Review: Every Note Played

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent read. I really didn't know what to expect when I started this book. It is an in depth journey of one man from the time he is first diagnosed with ALS. He was a wonderful concert pianist, divorced and with a daughter in university.

We first meet him when he is living in his own walk up flat in Boston. He has care givers that come and help him during the day, but he still has a modicum of independence. Things start to become worse quite quickly and one day while he can still go for a walk, he discovers that he needs the bathroom badly and can't make it to his home. He tries to call for help on his phone but mistakenly calls his ex wife. She does come right over and helps him and she realizes that he can no longer be on his own.

She becomes his caregiver and we go through all the horrible stages of ALS with them. We hear their thoughts and their regrets to each other.

I can feel that its important to understand this disease and also other debilitating diseases. This author also wrote of a woman with alzheimer disease and it was very informative. These are all things that we should know

Review: Night of Miracles

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a continuation of the Arthur Truluv series. It was so lovely to revisit this story and see how it comes to its conclusion.

Maddy and little Nola are away while Maddy is in college and Lucille is renting the house from her. Maddy has met the love of her life and they are planning on getting married, and another great part of that is that Matthew also adores Nola.

We can now breathe relief as we know how all the little ends have been tied up in a very feel good way.

Review: Big Lies in a Small Town

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Great story. A girl, Morgan Christopher, has been in prison for about a year when she receives a visitor that gives her the news that she will be paroled but the agreement is that she will restore a wall mural for an art opening. She is confused about this but is very happy to be free so she decides to take on the challenge. She was an art major in college but didn't know anything about restoring.

Many twists and turns to this story and it has a bit of everything.

Review: The Secrets We Kept

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A reasonable novel, but my expectations were of an intriguing spy novel and what I got was basically romance and chick lit. I didn't think it was possible to write a novel containing spies that completely lacks mystery or intrigue. So much promise, but it completely falls flat.

A disappointing read.

Review: My Lovely Wife

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This couple created a new kind of crazy. Millicent is the lovely wife, keeps a good home, keeps everyone organized, cooks good meals and is seemingly the perfect wife and mother.

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder. 

Review: The Kind Worth Killing

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Continuing with reading books by Peter Swanson and enjoying them so much. It has been a long time since I have read such good murder stories.

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

An excellent read.

Review: V is for Vengeance

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have enjoyed the audio version of all the Sue Grafton alphabet books. Judy Kay does such an excellent job of performing the story and I have come to think of her as Kinsey Millhone.

An excellent and fun read.

Review: Before She Knew Him

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Peter Swanson, where have you been! I love murder/mystery/legal stories and add a bit of creepy and I am a happy camper.

A couple, Hen and Lloyd, have moved to a new area and their neighbours, Matthew and Mira, invited them to visit and become acquainted. The ladies seemed to hit it off, but the fellows didn't quite see eye to eye. When Mira shows the new couple through their house, Hen notices something very disturbing in Matthew's office. It's a trophy that appears out of place to her. She seems to recognize it.

Hen is an artist and has a studio nearby where she enjoys her days working on artwork for publishers while Lloyd works in business. Matthew is a teacher and Mira works in sales.

Hen has an illness, bipolar, and requires medication daily. Because of her illness, people often don't take her concerns seriously. In this case it was a big mistake.

An excellent read.

Review: The Making of Us

The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I have read quite a few of books by Lisa Jewell and love them. I especially love the audio versions as they are so true to life. Her English settings are so real that you can reach out and touch the buildings and flowers and smell the aromas of the cities and countrysides.

The main characters in this story are three people who in one way or other discover that their parentage was through a donor clinic. It seems that you now can trace your family members through various websites and DNA tests.

As the story opens we learn that Lydia is a self made millionaire, quite a scientist. Robyn is a young girl in university studying to be a doctor and Dean has a girlfriend who is expecting a baby soon. We also learn about Paul, a Frenchman living in London who has been diagnosed with cancer. His lady friend, Maggie is determined to help him in his last days and makes discoveries that nobody could have predicted.

An excellent read.