Book Review - The Sanatorium; Sarah Pearse

 

TITLE/AUTHOR:  The Sanatorium; Sarah Pearse

PUBLISHER: Pamela Dorman Books

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021

GENRE: Fiction / Psych Thriller

FORMAT:  Hardcover LENGTH: 400 pp

SOURCE:  library

SETTING(s):  Swiss Alps

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:  A slow psych thriller that ended up disappointing for me.

BRIEF REVIEW:   This novel had been hyped all over the place but, for me, it was the title and the cover that made me want to read it. I tried to stay away from reviews and honestly, I thought it was about a "sanatorium" --well, not exactly. It's the sanatorium's dark and troubled past that is significant here.

Once a remote "sanatorium", Le Sommet, is now a modern, minimalist, 5-star luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps.  The hotel sets the stage for a celebratory engagement party for Isaac and Laure where Laure is an Assistant Manager.  Among the invited guests is Elin Warner, the estranged sister of Isaac. She is a former police detective on leave from her job and also suffering from PTSD since her mother's death six months earlier and she is also still troubled by the death of her younger brother. Elin is not keen on attending the celebration since she has not been on speaking terms with her brother but, Laure was her best friend so she feels compelled to attend especially since she is not currently working.  She brings her boyfriend Will along for emotional support.

Rather quickly,  things go from bad to worse -  a blizzard makes the steep access road to the resort impassable, Laure ends up missing another person found dead.  Elin feels compelled to find out what is going on.  She even begins to suspect her own brother. The truth is Elin is a hot-mess.

While I loved the atmosphere of the novel, the set up reminded me very much of Ruth Ware's most recent novel, One By One.  In both novels - a resort, a blizzard or avalanche cuts off access and people end up missing or dead and both, for me,  had a less than satisfying plot.  While I wanted to like Elin because she had been through a lot, I soon found her super annoying and wondered how she was ever able to function as a detective.  I didn't like how the author decided to leave nothing to chance and  so she spelled out Elin's every move and thought, even some ridiculous ones.  I didn't find the motives compelling enough for murder nor did I find the twists all that believable. Finally, the ending seemed quite abrupt and it made me wonder about a possible sequel? If so, count me out. 

RATING:  2/5 stars

Book Reviews - Nothing to See Here; Kevin Wilson and Tomorrow There Will Be Sun; Dana Reinhardt

TITLE:  Nothing To See Here

AUTHOR:  Kevin Wilson

PUBLISHER:  Harper Audio

PUB. YEAR: 2020

Setting: TN and GA

Format: audio

Rating - 4/5

Lilian and Madison first met as unlikely roommates at an exclusive boarding school. Lilian was an over achiever and scholarship student while Madison came from a wealthy family and a bit of a party girl.  Despite their differences, the two girls became fast friends.  However, when an incident that resulted in expulsion occurs, and Madison was the guilty one, it is Lilian that takes the fall for her friend, and is forced to leave school in light of the scandal.

While Madison's life moves along onward and upward, now a wealthy heiress with an older husband in line to be the next Secretary of State, Lilian is stuck. So when Lilian receives a surprise letter from Madison with an urgent offer for employment as a governess to her husband's twin 10 year old children Bessie and Roland, Lilian is more than surprised.

The mother of the children has died and the children are a bit of a challenge. When the kids are stressed, upset or angry, they heat up and can burst into flames.  Of course, their father wants to keep this information quiet so that it won't have a negative affect on his political agenda. So Lilian is in for a big challenge after having accepted the job.

I felt badly for these two children who had been treated as an after thought during their young life. When Lilian steps in you can tell early on that this is going to be a win-win for her and the children.

Funny and tender, and so many themes like: social classes, loneliness and the power of love. I enjoyed this story even though it was a bit predictable. A creative plot line, I loved how it combined humor and tenderness and that the children finally began to feel love and security. 

TITLE:  Tomorrow There Will Be Sun
AUTHOR:  Dana Reinhardt
PUBLISHER:  Pamela Dorman Books
PUB. YEAR: 2019
Setting: Mexico
Format: print
Rating - 2.5/5

Two families complete with teenagers decide to vacation together at a 5-star resort in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. What could possibly go wrong?

Peter is celebrating his 50th birthday and he and Solly are also business partners. Before too long it seems like the two families have very little in common as they quickly begin to get on each others nerves.

The story covers a lot of people issues: marriage, children, aging and friendship. The writing is ofter both cynical and funny but, the lack of likable characters spoiled this one for me. Moral of the story for me: don't vacation with friends!  I actually read this one over a month ago but, felt uninspired to write anything about it until now.  Although I do like vacation themed books, this one wasn't a favorite.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Tomorrow There Will Be Sun; Dana Reinhardt

Welcome to First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. . Each week readers post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read soon.

Tomorrow There Will be Sun; Dana Reinhardt

Pamela Dorman Books - 2019

SATURDAY

"A perfectly prepared margarita (rocks, salt, subtle with the triple sec, less so with the tequila) placed in your hand when you didn't even ask, with an itty-bitty half lime floating up top. something local grown just down the street where the patchy pavement gives way to dirt, which then surrenders to jungle, can almost take the edge off a day of truly shitty airport mishaps.  Let's not recount them. Airport mishaps are dull.  They're like dreams.  We convince ourselves that ours are potboilers, cliffhangers, whodunits.  They're not.  And yet, despite the entirely predictable debacle that was our direct flight from LAX to PVR, in business class no less because those were the only seats left for which we could use miles and so drained our entire account, we still managed to arrive at Villa Azul Paraiso before the Solomons."

What do you think - read more or pass?  

Someone We Know; Shari Lapena

 

TITLE: Someone We Know

AUTHOR:  Shari Lapena

PUBLISHER: Pamela Dorman Books

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING: New York
FORMAT: print/Library

RATING - 4/5

A nice, safe neighborhood in upstate New York is shocked to learn their neighbor goes missing and soon after turns up dead. Amanda Pierce has been murdered and, although her husband  Robert is a suspect, there are a few people who might want the young, attractive and flirty woman out of their lives for good.

Meanwhile, a teenage boy from the same neighborhood has been breaking into houses and not stealing anything but, gaining access to the homeowner's computers and learning some secrets which are capable of causing havoc. Could there be any connection?

This is a novel where there are so many so many suspects, secret affairs and other motives. It is a  twisty thriller that had me wondering and changing my opinion about the killer several times over before I was done reading. Although I enjoyed this one, a quick read indeed, I didn't think it was quite as well plotted as the author's previous offerings, but, it was still a good read overall.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Someone We Know; Shari Lapena

Each Tuesday, Vicki, from I’d Rather Be At The Beach hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where readers post the opening paragraph(s) of a book that they are reading or plan to read.

Someone We Know; Shari Lapena

Pamela Dorman Books - 2019

PROLOGUE

Friday, September 29

"She's standing in the kitchen, looking out the large back windows. She turns towards me--there's a swing of thick brown hair--and I see the confusion and then the sudden fear in her wide brown eyes.   She has registered the situation, the danger.  Our eyes lock.  She looks like a beautiful, frightened animal.  But, I don't care. I feel a rush of emotion--pure, uncontrolled rage; I don't feel any pity for her at all.

We're both aware of the hammer in my hand. Time seems to slow down. It must be happening quickly, but it doesn't't feel that way. Her mouth opens, about to form words. But I'm not interested in what she has to say. Or maybe she was going to scream."

I haven't started this one yet (a favorite author), but I love the intro - how about you, would you read more?  

A Rainy Sunday and Week in Review

 It's been a rainy weekend so a good reason to stay in and get organized. Just packed away a lot of winter clothes and out with the spring weather stuff.  My husband bought me a Talbot's gift card for Valentine's Day and I saved it for some spring purchases.  These are a few of the newbies I picked that really seem to brighten up my spring wardrobe. I also picked a J. Jill white linen shirt, some linen pants and a couple of pairs of sandals and capris.

 Lobsters and Lemons 

Lemons are in this year so I simply couldn't resist these 2.

This past week we were away for a bit and we caught up with an old friend who will be moving to FL next month. We had a nice, visit over lunch and even happened to see an old neighbor that we hadn't seen in 11 years at the restaurant where we were dining.

Easter - We had a nice Easter dinner and birthday celebration last weekend. Our (2) sister granddaughters turned 5 and 7 in April -- hard to believe. The youngest granddaughter will also turn 5 this summer.


Bookish Stuff

I've been busy reading and need to catch up on some reviews as well. I can be easily swayed by the book reviews of respected bloggers so even though I hadn't planned on reading Daisy Jones and the Six, but, thanks to Ti @ Book Chatter's review I'm now listening to it and enjoying it.

My book group met last week to discuss The Immortalist; Chloe Benjamin - this book was a DNF for me last year, but I decided to give it a shot once again when my group picked it. I was glad I tried it once again - 4/5 stars.

Basically, it's a story about 4 siblings who back in 1969 lived in NYC. They visited a psychic who told each of them ( ages 7 thru 14 at the time) the dates that they would die. The story then plays out by seeing how each child choose to live their adult lives once they learned this information.

Out of the (13) or so that showed up for the meeting, only me and one other member wanted to know how long they would live if that info was available.

My book group consists of mostly older women 65+ with one newbie who is in her 20's and is a real delight.  Because this book starts out with some sexually explicit details regarding homosexual sex, I feared many of the women might not finish the book, but  that was a very small part of the story. Mostly everyone finished the book and the entire story made for an excellent and lively discussion. Honestly, the sexual explicit part was really a small part of the book.

Have you read the book? Would you want to know in advance the day you were destined to die?

New Books

• The Beekeeper of Aleppo; Christie Lefteri (sent by Ballentine Books
• The Secretary; Renee Knight (sent by Amazon Vine/Harper)
• Things My Son Needs To Know About the World; Fredrik Backman (sent by Atria)
• A Good Enough Mother; Bev Thomas (sent by Pamela Dorman Books)
• Cape May; Chip Cheek (sent by Celadon Books)

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Spring Flowers and Some New Books

We went to (2) spring flower shows over the past week and it sure helped with the "enough snow already doldrums". In case you need a spring pick me up, here's a few of the pictures I took.

Now about New Books which arrived at my doorstep.

• I Want My Hat Back; Jon Klassen (sent by Candlewick Press)
• A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park; Ashley Benham Yazdani (sent by Candlewick Press)
• The Eight Mountains; Paulo Cognetti (sent by Atria)
• My Life in a Cat House; Gwen Cooper (Amazon Vine - BenBella Books))
• Tomorrow There Will Be Sun; Dana Reinhardt sent by (Pamela Dorman Books)
• The Confession of Frannie Langton; Sara Collins (sent by Harper)

JoJo Moyes - After You and Still Me - 2 quick reviews

I read Me Before You, the first book in this 3 book trilogy in 2012, and, despite loving that book, books 2 and 3 of the trilogy sat on my shelves unread until this month. Here are a couple of brief reviews.

After You; Jojo Moyes

Penguin - 2015

TITLE: After You

AUTHOR: Jojo Moyes

PUBLISHER: Penguin

PUB. YEAR: 2015

SETTING:  UK
FORMAT:  - print

RATING: 4/5 stars

Book #2 takes place 18 months after the death of quadriplegic, Will Traynor. Louisa Clark was Will's caregiver and the two were in love.  Louisa is trying to get over Will's death, and with some money Will left her in his will,  she moves from her parents home in a small English village to a small flat in London. She's attending a support group with others who are grieving and still works as a barmaid at an airport bar.  However, we an accident leaves her unable to care for herself, she moves back to her parents until she recovers.

An unexpected visit from a 16 y/old girl named Lily who needs a place to stay takes Louisa by surprise, reminding her once again about the young man she lost and the fact that life does go on after a loved one dies.

I liked this one, perhaps not as much as book #1, but a good story all the same. This story winds down with Louisa receiving a job offer in the US, leaving a nice change of scene opportunity for Louisa in book #3.  I think most fans of Jojo Moyes should be pleased with this story.

Still Me; Jojo Moyes

Pamela Dorman Books - 2018

TITLE: Still Me

AUTHOR: Jojo Moyes

PUBLISHER: Pamela Dorman Books

PUB. YEAR: 2018

SETTING:  NYC
FORMAT:  - print

RATING: 3.5/5 stars

In Still Me, book #3, of the Me Before You trilogy, Louisa (Lou) has accepted a one year assignment as a social secretary to the wealthy Gopnik family in New York City.  Leonard Gopnik's new, younger wife Agnes, his formerly his masseuse, is feeling like a fish out of water.  As wife #2, this Polish immigrant is insecure about her new role and higher social class. The Gopniks occupy a 7,000 square foot 5th Avenue apartment overlooking Central Park. Louisa has a calming effect for Agnes yet, Lou must keep a delicate balance to ensure she doesn't overstep her role and lose her paycheck in the process.  Meanwhile, Louisa has met Joshua, a handsome young man, who reminds her of the love she lost, but, is she capable of keeping her emotions in check and her new life separate from the one she left behind?

This wasn't perfect but, I did enjoy watching Louisa navigate big city life in a new country.  A fun follow up novel overall.

An Unwanted Guest; Shari Lapena

TITLE: An Unwanted Guest

AUTHOR: Shari Lapena

PUBLISHER: Pamela Dorman Books

PUB. YEAR: 2018

SETTING:  Upstate NY
FORMAT:  - print (library)

RATING: 4.5/5 stars

Mitchell's Inn, a remote getaway nestled in the Catskill Mountains of NY is the perfect place for recharging oneself or for a romantic getaway. There's a wood burning fireplace, a wine cellar, a library full of books and games and more.  The snow is falling and soon a major blizzard and ice storm is in full play. The guests: an attractive wealthy young engaged couple, a middle aged couple whose marriage is on the rocks, two female friends, a female author working on a novel, a NYC lawyer acquitted of his wife's murder and the inn keeper and his son.

On the first night the storm has caused the Inn to lose power, the generator is not working, no phone, no WIFI, and everyone's cell phones are losing their charge.  Sometime during the night a woman's body is found at the bottom of the staircase and it looks like an accident, but is it?  The ice and blizzard prevent the medical examiner from promptly removing the body which puts the other guests on edge.  However, when a second and eventually third person dies, everyone is a suspect.

It seems that almost every guest has a secret which are slowly revealed. This is a fast-paced whodunit, reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". I must say, I liked the modern feel of this one, and, I didn't guess who the murderer was either. There were plenty of red-herrings to throw me off track.

I was happy to pick this one up from the library as I liked the author's 2 earlier books. The cover art really drew me and I thought it was just perfect based on how the story plays out.

The House Swap; Rebecca Fleet

The House Swap; Rebecca Fleet

Pamela Dorman Books - 2018

Personally, as a private person, I think the whole idea of a "house swap" is rather creepy. I'd never consider it, but, that is the set up for this novel.

Can a  one week "house swap" fix a crumbling marriage and a steamy affair?"  Caroline and Francis, who have been having some marriage difficulties, are willing to give this a try. In 2013, Francis was a therapist with some sort of a pill addiction. His wife, Caroline was the breadwinner, with primary responsibility for parenting are in need of an escape.  She begins an affair which a much younger man as a way to cope with the stresses at home. 

Now in 2015, they decide to swap their flat for a week with the owner of a house in an upscale London suburb, leaving their young son with Caroline's mother.  

When the couple arrives at their Chiswick, London house swap they finds the place oddly sterile with only the bare necessities. It almost looks like the house was staged. It isn't long before things begin to happen that seem to indicate that whoever owns the place knows too much about Caroline and about her past. There's also an attractive woman next door who seems to be a bit too friendly that adds to the creep factor.

This is a psychological thriller complete with flawed, unlikable character and some sex as well.  I found the first half of the book easy to put down and harder to pick up as it seemed to take forever for the story to get going, taking me 2 weeks to finish this one.  The story is told mostly from Caroline's POV both prior to the house swap and the present.  I actually felt sorry for their young son Eddie, even though he was a very minor character, as this couple were not good parents. 

Rating - 3.5/5 stars

Everything Here is Beautiful; Mira Lee and I Am, I Am, I Am; Maggie O'Farrell

Everything Here is Beautiful; Mira Lee

Pamela Dorman Books/Viking - 2018

(library)

Everything Here is Beautiful was an impressive debut novel about sisters and mental illness.

Miranda and Lucia are sisters, Miranda is seven years old and has always been the cautious one, watching out for her ofter unpredictable younger sister Lucia.  After their mother dies of cancer, Lucia begins to hear voices and as her mental illness becomes more intense, she does some outlandish things including marrying someone she hardly knew and later even moving to a different continent.

Can Lucia ever lead a normal life, often refusing to take her meds?  Can her sister or Lucia's husband influence her and keep her safe?

Told in alternating POVs, this is a beautifully written, compelling story about mental illness and family. I will definitely be looking for future offerings from this promising new author.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, a memoir

Maggie O'Farrell

Knopf - 2018

(library)

This is a different kind of memoir in which the author describes in very short stories her, seventeen near death experiences.  The stories cover an array of experiences beginning when she was just a toddler through adulthood and follow no particular chronological order. It's not a memoir that feels like all doom and gloom and it never felt morbid or depressing. Instead, this was a book that helped me to reflect on my own life and the things that are most precious.

A few of the stories were quite intense and even felt jarring at times while a few others seemed far from threatening to me.  Overall, this book was great reading experience, I loved the quality of the writing.

Rating - 4/5 stars

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Book of Polly; Kathy Hepinstall

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph, maybe two, of a book that I'm reading or plan to read soon.  (I started this book last night and I am loving it thus far).

The Book of Polly; Kathy Hepinstall

Pamela Dorman Books / Viking 2017

"I'm not sure at what young age I became frozen with the knowledge, certainty, and horror that my mother would die one day.  Spared the passing of my father, the Captain, by my status as a fetus, I was cowering in the womb when my mother found my father dead in his chair.

Polly told me the story when I was old enough to hear it.  She was smoking a cigarette, a habit I feared and detested.  One of my earliest memories was reaching up and trying to snatch a cigarette from her lips.  Even then I knew my enemy.  But she was too fast for me, and by the time I heard the story of my father's death I'd mostly given up trying.  So I just sat watching the trail of smoke.  The Captain was once a navy man, you know that. Anyway, he got this wooden lobster from the Philippines when he met Ferdinand Marcos--another story--but when he died the lobster was sitting there in his lap.  I guess he'd taken it down from the wall to admire it just before the stroke got him.  And that's what happens when you die.  It's no more complicated than that, if you're lucky."

Would you read more or pass on this one?

Feel free to join in by linking your INTRO Post below.

Books Read - Week in Review - W/E - 2/25/2017

First of all,  I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to leave very personal and heartfelt comments about our cat Lily who we lost last Friday. I shared these messages with my husband and although many of them made me tear up, they also were very comforting. Thank you so much!

I tried to keep busy last week which helped keep the sad moments at bay. This week was more yoga,  lunch with high school friends, and time sorting through lots of old photos of family and cats which brought back happy memories.  Our most senior cat, Buddy, age 15, seemed to sense that we were sad and became my new constant companion and lap cat -- so sweet --

Buddy

Our other cat, Freckles, age 14, was never a lap cat, but started bringing my husband toys to get him to play.  I think cats are much smarter than many people think.

 Freckles

Books Read

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End; Atul Gawande
Metropolitan Books - 2014
(book group read )

I actually listened to this book last year in audio and loved it so when it ended up being our book group read for February, I didn't mind reading it in print.  I still liked it a lot and felt that Dr. Gawande did a great job giving several case study examples of individuals in declining health and making the reader think about prolonging life versus quality of life in each case. Lots of good info about health, health care, statistics and later year options.  My book group, which is all women ages 60 and older really disliked the book. I was the minority here but, also one of the youngest in the group.  Several of the women are dealing with serious medical issues and currently live alone so they found the entire topic depressing which is understandable.  The book did generate lots of end of life conversation about housing options like co-housing versus assisted living and nursing homes which was interesting to talk about.

Next month's selection a light weight work of fiction by Adriana Trigiani.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family & Culture in Crisis; J.D. Vance
Harper Audio - 2016

A memoir about class differences written by a self-proclaimed hillbilly, and former Marine who ended up graduating from Ohio State with a double major and then continuing on to Yale Law.  The author grew up poor in Appalachia and was raised largely by his grandmother as his father had abandoned them at a young age. Although his mother had once been at the top of her class in school and worked in nursing, she then turned to drugs, was in and out of rehab, and was married and divorced 5 times.

I expected this book to be somewhat of a political hotbed but, that was not the case. Vance offers his take on the decline of white, working class America over the last forty odd years as he shares his life story.  I downloaded the audio version of this from the library after seeing many positive reviews online.  I enjoyed it, but I must say Vance's outcome is certainly not the norm for someone growing up like he did. He did have encouragement and obviously the personal drive to make a better life for himself. The audio book is read by the author and thought it was well done (no accent which made it an easy listen). (4/5 stars)

Every Fifteen Minutes; Lisa Scottoline
(audio - from library read by George Newbern)

This was a DNF after 10 chapters. It was a story that seemed to be going no where fast and I lost interest very quickly. Has anyone read this one? DNF

(Here's a description from Goodreads) -----

Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife, Caitlin, he is doing his best as a single dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors and nurses who are as caring as Eric is. But when he takes on a new patient, Eric's entire world begins to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes makes Max a high risk patient. Max can't turn off the rituals he needs to perform every fifteen minutes that keep him calm. With the pressure mounting, Max just might reach the breaking point. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found. Worried about Max, Eric goes looking for him and puts himself in danger of being seen as a "person of interest". Next, one of his own staff turns on him in a trumped up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric's life? 

New Books from Publishers

• Among the Lesser Gods; Margo Catts (Arcade Publishing - Amazon Vine)
• The Book of Polly; Kathy Hepinstall (Pamela Dorman Books)
• Princess Cora and the Crocodile; Laura Amy Schmitz (Candlewick Press)

Harmony; Carolyn Parkhurst

Harmony; Carolyn Parkhurst

Pamela Dorman Books - 2016

Harmony is a story of marriage, parenting and the guilt felt when things don't turn out as planned.

The story begins with the Hammond family: Alexandra (mom), Josh (dad) and daughters Iris, age 11, and Tilly, age 13.  The family leaves their home in Washington, DC behind to live in an off the grid community called, Camp Harmony in New Hampshire.  The camp's leader, Scott Bean, is a self-proclaimed, cultish parenting expert who professes to help families who are struggling.

Tilly Hammond falls somewhere within the autism spectrum with no specific diagnosis.  She has been expelled from several schools for inappropriate behavior. She's prone to meltdowns, licks floors and has frequent vulgar and violent outbursts.  For the Hammonds, Camp Harmony seems to be their last result for keeping their family together.  But just who is Scott Bean and to what lengths will he go to change the behaviors of Tilly and other challenging children who have come to the camp?

The story told from the POV's of Iris and Alexandra where we learn about family life before Camp Harmony and life at Camp Harmony.  Peppered throughout are excepts to show how Tilly reacts to various situations.  Younger sister Iris is a wonderful narrator and Alexandra truly believes that Scott Bean may just be their last chance as others have suggested institutionalizing Tilly.

The author does a great job capturing the desperation of the parents. I did read that the author has an autistic son and her knowledge of the challenges shows.  There is a sense on tension throughout, especially when Scott Bean becomes a bit unpredictable.  The novel wasn't perfect and the epilogue seemed unrealistic and at times forced but, it was still an enjoyable read overall.

4/5

(library)

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Harmony; Carolyn Parkhurst

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book I'm reading or will be reading soon. 

Harmony; Carolyn Parkhurst

Pamela Dorman Books/Viking - 2016

Prologue

"In another world, you make it work.  In another world, you never even hear the name 'Scott Bean.' Or you do, and you maybe even subscribe to his newsletter, but on the night that he comes to speak at a library not far from your house, Iris is sent home from school with a stomach bug, or Josh is out of town and you don't want to hire a sitter.  You figure you can catch him next time. Later, when you hear his name on the news and it sounds familiar, you shake your head and think, 'What a wacko.'  It doesn't even occur to you to say, 'That could have been me.' Because you know yourself, and it goes without saying.  You would never get mixed up in something like that. End of story."

Based on this intro, would you read more or pass on this book?

Feel free to join in by posting your own First Chapter First Paragraph Intro and linking below.

The Couple Next Door; Shari Lapena

The Couple Next Door; Shari Lapena

Pamela Dorman Books -2016

How well do you know the people closest to you? You just may ask yourself that question after reading this book.

Anne and Marco Conti are a nice young couple who seem to have it all; a good marriage, nice home, and now a 6 month old daughter named Cora.  One evening they are to have dinner with their neighbors next door (picture attached brownstones).  At the last minute the Conti's babysitter cancels and, their neighbor had told them earlier that it was an adults only party.  Against their better judgement,  they go to the party, taking the baby monitor with them and then checking on the sleeping Cora every 30 minutes. Of course in the course of the evening things go horribly wrong.

Without giving any spoilers the couple comes under suspicion regarding what had transpired but, as the police dig deeper it seems as though not only the Contis but, their family and the neighbors have plenty of secrets of their own.

This is one of those psychological thrillers that sucked me in immediately and never let go.  The writing felt pretty simplistic but, the twists make the story interesting and fast paced. For a while I wasn't sure who was the guilty party but, eventually figured it out.  There was also a stunner of an ending which felt weird and thrown in for extra effect.  This wasn't perfect but, I loved it for the quick read it was.

4/5 stars

(review copy)

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Couple Next Door; Shari Lapena

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where I share the first paragraph sometimes two, of a book that I'm reading or plan to read soon. 

The Couple Next Door; Shari Lapena

Pamela Dorman Books -2016

ONE

"Anne can feel the acid churning in her stomach and creeping up her throat; her head is swimming.  She's had too much to drink. Cynthia has been topping her up all night. Anne had meant to keep herself to a limit, but she'd let things slide--she didn't know how else she was supposed to get through the evening. Now she has no idea how much wine she's drunk over the course of this dinner party.  She'll have to pump and dump her breast milk in the morning."

What do you think -- keep reading or pass? 
(Feel free to join in this week by posting your intro below?