The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

Debut Novel

Once Upon a Book Club
January 2018

Accolades to A.J. Finn for an astounding debut.  We become acquainted with alcoholic, agoraphobic, Anna, and from the onset we are absorbed with finding the answers to this alluring mystery.

You will become agoraphobic yourself, as you will not want to put this book down to leave the house.  Finn's past and present plot lines keep the reader riveted; often times holding your breath as the Hitchockian drama plays out. 

Now excuse me as I go refill my wineglass...

Quotes:  "...check the clock on the wall: 10:10, a waxed mustache on its face."

"Outside, a light snow began to shake down, frail little kamikaze flakes smiting themselves against the windows."

"I'd been prepared to share the whole story, to decant myself..." [pretty creative writing as she is an alcoholic, get it??]

Okay, so I may not have finished my A to Z Challenge....yet!  BUT, I (Couscous) did reach a milestone on our blog!  I've hit 100 books of my toppling book pile!!!!  Woot! Woot!

You Suck (A Love Story) by Christopher Moore

Guilty Pleasure

2018 A to Z Challenge - Y

I had limited "Y" books on my shelf, so was glad that I had this one to get back to quirky and fun, Christopher Moore!  This is the 2nd in his vampire love story trilogy.  A far cry from Twilight or Anne Rice novels!

It did have his offbeat wit but I didn't enjoy nearly as much as some of his other books (Fluke, Stupidest Angel) which truly do make me laugh out loud.  This one only garnered a few chuckles from me.

I will have to read the 3rd one though (Bite Me) to find out what happens to Tommy, Jody, Abby Normal and the Animals!

Quotes:  "Will my brain always be like this? I mean, will I get any smarter, or is that stuck in time, too?  Well, yeah, but that's because you're a man, not because you're a vampire."

"You're the one with almost an MBA,...You should know what to do.  They don't cover what to do with a dead hooker,...That's a whole different program.  Political science,  I think."

                              The Bat  -  Jo Nesbo

                                      Series

I chose this book because I heard a lot about the book "The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo and since it was part of a series,  I had to start with the first book of the series.   Unfortunately,  I was a little disappointed but I am intrigued with Harry Hole and will continue with the series.

Anyway,  we first meet Harry Hole, a detective from Norway, in Australia.  He was sent there to help solve the murders of several young blond girls.  It is a good mystery "who-done-it" with maybe too much Australian folk-lore used as fill-in.   And maybe because I don't know much about Australia, I was lost quite a few times.  There was also a lot of back information on Harry,  sort of like we needed to get to know Harry real quick.  But like I said,  I am intrigued by Harry and will read the next in this series called,  "The Cockroaches". 

                               

And......we have a DRAGON!!!

Bookworm successfully completed the 2018 A to Z Challenge!!  Reading all 26 books in 9 months!!!!

Way to go!!!!  Couscous is right behind her.

Stay tuned as we gear up to tackle next year's challenge!!!

UPDATE:  Couscous finished the Challenge!!  With a couple weeks to spare!!!

            The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
                      Historical Fiction

This was Tracy Chevalier's first novel.  It is considered historical fiction because it mentions the religious wars in France in the 1600's.

 The story is told in 2 voices,  one of Isabelle Tournier who is suspected of witchcraft because of her red hair and her belief in the Virgin Mary during those 1600's religious wars.

The second voice is Ella Turner, who goes to France with her husband and discovers her family ancestors and a connection to the Tourniers of the 1600's.

To me, this novel was more of  literary fiction than historical .  I enjoyed the first half to two-thirds of the book,  but was put off by the way the book wrapped up at the end.

This was also my last book to read in the "A to Z Reading Challenge by GingerMom..   This was a fun way to read book off of my bookshelves.   Thanks to GingerMom and the #2018atozchallenge

        Last Girl Seen  -  Nina Laurin
                            DEBUT

This was not the shocking, psychological thriller that I was hoping for.
It was a good book and kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

Lainey was kidnapped 13 years ago at the age of 10.   Now another girl has disappeared.  The girl's parents reach out to Lainey because they think it is the same man who took Lainey 13 years ago.

 Lainey is a broken soul and takes pills just to get thru the day and to help ease the nightmares. So is she helping or hurting the missing girl's case. 

I did figure out one part of the story but there were several twists and turns that I did not see coming.   All in all, it was a good read.
           

A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn

Series

Another Chet and Bernie; another tail of mystery told through Chet's eyes and nose.  Chet's not as funny the 5th time around with his surprising tail wagging and forgetfulness.

The redundancy of Chet often makes me zone out and actually miss some of the mystery plot line.  Basically I'll just be glad when I've finished this series (though #9 is being published next year (2019) after a 4 year hiatus - UGH!)

Red Sky in Morning by Paul Lynch

Debut Novel

2018 A to Z Challenge - R

This book took a little bit of getting used to at first.  Because of the prose, the lyrical writing style of Lynch, it is not a fast moving book and because I have lists and lists of books that I need to get to I probably jumped into this with an expectation of a quick read.  Once I settled down, Huppidy hah!, I found myself really enjoying Lynch's writing.

I found myself comparing it to what I remembered of On the Road by Jack Kerouac, but with the addition in Red Sky of a nasty villain that provides some suspense in the book.

It is worth reading the author's interview (found in the edition I read - 2013 ISBN9780316230261) as he explains the idea behind the book and some real life facts that I will not divulge as I do not want to give away the ending.

The book may not be for everyone, with the prose style it feels like the plot ambles along, there is some foul language and there are no quotation marks to set off speaking parts.  But for me, while it wasn't my favorite book, Lynch does have 2 other novels that I will considering reading in the future.

Quote:  "...he was auditioning ideas of talk man to man that would settle things."

"Evening loitered then draped itself upon the sky."