9.30.2020 - Confessions on the 7:45

Many thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Books for the gifted digital ARC of Lisa Unger's fabulous new book - another 5 star thrill ride!

Selena Murphy is the breadwinner of her family after her husband, Graham, lost his job.  They have two small boys and a nanny, Geneva, to help out. When Selena misses her train home, she's not altogether devastated to have 2 hours to call her own where she's not an employee, wife or mother.  When she gets on the 7:45 train to go home, a young woman sits next to her and confesses that she's having an affair with her boss.  Selena feels a connection to this woman, Martha, and feels free to unburden the fact that she saw Graham and Geneva having an affair on the nanny cam.  But soon, things veer totally out of control and Selena's life as she knows it implodes.

You're best going into this book with as little knowledge as possible.  There are many layers of secrets and lies between many characters that weave in and out of each other's lives.  Lisa Unger is a master of keeping all these balls up in the air and will leave you breathless as you race through the book.  What lies would you tell to keep your family intact?  When does the perfect instagram family become the ideal rather than the reality?  What part of ourselves are we willing to push down to accept others' behavior?  

9.27.2020 - The End of the Day

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read and review a digital copy of the latest novel by Bill Clegg - 3.5 stars rounded up for a wonderfully-written character novel.

The book mainly centers around Dana, Jackie and Lupita whose lives intersected in different ways when they were teenagers.  In the present time, we see how those lives turned out and how the decisions made back then influenced so many others.  Dana was the daughter of very wealthy parents and lived lives the other girls couldn't imagine.  Jackie became her best friend while Lupita's family worked for Dana's.  We learn how secrets, misconceptions, jealousy and loyalty all come into play into these relationships.

The writing is beautiful and it draws you into these characters.  However, with so many different POV and timelines going back and forth, it was a bit confusing to keep everyone's story straight.  Plus, none of the characters really resonated with me or were extremely likable although I found myself relating to bits and pieces of their stories.  It is a great character study to see how our actions really affect others.

9.25.2020 - The Nesting

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and C.J. Cooke for the opportunity to read this wonderful atmospheric novel - 4.5 stars!

It's fall and the perfect time to lose yourself in a Nordic suspense/folklore novel!  This one will surely fit the bill as the book opens with the death of Aurelia - as she plunges off a cliff to her death.  But was she killing herself due to postpartum depression or was it an abusive husband or something unworldly?  As we settle back in present time, Lexi is just recovering from a suicide attempt when her boyfriend breaks up with her.  She is instantly homeless with no prospects.  A chance bus encounter leads to her becoming Sophie and a nanny to Aurelia's two young girls in a very remote house in Norway.  Lexi/Sophie just wanted some time to recover, to work on her book, and have a place to live.  She never dreamed of falling in love with the two girls in her charge.  When things take a creepy turn, she realizes she'll do anything to keep them from harm.  

The book went from chapters of "Then" when we learn what Aurelia was going through to "Now."  The similarities of the possible hallucinations of both women are scary.  I really loved how Lexi/Sophie evolved - from being a depressed girl with no prospects to being so wonderful with the girls.  

This is a perfect creepy book to curl up with under a thick blanket.  The descriptions of the stark Norwegian landscape and the house literally hanging over the cliff add to the suspense in this book.  I loved the subplot of the repercussions of changing nature - very apt in this time of such climate worries.  

9.22.2020 - The Book of Two Ways

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House/Ballantine Books and Jodi Picoult for the opportunity to read her latest novel - 4.5 stars rounded up.

The story unfolds with a plane crash as Dawn is on her way home to her family in Boston.  But her family is not the first thing that comes to mind and she faces the possibility of her death - it's the man and the life she left behind in Egypt 15 years ago.  When the airline offers to fly her anywhere, Egypt is where she goes.  The book then alternates between her life in Boston and Egypt as different choices are made.  

I've been a huge Jodi Picoult fan since I first read The Pact more than 20 years ago.  I've devoured each one of her books since then and love how she is able to pick a controversial subject and truly show and make you feel both sides.  This book exemplifies that theme, with showing two different life paths and how to make decisions that you know will hurt you and others.  

I'm not sure I've read a more meticulously researched book on so many different subjects.  You will read and learn so much Egyptology, quantum physics, and the culture of death.  I'm sure the vast information overload will bog down many readers but I personally thought that there were so many important life lessons in this book.  I was fascinated with Dawn's job as a death doula and loved the conversations she had with her client, Win, as she faced her death from cancer.  There's also the theme of how we choose our paths - are we selfish when we choose others' feelings before ours?  Or are we selfish when we choose what we want?  

Would be such a great book club read since there is so much to talk about.

9.21.2020 - The Last Agent

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Robert Dugoni for gifting me a digital ARC of the second in the Charles Jenkins series - another 5 star read!  If you haven't read The Eighth Sister, start there because otherwise you'll miss a long of the fabulous back story.

Charles is done with his trial for treason and is finally back home on his farm with wife and two children when an agent approaches him with a request for his help - to try and rescue Paulina, the agent who saved his life on his last mission in Russia.  They aren't sure if it's even Paulina who is in jail but Charles is convinced it's her and decides he has no choice but to try and rescue her.  Then let the games begin!

This is another fabulous read by Robert Dugoni who, by the way, writes in so many different genres and all most excellently!  I love the cat and mouse games that will keep you guessing as to the real plan.  Plus - how do you know who to trust?  Russian spy novels wouldn't be my top pick but when it's written by Dugoni, you know you're in for a wild ride.  Looking forward to more in this series!

9.13.2020 - Other People's Pets

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and R.L. Maizes for the opportunity to read her debut novel - 4.5 stars rounded up for such an imaginative story that really pulled me in.

La La Fine was raised by her dad, Zev, after her mom left.  Zev was a locksmith but used his skills to run a profitable burglary operation on the side.  As a child, Zev brought her along on his jobs breaking into homes, teaching her his tricks, and using her ability as an animal empath to quiet the animals they encountered.  Although she was denied a normal childhood and schooling, La La works at a vet clinic and is almost through veterinary school when Zev is charged with burglary that could turn even worse.  La La puts her dreams on hold to try and pay for his lawyer the only way she knows how - by committing burglary - justifying it by only breaking into homes with animals that are in need of assistance.  Soon everything catches up to her and she starts losing all that is dear to her.

Even though I"m not the biggest animal lover, I loved the premise of La La being able to feel what the animals felt and help them.  But this book shines in La La's journey into realizing what is important in life and not letting her past ruin her future.  The writing is perfect - while the characters continue to make bad decisions, you feel for them and ultimately root for them.  There are plenty of moments that will make you smile as well as those that will leave you with a tear in your eye.  Great book!

9.11.2020 - Don't Look for Me

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Wendy Walker for the opportunity to read and review her fabulous new thriller - 5 stars for a book you won't be able to put down.  On a personal note - I read this book right after I read Dear Child - both kidnapping books.  So even without a global pandemic - I may never leave my house again!

Five years after a horrific accident that killed her youngest daughter, Molly is trying to get through each day but it feels like the rest of her family is slipping through her fingers.  Her husband, John, may be having an affair; her oldest daughter, Nicole, is acting out and they were just in a horrible fight.  Her son, Evan, is away at boarding school but she travels to all his home football games.  When she gets to his game, he blatantly ignores her.  Desperate, she heads for home as a powerful storm sweeps through the area.  Then she runs out of gas.  When a truck stops to pick her up, she thinks her prayers are answered, but is her nightmare just beginning?  When Molly doesn't come home, her family starts searching for her until they find a note saying she left and not to look for her.  

I seriously questioned every male in this book as the "bad" guy and was still surprised at the ending.  This book has the absolute creepy atmosphere of being held against your will in the middle of the woods and the author is so skilled and making you feel all of that fear and desperation.  The story is told in alternating POVs from Molly and her daughter, Nicole.  It is a gripping, suspenseful read that you just can't miss!