Emma in the Night - A Review

One night, after an argument about a cheap necklace, two sisters disappear – three years later one returned.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT by Wendy Walker

Cassandra and Emma never had things easy growing up with a mother who displayed classic signs of narcissism.  One day they were loved and the next could be frightening in the neglect they suffered.  They soon learned how to keep their mother happy but in turn she learned how to play them against each other.  Then both girls disappeared on the same night.  Emma’s car and shoes were found on the sand by the ocean, but no signs of Cass could be found and nothing was missing from her room.  Could the girls have disappeared together or were they the victims of two random, but coincidental abductions?

The FBI psychologist assigned to the original case suspected something else was at play but trying to convince others almost caused her to lose her job.  When Cass returned demanding action to find her sister, Dr Winter saw her second chance to set things right.

This was a twisty-turny tale of a severely dysfunctional family.  It was obvious from the time that Cass returned that things were not as they seemed.  As I read more and more of the story I developed plausible outcomes … and then changed my mind again and again.  Despite my multiple guesses I still got the ending wrong but that’s a sign of a good psychological thriller, right?

While I enjoyed this book there were times I felt it could have moved along at a slightly quicker pace; the story is told from multiple points of view so some of it was repetitive.  When I got to the end I couldn’t get past the feeling of “well that could have all been prevented with one phone call”. 

Emma in the Night releases on August 29^th, 2017 and while I certainly would not hesitate to recommend this book to friends, I cannot quite rate it among the top books I’ve read in this genre.

* I’d like to thank the publisher, St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley for my copy of the book, sent in exchange for an honest review. *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her website)

Wendy Walker is a former family law attorney in Fairfield County, Connecticut who began writing while at home raising her three sons. She published two novels with St. Martin’s Press and edited multiple compilations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series before writing her debut psychological thriller, All is Not Forgotten. Her second thriller, Emma In The Night, will be released August 8, 2017.

Wendy earned her J. D., magna cum laude, at the Georgetown University Law Center where she was awarded  the American Jurisprudence award for her performance in Contracts and Advanced Criminal Procedure.  She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University and attended The London School of Economics and Political Science as part of her undergraduate studies.

Prior to her legal career, Wendy was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., in the mergers and acquisitions group. She has also volunteered at the ACLU, Connecticut Legal Services and Figure Skating in Harlem where she served on the Board of Directors for over twelve years.

Wendy is currently writing her third thriller while managing a busy household.

The Only Child - A Review

The story of Frankenstein’s monster has captured the imagination of readers of almost two centuries, not only because of the story itself but also it’s back story.  It has also been retold in many forms.  With this one Mr. Pyper hits it out of the park.

THE ONLY CHILD by Andrew Pyper

Lily Dominick was six years old when, as she looked on, her mother was brutally murdered.  The trauma caused her recollections to be hazy … she recalled only a monster knocking on the door to kill her mother and her six year old self being rescued by a white creature.  The incident still haunts her dreams and may well have led to her career choice as an adult where she is Dr. Dominick working as a psychiatrist with the worst of the worst criminals in New York’s Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Centre.  At work it sometimes seems to her she can read the mind of the incarcerated.  One morning she walks in to interview a man known only as Client 46874-A and claiming to be 200 years old.  For Lily he is an enigma; she can’t get a read on him and she feels as if he is looking into her mind instead of the other way around.  Then he throws Lily totally off balance when he claims to have known her mother and what happened to her so many years ago.

The next day Lily awakens to the news that Client 46874-A has escaped.  Driven by clues he leaves for her and the need to discover if he can truly help her solve the riddle of what happened on the night her mother died Lily sets out to find him and hopefully the truth.

Mr. Pyper takes his reader along on Lily’s quest as she travels across Europe picking up more and more information about not only “Michael”, as she named the mystery man, but about herself as well.  And for Lily the truth does indeed turn out to be stranger than fiction.

“The Only Child” is a well-written page-turner.  I would expect nothing less from Mr. Pyper.  This book is not only a psychological thriller with it’s share of the paranormal but is extremely entertaining in it’s explanations of the basis of not only “Frankenstein” but also “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Dracula”.  Within the context of the story it had me nodding my head and thinking “Oh yeah … makes sense”.

As I read closer and closer to the end I began to formulate my own theory about Lily and Michael so I was quite pleased to discover that I was at least half right.  Despite that, the reveal caught me by surprise.  I had hoped for a different outcome but the ending suited the story.  Not wanting to have to include a “spoiler alert” I do want to mention that there was one scene at the end of the book which wrapped up the story so extremely well that I still pause to think about it a few days after I’ve closed the cover – so well done Mr. Pyper.

* I’d like to thank the publisher, Simon and Shuster, and Netgalley for providing me with the book at no charge in exchange for an honest review.*

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website) 

Andrew Pyper was born in Stratford, Ontario, in 1968. He received a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from McGill University, as well as a law degree from the University of Toronto. Although called to the bar in 1996, he has never practiced.

Andrew’s creative writing teaching experience includes terms at Trent University, the University of Toronto, and, currently, Colorado College. Last year he won the Grant Allen Award for contributions to Canadian crime and mystery literature.

He lives in Toronto.

Strange History - A Review

I am fairly convinced that I now know where the writers on “Jeopardy” get some of their questions.  I was flipping through the pages of this book during a commercial break while watching the game show and there it was! – The exact trivia tidbit that had just been a question on the show.  Their secret is out now.

STRANGE HISTORY by The Bathroom Readers Institute

The folks at the Readers Institute have taken some of the most interesting historical facts and strange stories from their numerous previous books and compiled them in this book that is perfect for history trivia buffs.  According to the blurb on the book there are also about 50 pages of previously unpublished stories. 

Whether you have read the some of the stories before or all of them are brand new to you this book is a fun read.  Do you want to know if Marco Polo really saw Unicorns, the story behind the curse on Shakespeare’s Macbeth or who really discovered the Rosetta Stone?  This is the book that will give you all that and so much more.

I didn’t realize there was a Reader dedicated to Canadian facts and trivia nor one featuring scary stories … they are definitely going to be added to my TBR.

I'd like to thank Printers Row Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with

a review copy of this book at no charge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the web site)

Three decades after the first Bathroom Reader, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute is going strong, having released dozens of titles with content sure to beat the bathroom blahs, and even offering some of the best online trivia available. Consisting of the best trivia writers that Uncle John could find, the BRI has compiled loads of information, from history facts to sports, politics to pop culture, and even the odd science tidbit. After distilling this information into its most basic form, the BRI has generated a huge collection of articles, all of which are specially designed to be read in just a few minutes.

It takes a real team to come up with the kind of authoritative bathroom reader trivia as that found in an edition of Uncle John’s, especially with more than 15 million books in print around the world and counting. The BRI is located in Ashland, Oregon, a small, quiet valley town, where they work night and day in the little red house known as home base, cranking out the second best paper product you can find in any bathroom, anywhere.

Uncle John's Factastic Bathroom Reader - A Review

I was introduced to Uncle John when I received one of the books as a Christmas gift with the inscription “Because it’s probably the only room where you don’t read”.  Hahaha … if only she knew.  What?  No! No!  Think bubble bath!

UNCLE JOHN’S FACTASTIC BATHROOM READER by the Bathroom Readers Institute

These are not the kind of books that you sit down and read in one or two sessions.  They usually come in at 500+ pages crammed full of facts, trivia, odd news and all kinds of other things that absolutely boggle the mind.

This entry into the series is no exception.  I can’t seem to ever be without a book within arm’s reach and this is perfect book to have close by to flip through during commercial breaks, on your kindle when waiting for an appointment or, of course, in the bathroom. 

I'd like to thank Printers Row Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this book at no charge

ABOUT THE “AUTHOR” (from the web site)

It was 1987. Uncle John found himself stranded on his throne with nothing to read. That’s when he came up with the idea to launch a series of trivia books specifically tailored toward his fellow bathroom readers. “Every article must be simple to read,” he told us, “and every page must either have an amazing fact or a good laugh—or both.” And with that, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute was born.

The Vanishing Valazquez - A Review

THE VANISHING VALAZQUEZ by Laura Cumming

John Snare purchases a portrait of Prince Charles with the suspicion that the artist is Diego Valazquez.  As the subtitle of this book suggests that painting became his lifelong obsession and ultimately his ruin. 

This book has three main themes; John Snare’s obsession with the painting and the impact it has on his life, art history featuring the times and works of Valazquez and the history between England and Spain.  All of them interesting in their own right and the research Ms. Cumming did is obviously extensive.  She goes into great detail for all three of the themes.  I found each interesting and enjoyed Ms. Cumming’s writing. 

The flow of this book is where I had some issues.  It jumped around a little too much.  I understand wanting to intersperse the history of the painting with Snare’s story but often the information didn’t quite mesh coherently.

That aside it was an interesting read and anyone interested in Diego Valazquez and his works will enjoy this book.  I would highly recommend purchasing a physical copy of the book because it does include photographic reproductions of the paintings that an eReader does not do justice.  (I ending up reading the book and googling the paintings)

I received this book at no charge from the publisher, Scribner 

via Netgalley in the hopes of an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (her Simon and Schuster author page)

Laura Cumming has been the art critic of the Observer since 1999. Previously, she was arts editor of the New Statesman magazine, literary editor of the Listener, and deputy editor of Literary Review. She is a former columnist for the Herald and has contributed to the London Evening Standard, the Guardian, L’Express and Vogue. Her book A Face to the World: On Self-Portraits was widely reviewed to critical acclaim.

29/30

The Obsidian CHamber - A Review

THE OBSIDIAN CHAMBER by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

This installment in the Pendergast series starts off at almost the exact point the last book (Crimson Shore) ended.  Pendergast is still missing and presumed dead, Constance goes into self-imposed exile in the chambers beneath the mansion and Proctor is standing guard.  Standing guard until it seems as if Constance is kidnapped.  A wild, cat and mouse chase starts the action moving in a non-stop, breath-stopping manner.  When we discover that the chase is in fact a wild goose chase we return to the manor to find strange things afoot.

It’s no secret that A.X.L.’s brother Diogenes has returned from the (presumed) dead, this has been clearly hinted at in the last two books; the Obsidian Chamber confirms his return.  To all outward appearance he comes back as a changed man.  Is it too good to be true?

Reports of Agent Pendergast’s demise are also found to be premature as he fights for his life after being fished aboard a boat manned by drug runners who know the bargaining power of having in F.B.I. agent in their grasp.

Individually those three plot lines make up approximately half this book.  Each plot line is suspenseful and interesting, so much so, that it kept me avidly reading to find out what happens.  Unfortunately when the plot lines converge the story seems to lose some its momentum.  I usually enjoy the novels that feature Constance at the center of the action and in the last two books it seemed that Constance had finally come in to her own.  Obsidian Chamber seems to set her back a few steps and she becomes a strange hybrid of shrinking violet and ninja warrior.  I still believe that Pendergast is one of the more original “agents” in thriller books and I enjoy his quirkiness and resourcefulness – almost a cross between prim and proper Mary Poppins with her magic bag and McGyver with all the tricks up his sleeve.  In this book I almost feel the book would have progressed better if he had just shown up and the end … everyone relieved that he was alive.

Constance’s decision at the end of the book almost seems a step backwards and I fear the books will become a bit of a “rehash” with names changed to disguise repetitiveness.  I hope not because I enjoy the series but the word “stale” popped into my mind on more than one occasion while reading this one.

Overall it’s not a bad read but holds nothing in comparison to the early books in the series.

I received this book at no charge from the publisher, Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley in the hopes of an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS (from www.prestonchild.com)

Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished matriculation at a private nursery school-he was almost immediately expelled-he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)

He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2011, Pomona College conferred on Preston the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa. He is an avid skier, mountain climber, and hiker.

He counts in his ancestry the poet Emily Dickinson, the early sexologist Robert Latou Dickinson, and the infamous murderer and opium addict Amasa Greenough. He divides his time between New Mexico and Maine.

Lincoln Child was born in Westport, Connecticut, which he still calls his hometown (despite the fact that he left the place before he reached his first birthday and now only goes back for weekends).

Lincoln seemed to have acquired an interest in writing as early as second grade, when he wrote a short story entitled Bumble the Elephant (now believed by scholars to be lost). Along with two dozen short stories composed during his youth, he wrote a science-fiction novel in tenth grade called Second Son of Daedalus and a shamelessly Tolkienesque fantasy in twelfth grade titled The Darkness to the North (left unfinished at 400 manuscript pages). Both are exquisitely embarrassing to read today and are kept under lock and key by the author.

A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln's interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and computer MMORPGs.

28/30

The Other Einstein - A Review

THE OTHER EINSTEIN by Marie Benedict

Mitza Maric was an anomaly in her hometown.  She was a young woman with a handicap that made her “not marriage material” in everyone’s eyes and she was intelligent, which in her time period also seemed to be a strike against her.  She was, however, fortunate enough to have a father who not only adored her but nurtured and applauded her intelligence.  So, when other young girls her age were marrying and starting families Mitza was moving to Zurich to attend the University to study physics.

While it took her a long time to fit in with most of her fellow (all male) students she did find kindred spirits in the other girls residing at her boarding house, other females also pursuing an education.  Her professor continued to single her out and often ridicule her but the other students begin to understand her intelligence and reluctantly accept her … particularly one young man name Albert Einstein.

Friendship soon turned to more and after many obstacles to their relationship they married.  With two such brilliant minds the physics theories couldn’t help but flow freely.  But were the ideas all Albert’s or did Mitza have a significant contribution to his brilliance?  That is the question Ms. Benedict poses in this work of historical fiction.

As is expected much is known about Albert Einsten, but Mitza seems to have been ignored by history books in favor of her husband and his second wife.  Ms. Benedict writes a very believable and entertaining story based on the supposition that Mitza not only contributed to Albert’s genius but also may have come up with some of the theories always accredited to him.  She also gives plausible explanations as to how this may have come about.  All these things combined made for a very interesting read.

Historical fiction is by its very description supposition involving dialogue that no one could have recorded and private moments that can only be guessed at.  Ms. Benedict seamlessly blends these fiction aspects into the time period and what is known about Einstein.  While reading “The Other Einstein” I never once shook my head with the thought “no way!”  In fact, often the opposite was true and I found myself getting angry at the circumstance Mitza endured.  Much in the same way one cannot imagine one’s parents as young lovers, where I had to suspend disbelief, the most was with the descriptions of the wild haired genius as a young man passionately pursuing the woman he loved.  Of course, given his history with women Ms. Benedict did an admirable job of that side of Einstein as well.

Science was a major part of their early relationship and commonality, but Ms Benedict approached that aspect in a very readable manner.  Sometimes the theories were out of my grasp but that in no way bogged down the story instead only served to emphasize just how brilliant Mitza was.

Good historical fiction read. I would certainly not hesitate to seek out another of her books.

“I received this book at no charge from the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, via Netgalley in the hope of receiving an honest review.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.authormariebenedict.com)

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus in History and Art History, and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law.

While practicing as a lawyer, Marie dreamed of a fantastical job unearthing the hidden historical stories of women -- and finally found it when she tried her hand at writing. She embarked on a new, narratively connected series of historical novels with THE OTHER EINSTEIN, which tells the tale of Albert Einstein's first wife, a physicist herself, and the role she might have played in his theories. Writing as Heather Terrell, Marie also published the historical novels The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, and Brigid of Kildare.

26/30

Underground Airlines - A Review

UNDERGROUND AIRLINES by Ben H. Winters

The “Underground Airline” is the present day version of the “Underground Railway”.  Why would this be necessary?  In this alternative representation of present day the Civil War never happened.  Most states banned slavery on their own, except for four states calling themselves the “hard four”.  With Slavery still in place of course there are runaway slaves which necessitates the existence of bounty hunters to return slaves to their owners.  With cell phones, computers, the internet and modern transportation the occupation of capturing runaway slaves bears a much different description than in the past.

Victor is a very clever and extremely resourceful black man working for an anonymous voice at the other end of his cell phone, trying to infiltrate an abolitionist cell.  His case is to track and apprehend Jackdaw, a man someone desperately wants to capture.  Along the way he happens across a young woman and her son, who may be able to help Victor in his pursuit.  But something is wrong … why is Jackdaw so important and what is the government’s stake not only in this pursuit but in maintaining the “hard four”.

As a rule I do not normally read “alternative history” but the description of this book proved too hard for me to resist.  Interestingly, where I normally read this type of book and enjoy the story despite the alterations to history, in this book Mr. Winters intrigued me with his imaginative version of America.  He gave an interesting “alternative” reality – a United States that left the United Nations because of the constant pressure to outlaw slavery resulting in many countries placing trade embargoes against the U.S.  Interesting scenarios about what would happen to the U.S. when it slips from being a world leader. 

The thriller/story part of “Underground Airline” is where I felt a little let down.  The first part of the book left me confused.  It took me a while to sort out who the good guys were.  Then my interest picked up when Victor met an unusual young woman and her son in a hotel lobby.  The middle pages turned quickly as I became immersed in the story and then … what happened? 

I got a feeling that there might be a sequel in the works but the ending cannot even be described as a cliff hanger … it just wrapped up quickly and in a rather disappointing manner.  I know others raved about this book and while the writing was good and the premise intriguing I’m not convinced I would visit Mr. Winter’s version of the United States again if a sequel were published.

I received this book at no charge from the publisher, Mulholland Books, via Netgalley in the hopes of an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.benhwinters.com)

Ben H. Winters is the author of nine novels, including most recently the New York Times bestselling Underground Airlines (Mulholland Books). His other work includes the award-winning Last Policeman trilogy, which concluded in 2014 with World of Trouble (Quirk), a nominee for an Anthony Award and an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Countdown City was an NPR Best Book of 2013 and the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction. The Last Policeman was the recipient of the 2012 Edgar Award, and it was also named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Amazon.com and Slate.

Ben’s other books Literally Disturbed (Price Stern Sloan), a book of scary poems for kids; the New York Times bestselling parody novel Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Quirk) and a novel for young readers, The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman (HarperCollins), which was a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of 2011 as well as an Edgar Nominee in the juvenile category.

Ben has also written extensively for the theater, and was a 2009-2010 Fellow of the Dramatists Guild; his plays for young audiences include The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere , A (Tooth) Fairy Tale and Uncle Pirate, and his plays for not-young audiences include the 2008 Off-Broadway musical Slut and the “jukebox musical” Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, which is produced frequently across the country and around the world.  Ben’s journalism has appeared in The Chicago Reader, The Nation, In These Times, USA Today, the Huffington Post, and lots of other places.

Ben grew up in suburban Maryland, went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, and has subsequently lived in six different cities—seven if you count Brooklyn twice for two different times. Presently he lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Diana, a law professor, and their three children.

25/30

All is Not Forgotten - A Review

ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN by Wendy Walker

If one of the worst things imaginable happened to your daughter and you had something within your grasp to make the memories of it go away, wouldn’t you use it?

In the affluent town of Fairview Connecticut the rape of Jenny Kramer was shocking.  Things like that just did not happen there and things like that absolutely did not happen to the Kramer family.  Benefit dinners, fundraisers and country club luncheons are the things that happen to the Kramers. When their daughter was raped they really didn’t know how to cope.  Then the doctors offered them an experimental “magic pill” which erases memories, tested on veterans suffering from PTSD.  Jenny’s mother Charlotte jumped at the chance to pretend the rape had never happened.  Her father, Tom, was not so sure it was the right thing to do.  The drug was administered but the magic in the pill was not quite complete … yes Jenny’s memory of that night was erased, but everyone else knew about it and Jenny felt different.

Jenny starts visiting a psychiatrist – who happens to have his own agenda, the police investigation carries on – but of course now Jenny can’t help, the Kramer’s marriage starts to show cracks that they had previously hidden and, what happens when the rapist is apprehended?

Most of this book is written in the first person, almost as journal entries, by whom we discover about a third of the way in, is Jenny’s psychiatrist.  Not long after we discover the narrator’s identity we also learn that he is a most unreliable source because he has an agenda of his own … less traumatic but almost as shocking as Jenny’s rape.  This made the book uncomfortable to read.  Not so uncomfortable that I wanted to stop because by that point I was so involved in the lives of the (very well developed) characters I HAD TO KNOW what would happen at then end.  Ms. Walker did an admirable job bringing this difficult story to a satisfactory, if not necessarily a happy, conclusion. 

As much as I enjoyed (can one enjoy a book that centers around the rape of a 16-year old girl?) my 4-star rating stems from feeling that the flow of the book was interrupted too frequently by multiple retellings of the same story line.  And, while I could understand the friendship Jenny developed with a young, troubled soldier who had also received the same drug for his PTSD, I felt it was almost a different book during those parts.

Overall, despite the difficult subject matter, it was a worthwhile read for the unusual take Ms. Walker brought to it in this book.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing my with this book 

in the hopes I would provide an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.wendywalkerbooks.com)

Wendy Walker is a family law attorney in Fairfield County, Connecticut who began writing while at home raising her three sons. She published two novels with St. Martin’s Press and edited multiple compilations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series before writing her debut psychological thriller, All is Not Forgotten.

Wendy earned her J. D., magna cum laude, at the Georgetown University Law Center where she was awarded  the American Jurisprudence award for her performance in Contracts and Advanced Criminal Procedure.  She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University and attended The London School of Economics and Political Science as part of her undergraduate studies.

Prior to her legal career, Wendy was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., in the mergers and acquisitions group. She has also volunteered at the ACLU, Connecticut Legal Services and Figure Skating in Harlem where she served on the Board of Directors for over twelve years.

Wendy is currently writing her second thriller while managing a busy household.

20/30

Outfoxed - A Review

OUTFOXED by David Rosenfelt

In this, the 14^th installment in the Andy Carpenter series, Andy is once again indulging his passion for the Tara Foundation instead of “lawyering” but, as so often happens in Andy’s life, the two soon overlap.  Andy has started a program allowing prisoners to work with the foundation’s dogs.  Brian Atkins has served three and a half years of his five-year sentence on a fraud conviction.  Andy trusts the instincts of the dogs and Boomer, a neglected rescue, has taken to Brian so much so he hopes Boomer can find his forever home with Brian after his release.  Alas, Brian succeeds in escaping from jail – unfortunately – he does so on the same day his ex-wife and ex-business partner are killed.  Naturally Brian is the prime suspect despite the fact that that he proclaims his innocence.

Andy believes him and agrees to represent him, not knowing just how dangerous this case may turn out to be.

Once again Mr. Rosenfelt delivers a fun, quick read featuring self deprecating, sarcastic Andy in a story that held my interest, made me laugh and kept me turning the pages even though I knew that Andy would once again prevail in court.  I also had my suspicions that Brian and Boomer might just end up together.

Formulaic?  Maybe.  Familiar?  Definitely.  But visiting with Andy, et al is like eating comfort food.  It’s a “go to” when you need a pick me up and although familiar it’s much loved and seldom fails to satisfy.  Looking forward to his next Andy Carpenter adventure.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing my with this book in the hopes

I would provide an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.davidrosenfelt.com)

I am a novelist with 27 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, “Ozzie and Harriet’s” clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every “Rambo”, “The Natural” and “Rocky”, there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither has inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It’s safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About fourteen years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. They surround me as I write this. It’s total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

19/30

Dark Matter - A Review

DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch

Jason Dessen had a more than promising career in quantum physics.  When he met, fell in love with and married his (then pregnant) girlfriend he made the difficult decision to give up research and go into teaching.  He never regretted the decision but on the night his former colleague is receiving a prestigious award for research he doesn’t want to go to the celebration because he doesn’t want to deal with the “what ifs”.  Unfortunately, life does not always follow along with one’s feelings and on his way home he is abducted and taken to confront the physical realization of his long ago theoretical project.  Given no choice, Jason steps into the machine and soon realizes that his life will never be the same again.

I requested this book on the strength of Mr. Crouch’s name.  I have enjoyed many of his previous works, the Pines series in particular.  I knew this book contained time travel elements, which is not a deal breaker for me.  I also knew it would be “science heavy”, also not a reason to pass up on the book.  What I didn’t expect was that the time travel element would take such an unusual course – linear rather than back to the past or into the future.  Interesting!  The science was, admittedly, a little daunting in this one.  I had to take it on faith because I was lost in the quantum physics.  Don’t let that stop you from picking up this page-turner.

My rating of 3 ½ stars stems from the middle part of the book.  Without giving away too much of the plot suffice it to say it was a little “overpopulated” which I found more confusing than the science.  Just as my mind was beginning to moan at the task of reading this book the action turned and I became fully engaged in the story again.

In my opinion, the ending was a little open leading me to wonder whether we would be visiting with the Dessen family again … in another world? 

“I received this book at no charge from the publisher Crown Publishing via Netgalley

 in exchange for an honest review.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.blakecrouch.com)

Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures.

His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015's #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas.

He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queenand Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado.

18/30

The Lie - A Review

THE LIE by C.L. Taylor

Jane Hughes is happy with her life.  She has a new boyfriend, an animal shelter job she loves and a tiny cottage she calls home.  Although it’s the life she made for herself its not really her life because she is not really Jane Hughes.  Jane Hughes is someone she made up when she couldn’t cope with her life after what happened on a horrendous holiday that should have been “the trip of a life time” and ended up being the worst nightmare she could have imagined.  Four friends left for the vacation and only two returned.  Someone knew her secret, but who was it?  When she begins getting strange messages, texts and calls she begins to suspect everyone.  Is she going to lose the life she worked so hard to create?  Is she going to lose her life?

There were many aspects to this book that I enjoyed.  The exploration of how Jane’s friendship with her traveling companions began to break down was interesting.  The mystery itself was a good one and like Jane I suspected everyone along the way.  I didn’t figure things out until the big reveal … then all the clues started to fall into place.  The writing was good; the terror and angst the girls felt was palpable.

Despite all that I felt the pace of the story could have been a little faster.  I didn’t mind the story being told in two time lines, but what happened on that mountaintop just seemed to drag out.  Yes, there was always something going on but some of the action was repetitive … the same situation happening to different characters.  Although I knew the past mystery was going to be revealed and possibly the answer to Jane’s current mystery was to be found in what happened on that mountain but even that couldn’t stop me from tiring of the tale of the spa/commune.

Credit where credit is due – the last quarter of the book did have me turning the pages quickly, anxious to find out the truth and what would happen to Jane.  There was even a little twist that I really didn’t see coming.

Three and a half stars for this one. 

“I received this book at no charge from Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley in the hopes of that I would give the book an honest review.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.cltaylorauthor.com)

CL Taylor is the Sunday Times bestselling author of three psychological thrillers – THE ACCIDENT, THE LIE and THE MISSING.

C.L. Taylor was born in Worcester and spent her early years living in various army camps in the UK and Germany. She studied Psychology at the University of Northumbria and went on forge a career in instructional design and e-Learning. She now writes full time and lives in Bristol with her partner and young son.

17/30

A Robot in the Garden - A Review

A ROBOT IN THE GARDEN by Deborah Install

Ben Chamber’s life has been running on remote for several years now.  Ever since his parents were killed in a plane crash he has not had the energy or interest to complete anything.  It’s finally taken a toll on his marriage as well and he can’t summon up enough caring to stop his wife from leaving.  Heck, he can’t even remember to take the garbage out.

Until …

One day he spots something strange in his garden.  When he goes to investigate he sees it’s a little robot.  Not the super sleek style of house robot his wife has been pestering him to buy but a robot that looks like it has been assembled out of spare parts – funny looking, making strange noises and stubborn!  Ben has never wanted a robot around so he leaves the little guy sitting in the garden.  Eventually curiosity and sympathy get the better of Ben and he brings the robot into the house.  That was the start of Ben’s adventure of a lifetime when he decides he has to find out more about “Tang”.  Strangely enough, in turn he finds out more about himself too.

I hesitate to use the word “cute” because it seems to come with a lot of negative connotations but I can’t help myself – this book is cute.  It’s heartwarming, it’s an adventure, it’s funny and even has a little bit a drama worked in.

Ms. Install has given Tang a personality that makes you fall in love with this little robot yet at the same time you cannot help but feel Ben’s frustration and irritation when Tang shows his stubborn side, while you are chuckling at his antics.

This is a great debut for this author and I have no qualms at all about my 5 star rating.  I would pick up another book by Ms. Install without a second thought.  Maybe Tang has another adventure hiding up his little metal arm?

I received this book at no charge from the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.andrewnurnberg.com/authors/deborah-install/)

Deborah Install has been writing fiction since childhood, submitting her first book to a publisher at the age of eight. Though ‘Sammy the Squirrel’ never saw the light of day the love of writing persisted, leading to a number of jobs, including web journalism at university and her most recent role as copywriter at a design and marketing agency. This role morphed into maternity leave, which turned out to be more closely associated with writing than expected. Deborah’s debut novel – A Robot in the Garden – came about whilst caring for her new baby.

Deborah has turned her hand to a peculiar range of hobbies, including martial arts, lead singing in a band, sewing, following rugby and directing and acting in an am-dram company. These days, when not writing or being with family, her time is spent in the pursuit of books, films and games (dice, board and video).

She lives in Birmingham with her husband, toddler and affectionate but imperious cat.

15/30

You Had One Job - A Review

YOU HAD ONE JOB by Beverly L. Jenkins

We’ve all seen them all over the Internet – the tagline “You Had One Job” – and then a picture of a seemingly simple task gone horribly wrong.  If those make you chuckle and shake your head in disbelief then Ms. Jenkins’ book is one you will enjoy.

Ms. Jenkins has taken some examples of these workplace and signage errors and compiled them into a book.  Now one may ask, how is that original?  Anyone can take images from the Internet, slap them together and call it a book.  True enough, but Ms. Jenkins takes it that one step further and adds her own humorous (dare I use the word sarcastic) captions to the photos.

When I have come across examples of these “You Had ONE Job” photos on the Internet I always questioned whether some of them were photo-shopped or set up on purpose.  This book did little to dispel my doubts.  The collection does include the “classics” … road painting gone awry or misspelled and grocery store items woefully mislabeled, as well as some very unfortunate product errors and street sign mishaps.  There is a good sampling of the pictures.

I’ll have to go with a middle of the road 3-stars on this one.  While I think that any effort may have been negligible the captions were very entertaining.  I was in the middle of a rather “information intense” non-fiction read and needed something to give my brain a little bit a break.  This book did the trick.

I would like to thank the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her website)

With a background in television news and streaming media production, I have been producing quality, entertaining content for the internet since 2001.  Currently, I’m a freelance writer for a variety of print and online publications.  I am also an experienced social media, marketing, and promotions manager, and I occasionally publish a new work of humorous non-fiction.

I live with my family in New England, USA.