Yellow, by Janni Visman

July 15, 200910 Comments

Finished 7-11-09, rating 3.5/5 , fiction, pub. 2004

I put my orange down and roll it around the plate. “You must have loved her very much.”

Ivan nods his head slowly. It reminds me of a child whom one asks, “Are you lost?” who is unable to answer, the admission too great to contemplate. He takes a sip of his water and then takes my hand in his. “No more than I love you.”

He should have said, “Ilove you more.” I understand that this is the deal in these situations.

Wednesday

Stella is an aromatherapist whose clients come to her London flat for treatment because Stella cannot step outside her building. She’s tried and fainted from a panic attack before reaching sunshine. When Ivan, the gas man, comes to work in her apartment she convinces him to stay and he moves in.

Things are going well. She has regular clients, she has her sister and nieces to visit her, George her cat to love her, and a good relationship with Ivan. At least until he shows up at the breakfast table wearing a gold bracelet with an inscription from an old flame and a new neighbor becomes too interested in George. Stella becomes paranoid about the old flame and the new neighbor. Is she just unhinged or is thre truth to her suspicions?

Stella’s jealousy leads her to ask her sister to follow Ivan and her insecurity leads her to extreme behaviour. Over the course of the week Stella finds just as many questions as answers and she feels her old, safe life slipping away.

This book is only 173 pages amd covers the span of five days. Stella is obviously a troubled woman, one that I wanted to shake a few times, but she was also a sympathetic character. The language was sparse, but beautiful and the book was a joy to read. I admit that I did not see the end coming. Which is part of my small problem with the book. The end seemed to come out of nowhere, with little warning. It felt a little off from the rest of the novel.

It was haunting and strange and I enjoyed it very much until the very end, which was a little lacking for me.

I picked this up because of the review over at Fleur Fisher reads. Sometimes I actually get around to reading books from my wishlist!

7th Heaven, by James Patterson

June 28, 2009June 24, 20094 Comments

Finished 6-23-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2008

This is book 7 of the Women’s Murder Club series

“After a few hours, Ricky decided to cut up his body with a knife. It was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine – and I grew up on a farm! I was throwing up and crying,” Junie said, looking as though she might do it now.

I pulled out my chair again, put my butt in the seat, determined not to scare the little hooker even as she shocked me to the bone.

“But once we started cutting, there was no way back,” Junie said, pleading to Conklin with her eyes. “I helped Ricky put Michael’s body into about eight garbage bags, and then we piled the bags into Ricky’s truck. It was was like five in the morning. And no one was around.”

Chapter 7

I know I complain about this series every time I write about it, so I am taking this book off. As a matter of fact, this was my favorite book of the series (so far). I thought there was more mystery and surprise in this one than in the others and the relationships of the women moved along nicely.

A poster child for goodwill vanishes and after six months the police finally have a lead and they bring in an angelic looking prostitute for questioning. Lindsay and Conklin are able to get a confession and Yuki, is awarded the case for the district attorney. She thinks it is an open and shut case, but things start to go south in court and at home as she is stalked by a writer covering the story.

There is also a number of arson and murder cases that claim some of San Francisco’s wealthiest as victims. Things turn personal when Conklin must tell an old flame that her parents have been burned to death.

Lindsay is still conflicted about her feelings for Joe and Conklin. It makes you want to sit down and talk to her about what is going on in her head! There is also a baby to one of the women in the club and a surprise in the plot at the end that left the book ending on a high note.

The Cove, by Catherine Coulter

June 25, 20093 Comments

Finished 6-21-09, rating 3.5/5, romantic suspense, pub. 1996

This is book 1 in the FBI Suspense Thriller series

Someone was watching her. She tugged on the black wig, flattening it against her ears, and quickly put on another coat of deep-red lipstick, holding the mirror up so she scould see behind her.

The young Marine saw her face in the mirror and grinned at her.

Chapter 1

Sally flees the east coast to The Cove, the picture perfect town on the Oregon coast, to find her Aunt Amabel, who she hopes will hide her. Sally is on the run after her father is murdered and the government wants answers from her that she is unable to give. Aunt Amabel accepts her and Sally is given respite for only a short time before she a murdered woman washed ashore. And James Quinlan, and undercover agent, finds Sally and befriends her without mentioning he was sent there to question her. Then she starts receiving phone calls and seeing her father although he is dead.

As Sally is unwillingly dragged back home, Quinlan must pull out all the stops to find her, especially since she now means more to him than a case to be solved. The horrors uncovered when Sally goes back home are brutal. And when she is led back to the Cove lives are at stake.

Okay, this is the first of a series and I own several that follow it already, so I imagine I will read more. The book was fast paced and had a few mysteries that kept me guessing. Sally was a sympathetic character, but I did find it difficult to believe what was done to her by her father, husband and doctor. I thought there might be more romance, this is Catherine Coulter after all, but I did find it lacking in that department.

The book is a fast, pleasant read, but nothing extra-special.

A Body To Die For, by Kate White

June 24, 2009June 25, 20097 Comments

Finished 6-19-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2003

Book 2 in the Bailey Weggins mystery series

Was I out of my mind? was all I could think as I fired up the engine. The guy was a too intense, apparently humorless, small-city cop. I couldn’t believe he was making my heart pound so hard. This is what happens, I thought, when you go for months without physical contact. You look at men who are total strangers and feel the urge to tear their boxer shorts off with your teeth. You become attracted to a guy who probably bowls every Tuesday night and has a best friend named Choppy.

Chapter 6

Magazine crime writer Bailey Weggins is back and ready for some R & R after solving her first case. She accepts an invitation to The Cedar Inn and Spa in rural Massachusetts. It is owned by an old family friend, Danny, who would like some help in promoting the spa. On her first night of relaxation Bailey discovers a murdered spa therapist and the R & R is over. Danny asks for help so the Inn and Spa don’t suffer and Bailey is thrown into an investigation that will lead to more dead bodies before the mystery is solved.

Bailey has been flying solo since her break up with Jack, but now he is back, hat in hand, and she must decide if his excuses are enough. There is also the cool, sexy Massachusetts detective that has taken a few opportunities to kiss her.

There is less New York, but it’s still full of the sometimes sarcastic writing that is filled with pop culture references. Bailey is still a New York gal, only stuck in a small town mystery. I really liked this one. It was full of surprises that I didn’t see coming. I also learned a little more than I needed to know about a massage ‘with benefits’.

5th Horseman, by James Patterson

June 17, 20099 Comments

Finished 6-14-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2006

5th book in the Women’s Murder Club series

In the 1820’s, a couple of sweethearts named Burke and Hare were in the cadaver procurement business. For a while, they dug up bodies for sale to Edinburgh’s medical schools – until they realized how easy it was to produce fresh corpses by grabbing live victims and sitting on their chests until they died.

Burking was still in good standing today. Postpartum mommies do it to their kids more often than you’d ever want to know. Slip the child between the mattress and box spring, sit on the bed.

If you can’t expand your chest, you can’t breathe.

Chapter 12

Lindsay, Claire, Cindy, and Yuki are back in a drama that starts with patients dying in the hospital at an alarming rate and continues with young escorts being murdered, dressed up and left in fancy cars to be found. Right from the beginning it turns personal, when Yuki’s mother is admitted into the hospital that is being sued for malpractice and becomes one of the victims of a hospital murderer. If you are already scared of going to the hospital, this book will not help you.

Lindsay is having her own doubts about her promotion and asks to be put back on the street, but her boss says no. Sexy Joe is back and more lovable than ever. Considering we’ve had little time to get to know Yuki, it’s too bad this book did not show her in any other condition than mourning and depression.

I liked the storylines and how the two big cases worked together. This was more about the cases than the women.

This one did strike me as more poorly written than the others – and that’s saying something. The language and banter were beyond cheesy and it was hard to find a sentence over 5 words or a paragraph with 5 sentences. After a hundred pages or so I was able to laugh at the absurd conversations and lack of any depth and just enjoy the story.

This series is not a favorite of mine, but they are page-turners and quick reads. And summer is the perfect time for those. Come back tomorrow for my review of The 6th Target.

Lethally Blonde, by Kate White

June 13, 20097 Comments

Finished 6-13-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2007

Book #5 in the Bailey Weggins mystery series

It all started with a coincidence. Not one of those totally creepy coincidences that make you feel as if someone has just walked across your grave. In fact, later I could see that the phone call I got that late summer night wasn’t all that unexpected – but at the time it made me catch my breath. And, of course, it was the start of everything horrible that happened…

first paragraph

Bailey Weggins is a chic New York gal in her 30’s with a fun job and a revolving door of hot men. She also seems to find trouble and danger if there is any to be found. In this latest installment she is contacted by a hunk from her past, who just happens to be the next big It guy in a new prime time tv show. Chris is worried that his friend and fellow actor, Tom, has disappeared. The police aren’t too concerned about it and he knows that Bailey is a great one to get to the bottom of the things. Bailey agrees to help and the two also fall back into bed together. As her inquiries lead to a dead body, spooky calls, druggings, and more death, Bailey wonders if she’s in over her head.

I liked that this mystery took her away from her job at the magazine a bit and we were able to get a better feel for the city. This was perfect for me since I picked it up and started reading it while in New York.

Bailey is fun. She is the hip New Yorker that you’d want to be friends with and share juicy stories. And the mystery is good too- I didn’t have any idea until very close to the reveal at the end. Not only is her ex Chris back, but another ex, Beau, is back and looking Bailey’s way. Not sure how much bed hopping is appropriate, but it was close to my limit. If you’ve never been the big town girl with a cool job, mysteries to solve, and attractive men in your bed then Bailey is just what you need. Live vicariously through her.

Sights Unseen, by Kaye Gibbons

May 31, 2009May 31, 200911 Comments

Finished 5-29-09, rating 3.5/4, fiction. pub. 1995

Both she and Mr. Barnes were of a time when properly raised Southerners equated informality of address with being common, with going to the door in stocking feet or talking about one’s gout at the table. Because I did not yet know my mother well enough to assign an indisputable motive to her, I was unsure if her informality signaled welcome familiarity or disrespect.

Chapter 9

Hattie was conceived in the hope that she would provide her mother with something to do and bring her back to the land of the normal. That did not happen and Hattie’s mother, Maggie, spent years hurting her family with her manic depression. Hattie had their live-in cook/maid/nanny/ nursemaid, Pearl, to provide the love and understanding that her mother could not. This was 1960’s North Carolina and Maggie was eventually taken to Duke to be cured. Hattie was hopeful that Maggie would come back whole and make up for the years she went without a mother.

This is told in first person years into the future after Hattie is grown with her own children and the story is told with a child’s honesty and an adult’s perspective. The story of her childhood is heartbreaking. Not only her mother’s mother’s direct beahvior, but also the fact that Hattie and her brother never had a friend to their house because they never knew what their mother’s condition might be. But this was offset by stories of Maggie’s high times when she would go on shopping sprees and keep her husband in the bedroom for days.

It was not at all what I expected. I expected a story, but this was more of a recollection of a difficult childhood, which I liked, but it was lacking something for me. I wanted more.

It is a charming southern read that can be read in one sitting.

Wicked Prey, by John Sandford

May 27, 2009May 27, 20096 Comments

Finished 5-26-09, rating 3.5/5, thriller, pub. 2009

This is book 19 in the Prey series with Lucas Davenport

“Never done anything to us,” Juliet said, doubtfully.

“Davenport did this to me,” Whitcomb said, whacking his inert legs. “Set it up. Started it all.”

“The girl didn’t…”

“Davenport set me up,” Whitcomb said. He watched the girl disappear into the house. “I’m gonna get him back. No fun just shootin’ him. I want to do him good, and I want him to know what I done, and who done it.”

Chapter 1

Lucas is back and the 2008 Republican Convention has come to St. Paul. The police are out in full force trying to keep the politicians and the protesters from hurting each other. There is a gang of thieves that followed the money to the convention and are planning to rip off these men and women for millions of dollars. There is also an old nemesis of Lucas that is stalking his teen daughter, Lettie.

Lucas is still working for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and his old friends are all back to help him when he is charged with finding the gang before anyone else dies. Lettie is front and center in this book and gets into quite a bit of trouble for a 14 year old. Instead of telling her dad about the stalker she decides to handle it herself, in part by befriending a hooker.

The many storylines of this book keep it moving at a fast pace. This fast pace also takes some of the focus from Lucas and I was disappointed in that. Lucas is one of my favorite characters and I want him front and center! I think that by giving Lettie more time and showing us what kind of messes she gets herself into, we can look forward to more from this precocious teen.

I liked this latest installment, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. I wanted more Lucas. Also, the storyline involving Lettie did seem a bit much for a 14 year old girl on her bike. But the suspense was good. The detective work was good. And I will pick up the next installment next May as soon as it comes out.

A note about the language…This is a police novel with many degenerates. The conversations do have lots of course language. If you can’t get past it, these are not the books for you.

After some thought I have to say that while you don’t have to read these in order, you would enjoy them more if you at least tried. The first one in the series is Rules of Prey. Also here is a link to Sandford’s website which lists them all in order for you. I love this series and recommend it if you like gritty detective novels.

Smart Women, by Judy Blume

May 21, 2009May 21, 20093 Comments

Finished 5-19-09, rating 3.5, fiction, pub. 1983

He grabbed her roughly, forcing her to face him. “I’ve spent six years paying for what may or may not have benn my fault. I’ll never get over it completely. But I’ve learned to deal with it… with my guilt… with your hate… with losing Bobby… and then you, taking Sara away. Six years is enough.”

“Enough for you,” she said.

“Enough for any of us,” he said softly.

Chapter 6

B.B. and Margot are casual friends who have a lot in common. They both escaped to Boulder, Colorado, after their divorces and both have impressionable young daughters. B.B. has Sara, a serious preteen who bears the brunt of her mother’s anger. Michelle, Margot’s daughter, is a 17 year old who is full of anger at her mother and is not afraid to show it. These four share time telling the story.

B.B. is a successful realtor with her head in the sand. She lost her 10 year old son in car accident with her then husband, Andrew, driving. She is incensed that Andrew now wants to move to Boulder to be closer to Sara and she asks Margot to keep an eye on him when he moves next door to her. Margot, who has had a string of boyfriends, meets the sexy Andrew and tries not to fan the flames between them. Andrew for his part has no problem pursuing Margot and it sends B.B. over the edge.

I found the story readable and compelling and I don’t know why. These ‘smart women’ all had problems. B.B. was a cold, unforgivable shrew. Margot cared more about her next boyfriend and sex life than her two kids. Michelle is the awful teen cliche and may have been the only one to show any real growth from beginning to end. And poor Sara bore the brunt of her mother’s verbal abuse and was the only sympathetic character in the whole bunch. But, maybe it was their extreme flaws that made them so recognizable and therefore the story compelling.

At its best it is about what makes a family and the blending that takes place with divorced parents. At its worst it is a shallow soap opera. I’m torn as to which side it falls closer to.

Blood Bayou, by Karen Young

May 17, 2009July 30, 20133 Comments

Finished 5-14-09, rating 3.5/5, Christian fiction, pub.2009

“Don’t you feel some responsibility for letting these criminals out on the street, Ms. St. James?”

The question came from a woman carrying a sign that read “Victims Have Rights Too.” “Mr. Pelham had no previous record when he was arrested. I don’t see him as a threat in any way.”

Camille and Jack haven’t seen each other for seven years and were only married for three before alcoholism and a fatal accident led to their divorce. Camille feels compelled to go back to Blood Bayou to offer her personal condolences to Jack when his sister, his only family, is brutally murdered. Jack is a minister now, but his civility is tested by Camille’s unfailing support for his sister’s murderer. Camille is out to prove that the man she got off death row did not get out of jail and immediately murder again.

This novel is a murder mystery, faith journey, and love story in one. As Camille stays in Blood Bayou to prove Chester innocent, she comes in close contact with Jack and old feelings rekindle. Jack has completely turned his life around and shares with Camille the journey his he has taken to find God and His purpose for Jack. Camille is skeptical and finds Jack’s turnaround self-serving and she questions his motives. Camille herself is no church-goer and she is uncomfortable with Jack’s strong faith and chosen profession.

There is a lot to like about this book. The people of Blood Bayou are ones that you will recognize if you have ever lived in a small town and the mystery keeps the story moving along. I found Camille’s lack of faith refreshing and honest. And I really liked the fact that the author did not wrap up Camille’s religious journey with a shiny bow at the end.

I will say that the mystery wasn’t much of a mystery. It did not take me too long to figure out what was going on and there were not really too many surprises. It seemed that the mystery was just a vehicle to get Jack and Camille together and talk about faith. This is not a bad thing – I found it very enjoyable – but I wouldn’t have minded a few twists I didn’t see coming.

I recommend it for a nice friendly read.

Book provided by Library Thing Early Reviewer

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