The Cloud of Unknowing by Thomas H. Cook

Started: 9/21/13
Finished: 9/25/13
Year: 2007
Pages: 310
Genre: Literature
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from the library
Blurb (from book jacket): "David Sears grew up in the shadow of his brilliant younger sister, Diana, convinced by their father that she would accomplish great things. Instead, she married and had a son, Jason, who-like David and Diana's father-is schizophrenic. Her husband, Mark, a geneticist, never made peace with Jason's condition.
"Perhaps this is why, when Jason drowns, Diana will not accept the authorities' conclusion that his death was accidental. Or perhaps Diana is going mad. She begins to send David faxes and e-mails about ancient murders, driven by her growing belief that the earth is Gaia, a living witness to her son's murder who could give evidence in the case she is building againsst her husband. David soon fears for his own family's safety as the seductive qualities of Diana's manic energy become impossible to ignore."
Opinion: An interesting tale told in present day (conversation with a police detective) and in flashbacks that appear to be current day. A compelling story of how a family deals with schizophrenia and how it effects generations.

The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook

Started: 9/19/13
Finished: 9/21/13
Year: 2010
Pages: 275
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Lucas Page, once an ambitious historian, now resigned to mediocrity, visits St. Louis to give a sparsely attended reading-nothing out of the ordinary. Except among the yawning attendees is someone he did not expect: Lola Faye Gilroy, the 'other woman' he has long blamed for his father's murder decades earlier.
"Reluctantly, Luke joins Lola Faye for a drink. As one drink turns into several, these two battered souls relive, from their different perspectives, the most searing experience of their lives. Slowly but surely, the hotel bar dissolves around them and they are transported back to the tiny southern town where this defining moment-a violent crime of passion-is turned in the light once more to reveal flaws in the old answers. As it turns out, there is much Luke doesn't know. And what he doesn't know can hurt him. Trapped in an increasingly intense emotional exchange, and with no place to go save into his own dark past, Luke struggles to gain control of an ever more threatening conversation, to discover why Lola Faye has come and what she is after-before it is too late."
Opinion: A simple idea: a conversation with someone from the past, turns into a really good novel. Cook does a great job in turning this simple idea into compassion for both main characters.

The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook

Started: 9/18/13
Finished: 9/19/13
Year: 2011
Pages: 346
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Thomas Danforth has lived a fortunate life. The son of a wealthy importer, he wandered the globe in his youth, and now, in his twenties, he lives in New York City and runs the family business. It is 1939 and the world is on the brink of war, but his life is untroubled, his future assured. Then, on a snowy evening walk along Gramercy Park, a friend makes a fateful request-and involves Thomas in a dangerous idea that could change the fates of millions.
"Danforth is to provide access to his secluded Connecticut mansion, where a mysterious woman will receive training in firearms and explosives. Thus begins an international plot carried out by the strange and alluring Anna Klein-a plot that will ensnare Thomas in more ways than one. When it all goes wrong and Anna disappears, his quest across a war-torn world begins..."
Opinion: Interesting tale during World War II. It is told between flashbacks and current time which makes it interesting to go back and forth between time. The ending is what made it not be graded a C.

Decadence by Eric Jerome Dickey

Started: 9/14/13
Finished: 9/18/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 350
Genre: erotica/romance
Grade: C
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Four years have passed in the life of Nia Simone Bijou, and she is approaching the height of her artistic powers. A film she has written is poised for international success, the studio is eager for a sequel, and the media are fascinated by her work. Yet her imaginative mind is wandering.
"Though Nia is much desired-by the mysterious, often unavailable international businessman, Prada, with whom she enjoys unprecedented attraction; by the fit local veteran, Brett, who puts her through her paces, most often during grueling road training sessions-her first love, Chris, is never far from her thoughts. When Nia receives an invitation to the exclusive pleasure palace known as Decadence, her romantic world gives way to an abundance of sensory experience she could never have imagined.
"Even as the Hollywood premier of her potentially career-changing film approaches, she is drawn further into this forbidden lifestyle. Under the influence of glamorous, sensuous new friends, Nia abandons all caution, and her ability to balance truth and fantasy becomes increasingly blurred. Will her relationship with Prada survive countless temptations? Will her professional achievements be fiven over to impulsive indulgence? Does decadence know any bounds?"
Opinion: This book has a plot mixed in with a lot of erotic scenes. At times the erotica could be a little too much. In this day and age, safer sex should have been approached more than it was and it made the main character and several supporting characters not care about themselves or their partners. I found that part distracting.

The Ghost Hunter's Favorite Cases by Hans Holzer

Started: 7/3/13
Finished: 9/11/13
Year: 2003
Pages: 650
Genre: Paranormal
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from back cover): "These gripping tales of American psychic experiences cover a wide range of Han Holzer's ventures in that shadowy area between death and life; from famous Hollywood ghosts; to confused colonial apparitions; to even a few White House visitations.
"These real-life tales of hauntings and ghostly occurrences demonstrate that the Other World is always with us, and that psychic phenomena can happen anywhere, at any time, even in the homes of the most skeptical."
Opinion: Some interesting stories and some odd hauntings. Some stories have been legends and have been retold several times. A good collection of some paranormal cases.

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood

Started: 9/4/13
Finished: 9/7/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 292
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obesessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways.
Opinion: Fairly predictable who is who in the book but done is such an intriguing and delicate way establishing their connection.

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Started: 9/2/13
Finished: 9/4/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 348
Genre: Literature/fiction
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from the library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Leslie Anne Greene Carter is the Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley's wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children that they promised to love and cherish-'til death did them part-for tanned and toned Barbie brides.
"As if losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn't painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les's world and push her to the edge. She's had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he's doing her a favor by keeping her around. She's not going to waste another minute on people she doesn't care to know. Now she's going to take some time for herself-in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother's stately historic home, she's going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivans Island. Along Charleston's live-oak and palmetto-lined cobblestone streets and under the Lowcountry's dazzling blue sky. Les will indulge herself with icy cocktails, warm laughter, divine temptation, and bittersweet memories. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants...and find the life of which she's always dreamed."
Opinion: A great story for anyone, especially women, who are fighting against who they truly are. Good inspiring characterization in Leslie.

The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

Started: 9/2/13
Finished: 9/2/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 252
Genre: Literature
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: borrowed from the library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Unexpectedly widowed Gwen-Laura Schmidt is still mourning her husband, Edwin, when her older sister Margot invites her to join forces as roommates in Margot's luxurious Village apartment. For Margot, divorced amid scandal (hint: her husband was a fertility doctor) and then made Ponzi-poor, it's a chance to shake Gwen out of her grief and help make ends meet. To further this effort she enlists a third boarder, the handsome, cupcake-baking Anthony.
"As the three swap money-making schemes and timid Gwen ventures back out into the dating world, the arrival of Margot's paroled ex in the efficiency apartment downstairs creates not just complications but the chance for all sorts of unexpected forgiveness."
Opinion: A lot of potential but the story lacked something and I cannot put my finger on it. Some good laugh out loud moments.

Love Saves the Day by Gween Cooper

Started: 8/25/13
Finished: 9/2/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 312
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "When five-week-old Prudence meets a woman named Sarah in a deserted construction site on Manhattan's Lower East Side, she knows she's found the human she was meant to adopt. For three years their lives are filled with laughter, tuna, catnaps, music, and the unchanging routines Prudence craves. Then one day Sarah doesn't come home. From Prudence's perch on the windowsill she sees Laura, the daughter who hardly ever comes to visit Sarah, arrive with her new husband. They're carrying boxes. Before they even get to the front door, Prudence realizes that her life has changed forever.
"Suddenly Prudence finds herself living in a strange apartment with humans she barely knows. It could take years to train them in the feline courtesies and customs (for example, a cat should always be fed before the humas, and at the same exact time every day) that Sarah understood so well. Prudence clings to the hope that Sarah will come back for her while Laura, a rising young coporate attorney, tries to push away membories of her mother and the tumultuous childhood spent in her mother's dusty downtown record store. But the secret joys, past hurts, and life-changing moments that make every mother-daughter relationship special will come to the surface. With Prudence's help Laura will learn that the past, like a mother's love, never dies."
Opinion: A sweet and touching story told in a cat's, their main human's, and another human's perspective.

Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King

Started: 8/27/13
Finished: 8/31/13
Year: 2012
Pages: 361
Genre: Non fiction
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Arguably the most important American lawyer of the twentieth century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court when he become embroiled in an explosive and deadly case that threatened to change to course of the civil rights movement and cost him his life.
"In 1949, Florida's orange industry was booming, and citrus barons got rich on the backs of cheap Jim Crow labor. To maintain order and profits, they turned to Willis V. McCall, a violent sheriff who ruled Lake County with murderous resolve. When a white seventeen-year-old Groveland girl cried rape, McCall was fast on the trail of four young blacks who dared to envision a future for themselves beyond the citrus groves. By day's end, the Ku Klux Klan had rolled into town, burning the homes of blacks to the ground and chasing hundreds into the swamps, hell-bent on lynching the young men who came to be known as 'the Groveland Boys.'
"And so began the chain of events that would bring Thurgood Marshall, the man known as 'Mr. Civil Rights,' into the deadly fray. Associates thought it was suicidal for him to wade into the 'Florida Terror' at a time when he was irreplaceable to the burgeoning civil rights movement, but the lawyer would not shrink form the fight-not after the Klan had murdered one of Marshall's NAACP associates involved with the case and Marshall had endured continual threats that he would be next."
Opinion: An interesting case where it continues to amaze me the closed mindedness of others, just based on a person's skin.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Started: 8/20/13
Finished: 8/27/13
Year: 2008
Pages: 270
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer's eyes, it's in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama-desire, despair, jealousy, hope and love.
"At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognized the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse."
Opinion: This was a heartfelt collection of short stories all intertwined around Olive Kitteridge.

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout

Started: 8/13/13
Finished: 8/16/13
Year: 2006
Pages: 294
Genre: Literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "In the late 1950s, in the small town of West Annett, Maine, a minister struggles to regain his calling, his family, and his happiness in the wake of profound loss. At the same time, the community he has served so charismatically must come to terms with its own strengths and failings-faith and hypocrisy, loyalty and abandonment-when a dark secret is revealed."
Opinion: I had read an interview in The Writer magazine and thought that I would enjoy her books. This one left me disappointed. It wasn't horrible but I was expecting a little more. I will read her other ones before I totally write her off.

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy

Started: 8/9/13
Finished: 8/13/13
Year: 2012
Pages: 324
Genre: literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy. Helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the house) and Orla, her niece (a whiz at business), Chikcy is finally ready to welcome the first guests to Stone House's big warm kitchen, log fires, and understated elegant bedrooms. John, the American movie star, thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian are forced into taking a holiday together; Nicola and Henry, husband and wife, have been shaken by seeing too much death practicing medicine; Anders hates his father's business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired schoolteacher, criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone's relief; the Walls are disappointed to have won this second-prize holiday in a contest where first prize was Paris; and Freda, the librarian, is afraid of her own psychic visions."
Opinion: Very typical Binchy. Great character development.

Shadow Woman by Linda Howard

Started: 8/8/13
Finished:  8/9/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 319
Genre: mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and makes a terrifying discovery: she doesn't recognize the face she sees in the mirror. She remembers what she looks like, but her reflection is someone else's. To add to the shock, two years seem to have disappeared from her life. Someone has gone to great and inexplicable lengths to keep those missing years hidden forever. But the past always finds a way to return.
"Strange memories soon begin to surface and, along with them, some unusual skills and talents that Lizette hasn't a clue about acquiring. Sensing that she's being monitored, Lizette suddenly knows how to search for bugs in her house and tracking devices in her car. What's more, she can elude surveillance-like a trained agent.
"Enter a mysterious and seductive stranger named Xavier, who claims he wants to help-but who triggers disturbing images of an unspeakable crime of which Lizette may or may not be the perpetrator. With memories returning, she suddenly becomes a target of anonymous assassins. On the run with nowhere to hide, Lizette has no choice but to rely on Xavier, a strong and magnetic man she doesn't trust, with a powerful attraction she cannot resist. As murky waters become clear, Lizette confronts a conspiracy that is treacherous and far-reaching and a truth that, once revealed, may silence her and Xavier once and for all.
Opinion: Not a bad mystery. Had me trying to figure out who Lizette was and how she fit into the prologue.

Haunted Theaters by Tom Ogden

Started: 8/6/13
Finished: 8/7/13
Year: 2009
Pages: 256 pages
Genre: Paranormal
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from back cover): "The hard part isn't finding theaters that are haunted-it's finding theaters that aren't. Haunted Theaters comprises thirty-five suspenseful stories of spooky visitations and supernatural happenings in historic theaters, opera houses, and other stages from Broadway to America's many regional theaters, from Canada to London's West End. Each tale is guaranteed to entertain-and have you clenching your teeth."
Opinion: Some very interesting stories about some haunted theaters. Was interesting to read about the ones that I've actually been to.

Poppet by Mo Hayder

Started: 8/2/13
Finished: 8/6/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 378
Genre: mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "Something is not right at the Beechway psychiatric unit. First one resident turns violently to self-harm, then another to suicide-both of them recalcitrant patients with no prior history of self-directed violence. Whispers between the inmates have traveled to the staff that the place is being terrorized by a creature called The Maude. Clinic higher-ups dismiss this as superstition, but the surviving victim certainly saw something. And what of the drawing the dead woman left behind, showing the creature wearing the sweater of a recently released patient? Staff nurse AJ LeGrande calls on Detective Jack Caffery to investigate, and what he learns about what's going on inside and outside the hospital will shock readers and place even individuals beyond the ward walls are in danger. And what of Flea Marley, the police diver whose dark secret Caffery has been keeping? Can he save her from herself, or will she take him down with her?
Opinion: Caffery and Marley seem to take a backseat to AJ and the happenings around the hospital. Definitely a good plot twist at the end that reminds me that everyone is a little abnormal in order to try to be normal.

Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started: 8/1/13
Finished: 8/1/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 323
Genre: mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "It's a hot, muggy evening, and the last thing Hannah wants to do is squeeze into a pair of pantyhose for the Grand Opening of the refurbished Albion Hotel. But with Hannah's famous Red Velvet cupcakes being served in the hotel's new Red Velvet lounge, she can't bring herself to back out.
"The party starts off with a bang with the unexpected arrival of Doctor Bev, a Lake Eden legend who left town in shame after she two-timed her fiance one too many times. Bev's splashy appearance on the arm of a wealthy investor is the talk of the night. But the gossip comes to a screeching halt when a partygoer takes a mysterious dive of the hotel's rooftop garden.
"The victim is the sheriff's secretary, Barbara Donnelly, and she is barely clinging to life. The question is, did she fall-or was she pushed? As the police investigate, the only one who isn't preoccupied with the case is Doctor Bev. She's too busy trying to stir things up with her old flame Norman, who's reunited with Hannah.
"Just as Hannah's patience with Bev runs dangerously thin, her rival is found dead at the bottom of Miller's Pond. The only clue the police have is the Red Velvet Cupcake Bev ate right before she died-and the tranquilizers someone seems to have baked into it. To everyone's shock, Hannah is now the unlikely target of a murder investigation-and she's feeling the heat in a way she never has before..."
Opinion: Even though I haven't heard any of Fluke's books in several years, I haven't felt like I've missed any part of Hannah's life. Predictable little cozy mystery with several great sounding recipes which I might try.

The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver

Started: 7/25/13
Finished: 8/1/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 477
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "It was a 'million-dollar bullet,' a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinatry mark: he was a United States citizen, targeted by the United States government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.
"The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.
"When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence-including the witnesses-Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer."
Opinion: Another great Rhyme/Sachs book by Deaver. Not predictable but follows the characters along nicely.

The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey

Started: 7/18/13
Finished: 7/24/13
Year: 2007
Pages: 331
Genre: mystery
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from back cover): "On the South Side of Chicago, you're only as strong as your reputation. Danny Carter and his best friend Evan earned theirs knocking over pawnshops and liquor stores, living from score to score, never thinking of tomorrow...until, in the roar of a gun blast, everything changed.
"Years later, Danny has built a new life: a legitimate career, a long-term girlfriend, and a clean conscience. He's just like anyone else. Normal. Successful. Happy. Until he spots his old partner staring him down in a smoky barroom mirror...
"Now, with all he loves on the line and nowhere to turn, Danny realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice: How far will he go to protect his future from his past?"
Opinion: A great debut book from Sakey. Great twists and turns with an ending that most would not predict.

The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper

Started: 7/16/13
Finished: 7/17/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 285
Genre: suspense/horror
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): " Professor David Ullman is among the world's leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton's Paradise Lost. Not that David's is a believer-he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a 'phenomenon,' he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.
"That evening, David's wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. The girl has recently been stricken by thte same melanchly moods David knows so well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home.
"But what happens in Venice will change everything.
"First, in a tiny attic room at the address provided by the Thin Woman, David sees a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane...but could he truly be possessed? Then the man speaks clearly, in the voice of David's dead father, repeating that last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars-and a mystery-behind.
"When David rushes back to the hotel, he witnesses Tess perched on the roof's edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.
"What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever."
Opinion: Having never read Paradise Lost I did not find myself lost in the references. This was full of action and excitement. A good read.