7.30.2018 - She Was the Quiet One

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Michele Campbell for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - I loved it!  Maybe I was just in the mood for some snarky mean rich girl boarding school tales, but I couldn't put this book down - 4.5 stars!

Twins, Bel and Rose are sent to the prestigious Odell School by their grandmother after their mother died.  The girls' father was already deceased so they were now orphans.  The book opens with the murder of one of the girls - but we don't know which one nor who committed the murder.  The girls have some sibling rivalry which gets much worse when they get to Odell and find very different friends.

Sarah and Heath Donovan are teachers at Odell, recently promoted to be the head of the dorm where both girls live.  Heath is very driven to succeed at Odell and has lofty ambitious.  Sarah is content to be a teacher and mom to their two small children.

Told in different viewpoints with police interviews mixed in, this book really kept me intrigued to find out all of the answers. 

7.28.2018 - The Secret

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and KL Slater for the opportunity to read and review her latest thriller - another winner!

Louise and Alice are sisters but very different personalities.  Louise is married with a son, Archie, that she raised as a single mom until she married Darren.  Alice, who is single, took care of her mom until her death and lives in the apartment they shared.  Almost housebound by pain and fear, Louise takes advantage of Alice's position to have her look after Archie.

Told in the voices of the sisters with flashbacks in time to tell the backstory, Alice becomes concerned about Louise and how she is treating Archie.  Archie meanwhile, has a secret that he can't tell anyone and is one that could change everything for the family.

Kept me turning the pages into the wee hours!  Great read!  4.5 stars!

7.26.2018 - The Boy at the Door

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing and Alex Dahl for the opportunity to read this gripping debut thriller - I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Cecelia has a perfect life - she's rich with a part-time job just to make her happy, an adoring husband, and 2 girls.  But Cecelia is a perfectionist - everything in its place and everything scripted to make sure all appearances are maintained.  Until the day that a little boy is left behind at the girls' swimming lessons on a rainy night.  The receptionist can't get in touch with his mother and asks Cecelia to drop him off at his home.  When she gets there, it is an abandoned house.  Tobias, the little boy, begs Cecelia not to call the police.  Instead, she takes him home for the night.

Thus sets the stage.  We are told this story through the voices of Cecelia, Tobias and the journals of Annika - a drug addict.  There are many twists and turns in this book and I couldn't put it down!  A fabulous debut.

7.23.2018 - Crux

Thanks to NetGalley, One World, and Jean Guerrero for the opportunity to read and review this memoir.

This is the true story of the author and her quest to delve into the life of her father, who crossed the border between California and Mexico as well as crossing the line between sanity and insanity.  Different people and different locations thought he was either schizophrenic or he was a shaman.  The violence that both sides of this family experienced as well as what the author experienced in researching this book is so sad and the domestic abuse was passed down through the family lines.

I'm going with 3 stars because there were parts of this book that I couldn't put down and parts that were so slow and somewhat boring to me.  The topic is certainly relevant in today's immigrant crisis.

7.21.2018 - Believe Me

Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and JP Delaney for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  I was a big fan of The Girl Before and this was another twisty tale.

The title is very appropriate for this book - you have no clue who to believe in this book.  Claire is an actress in New York without a green card and desperate for money.  She works for a lawyer as a decoy trying to catch husbands in the act of hiring a prostitute.  When one of the clients is found murdered, Claire finds herself working for the police to try to trip the husband into confessing.  But soon, you begin to wonder just who is trying to catch who and just who you can believe.

I was less enthralled with the poetry sprinkled throughout (about S&M practices) even though that was a key element throughout the story.  Some of the dialogue is written in the form of a screenplay, which was interesting because of the acting angle.
So very many twists

7.19.2018 - The Family Tabor

Thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Cherise Wolas for the opportunity to read and review her latest novel.  When I started this book, I groaned a bit inside thinking that I was facing 400 pages of a family saga about rich, boring people.  I was more than plenty surprised.

The book takes place over a weekend.  The patriarch of the Tabor family, Harry, is being honored as Man of the Decade for his work starting a company that focuses on bringing people to this country from impoverished lands as well as many other charitable works.  His wife, Roma, is a child psychologist who cares deeply about her clients.  They have 3 children - Phoebe, a lawyer that started her own wealthy firm, Camille, a social anthropologist, and Simon, another successful attorney who is married and has 2 young girls.  As the family begins to gather at their home in Palm Springs, we see that all is not what is seems and everyone is keeping secrets.  All of these secrets culminate at the awards ceremony honoring Harry.

I found this book to be very well-written.  The chapters alternated with the different family members as we learned more about each of them.  This would be a fascinating book club pick with lots to discuss - family, religion, honesty, forgiveness.  A great read!

7.18.2018 - Give Me Your Hand

Many thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown & Company, and Megan Abbott for the opportunity to read her latest book - another 4.5 star winner!

This psychological thriller takes you in the minds of two women in alternating chapters of Then and Now.  Then is when the two girls first met in high school.  Both Kit and Diane were smart students, coming from different backgrounds.  When Diane came as a new student, she saw a like soul in Kit and challenged her to do her best to win a scholarship.  Things took a different turn when Diane confessed a secret to Kit which would bind the two girls together yet break the friendship apart.  In the Now, we find the women grown and working under their idol in a laboratory where they are competing for a coveted spot on a new team.  The secret that connected the two women comes out again and threatens to destroy them both.

This was a great read complete with interesting twists.  Highly recommended!

7.14.2018 - Baby Teeth

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Zoje Stage for the opportunity to read and review this book - it's a good one!  It's getting lots of buzz and it's well deserved - 4.5 stars!

Reminiscent of The Bad Seed-type story, Hanna is a mute 7-year-old.  She loves her daddy (Alex), so much so that she wants him all to herself.  But Mommy is in the way.  Mom, Suzette, came from a dysfunctional family where her mother ignored her symptoms of Crohn's disease for years.  Still dealing with her Crohn's is difficult and Alex is the only person who made her feel lovable and loved.  Suzette tries to be a good mom but Hanna acts out terribly for her.  Alex is oblivious to Hanna's behavior, even when she is kicked out of multiple schools. 

This is a very creepy book that I couldn't put down.  Lots to talk about in this one - troubled children, parenting, relationships.  Loved it!

7.12.2018 - Saving Beck

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Courtney Cole for the opportunity to read this powerful book - much more so when you read the author's note at the end.

This is the story of drug addiction and what it does to a family.  Matt and Natalie are happily married and have 3 children.  When a tragic accident kills Matt, the family is consumed by grief.  Beck, the oldest, was in the car with his dad and is struggling with survivor's guilt.  Natalie is depressed and Beck finds himself picking up the slack for her in caring for the younger kids and the household.  Then drugs offer him a way to escape.  Told in the viewpoints of Natalie and Beck, we see the past that led them to the future.

With the current raging drug addiction crisis in this country, this is a heart-wrenching tale of what it does to a family, yet provides hope through the darkness.  Highly recommended!

7.11.2018 - The Silent Sister

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Shalini Boland for the opportunity to read and review her latest psychological thriller - don't miss this one!

Lizzie is happily living with her boyfriend, Joe, and their cat, Frank, working with her best friend, Pippa, in a job she loves, managing an upscale clothing store.  Everything is good in her world, except for a feud with her sister, Emma, that has been going on for years.  Then mysterious notes start appearing addressed to Lizzie that indicate she is being watched.  Lizzie contacts the police but they aren't able to stop the notes from appearing.  Lizzie begins questioning everyone in her life.

Less said about the plot of this book the better because the fun is in reading it and seeing if you can figure out all the twists and turns (you won't be able to!).  I couldn't put this one down - it grabbed me from the start.  Highly recommended!

7.10.2018 - The Lido

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Libby Page for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel - it was wonderful!  I was in the mood for another charming, feel good book, and this one certainly fit the bill.  The fact that it is a debut novel is amazing - very well-written.  If you are a fan of Fredrick Backman's books, you'll need to pick this one up - it's on sale today!

Kate is in her 20s, newly moved to Brixton, London, is working as a new reporter for the local paper.  However, she's covering lost pets and store openings - not quite how she dreamed of her career.  Meanwhile, she is living with roommates she rarely sees and struggles with panic attacks.  When she is assigned to write a story on the closing of the local lido (an outdoor pool), she meets Rosemary, an 86-year-old who has swam in the pool almost every day for 80 years.  Rosemary and her late husband, George, fell in love at the Lido and she has a circle of friends there.  A developer (cue the nasty music) is in the process of buying the pool and has plans to turn it into a tennis court as part of a housing development for wealthy individuals.  When Kate and Rosemary meet to work on the story, a friendship develops.  They begin to work together to save the Lido. 

The relationships of the people in this story are what make it so wonderful, including the larger community relationships and how important they are in our lives.  Highly recommended - I loved it!

7.10.2018 - I See Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses

Many glasses of rose in thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and authors Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella for the opportunity to read their latest collaboration - I loved it!  I've said before that I would read anything these two write - such a breath of realism and fresh air in these mother-daughter books.

These are just stories of real life as experienced by mom and daughter - so fun and interesting to see the different takes.  The FaceTime article and pictures brought me to my knees because I've been in the middle of that issue - trying to get my elderly mom to understand it while trying to see through my bifocals at my grandkids! 

This book is published today - grab it and take it with you wherever you are headed.  Each essay is short and so easily readable anywhere you are - but all will make you smile, cry and totally relate.
Please keep these books coming - they make my summer!

7.8.2018 - Half Moon Bay

Thanks to NetGalley, Scribner, and Alice LaPlante for the opportunity to read and review her latest book.  I was a huge fan of Turn of Mind and liked Circle of Wives as well.  This one didn't quite live up to those in my opinion.

Jane's world collapses when her daughter is killed in an auto accident.  Her and her husband divorce and she loses her job.  With the help of a colleague, she takes a job in a plant nursery in Half Moon Bay.  As the book progresses, we see erratic behavior from Jane - going to the beach in the wee hours, things that don't quite ring true.  Then young girls start dying.  Soon people and the police are looking at Jane differently.

I usually love books that slowly reveal the back story but this came across too disjointed.  The writing style featured lots of very short sentences which didn't help the flow either.

7.7.2018 - Suicide Club

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Rachel Heng for the opportunity to read and review this amazing debut novel - I loved it!

Imagine a world in the maybe not so distant future, where technology and science have made it possible to live hundreds of years.  A world where you are assessed at birth and put into a category of either a "sub-100" or a "lifer."  If you are a sub-100, meaning you will not live to 100, you are relegated to a sub-class of people, not eligible for all of the parts replacements and rejuvenation treatments.  But if you are a lifer, you can expect to live for hundreds of years, looking completely youthful.  You see Treaters to assess how everything you do affects your body and life expectancy; you've learned that running is harmful so you stop; you eat Nutri-paks and not trad (traditional) foods.  You are watched constantly, evaluated, turned in for simple acts.  For the select group, the Third Wave, offers the possibility of immortality.

But what happens when your body finally gives out but some parts keep on going - like a mechanical heart that won't stop?  What happens if you don't want to live this way?  Enter the Suicide Club - a rebel group that finds a way to die under their control and decisions.

This book is told in alternating chapters between Lea, a Lifer, whose one simple act sets up her downfall, and Anja, another Lifer, whose mother is basically dead besides her continually beating mechanical heart.

This was a powerful debut - frightening because with a little leap of the imagination, you can see this future world happening.  Our Fitbits that nudge us to move are just like the reminders sent to the Lifers to stretch every hour.  The juices, cleanses, the surgeries to keep ahead of the aging process contrasted with the Assisted Suicide laws.

Highly recommended - there would be SO much to discuss in a book club.  Can't wait to read more from this author.

7.5.2018 - Eden

Thanks to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Andrea Kleine for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the story of Hope and Eden - two sisters raised in unusual circumstances.  They have the same dad but Eden's mom left to find herself and Hope's mom raised them both.  When Hope's parents divorced, the sisters traveled by bus to visit their dad every other weekend.  Until he got his dates mixed up and forgot.  A man in a pickup truck convinced the girls that their dad had sent him to pick them up and took them to his cabin in the woods.

Fast forward 20 years later and Hope receives a letter that their kidnapper, Larry, is up for parole.  Having no real job or place to live, she decides to make it her mission to find Eden, who left the family early and no one knows where she is.  The chapters alternate with Hope's road trip and the kidnapping incident.

A book about how our past defines us, this was just an average read for me.  I couldn't quite connect with any of the characters too much.

7.3.2018 - The Garden Party

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Grace Dane Mazur for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book takes place in the garden of Celia and Pindar Cohen the evening before the wedding of their son, Adam, to Eliza - the rehearsal dinner.  It's also the symbolic melding of these two families, who couldn't be more opposite.  The Cohen's are a literary and different family - Pindar is writing a cookbook derived from ancient Mesopotamia tablets, Adam is a poet, and his two sisters are somewhat fragile activists.  Enter the bride's family - the Barlow's.  They are a family of lawyers, except Eliza who is studying to be a veterinarian.  Eliza has a twin and 3 older brothers, who come with their wives and children.  Then there are the elders - Leah (Pindar's mother) and Nathan (the bride's grandfather).

I loved the cover and the idea of this book and indeed liked much of the book.  But it was a bit of a stream of consciousness, poetic style of writing made more difficult by chapters starting in mid-sentence.  With a big cast of characters, it took awhile to figure out whose voice you were reading.   Definitely a character study rather than plot-driven book.

7.2.2018 - Somebody's Daughter

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Books, and David Bell for the opportunity to read his latest book - loved it!  I'm a big fan of David Bell and his books never fail to keep me engrossed.

Michael and Angela are happily married and trying to conceive a baby, which is adding a bit of stress into their lives.  One evening, the doorbell rings and Michael's ex-wife, Erica, is standing there.  Erica states that her daughter is missing - a daughter that she says is Michael's that he knew nothing about.  Leaving Angela at home, he goes with Erica to talk to a teacher she thinks may know something.

That starts the ball of intrigue rolling.  Soon the police are at Angela's door and she finds out things about Michael she didn't know.  There are many people being drawn into finding the missing child, Felicity, and all seem to have their share of secrets.

This book is told in short chapters and from multiple points of view, including the police, and you start questioning everyone.  I couldn't put this down until the last page!  As with all of Bell's books, highly recommended!

7.1.2018 - The Intermission

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Books, and Elyssa Friedland for the opportunity to read and review this book - I really enjoyed this one!

Cass and Jonathon have been married for 5 years.  They are on the verge of starting a family but Cass decides that she needs to make sure they are meant to be and the only way she can do that is with some separation from her life - an intermission.  She flees to California to live with a college roommate, while Jonathon stays in NYC.  They meet monthly to exchange Puddles, their beloved dog.

Told in alternating chapters from Cass and Jonathon's points of view, this is a glimpse inside a marriage and the secrets that were kept from each other that threaten to topple them.

A book about family, commitment, honesty - while these characters weren't always totally likeable they were totally relatable!  A great summer read!