Another great read by Dete Meserve. After loving Good Sam and reading it in one sitting, I immediately wanted to continue Kate's story, so I downloadeAnother great read by Dete Meserve. After loving Good Sam and reading it in one sitting, I immediately wanted to continue Kate's story, so I downloaded Perfectly Good Crime. I think I may have liked it even better! I grew up in newsrooms and television stations because of my dad's career, so that setting felt like home to me. I also loved that there's a character who drinks copious amounts of Dr Pepper and that the author knows that "Dr" does not have a period after it in this case. That's the Texas girl in me noticing that kind of detail.
But truly - it was a great read, a surprising end, a thought-provoking premise. I hope there will be more....more
What a gem! I read this book in one sitting, after having just finished a very hefty one. GOOD SAM had a charming storyline, a handsome love interest,What a gem! I read this book in one sitting, after having just finished a very hefty one. GOOD SAM had a charming storyline, a handsome love interest, and a very unique premise - who doesn't love the idea of a mystery that tries to discover who has done something good - instead of something awful? Loved it so much that I downloaded the sequel as soon as I was done....more
Great records of what happened to the "beautiful stranger" - it seems that much was learned, but much remains a mystery!Great records of what happened to the "beautiful stranger" - it seems that much was learned, but much remains a mystery!...more
I am breathless! I just finished this book (thank you, Net Galley, for a copy in exchange for my unbiased review) and had to say something about it imI am breathless! I just finished this book (thank you, Net Galley, for a copy in exchange for my unbiased review) and had to say something about it immediately. It definitely goes down as my favorite book I've read this year. The author found the perfect blend of suspense, heart, mystery, and description. I had no idea how it would turn out until the author revealed it - always so nice when reading a mystery to be kept guessing the whole time.
I won't give any spoilers, but I will say a few things:
1. Put this on your to-read list now. 2. The quirk of many of the secondary characters could have the author writing a half-dozen spin-offs. 3. And - I wish I could give Joey a hug....more
While I'm not a fan of books in a series, I'm making an exception after reading this excellent book by Tasha Alexander. History! Mystery! Romance! WhaWhile I'm not a fan of books in a series, I'm making an exception after reading this excellent book by Tasha Alexander. History! Mystery! Romance! What's not to love?...more
Usually, I wouldn't be too excited about a book with a lollipop on the front cover, and the opening conversation taking place between a woman and her Usually, I wouldn't be too excited about a book with a lollipop on the front cover, and the opening conversation taking place between a woman and her cat. I am glad, so very, very glad, that I made an exception.
"Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty was on just about everyone's "Best Books of 2014" list, so eventually, I had to pay attention. I came across it the other day, expensive but beautiful in its hardcover, and decided to make the splurge. Two days later, I was nearly hyperventilating with awe at its genius.
The story takes places among the parents of kindergarteners at an oceanside school in Australia. The best way to describe this is to say that it is like a modern-day Agatha Christie book. I have read nearly all of her Hercules Poirot books, and never have I solved one. Ever. But instead of a traditional mystery, where the body is found early on and the book is spent figuring out who the perpetrator is, "Big Little Lies" begins with the knowledge that there was a death - but you don't know which parent died! And, you don't know which parent caused it, or why. As the pages unfold, I found myself drawn into the lives of each exquisitely created character, hoping against hope that she was not the one who dies. Nor she. Nor she. It was not until the last pages that I began to see how it was going to play out, and it was worth the ride.
"Big Little Lies" deserves all of its acclaim. I for one, will be retiring it to a shelf rather than the discount book store sell pile, and it will have a place in my memory for a long time to come....more
When I’m not running after four kids, selling houses, or agonizing over word choices in my next novel, I can be found making tapestry pillows. I folloWhen I’m not running after four kids, selling houses, or agonizing over word choices in my next novel, I can be found making tapestry pillows. I follow a pattern – I’m not that artistic – but, I find great joy (and therapeutic value) in revealing the picture stitch by stitch, color by color. Some authors accomplish this through words, as Ariel Lawhon did masterfully in “The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress”.
Do you judge a book by its cover? I do. At least, literally. And that is how I stumbled upon this great read yesterday, as I was heading to the Barnes and Noble resister with books up to my chin. There was not room for one more, considering my short stature, but Joan Wong‘s remarkable cover art captivated me. The wife – depicted in a smart suit and pearls. The maid – wearing the predictable black and white uniform. The showgirl mistress – scantily clad in red and gold. All coming together as one, with a common problem, and a common goal.
While the synopsis was enough to convince me to part with $16 hard-earned dollars, I did not realize until I came home and opened its pages that the story is, in fact, based on the real-life disappearance of a New York State Supreme Court Judge in 1930. Most of the characters are real, but Lawhon blurs fact and fiction into the many-decades-old mystery as she imagines what could have happened. It is a whodunnit, a book noir, a work of historical fiction all in one.
Ariel Lawhon, who runs the popular book review site She Reads, uncovers the scenario bit by bit, day by day, leaving the reader guessing until the very end. She was particularly adept at creating brief flashbacks that added texture to the narrative, but I would caution a reader to note the dates carefully so that they know where the present ends and the past begins. When read with that detail in mind, I predict that you will want to put all else aside as you finish the book in a day and then wonder which of your fellow book lovers would like to borrow it....more
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