The Game by Laurie R. King

Series

The seventh book in the Russell/Holmes series.  This one moved much quicker and reminded me again why I enjoy Ms. King and her series!!
The humor, the disguises, the unexpected!

Such great writing: in only 2 pages Ms. King gives the sights, smells and history of India.  While obviously not a complete picture, she was able to describe enough to reel the reader in without losing them in the depths of descriptions.  Though this vegetarian could have done without the details of some of the animal killings. (Blech)

Looking forward to the next one in the series!!

Quote: "...I had been given the priceless gift of choice, and I could not bring myself to throw it away"

Historical Non-Fiction

The description of Florence , Italy was breathtaking!!   The telling of this true event that happened in Florence, Italy became very repetitive. So much of this case was so mishandled and things were done for the sake of career advancements.  I actually started skipping many pages because of the repeating of information and facts, or lack of facts, every time someone new took over the case.  Sorry to say, I did not enjoy this read.

 he Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

20th Century

Lonely hunter is right!  Wow, such a sad group of misfits we encounter in this classic first novel by a young author.  As one critic said, "I can't understand how a [22] year old girl can know so much of love and loneliness...".  A movie was made in 1968 based on the novel, but I'm not sure I have the heart to endure the additional sadness on screen.  I enjoyed the book and for the most part it was a quick read, but I was left feeling disheartened and saddened by the choices most of the misfits made.

Quotes from book:
"What is the value of any piece of property, of any merchandise we buy in a store?  The value depends only on one thing - and that is the work it took to make or to raise this article."

"Of all the places he had been this was the loneliest town of all"

Series

I did not realize a book could move so slow.  And so many characters!!!!   I always enjoy reading about what Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are up to,  but I did not care to learn about the lineage of the Hughenfort Dukes.  It did pick up for me near the end with solving a mystery and discovering who the 8th ( yes, 8th Duke!!) really was.  Not one of my favorites in this series.  I am looking forward to where Mary and Sherlock go next!

"B" Author

We meet Truly, a bigger than life woman.  No really she is huge!!!! Physically she grows into a giant of a woman.  We meet her as a child and follow her thru her life to adulthood. We learn how choices and secrets greatly affect ones life. 

20th Century


I felt this was dated material about a young girl who contacts AIDS though a transfusion. It deals with how her school, friends and family deal with it.  Very sad, but it also shows just how far we have come in treating and dealing with Aids. 

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

"B" Author

It took me awhile to get into this one.  Guess it was too close to reality with terrorists, issues in Syria and corruption in government, that it never felt like I was "escaping" into a book.  There was some excitement at the end, but not sure it was enough to make me want to read the next four (4) books in the series.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Extra

Another book I read in advance of seeing it done as a stage production.  While it gave me the creeps now and then, I constantly felt as though I was missing something.  Not sure how they will do it on the stage, but looking forward to it.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Extra

I hadn't read this book since grade school, but remembered falling in love with the mystery genre!  I re-read this in anticipation of seeing a local theater production of it in a couple months.  It was still just as entertaining and brought back fond memories of my early reading years.  Looking forward to see how the theater will portray this interesting puzzle of a book.

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

Historical Fiction

While the story was entertaining, this is a far cry from the historical fiction genre.  Yes, it takes place during the Civil War and yes, it is fiction.  But the story is not based on a historical figure, there was never an asylum on Sanibel Island - I've been there, I know ;-), there weren't references to any actual battles in the Civil War.  So while some of the plot points may have occurred during the Civil War era, Hepinstall didn't refer to any specific battle, location or figure - everything was very generalized.

Beyond the misclassification of genre, I did enjoy the story.  There was some suspense, not quite thriller, but intrigue; quirky characters (it is an insane asylum!), romance and drama.

Quote:  "...it was like going back in time, back in the days he rehearsed what to say to her, back when her beauty moved him so, it was not possible to imagine a future in which he did not worship her completely.  That was the folly of youth, to believe someday they would grow old but still love with their younger hearts"

Series
 
           O Jerusalem.  
5th in Laurie King's series with Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell.
As usual Ms. King makes you feel like you are with the characters. In this book we are in the dry, hot , dusty, and slow moving desert!!  Sometimes a little too slow, but we are in the desert and nothing moves very fast there and as always a murder to be solved. It wouldn't be Sherlock Holmes without one.
 

RESCUE INK with Dennis Flaim

New Author

What a fantastic group of guys (well, except one, Johnny O was convicted this year of felony grand larceny for stealing more than $15,000 from Rescue Ink - such a shame.)!  This was a fast read, that was funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.  I know this will be one worthy non-profit I will be donating to this year!

Quotes:  "The biggest problem...is how disconnected we are as a society... 'We are so willing to rat and tattle anonymously, because we can hide behind computers and cell phones.  Where is the compassion that our grandparents had?'"

"Think what you will of them, these guys are proof that a fresh start is possible for anyone, that redemption is attainable.  Even if you have a rap sheet, even if you've got a past that needs a fair share of redacting before its' ready for prime time, you can re-create yourself."

Justice Hall by Laurie R. King

Series

Sixth in the Russell/Holmes series and this one was a faster pace that the previous book (they had cars!). I enjoyed the repeat characters in a totally different setting and of course Ms. King's subtle sense of humor.

The Edge of Normal

ARC Review

It's been a long time since I've stayed up to the wee hours to finish a book!!  While it started slow for me, it gained momentum and certainly ended with a bang!  What a horribly evil antagonist!! The alternating chapters between the antagonist and protagonist kept the story flowing to the climatic ending.  Looking forward to more by Ms. Norton!

Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Guilty Pleasure

Fourth in the deeply disturbing and diabolically delightful series of Dexter the serial killer.  Always a fun read following Dexter and his Dark Passenger who always has aliases (Luke Darkwalker).  In this latest episode Dexter is now married and after the series of books I've read with cheating spouses it was refreshing to read about a faithful husband - so he kills people...they can't be perfect!
Looking forward to the next chapter in Dexter's demented life!

"A" author

Story about love and loss.  Meg's only child is killed by a drunk driver, a long ago friend of Meg's.   Meg and her husband leave their hometown and live on a boat while their hearts and lives try to heal.  We learn of many issues that make healing difficult.   Very heartwarming story, well written. 

Guilty Pleasure


This was a typical James Patterson.  Dead bodies, corruption, and Alex Cross in the middle of all of it.  Set in Washington DC with a serial killer on the loose and of course drama at the Cross household.
 A good thriller as always.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

"A" Author

I really wanted to like this book, but the entire time I was reading it I just kept thinking that there were so many other books I would rather be reading!  I never connected to any of the characters and the story itself dragged.  I drove through the mundane simply to say I finished the book.  In the attempt to find something worthwhile, I've posted a couple quotes from the book.

QUOTE #1:  "I have given him victory...She felt it a momentous thing.  By raising her hand, or not raising it, she could alter the course of events of affairs in the world of which she knew nothing." (as most voters today, eh?)

QUOTE #2: "Sometimes I look back and I am shocked.  Every day of my life I have prepared for success, worked for it, waited for it, and you don't notice how the days pass until nearly a lifetime has finished.  Then it hits you - the thing you have been waiting for has already gone by.  And it was going  in the other direction.  It's like I've been waiting on the wrong side of the road for bus that was already full."

QUOTE #3: "'...there are two kinds of love.  The kind that starts off big and slowly wears away, that seems you can never use it up and then one day is finished.  And the kind that you don't notice at first, but which adds a little bit to itself every day, like an oyster makes a pearl, grain by grain, a jewel from the sand...All the little irritations...Who would think they could add up to anything?'"

Mercy by Jodi Picoult

Guilty Pleasure

A love story, but in the hands of Jodi - not a typical love story.  Though, this one was a bit more bawdy than Jodi usually is (not Fifty Shades of Grey, but maybe Five Shades?).  Like most Jodi stories, you never want to say too much and give anything away.  The characters are real and likable (or not so likable) and the emotions are complex.  Enough said.

Quote #1:  "You know it's never fifty-fifty in a marriage.  It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty.  Someone falls in love first.  Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal.  Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride"

Quote #2:  "She had read another statistic that said women use twice as many words in the course of a day as men do, and she wondered if this was because women were garrulous by nature  or because it took twice as long to make men understand what was being said."

Vacation Read

A sweet read!!  Josie is a 27 year old adult who lives with her domineering mother trying to atone for her less than sweet behavior as a child.  Throughout the story she meets interesting characters like Chloe who has books magically appear when they think she needs them.  My books have often chosen me; has that ever happened to you?

Vacation Read

Kate's daughter's death is ruled a suicide, but is it really??  Kate is a very busy single mom and is doing the best she can, but with today's technology can parents really protect their children from all of the dangers out there.  Heartbreaking to think that what happened to Amelia could be possible.  Kudos to today's parents that face the immense challenges of the 21st Century.

Vacation Read

Troy Chance sees what she thinks is a small child being thrown from a passing ferry.  She makes a snap decision to dive in and save the child. What I thought was going to be a relay race of a suspenseful book ended up being more of a leisurely back stroke.  Still an okay book, and I am looking forward to the sequel which is getting splashing reviews!

The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber

Vacation Read

I really enjoyed this book!!  It was a good combination of mystery and romance that was suspenseful without gore and romantic without swooning. A bit of a game of clue with all the suspects confined to an old Scottish castle!  Toss in a bit of historical facts about medical cadavers, jigsaw puzzles and oil painting and I learned something all the while I was being entertained.  Looking forward to the next one in the series, due out this September!!

Quote:  "We all must deal with our shadows the best we can. No one can conquer them for us."

The White Road by John Connolly

Vacation Read

Fourth in the Charlie Parker series that we read simultaneously while on vacation.  Gruesome as Connolly always is (which doesn't prevent us from reading on), the forces of good and evil continue to battle.  Though the reader never knows until the bitter end which of these forces will win!  Laced with historical facts about South Carolina and racism, Connolly delivered on wrapping up a complex plot and surprising us again with the depth of his writing.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Vacation Read

How much of ourselves do we put into the things we create?  Do we leave emotional DNA within objects that others could tap into?  Would you want to see, taste or feel those emotions of others or of your unconscious self?  I enjoyed this quirky read (though I struggled with the brother, Joseph) and found that it gives the reader something to think about in the topical agenda of "where does our food come from", and in a deeper question of how we feel and how we may be sharing those feelings with others, even when we are unaware of doing so.

Series

What a good descriptive writer Laurie King is!!!.  I felt like I was actually in the moors of England helping Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes track down the culprit who murdered some poor hapless guy.  The book dragged a little in some places, but overall it was a good mystery.   I enjoy Laurie King's sense of humor that she has given Mary Russell.   So I say good-bye to Mary and Sherlock  until the next time.  

Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman

Vacation Read

The premise of this book and the promise of a new thriller (a "heart-stopping debut") was more hype than what I actually found between the pages.  The humor? - not quite funny, the suspense? - occasionally had me wondering what would happen next, but certainly not on the edge of my seat.  The plot was neatly wrapped up, but it felt more like it was written to be seen on the big screen than in a reader's mind.  I was never able to connect to the main character and my heart didn't stop once.

Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

20th Century Publication

I wasn't sure I would like this book, but found myself pleasantly entertained by it.  It's not the nail biting suspense of Harlan Coben or Gillian Flynn, but I can certainly see why Alfred Hitchcock adapted it.  It's the type of suspense that makes you jump every time a floor board squeaks even when nothing is happening in the story; just the idea that something MAY happen!

So much of what duMaurier writes in this 1938 Modern Classic is still accurate to today's time.

Quote:  "Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind."

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Historical Fiction

A remarkable story when women made astounding discoveries, but had to remain seen but not heard (and in some cases, could not even be seen).  When women, but not yet society, appreciated an unmarried life as a freedom, as independence, as full.  A time when scientific discoveries turned the world upside down.  Amazing to think about all the things society once believed that have been proven to be untrue and it changes everything (the world being flat, the sun revolving around the earth and creatures becoming extinct)!  Chevalier has once again brought these characters and this era to life.  She leads with her heart, which what makes all her books fantastic!

Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan

New Author
The best part of this book for me was coming home.  The book takes place in a fictional town in Northeast Ohio.  There were numerous references to the places I grew up in and around:  Perry, Geneva, Ashtabula, Route 7, Route 90, Geauga Lake (riding the Gemini and slapping hands with the neighboring cars!)  While I was expecting this to be more of a suspense novel, the only thing that kept me flipping the pages was to see what "back home" reference I would find.
The characters never got off the page for me, so I had little empathy for them and what they were going through.
I had been wanting to read a Stewart O'Nan and I'm glad I did, and while I'm not giving up him I'm not going to be rushing out to get another one anytime soon.

O' Jerusalem by Laurie R. King

Series
The fifth in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, but it wasn't in chronological order of the four prior novels.  Not sure the purpose the author had unless she had the idea for this book after publishing the other ones.  It threw me off a little bit, but not enough to distract me from reading the book.

Unfortunately it was the slow pace of this one that made reading difficult; as if the author was trying to make the reader feel like they too were walking miles and miles and miles to Jerusalem.  King has an MA in Old Testament Theology and her schooling certainly comes out in this book.  Readers who are well versed in the Bible will appreciate the historical references in the Holy City.

Some of the characters I met here will appear in the next Russell/Sherlock book, and hopefully it will move alot faster - maybe they will have cars this time!

When Max is born, his body is already old. As old as a 70 year old man. As he ages, his body grows younger. His Grandmother told him to be the person that they see, not who he is. Max leads a very lonely and sad life,even when he falls in love with Alice, but he learns to make the best of life. Enjoyable story.