The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Historical Fiction

I probably was expecting too much out of Chevalier's latest novel because I so adored her previous novels.  Not to say this one was bad; it just wasn't AS good as the others.

Even if it wasn't my favorite, it was still a good historical fiction read covering the Underground Railroad in Ohio (my home state!) and the Quaker faith.  I would have liked to have learned more about the Railroad, but instead the story focused on one Quaker, Honor, and the dilemmas she faces during a tense and difficult time.

Sadly, even though the time period of the novel is nineteenth century, so much of the racism and discrimination still takes place in our twenty-first century world.  Nothing saddens me more than seeing people (sometimes even those I care about) who treat others as less than the human beings we all equally are.

Quote: “...everyone has a measure of Light in them and though the amount can vary, all must try to live up to their measure.”

Errors and Omissions  -  Paul Goldstein

                    Debut

This was a legal thriller.  Not so much in the sense of courtroom suspense but more along the lines of moral suspense.

Michael is an expect in intellectual property law and a movie studio hires him to get an author sign off on the rights to a movie script he wrote back in the 1950's.  But that was back when actors, writers and movie moguls were being blacklisted by McCarthy.  So who really wrote this particular movie and what should Michael do that would be ethically correct??

One Shot by Lee Child

New Author

Lee Child started his Jack Reacher series in 1997, but I didn't delve into it until now and against my normal practice of starting a series with Book #1, I picked up the only one I had, Book #9.

It read as a typical suspense/thriller.  Jack Reacher is the typical far too realistic protagonist - damaged and therefore appealing to women, action hero, elusive.

It was a decent read, but I doubt that I'll follow the series.  I'd much rather pick up a Harlan Cobin (stand alone, not the Myron Bolitar series), a Lisa Unger or a Dean Koontz (though not his King-like horror novels) that offer a bit more depth within their writing.

The Wettest County in the World   -  Matt Bondurant

                     Historical Fiction

Franklin County, Virginia.  1929.  Prohibition.   Moonshine.  Bootleggers.   Violence.    Hard times.

Matt tells a fictional story about the family facts of his grandfather and two great-uncles.  The story was good,  I just had a very had time following it because of the way it jumped around.  It was 1929 and then it was 1935 and then it was 1930.  I don't mind books that go back and forth but I still need some consistency  in the traveling back and forth .  

All in all,  living in that time period would have been very difficult and if you were in the business of moonshine, making or running it,  it was a dangerous time.

Lucy by Laurence Gonzales

"G" Author

Wow!  The first half of the book did little for me.  It settled into a story of a typical teenager, adapting and trying to finding herself.  But the second half of the book - Wow!

I am simultaneously amazed and disappointed by the Human Race.  At times I think we need to step back from wanting to control and intricately understand EVERYTHING.  Sometimes we need to simply appreciate the mystery and beauty of the world we live in.  We need to put our egos in check.  While humans are a pretty incredible species, we are not superior to ALL in this world/universe.
We are too quick to judge based on misguided religious and political ideals or by our own limited knowledge and experience.  How much better our world would be if we approached everything with empathy and open-mindedness first.

Reading opens up worlds that I may never know otherwise and introduces me to characters and their experiences that allows me to go into the real world with a different perspective.  It creates in me empathy so that I may approach others with compassion and without judgment.  This is the true gift reading bestows on a reader.

Quote: "She was given the gift of adversity."

Pirate King by Laurie R. King

Series

#11 in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.  This one took a bit of a turn and delved into the making of a silent film.  I found parts of it interesting and there were some suspenseful moments, but I wasn't as enrapt in this one as I have been in previous books.

Though, I am still enjoying the series and look forward to the next three, Garment of Shadows, Dreaming of Spies and The Murder of Mary Russell (hope this doesn't mean the series is coming to an end!!)

Roadside Crosses  -  Jeffery Deaver

              "Guilty Pleasure"


Kathryn Dance is the detective who is tracking a killer.  The people in danger are the ones who are posting on a certain blog.  The killer finds them there and the puts up roadside crosses letting the police know that a murder will be happening.

As usual for a Deaver thriller, there are many twists and turns in the plot.  

               

Locked Rooms   -    Laurie R. King

       "Series"

Another good read by Ms. King.  This time we travel to San Francisco, ten years after the great fire of 1909.

Mary and Sherlock go there to settle Mary's family estate.  Memories she didn't know she had begin to return in this familiar setting and she learns many things about her parents she did not know.

As always a very entertaining book.

Between the Lines

Guilty Pleasure

Fun read, just what I needed!! This isn't your typical fairy tale, but it is Oh, so much fun!  I read this in only about a day's time and don't want to say too much as I don't want to give any of the fun away.   I'll definitely read the recently published sequel, "Off the Page"

In the Woods by Tana French

Debut Novel

This book covers multiple Toppling Bookpile topics for me: New Author, Series and Debut Novel.  In the Woods is Tana French's debut novel in a series that currently has 5 books in the Dublin Murder Squad.

I'd been looking forward to reading it, but was a bit disappointed.  Maybe it was because of my own frame of mind, but I found Rob Ryan to be a terribly stressful and distressing narrator.  The story seemed to drag out more than necessary especially because I had figured out the main culprit early on (contrary to the narrator's belief that "       fooled you too")

I will give the next book in a series a chance, in case it was my own mindset that caused me to be less than pleased with this debut.

Quote: "Every single society in the world, ever, has had some form of belief system.  But now...How many people do you know who're Christian - not just going to church, but actually Christian, like trying to do things the way Jesus would've?  And it's not like people can have faith in political ideologies  Our government doesn't even have an ideology, as far as anyone can tell-"

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

"F" Author

I didn't love this book, I didn't hate this book, I simply liked this book.  There was some suspense, especially as the ending neared, but it was easy for the reader to figure a lot of the mystery out.

This was a fairly simple read that has you reflect upon your actions and how they can alter another's life.  Though I struggled throughout the entire book to keep the main characters, Larry and Silas, straight in my head - for some reason I kept confusing them.

My only criticism is that there should have been a disclaimer on the book jacket: "This book contains snakes"!!

Quotes: "How what seemed like kindness could be the opposite"

"...how time packs new years over the old ones but how those old years are still there, like the earliest, tightest rings centering a tree, the most hidden, enclosed in darkness and shielded from weather.  But then a saw screams in and the tree topples and the circles are stricken by the sun and the sap glistens and the stump is laid open for the world to see."

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

Guilty Pleasure

Always a big fan of Harlan Coben and this one didn't disappoint.  While I wasn't on the edge of my seat the entire story, it did have some cliffhanger chapters.  Worthy of a weekend or beach read!

Quotes:  "We fight wars for freedom, right, and then what do we do with that freedom?  We tie ourselves down with possessions and debt and, well, other people..."

"She had learned the biggest difference between the haves and the have-nots. Luck and birthright."

What Doesn't Kill Her by Carla Norton

ARC

I had the pleasure of reading Ms. Norton's first book, "The Edge of Normal" as an ARC so I jumped at the chance to preview the sequel!!  She again creates a great suspense throughout the novel and a gutsy character in Reeve.  There is a lot of recapping about the previous book, so I would not recommend someone read it without reading The Edge of Normal.

Looking forward to what I can only assume will be a third book in the series.....

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

ARC Review

The hook "If you liked Night Circus.." was all I needed to submit my request to read this Advanced Readers Copy!  I wouldn't give it the 5 stars that Night Circus garnered, but this story earned a solid 3, possibly a 4.  It was an easy read, I enjoyed the parallel stories of the carnival years ago and today's descendants.  It wasn't quite as magical as Night Circus, but an entertaining read all the same.

Quotes:  "History is a man...Future is a woman..."

"Something had broken between them; a tie he'd not realized was tenuous."

The Lake of Dreams   -    Kim Edwards

   "E" Author

Unlike Ms Edwards first book, Memory Keeper's Daughter, this novel didn't really grapped me.  It was a nice story but not as interesting to me as MKD.

Lucy goes home to visit her mother and finds some old papers in a locked trunk in the cupola of the family home.  She 'meets' Rose, a never talked about ancestor.  Lucy becomes obsessed with the lady and researches her history and finds more family secrets along the way.  She also finds out more about the accidental death of her father, 18 years ago.

Like I said, a nice little family store,  just not as gripping as I would have hoped for.