Category: Read in 2009

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2009, S

REVIEW: She Loves Me Not by Wendy Corsi Staub

Tara

She Loves Me Not
by Wendi Corsi Staub

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 380
Rating: 5/5
Read: Aug. 23-30, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009; Countdown Challenge
Yearly Count: 44

First Line: Her return to consciousness is a prolonged, painstaking process.

Widow Rose Larrabee is having a hard time coping with her husband’s sudden death. Although it’s been a year, she just isn’t coping well. And with two young children to raise and a job that is barely covering the bills, her stress level is through the roof. The last thing that she needs is someone stalking her. But that’s exactly the feeling that she is getting. It starts with a homemade valentine in her mailbox … a little creepy, but it doesn’t raise concerns yet. But when a box of chocolates mysteriously finds itself in the front seat of her car, the phone starts ringing in the middle of the night, and a heart-shaped gift appears one morning on her husband’s pillow, she starts to get the feeling that there’s someone out there watching her … and he’s hiding in plain sight. Will she figure out what is going on before it’s too late?

I have read Wendy Corsi Staub before and I remember enjoying her book. Well, this one definitely did not disappoint! When the ending came and the killer was revealed, it was someone that I hadn’t even considered!! There are so many twists and turns. Staub really created a character that I could connect with in Rose. And Christine was another great character. Sometimes books can be somewhat formulaic – I didn’t get that feeling from this book at all. I thought it was really well plotted. Although the ending was slightly abrupt, it was still a good way to end the book. I am definitely glad that I picked this book up off my shelf, it was really worth reading! I highly recommend this book and author to anyone that hasn’t given her a try before!

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, Harper Connelly, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008, SERIES

REVIEW: An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

Tara

An Ice Cold Grave
by Charlaine Harris

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 280
Rating: 5/5
Read: Aug. 20-23, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 43

First Line: The eastern seaboard is crammed with dead people.

Harper Connelly is called to a job in Doraville, North Carolina. She is hired to find a missing boy for a grieving grandmother. He is just one of several teenage boys that has disappeared from the area over the past five years. She ends up finding them all, buried at an old deserted house. Having done the job she was hired to do, all she wants to do is get out of town. Instead she finds herself attacked and in the hospital. While recovering Harper will learn more about Doraville, North Carolina, than she ever cared to know.

This is the third book in the Harper Connelly series. I have read online at Ms. Harris’ website that the fourth book due out later this year will be the final book in this series. I sure will be bummed out when this series ends. I have read the first three this year and I have really enjoyed all of them. I personally feel as if the first is still the best so far, but this was one was better than the second. I loved how Harper and Tolliver both grow as characters by leaps and bounds in this installment. I definitely recommend this series.

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, M, Read in 2009

REVIEW: Executive Privilege by Phillip Margolin

Tara

Executive Privilege
by Phillip Margolin

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 443
Rating: 5/5
Read: Aug. 15-19, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 42

First Line: Brad Miller woke up at 6 a.m. even though his meeting with Roy Kineer, the retired Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was scheduled for nine.

When private detective Dana Cutler is hired to follow college student Charlotte Walsh, never in her wildest dreams did she consider that the trail would lead her to the White House. But that is exactly what happens when Walsh turns up dead after a clandestine meeting with the President of the United States, Christopher Farrington. Her murder is blamed on the serial killer, the “D.C. Ripper.” Brad Miller, a junior associate in an Oregon law firm, still quite fresh out of law school, is given the case of the appeal of serial killer Clarence Little. Miller is stunned by Little’s insistence that he killed everyone that he was blamed for except for one: the death of the babysitter of then-governor, now-President Farrington. So a green lawyer and a small-time private eye have to come up with the hard evidence to prove that someone at the very highest level of the United States government is a brutal murderer and that it might very well be the President himself.

I LOVED this book!! It was fast paced and had twists and turns that kept me going all the way until the very end. Phillip Margolin is one of those authors that I have enjoyed every book that I have read of his and this one was definitely no exception. I really enjoyed the two story lines. Sometimes having two story lines is confusing to me, but Margolin definitely weaved his stories together beautifully. The characters were so well developed. I loved Brad and Ginny together! And Dana, well Dana was a firecracker!! The plot was really good too. I really recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller!!!

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008

REVIEW: Swimsuit by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Tara

Swimsuit
by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 391
Rating: 3.5/5
Read: Aug. 9-11, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge
Yearly Count: 41

First Line: I know things I don’t want to know.

On the beautiful beaches of Hawaii a beautiful swimsuit model disappears. Kim McDaniels’ parents immediately fly to Hawaii in order to find their daughter. Ex-cop Ben Hawkins is now a reporter for the L.A. Times. He is given the assigntment of covering the McDaniels disappearance. He starts to get the feeling that this might be the one big story that he’s been searching for. And he also realizes that the local cops just might botch this, so he begins his own investigation. But the killer has a plan in mind. He’s planning his own next move, and it has Ben Hawkins in the middle of it.

This is really a complicated story to try and explain. It is written as a book within a book. Being a pretty big fan of James Patterson, I must say that this one was a slight disappointment for me. First of all, I really did not take to Ben Hawkins’ character one bit. I felt disconnected from him throughout the entire book, and to me that connection with the narrator is a very important part of the whole book experience. Now that’s not to say that I didn’t like the book in general, there were definitely some great parts, but I just didn’t think that it was really up to par in my opinion. I don’t really know what to say about this book if you want the truth. It just really didn’t speak to me much.

AUTHOR, Book Review, F, Fiction, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008

REVIEW: The Piper’s Sons by Bruce Chandler Fergusson

Tara

The Piper’s Sons
by Bruce Chandler Fergusson

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 424
Rating: 3/5
Read: Aug. 1-8, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; A Well-Rounded Challenge; RYOB 2009; Random Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 40

First Line: Would I have gone after the girl if my own daughter, Emma, were still alive?

Paul Sinclair is a haunted man. His brother disappeared many years before. His daughter, Emma, died years ago. But there’s more … there’s a terrible secret in his family. It’s a secret that he will only begin to scratch the surface of, starting with the unexpected death of his father. In his family history is a man called the Pied Piper – a brutal killer who was never caught and was presumed dead. But is he? He seems to be getting closer to Paul and his wife and son. And it’s Paul who is determined to find exactly what is in his past, even if it means losing his family in the process.

Okay, so this was really a strange book. It started out great and had me hooked from the first page. Then I got to the middle and it kind of lulled. Then it picked up again and I was really starting to see what Paul was seeing. But then, in the last 100 pages it hit another lull and I felt bogged down by a lot of unimportant descriptions that seemed more like filler to me than anything of real importance. I just don’t know what to think about this book. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it was definitely kind of weird. I had a lot of issues with the way Fergusson kept changing who was talking, I had trouble keeping up sometimes. Now I will say this, I hadn’t expected the ending. I was surprised by who the Pied Piper ended up being, but after I finished the last sentence and set the book down and tried to make sense of everything that happened in the last third of the book, I will admit – I was confused. I must have missed something because I never did see how he ended up with the ending he did. But overall it was an okay book, just a little weird that’s all.

AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008

REVIEW: Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker

Tara

Dancing with Ana
by Nicole Barker

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 170
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: Aug. 3, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; A Well-Rounded Challenge; Countdown Challenge
Yearly Count: 39

First Line: “Christine McCady’s hair is especially shiny today,” Jenny told the three girls sitting with her at the lunch table.

Four sixteen-year-old friends, Beth, Jenny, Rachel and Melanie are struggling to find out who they are as young women. And they’re also struggling with the fact that there’s always going to be someone skinnier, someone prettier, someone with better hair, the list can go on and on. But for Beth, life is going especially tough for her and she hasn’t even really realized it yet. Her father has left their family for a younger woman, she’s falling in love with her best friend, and she is determined to get down to her “target” weight of 110 pounds. She’s so determined that she has enlisted the help of her closest friends to diet together. But their diets are dangerous – they’re hardly eating. The horrible headaches and dizziness finally makes Beth’s friends realize that they have no business dieting like they’re doing. But Beth is determined. However, when she hits 110 pounds, she realizes that she’s not as happy as she had expected to be. In fact, she’s actually even more depressed. But as she keeps going, her friends and new boyfriend are finally able to step in and help her realize that she doesn’t need to do all this dieting in order to be pretty and happy.

I’m going to include a small selection from page 164 that really highlights what has been going on with Beth. The first girl talking in this blurb is Christine, McCady, the most popular girl in school.

She paused at the door. “By the way, love what you’ve done with yourself. Ten more pounds and you’ll be super hot!”

And she was gone.

Beth looked at herself in the mirror, and for the first time, saw the dark smudges under her eyes. Her hair hung loose, laying flat against her head. Her skin was very pale. Hesitantly, she lifted her oversized t-shirt, exposing her stomach. All of her ribs showed, and her stomach was sunken in. For the first time, she saw how frail her arms looked.

She also finally saw how she’d chosen to deal with her father’s abandonment … by destroying herself.

I was contacted directly by the author, Nicole Barker, to read and review this book. I received it in the mail yesterday and sat down with it last night and read it in one sitting. It was that good. I could really relate with Beth’s character; I was a milder version of her my junior year in high school. Barker’s descriptions of the new love that all four of the girls finally began to experience reminded me of those first few months of young love with my husband when we were in high school. I find it kind of ironic that at the age of 24 I find myself enjoying YA reads, whereas when I was 15 or 16 and should have read a book like this I wanted no part of them. I honestly believe that women of all ages could really relate to the girls in this story, I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2009, SERIES

REVIEW: Cat & Mouse by James Patterson

Tara

Cat & Mouse
by James Patterson

Copyright: 1997
Pages: 451
Rating: 5/5
Read: July 25-31, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 38

First Line: The Cross house was twenty paces away and the proximity and sight of it made Gary Soneji’s skin prickle.

Gary Soneji is back! And he’s back with a vengeance and out for Alex Cross’s blood. He waits patiently in Cross’s basement to kill Cross and his family. But instead, he goes on a killing rampage … knowing quite well that Alex will follow him. But what Alex finds out will shake him to the core: Soneji has nothing to lose anymore, he’s dying. That’s why he goes on such a rampage leaving the scenes gruesome. But then the two finally have a face off in the tunnels underneath NYC. Only one can survive. Cross is sure that he sees Soneji die. So when he gets attacked in his own bed he swears that Soneji is back, because he promised Cross that he would get him even if he was to die. That what he had put into motion would outlive Soneji. But while all this is going on, another crazed serial killer is at work, a madman that is known as Mr. Smith is killing randomly in the United States and across Europe. And he’s chosen Alex Cross as a worthy opponent to stop him. And that’s exactly what Alex sets out to do.

Okay, so that probably wasn’t the best description of this book. I enjoyed it, but it was really difficult for me to explain it without giving too many spoilers away. There was really two plot lines going on with both of them loosely weaved in together – see, very difficult to describe! Anyway, as always with James Patterson’s books, it was a fun and quick read. I will say that I do believe that the Alex Cross series is 100% better than the Women’s Murder Club series (which I’m up-to-date on, but burned out on at the same time). With Alex Cross, he just continues to grow and grow as a character as well as his relationship with his friends and family members. I really enjoy this series a lot. Don’t ask me why, but I know that sometimes James Patterson’s books are very formulaic; but he’s one of my favorite authors! I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it! It’s definitely a page-turning suspenseful thriller not to be missed!

AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008, S

REVIEW: The Dyodyne Experiment by James Doulgeris & V. Michael Santoro

Tara

The Dyodyne Experiment
by James Doulgeris & V. Michael Santoro

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 448
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 20-25, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge;
Yearly Count: 37

First Line: Summer days in New York City could either be hot and oppressive or sparkling and glorious.

A research team has developed an amazing new technology: a computer system that can track people secretly with unimaginable accuracy. The system is called DaNA, and it is spread as a virus that can pass to others that the original person comes into contact with. What would make the country want to use this technology? Well, the idea behind it is that it can be used to track down criminals’ accomplices really trying to hone in on the drug cartel. But the research team gets orders from Homeland Security that they must put this system into use, before they can really test it out and work out all the kinks. What they find is unbelievable – six nuclear bombs hidden is six cities across the country. But as the team rushes to track down the terrorists in charge of these bombs, they find out something worse is happening …. DaNA is mutating and is spiraling out of control.

I received this book from Merritt Talbott at Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for review. I don’t normally read books like this, but the blurb that she presented me just sounded too good to pass up. And when I finally got to reading the book, I have to say that I was definitely not disappointed! I found it to be a fast read, even with everything going on. It was easy to read as well, especially with some of the names and subplots it could have gotten confusing at times, but I had absolutely no problem with it. I really took to Sarah’s character, I thought that she was really well written and believable (which is something very important in my opinion). Overall I’m glad that I was given the opportunity to read this book, because I probably never would have seen or heard anything about it if I had not been contacted about it simply because it is a little out of my comfort zone, but I really do recommend this one to anyone.

AUTHOR, D, Fiction, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008

REVIEW: BoneMan’s Daughters

Tara

BoneMan’s Daughters
by Ted Dekker

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 401
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 19-12, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge; What’s in a Name 2 Challenge
Yearly Count: 36

First Line: The day that Ryan Evan’s world changed forever began as any other day he’d spent in the host desert might have begun.

The BoneMan is a serial killer who is looking for the perfect daughter. He has already killed six young women in his quest. After he takes a girl if she doesn’t live up to his potential he simply breaks their bones and leaves them to die. Intelligence officer Ryan Evans has not been the perfect daughter to Bethany – nor the perfect husband to Celine. He’s too tied up in his work and currently he’s overseas on assignment. Bethany and Celine have pretty much moved on from having any hopes of being a family together again. But Ryan is taken hostage in the desert and as his life is hanging in the balance he realizes what a mistake he has made in the past with his family. He returns to the States in order to start anew. But Bethany and Celine want no part of it. Before he knows it he’s out of their lives for good. That is until BoneMan takes Bethany. This causes Ryan to be out for blood. He will do whatever it takes to track down BoneMan and to save his only daughter …. he’s going to be the perfect father once and for all. But when the evidence begins to point towards Ryan as being the BoneMan he realizes that Bethany’s only chance at survival lies within Ryan. But BoneMan has a plan …. BoneMan knows that there can only be one father for Bethany, and he is determined that it is not going to be Ryan Evans.

So I picked this one up at the library after reading a review of it on someone’s blog … and once again I have forgotten whose blog I read about it on (I really should start writing that stuff down so that I can link reviews!) Anyways, I picked it up and was immediately sucked in. I have never read a Ted Dekker book before and this one was really enjoyable for me. It was well written and fast paced. The suspense was wonderful. The way that he bounced between differing points of view was interesting, you  never knew what was really going to happen next. I found myself hoping that Ryan would prevail in the end, that he would save Bethany from BoneMan, even if he was beaten down psychologically. I know that I only rated this a 4 and my reason was really because of the cookie-cutter ending. I’m not saying that I didn’t like the ending, but it was too neat for my tastes. Overall I really recommend this book, I found it fascinating! Dekker really created a superb serial killer in BoneMan …. also – could BoneMan return in a future book?? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out….

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2009

REVIEW: Sail by James Patterson

Tara

Sail
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 414
Rating: 5/5
Read: July 15-19, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 2009 RYOB
Yearly Count: 35

First Line: Easing through the marina’s sapphire-blue water at a leisurely three-knot clip, Captain Stephen Preston took a long pull off his Marlboro Red, casually flicking the ash into the cool island breeze.

The Dunne family is out on a summer vacation sailboat trip. For mother Katherine, this is a time to really re-connect with her three children, Carrie, Mark, and Ernie after really losing touch with them for the past four years after the loss of their father. Carrie and Mark, both older teenagers, want no part of this get-away, but they go along because their mother and Uncle Jake really want them to. Ten-year-old Ernie is still at an age where he doesn’t mind going. But what awaits the Dunne family out on the open water will surprise all of them. None of them are really ready for their boat to explode, leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean with only a life raft and a little bit of water and crackers. But eventually they float over to a deserted island, where they will wait patiently for the Coast Guard to come get them – hopefully. What the Dunne’s don’t realize is that the Coast Guard fear the worst for them. They are unable to find their boat (or what’s left of it actually) and when they finally do come upon the wreckage, they call off the search, essentially declaring the Dunne family dead. But the Dunne’s are made of tougher stuff than that! When a bottle with a message from Ernie finds its way to land, the search for the Dunne’s is back on. But there is only one problem … there is someone out there that wants to make sure that the Dunne family doesn’t come back alive from that boating trip.

If I’m ever in a reading slump, I can almost always count on being able to pick up a James Patterson book and flying through it. This one was no exception. Although it took me a little longer than normal to read it, it wasn’t because it was not a good book. In fact, it was a really good book. I would have to say that out of all the James Patterson books that I have read to date, this one is really high up on my list of favorites. I guess after being so burned out and slightly disappointed in the Women’s Murder Club books this one was a real treat for me. It felt more like a normal Patterson book for me. I enjoyed the suspense. I actually felt for the characters. At one point in the book, while on the deserted island, Katherine has an unfortunate encounter with a rather large snake … I felt myself shuddering right along with Katherine while reading about the ordeal. I was glad to see Carrie pull out of her funk because of what she went through with her family. I felt relieved at the end because Peter really did end up getting what he deserved. The characters were just believable, which to me is an all-important part of any book. I can’t say enough good things about this book. If you haven’t picked it up, I really hope that you give it a try if you run across it somewhere – it’s that good of a book in my opinion.