The Thousand Dollar Tan Line - Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas

My rating: 2.8

Ten years after graduating, Veronica Mars returns to the beach town of Neptune California and is taking over her father's private detective business. It is spring break and when a girl goes missing from a party and Veronica is called in to investigate.

I have no idea what the hubbub is over this book - maybe you have to have seen the movie?  I have no idea but it definitely didn't wow me. It was a very mediocre mystery novel that I don't think you need to read.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

My Rating; 4.4

Jess is a struggling single mom of her 8 yo math-whiz daughter Tanzie and teenage step-son Nickie who is bullied. Ed Nichols has made a blunder that puts his company and everything he owns in jeopardy as he is accused of insider trading. Each of these four people take turns telling this story from their perspective.

These perfectly imperfect people came to life with all their quirks and dysfunction and I loved each of them. Another thoroughly enjoyable read by Moyes.

The Second Girl by David Swinson

My rating: 4.7

Respected cop who took early retirement, Raymond Marr now works as a Private Investigator. No one except the Police Chief knows Ray's dirty secret that would cause him to stop being a cop...his drug addiction. As a P.I., he knows how to make his next score but in the process of raiding a drug house, finds a kidnapped teenager girl naked and chained to a radiator in the bathroom. This sets off a series of events including him reluctantly taking a case for another missing teenage girl

Ray is both dirty and willing to do deplorable things as well as charming and a hero. Also love how it captures D.C. This is a gritty real mystery novel - I believe due to Swinson being a highly decorated Police Officer in Washington D.C....including doing undercover in Narcotics A very 'real' novel and I will definitely read more by Swinson.

Bookmarks Magazine Nov/Dec 2017

Have I ever mentioned that Bookmarks is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE MAGAZINE!!!! (sorry for the caps but I do love it!) This issue didn't disappoint.

Bookmarks features authors or themes before they get to the spotlighted books. The first author was Sherman Alexie who I love!

If you haven't read "The Absolutely True Diary Of A  Part-Time Indian" I recommend it...especially on audio. This reminded me of how much I enjoy his writing so I have put these in my queue:

  

Another featured author was Kamila Shamsie who, although I haven't heard of before, definitely appealed to me from their write-up.

I have put these books by her in my queue:
    


For the spotlighted books, these jumped out at me but, as always, I need to spend time combing through this edition for the many hidden jewels that these magazines always contain:

    


     


These were already on my kindle - I just need to move them up in the queue

     

I need to live to be 100 to read all of my queue...what a fabulous problem to have :-) I always love hearing from you so please share what books you picked from this months magazine or what great books you would recommend.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

My rating: 4.6

Eleanor is socially inept and tends to say exactly what she is thinking and doesn't realize why people react the way they do. Eleanor meets Raymond, her bumbling oafish IT guy from work. Together, Eleanor and Raymond save Sammy, an elderly gentleman that falls on the sidewalk and the lives of the three unlikely friends progress from there.

This had me laughing at times....like this description of high heel shoes: "Why are these people so keen on crippling their female customers.  Are chiros and cobblers establishing some fiendish cartel?" It is also very dark at other times. I listed to the audio version and it was absolutely priceless. I can see why this is being compared to A Man Called Ove.

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

My rating: 4.8

Rachel and her eight year old son Ben are walking through the woods in a park in Bristol. Ben asks to run ahead and Rachel agrees. When she gets to the spot by the swing where he should be, he is not there. As the hours and days pass and the police search unfolds.

This suspenseful novel make you know how it would feel to be Rachel - everything from her panic over her missing son to being crucified in the press. Absolutely horrifically gripping.

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

My rating: 4.6

Nastya and Josh are two complicated individuals who are haunted by their pasts.  Nastya moves to a new town in order to keep her dark past a secret and she wants to hold everyone at a distance. Everyone knowing Josh's dark past of everyone he has ever loved dying by the time he is 17 years old means that most of the kids leave him alone. Their two worlds intersect and they soon find a comfort in just being with the other person.

I enjoyed the character development...I did not expect to end up loving Drew whereas Josh took a while to grow on me. There is some stereotypical bits but also lots of surprising things including the humor. If you like Young Adult books, I think you will love this. 

When The Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith

My rating: 5.0

Twin boys, Sean and Garrick, grow up in 1800's Natal, Africa. It covers their childhood and then follows Sean's life during the gold rush times in Johannesburg. Amazing writing that flows. This is the first in the 13 part Courtney series.

Absolutely amazing. Definitely makes my "Best of 2017" list. The writing was flawless and beautiful but not like some flowery writing where you have to reread phrases...this just flowed effortlessly. This captures 'men' as well as Africa.  I couldn't wait for the story to unfold but was also so disappointed when it ended. So glad that Smith is such a prolific author as I will be reading more by him. 

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

My rating: 4.9

Lenka and Josef last saw each other in Prague and then decades later, they meet again. Despite knowing the ending in the first chapter and knowing about the atrocities of WWII, I still learned a lot from this book.

Meticulous character development and research had me enthralled and I couldn't wait to have time to read more. My heart felt for both of them as the author brought them to life in my hands. This was described as a love story but, it is not a 'romance fluff' type of love story. It is about two people in a horrific time and what happens to them. I will definitely read more by Richman. Stellar!

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

My rating: 3.4

Elsewhere is where people go after they die and this is where 15 year old Liz Hall goes after she is hit on her bicycle by a car. As similar as Elsewhere is to Earth, Liz can't understand why she can't 'wake up' to return to her real life. You age backwards and when you become a baby, you go back to Earth but Liz wants to turn 16, not get younger.

This was very creative and entertaining but I felt that the characters were not well developed and felt flat. This made it hard to feel involved as, despite the potential of the storyline, my heart just didn't connect with any of the characters. Too bad as the concept had a lot of potential.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 3.0

This is told through a series of letters from Charlie that are meant to be like reading a journal. Charlie is quirky and unique. This is a coming of age story where Charlie shares all the angst of his experiences.

Although this has been popular for ages, I knew nothing about it and was surprised that the main character was a male. I really wanted to like this more than I did but it seemed to drone on about so much minutia. I felt for Charlie and his fragile state of mind but I think it would have been helpful to have this told from alternative viewpoints in order to care about the characters. I know I am in the minority on this but, this wasn't a favorite.

I See You by Clare MacIntosh

My rating: 4.6

Like all of us, Zoe Walker has her daily routines.  She goes to work in London every day via the Tube, standing at the same train platform, getting in the same car, etc. One evening commute home, she is glancing throught the newspaper and sees her own face looking back at her from the classifieds with a phone number and a website for FindtheOne.com. There is a different woman in the ad every day. When one turns up murdered Zoe starts to realize that there may be a connection to the ads.

I enjoyed everything about this book except the ending. I don't like when a character that used to be normal suddenly goes over the cliff cuckoo. Other than that, I did enjoy it and it made me think about how predictable my routine is! I do like that she left something unexplained at the end so there will possibly be a sequel.

Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes

My rating: 4.8

BE WARNED:  TWISTED AND VERY DARK!

Annabel discovers her next door neighbour’s decomposing body and is appalled to think that no one, including herself, noticed that anything was wrong. At her job as a police analyst, she feels compelled to investigate and discovers that this isn't an isolated case. As she’s drawn deeper into the mystery and becomes convinced she’s on the trail of a killer, she also must face her own demons. Told in alternating chapters between Annabel and Colin, a socially awkward individual who is trying a tad too hard to meet the ladies, but is he a dangerous psychopath?

Oh my. This was the most deeply disturbing, disgusting, gross thing I have ever read....and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I admit that I did skim over some of the more revolting parts but I still couldn't stop devouring it to find out what was going to happen.  So incredibly dark and creepy! I think Into The Darkest Corner was amazing (was UK's best book of 2011) and will definitely be reading more by Haynes

Playing Dead by Julia Heaberlin

My rating; 2.7

Days after her father's death, Tommie McCloud gets a letter from a woman claiming that Tommie is her daughter who was kidnapped as a baby.

I felt that this couldn't decide what the story wanted to be - a romance, a mystery, a thriller, a psychological thriller, a Western, a Mafia Witness Protection Program or a cowgirl gone heroine.

I absolutely loved Heaberlin's most recent novel Black Eyed Susans - in fact, it made my 'Best of' list for 2015. You can tell that Playing Dead was written earlier as her skill isn't as honed but it does show the promise of what is to come.

The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

My rating: 4.3

Sarah Cook disappears on the same night her parents are brutally murdered.  Her boyfriend, Brad Stockton is convicted and on death row. With Brad's execution date set, his sister Danielle hires Private Investigator Roxane Weary in a last ditch effort to help her brother,

This has a more 'detective/mystery' feel to it than a Thriller. I enjoyed Roxane and her imperfect ways including drinking and trying to go with here gut in figuring things out. This was a very strong first novel and a definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys Sue Grafton types of mysteries (although not as comical).