Book Review - A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

 

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly is about a woman, Evelyne Redfern, who finds a dead body at her new job. In England 1940, Evelyne is famously known as the “The Parisian Orphan” because of the nasty divorce between her mother and her adventurer father that unfolded very publicly.  Evelyne wishes to leave her parents’ shadow and move on with her life.

She decides to take a job working on the line at a munitions factory to help out with the war efforts.  During the night, she and her friends at the local boarding house go out for a fun night out. There she crosses paths with one of her father’s old friends, Mr. Fletcher. 

Mr. Fletcher asks if she is interested in taking a new job as he remembers how clever and resourceful she was as a child. Evelyne is intrigued and decides to take him up on his offer. She wasn’t sure what to expect of the new job but now she is working as a secretary for the Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.  She feels that this job would have more of an impact with the war efforts than working in the factories as it would have a “more” direct impact.

As Evelyne tries to find her way around the underground bunker, she comes across a person she thinks is sleeping at the desk. When she goes closer to the person, she realizes the person is dead and it was someone she knew and worked with. Evelyne is determined to find the killer. She loves reading detective novels, and she believes that she can find the culprit, but her plan puts her directly in the path of David Poole. 

Evelyne doesn’t know much about David other than he is sketchy and always seems to turn up wherever she is. She hopes that they will stay out of each other’s way until she finds out that David has been tasked to find the mole that has been selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. Evelyne feels that their missions are connected and begrudgingly agrees to team up with David. Will the pair be able to find out who is behind the murder? 

I thought the book was an interesting read but it wasn’t as enjoyable to me as I would have expected. It took me a bit of time to get into the author’s writing style. I found myself going back and rereading the same thing over again because I couldn’t grasp what the author was trying to communicate. There was also a large cast of people that it was difficult to keep everyone’s motive and story straight. It felt like tons of information was given about minor characters who didn’t really add anything to the story. Then at other times, I feel like we didn’t really get to know many of the characters other than their basic cursory backgrounds.

I felt at times the pacing was a bit off. The book was boring and plodded along slowly towards the middle and the ending came out of nowhere. It felt a bit unexpected on how the book ended but not unpredictable. I did find it odd that the only qualification that Evelyne had to solve the murder was that she was a fan of murder mystery novels. She had one job prior to being a secretary, and she had minimal office experience. I can understand her being considered clever but there weren't really any facts or reason to back that up. I didn’t like that the author made it seem that she knew more than other people because she was an amateur sleuth that liked murder mysteries. If you like cozy mystery reads, then this book might be enjoyable to you.  I would be open to read more books from the series but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find or read it.

Book Review - The Fury by Alex Michaelides

 

 The Fury by Alex Michaelides is about the murder of a famous movie star, Lana Farrar, and its aftermath.  Lana is feeling a bit under the weather after being surrounded by the dreary rainy weather in London. To escape the weather, she decides to invite her friends, Kate and Elliot, to spend Easter with her and her family on her private Greek Island.

Lana and her friends are settling into the island when news of an incoming storm hits. While the island is being buffeted by high winds and rain, Lana’s body is discovered. Everyone is worried that someone else has snuck on the island and that they might be the next target. However, when it becomes clear that the murderer is someone they might know, will anyone be safe?

I loved the book Silent Patient by the author and have also read his other book, The Maidens. However, I am starting to feel that the author is a one hit wonder. The story was told from a protagonist, Elliot Chase, who breaks the fourth wall. He invites us to sit with him at a bar to share the story of how his friend, Lana, gets murdered.

At first, it was interesting listening to Elliot describe the events that lead to murder and the murder. However, after a while it got tiresome. He jumps around in his narration and fills it with pointless details. He would constantly dangle the proverbial carrot in front of us teasing juicy details, but they led nowhere.

The book plods along slowly with barely enough action to keep you interested. The twists are seen a mile away and are very predictable. The ending was disappointing. I was expecting to have my socks blown off after sloughing through the boring narration. All I was left wondering was, “Is that it”?  The characters themselves are insufferable and I didn’t care for any of them. After reading two disappointing books by the author, I am in no rush to read another one of his books.

 

Book Review - The Valley by John Renehan

The Valley by John Renehan is about an army Lieutenant traveling deep into the valley to investigate a complaint. Black is a deskbound admin officer that is sent up to the valley to investigate a warning shot that was fired by a platoon in a neighboring village. He doesn’t look forward to the task and feels that it is insulting that he was assigned to it. He feels that it's another disappointment in his Army career. As Black travels to the valley, he isn’t aware that his report can determine the fate of the fragile relationship between the Army and the residents of the valley.

When I picked this book, I picked it solely on the cover without ever reading the book summary. After reading this novel, I think I should be more selective when picking books by the cover. The novel started off a bit slowly but then got confusing. The author included a lot of technical military terms that I wasn’t familiar with. The author didn’t spend any time explaining some of what the terms meant. At times, I was confused about what was going on in the story. I felt like I was missing something and the ending left me a bit confused. The protagonist would work something out in his head but fail to share it with the audience so we could also be in on the new information. Instead we are left to ourselves to try and decipher what the new information could mean. 

The reader barely got any background on the protagonist other than he was desk personnel and then he was made to go into a village that was filled with war and chaos. During that time he went from a pencil pusher to someone who was physically pushed to the limit. Since we barely got any background on him, it was hard to understand and figure out his purpose for being at the base in the valley without it being explained to us. I don't think I would read another book by the author.

Book Review - All Eyes on Her by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

 

All Eyes on Her by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is about Abby, a teenager accused of murdering her boyfriend, Mark. Abby and Mark’s story is a love story like any other teenage romance. Mark is a college student who swims competitively. He falls head over heels for Abby, a high schooler with a notorious reputation. Their relationship seems perfect at the beginning, but then the cracks begin to show. However, can the imperfections in their relationship justify the death of one of them? 

The pair go hiking into the woods to have a picnic near an iconic cliff. However, only Abby emerges from the woods claiming that Mark accidentally fell off the cliff to his death. Many people believe that Abby maliciously pushed Mark, while others believe that Mark got what he deserved. 

The novel is told from multiple points of view except from Abby’s. It was interesting to see how she and Mark were portrayed by their friends and family.  I wonder if this was a social commentary on the part of the author, in that when something horrendous occurs, your voice really does not matter because everyone else has already formed an opinion about what happened. I liked trying to piece together the clues that each narrator shared and tried to figure out what happened on that fateful day. However, the novel moved very slowly and it got boring because no new clues or developments were added. I was disappointed that the ending didn’t prove to be a satisfying ending to me because it leaves more questions than answers.

Book Review - Blowback by Valerie Plame

 

Blowback by Valerie Plame is about a CIA ops officer, Vanessa Pierson, who is close to catching a criminal that she has been chasing for years. Vanessa has been tracking Bhoot, a dangerous international nuclear arms dealer.  When one of her assets asked to meet and mentions that he has intel that she might find useful, Vanessa is excited. Her asset has confirmed that Bhoot will be visiting a secret underground weapons facility in Iran in a few days’ time. The information is useful because the CIA was never able to get any information about Bhoot’s whereabouts before. A few minutes before Vanessa was able to get the location to the facility, an ambush occurs that leaves her informant dead on her watch. Vanessa decides that there are now two people that she has on her target list: Bhoot and the sniper responsible for her asset’s death.

Vanessa decides to go rogue when she determines that she isn’t getting enough support from the Agency to protect her assets from Bhoot’s assassin. She ropes in a fellow ops officer who is also her secret lover. If her relationship with him, or that she asked him for help was discovered, it could jeopardize both of their careers. 

The book was a fast paced read but it didn’t keep my interest. It didn’t have any unexpected twists but the ending was left as a cliffhanger.  I felt like the writing was a bit bulky and stilted. It felt like the author was making an outline of things that happened. This occurred and then that happened and this was done next. It felt boring to read something that should be so action packed. At times, it had too many technical details about the spycraft business that went over my head. Then at times, it had too little detail to make the story feel real. The book felt very basic and had all the same elements of other spy novels without bringing anything new to the table. 

I didn’t really connect with the main character as she was portrayed as flawless and perfect. She also seems to bear a lot of resemblance to the author who was an actual CIA agent but it would have been great if there was more character development with our fictional heroine. There was rarely any opportunity for the reader to bond and connect with Vanessa. I am curious to find out who the mastermind is in the novel but I am in no rush to pick up another book by the author.

Book Review - The Plot - The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Michael Moreci

 

The Plot - The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Michael Moreci is about a man, Chase Blaine, who tried running from his family’s past. Chase wanted nothing to do with his family and their wealth. He wanted to live his own life without the weight of his family’s name burdening him. 

When his estranged older brother and sister in law unexpectedly dies, he has no choice but to come back home. He is the only living relative and becomes the guardian of his niece and nephew, MacKenzie and Zach. He decides to move them back to his childhood home in Cape Augusta. He doesn’t have enough space in his current apartment and he doesn’t want the children to live in the home where their parents were killed. Their ancestral home has been in the family for decades and is built on a remote and vast bogland. The home is filled with family secrets  that won’t stay buried forever.

The graphic novel was beautifully illustrated with dark and gloomy colors. The story behind the house and the family’s past was interesting but I felt like I was left with more questions than answers. I felt that the graphic novel hinted at a lot of mysteries and devious things but never actually spent any time explaining it.  I do wish that there was more plot and explanations in the first volume because I can see readers abandoning the series because there wasn’t a lot to keep them hooked. I am open to reading the next volume to see what happens next but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.

Book Review - Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

 

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop is about a human woman, Vicki DeVine, who is trying to get her life back in order after going through a divorce. Vicki was awarded her husband, Yorrick’s, family resort as part of her divorce settlement. She decides to fix up the place and open it up as a resort for both humans and Others alike. She hopes that she can get enough visitors to help support herself.

In this world, humans and animals are not the only beings that populate the world. There are extraordinary creatures that are called Others. They can be elemental, vampires, shape shifters, and even other scary things that go bump in the night.  The area that her resort is located on, Lake Silence, is controlled by these Others. Human laws do not apply here. It is something that every visitor and resident of Lake Silence must remember because if someone breaks the rules, they will face the consequences. 

As Vicki hopes to finish renovating the resort and start over, her lodger, Aggie Crowe, found a dead body on the property. Aggie is a member of the shape shifting Crow Other group. Vicki worries that the dead body would cause more trouble to be stirred up and may interfere with her renovating plans.

Detectives are called to the scene to help figure out who the victim is. As they investigate the murder, it is made very clear that nothing human could have killed the victim based on the condition the body was left in. However, the detectives still try to pin the death on Vicki. Vicki is desperate to prove that she is innocent and tries to find out who is behind the murder. As Vicki enlists her friends for assistance, it is discovered that someone has broken one of the rules set by the Others, and the Others will stop at nothing to enact punishment.

The novel is a standalone but takes place in the same world as another book series by the author. The book was easy to follow even though I am not familiar with the world. It did move a bit slowly with chapters after chapters of nothing happening. There were a few things I had to learn, like the days of the week in this fictional world, and the different types of Others. The author included a nifty section detailing some aspects of the world to make it easier for readers who are not familiar with her books and characters. I was confused that they put the “Lady of the Lake” on the cover as she was a minor character and didn’t really have much to do with the plot. It was a bit annoying because I had picked up this book based on the cover alone. I guess this teaches me not to judge a book by the cover.

The book started off okay but after a few chapters in I couldn’t stand Vicki DeVine. She was an annoying, blubbering fool. She sits there and feels sorry for herself yet does nothing. The only thing she does is talk about how “yummy” her vampire lawyer is and about various characters’ “vigorous appendages”. This novel reads like amateur and juvenile fan fiction.  Vicki’s behavior doesn’t seem like it would be something a grown woman in her thirties would be acting like. She constantly mentions the sex thoughts about the men around her.  Some of the other elements in the book are just plain laughable. For example, the “club” that the bad men belong to is called the “Tie Clip Club”. That name  seems like something a child came up with, and does not jive with the adult theme of the book.

If the book didn’t include Vicki, I would have enjoyed it alot more. She was a completely useless character and I found her annoying. She and other characters kept mentioning she had body issues and anxiety but the story never did anything to address them. Instead, Vicki would just shut down around men who were mean to her. And for some odd reason, men either acted cruel to her or treated her really nicely. Those same men are the ones who make all of her decisions. It feels at times, she is just a secondary character in her own story.  While I am in no rush in reading more of the author’s books, I will say that she is skilled in creating detailed worlds. In my opinion, her main characters were not so great.

Book Review - Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer

 

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer is about an American woman named Hannah Larson and her son, Nicky, finding buried secrets in an old English manor. Hannah and Nicky travel to Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England to stay with an ailing relative, who lives there. 

Hannah has given up her academic career to raise her son, who is neurodivergent and experiences the world differently. She is glad for the respite as she left her husband back in New York City. She is afraid what her next steps would be in her marriage after witnessing her husband commit a devastating act of adultery with someone else.

When the pair arrive at the manor, Hannah allows Nicky the freedom to explore the manor unsupervised. Nicky is good at noticing patterns and he was able to find a secret door hidden in the wallpaper. The door leads to a closed off wing and there Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman.

Hannah finds herself drawn to this mysterious woman’s story. She and another fellow researcher from the manor dig through personal papers and centuries old ledgers to piece together what happened to the corpse they discovered. As Hannah works to find out the truth, she finds her own life slowly unraveling.

I thought this was going to be a thriller or murder mystery novel as it was classified as a gothic mystery. Instead it was a boring and pointless book. The author goes into such mundane details about everything, that I found myself lulled to sleep while reading. The author would go into detail about what the person read or packed for lunch. However, even though we are given so many pointless details about everything else, we still don’t know what really happened to the dead woman. I think the book is more a research piece on how people lived back in that time period than anything else. 

I also didn’t care for any of the characters. Hannah spent so much time complaining about her husband’s affair and then dealing with his reaction to her confronting him.  Her son was also an unlikeable character. He gets violent to the point where Hannah fears for her safety and locks him in his room at night. She worries if she should tell others but never gives them any warning about his violent tendencies. If this book was billed as women’s contemporary fiction, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.

Book Review - The Spanish Diplomat's Secret by Nev March

 

The Spanish Diplomat's Secret  by Nev March is about a couple who set sail to England on a cruise ship and they witness a murder. In the summer of 1894, Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife, Lady Diana Framji were going to England for a family visit. Jim is excited to spend some time with his wife as he feels that she has been distant lately.  He hopes that Diana will open up to him and they can repair their bond.

The first evening on the ship, Jim is feeling seasick. As Jim clings to the hand railing of the deck, he crosses paths with another traveler, Don Juan Nepomuceno. The passenger is a Spaniard and a fellow soldier. Jim feels a connection with him and spends a few minutes chatting with Don Juan. Within twenty four hours, Don Juan sent a note to Jim asking to speak with him privately. Before Jim can visit, it is discovered that Don Juan was brutally murdered.

When the ship’s captain learns that Jim is an investigator, he asks Jim to help find the killer before they dock in Liverpool. Jim has six days to find the person behind the crime otherwise the murder can lead to international consequences. Jim’s investigative skills are put to the test as he has to figure out who committed the murder in a locked cabin room and there are over a thousand passengers on board. There were no witnesses to the crime. And to make matters worse, Jim is experiencing seasickness and is struggling to find his sea legs. He doesn’t  want to put Diana in danger but he knows he can’t navigate the high society world of the first class passengers without her help.

When I first saw the book I didn’t realize it was a part of a series. It wasn’t clear to me until I looked up the book online. The book can be read as a standalone but I think certain references to Jim and Diane’s past would have made more sense if I read the previous books.

I was excited to read the book but disappointed at how slow and drawn out the story was. Pages upon pages would go by and nothing new would happen. The mastermind and motive was very obvious but a so-called detective couldn’t see it until the very end. I also didn’t like that the book had so many political details.  I found that it  took away from the story. I did like the historic details about the ship and passengers, though. I felt that I might have enjoyed this book if it was shorter and I got to learn more about the characters, i.e. if I had more details of them from previous books.

Book Review - Every Rising Sun: A Novel by Jamila Ahmed

 

Every Rising Sun: A Novel by Jamila Ahmed is a retelling of the classic, One Thousand and One Nights. In twelfth century Persia, a young girl, Shaherazade, is the daughter of one of Malik's (the sultan’s) viziers. She spends her day idling around the palace courtyards, reading, and weaving stories to tell to others.

As she explores the palace, she stumbles upon Malik's beloved wife entangled with her lover who isn’t her husband in the middle of the palace grounds where anyone could find the pair. Shaherazade is conflicted on telling Malik about his wife’s betrayal. She is weighed down deeply by this decision.

If Shaherazade keeps her secret and Malik finds out about it, Shaherazade and her family will be at risk because in her mind he would know that she didn’t say anything. However, if she does tell, she worries what Malik might do to the messenger and if he will even believe her. Shaherazade decides that she will tell Malik the truth as she becomes burdened by guilt. She weaves the story of his wife’s betrayal into a story and leaves it anonymously for him to read. Little did she know that her story would set the Seljuk Empire on fire and endanger everything she held dear.

Malik, who was well known for his gentle demeanor is now enraged by his wife’s betrayal. He decides to behead her in the public square to teach her a lesson. However, his anger doesn’t subside even after beheading his wife, whom he genuinely loved. He decides to take a new bride each night and then kill her in the morning, as his wife’s betrayal threatened his manhood.

His province and townspeople are angered by his bloodlust and indiscriminate killings. They are worried about protecting their daughters against Malik and his anger. Shaherazade feels that this is all her fault, and decides to offer herself to Malik for marriage. She hopes that it will calm the people from revolting and help absolve her guilt. 

Shaherazade persuades her beloved and esteemed father to offer her up as a bride to Mailk. She knows that Malik would accept her father’s offer because they are friends. She has loved Malik since she was a child. As a treat to Malik, on their wedding night, she tells him a story to enrapture him. He is spellbound by the story and wants to learn more but she cuts the story short as the sun ascends to ensure that she will live another day. She continues doing that each night in hopes of ensuring her safety from him. Malik attends his royal duties in the daytime and they are only able to spend time together at night.

As much as Malik enjoys her stories, his rage is too deep for Shaherazade alone to quell. Therefore, she and her father persuade Mailk to leave Persia and assist Saladin, an ally,  in the fight against the Crusaders in Palestine. She and her father hope that the fight will help burn out the excess hatred in Mailk. However, her plan doesn’t go exactly as she wishes as she soon realizes that there are plots to overthrow Malik and hurt her people. Will Shaherazade be able to protect her people while saving Malik from his burning rage?

I was excited to read this book but I struggled with getting into it. The author’s writing style was a bit hard for me to find enjoyable to read. The author’s prose felt wordy and bulky.  However, once I did get into the flow of the book it was a bit more enjoyable.

I found myself looking forward to reading Shaherazade’s stories. Some of her stories were standalone while others were connected but at times, it was confusing to keep track of the stories and the characters in them.  That was especially true when combining Shaherazade’s stories with the real events concerning Malik. I found myself preferring the side stories than the main story and I felt that took away from the main story line.  When the pair was faced with dangers and struggles from their journey I didn’t really connect with them. 

I found the book to be boring and moved slowly at times. The book was over 400 pages but moved at a snail’s pace with nothing happening for several pages at a time.  However, the ending came about swiftly and had an unexpected twist. It felt like the author left it up to the readers to decide or there could be room for a sequel. I thought the book was an okay read. I wish the novel just had contained Shaherazade’s stories and that would have been a lot more satisfying to read.

Book Review - The Swallowtail Legacy 2: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

 

Betrayal By the Book by Michael D. Beil is about a young girl who tries to solve a murder. Twelve year old Lark is excited about the upcoming writer’s conference. For a week, Swallowtail Island hosts the Swallowtales Writers Conference that brings writers, publishers, agents, and fellow book lovers together for exclusive book related content.

Lark is ecstatic when she is assigned to be a page for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart. Lark  has devoured and re-read Ann’s book several times and Lark considers the book to be one of her favorites. Ann arrives on the island after agreeing at the last minute to do the conference. She brings her bubbly assistant, Didi, with her. However, Lark quickly learns what the saying means about never meeting your idols.

Lark tries to do her job as a page for Ann professionally but Lark can see why many people don’t like her. Ann is pushy, aggressive, and mean to everyone and always needs to get her way. Thus when Didi needs help finding a place on the island, Lark jumps at the chance to help Didi, while Ann gets ready to attend the conference. At least this way, Lark can get a small break from the author.

Didi takes Lark to a special place on the island where Didi decided she wanted to be a writer. The duo bond before Lark takes off to prepare for the conference. Later in the day, Lark is devastated to learn that Didi ends up dead. When the cause of her death is disclosed, Lark feels like something doesn’t add up.

Lark feels that someone else might have been the target instead. As Lark digs deeper into the case, a few things stand out to her, like Ann has tons of enemies and Didi’s computer vanishes from the hotel suite she was staying in. She also finds out that Didi had a glass bird that is very similar to the one Lark’s late mother had. Will Lark be able to figure out what happened to Didi?

This middle grade level book is the second in the series and can be read as a standalone. There is a wider mystery that connects the two books in the series, though. I found the book to be an entertaining read and it was fun trying to guess who was behind the murder and their motive. It was a bit predictable but I enjoyed reading along with Lark and her adventures.

However, the one thing I didn’t like was that the entire book had a lot of coincidences. For example, it just so happens the person that Lark was searching for was in the right area at the right time. Then Didi’s roommate, Suzy, just so happened to performing in the same location that Didi was. It would be fun if it happens once or so but, it was just too many coincidences for it to be realistic. If you liked the first book, then you would enjoy the next book in the series.

Book Review - The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan

 

The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan is about two teenagers surviving a mass murder at a summer camp. Sloan was excited to start her new summer job as a counselor at a local summer camp. It was her chance to get away from her overbearing adoptive mother. At the camp, she meets another counselor there, Cherry. Cherry has everything going for her and is the center of attention at camp. Sloan finds herself drawn to the electric Cherry.

The pair find themselves bonding and are drawn to each other from the first few days of meeting. A few days into the camp session, a group of masked men stormed the summer camp and murdered everyone except for Cherry and Sloan. Months later, the Cherry and Sloan lean on each other as they process their traumatic experience.

Sloan is working with a professional to help her cope with the experience. Sloan’s mind has repressed the traumatic event and she doesn’t remember much from the night, other than what Cherry has told her. As Sloan begins her sessions in hopes of getting answers to what happened, she feels that there is something missing from her newly surfaced memory and that Cherry is keeping a secret from her. Sloan fears that Cherry might have been involved with the murders and isn’t just a survivor like she claims to be. Cherry claims that she doesn’t have any idea what Sloan is referring to and that she (Cherry) was lucky to have gotten out of the camp alive. Will Sloan be able to remember the events from that fateful night?

I was very excited to read the book when I saw the cover. It’s always the perfect time for a good horror or thriller. However, this book was an utter disappointment. The characters were all dull and boring. Even when Sloan found evidence that Cherry might be lying, she still went back to her. She kept acting like a defenseless child and would run into the arms of someone who might actually end up hurting her. The book goes on like this for a while and then the ending comes out of nowhere. The ending in itself was very confusing and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. I felt like the author didn’t know exactly how to end the book. It left so many unresolved questions and I felt like I read an incomplete book. I thought this was going to be a thriller or murder mystery but it was more about two teenagers dealing with trauma. The book could have been executed a bit better.

Book Review - Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz

 

Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz is about a group of high school students who take a trip together to celebrate their graduation.  Izzy Morales attends an elite private school, where her fellow students are kids of prominent and rich families. She always felt like an outsider because her family is impoverished and her mother works as a teacher in the school.

The only person that Izzy feels has her back is Kassidy, another student at the school. So when Kassidy invites Izzy to an all expenses paid trip to a glamorous manor, she has a hard time saying no. Izzy usually avoids accepting Kassidy’s offers to go on trips together as she doesn’t want to take advantage of Kassidy’s generosity.

This time Kassidy sweetened the offer by inviting Izzy’s crush, Marlow, along with a few of their other friends.  When they arrive Kassidy surprises the group by letting them know that they will be dressing up in vintage clothing and no modern conveniences like cellphones will be allowed. The group gets into some minor squabbles with each other but for the most part, everyone is having a great time, until Kassidy’s boyfriend ends up dead.

His death was ruled a murder and investigators were called to the scene of the crime. Every guest is a suspect. Kassidy is in despair and shocked by his death. Everyone is suspicious of everyone else and is wary that they might be next. However, things look especially bad for Izzy, as she was the one who bought the murder weapon with her on vacation.

The book started off interesting but it ebbed and flowed between interesting to dull. The chapters were told from each character’s points of view. While this was interesting, I felt like this could have been used more to progress the story. Instead, when the police were investigating the murders, Izzy found a secret hideout and found out a lot of secrets other characters were keeping after listening into their interviews. I believe the author was using this method to give the readers new information but I would have preferred to read it from each character’s perspective instead. 

I felt that there were a lot of coincidences and things that came out of nowhere. I still don’t understand why Izzy thought it was a good idea to bring a knife on vacation. The author mentioned the reason but Izzy’s entire plan didn’t really make sense, as a reader. It just seemed like another cheap ploy to make you wonder if she is the murderer or was she being set up. Then one of the investigators who was involved in the case only became involved because they are connected to someone at the manor. I did find one of the investigators interesting and wished they had their own series, but the other one seemed too bumbling to even be a detective.

The ending came out of nowhere and was a bit too unrealistic. The author seemed to portray the character one way and the ending seemed so out of character for them. The book was a bit predictable to who the murderer was but their ending also seemed weird and also too dramatic. Overall, the book was an okay read if one suspended some beliefs on certain elements of the story.

 

Book Review - Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

 

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon is about a grandmother, mother, and granddaughter trio who decide to solve a murder.  Lana Rubicon is known for her killer business skills. She’d caused many people to tremble in their shoes when they knew she was coming. She is proud of the L.A. real estate empire she has built with her keen business intuition and taste.

After having a health scare, she decides to move 300 miles north of the city to a small coastal town where her daughter, Beth lives with her teenage granddaughter, Jack. Lana isn’t used to the easygoing sleepy town vibes. She tries to get used to the slower pace of life instead of fast paced life in LA but it’s a hard adjustment spending her days doing nothing. Lana feels that the boredom might kill her before the cancer does and that she needs something to do to make her feel relevant again.

Jack is independent and loves the slough near their house. She works as a kayak tour guide and wants to save up enough money for a boat to go sailing by herself. While on a tour, one of the kayakers finds a dead body. Jack brings in the group and reports the body to the police. Jack becomes a suspect because she finds the body but she was also out in the slough the day before with another tour group. Beth and Lana are worried that the police will just blame Jack for the murder without actually investigating the crime. Beth wants her mother to focus on getting better while finding Jack a lawyer instead of Lana sticking her nose into the investigation. However, Lana decides that she can’t sit still while her granddaughter is accused of something she didn’t do. Lana will stop at nothing to protect her family while proving that she is still useful. Will Lana be able to find out the truth behind the murder?

The book was a fun and quick read. The characters were quirky with some laughable moments. I liked reading about Lana and her amateur sleuthing journey. I like that the author showed us how Lana was piecing together the clues and her thought pattern behind her deductions. The murderer was easy to guess but their motivation was slightly different than I was expecting.

The murder aspect does play a role but the story also focuses on repairing and strengthening the bonds between the three women. Lana cares about her daughter and granddaughter but didn’t spend any time with them. She has to learn how to bridge the gap that has widened over the years. While Beth is trying to let go control of her daughter and giving her own space and independence.  Beth finds it difficult since it has only been the two of them for years. It was interesting seeing how the characters were trying to navigate the relationships with each other while trying to figure out their needs and the murderer. If you are looking for a murder mystery with a bit of heart, then you might enjoy this book.

Book Review - The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson

 The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson is about an affluent couple who is found murdered in their house.  Bill Olsson recently lost his wife to cancer. He has tons of medical bills and is struggling to provide for his daughter, Sally. He is unable to find a job and is not able to pay rent by himself. He decides to rent out Sally’s room to help cover expenses. Bill rents out the room to Karla.

Karla is a law student and aspiring judge. In her spare time, she is a housekeeper to the Rytters. The Rytters are an incredibly wealthy couple. The wife is ill and she hasn’t been able to leave the house for months. The husband is a well respected doctor. He has tendencies to be controlling and obsessive when it comes to his wife. Is he a worried husband that is concerned about his wife’s well being, or does he have malicious intent?

As Bill’s financial situation becomes more dire, Karla is empathetic to his plight. She understands what it’s like to have a rough childhood, and doesn’t want Bill’s financial strains to affect Sally’s outlook. She feels that she is forced to make a difficult choice between helping someone or doing something bad. 

When the Rytters end up dead, Karla is questioned due to her employment in the household. They bring up parts of her past that she would rather keep a secret.  Every character in the novel seems to be hiding something or isn’t what they seem, but is one of them desperate enough to kill to keep their secret?

I thought the book was an okay read. I felt like the story was drawn out with no unexpected twists or turns. The book is narrated by three different people: the cash strapped Bill, the housekeeper Karla, and a young woman named Jennica. Bill and Jennica are connected by his late wife. We got each of their views but they were biased and didn’t give the entire story. I wish the author went into more details about Bill’s wife. 

The story is littered with police notes from interviews with and news snippets regarding everyone related to the case.  The novel is a slow burn as it slowly hints at who might be the culprit. I felt that the ending was predictable and boring. I didn’t care for any of the characters. They were all selfish and acted entitled. I didn’t like Bill the most and felt like he was completely responsible for his situation but doesn’t have any accountability for his actions.

Book Review - Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

 

Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban is about a young woman who tries to escape her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend who betrayed her. Jade is looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime. She will get to visit 11 countries in 4 months aboard a luxurious cruise ship.  She couldn’t wait to move on and experience all that the cruise has to offer, only to find out that the people she is trying to escape are also on the trip with her. 

Her obsession with the couple begins to grow as she spends every moment trying to analyze what went wrong in the relationships. She tries to analyze what went wrong with her relationships with her ex and ex-best friend. Her obsession becomes an issue when someone ends up murdered. Then more of her friends are dying and Jade has become the prime suspect. She will have to figure out who is behind these crimes before anyone else ends up in a body bag.

This young adult novel is a closed room thriller with a few twists and turns. I thought Jade was an annoying main character. She was too stubborn and stuck in her own head. When she wanted to find out the truth over her relationship, she was basically stalking the couple. To me, her character seemed stereotypical: The sweet and caring character that everyone seems to love. She always tried to see the best in people even when there were so many clues pointing to them being the bad guy. When she realized that one character could have prevented another from dying if they spoke up earlier, she still tried helping that character instead of having them face any consequences.

Some of the dialogue and characters seemed one dimensional and juvenile. They seemed to make silly mistakes that I would assume someone younger would do. I was also surprised that a scene in the book mentioned the characters doing meth. I feel like that seems out of place for college students.  The book did reel me in the beginning but then it started petering out towards the end because it seemed unbelievable and far fetched.

Book Review - The Legacies by Jessica Goodman

 

The Legacies by Jessica Goodman is about a group of young socialites who pine to join an exclusive social club. People who have membership to the exclusive Legacy Club in New York City know that it is more than just an honor to be a member. Being a member gives you unfettered access to power and wealth beyond what they can get from attending a prestigious prep school. They are also guaranteed safety and security because members always look out for each other.

For high school seniors to be invited into the club, they will need to be nominated by a committee member and then make it through a week of events and the lavish Legacy Ball at the end. It is not surprising when Excelsior Prep seniors Bernie Kaplan, Skyler Hawkins, and Isobel Rothcroft are nominated into the club. Their families are well connected to each other and the club. The club is not only their safe haven but it also protects the families and their secrets and reputations. 

 

However, things become interesting when Tori Tasso is nominated. She is nothing like other nominees. She received a scholarship to the school and she lives in Queens unlike most of the other students who come from a wealthy background. Everyone is surprised when she is nominated because her family doesn’t have any affiliation in the  club.

 

Tori has a hard time fitting in with her other classmates. Unlike her, they never had to work hard to ensure food was on the table. They have their names on buildings, while doing nothing noteworthy to deserve it, and spend more money on material things than Tori could ever hope to have.

 

As the night of the Legacy Ball approaches, even Tori is wrapped up in the festive atmosphere she knows her connection to the Legacy Cub is her and her family’s ticket out of poverty. However, a betrayal occurs that changes the lives of everyone involved. The night was supposed to be the best night of their lives until one of them ends up dead. Who ends up dead? And why?

 

The novel is told from three alternating points of views: Bernie, Tori, and Isobel. Early on in the book, we learn that Bernie is Queen Bee at the school but she suffers from self confidence issues. She is afraid that people are only her friends because of her status and not because of who she really is. Her best friend, Isobel, seems to have a secret that she is keeping with Bernie’s boyfriend, Skyler. Isobel is afraid of telling Bernie because she feels that it will alter their friendship forever. As we try to piece together what causes the two women to drift apart, we learn about other secrets that could have led to the death on that fateful night. 

 

While I enjoyed reading how their friendship fractured and their journey through initiation went, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The characters felt bland and stereotypical. I wish we got a glimpse into Bernie’s mother’s past and her motivation between disappearing and where she went. Bernie’s mother was an interesting character but we barely got to know her origins.

 

The book goes back and forth between the past and the present when the murder occurred. I believe it was to keep the reader guessing on who died and the events that lead up to it. However, I felt the dialogue and the story dragged on for chapters with no real progress. The book was a quick read and plot twists felt predictable and boring. I would recommend reading if you like young adult high school dramas.

Book Review - City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

 

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita is about a detective who travels to a remote city in Alaska after a severed hand and foot is discovered. Amy, a local teenager, discovers  the washed up limbs on the shore of her small town of Point Mettier, Alaska. Cara Kennedy is a detective from Anchorage but she decides to investigate the case. Cara has her own motives for wanting to investigate the case, even if it means visiting the isolated place that can only be accessed by a tunnel. 

As Cara is claustrophobic, the environment really affects her and she can’t wait to finish her investigation and leave. However, a blizzard causes the tunnel to close for the foreseeable future. Cara is stuck among the 205 residents who all live in the same high rise building. The residents are acting oddly and they don’t trust outsiders. They try to protect their own and look out for each other.

 

She teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski to investigate the crime. Things take a turn for the worse, when a local drug gang from a nearby native village descends on the residents. Cara is caught in the middle and doesn’t know if she can trust the residents as she investigates. There are two things she does know: everyone is hiding something, and someone is willing to kill to keep the secrets hidden. 

 

I thought the book was a fast paced and interesting read. The book was narrated by three different female characters: Amy, a local resident who discovered the body; Cara, the detective ; and Lonnie, a young woman with anxiety and eccentric behaviors who also resides in Point Mettier.  The characters were interesting and all flawed but they would stop at nothing to protect themselves and their loved ones. I like that the book was narrated by each character because it gave us a wider view of the broader story than we would have gotten if we just read the story from Cara’s point of view.

 

The story spent a lot of time fleshing out each character and introducing a lot of different story lines. At times, it was hard keeping track of the different character and story arcs. I felt that the book ended with a lot of questions that were left unanswered. I believe that the author is planning for a sequel, otherwise, the ending is very disappointing. The author did leave a hook and opening for the readers to guess where the sequel might be about but I wish that a few of the questions were answered in this book too.

Book Review - Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin

 

Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin is about a chance encounter uniting two people from different walks of life. 

Liliana Vela refuses to think of herself as a victim. She is a fighter and survivor. She will not let the past dictate how she lives her life.  Liliana witnessed her family being brutally murdered in her impoverished Mexican village before being kidnapped by the human traffickers. She was able to escape before the men made the exchange with her buyer.  Liliana is determined to take back her life after escaping from the men who held her hostage.  However, she realized that she has no connections or anyone to help her in America.  She feels she is all alone.

Meric Toledan decided to stop for water at a service station when he noticed Liliana needing help from some men that are following her.  He decided to help rescue her from these men, who he realizes are traffickers. When he realized that she had no one to rely on for help in a new country, he decided to marry her to keep her safe from the traffickers. The mysterious buyer refuses to let his prize be stolen away by someone else. Will Liliana be able to live her life free from the buyer in the end?

The book was an absolute borefest with almost no thrills or action. Liliana and Meric were one dimensional and dull. The two main characters always seemed to say the perfect thing to each other and they could do no wrong. The story got repetitive and moved slowly, with nothing happening plot wise. The author used the word “cold” to describe Meric’s personality in almost every other sentence.  I also found it weird that Meric is described as a cold, withdrawn, and prudent person, but then marries and wills all of his assets to someone who is practically a stranger to him. 

I felt that the plot and twists were unrealistic. It is mentioned that Meric isn’t a “people” person even with the people that work for him or are “close” to him. But Meric goes out of his way for Liliana, whom he just met but he simply found her too beautiful. Multiple times during the novel, it’s mentioned that Meric can’t be near her because her beauty is so overwhelming to him and he is afraid he can’t control himself. It all seems so shallow. I felt that if Liliana wasn’t beautiful he wouldn’t be willing to give her his entire fortune and help her with her predicament. The author’s description of Liliana’s beauty and Meric’s cold personality was repeated constantly to the point that  it got annoying. I felt that the author should have used that time and space to add more to the story’s plot.

The ending seemed far fetched and everything was neatly tied up in a bow. I felt that the ending didn't seem plausible. It left me with more questions about the validity of Meric’s familial connections. There were a lot of side stories that didn’t add value to the main storyline.  Liliana met a group of elderly residents and they seemed to be having fun and they even had an outing together. However, after an incident that wasn’t directly related to them, they were written out of the story with no additional mention of them. It made me wonder what the point was of including these characters for a few chapters. The book felt lackluster because the characters were bland, the story was long winded, and the plot didn’t feel feasible.

Book Review - We Are the Light by Matthew Quick

 

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick is about a small community coming together after an unspeakable act of violence occurs. Lucas Goodgame is a school guidance counselor who helps children adjust to issues that they might have at home or at school. He lives in the quaint suburb community of Majestic, Pennsylvania.  At a local movie theater, a gunman entered and slaughtered multiple victims before he was stopped. Lucas is considered a local hero because of his act of courage in stopping the gunman.

Lucas doesn’t see himself as a hero and tries to avoid the attention from others. He insists that his deceased wife, Darcy, is an angel who is guiding him. Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former “Jungian analyst”, Karl, to help cope after the deadly tragedy.

Everything changes when Eli, an eighteen year old, starts to camp out in Lucas’s backyard. Eli was a former student of Lucas and he is related to the gunman. Lucas feels that Eli is the way to heal the community and themselves. They embark together to fuel their grief and anxiety into making art while bringing in the other survivors from that night to help.

The author is well known for his other books but this was my first time reading any of his novels. The novel is written in epistolary style, meaning that it is written in the form of letters that Lucas writes.  Lucas writes and spills his heart to his former analyst to help himself cope with his grief. The writing style was an interesting choice but it felt limiting as we only got Lucas’s point of view.

I didn’t understand what a Jungian analyst was and the process. The author did explain that he was a fan of it but didn’t do a thorough job of communicating what this therapy was to the reader.  I personally felt like I didn’t quite understand it and it took away some enjoyment from the novel. The author did mention that he was going through his own struggles and that this form of therapy helped him.  I felt that the author included too many phallic/“being a man” references in the beginning. The main female character, Darcy’s best friend, Jill, does all the household work and becomes caregiver to Lucas. She has to handle all the bills, the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and budgeting while Lucas goes off on his madcap adventures and ideas. Lucas rarely considers her feelings and she is made to be seen as an annoyance or getting in Lucas’ way instead of being the life support she really is. Gender stereotypes were rampant in this book.

I felt like the plot was predictable, boring, and moved very slowly. There were a lot of side stories going on that were overwhelming at times. I didn’t care for Lucas as a main character. He seemed like a petulant child that would throw tantrums when things didn’t go his way. He seemed to be struggling with his grief and acting erratically while his supposedly close friends were enabling him.  This story might have been a great movie but it was lackluster for a book.  The visual aspect may have been a better medium for the suspenseful pieces of this book.