Survivor in Death

Survivor in Death by J. D. Robb
Mystery
Nine year old Nixie Swisher gets up in the middle of the night to get a forbidden orange fizzy. While up she catches a glimpse of a shadow entering her housekeeper's room. Thinking they are about to do the naughty Nixie watches only to see her housekeeper murdered. The murderer goes up the stairs and proceeds with another assailant to murder her whole family and her best friend whom she left asleep in her room.

Eve must find out who wanted to kill this upstanding family. This is an ordinary family with no person who holds any grudges against them. Eve has a sense that Nixie is not safe. The killers wanted her whole family dead and she is still alive.

Robb spins it out in this story. The reader does not know what is going on and there are lots of twists and turns. You have to love Eve in that she knows she is no good with children but she does her best and really tries with Nixie. Robb keeps on with great character development in this series and I will be looking forward to the next in the series.

First Line: "A late-night urge for an Orange Fizzy saved Nixie's life."
Rating:
(4.0/5)

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
Historical Mystery

RBess Crawford is a WWI battlefield nurse in France, treating injured soldiers and those stricken with the Spanish flu. One night, a colleague asks Bess to come visit the shed where the bodies are kept because he has noticed something odd. When Bess visits, she finds the body of an officer who died of a broken neck. Suspecting murder, Bess sets to report to the Matron right away except she too falls ill from the flu and is brought back to England to recover at home.

Once Bess has recovered, she can't remember whether finding the officer with a broken neck was a dream but when she learns that the colleague who informed her of the officer "committed suicide", she still suspects there's a murderer on the loose. What she doesn't realize, is that she too is in the murderer's sights.

This book is the forth book in the Bess Crawford series. I hadn't read the previous three books and for the most part this could be a stand alone. I found the only confusing part is that the relationship of family friend Simon wasn't completely explained, as I'm sure he was introduced in previous novels. For quite a while I wondered if he was a cousin or a love interest or just a friend of Bess.

I really enjoyed reading about what nurses would have done during war time. It seems that they get moved around a lot, it makes you wonder how anyone could keep track of who and what were going where. Bess mentioned travelling back and forth between France and England a lot which would have added more confusion to who was where. There was also the relevant threat of a submarine shooting on these ships crossing the channel.

Bess as a character was also quite refreshing. Typical to novels written in these times, she was very proper and yet independent, strong, and smart. Just the type of female character I like!

Bess worked with friends, family, and fellow nurses and officers to help track down the murderer. When the motive was actually determined though, I found it to be a bit weak. Would someone really kill that many people just for the described motive? I'm not so sure.

On looking in to the author more, I learned that Charles Todd is actually a mother/son writing duo, which is rather impressive. What happens if there's a disagreement in how the plot should progress? It certainly takes a strong relationship to write a book!

Watch the trailer for the book here. A special thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting us be a part of the tour!

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Heaven and Earth

Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts
Romance
This story is about Ripley, the no nonsense police officer on Three Sisters Island. She has refused to have anything to do with her paranormal powers and just wants to lead an ordinary life.

Enter MacAllister Booke , a paranormal researcher, who wants to find out what is happening on the island. He is very interested in Ripley both professionally and personally. She, of course, fights it.

Ripley is a brash, sometimes caustic young woman who must battle the forces of evil that is trying to pull the island apart. I enjoyed this light fun read

First Line: "She called the storm."
Rating:
(3.5/5)

Night Fall

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille;

Thriller  

Five years after flight TWA 800 disappeared over the ocean John Corey and his wife Kate Mayfield both of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force attend the reunion of  the victim's families. Kate who worked the investigation has never believed the finding of 'mechanical failure'. Of course Corey, the smart-ass former NYC detective takes the bait and starts to investigate again. He is warned off and this makes it more enticing to find out just what happened.

Corey finds out that a crucial video of an adulterous couple making love on the beach is missing and/or has never been watched or conveniently stashed away.

I love conspiracy theories and there are plenty of twists and turns to make this a very enjoyable story. But if you expect to find a satisfactory and conclusive ending you will be disappointed. The ending is explosive and probably the only ending that could be told. Does that make you want to read the book? Good!!

First Line: "Bud Mitchell drove his Ford Explorer along Dune Road."
Rating:
(4.0/5)

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)