People of the Book

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Historical Fiction
Hanna Heath, a young Australian book conservationist is summoned to Sarajevo in order to preserve the Sarajevo Haggadah, a Jewish prayer book about passover. Hanna gets to work and finds clues as to the hands it once passed through; a bit of butterfly, a stain.

This books tells a story both in the present and the past. I was much more interested in the past story as it covered various Jewish persecutions and the stories seem to come to life. The present story was a little contrived and not quite as believable, starting with Hanna being such a great restorer at such a young age.

The past travels through Bosnia where a Muslim hid the book to preserve it, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Spain where this illuminated manuscript was first created and saved when the Jews were expelled,

I also liked to read the story on the conservation efforts. All in all an interesting read!

First Line: "I might as well say, right from the jump: it wasn't my usual kind of job."
Rating:
(4.0/5)

Hard Eight

Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
Mystery
Mabel Markowitz, Stephanie's mother's neighbour asks Stephanie to check on the whereabouts of her daughter Evelyn Soder. She has gone missing along with her daughter. Mabel's house may be in jeopardy as she put it up as part of the child custody agreement.
In the course of this investigation Stephanie comes across Eddie Ambruzzi, a psycho. Ambruzzi has Stephanie trailed by a rabbit and leaves her snakes and spiders and dead bodies.

Stephanie is also in the process of bringing in Andy Bender, with help from a lawyer clown, Albert Kloughn. She ends up losing an endless number of handcuffs and a car in the process. This part is absolutely hilarious. Bender is interested in Stephanie's sister Valerie who has moved back home with her children.

and the best part is that Stephanie finally gets it on with Ranger. About time!!

First Line: "Lately, I've been spending a lot of time rolling on the ground with men who think a stiffy represents personal growth."
Rating:
(4.0/5)

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Fantasy
A long time ago seven kingdoms existed and they were brought together under King Robert through battle. Now there are those who wish more power and plot to get that and those who are forced to leave to save their lives and plot to return gloriously. There are also those content with who they are and their king refuses to let them be and wishes their services.

This is a land where summers last for decades but winter is approaching and the supernatural forces beyond the kingdom are amassing. This is also a land of magic and dragons.

With all the wonderful themes of life and death, war, deception, betrayal, cowardice and bravery how could this book have not lived up to its expectations.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I had a bit of trouble for the first 100 pages getting the characters straight but Martin does a great job of giving each character their own chapter to help keep them in place.

A recommended read!!

First Line: "We should start back, Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them"
Rating:
(4.5/5)

Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb

Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb
Mystery

This is yet another book in the futuristic detective series featuring Eve Dallas. This time, she is called to gruesome crime scene where a licensed companion had been slashed in the throat and then had her pelvic area removed from her body. A note is left on the scene addressing Dallas directly. Dallas' aide, Peabody, can't handle the scene. The two set out to figure out who this killer is and realize that the killer imitated Jack the Ripper with the murder.

As they track down the stationary used with the note, another murder happens, copying a different serial killer. Eve knows she needs to track down this egotistical killer quickly. At the same time, Peabody is getting ready for her detective's exam which she is very nervous about.

This novel has what you come to expect from the series. Usually there's a good amount of personal life included from Dallas. This one had a little less so, I'm interested to hear about Mavis' baby but she was hardly mentioned at all in this book.

My biggest gripe with this book is that the cover ruins the entire book. It basically tells you who the murderer is. I've never had this problem before! Whoever designed the cover is an idiot!

First Line: "Summer of 2059 was a mean and murderous bitch who showed no sign of lightening her mood."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Rivals for the Crown

Rivals for the Crownr by _Kathleen Givens
Historical Romance
In 1290 the young queen of Scotland dies and there are now many rivals for the crown.

But in England Edward I also wants the kingdom and is ruthless enough to try to overtake Scotland.

Kieran MacDonald and Rory MacGannon are two young Highlanders whose parents have sent them to Berwick to get some sense of what is going on. Kieran meets Rachel, a Jewess, whose father has just started up an inn. Rachel and her family were expelled from England because of their faith. Rachel asks Kieran to find out about Isabel her London friend and lady-in-waiting to the English queen. Isabel has her own pack of troubles and eventually re-unites with Rachel.

But the wars and romantic troubles continue.

I enjoyed the history behind the scenes and the romance was a nice side story.

First Line: "Rachel!"
Rating:
(4.0/5)

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Thriller

The book that inspired the classic movie The Godfather tells the story of the Corleone family from Sicily, now the most powerful family in New York. The Godfather is Don Vito Corleone, a tough and yet fair mob boss with three boys Fred, Sonny, and Mike and a daughter Connie. The Tattaglia family approaches the Corleones with the Turk Sollozzo about starting in to the drug trade but the Don isn't interested. Before Sollozzo leaves, Sonny opens his mouth and asks about how much money they could make. This act eventually gets the Don shot multiple times because the Tattaglia family believes with the Don out of the way, Sonny will join their business venture. All this does is create war between the families.

During war time, the family must come together and split apart as traitors are found. The youngest son, Mike, who was not supposed to be part of the family business ends up being deeply involved in the struggle for power.

I have never seen the movie before so there were surprises for me in this book. Reading the book definitely makes me want to see the movie. Despite this, there were some slow parts of the book. The whole Las Vegas part of the book I felt lacked in excitement and was only there so that a small piece could be tied up in the end of the book. Furthermore, just as the action was getting exciting near the end, there is a short break to explain who one of the new characters was! It was frustrating to say the least. The book perfectly describes the cool calculation you need to be a mobster.

First Line: "Amerigo Bonasera sat in the New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who had so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her."

Rating:
(4/5)

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
Mystery/Thriller

Cotton Malone's ex-wife shows up from the USA at his Denmark store to tell him that their son has been kidnapped. He's told that he must find the Alexandria link, which will help find the lost library of Alexandria. It is suspected that this library holds the original Testament written in Old Hebrew. Many people want to get their hands on it because there are theories that the translations of this document were incorrect and the Holy Land is actually not Palestine. Having this knowledge at hand would give a lot of power. The Israelis, Saudis, Americans, and many others are after this and would kill to get it.

The quest takes Malone and his ex-wife to London, Portugal, and Egypt. Malone also enlists the help of his past boss back in the USA who has a lot of political maneuvering to do in order to help out Malone.

This book was packed full of action and intrigue. The premise of the story leaves you wondering what would happen to the world if something like this was uncovered. How would people of Jewish, Islamic, and Christian faith react if they learned that the claims to land weren't what they thought and the Bible was translated incorrectly?

I quite like Cotton Malone as a character. He's a pretty smart guy and has some good one-liners. I enjoyed this more than the last Berry book I wrote, The Templar Legacy. It moved fast and was an easy read.

First Line: "George Haddad's patience ended as he glared at the man bound to the chair."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens

Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens
Historical Fiction

In 1290, the young Queen of Scotland dies en route to the crown, which causes the entire Scottish nation to take sides of who should next be on the throne. Highlander cousins Rory and Kieran are sent to Berwick by their parents to keep them out of trouble and get some intel. They meet Rachel, a Jew that was kicked out of London with her family who then moved to Scotland and opened up an inn. She had to abandon her best friend Isabel who was about to become a lady in waiting for the Queen. Rachel and Kieran lust after each other and she convinces him to send a message through to Isabel. When Rory and Kieran visit London after the Queen dies, they meet Isabel who Rory can't stop thinking about.

With King Edward I trying to take back Scotland, there is a lot of turmoil. As the cousins try to help keep their country independent, they are also trying to woo their ladies.

The Scottish element of this novel brought the life to the book. The two cousins had a lot of character and helped progress the novel along. This was just as much historical romance as it was historical fiction. Parts of the romance were definitely corny but not bad enough to make me want to stop reading the book.

There were some interesting history lessons in this novel although I felt like the end was quite rushed.

First Line: "Rachel! Rachel, wake up!"

Rating:
(4/5)

Naked by David Sedaris

Naked by David Sedaris
Autobiography

David Sedaris grew up in an incredibly odd family and, as such, has some incredibly odd stories to tell. Naked is a series of short essays about Sedaris' life, however I felt that it almost read like a novel rather than short stories because the stories weren't overly disjointed.

For the most part, the stories were pretty interesting. That being said, they were so off-the-wall that I was always questioning whether or not they were truthful or not. I wasn't laughing out loud at anything, however overall it was ok.

First Line: "I'm thinking of asking the servants to wax my change before placing it in the Chinese tank I keep on my dresser."

Rating:
(3/5)

Dance Upon Air

Dance Upon Air by Nora Roberts
Romance
Nell Channing arrives on Three Sisters island with nothing. She happens to walk into the bookstore/cafe just as the present cook is leaving and gets the job. Nell is running from a horrid past. She faked her own death in order to escape an abusive relationship.

Nell finds a place where she can heal. She finds out her boss is a witch and furthermore so is she. And most important she finds Zach. Zach is the local policeman and a genuine good guy.

This is a fairly typical romance. It is nice that Nell grows and becomes the woman she can be instead of a scared rabbit. It is also nice that Zach seems to be just an ordinary nice guy instead of one of those hunks that are usually in romance stories.

First Line: "In the dark grren shadows of the deep woods, an hour before moonrise, they met in secret."
Rating:
(3.5/5)

Mobile 9 by Bill Haugland

Mobile 9 by Bill Haugland
Mystery

It's 1969 in Montreal, Quebec and Flash News is a popular English-language news television show of which Ty Davis is a crime reporter and Greg Peterson is a young up-and-coming cameraman. When a woman is beaten and a news truck is reported at the scene, all of the guys that have access to the trucks are brought in for a line up. Peterson is ID'd as the perp but he didn't do it. The news team starts to investigate what is going on. Soon they dig up connections to the mob and all the fun stuff that comes from mob-related activities; drug smuggling, murders, etc.

This book is a bit of a different perspective than what I'm used to, which is almost always the cop hunting for the killer. This time, it's the journalists that are piecing together the puzzle and hunting down the killer.

Written by a Canadian author, this book has a lot of Montreal and general Canadiana included, which is great to read. The general story was good but I feel that Haugland tried to cram too much in to this book. The Grey Cup, multiple mob stories, boxing matches, characters opening their own businesses, it just got to be too much to handle in one book. Perhaps as Haughland's first novel he just tried to take on too much at once.

First Line: "TV cameraman Greg Peterson was exhausted."

Rating:
(3.5/5)