Monday, December 30, 2013

Gone by Mo Hayder

Gone (Jack Caffery, #5)Gone by Mo Hayder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Children are being taken but not just taken, they were being car jacked. There are two little girls missing and all police are searching. Flea is a sergeant in charge of the outdoors rock climbing etc. She has a hunch about an abandoned shaft, very difficult to access. She takes it upon herself to go into the shaft herself to find them. She becomes trapped and the man who comes to help her is not what he seems.

A very good Jack Caffrey mystery/crime.

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

90 Miles To Freedom by K. C. Hilton

90 Miles to Freedom90 Miles to Freedom by K.C. Hilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Collin is the oldest son and has his own fishing boat.
On the day of his younger brother's graduation, his
parents started his car and it exploded. One year later
Collin has dropped out of life and his fiance' decided
to break it off.

We then hear what his real business was and the danger
involved in his chosen quest of helping Cubans escape from
their home country.

Very good informative story.

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Friday, December 20, 2013

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before YouMe Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Louisa has lost her job of several years. After a few attempts at various jobs, she is hired to be a companion to a man who is a quadraplegic. This is not exactly her area of expertise, but she throws herself into the project of trying to make his life a bit happier.

There are some twists in this story that are very heartbreaking and plus a moral issue that is hard to read about. It is a love story that you will remember for a long time and also a reminder to try to live every day to its fullest.

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Friday, December 13, 2013

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

Letters from SkyeLetters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A book of letters, wonderful! in 1912, a poet, Elsbeth Dunne who lives in Isle of Skye receives a letter from an American fellow complimenting her on the books of poems that she has written. This is the beginning of several years of letter writing where they become good friends and eventually, lovers.

I guess I am a sentimentalist at heart after all because I really was crying at the end. I listened to this in audio version and with all the accents and the performances were just wonderful. I admit that it might sound much different if just reading the written word.

Reading personal letters brings you much closer to the characters than any first, second or third person writing can do, in my opinion, or at least in this book. I can't imagine how it could have been written otherwise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and a love story was a lovely change of pace for my reading.

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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

The Cuckoo's CallingThe Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a great beginning to a series. It has all the elements that I love; set in London; a detective and an over eager accidental assistant. Just give them a mystery and they will solve it.

Cormoran Strike is ex army, was in Afghanistan and has left there because he was in an accident where he lost a leg. He is also the illegitimate son of a rocker and a groupy mother. He has only met his father rocker twice in his life.

Cormoran is down to the last of his money and his fiance' has broken it off and he is living in his dumpy office. A new temp girl arrives (who he doesn't want and can't afford) but has a contract with the agency so really has no choice. Add to that the fact that he doesn't have any cases at the moment and the whole thing seems weird and unnecessary.

Soon a call comes from John Bristoe, the brother of a schoolmate who had died when they were young and Cormoran is hired to investigate the death of his sister.

A very satisfying read and I am looking forward to the next installment of this series.

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

A Tap On The Window by Linwood Barclay

A Tap on the WindowA Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good mystery that kept unfolding in ever more strange ways. Cal Weaver is a private detective whose teenaged son either fell or jumped from a building while under the influence of drugs and died two months earlier. This prompted Cal to investigate everyone who had been in contact with his son and basically trying to find out out sold him the drugs that caused him to do this.

The story opens on a rainy night with Cal being asked for a ride by a teenaged girl. He feels uncomfortable about picking her up, but when she says that she knew his son he feels compelled to drive her home.

This is the beginning of a downward, very dark spiral, quite a surprise for a Linwood Barclay book.

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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri

Excursion to Tindari (SalvĂș Montalbano, #5)Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was basically an enjoyable little "who done it". However, I felt it was convoluted to the point of tedium at times. The inspector would suddenly know answers that he could not possibly know.

A young fellow is shot and killed in front of his apartment building, and an elderly couple, who are also residents of the building, have taken a day trip. Their son becomes worried when they don't return.

There are interesting twists, but I found it quite unbelievable that the police would follow this trail without a lot of difficulties.



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Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

The Power of OneThe Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing story which held me captive for several days. It ticked all the boxes for me in a novel and at the same time I learned many things about South Africa.

A young boy, five years old, is sent to a boarding school for a year because his family was having difficulties and were moving to a far location. This stay in the boarding school where he was the youngest boy, was the most terrible time in his life, but it also taught him many lessons. You become thoroughly immersed in Peekay's life from that point on. Not the least of which is his determination to become the welterweight boxing champion of the world.

An excellent book. It is hard to believe that this was Mr. Courtenay's first novel. What a birth!



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Review: The Flight Girls

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar My rating: 4 of 5 stars A stunning story about the Women Airfo...