A Hopping Re-Introduction

 


Yes I'm doing the hop today. And yes it is a bit of a reintroduction. I have cut back my blogging intensely, but I do miss the chatter and connecting with fellow book lovers. Now, I'm not saying I'll be back blogging 4 or 5 times a week, but maybe more like 4 or 5 times a month instead of the 2 or three I've been doing. I can't get a real feel for whats new and great out in books without being involved, so I'll dip my toe back in and maybe go hhmmm say to my calves ; )

I see the hop has been somewhat modified since I did this last, it seems much more streamlined and not quite as tedious.  Kinda cool.

I have a question, what book has really moved you?  I am looking for something that is going to really make me stop as I'm reading and say, man! Ya ever have to do that as you read, pause to let it sink in and reflect on what just took place?  I just finished Sarah's Key for my book club and it was great, and it did move me.  I'm not sure what it is I'm looking for exactly. Does that even exist?  Let me know :)

Bodies Left Behind - Review

The Bodies Left Behind
Jeffrey Deaver










Amazon blurb -

When a 911 call from a secluded Wisconsin vacation house is cut short, off-duty deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves her husband and son at the dinner table and drives up to Lake Mondac to investigate—and walks right into a nightmare when she stumbles upon the scene of an atrocious, gruesome murder. Brynn realizes that the perpetrator hasn’t left the crime scene yet, but it’s already too late to call for backup—dense woods surround the house, and there is nowhere for her to run but into the hostile Wisconsin wilderness.




The Bodies Left Behind is filled with Deaver’s signature twists and turns, where nothing is what it seems, and death lingers just around the next curve on a deserted path deep in the midnight forest.
*****


Brynn McKenzie is called out to check on a 911 call made from an upscale vacation home with only one word said - This. The chief feels that whoever called was going to say this is an emergency before getting cut off so he asks her to check it out even though she is already off duty. She goes, leaving her husband, son, and mother to eat spaghetti dinner without her expecting to be back within a couple of hours.

What ensues is a night of terror-filled cat and mouse with twists and turns that will have you saying "Holy Crap!!". I could not believe this book, it was just fantastic. This is the first time I'm reading Deaver and it was great. The only reason I can't give it 5 cannolis is I just didn't really warm up to Brynn. I loved the story but for me she was just an ok character. She was tough and not over the top or unbelievable, but I just felt something was missing. Her parenting skills miffed me a bit and I found that addition to the story very interesting. I liked her husband and really felt for the man.

I highly recommend this book, it is the second book for my Serial Killers Reading Challenge.

4 cannolis

Whispers - Review

Whispers
By Lisa Jackson













Amazon Blurb -

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson delivers the suspenseful story of a woman with shocking secrets who is drawn into a journalist's web...and an obsession that could destroy her. In the chill of an Oregon Night, a man plunges to his death. Another vanishes without a trace. A third drowns in the murky waters of a quiet lake. Alone in the dark, a ruthless killer is certain that every loose end has been cut, every enemy silenced...except one. It's been sixteen years since Claire St. John fled in terror from her family's home on Lake Arrowhead. Sixteen years since her fiance's tragic death and the shocking secret she promised never to reveal to anyone. But that was before journalist Kane Moran began probing the mystery of that horrible night, turning a light on the darkest corners of Claire's life, exposing her once again to a cold-blooded murderer's vicious fury. Now, as Claire returns home to face a past she's tried to forget, another body is unearthed, revealing the twisted nature of a killer who is ready at last to make Claire pay the ultimate price!
*****

A murderer is doing in some of the residents of Lake Arrowhead.  The common bond between all three killed is Taggert Industries, the local lumber company.  One was the owner's son Harley, the other two employees.  Claire Holland has been gone for sixteen years, her fiance was Harley Taggert and she and her two sisters, Miranda and Tessa did something on that fateful night that her father Dutch feels will ruin his bid for Governor of Oregon.

He hires a P.I. to investigate Claire, Miranda, and Tessa to try and get to the bottom of this once and for all. In the meantime resident Kane Moran, the town bad boy turned war vet and now reporter is writing an expose on this fateful night as well.  Kane's problem?  He loves Claire desperately, as she does him, though they never were able to act on it while they were young.  Him being from the wrong side of the tracks, her with her engagement to Harley.

Each sister has major issues bottled up inside stemming from  this one night, all these years keeping it inside has not made it any better.  Who really is the killer was a bit of a surprise that kept me guessing right till it was revealed in an action filled end.

I found it just ok, not the best thriller I've read though not knowing who was going to be the killer was a plus for me.  It was a romantic thriller as well and that part was just eh.  Kind of an upscale Hatfield and the McCoy's with the two rivaling families.

This was book one for the Serial Killer Challenge I am participating in. Click on the button in my sidebar for more info!


2 1/2 cannolis