Started: 7/5/18
Finished: 7/24/18
Year: 2003
Pages: 390
Genre: historical
Grade: A
Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life. Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men-the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction."
Opinion: This is one of the better nonfiction novels that I have read. It reads like a good fiction novel with twists. It was the winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and I can see why. The develop of Chicago for the World's Fair could be boring but Larson has made it enjoyable. I highly recommend this book.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
Started: 7/18/18
Finished: 7/20/18
Year: 1993 (this edition)
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: reread as part of a bookring for Grafton's books
Blurb (from back cover): "Kinsey had been out for most of the morning and the client was waiting in the corridor.
"Nikki Fife. The eight years since Kinsey had seen her had left no visible scars. But now she was looking for the help that only a detective could provide.
"For whoever had killed her husband, it wasn't Nikki Fife. And if his wife wasn't the murderer, that meant someone else was..."
Opinion: Grafton's books are good enough to reread. And it is has been several years since I read this the first time so I had forgotten the whodunit.
Finished: 7/20/18
Year: 1993 (this edition)
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: reread as part of a bookring for Grafton's books
Blurb (from back cover): "Kinsey had been out for most of the morning and the client was waiting in the corridor.
"Nikki Fife. The eight years since Kinsey had seen her had left no visible scars. But now she was looking for the help that only a detective could provide.
"For whoever had killed her husband, it wasn't Nikki Fife. And if his wife wasn't the murderer, that meant someone else was..."
Opinion: Grafton's books are good enough to reread. And it is has been several years since I read this the first time so I had forgotten the whodunit.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima
Started: 6/29/18
Finished: 7/15/18
Year: 2018
Pages: 280
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Colorado's Redstone Ridge is a place of extraordinary beauty, but this rugged mountain wilderness harbors a horrifying secret. When a charred body is discovered in a shallow grave on the ridge. Officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called in to spearhead the investigation. But this is no ordinary crime-and it son becomes clear that Mattie has a close, personal connection to the dead man.
"Joined by local veterinarian Cole Walker, the pair scours the mountaintop for evidence and makes another gruesome discovery: the skeletonized remains of two adults and a child. And then, the unthinkable happens. Could Mattie become the next victim in the murderer's deadly game?
"A deranged killer torments Mattie with a litany of dark secrets that call into question her very identity. As a towering blaze races across the ridge, Cole and Robo search desperately for her."
Opinion: I have not read the previous books in this series but I will be on the search for them. I was quickly swept into the story and the characters. For a more thorough review, please find it on MyShelf.com
Finished: 7/15/18
Year: 2018
Pages: 280
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Colorado's Redstone Ridge is a place of extraordinary beauty, but this rugged mountain wilderness harbors a horrifying secret. When a charred body is discovered in a shallow grave on the ridge. Officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called in to spearhead the investigation. But this is no ordinary crime-and it son becomes clear that Mattie has a close, personal connection to the dead man.
"Joined by local veterinarian Cole Walker, the pair scours the mountaintop for evidence and makes another gruesome discovery: the skeletonized remains of two adults and a child. And then, the unthinkable happens. Could Mattie become the next victim in the murderer's deadly game?
"A deranged killer torments Mattie with a litany of dark secrets that call into question her very identity. As a towering blaze races across the ridge, Cole and Robo search desperately for her."
Opinion: I have not read the previous books in this series but I will be on the search for them. I was quickly swept into the story and the characters. For a more thorough review, please find it on MyShelf.com
Sunday, July 08, 2018
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
Started: 6/12/18
Finished: 7/7/18
Year: 2005
Pages: 325
Genre: Fiction
Grade: C
Reason for reading: participant in bookray through Bookcrossing.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, seven former schoolmates gather for a wedding.
"Bridget, the mother of a fifteen-year-old boy, is marrying Bill-who was her lover at Kidd Academy years ago-after a chance encounter has brought them together again. Nora, the owner of the inn, has agreed to host this reunion of her old friends, a group that was once close as only high school friends can be but was scattered by a tragedy that occurred just before graduation.
"It is a disparate crew that gathers in the gorgeous winter light. Bridget faces uncertainties about her health and her future that have made this wedding all the more urgent. Nora has recently had to reinvent her life following the death of her renowned husband. Harrison, who still hears echoes from the tragic event at Kidd twenty-seven years ago, has made a life and family for himself in Toronto but is now drawn to Nora even more strongly than he was in the past. These four join Jerry, now a Wall Street banker with a disdainful wife; Rob, a well-loved concert pianist, and his love, Josh; and Agnes, a history teacher at Kidd Academy who longs to tell a secret she has sworn never to reveal.
"Throughout the wedding weekend, the guests uncover the choices and chances that have transformed them in the years since high school, and delve for the first time into what really happened the night that changed all their lives. Even as these dramas unfold, Agnes tells another tale, that of the terrible explosion that devastated the city of Halifax during World War I. One young surgeon's feats of heroism during this cataclysm resonate powerfully with present-day events, as he deals with undreamed-of exigencies and makes an agonizing choice between passion and loyalty."
Opinion: The main story of the reunion of former high school classmates was okay but could have been better. There was no point at all to Agnes' story of the surgeon. I didn't understand the point as I read it and then skimmed through it from middle to end, or after letting the book soak in after I finished it. The character development could have been stronger. It could have allowed readers to love or hate the characters instead of just floating through the story.
Finished: 7/7/18
Year: 2005
Pages: 325
Genre: Fiction
Grade: C
Reason for reading: participant in bookray through Bookcrossing.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, seven former schoolmates gather for a wedding.
"Bridget, the mother of a fifteen-year-old boy, is marrying Bill-who was her lover at Kidd Academy years ago-after a chance encounter has brought them together again. Nora, the owner of the inn, has agreed to host this reunion of her old friends, a group that was once close as only high school friends can be but was scattered by a tragedy that occurred just before graduation.
"It is a disparate crew that gathers in the gorgeous winter light. Bridget faces uncertainties about her health and her future that have made this wedding all the more urgent. Nora has recently had to reinvent her life following the death of her renowned husband. Harrison, who still hears echoes from the tragic event at Kidd twenty-seven years ago, has made a life and family for himself in Toronto but is now drawn to Nora even more strongly than he was in the past. These four join Jerry, now a Wall Street banker with a disdainful wife; Rob, a well-loved concert pianist, and his love, Josh; and Agnes, a history teacher at Kidd Academy who longs to tell a secret she has sworn never to reveal.
"Throughout the wedding weekend, the guests uncover the choices and chances that have transformed them in the years since high school, and delve for the first time into what really happened the night that changed all their lives. Even as these dramas unfold, Agnes tells another tale, that of the terrible explosion that devastated the city of Halifax during World War I. One young surgeon's feats of heroism during this cataclysm resonate powerfully with present-day events, as he deals with undreamed-of exigencies and makes an agonizing choice between passion and loyalty."
Opinion: The main story of the reunion of former high school classmates was okay but could have been better. There was no point at all to Agnes' story of the surgeon. I didn't understand the point as I read it and then skimmed through it from middle to end, or after letting the book soak in after I finished it. The character development could have been stronger. It could have allowed readers to love or hate the characters instead of just floating through the story.
Thursday, July 05, 2018
Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver
Started: 6/1/18
Finished: 7/4/18
Year: 2015
Pages: 579
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of 'fire' are raised and, panicked, people run for the doors, only to find them blocked. Some of the concertgoers die in the ensuing rush, scores are seriously injured. But it's the panic and the stampede that killed them; there was no fire.
"Kathryn Dance-a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert-discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning peoples own fears into weapons, has more attacks planned. She and her team must race against the clock to find where he will strike next before more innocents die."
Opinion: This was a standard Deaver book featuring Dance. Some interesting twists involving Dance's family that wasn't expected. The plot was interesting in how a person used people's own fears to kill. Any fan of Deaver will appreciate this book.
Finished: 7/4/18
Year: 2015
Pages: 579
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of 'fire' are raised and, panicked, people run for the doors, only to find them blocked. Some of the concertgoers die in the ensuing rush, scores are seriously injured. But it's the panic and the stampede that killed them; there was no fire.
"Kathryn Dance-a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert-discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning peoples own fears into weapons, has more attacks planned. She and her team must race against the clock to find where he will strike next before more innocents die."
Opinion: This was a standard Deaver book featuring Dance. Some interesting twists involving Dance's family that wasn't expected. The plot was interesting in how a person used people's own fears to kill. Any fan of Deaver will appreciate this book.
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