Lie Down With Lions by Ken Follett

 My Rating: 4.7

Two men on opposite sides of the Cold War with a woman torn between them. This starts in France and then goes to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a typical Follett with intrigue, passion and betrayal.

If you are like me, you will have to skip over the gratuitous sex scene - UGH! I don't consider myself a prude but those pages and pages of descriptive sex  were not only completely unnecessary to the plot line but detracted from the book. I had to let the book marinate a few days after I finished it to realize that as horrible as that sex scene was, the rest of the book was worth recommending.

Fear The Darkness #2 by Becky Masterman

 My Rating: 4.3

Ex-FBI agent Brigid Quinn wants to settle down with her hubby in Tucson and enjoy life. When her sister-in-law dies, she takes in her 17 year old niece Gemma Kate. Gemma Kate is not your ordinary teenager and soon, disturbing things start to happen. Brigid is also helping a couple investigate the death of their son. It seems that her serene life is not to be in the near future.

This wasn't as good for me as her first book in this series but, I do love Brigid and that this takes place in Tucson. I will definitely be reading the next books in this series as I love a good strong female lead character and the setting and writing style are so enjoyable.

Bookmarks Magazine Sept/Oct 2021

One of my absolute favorite ways to spend an afternoon is curled up with a Bookmarks Magazine. So much anticipation and this one didn't disappoint! I have loaded up my book queue with the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know any books that I missed or any that you have read that you think I should add to my queue.

The Shadows by Alex North

 My Rating: 5.0

Charlie Crabtree is the sinister edgy ringleader of the four boy pack. Charlie has them going further and further until it divides the group and ends in a murder so shocking that it goes down in infamy. There are internet groups that recount the horrors as well as copycat killers. It was so jarring that Paul Adams moved away and hasn't been back, until now. It is 25 years later and his mother is old and senile so he returns to his childhood town only to be reliving so much of what transpired.

       

If you aren't grounded in a strong positive place, this may not be the book for you right now. It WILL disturb your peace. Yikies is it well told and so creepy. I can't wait for Mr. North to write more!

Who Is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews

 My Rating: 4.8

Florence is a low level employee at a publishing house. Florend stumbles into a job the assistant to the brilliant, enigmatic novelist who writes under the pseudonym Maud Dixon (real name Helen). Although Helen isn't an easy employer, it appears that the universe is finally providing Florence’s big chance.

Do NOT read the description of this book as it will spoil it. The first half of the book is building to what is in the book description so it is a definite spoiler. All of the critical reviews say that it shouldn't have taken 50% of the book to get to that part and it should have been edited down....but if you don't know what "it" is, it is written perfectly giving you the background and build up to the event. A twisted fun thriller with a creative plot line.

Rage Against The Dying #1 by Becky Masterman

 My Rating: 4.8

Brigid Quinn's experiences in hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn't have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she's put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she is settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs.

I love a strong female character and combine that with her living in my State (ok, Tucson, Arizona but close enough!) and this is fabulous. Such a delightful blend of light and comedic and gruesome. It makes it flow like a light read but has some serious thriller and grittiness to it. Can't wait to read more in this series.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

 My Rating: 2.7

1934 Texas. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. It is not an ideal time for Elsa to find herself pregnant.

Again, I am in the minority on my thoughts on this book. I enjoyed the first half although it did drag and was so depressing (ok, I know it was the Great Depression lol!) It did a great job of capturing the drought and the dust. Despite the characters being simplistic and stereotypical, I did really enjoy the relationship between Elsa and her Martinelli in-laws. The second half of the book completely lost me. Loreda's epiphany of their life and suddenly 'happening' into a New Deal meeting, Elsa connecting with the group leader, blah blah blah. It took everything I could to finish this and wasn't worth it.

Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff

 My Rating: 2.5

Ten-year-old Fischer “Fish” Branson and Dale “Bread” Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don’t talk about. Fish is tired of seeing Bread's father abuse him. A shot rings out and the boys, believing they are murders go on the run.

This book captures living off the land, fishing, hunting and the boys relationship. I felt it had potential but it ended up being very 'cutesy' and just didn't pull of the storyline.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

My Rating: 3.0

Maggie is a restorer of old homes. After her father's death, she finds out that she has inherited a childhood home where she lived with her parents for three weeks before they fled. Now she is going back to fix it up to sell, but also to discover if it really was haunted or why her family abandoned the house.

Equal parts thriller/haunted house/mystery this was entertaining but not amazing. That seems to be a trend for me with Sager's books so I think I need to remember that for future.

The Light of His Presence: Prayers To Draw You Near To The Heart Of God by Anne Graham-Lotz

My Rating: 4.9

Why is it that as soon as we bow our heads to pray, we start thinking of other things we need to do? How do we make time to pray in the middle of our busy lives? And how do we know what to say and how to say it?

I was raised praying so, I honestly never thought about "how" to pray. Anne walking me through how she prays and this was so helpful. After the into, each prayer is just a couple of pages which meant that I could read whatever prayer applied to where I was that day - so helpful. Definite recommend.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

My Rating: 4.7

Mitza is a brilliant physicists who goes to school with Albert Einstein. What seems like a beautiful partnership of the mind and of the heart, soon reveals that there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.

This was very educational. I had no idea that Einstein's wife was a brilliant physicist in her own right and how much she contributed to his work. I also had no idea what a horrible Einstein was in so many respects. All of this being said, it is widely disputed how much of this book is fact vs fiction but, even knowing that, I still enjoyed it although not as much as her other books (only due to Einstein being so unlikable). I can't wait to read her other books as I love her writing and topics.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

My Rating: 5.0

Karl never thought of himself as a Jew; after all, he's never even been in a synagogue. But the bullies at his school in Nazi-era Berlin don't care that Karl's family doesn't practice religion. Then champion boxer and German hero, Max Schmeling, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons. As Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: family protector. 

It was chilling how quietly things deteriorated. The propaganda and lies from back then are hauntingly familiar with everything unfolding now. Excellent read. I loved the tie in with real life boxer Max Schmeling, Joe Lewis as well as the historical events of Nazi Germany. This was very reminiscent of the Book Thief but more of a coming of Age book than Young Adult. 

The Whisper Man by Alex North

My Rating: 5.0

Widower, Tom Kennedy is struggling to raise his young son Jake. They have moved to a new house to have a fresh start but Jake's invisible friends seems to have followed him. When a young boy goes missing, Detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis are frantic to prevent a repeat of the five missing boys from twenty years ago. There is enough familiarity to the crime that Pete visits the serial killer Frank Carter in prison to see what he knows.

This was so suspenseful and scary! It would make a great book to read around Halloween. North is a great writer! This made my 'best of' list for the year. This was a haunted scary thriller type book but the characters were very well developed. I can't wait to read the sequel.

Where The Lost Wander by Amy Harmon

 My Rating: 4.9

1853, young widow Naomi May, her family and several other families set out on the Oregon trail. She feels an instant connection with their guide, a half Pawnee man, John Lowry.

This captures the difficult life of living in a wagon train with everything from making camp every evening to breaking camp every morning, the weather and many other hardships. Excellent writing and story. This made me add other books by this author to my queue. 

Simon The Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

 My Rating: 3.0

At the end of the Civil War, Simon is a fiddler that moves around with his ragtag group of musicians, trying to make a living. When he meets an Irish lash, Doris, she captures his heart and his thoughts despite them having to move in different directions. 

Jiles writing is beautiful and I enjoyed the characters as well as the details of that time period but this unfolded extremely slowly. Definitely not in the same category as her other book News of the World that I loved so much.