Summary:
The third tie-in book to the hit TV series, Castle. Nikki Heat is faced with the murder of a priest. He was killed in an S&M club. And her squad captain might be involved. Rook, her journalist boyfriend, is on assignment, deeply undercover, and completely radio silent. Or at least she thought he was, until he shows up on Page Six with his sexy agent coming out of a swanky restaurant. As an added bonus, Rook's ex writes a tell-all piece about what's going down within the precinct using Rook's notes on the case. And to top it off, Nikki is up for a promotion to Lieutenant, but instead gets slapped in the face instead. How will she clear the case, and her good name?
Thoughts:
Once again, the book reads like an episode of the show. It feels like reading what the character Richard Castle would actually write, were he a real writer. The true author of the books is still unknown, and honestly, I don't think I want to know. The books have allusions to former projects the actors from the show were involved in. (Firefly and Quantum of Solace, to name a few.) It's a fun look into the mind of a fictional character of one of my favorite shows. But the books are now feeling like they could be good, stand-alone books, independent from the show they're spun from.
Book 38 of 40
Pages: 301
Genre: mystery, romance
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend?: Yes, most especially if you watch the show Castle on ABC.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon (Rick Yancey)
Summary:
Alfred Kropp is a teenaged boy with no mom, living in the foster system. His father was the descendant of Lancelot of the round table. In the previous book, Alfred died and was brought back to life. Now he's got to help get the Seals of Solomon so the world doesn't get overrun by a bunch of demons. The trouble is, he's seen what the Seal does, and what demons can do to a person. He's told to never look into their eyes... So what does he do? Yep. He looked. Now he's got to deal with his worst fears while he fights to save the world. Again.
Thoughts:
A good book. The first was really cool, delving into the mythos behind the Knights of the Round Table. In this one, Kropp finds out that there are, in fact, such things as demons, and not just the mistakes that come back to haunt you later. Kropp has to deal with his inner demons as well as the physical ones, and find a way to best the demons that can't be bested. It's an interesting take on "the end of the world." It's good enough to keep you wondering how Kropp's going to make it through, but light enough that you can put it down for a week, then pick it back up and still remember what had been happening. Not bad for teen lit.
Book 37 of 40
Pages: 327
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Eh. You've got to read the first one before this, and this is very definitely a fantasy book.
Alfred Kropp is a teenaged boy with no mom, living in the foster system. His father was the descendant of Lancelot of the round table. In the previous book, Alfred died and was brought back to life. Now he's got to help get the Seals of Solomon so the world doesn't get overrun by a bunch of demons. The trouble is, he's seen what the Seal does, and what demons can do to a person. He's told to never look into their eyes... So what does he do? Yep. He looked. Now he's got to deal with his worst fears while he fights to save the world. Again.
Thoughts:
A good book. The first was really cool, delving into the mythos behind the Knights of the Round Table. In this one, Kropp finds out that there are, in fact, such things as demons, and not just the mistakes that come back to haunt you later. Kropp has to deal with his inner demons as well as the physical ones, and find a way to best the demons that can't be bested. It's an interesting take on "the end of the world." It's good enough to keep you wondering how Kropp's going to make it through, but light enough that you can put it down for a week, then pick it back up and still remember what had been happening. Not bad for teen lit.
Book 37 of 40
Pages: 327
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit
Grade: B
Would I Recommend?: Eh. You've got to read the first one before this, and this is very definitely a fantasy book.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Murder of a Real Bad Boy (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye's gone and broken up with Simon (yeeeeeeeees!) and is trying to figure out how she wants life to continue from now on. Oh, and she's now an heiress with a house in serious need for TLC. That's where Beau the contractor comes in... and then gets murdered. Skye spends the book trying to decide what and who she wants out of Life, while trying to figure out who killed her contractor. Also, her brother has a secret, so her mother forces her to be nosy and find out what's up. Scumble River is turning into a regular soap opera town!
Thoughts:
Another nice step along the Skye Denison path. The fact that Simon is mostly out of the picture for Skye thrills me, which is no surprise to anyone who's ever read one of my reviews about this series. The plot is fairly well laid out, and I didn't figure out the murderer until late in the game, which is a plus. An added bonus was that Swanson got right down to the murder in this installment, whereas the previous few books have taken a while to get to the murder mystery part. (Swanson has relied on more mystery than murder in previous installments, which annoyed me. Who picks up a murder mystery, fully expecting murder, only to get to the murder 100 pages into the 250 page book? The early death of Beau pleased me, as awful as that sounds!)
Book 36 of 40
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Yup! Swanson does a good job of bringing a new reader up to speed with Skye's previous adventures while still keeping the loyal readers happy. While I always recommend picking up from the beginning, most of Swanson's work is okay to jump into somewhere in the middle.
Skye's gone and broken up with Simon (yeeeeeeeees!) and is trying to figure out how she wants life to continue from now on. Oh, and she's now an heiress with a house in serious need for TLC. That's where Beau the contractor comes in... and then gets murdered. Skye spends the book trying to decide what and who she wants out of Life, while trying to figure out who killed her contractor. Also, her brother has a secret, so her mother forces her to be nosy and find out what's up. Scumble River is turning into a regular soap opera town!
Thoughts:
Another nice step along the Skye Denison path. The fact that Simon is mostly out of the picture for Skye thrills me, which is no surprise to anyone who's ever read one of my reviews about this series. The plot is fairly well laid out, and I didn't figure out the murderer until late in the game, which is a plus. An added bonus was that Swanson got right down to the murder in this installment, whereas the previous few books have taken a while to get to the murder mystery part. (Swanson has relied on more mystery than murder in previous installments, which annoyed me. Who picks up a murder mystery, fully expecting murder, only to get to the murder 100 pages into the 250 page book? The early death of Beau pleased me, as awful as that sounds!)
Book 36 of 40
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Yup! Swanson does a good job of bringing a new reader up to speed with Skye's previous adventures while still keeping the loyal readers happy. While I always recommend picking up from the beginning, most of Swanson's work is okay to jump into somewhere in the middle.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Murder of a Smart Cookie (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Our friend, Skye, gets her fourth summer job of the summer (after having lost the previous three) as the director of the Route 66 100-Mile Yard Sale, or at least the Scumble River portion. She works for Scumble River's new mayor, her Uncle Dante. Dante's a crazy jerk with a penchant for screaming at the top of his lungs at everyone. One of Skye's ex-bosses, Cookie, winds up dead, and Dante thunders at Skye that she had better figure out who killed Cookie before it ruins the yard sale. There are TV cameras in town, following the star of an "Antiques Roadshow" wannabe show as the bitchy woman wreaks havoc with the sellers along the yard sale route. Plus, Simon, Skye's boyfriend, is out in California while she's dealing with all the crazy, her parents and her best friend and her husband are dealing with couple-y issues that Skye wants to help fix, and one of her favorite students goes missing. Just another calm week in Scumble River!
Thoughts:
I like the separation thing for Skye and Simon. It gets him out of the picture for a while, and lets Skye be Skye. Of course, that means that Skye gets into a little more trouble than usual, but she has Wally the police chief to help her out of her scrapes. They need to just get together already! But I digress. (As usual.) The book was a good one, though I did know exactly who did it about halfway through the book, and was not at all surprised by the reveal. But it was fun and quick, and during the holiday season, that's kind of what a girl needs, isn't it?
Book 35 of 40
(I don't think I'm going to make it to 50 this year. What a year!)
Pages: 260
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: For a light read, yup! Enjoy!
Our friend, Skye, gets her fourth summer job of the summer (after having lost the previous three) as the director of the Route 66 100-Mile Yard Sale, or at least the Scumble River portion. She works for Scumble River's new mayor, her Uncle Dante. Dante's a crazy jerk with a penchant for screaming at the top of his lungs at everyone. One of Skye's ex-bosses, Cookie, winds up dead, and Dante thunders at Skye that she had better figure out who killed Cookie before it ruins the yard sale. There are TV cameras in town, following the star of an "Antiques Roadshow" wannabe show as the bitchy woman wreaks havoc with the sellers along the yard sale route. Plus, Simon, Skye's boyfriend, is out in California while she's dealing with all the crazy, her parents and her best friend and her husband are dealing with couple-y issues that Skye wants to help fix, and one of her favorite students goes missing. Just another calm week in Scumble River!
Thoughts:
I like the separation thing for Skye and Simon. It gets him out of the picture for a while, and lets Skye be Skye. Of course, that means that Skye gets into a little more trouble than usual, but she has Wally the police chief to help her out of her scrapes. They need to just get together already! But I digress. (As usual.) The book was a good one, though I did know exactly who did it about halfway through the book, and was not at all surprised by the reveal. But it was fun and quick, and during the holiday season, that's kind of what a girl needs, isn't it?
Book 35 of 40
(I don't think I'm going to make it to 50 this year. What a year!)
Pages: 260
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: For a light read, yup! Enjoy!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Murder of a Pink Elephant (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
More murder time for Skye, the school psychologist. This time around, the victim is a band mate of Skye's big brother, Vince, and Vince is one of the prime suspects. The vic goes down this time in a fire in the school gym while there's a school dance going on, and Vince and the rest of the band are playing for the dance. As a couple added bonuses, there's increased use of methamphetamines and a crazy theme park mogul wanting to set up shop in the town. To top it all off, the police chief is running for mayor and his opponent is smearing him with the fact that Skye has been solving murders in the town for the last two or three years, not the chief. It's always a good time in Scumble River.
Thoughts:
Once again, Skye saves the day. I'm getting really tired of her relationship with Simon, the boyfriend she's had since the beginning of the series. She's not a very giving person in that aspect of her life, and it seems like the boyfriend is always having to work for her affections. Not cool. Also, why can't the woman just get herself a job with the cops already, because she's solved, what, five murders at this point? Six, if you count this book, and there's a couple short stories that have come between books, which I'm sure hold some sort of crime solving. Just start getting paid for it already, Skye. It'll be worth it to you in the end, won't it?
The books are still fun, though, and worth wading through the crap romantic bits and the little dramas in Skye's own life to get to the murder solving bits. Also, let's get this girl hooked up with the chief already, because that has just gone on too long.
Book 35 of 50
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery, faint romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Good for the cheesy mystery lovers, as usual.
More murder time for Skye, the school psychologist. This time around, the victim is a band mate of Skye's big brother, Vince, and Vince is one of the prime suspects. The vic goes down this time in a fire in the school gym while there's a school dance going on, and Vince and the rest of the band are playing for the dance. As a couple added bonuses, there's increased use of methamphetamines and a crazy theme park mogul wanting to set up shop in the town. To top it all off, the police chief is running for mayor and his opponent is smearing him with the fact that Skye has been solving murders in the town for the last two or three years, not the chief. It's always a good time in Scumble River.
Thoughts:
Once again, Skye saves the day. I'm getting really tired of her relationship with Simon, the boyfriend she's had since the beginning of the series. She's not a very giving person in that aspect of her life, and it seems like the boyfriend is always having to work for her affections. Not cool. Also, why can't the woman just get herself a job with the cops already, because she's solved, what, five murders at this point? Six, if you count this book, and there's a couple short stories that have come between books, which I'm sure hold some sort of crime solving. Just start getting paid for it already, Skye. It'll be worth it to you in the end, won't it?
The books are still fun, though, and worth wading through the crap romantic bits and the little dramas in Skye's own life to get to the murder solving bits. Also, let's get this girl hooked up with the chief already, because that has just gone on too long.
Book 35 of 50
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery, faint romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Good for the cheesy mystery lovers, as usual.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Secrets Sisters Keep (Abby Drake)
Summary:
Four sisters, Ellie, Amanda, Babe, and Carleen, are brought together for their uncle's seventy-fifth birthday party. Carleen, the third child and black sheep of the family, hasn't been seen since her trial for burning down the family home ended. She was eighteen at the time, and is now in her forties. Babe, the baby, is an aging Hollywood starlet who hasn't been home since she was a teenager either. Ellie, the eldest, has lived with Uncle Edward at his Long Island lake house since her marriage ended in her twenties, and Amanda, second eldest, lives in nearby Manhattan with her husband and three children. The day before Uncle Edward's big bash, which will welcome back 200 of his oldest and dearest friends to the lake house, Uncle Edward goes missing. The book follows the sisters as they hunt for Uncle Edward, and try not to spill the beans on all their deepest and darkest secrets.
Thoughts:
Honestly, I kind of hated every character, in one respect or another. Amanda's a haughty bitch who needs to get her priorities straight. Ellie is scared of change, and everything that could make her life more meaningful. Babe is too wrapped up in herself to know anything. And Carleen, while being the most well-adjusted of the sisters, is bitter and feels the need to fix everything she may or may not have broken all those years ago. The story, overall, is an interesting one, but the players are just... Boring. Uninspired. They're cliches of the worst sort.
The book was fairly short, with big type, but I still had to push myself to get through it. At 100 pages, I was ready to be done already. The only good developments came along at page 250 or so, and went from there. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late for me to really care. I'm sorry, Ms. Drake, but you did not hook me at any point. The only reason I finished the book was that I truly hate starting a book and not seeing it through to the end. Thank goodness I got this through one of those "book of the month" clubs as one of the introductory books, so I didn't have to pay more than a few pennies for it. Otherwise, I would have been more upset.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 301
Genre: Chicklit, kinda
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Skip it. Boring, uninspired cliches aren't worth your time.
Four sisters, Ellie, Amanda, Babe, and Carleen, are brought together for their uncle's seventy-fifth birthday party. Carleen, the third child and black sheep of the family, hasn't been seen since her trial for burning down the family home ended. She was eighteen at the time, and is now in her forties. Babe, the baby, is an aging Hollywood starlet who hasn't been home since she was a teenager either. Ellie, the eldest, has lived with Uncle Edward at his Long Island lake house since her marriage ended in her twenties, and Amanda, second eldest, lives in nearby Manhattan with her husband and three children. The day before Uncle Edward's big bash, which will welcome back 200 of his oldest and dearest friends to the lake house, Uncle Edward goes missing. The book follows the sisters as they hunt for Uncle Edward, and try not to spill the beans on all their deepest and darkest secrets.
Thoughts:
Honestly, I kind of hated every character, in one respect or another. Amanda's a haughty bitch who needs to get her priorities straight. Ellie is scared of change, and everything that could make her life more meaningful. Babe is too wrapped up in herself to know anything. And Carleen, while being the most well-adjusted of the sisters, is bitter and feels the need to fix everything she may or may not have broken all those years ago. The story, overall, is an interesting one, but the players are just... Boring. Uninspired. They're cliches of the worst sort.
The book was fairly short, with big type, but I still had to push myself to get through it. At 100 pages, I was ready to be done already. The only good developments came along at page 250 or so, and went from there. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late for me to really care. I'm sorry, Ms. Drake, but you did not hook me at any point. The only reason I finished the book was that I truly hate starting a book and not seeing it through to the end. Thank goodness I got this through one of those "book of the month" clubs as one of the introductory books, so I didn't have to pay more than a few pennies for it. Otherwise, I would have been more upset.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 301
Genre: Chicklit, kinda
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Skip it. Boring, uninspired cliches aren't worth your time.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Murder of a Barbie and Ken (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Denison is still the school psychologist in a small town in Illinois. She's still dating the town's funeral director. This time she and her dad find the town's biggest movers and shakers, Barbie and Ken Addison, (yes, really.) dead in their home, strangled with the ribbon Barbie wraps around her Lean Cuisine style meals that she guilt-sells at Tupperware-like parties. Nice. Ken was grand poo-ba of the book's version of the Elks club, (within the book they're named something long that winds up making them be called the GUMBs. Seriously.) which Skye's boyfriend decided to join just a few months earlier. Skye is determined to keep her nose out of the police business for once, but the chief actually asks her to get into it this time around thanks to her involvement with the GUMBs and their wives. The other top GUMB members tell her to get into it too, and she uncovers some disturbing secrets within the GUMBs that no one wants to get out. Oh, and to top it off, someone from her boyfriend's past comes back to haunt, and makes Skye's home their personal hotel. What to do...
Thoughts:
I like Skye for the most part, and I like that for once, she's actually trying to stay OUT of the investigation. But I think she really should break it off with her boyfriend. He doesn't treat her completely right, often kind of condescending to her. I would actually like to see them broken up for the entirety of a book, and her getting into it with the police chief who not only has the hots for her, but who she's got a jonesing for too. It's really about time that the sexual tension there is resolved, one way or another. There's another 9 books in the series as of this date, and I'm hoping that the boyfriend goes away at some point, at least for a little while. My hopes will probably be dashed, but we'll see. Oh, and for once, I didn't spot the murderer a mile away.
Book 33 of 50
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery, with a side of romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Cheesy but fun. Good quick read for the holiday season.
Skye Denison is still the school psychologist in a small town in Illinois. She's still dating the town's funeral director. This time she and her dad find the town's biggest movers and shakers, Barbie and Ken Addison, (yes, really.) dead in their home, strangled with the ribbon Barbie wraps around her Lean Cuisine style meals that she guilt-sells at Tupperware-like parties. Nice. Ken was grand poo-ba of the book's version of the Elks club, (within the book they're named something long that winds up making them be called the GUMBs. Seriously.) which Skye's boyfriend decided to join just a few months earlier. Skye is determined to keep her nose out of the police business for once, but the chief actually asks her to get into it this time around thanks to her involvement with the GUMBs and their wives. The other top GUMB members tell her to get into it too, and she uncovers some disturbing secrets within the GUMBs that no one wants to get out. Oh, and to top it off, someone from her boyfriend's past comes back to haunt, and makes Skye's home their personal hotel. What to do...
Thoughts:
I like Skye for the most part, and I like that for once, she's actually trying to stay OUT of the investigation. But I think she really should break it off with her boyfriend. He doesn't treat her completely right, often kind of condescending to her. I would actually like to see them broken up for the entirety of a book, and her getting into it with the police chief who not only has the hots for her, but who she's got a jonesing for too. It's really about time that the sexual tension there is resolved, one way or another. There's another 9 books in the series as of this date, and I'm hoping that the boyfriend goes away at some point, at least for a little while. My hopes will probably be dashed, but we'll see. Oh, and for once, I didn't spot the murderer a mile away.
Book 33 of 50
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery, with a side of romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Cheesy but fun. Good quick read for the holiday season.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Murder of a Snake in the Grass (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Another of the Scumble River mysteries, starring Skye Denison. This time around, the town is having its bicentennial celebration, complete with the descendant of the town's founder coming in from Montreal to join the festivities. When Gabriel Scumble turns up dead, Skye wants nothing to do with it, for once. She chooses instead to keep her nose clean, and deal with her creeper ex-fiance who's come to town to supposedly woo her and bring her back into his life. Skye's on-again-off-again man, Simon, is none too pleased with Skye's ex showing up, and all hell threatens to break loose in Skye's life. Of course, everyone that knows Skye knows that she won't keep her nose out of for long....
Thoughts:
Kind of a same-ol'-same-ol' for Swanson. I'm tiring of Skye not being able to choose to be with Simon, or not. With the way this one ended, I'm hoping the same old storyline isn't rehashed again in the next book of the series, but we'll have to wait and see about that, won't we? Skye is fairly good at her job, but her interpersonal skills when she's not working are rather lacking. The stories are good, but semi-predictable. The writing is fair, but readable. These are good books to pick up and read through when your mind needs a rest from the hardships of intense, thought-provoking masterpiece type books.
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 262
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, take a break from Austen and Hugo and breathe in a little down home cheesiness.
Another of the Scumble River mysteries, starring Skye Denison. This time around, the town is having its bicentennial celebration, complete with the descendant of the town's founder coming in from Montreal to join the festivities. When Gabriel Scumble turns up dead, Skye wants nothing to do with it, for once. She chooses instead to keep her nose clean, and deal with her creeper ex-fiance who's come to town to supposedly woo her and bring her back into his life. Skye's on-again-off-again man, Simon, is none too pleased with Skye's ex showing up, and all hell threatens to break loose in Skye's life. Of course, everyone that knows Skye knows that she won't keep her nose out of for long....
Thoughts:
Kind of a same-ol'-same-ol' for Swanson. I'm tiring of Skye not being able to choose to be with Simon, or not. With the way this one ended, I'm hoping the same old storyline isn't rehashed again in the next book of the series, but we'll have to wait and see about that, won't we? Skye is fairly good at her job, but her interpersonal skills when she's not working are rather lacking. The stories are good, but semi-predictable. The writing is fair, but readable. These are good books to pick up and read through when your mind needs a rest from the hardships of intense, thought-provoking masterpiece type books.
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 262
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, take a break from Austen and Hugo and breathe in a little down home cheesiness.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Witness to Death (Dave White)
Summary:
John's just a regular guy. He suspects that the man his ex, Michelle, is dating might be cheating on her. John's suspicions lead him down a road he wasn't expecting. Michelle's honey knows his way around guns, can fight better than Tyson and Holyfield and Bond combined, and can distract cops so easily, you'd think he was using the Force. The novel follows John, and Michelle's new guy, Frank (or is it Peter??) as they get to the bottom of a plot to kill them. There are shootings, deaths, and even an explosion or two.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. Before I go on, I should say that I am privileged enough to know the author. He's family. However, that does NOT mean that I treat his novels with kid gloves compared to the other stuff I've read. Sure, it might make Dave feel good, but if those three of you that actually read this blog (ha.) decided to pick up a Dave White novel based on my say-so, and find it to be a roiling pile of crap, you'd probably run screaming for the hills and my readership would be down to, well, nothing at all.
So now on to the review. I honestly love White's writing style. It helps that he's based in Northern Jersey, and so are his characters, and that's my current section of the world as well. The blunt but humorous descriptions and observations of White's characters bring them closer to reality for me because I see the world in a similar way. As we the reader follow John the teacher through these escapades of his, we feel for the guy, and really care about him as if he's the chatty neighbor who you'll be talking to about his kids tomorrow on your way out your respective doors. With most mystery writers, I can predict the exact angle and trajectory of the next shoe's drop before it's dropped but, with White, you never can tell. I usually catch up with where the plot's going to go about three sentences before it goes there. He packs so many twists into a single book, you feel like you're on the world's longest roller coaster, and believe me, there's always a final drop out of no where before you roll back into the station. The last drop in this one comes in the chapter that's usually the epilogue-like one, where we the readers finally relax and think everything's all finished. Literally, a Chekov's Gun scene comes out of nowhere, and I still (after having finished this a couple days ago) can't believe the ending. Trust me when I tell you, Dave White's got a knack for the drama, and I enjoy the hell out of every one of his books.
Side note: This book is not available in paper form. It's an eReader only one. I was hesitant about it, because I like the solid, tangible books in hand, but because it's White, I downloaded the book, and I am not sorry. Pick it up. It's worth the megabytes.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: Unspecified, eReader book
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely, and not just because he's family. Two good reasons you should download this: 1, it's effing GOOD, and 2, it's only $0.99. Come on. Writing this good is a steal at any price, but at under a dollar, will you really feel gypped? Doubtful.
John's just a regular guy. He suspects that the man his ex, Michelle, is dating might be cheating on her. John's suspicions lead him down a road he wasn't expecting. Michelle's honey knows his way around guns, can fight better than Tyson and Holyfield and Bond combined, and can distract cops so easily, you'd think he was using the Force. The novel follows John, and Michelle's new guy, Frank (or is it Peter??) as they get to the bottom of a plot to kill them. There are shootings, deaths, and even an explosion or two.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. Before I go on, I should say that I am privileged enough to know the author. He's family. However, that does NOT mean that I treat his novels with kid gloves compared to the other stuff I've read. Sure, it might make Dave feel good, but if those three of you that actually read this blog (ha.) decided to pick up a Dave White novel based on my say-so, and find it to be a roiling pile of crap, you'd probably run screaming for the hills and my readership would be down to, well, nothing at all.
So now on to the review. I honestly love White's writing style. It helps that he's based in Northern Jersey, and so are his characters, and that's my current section of the world as well. The blunt but humorous descriptions and observations of White's characters bring them closer to reality for me because I see the world in a similar way. As we the reader follow John the teacher through these escapades of his, we feel for the guy, and really care about him as if he's the chatty neighbor who you'll be talking to about his kids tomorrow on your way out your respective doors. With most mystery writers, I can predict the exact angle and trajectory of the next shoe's drop before it's dropped but, with White, you never can tell. I usually catch up with where the plot's going to go about three sentences before it goes there. He packs so many twists into a single book, you feel like you're on the world's longest roller coaster, and believe me, there's always a final drop out of no where before you roll back into the station. The last drop in this one comes in the chapter that's usually the epilogue-like one, where we the readers finally relax and think everything's all finished. Literally, a Chekov's Gun scene comes out of nowhere, and I still (after having finished this a couple days ago) can't believe the ending. Trust me when I tell you, Dave White's got a knack for the drama, and I enjoy the hell out of every one of his books.
Side note: This book is not available in paper form. It's an eReader only one. I was hesitant about it, because I like the solid, tangible books in hand, but because it's White, I downloaded the book, and I am not sorry. Pick it up. It's worth the megabytes.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: Unspecified, eReader book
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely, and not just because he's family. Two good reasons you should download this: 1, it's effing GOOD, and 2, it's only $0.99. Come on. Writing this good is a steal at any price, but at under a dollar, will you really feel gypped? Doubtful.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Assassination Vacation (Sarah Vowell)
Summary:
It's a non-fictional book for once. Vowell delves into the crazy minds and lives of the men who went after Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley, examining the roads they took toward the assassinations, and the roads they followed afterward. It also looks at Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham's eldest, who was in the vicinity during each of the assassination attempts.
Thoughts:
The chapter on Lincoln takes up almost half the book, and goes far more in depth than the other two. Vowell makes history fun in the most off-beat kind of way. She literally goes on vacations and day trips to find out more about what John Wilkes Booth was doing the day after the shooting. I swear. She takes the truths of the days surrounding each assassination and lays them all out so you can learn them best, and absorb just how nuts each of the assassins actually were. Vowell's way of looking at the history of these murders makes it fun and interesting to learn about, as opposed to reading a text book or listening to your high school history teacher drone on about dates and events. (No offense to Mr. Heath, and Mr. Lynch, who are probably long gone from my school at this point, but who did actually help me enjoy history a lot more than most teachers!) Vowell takes the emotionless facts of when and where, and throws in the emotional bits of who and why so that her readers can get a sense of how it really went down. And poor Robert. That man must have had a serious complex by the end of his life.
The book is a great read. I honestly didn't want to put it down, and fully plan on picking up more of Vowell's books. Her joy over the history leaps off the page as if it had a life of its own. HIGHLY suggest this one, people. HIGHLY.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: 255
Genre: History
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. A thousand times, YES!! Even if you're not big on history, this is worth it. YES!!
It's a non-fictional book for once. Vowell delves into the crazy minds and lives of the men who went after Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley, examining the roads they took toward the assassinations, and the roads they followed afterward. It also looks at Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham's eldest, who was in the vicinity during each of the assassination attempts.
Thoughts:
The chapter on Lincoln takes up almost half the book, and goes far more in depth than the other two. Vowell makes history fun in the most off-beat kind of way. She literally goes on vacations and day trips to find out more about what John Wilkes Booth was doing the day after the shooting. I swear. She takes the truths of the days surrounding each assassination and lays them all out so you can learn them best, and absorb just how nuts each of the assassins actually were. Vowell's way of looking at the history of these murders makes it fun and interesting to learn about, as opposed to reading a text book or listening to your high school history teacher drone on about dates and events. (No offense to Mr. Heath, and Mr. Lynch, who are probably long gone from my school at this point, but who did actually help me enjoy history a lot more than most teachers!) Vowell takes the emotionless facts of when and where, and throws in the emotional bits of who and why so that her readers can get a sense of how it really went down. And poor Robert. That man must have had a serious complex by the end of his life.
The book is a great read. I honestly didn't want to put it down, and fully plan on picking up more of Vowell's books. Her joy over the history leaps off the page as if it had a life of its own. HIGHLY suggest this one, people. HIGHLY.
Book 31 of 50
Pages: 255
Genre: History
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. A thousand times, YES!! Even if you're not big on history, this is worth it. YES!!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Name of This Book is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch)
Summary:
I really can't tell you what it's about, because I'm not supposed to, but if I were to tell you, this is what I would say... It's about a couple of kids that learn of the disappearance of a magician, and get drawn into a whole secret world that no one should know about. But I didn't tell you that!
Thoughts:
It's fabulous. What a fun story. Sure, it's a kid's book. Then again, so was Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins, and the Wizard of Oz. This one makes you think, and try to discover who's who, and what's what, and how they're going to get where they're going next. There are codes to decipher, and riddles to solve, and smells to hear. I got turned onto the book by the Today Show, and I'm glad I hunted it down. Definitely a fun romp, and great for kids. Enjoy this one, everyone. I know you will!
Book 30 of 50
Pages: 351, 360 if you include the Appendix, and more if you write more in your ending!
Genre: Children's, mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. You're crazy if you don't go hunting for this book! Such fun!
I really can't tell you what it's about, because I'm not supposed to, but if I were to tell you, this is what I would say... It's about a couple of kids that learn of the disappearance of a magician, and get drawn into a whole secret world that no one should know about. But I didn't tell you that!
Thoughts:
It's fabulous. What a fun story. Sure, it's a kid's book. Then again, so was Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins, and the Wizard of Oz. This one makes you think, and try to discover who's who, and what's what, and how they're going to get where they're going next. There are codes to decipher, and riddles to solve, and smells to hear. I got turned onto the book by the Today Show, and I'm glad I hunted it down. Definitely a fun romp, and great for kids. Enjoy this one, everyone. I know you will!
Book 30 of 50
Pages: 351, 360 if you include the Appendix, and more if you write more in your ending!
Genre: Children's, mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. You're crazy if you don't go hunting for this book! Such fun!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
No Nest for the Wicket (Donna Andrews)
Summary:
Once again, Meg Langslow has craziness surrounding her. Mrs. Fenniman, a woman whose relationship to Meg is, I think, some sort of aunt, decides to start an Extreme Cricket tournament in Caerphilly. Of course the tourney has to be on Meg's huge property, as well as her neighbor's farm, because everyone enjoys invading Meg's and Michael's space. Oh, and somebody gets murdered. Shocker.
Thoughts:
If you've read this blog at all, you know how I love Andrews's writing. The scenarios get more and more ridiculous, but with the way Andrews set up her first novel, no one thinks twice about how off-the-wall the newest novel's plot is. I can't wait to see what's coming next. The only thing that bugs me is Meg's fear of marrying Michael, but I guess Andrews was trying to draw out that piece of plot as long as possible.
Book 28 of 50
Pages: 259
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A-
Would I Recommend? Heck yeah, though as with most series books, I do suggest starting from the beginning. Sure, you could pick up in the middle, but the whole joy of the Langslow brood is watching the crazy get crazier.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Silver (Edward Chupack)
Summary:
This is the back story of one Long John Silver, the dreaded pirate from Treasure Island. Chupack takes readers on a journey through Silver's past straight through to finding his Treasure Island.
Thoughts:
I have yet to read the original story, so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, this was probably one of the more boring books I've read in the last two or three years. It literally took me a month and a half to fight my way through this damn book. The story is told through Silver's own pen, written to the man who captured him. Holy Jesus, did I want out the whole way through this novel. I found it in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble and after just a few pages, I saw exactly why it was there. Bleh. No thank you. Avoid this one, friends. Trust me.
Book 29 of 50
Pages: 272
Genre: Historical fiction, pirates
Grade: F
Would I Recommend? Nope. Leave this bad boy in the bargain bin, kiddies.
This is the back story of one Long John Silver, the dreaded pirate from Treasure Island. Chupack takes readers on a journey through Silver's past straight through to finding his Treasure Island.
Thoughts:
I have yet to read the original story, so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, this was probably one of the more boring books I've read in the last two or three years. It literally took me a month and a half to fight my way through this damn book. The story is told through Silver's own pen, written to the man who captured him. Holy Jesus, did I want out the whole way through this novel. I found it in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble and after just a few pages, I saw exactly why it was there. Bleh. No thank you. Avoid this one, friends. Trust me.
Book 29 of 50
Pages: 272
Genre: Historical fiction, pirates
Grade: F
Would I Recommend? Nope. Leave this bad boy in the bargain bin, kiddies.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Murder of a Sleeping Beauty (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Denison the school counselor was just trying to get a kid to come out of his shell, when their session gets interrupted. Another dead body has been found. This time it's the school's star of the play. Skye has to try to find the killer before the principal goes nuts over the bad press. Skye gets an in-depth look at the teen pageant circuit as well as a glimpse inside the Senior Class in crowd. Meanwhile, the kid whose session was interrupted tries to help...
Thoughts:
Not a bad one. Skye is a likable enough character, and she doesn't push too many of my "duh, what are you doing??" buttons, so that's always a step in the right direction. Swanson brings the funny more than other authors, which I appreciate. It's a good mindless read for those who just need a break from the world.
Book 27 of 50
Pages: 263
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, why not.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Band Room Bash (Candice Speare)
Summary:
Second in a series I've not read before. Trish Cunningham is a mother of four (if I remember correctly), who's pregnant again. She arrives at the local high school for a meeting about promoting the school play, and finds one of the teachers involved murdered in the band room. Oh, and her stepson is a prime suspect. She's determined to find out who the murderer is and fast, before her stepson is charged.
Thoughts:
I ordered this on a whim from someone on Paperback Swap because of the title, and my band nerd history. It had little to nothing to do with band people, though. Sadness. But on to the book itself... Honestly, this author doesn't bring anything really new to the murder mystery novel party. The main character is boring, and pretty stupid, because she puts herself into danger while being very pregnant. The police chief basically hates her, and doesn't want her getting her nose into anything, which makes absolute sense, but she keeps going anyway. Everyone expects her to solve the murder, even though she has literally only solved one murder before. But of course, after you've done it once, it's not hard at all. Ugh. I didn't like anything in particular about the book, and more often than not, I was rolling my eyes at the idiocy of the main character. No, thank you. I won't be going back to read the first book, nor will I be continuing on with the series. Skip this one.
Book 26 of 30
Pages: 249
Genre: Mystery
Grade: D
Would I Recommend?: Eh. I won't be getting more from this series, I don't think.
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