Category: Book Review

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Nonfiction, Read in 2008, U-V-W

Mistaken Identity by the Van Ryn & Cerak Families

Tara
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
by Don & Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 261
Rating: 4/5
Read: May 11-14, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – Bio/Autobio Category

First Line: Colleen Cerak woke up with a start to the sound of the phone ringing.

April 26, 2006. A date that the community of Taylor University will never forget. Returning from a banquet, a university bus carrying students and staff were hit by a truck. The accident scene was terribly violent and chaotic. Five people died. One survived. Laura Van Ryn’s family couldn’t believe that their little girl survived the terrible accident. Whitney Cerak’s family struggled to cope with the loss of their loved one. As Laura began the grueling healing process, her family was there to witness every moment. For five weeks after the accident she was showing amazing progress and the Van Ryn family thought that they were well on their way to returning to normalcy. Then it happened.
“Okay, Laura, I would like for you to write your name for me, the occupational therapist said. … W-H-I-T-N-E-Y…” (pg. 165-167)
The Van Ryn’s simply could not believe it. Had they been caring for Whitney Cerak for the past five weeks under the impression that it was their precious Laura?! Had the Cerak family actually buried their baby girl thinking it was Whitney?! Slowly, they began to remember strange things that “Laura” had recently been saying. Getting names wrong, not recognizing people. Just little things here and there. But it all made sense: “Laura” was actually Whitney!
Once the dental records did indeed confirm the fact that the girl who survived the horrific accident was actually Whitney Cerak, the Cerak family was contacted with amazing news.

“We have reason to believe that the girl identified as Laura Van Ryn is, in fact, your daughter Whitney Cerak.” (pg. 3)

Colleen Cerak could not believe her ears. Could they really have buried a girl other than Whitney? Could they have buried Laura instead?! No one in the family had the strength to view the body before burial … then Colleen began to think, five weeks!?!? How had five weeks gone by without the truth being obvious?! When the Cerak’s were reunited with their daughter, Whitney, everything was perfect.
But then, the Cerak’s wondered, how are the Van Ryn family coping?! They were the ones who, five weeks ago, felt amazingly blessed that their daughter survived a horrific accident in which she should have died. Now they were feeling the despair and heartbreak that the Cerak family had been experiencing for the past five weeks. And to make it worse, the Van Ryn’s were caring for a girl that they believed to be their daughter when in fact it was a stranger to them. How is something like that even possible?!
This book tells their story. It is heartbreaking. It is uplifting. It is amazing. I enjoyed it. Although I am not particularly religious, I understood that their story had to be told from that aspect since both of the families faith is a huge part of their life as well as this story. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It’s a must read.
4.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2008, S

The Inferno Collection by Jacqueline Seewald

Tara
The Inferno Collection
by Jacqueline Seewald
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 255
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: May 10, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: “May I help you?” Kim Reynolds said the words automatically to the next person who approached the information services desk as she replaced the World Almanac under the ready reference counter.

University reference librarian Kim Reynolds is intrigued when her good friend Lorette Campbell approaches her asking if she’s ever heard of the university having an “Inferno Collection.” But before Kim can figure out the answer to her question, Lorette turns up dead. With the police assuming suicide, Kim sets out to prove them wrong by retracing Lorette’s steps before her death, only to find herself in harm’s way.
Oh my goodness! This book was amazing. I picked it up on a whim at the library today and started it at 2 and didn’t put it down until 6 when I finished it! It was wonderful!! I was practically hooked from the first page. It’s a really great book that I highly recommend. Loved it!!
3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008

The Midnight Club by James Patterson

Tara
The Midnight Club
by James Patterson
Copyright: 198
Pages: 349
Rating: 3/5
Read: April 28-May 4, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: The night that John Stefanovitch was shot couldn’t have been colder, or the stars more dazzling in high winter skies.

When NYPD Detective John Stefanovitch is shot and paralyzed one cold night, he thinks his life couldn’t get worse. But it can. That same night, his wife is shot and killed in their apartment. Who is behind this?! A man known as The Grave Dancer, The Midnight Club and what they call “street law.” And Stefanovitch will stop at nothing to catch this crazed psychopath.
I’m going to be honest here …. this has to be the most disappointing James Patterson book that I have read to date. I was completely uninterested in it. I usually read his books in 2 days tops, but this one just kept dragging on. I didn’t like it much at all. I felt it hard to follow and am still unsure as to what really was supposed to be going on in the book. I just wasn’t impressed by this book whatsoever. I wouldn’t recommend this one at all.
3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Charlie Parker, Fiction, Read in 2008, SERIES

Dark Hollow by John Connolly

Tara
Dark Hollow
by John Connolly
Copyright: 2000
Pages: 504
Rating: 3/5
Read: April 18-22, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: I dream dark dreams.
Charlie Parker returns to the house his grandfather raised him in. But he cannot escape the feeling that something is not quite right when a good friend of his and her baby are brutally murdered. He sets out to find out who was behind the murder. But he’s still reeling from the murder of his own wife and daughter the year before. His emotions will undoubtedly get the better of him from time to time in the chase for the madman.
I’m going to be honest. I was not really impressed by this book. Maybe it was because I was trying to read it when I was trying to get everything situated for our big move to Kentucky. Whatever the reasoning, I just didn’t care for it. I had trouble concentrating and it took me way too long to finish it. I had read The Killing Kind last year and loved it, but this one was definitely a disappointment for me.
3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Nonfiction, R, Read in 2008

A Rose for Her Grave by Ann Rule

Tara
A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases: Ann Rule’s Crime Files: Vol. 1
Ann Rule
Copyright: 1993
Pages: 513
Rating: 3/5
Read: April 13-17, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – True Crime category; What’s in a Name – Plant category

First Line: Janis Miranda was a little bit of a thing.

Ann Rule’s Crime Files opens up with the story of Randy Roth. Roth was a man who courted, married, killed, and collected insurance on the women he victimized. The way that he appealed to women was amazing! And the way that he demeaned strong, independent women was even more shocking. But that story only takes up the first two-thirds of the book. The rest of the book is spent focusing in on four other true crime cases that Rule covered in the Pacific Northwest. Although Rule is my absolute favorite true crime author, I was disappointed by this one. I think that she does a much better job when she is focused on just one case. The four mini-cases really weren’t long enough for her to do them justice. This book was just okay for me. [With this book, I also finish the What’s in a Name Challenge. I will be posting a challenge wrap-up shortly.
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

4th of July by James Patterson

Tara
4th of July
by James Patterson
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5
Read: April 7-9, 2008
Challenge: No challenge; personal read

First Line: It was just before 4:00am on a weekday.

Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer finds herself in the defendant’s seat after a short car chase which ends fatally. She retreats to her sister’s house for privacy before the trial is set to begin. There she is faced with a small town who is in the grips of a string of unsolved, grisly murders. Being the cop, she can’t leave things alone and gets involved. Not only is she facing financial ruin in San Francisco, but she is also facing a cold-blooded murderer who will stop at nothing to keep Lindsay from discovering the truth behind the murders.
Another good book in the Women’s Murder Club!! This one was not as good as the 3rd Degree, which is the best in the series so far. The middle of this book was a little slow, but the ending … Oh My Goodness! It was a total shocker! I couldn’t believe it, I had no idea who the killer actually was!! I highly recommend this series!!
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

3rd Degree by James Patterson

Tara
3rd Degree
by James Patterson
Copyright: 2004
Pages: 339
Rating: 4/5
Read: April 6-7, 2008
Challenge: Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Terrorist thriller

First Line: It was a clear, calm, lazy April morning, the day the worst week of my life began.

In this third installment of the Women’s Murder Club, terrorists are at work on Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer’s streets. After more and more people are murdered for the “cause,” Lindsay calls a meeting with the girls. But the investigation will put one of the Women’s Club members in grave danger.
This book was amazing!! I really, really enjoyed it!! It’s almost heartbreaking in places. And the ending is truly shocking. I highly recommend this book. This series is great!! This book is definitely the best one in the series so far!!
3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Kinsey Millhone, Read in 2008, SERIES

‘A’ is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

Tara
‘A’ is for Alibi
by Sue Grafton
Copyright: 1982
Pages: 215
Rating: 3/5
Read: April 1-3, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author Challenge; Triple Eight – First in a Series Category

First Line: My name is Kinsey Millhone

Private investigator, Kinsey Millhone vaguely remembers the case of the murder of slick divorce attorney Laurence Fife, some 8 or 9 years previously. Fife’s wife, Nikki, was tried and convicted of the murder and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Now Nikki is out on parole and comes to Kinsey to prove that she did not kill Laurence. Kinsey is reluctant to take the case, eight years cold and seemingly solved. But she takes it thinking there is no way Nikki would bring this up again if she was indeed guilty. But what Kinsey does not expect to find along the way is a second eight-year-old murder and a brand new murder.
I had read part of this book a few years ago and decided to pick it up again since I now own most of the series (I think I’m missing K, O and T). Overall, I was a little disappointed in this. I felt that the writing was a little lacking. Of course, it’s hard to write a novel in 200 short pages. However, I am indeed going to continue this series and can’t wait to get to ‘B’.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

Tara
The Virgin of Small Plains
by Nancy Pickard
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 336
Rating: 5/5
Read: March 29-31, 2008
Challenge: Eponymous Challenge

First Line: Abby Reynolds braked her truck on the icy highway, startled by what she imagined she saw off to the side of the road.

For nearly twenty years, a rural Kansas town has tended to the grave of an unknown teenage girl who has become known as “The Virgin.” The discovery of her body changed the lives of teens Mitch Newquist, Abby Reynolds, and Rex Shellenberger. For Mitch, he inexplicably left town the day after she was found, leaving his girlfriend, Abby and best friend, Rex, behind without a reason. But nearly twenty years later, Mitch will return to the small town of Small Plains in order to finally put a name on the Virgin’s grave and in the process will change the entire town forever.
This book was awesome! There were so many twists and turns. And the ending was a complete shocker to me! I loved it!! Highly recommended!
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Eve Dallas, R, Read in 2008, SERIES

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Tara
Naked in Death
J.D. Robb
Copyright: 1995
Pages: 306
Rating: 4/5
Read: March 23-27, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – 1st in a Series; Suspense & Thriller Challenge – romance thriller

First Line: She woke in the dark.

New York City police Lieutenant Eve Dallas thinks she’s seen it all in her 10 years on the force. But when the case of a murder of a Senator’s granddaughter comes across her desk, she experiences something she’s never thought about – being seduced by a possible suspect in the murder case. Even though every ounce in her body tells her to ignore the millionaire Roarke’s advances, she finds herself falling more and more. And before long, she realizes that she will need his help and resources in order to solve this murder.
Overall, I really liked this book. However, I felt a slight disappointment with it. I guess I had myself pumped up for a little more solidness to it. This book is set in the future, like the 2050s, but there was no real explanation for any of the technological advances when I felt like they were a little necessary. I’m sure I’m going to continue with this series, but I felt that this book could have been more solid.