven't yet decided where I shall begin.

• The Word is Murder; Anthony Horowitz (Harper)
• The Lost Family; Jenna Blum (Harper)
• The Perfect Mother; Aimee Molloy (Harper)
• Tropic of Squalor; Mary Karr (Harper)
• A French Wedding; Hannah Tunnacliffe (Doubleday)

• The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky; Jana Casale (Knopf)
• The Secrets Between Us; Thrity Umrigar (Harper)
• The Room on Rue Amelie; Kristin Harmel (Gallery Books)
• Julian is a Mermaid; Jessica Love (Candlewick Press)

Let Me Lie; Clare Mackintosh

Penguin Audio and Berkley - 2018

I finished Let Me Lie this week, a combination of audio download and eGalley and thought it was fairly well done. Here's a mini review:

Annie is a young woman and mother who has struggled to get on with her life after both of her parents committed suicide seven months apart.  Both deaths occurred in a similar manner, falling to their deaths off a cliff into the waters deep.  When a suspicious note arrives on the anniversary of her mother's death, Anna has reason to question whether murder versus suicide might have been the cause of death.  Murray, a semi-retired police officer agrees to help Anna piece together the mystery behind her parents deaths.

This is a twisty, psychological thriller, told from several POVs that held my interest both in audio and in print.  The story wasn't perfect, but enjoyable all the same.

Rating - 4/5 stars

Hope everyone has a beautiful Sunday!

Week in Review

We started the first week of the New Year with snow, then blizzard like conditions on another day and a week of below freezing and sometime below zero temps.  I was suffering from a serious case of cabin fever after a sinus infection kept me inside for over a week.  We decided to venture out to lunch and a movie on one of the coldest, windiest days of the new year. We both had serious head and face pain from just walking to our car after the movies. 

We saw Molly's Game, based on a true story, and we both loved it.  Jessica Chasten is terrific. 

(Overview) - MOLLY'S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

I finished my first book of the new year, Chris Bohjalian's, The Flight Attendant (Doubleday, 2018).  

Cassie Bowen is a flight attendant who has a history of drinking too much and sleeping with too many men. After one of her one night stands she wakes up in a hotel room in Dubai.  Lying next to her in bed is Alex Sokolov, the hedge fund manager she became friendly with on a recent flight.  Alex is dead, his throat slashed, a broken liquor bottle nearby. Cassie doesn't think she would be capable of killing anyone but, she remembers very little about what transpired. If she didn't kill Alex, who did?

Russian spies, international intrigue and a few twists along the way.  The story seemed a bit far-fetched at times and,  I really disliked the main character - drunk or sober.

I had high hopes for this book as I've read every book that this author has written.  The author certainly did his research and while the premise was promising, overall I was somewhat disappointed.  

3/5 stars

Next up - My Absolute Darling; Gabriel Tallent, Riverhead 2017

How did your first week of the new year go?