A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George

  

(See all Literature & Fiction Books)Wow! It took me two weeks to read this book. I can't believe it. Granted A Traitor to Memory is 700+ pages long but gee whiz. I thought I'd never finish it! I love Elizabeth George's writing. She is thorough, develops characters like nobody's business, and holds the suspense to the very last page.

In this mystery, the story shifts back and forth in time, which I have to say, I was slow to pick up on exactly. The characters are well-developed but there are a lot of them. Even with a wide group, I didn't have trouble keeping track of all of them. I would highly recommend this book, or any of Elizabeth George's novels in case you haven't read them for yourself.

I have this Inspector Lynley DVD on reserve at the library and can't wait to see what they did with it. Have you read any of Elizabeth George's novels?

Book Read: A Traitor to Memory

Author: Elizabeth George

ISBN: 978-0-553-38601-1

In the Still of the Night by Ann Rule

Last night I finished reading In the Still of the Night:   The Strange Death of Ronda Reynolds and Her Mother's Unceasing Quest for the Truth? This is Ann Rule's latest true-crime book and it was a little more unsettling than some of her other books. Not because of the blood and gore or graphic detail about how the person died; I found it unsettling because Ann Rule became friends with the victim's mother and her telling of the story was different because of that, I think.

Ronda Reynolds was a former Washington state trooper who was murdered in her home but the case has not been solved to date. That was another biggie. Ann Rule always writes about crimes that have been solved and details the murderer. This book was different in many ways. She and the vicitm's mother, Barbara Thompson, even began trying to solve the crime themselves. Bizarre, but interesting. At the end of the book, Ann Rule wrote that she knew things but couldn't reveal them. Hmm. It makes me wonder if when (if) this 1998 murder ever is solved, she'll write another book.

Have you read In the Still of the Night? I was wondering about this book even more and looked up some earlier reviews about it. If interested, check out this one at the True Crime Book Reviews blog.

Book Read: In the Still of the Night

Author: Ann Rule

ISBN: 978-1-4165-4460-9

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

I finally finished reading Second Glance by Jodi Picoult last night. I generally really like her books, but this one took me forever to get into. For one thing she had too many characters, which she mentioned in an interview at the back of the book.

I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight, which is a real buzz kill for me. Another tricky element was the ghost story, where there's now (with real people and ghosts) and then (with real people who show up now as ghosts). I totally had to pay attention, and I guess I wasn't up for it.

As the book moved along and the plot started to unravel, I got it, but at the end, when all the loose ends were tied into pretty little bundles, it was just way too convenient. Not at all plausible for me. So, all in all, this was my least favorite Jodi Picoult book I've read to date. It was good, mind you, just not up to her usual snuff. I like House Rules, which I read last year, much better.

Have you read Second Glance? If so, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

Book Read: Second Glance

Author: Jodi Picoult

ISBN: 978-1-4165-8386-8

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

 
   
Have you read this book? I finished reading Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption last night. This is such a good book and think anyone would enjoy it. Maybe enjoy isn't the right word because most of the book is pretty hard to read.  

Unbroken is the story of Louis Zampernini, a U.S. Army Air Forces officer, who is shot down over the Pacific. The story of his days in a life raft floating for weeks then taken prisoner of war is so unbelievable that it has to be true. You can't make this stuff up. 

Book Read: Unbroken

Author: Laura Hillenbrand

ISBN: 978-1-4000-6416-8

Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

I stayed up late last night to finish reading Secrets of Eden. This novel centered around the deaths of a rural Vermont couple, Alice and George Hayward. It was pretty clear that George had killed his wife Alice, but did George kill himself? And if not, who killed George? Turns out, no, the autopsy showed that George didn't kill himself.

I knew how the story was going to end from a few innocent lines in the book that just had to be a clue to the big mystery unfolding--otherwise they didn't fit. And yep, even though I didn't have the details worked out in my head, I had picked up on the right person who killed George.

This book is certainly worth reading. And from Chris Bohjalian's Facebook page:

Mark your calendars or set your Tivo: "Secrets of Eden," the movie, premiers on Lifetime on November 21 starring John Stamos and Lili Taylor. Director is Tawnia McKiernan. Producer is Craig Anderson.

Nice! Can't wait to watch this one. Have you read Secrets of Eden? How about these other New England authors?

Book Read: Secrets of Eden

Author: Chris Bohjalian

ISBN: 978-0-307-39497-2

Perfect Reader by Maggie Pouncey

I finished reading Perfect Reader last night late and was glad to be done with it. This was an interesting book, but the main character, Flora Dempsey, was one of the most self-indulged, boring people to be conjured on paper. To me she appeared to be lazy, selfish, and plain old mean in places. Maybe it was my frame of mind, but I didn't "like" this book even though it was well written and interesting in places.

Flora is raised in a small college town where her father is college president. Her parents divorce, her best friend is hurt in an accident, blah blah blah. The one redeeming quality of this book was the layout where Pouncey wrote present day first then the second half of the chapter was written when Flora was a child, so the story unfolds in an interesting way. That I liked.

Have you read Perfect Reader? What did you think?

Book Read: Perfect Reader
Author: Maggie Pouncey
ISBN: 978-0-307-37874-3

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler

I finished reading Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler last night and have to tell you, I don't get the name. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I'll admit, but there was a minor (to me) reference to Noah's ark and that's about it. Maybe I was tired and just didn't catch it. Okay, I'm really curious what subtle clues I missed... off to Google it.

I'm back.

Okay, on Amazon, here is part of what Mary Lins had to say in her review:

Noah didn't need a compass, a rudder or a sextant because he wasn't going anywhere; he just bobbed along trying to stay afloat. Liam Pennywell, the 60 year old narrator of Anne Tyler's latest novel, "Noah's Compass", has been getting by without a compass for years.

I guess that's sort of what Noah did in the ark. Huh? Oh well. I liked the book. I always like Anne Tyler's books because they are about real people (well, they aren't real people but they could be) and their lives are "normal," nothing flashy, which I also like. I mean, sometimes I want to read something that is bigger than life, but I prefer novels like Tyler's that are comforting in the details and storytelling.

Highly recommended and if you have your own opinion about the title, please clue me in.
Book Read: Noah's Compass
Author: Anne Tyler
ISBN: 978-0-307-27240-9