What I am Currently Reading

Monday 8 October, 2012 by 4 Comments

Happy October to all!  The weather has finally turned towards temperatures more reasonable, the leaves are gorgeous and my youngest sons are selecting colleges.  Life is moving at a rather fast pace and before I knew it September passed me by with little notice.  Even with this time of my life being so full, I have made time to read and thought I would share a few titles worth picking up and reading, titles perfectly designed for the colder nights that comes with October.

Title: Phantom
Author: Jo Nesbø
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Hardcover: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0307960474
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Check out Jo Nesbø’s site for some brilliant trailers to this fantastic book.

 

Title: The Museum of Abandoned Secrets
Author: Oksana Zabuzhko
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Publication Date: October 9, 2012
Paperback: 760 pages
ISBN: 978-1611090116
Genre: Ukrainian Literature

 

 

Title: Creole Belle
Author: James Lee Burke
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: July 17, 2012
Hardcover: 544 pages
ISBN: 978-1451648133
Genre: Fiction, Detective Series, Mystery

 

 

Happy Reading!


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Book Review: Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell

Monday 5 September, 2011 by 2 Comments

Title: Claim of Innocence
Author: Laura Caldwell
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: August 23, 2011
Paperback: 448 pages
ISBN: 978-0778329329
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Book Synopsis:

It was a crime of passion—or so the police say. Valerie Solara has been charged with poisoning her best friend. The prosecution claims she’s always been secretly attracted to Amanda’s husband…and with Amanda gone, she planned to make her move.

Attorney Izzy McNeil left the legal world a year ago, but a friend’s request pulls her into the murder trial. Izzy knows how passion can turn your life upside down. She thought she had it once with her ex-fiancé, Sam. Now she wonders if that’s all she has in common with her criminally gorgeous younger boyfriend, Theo.

It’s Izzy’s job to present the facts that will exonerate her client—whether or not she’s innocent. But when she suspects Valerie is hiding something, she begins investigating—and uncovers a web of secret passions and dark motives, where seemingly innocent relationships can prove poisonous….

My Review:

Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell is a fast-paced legal thriller about a woman accused of murdering her best friend, and about her defense attorney, Izzy McNeil, who is trying her first criminal case after a leave from her exclusively civil litigations.  Readers are introduced to Valerie Solara, who has been accused of poisoning her best friend, Amanda, whose husband Valerie has been longing for. Mixed in with Izzy’s own personal romantic urges, the interpersonal issues makes for a complicated plot that at times loses focus on the legal case at hand.  As readers follow the case for the defense of Valerie, they will find that not is all as it seemed at first to Izzy, and as she builds her case for her client, the suspense is turned up several notches and suspense fans will delight in the discoveries that await Izzy.  One of my personal dislikes of this novel was the romance, which I found to be a distraction from what would otherwise be a taut mystery thriller.  Being part of the Izzy McNeil series, which I have not read, may be part of the reason for my opinions, for I felt at times that knowing a little more about Izzy, especially when allusions to other works were made, would have helped.  With that said, I would recommend Claim of Innocence to those who enjoy a good legal thriller with romance thrown in for good measure.

To learn more about author Laura Caldwell, please visit her website: www.lauracaldwell.com

I received a complimentary copy of Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell from Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. to offer my honest review of the book.  Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.


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Guest Author Post and Spotlight on Tempest In The Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend

Monday 22 August, 2011 by 2 Comments

Sunshine Meadows aka Sunny’s Library List

The Power of Being Different by John Paul Carinci (I’ve finally embraced who and what I am. Hopefully the town of Divinity will as well.)

Country Towns of NY: Charming small towns and villages by Mike Tougrias (I just love the small, quaint town of Divinity in upstate NY)

America’s Painted Ladies: the Ultimate Celebration of our Victorians by Elizabeth Pomada, Michael Larson, Douglas Keister (The ancient Victorian I bought is simply adorable. I named her Vicky.)

Haunted Houses by Corinne May Botz (People say Vicky is haunted, but I think it’s the cat I found living within who is doing the haunting.)

Don’t tell the Cat…how to take care of your cat without turning him into a tiger! by Grazia Valci (Morty, short for immortal, is quite the character. A big white mysterious cat with more attitude than should be legal. What am I going to do with him?)

Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland (I’ve got to learn how to investigate somehow, because Detective Grumpy Pants sure isn’t showing me how.)

Alpha Male Syndrome by Kate Ludeman & Eddie Erlandson (Maybe if I understood Mitch a bit more, I’d be able to work with him better. Yeah, I know. I’m not holding my breath.)

Love Smart: Find the one you want–fix the one you got by Dr. Phil McGraw (If only it were that easy, Dr. Phil. You’d understand if you’d ever met Mitch.)

How to Deal with Parents Who are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy by Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins (Trust me, people, I’ve tried. There is NO dealing with Vivian and Donald Meadows.)

As far as fiction….I’ll read pretty much anything by Kari Lee Townsend. I hear she’s fabulous.

Kari Lee Townsend’s Library List

Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland (Like Sunny, I too have to know how to investigate. And no one does it better than Lee.)

Tea Leaf Reading for Beginners by Caroline Dow (This was a great source of research for me, as well as sites online for learning how to read someone’s tea leaves.)

How to Write a Damn Good Mystery by James F. Frey (Frey does a great job on teaching authors how to plot and write a mystery that works.)

Elements of Style by Strunk & White (I have a masters in English and yet I couldn’t live without this handy dandy resource.)

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series (She is the person who first turned me on to mysteries. She is so funny and her characters are a hoot. I want to be her when I grow up.)

Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow Series (She is another funny cozy mystery author. Love her wacky characters.)

Annette Blair’s Vintage Magic Mysteries (Love anything written by Annette. Great characters, hilarious humor, and light paranormal….it doesn’t get any better than that!)

Peggy Webb’s Southern Cousin’s Mysteries featuring Elvis the dog (Peggy is a hoot and anything she writes is just as funny as she is. Love her books!)

Tamar Myers Den of Antiquity Mysteries (Her books are funny and interesting. Real page turners.)

Liz Lipperman’s Clueless Cook Mysteries (Liz is hilarious and her characters are ones you won’t want to leave. There are so many others I love as well, but atlas, my own books are calling for me to finish them. Enjoy and happy reading.)
Title: Tempest in the Tea Leaves
Author: Kari Lee Townsend
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 2, 2011
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-0425242759
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Book synopsis from the author:

TEMPEST IN THE TEA LEAVES: A Fortune Teller Mystery

In the fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but Sunshine Meadows is the real deal–and her predictions can be lethally accurate…
Sunny is a big city psychic who moves to the quaint town of Divinity, NY to open her fortune-telling business in an ancient Victorian house, inheriting the strange cat residing within. Sunny gives her first reading to the frazzled librarian and discovers the woman is going to die. When the woman flees in terror, Sunny calls the police, only she’s too late. The ruggedly handsome, hard-nosed detective is a ”non-believer.” He finds the librarian dead, and Sunny becomes his number one suspect, forcing her to prove her innocence before the real killer can put an end to the psychic’s future.

Kari Lee Townsend lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramatic daughter, who keep her grounded and make everything she does worthwhile…not to mention provide her with loads of material for her books. Kari is a longtime lover of reading and writing, with a masters in English education, who spends her days trying to figure out whodunit. Funny how no one at home will confess any more than the characters in her mysteries!

Kari writes fun and exciting stories for any age, set in small towns, with mystical elements and quirky characters. You can find out more about her on her website: www.karileetownsend.com and also on the group mystery blog she cohosts, called Mysteries and Margaritas, at www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com


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Book Review: Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson

Friday 19 August, 2011 by 8 Comments

Title: Two for Sorrow
Author: Nicola Upson
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 9, 2011
Paperback: 496 pages
ISBN: 978-0061451584
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery

From the Publisher:

They were the most horrific crimes of a new century: the murders of newborn innocents for which two British women were hanged at Holloway Prison in 1903. Decades later, mystery writer Josephine Tey has decided to write a novel based on Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious “Finchley baby farmers,” unaware that her research will entangle her in the desperate hunt for a modern-day killer.

A young seamstress—an ex-convict determined to reform—has been found brutally slain in the studio of Tey’s friends, the Motley sisters, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala. Despite initial appearances, Inspector Archie Penrose is not convinced this murder is the result of a long-standing domestic feud—and a horrific accident involving a second young woman soon after supports his convictions. Now he and his friend Josephine must unmask a sadistic killer before more blood flows—as the repercussions of unthinkable crimes of the past reach out to destroy those left behind long after justice has been served.

My Review:

Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson is a compelling, yet disturbing story of two women who are hanged for the murders of newborns in 1903 and a writer who years later is writing a book about it. Call it a “book within a book”, Upson has created a rather intriguing storytelling method for this third novel in her Josephine Tey series. In parallel with Tey’s research into these horrific events, readers are exposed to another shocking homicide in present day, one that is not disconnected from the hangings at Holloway Prison. Upson crafts a tantalizing mystery that leads readers to question why someone is carrying out vengeful acts so many years after the execution of those believed to be involved in the Finchley baby farming. Upson has assembled an interesting premise for her story and presents her characters in masterful fashion, characters with real and flawed characteristics. I have not read her two previous Josephine Tey novels and felt a little uncomfortable with the characters with whom I felt ill at ease in learning for the first time about their interrelationships. I would recommend that readers plan to read Upson’s first two Tey novels before Two for Sorrow. In all, I felt Two for Sorrow still paid off for its intriguing premise, well crafted prose and just the right amount of mystery and I would recommend this book to all mystery fans.

About the Author:

Nicola Upson has written for a variety of publications, including the New Statesman, where she was a crime fiction critic. She also regularly contributes to BBC radio and has worked in the theater for ten years. She divides her time between Cambridge and Cornwall.

For more about the author and her books, please visit her website: nicolaupson.com

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received a complimentary ARC of Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.


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Book Review: Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

Thursday 18 August, 2011 by 9 Comments

Title: Shut Your Eyes Tight (Dave Gurney, No. 2)
Author: John Verdon
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 12, 2011
Hardcover: 528 pages
ISBN: 978-0307717894
Genre: Fiction, Thriller

From the Publisher:

 When he was the NYPD’s top homicide investigator, Dave Gurney was never comfortable with the label the press gave him: super detective. He was simply a man who, when faced with a puzzle, wanted to know. He was called to the investigative hunt by the presumptuous arrogance of murderers – by their smug belief that they could kill without leaving a trace. There was always a trace, Gurney believed.

Except what if one day there wasn’t?Dave Gurney, a few months past the Mellery case that pulled him out of retirement and then nearly killed him, is trying once again to adjust to his country house’s bucolic rhythms when he receives a call about a case so seductively bewildering that the thought of not looking into it seems unimaginable—even if his beloved wife, Madeleine, would rather he do anything but.The facts of what has occurred are horrible: a blushing bride, newly wed to an eminent psychiatrist and just minutes from hearing her congratulatory toast, is found decapitated, her head apparently severed by a machete. Though police investigators believe that a Mexican gardener killed the young woman in a fit of jealous fury, the victim’s mother—a chilly high-society beauty—is having none of it. Reluctantly drawn in, Dave is quickly buffeted by a series of revelations that transform the bizarrely monstrous into the monstrously bizarre.  Underneath it all may exist one of the darkest criminal schemes imaginable. And as Gurney begins deciphering its grotesque outlines, some of his most cherished assumptions about himself are challenged, causing him to stare into an abyss so deep that it threatens to swallow not just him but Madeleine, too.
Desperate to protect Madeleine and bring an end to the madness, Gurney ultimately discovers that the killer has left a trace after all. Unfortunately, the revelation may come too late to save his own life.With Shut Your Eyes Tight, John Verdon delivers on the promise of his internationally bestselling debut, Think of a Number, creating a portrait of evil let loose across generations that is as rife with moments of touching humanity as it is with spellbinding images of perversity.



My Review:

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon is a captivating thriller and the second book in the Detective Dave Gurney series, a series beginning with Verdon’s debut Think of a Number.  In Shut Your Eyes Tight, Gurney is once again called out of retirement to investigate a heinous beheading and readers will delight in the superior style that Verdon has adopted in this most compelling series of thrillers.  Verdon masterfully crafted this mystery thrill ride where Gurney finds evil far beyond his wildest expectations as he investigates the gruesome and bizarre death of a new bride in the middle of her wedding reception.  Verdon has cleverly crafted an exceptional thriller while exemplifying beautiful literary characteristics in his use of vivid descriptions and details of the characters, their lives, and their surroundings.   Shut Your Eyes Tight was a book that could have gone on forever and I would not complain, and I am glad to see he has continued in the tradition of excellence set out with the original Dave Gurney novel.  Without reservation I recommend Shut Your Eyes Tight to anyone looking for an exceptionally thought out thriller.

About the Author:

JOHN VERDON has held several executive positions with Manhattan advertising firms, but like his protagonist, he recently relocated with his wife to rural upstate New York. Shut Your Eyes Tight is his second novel.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the TLC Book Tour.

I received a complimentary ARC of Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.


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