3.31.2017 - The Girl Who Was Taken

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this thriller!

If you can get pass the premise of the book - that people get off on abduction stories - and lots of creepy abduction details, then you'll be left with a thrill ride of a book.

Livia Cutty is a fellow in a forensic pathology program in North Carolina, still reeling from guilt over the fact that her younger sister was abducted and is still missing. Megan, the girl who was abducted from the same party on the beach at the end of the previous summer escaped but had so knowledge of what happened to Nicole.

A body fished from the bay starts Livia down a path that leads her to start investigating the disappearance of Megan, Nicole and other girls. Megan is seeing a psychologist and undergoing hypnosis to try and recover more of her memories.

This book will keep you guessing til the last sentence (and even after that!) - it's a great ride and I raced through it

3.29.2017 - The Garden of Small Beginnings

First, thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this wonderful book!

You know when you laugh out loud at the book dedication that you are in for a treat. Lilian is a young mother of two precocious girls, Annabel and Claire. Lilian's husband, Dan, died in an accident in front of their home. Lilian had a breakdown and spent time in a hospital recovering, although 4 years later she is still trying to recover.

Lilian is a textbook illustrator and given the job of illustrating a book on gardening - the client asked that she attend a new gardening class. Of course, the instructor is young, handsome and basically perfect. The class attendees are a fun bunch and they all have wonderful back stories.

The relationship between Lilian and her sister, Rachel, who basically put her life on hold to help Lilian with the girls after Dan's left, is priceless. They argue, laugh, poke fun and basically are wonderful supports for each other - much more than their dysfunctional mom.

This book is just utter joy - the humor is so funny and sarcastic that I laughed out loud in so many spots - in a book about grief! The analogy between plants growing and our lives changing and moving forward is perfect. This book is an amazing read - I used to give the book Good Grief to friends struggling with grief, but this is going to be my next go to.

I loved it - highly recommended!

3.26.2017 - Burntown

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it!

While this might not be for everyone, I really loved the mix of mystery, suspense, supernatural, survival - did I miss any? I'm a huge fan of this author's work but I found myself really drawn to figuring out what happened in this book - and there is lots to figure out!

There are layers of mysteries in this book that carry down through one family living in Ashford, Vermont. Miles, the dad, has plans for a machine that was supposedly Thomas Edison's invention that would allow people to speak to the dead. He builds the machine mainly to find out the mystery of his own parents' deaths. Then, on the night of a big flood that threatens their house, the machines speaks and warns of danger. The dad and brother are gone in the flood and we are introduced more to Necco, Miles' daughter, and his wife, Lily, who are living with a group of fire eaters on the fringe of town and hiding from someone that Lily is convinced is after them.

There are so many layers in this story - I loved just diving in until the end of the book when all was settled. The characters are so diverse and eccentric yet have good hearts - well, most of them!

Highly recommended!

3.24.2017 - Anything is Possible

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Elizabeth Strout is another one of those authors that just leaves you reeling at the beauty of her words. Anything is Possible was written in tandem with My Name is Lucy Barton. In that book, Lucy is in the hospital and her estranged mother comes and sits by her bedside. They begin a bond when her mom starts talking about all the people from their small town. This book is about those people. Brilliant.

At the end of each of the stories, I had to put the book down and just think a bit. Everyone seemed to leave you with a different lesson and a different feeling. I wish I had read the two back to back and plan to do that in the future just for additional points of view on all these characters' lives.

Great book!

3.21.2017 - One Perfect Lie

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it!

Maybe I should first qualify this review by saying that I would probably read Lisa Scottoline's grocery list - I just love her writing. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read her latest suspense story. And what a story!

From the first chapter, we learn that nothing about Chris is true. He is applying for a position as a teacher and coach in a Pennsylvania high school and he is looking for the right boy to help him with a plan. He seeks out a certain type of boy - being raised by a single parent or have something missing in their home life - and narrows his choice down to 3 boys.

This story is also told in chapters from the mothers of those boys - opening up lots of interesting viewpoints, especially about raising teenagers in this world of social media.

This one has lots of twists and turns and I don't want to say anything to ruin the ride, because it's a fun one! Highly recommended!

3.20.2017 - The Idea of You

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is definitely an emotional read and a very personal one for the author. Lucy is an executive in a marketing firm in London when she meets Jonah at a baby christening and they begin their fairy tale marriage. Lucy is older and is desperate for a baby but finds out that things aren't as easy as she had hoped.

When Jonah's teenage stepdaughter comes to spend the summer with them, their relationship also isn't easy. Lucy struggles with jealousy and fears that Camille's arrival is taking the place of her dreams for a baby.

Interspersed are emotional letters that Lucy is writing whose meaning becomes more clear as you read the book.

This is a quick read, one I couldn't put down and one that deals with a subject that will resonate with so many. It also makes you think about motherhood and family and all the various forms that can take.

3.18.207 - Silver and Salt

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a difficult, painful read but a wonderfully-written look into a family fraught with dysfunction and mental illness.

Max is a celebrated photographer who meets and marries, Sophia, an opera singer. He whisks her away from London and her singing world and goes off on his photography trips, eventually leaving her with two small girls. Max is never around and when he is, he's distant and abusive to his wife and girls. Sophia eventually lapses into mental illness. Beatrice, Max's sister, eventually swoops in to care for the girls.

Vinny is the oldest and strongest daughter. She excels at school and is focused on her study of languages. Ruthie is the youngest and doesn't cope well with her parents' absence. Max eventually tries to teach Ruthie photography, but is still abusive and mean in his methods while Ruthie strives for his attention and praise.

When Max passes away, the sisters meet at their villa in Greece. A family is also on the compound vacationing, and Ruthie becomes obsessed with the young daughter, Annie. Annie's brother, Edward, is cruel to Annie and it opens up a plethora of past memories, spiraling Ruthie into the same mental illness as her mother.

A remarkably-written book about such a painful subject.