Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

This book was very melancholic, but I never felt connected to the characters.  Liked some of the descriptive sentences, but overall I was not impressed with this debut novel, even though it was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.  There was an odd section that was very biblical and and while there were biblical references throughtout the book, this particular section seemed forced.
Regardless, I will read her second book, Gilead, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Third in the Larsson Trilogy)

The third in the Larsson Trilogy which began with the now infamous "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Other Scandinavian crime thrillers pale in comparison. All 3 books were well written, riveting, spy/mystery/throw in a little romance novels. They tied together well without being overly repetitive and even the complicated conspiracies were not over the reader's head.
I'm interested in seeing how the movie plays out, but as always I'm sure it will not compare to the world that the books created for the reader. It's a shame that Larsson is deceased, not only because we as readers have lost a great new author, but also because he isn't here on Earth to experience the success of his work.

Well, David Loogan is caught up in another mess. We met him in the first book " Bad Things Happen". This story line is better that the first book, but maybe too many characters to follow. The good things is that a lot of them get killed off so I didn't have to remember all of them for very long. A lot of twist and turns. I wasn't always sure that the author knew where he was going but he did tie up all of the loose ends and it made for an interesting read.

This is the second in a series featuring Mary Russell, a dear friend to Sherlock Holmes. Here, in 1921, Mary meets Margery Childs, leader of The New Temple of God and activist in the feminist movement. At first, I felt that I was being preached to about the feminist role in the bible But half way thru the plot thickens and the mystery gets started. Enjoyable read. I look forward to the next in the series, which may be added to my bookpile.

Snow Angels - James Thompson

Another Scandinavia crime novel, which are all the rage. This one took place in Finland which was interesting to learn, but that was about all the book had going for it. The mystery, was a basic whodunit with all simple red herrings (another BMW???). The crime and other details in the book were more explicit than was necessary and while the ending was fairly good at wrapping up the loose ends, it also had an air of hokiness.
I probably won't read another by this author nor will I recommend this book.

Angelica was written in a Victorian setting, complete with the Victorian style of writing. Interesting that it was told from 4 different viewpoints, but they did not gel together. Was it a ghost story, madness, or murder? I still do not know, maybe that was the point. It reminded me alot of "The Turn of the Screw". Good book for those who enjoy reading the classics. Even though it was written in 2007 (?) , the writing style is very much like that of the authors from the 1900's.

Love this author's first two books, "Beautiful Lies" and "Sliver of Truth", this one was good but not one of her best. The story line has been done before and the female lead was a little too unbelievable at times. There is no way I would have gone on some of those adventures!!!!. Some good twists and turns and enjoyable to read, just not as good as I was expecting from Lisa Unger.

Bad Things Happen - Harry Dolan

We bought this book b/c the sequel "Very Bad Men" had really good reviews and once we discovered that "Bad Things Happen" was the first book, we of course had to get it!!!

The reviews of this one hyped it up a bit more as a suspense novel than I felt it delivered. It seemed more like a traditional mystery with a lot of police interviews, multiple suspects, and final recap at the end. The ending did give a bit more twist, but overall it wasn't the "edge of my seat thriller" I was expecting. Hopefully the sequel will be better!!!

Think of a Numb3r - John Verdon

Intriguing book, especially for a debut author. Lots of twists and turns, fairly good emotional character development considering it's primarily a thriller. For the most part it kept me guessing, though I was able to figure some things out. Look forward to reading his second book in the series!

Nice read. Set in 1928 in France. Sometimes I felt a little lost because of the names of French towns and some French words, but overall I enjoyed this little book. It is based on a real life tragic event that occurred in 1328 but does not dwell on it. It does deal with love, lost and remembrance.

Garden of Spells - Sarah Addison Allen

Reminded me much of Alice Hoffman's book with the strong mystical women as the central characters. This didn't have as much depth and meaning as Hoffman, but still a pretty good story. Not too much of a love story to be romance, not enough suspense to be a thriller, but a nice blend to make an enjoyable and quick read.

This book tell us about the 30 year career of a jewel thief from the Cleveland, Ohio area. It was interesting to read about places that I have heard of and even been to ( Headland Beach, in Mentor), but it soon became boring and I had to force myself to keep reading. I got the feeling that the thief was rather impressed with himself for all of the jobs that he pulled.. I am sorry that this book was on my toppling bookpile!!

Manhunt - James L. Swanson

Very informative book about the assassination of President Lincoln and the chase after the assassins - primarily John Wilkes Booth (though there were other assassins of other government officials and many co-conspirators). So much of the history that I did not remember, retain or maybe never learned from my primary school days. The book was well written in that it kept my attention and was at times suspenseful, yet there were times it also felt repetitious. Though, it has inspired me to want to read more about Lincoln and his presidency.

It is amazing to see how far we've come in medicine and science to now deal with injuries and crimes after reading the crude methods of the 1800's!

Still Missing - Chevy Stevens

Great page-turner suspense, especially from a debut author. Could feel the terror of the main character, especially as it was written in the format of therapy sessions. Felt the ending was weak - at least the answer to the question "why", but maybe it just wasn't written so it was convincing to the reader. It didn't take away from the thriller that the book is and I look forward to reading her next book "Never Knowing"!

The Dead Path - Stephen M. Irwin

Very creepy and Stephen Kingish.
Nicholas returns to his boyhood village and tries to uncover the reason for many children's disappearances and the secret of the old woods. Oh yea, he also sees ghosts.
What makes this book so good is the descriptive passages. The author really puts the reader right in the thick of things, or the thick of the woods!!!!! For example "...how vines curled up trunks like possessive serpents, rose straight like zippers, or clung with their own green claws like headless jade dragons." Oh and wait until you read about the spiders!!!!! yuck!!!!
I could not read this book before going to bed. yes, it was that creepy!!!!

Sister by Rosamund Lupton. A debut novel that was a good read. A story about two sisters, younger one is missing and the older one is trying to find out what happened to her. It is told in a letter form from the older sister to the younger sister. As the reader, you are the receiver of the letters. It was rather good with a small twist at the end. Enjoyable and I would read this author again.

Finished second book from my toppling bookpile - Puppet by Joy Fielding.
Not one of my favorite books by this author. Seemed to be more of a love type story than suspense. Ex-Husband issues, mother issues, oh yea, and a murder. It was a quick and easy read, maybe a good one for the beach or a rainy day. Oh well, on to the next one. Always a good book waiting in the wings.

Tighter by Adele Griffin - based on Turn of the Screw

Young adult book written in 2011 based on James' 1898 "Turn of the Screw". Griffin subscribes to the theory that the Governess/Au Pair was "off". Her story loosely follows James' and provides a unique twist that the reader may not see coming (I didn't!). Griffin also throws in a love story to pique the YA interest. All in all it was a good and quick read that hopefully inspires young adults to read the original classic literature from which it was based.

Turn of the Screw - Henry James

Since college I don't read nearly as much classical literature as I'd like and so it was a challenge reading Turn of the Screw again. James' vague writing leaves vast room for interpretation which can be liberating, as well as frustrating for a reader.

Turn is a ghost story, but one never knows who/what is the real evil. It will be interesting to compare the 2011 Tighter by Adele Griffin to it's 1898 inspiration.

Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay (Third in the Series)

Third in the Dexter series which is always ghoulishly amusing. This one was not my favorite as it took more of a supernatural turn, but I still enjoyed the macabre humor and Dexter's third person descriptions. His analysis of his behaviors to determine if they are "human" enough; something maybe we should all take some time to do.

Quote I liked:
"...life itself is unfair, and there is no complaint department, so we might as well accept things the way they happen, clean up the mess, and move on."

First book from my toppling bookpile - Nights of Rain & Stars - Maeve Binchy

Not my favorite book but a nice read. 4 strangers come together on a beautiful Greek island, each one running away from their troubles. We get to hear their troubles, their hopes and their dreams and meet some interesting characters in the small Greek village.

Getting away from troubles only helps if you then reflect on those problems and find new ways to deal with them.

Who are we if we do not have memories? Just finished a book, "Before I go to Sleep" by S.J. Watson about a woman who only remembers today. Every morning when she wakes up, she has no memories. She must begin every day learning who she is, who her husband is, and knows nothing about her life before that morning and she must trust and believe what her husband tells her. So again, who are we without our memories? A good book, a little slow is some spots, but definitely wanted to find out what would happen next.