Eyes Wide Open. Finished 3-21-13, rating 3/5, fiction, 340 pages, pub. 2011

Jay Erlich’s nephew has been found at the bottom of a cliff at Morrow Bay. It’s all just a tragic suicide, until secrets from the past begin to rear up again. Did a notorious killer, jailed for many decades, have his hand in this?

Years ago, Jay Erlich’s older brother, Charlie, a wayward child of the sixties, set out for California, where he fell under the sway of a charismatic but deeply disturbed cultlike figure. Tragedy ensued and lives were destroyed, but as the decades passed, Charlie married and raised a family and lived a quiet, secluded life under the radar. Yet the demons that nearly destroyed him never completely disappeared.

When Jay heads out west to help his grieving brother, he is pulled back into Charlie’s past–and begins to suspect that his nephew’s suicide may not have been that at all. With eyes wide open, Jay puts his own life at risk to uncover the truth, a quest that goes beyond the edge of madness and a family haunted by a secret past . . . and into the depths of evil.

from Goodreads

There was non-stop action and creepy characters, complicated sibling relationships and inequality in the way society deals with mental illness.  One of the main characters was even suffering with organ transplant issues.  I loved the exploration of Jay and Charlie’s relationship.  I thought it was spot on.  I was heartbroken, along with Charlie and his wife about the way that the cops and hospitals dealt with their troubled son.  This was a big storyline in the beginning and I wish Gross had followed up with it.

The story itself deals with a crime decades old and it was a little hard for me to get into even though it provided a Charles Manson like villain.  I thought the book was average.  It had high points and low points, but it was good enough for me to give this author another try someday.

I bought this book for my Nook.

Eden Close. Finished 2-27-13, rating 4/5, 265 pages, pub. 1989

I consider myself a fan of Anita Shreve even though I’d only read three of her sixteen novels.  So, when I saw that Diane had this on her favorites from 2002 list (reposted with 2012 favorites) and that I had it on my shelves I added it to my small 2013 reading pile.  This is Shreve’s first novel.

Andrew, after many years, returns to his hometown to attend his mother’s funeral. Planning to remain only a few days, he is drawn into the tragic legacy of his childhood friend and beautiful girl next door, Eden Close.  An adopted child, Eden had learned to avoid the mother who did not want her and to please the father who did.  Then one hot night, Andrew was awakened by gunshots and piercing screams from the next farm: Mr. Close had been killed and Eden blinded.

Now, seventeen years later, Andrew begins to uncover the grisly story – to unravel the layers of thwarted love between the husband, wife, and tormented girl.

from Goodreeads

This book had all of the things I love about reading Shreve.  The characters are complex and yet recognizable, the language haunting and beautiful, and the story told with a lingering sadness.  Andy is not only dealing with the death of his mother, but of returning home for the first time in almost 20 years.  As he packs up the house, memories of Eden and that fact that she is only across the driveway but may as well be a million miles away, keep him close and resisting a return to his real life with a job and a son. But ultimately Eden has always drawn him to her and when he can no longer resist he sees her for the first time since the shooting, the shot that took her sight.  He is also navigating old friendships that are so far away from the man he is now.

I savored every word because her writing is so beautiful.  There is something so familiar about her characters, insights that make you say, ‘yes! exactly!’ , sometimes out loud.  In this way her writing resembles Elizabeth Berg.  As much as I liked this one I did think that the story dragged in a few places, especially for as short a novel as it is. But the feeling of those two lonely houses alone together in a sea of farmland and the two old friends and would be lovers will be with me a while.

Let me leave you with a few passages about childhood.

And then, because he was seventeen, he had another realization-one that had possibly been lurking below the surface all along but now became, like many of the insights he was having that summer, a conscious thought: Even though you could love someone as much as he had loved his mother and she him, her only child, you could leave her if you had to.  You could even look forward to leaving her.

section 1

But TJ and Andy accepted this embarrassment  and his parents’ volatility as a give, much in the same way they unconsciously acknowledged that Andy’s mother was too fat and TJ’s mother was a social climber-these facts intruding upon their childhood, sometimes even causing them a moment’s pain or awkwardness, but ultimately easily dismissed as not being pivotal to their lives.  The weather was pivotal.  And the condition of the ice or the fishing.  Or a stolen baseball glove or the offer of a driving lesson or a chance at the playoffs.  Their parents, however seemed more like obstacles to be negotiated than central figures in the daily drama.

section 2

The Enemy. Finished 1-21-13, rating 4/5, 464 pgs, pub. 2004

Book 8 in the Jack Reacher series (Book 1) (Book 2) (Book 3) (Book 4) (Book 5) (Book 6) (Book 7)

She had lived through desperate times and she had stepped up and done what was necessary.  At that moment I started to miss her more than I would have thought possible.  At that moment I knew I would miss her forever.  I felt empty.  I had lost something I never knew I had.

Chapter 19

Jack Reacher, loner extraordinaire, wasn’t always such a hard man.  There was a time when he had a job, a family and friends.  He was a star in the military police force and he was content with life.  This story of his time at Fort Bird was quite a departure for Reacher and I liked it but Reacher didn’t feel completely known to me either.  This is a military police procedural with some mom and brother time thrown in for fans.  His mother’s storyline was powerful.  I liked the change of pace, but am looking forward to the roaming Reacher with nothing but a toothbrush to take on the world.

Why should you be reading the Jack Reacher series?  Because he’s alpha male dreamy.  He isn’t held back by rules but is ruled by what is good and just and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in the pursuit of justice.  He’s a tall, commanding man who, if you count the number of women he’s charmed out of their clothes, knows his way around a woman’s body.  Wonder if I can get Reacher to take a bus to Cleveland?

I found this paperback on my shelf and was ready to read it after seeing the Jack Reacher movie.

Gone Girl. Finished 1-11-13, rating 4/5, thriller, 415 pages, pub. 2012

I don’t often actively choose a book to be the first I read in a new year, too much pressure.  But as I was walking through the library after Christmas, Gone Girl just called out to me from the shelves.  I couldn’t resist.  I mean I’ve been reading so many raves about it that I was excited to read it.  Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

Nick and Amy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.  First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes blood on the kitchen floor.  As with most other reviews of this book, the less I say about the story the better.  It’s best to go in with no expectations.  I tried skim the reviews because I didn’t want my experience to be spoiled but I still caught a few hints that led me to a few good guesses.  It didn’t ruin the book at all.  But, in all honesty, I think Flynn does a good job of keeping you guessing no matter what you might expect.

I read Sharp Objects, Flynn’s first book, but I didn’t really care for it.  This one I really liked.  They are both dark novels with characters not always easy to like, but somehow, this one really worked for me.  I don’t know if it will end up on me year end favorite list, as seems to be the case with almost everyone who has read it, but it is one that I can happily recommend for the thriller lover with a twisty streak.

The Informationist, Finished 12-10-12, rating 4/5, 315 pages , pub. 2011

She nodded.  “You and every person who serves merits thanks and commendation, and you most certainly have it.”  She was silent for a moment.  “I can appreciate patriotism, but that’s about as far as it goes.  I’m not like most people,” she said,  “I have no devotion or affinity to any particular country-for that I assume I’d have to experience a sense of belonging.”  She looked at him and searched his eyes for an indication that he understood, then added, “Patriots defend their homeland, Miles.  Where is my home?”

Chapter 7

Vanessa Michael Munroe is a tough woman in a man’s world.  She makes her living finding information and selling it to businessmen who need it to make a deal.  She speaks over 20 languages which serves her well since she spends most of her time overseas, blending in with the natives wherever she goes, even passing as a man is if serves her well.  She grew up in Africa to missionary parents and spent many years working for Francisco, a gunrunner, and when her latest assignment takes her back to Cameroon she runs into her old mentor.

Munroe is an interesting character, but a hard woman to like.  She kills with little remorse and doesn’t seem to have any moral boundaries.  It isn’t that she’s heartless, because she’s not, she can break just like the rest of us.  She’s complicated, but not necessarily in a way that attracts a lot of compassion.   Let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to sit down and have coffee with her, but if I needed to get information and I had millions of dollars, she’d be the first person I’d call.

I thought the African setting was great.  I learned so much and still never felt like I was overwhelmed with too much information.  It was a perfect way for me to experience some of the wilder parts of Africa.  And as much as I liked the setting the mystery was solid and kept me guessing til the end.  I am really looking forward to continuing on with Munroe with the next book in the series.

Many of you remember that I was able to spend a little time with Taylor Stevens at the Bouchercon in October and I am so relieved that I liked the book as much as I liked the author 🙂  I won this book at Book Den last year.  Thanks, Jennifer!