Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Happy 4th of July and a few short book reviews



Wishing everyone a peaceful day!

Right Behind You; Lisa Gardner
(Book #7 of the Quincy and Rainie Series)
Brilliance Audio - 2017

The story begins with when Sharlah May Nash was just 5 years old and living with her older brother Telly Ray and their alcoholic and drug abusing parents.  One terrible night, in an attempt to protect his little sister, the parents end up dead and the siblings separated in foster care.

Now 13, Sharlah is about to be adopted by FBI profilers Quincy & wife Raine, and the brother Sharlah hasn't seen is 8 years is on the run after he is wanted for questioning for the deaths of his foster parents and some store clerks.

While Quincy & Rainie try to protect Sharlah from harm, they try to piece together what has happened in the last 8 years to Telly.

Although this was book #7 of a series, it wasn't necessary to read the previous books to enjoy this one. There were good plot twists and it was a fun story to listen to on a recent road trip.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars


 The Banker's Wife; Christina Alger
GP Putnam & Sons - 2018
(eGalley)

A private plane carrying Swiss United banker, Matthew Weiner and his assistant crashes as they fly to Geneva.  He leaves behind his young widow, Annabel whose life soon turns chaotic when it appears she is being followed.  As Annabel delves deeper into Michael's business she soon realizes that that her life might just be in danger.

Back in New York, Marina is engaged to the grandson of a presidential candidate and, although she planned to stop working as a journalist, the unexpected death of her mentor makes her want to find out more.

Readers who enjoy political intrigue, international conspiracy and mystery might want to try this one.

Rating - 3.5/5 stars

The Waiting Room; Emily Bleeker
Lake Union Publishing - 2018
(eGalley)

Veronica Shelton is a children's book illustrator now suffering from postpartum depression. She hasn't even been able to hold her baby for the last 6 months so her mother has taken on that role.  She's in therapy as she's also dealing with the loss of her husband.

As things seem to be improving slightly, her infant daughter goes missing and Veronica becomes the prime suspect.

This is a story that hooked me immediately but, soon began to feel like just another story with an unstable, unreliable narrator.  I do think that readers who like twisty, psychological fiction might want to try this as it was a very quick read.

Rating - 3.5/5 stars

15 comments:

  1. A good one and a not so good one. Happy Independence Day!

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  2. Right Behind You sounds terrific! Have a safe, fun holiday!

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    1. The audio was very good Kathy,even though Hadn't read all of that series. Hope you enjoy the 4th.

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  3. The Waiting Room sounds good, but I'm growing very weary of unreliable narrators.

    I hope you have a fun 4th! We're very happy to live somewhere that doesn't sound like a war zone for an entire week before and after today. Our old neighborhood was terrible this time of year!

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    1. It's not too noisy here around the 4th (we live in a large condo complex, but, we can hear a bit of the larger, noisier ones from neighboring towns.

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  4. Hi Diane,
    You've been busy what with this hot weather.
    I really like the sound of The Waiting Room--fascinating premise. I do like psychological suspense with unreliable narrators. In fact, the best thriller I read this year was The Woman in the Window, published this past January--definitely worth a look, if you like this sort of thing.

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    1. Judith, I also enjoyed The Woman in the Window (Finn) - that was one that kept me guessing for the most part. I read the author had worked for a publishing house (Finn, not real name).

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  5. Right Behind You sounds good with an interesting twist on the usual FBI-type of novel.

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    1. It was good to get back to Lisa Gardner as I have enjoyed several of her books in the past.

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  6. The Lisa Gardner reminds me of a book I read a couple years ago with a similar premise. But it creeped me out so much I decided the author had just gone too far. It was titled Ill Will by Dan Chaon.

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    1. I also read "Ill Will" Judy and, yes, it did turn a bit creepy.

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  7. Happy 4th! I haven't read those authors.

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  8. Unreliable narrators are popular this year.

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