The Farm; Tom Rob Smith

The Farm; Tom Rob Smith

Grand Central Publishing - 2014

I’ve heard wonderful things about author Tom Rob Smith, but hadn’t read any of his work.  His latest book, The Farm was picked up on my radar and I decided to give it a try.

In this story Daniel is a Londoner living a content life with his partner. His parents, Chris and Tilde have left London and retired to a rural farm in Sweden where Tilde grew up. The farm needs lots of work, but it’s what his parents wanted so he’s happy for them.  One day Daniel gets a telephone call from his father Chris in Sweden saying ….

"Your mother's not well.  She's been imagining things - terrible, terrible things. She's had a psychotic breakdown, and has been committed to a mental hospital." 

Unsure what to think, when Daniel speaks to his mother, she says….

 "I'm sure your father has spoken to you. Everything that man has told you is a lie. I'm not mad. I don't need a doctor. I need the police. I'm about to board a flight to London. Meet me at Heathrow."  

Tilde claims that Chris is involved in a criminal conspiracy. She tells her son that because of this conspiracy, he wants her out of the way. What’s a son to believe, has his mother had a psychotic breakdown? He agrees to meet his mother, Tilde, at the airport and let her stay at his home.

So the unraveling of the mystery begins.  Although Tilde seems to have done her homework, having evidence to prove what she believes to be the truth, as a reader I kept asking myself, is she a reliable narrator or is she overreacting? Just who should Daniel believe?  

I initially started this book on audio, and while it started off very strong,  there were lots of distractions and interruptions as Tilde tries to make her case by telling her story. I found the audio format too scattered. I switched to the eBook and was glad I did. This is an engaging story filled with suspense. Tilde’s recaps seemed believable, yet I still had my doubts about her reliability. The story did drag a bit in parts as Tilde attempts to get through her story, there were always phone calls or something to delay her from just “getting on with it”, all while son Daniel listens and questions her. Ultimately, Daniel needs to visit “the farm” and do his own investigation to decide for himself what is true and what may have been imagined.

It’s a great premise for a novel, and I think that this one felt like somewhat of a psychological thriller, even though there is not any real action. I guess you will have to read it for yourself and decide. For me, although not perfect, it is one of those books that I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

4/5 (eGalley/audio)

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Five Days Left; Julie Lawson Timmer

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where I share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book I am reading or thinking about reading soon. This one seems like it might be a bit sad, but hey that's good for my soul.

 Five Days Left; Julie Lawson Timmer

Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam - 2014

1.    Mara

"MARA HAD CHOSEN THE METHOD LONG AGO: PILLS, VODKA AND CARBON MONOXIDE. A 'garage cocktail', she  called it.  The name sounded almost elegant, and sometimes, when she said it out loud, she could make herself believe it wasn't horrifying.

It would still be horrific for Tom, though, and she hated herself for that.  She would rather do it without leaving a body for him.  But as much as she'd love to spare him from being the one to discover her, she knew not letting him find her would be worse.  And at least this was the tidiest option.  He could have someone come and take her car away.  Fill her side of the garage with something else, to block the image.  Bikes, maybe. Gardening supplies."

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What do you think?

Feel free to join in and post the Intro from one of your reads by linking below.

My Education; Susan Choi

My Education; Susan Choi

Penguin - 2014

My Education introduces readers to 20 year old Regina Gottlieb, a grad student in literature - early 1990's.  Regina has heard rumors of about the infamous Professor Nicholas  Brodeur, an incredibly attractive man known for his unprofessional behavior when it comes to young women --apparently the sexual harassment workshops the university requires were ineffective.  

Regina while brainy is also a bit of a ditz, but she is a ditz who knows what she likes and what she wants.  She wrangles her way into Professor Brodeur's seminar, and it isn't long before she gets a job as his teaching assistant, ingratiates herself into his social circle, and even makes a pass at his wife Martha at a party at the couple's home.  She doesn't stop there either. Regina is young, naive, loves sex, and is passionate about all she is experiencing like the many young women before and after her. She's also naive in believing that the passion and intensity of it all will go on forever.

This is one of those novels where every character is unlikable, everyone sleeps around, yet the writing is very good and very spicy. There is a lot of swearing and plenty of sex and the academic setting (felt like maybe Cornell) was the perfect arena for this type of story which is driven by the dialogue. The reader gets a glimpse of a more mature Regina in 2007 and explores the consequences of earlier actions. This book is definitely not for everyone -- lust, love, betrayal, offensive characters etc, but it would definitely make for some interesting cocktail party conversation.

4/5 stars

(eGalley)

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You - Nora Webster; Colm Toibin

Here's my "Coming Soon to a Book Store Near You" pick for today.  What do you think about this novel -- would you try it?  

Nora Webster; Colm Toibin

October - 2014 - Scribner

From one of contemporary literature’s bestselling, critically acclaimed and beloved authors, a magnificent new novel set in Ireland, about a fiercely compelling young widow and mother of four, navigating grief and fear, struggling for hope.

Set in Wexford, Ireland, Colm Tóibín’s superb seventh novel introduces the formidable, memorable and deeply moving Nora Webster. Widowed at forty, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. And now she fears she may be drawn back into it. Wounded, strong-willed, clinging to secrecy in a tiny community where everyone knows your business, Nora is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons, who have lost their father. Yet she has moments of stunning empathy and kindness, and when she begins to sing again, after decades, she finds solace, engagement, a haven—herself.

 Nora Webster is a masterpiece in character study by a writer at the zenith of his career, “beautiful and daring” (The New York Times Book Review) and able to “sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations” (USA TODAY). In Nora Webster, Tóibín has created a character as iconic, engaging and memorable as Madame Bovary or Hedda Gabler.

September in Review - Monthly Reading Highlights

September was a very good reading month for me having read (14) books (5) of which were audio
books.
 

My favorite book was Sarah Water's new one The Paying Guests

1.  Dear Daughter; Elizabeth Little - 4/5 (HC) (Sept)
2. The Paying Guests; Sarah Waters - 5/5 (arc) (Sept) 
3. Road Ends; Mary Lawson - 4.5/5 (arc) (Sept)
4. Landline; Rainbow Rowell - 4/5 (audio) (Sept)
5. The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress; Ariele Lawhon - 4/5 (audio) Sept
6. The Virtues of Oxygen; Susan Schoenberger - 4/5 (arc) Sept
7. We Are Called To Rise; Laura McBride- 4.5/5 (arc) Sept
8. The Way Inn; Will Wiles - 2.5/5 (arc) Sept
9. One Kick; Chelsea Cain - 3/5 (audio) Sept
10. The Removers: A Memoir; Andrew Meredith - 4/5 (library) Sept
11. 2 a.m at the Cat's Pajamas; 4/5 (audio) Sept
12. A Good Marriage; Stephen King - 4/5 (audio) Sept
13. The Make-Ahead Cook; America's Test Kitchens - 5/5 (Sept) 
14. And Then There Were None; Agatha Christie - 3.5/5 (pb) Sept 

Readers who like memoirs, especially one that is a bit different, I highly recommend The Removers, by Andrew Meredith.

 I completed my 4/4 books for the RIP IX Challenge but still plan to read a couple more books in that category during October.

October Reading Plans anyone?  I haven't given it much thought, but do want to read a few mysteries, a Christmas book, and another memoir.

Happy Reading

And Then There Were None; Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None; Agatha Christie

Harper Collins

And Then There Were None is an Agatha Christie mystery about ten people, all strangers to one another, who have received an invitation to spend time on a remote island (Indian Island).  The details are vague, but each of them is lured to the island with promises of just the vacation they needed or an employment opportunity. All of those invited are anxious to escape their past and decide to accept the invitation. The invitees do not even know who will be hosting them once they arrive. 

Each of the ten guests has somewhat of a dark past and the crime they committed has gone unpunished. At dinner shortly after their arrival, a mysterious recording plays announcing the dark deeds each guest has supposedly committed. Soon, one by one they begin to die off. It appears that they have been invited to the Island to pay for their crimes.

I had mixed feelings about this story. I really disliked the beginning when all of the guests were being introduced. The writing seemed very choppy and I felt like I needed a flow chart to track the guests and what was being said about them if I was ever going to be able to put the pieces together.  It’s obvious from the beginning that all of the guests are going to end up dead, but how they would die and who would be next, was what made me want to hang in there instead of jump ship after my rocky start.

I did like the way AC  made each of the guests look like they could have been the murderer at one point or another. The remote island setting, the grand old house, all added to the build of tension as the mystery progressed. The ending was not what I was expecting either, but I did like the manner in which details of the murders were revealed.

A quick and pretty clever mystery, I thought this was a decent read, but I think overall I was still a bit disappointed.

3.5/5 stars

(purchase)

First Chapter First Paragraph ~ Tuesday Intros - Leaving Time; Jodi Picoult

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where I share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book I am reading or thinking about reading soon. I started this one yesterday and I must say,  this might be Jodi's best book yet.

Leaving Time; Jodi Picoult

Ballantine Books - October 2014

PROLOGUE

JENNA

"Some people used to believe that there was an elephant graveyard---a place that sick and old elephants would travel to die.  They'd slip away from their herds and would lumber across the dusty landscape, like the titans we read about in seventh grade in Greek Mythology.  Legend said the spot was in Saudi Arabia; that it was the source of a supernatural force; that it contained a book of spells to bring about world peace."

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What do you think?

Feel free to join in and post the Intro from one of your reads by linking below.