Laura Lippman's I'd Know You Anywhere

I just put Laura Lippman's new book (released on August 17th) I'd Know You Anywhere on reserve at my local library. This is her sixteenth book and sixth stand-alone thriller and reviewers are suggesting that this may be her 'break-out' title.

Eliza Benedict is spending a quiet summer with her family when she receives a letter from the man who kidnapped and held her hostage when she was fifteen. He says he wants to make amends before he is executed, but what is really happening is far more complex. I suggest taking a deep breath before plunging into this story that Daphne Durham writes is "about fear, manipulation, and survival".

Now a Movie - Water for Elephants

The filming of reading club favorite, Water for Elephants, starring Robert Pattinson (Edward in the Twilight movies), Reese Witherspoon, James Frain and Hal Holbrook (among others) wrapped earlier this month. The movie is now scheduled for release on April 15, 2011. Author Sara Gruen’s next title, Ape House,will be available Sept 7th.

The Invisible Bridge (2010)

The Invisible Bridge: A Novel by Julie Orringer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


By the time I finished this story I had stopped breathing. An amazing love story made even more compelling by the settings in Paris and Hungary in the time leading up to and during WWII.

Andras Levi is meant to be an architect but he is Jewish. His brother is meant to be a doctor but he is Jewish. So much to lose and so much randomness in the many who perished and the few who survived.

Author Julie Orringer not only did extensive research but in her beautiful writing she has created characters that you care about intensely. The story she shares is terrifying in its depiction of how easily control of one's life can be taken away. The poem by Wislawa Szymborska included at the end of the book says it all.

"You survived because you were first.
You survived because you were last.
Because alone. Because the others.
Because on the left. Because on the right.
Because it was raining. Because it was sunny.
Because a shadow fell."

You don't just read this book. You live it along with Andras and his family.

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Summer Reading 2010

It may look like I haven't been reading this summer, but in the last few weeks I finished Same River Twice (2010) by Ted Mooney, Monster in the Box (2009) by Ruth Rendell, and The Last Time I Saw You (2010) by Elizabeth Berg. All were great reads.

Same River Twice, set in Paris and dealing with Russian contraband, tells a story of intrigue and betrayal in a 'Patricia Highsmith' amoral thriller.

Ruth Rendell has written about an older Inspector Wexford in this 22nd book, Monster in the Box, in the series. All through Wexford's career, Eric Targo has appeared and disappeared at moments when unsolved murders have been committed. Is Eric a serial killer or has Inspector Wexford let his imagination get the best of him?

The Last Time I Saw You is a charming story focusing on four former classmates attending their fortieth high school reunion and their hopes and dreams for this special evening and what might be.