The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

My Rating: 1.0

I wanted to love this book.  It started off ok but then quickly started to drag for me.  At 20% of the way in, I realized that I was not looking forward to reading which is a sure sign that I need to switch to a new book.

I'll Never Be Long Gone by Thomas Christopher Greene

My rating: 4.7

Brothers Charlie and Owen Bender's lives are changed forever when their mother sends them into the woods to find their father to discover that he has commited suicide.  The second shock is in who he leaves the family restaurant to.

I found that the plot was quite predictable but, I didn't care.  I absolutely loved the writing and how it captured the rural lifestyle, nature and the delicious food. 

Broken by Karin Fossum

My rating: 4.5

This is a departure from Fossum's usual detective series. This book is about an author and her characters.  

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night to find a man in her room.  She is paralyzed with fear.  As they talk, she realizes that he is a character who is so desperate that he has jumped the queue and broken into her home demanding that he be next for his story to be told.

This was a very creative story telling method and I thoroughly enjoyed it but can understand those that didn't.

The Hangman's Daughter

My rating: 2.9

This is a historical fiction mystery set in 1660 Germany. The executioner Jakob Kuisl and his mission to save the midwife Martha from a crime that she did not commit. Children are dying with witch’s symbol etched on their back. They blamed the midwife for being a witch and had her arrested and tortured until she admitted that she committed the crime. 

For me, it started off strong and declined steadily from there.  The first chapter was definitely the best.

The House In The Sky by Amanda Lindhout

My rating: 4.8

This is about a Canadian girl, Amanda Lindhout who gets the travel bug. The first portion of the book was wonderful.  It brought back so many memories of my travels.

Then she gets kidnapped in Somalia where she is held hostage for 460 days. This was co-written by Sara Corbett who did a beautiful job. She captured the beauty of each country, Amanda's optimistic positive outlook and the fear and dread of the kidnapping.  I also felt that she captured the mindset and horrors of spending that long alone in captivity in an artful and suspenseful way without being overly emotional.  There are some very horrible things that happen that are conveyed so well. An amazing memoir that is a tribute to Lindhout's fortitude and resilience.