Review: Escape

Escape by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a continuation of  Mr. Barclay’s first book in the series “Chase”. It picks up where “Chase” left off. Chipper is a dog that has been altered by “The Institute” – he is still part-dog, but also part-robot. He escapes and finds 12-year old, Jeff, whose parents passed away not long ago. The Institute is now looking for Chipper and Jeff.

It’s fast-paced, but it is meant for younger readers, so it is more simple than his adult books, but he still throws a couple of twists into the story, as well.

Excellent read.

Review: Chase

Chase by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Linwood Barclay may have written this book for a younger audience but I am not young and I loved it. Of course I always love stories that feature a dog, but this has the elements of intrigue and danger, plus some very interesting characters.

Jeff is living in the aunt's fishing camp as his parents had died the previous year in a plan crash. Mr. Barclay always does such an excellent job in creating the atmosphere of a camp and probably, or maybe, that is due to his early childhood and his actually living and growing up at a camp in Ontario. Whatever the reason, this story frames the scene so well and puts you right in the midst.

Chipper, an experimental dog from a lab is scheduled to be "put to sleep" and on his own he decides that escape is his only option. He does have an idea of where he will go and with all the computer equipment at his disposal, off he goes. He is determined to find a boy named Jeff Conroy as he knew his parents and knows what really happened to them.

An excellent read. There is a part two called Escape which I am just about to start now so will soon know how the story ends.

Review: A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A single mom, Stephanie, whose husband died in a car accident makes friends with another mom and is so happy to have found a best friend. The friend, Emily, is not at all what she seems on the surface.

Emily is not at all what she seems to be and actually has a twin sister that she has not told anyone about. She has some very creepy schemes up her sleeve and because Stephanie is really not the crispiest chip in the bag, she believes everything that Stephanie says and goes along with her.

This was quite a frustrating read for me.

Review: A Noise Downstairs

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Linwood Barclay is one of my favourite authors and I have spent many hours enjoying his novels. The newest story kept me on the edge of my seat and I can say that this book didn't disappoint.

Charlotte and Paul are a married couple that have been having trouble since a few months previously Paul had been attacked with a shovel when he inadvertently discovered a colleague of his in the midst of a serious crime. The friend went to prison but Paul was seriously injured and is still in the process of recovery.

Paul had a previous marriage that went wrong and he has a little boy, Josh, from that first marriage. He is not doing well with his recovery and his friends and family feel that he has extreme psychological problems now, possibly brain damage. But does he?

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Review: Still Me

Still Me by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the conclusion to Louisa Clark's story and I absolutely loved this three book series.

After many setbacks, Louisa is living and working in New York, just for a year. It is something that she wanted to do. She needed an adventure after all the unfortunate things that she had dealt with. But things don't always turn out the way we want them to.

Louisa has left behind her boyfriend, Sam and she hopes that their relationship can become stronger through correspondence.

This is a humorous love story. An excellent read.