ALL THE LITTLE LIARS (2016)

All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris

If you have read and loved earlier Aurora Teegardin mysteries, you don't need me to tell you to add ALL THE LITTLE LIARS to your 'to read' list.

Short Takes 10/4/2016

Guaranteed to be a popular gift for this holiday season! I've already purchased a copy and cannot wait to sit down and wander through the "over 600 of the most curious and unusual destinations around the globe." Read more about this fascinating book HERE.

This past weekend was the first Harbor Springs Festival of the Book and my friend Joy and I drove to Northern Michigan on Friday to explore. There was so much going on that it was impossible to attend everything we thought looked interesting (and everything looked interesting). The town itself was worth the trip. Check out the Harbor Springs Visitors Guide. Located on Little Traverse Bay, the area has been a resort since the late 1800s. Unique shops, restaurants, and a great little bookstore welcome visitors.

Highlights were an interview with author Elizabeth Letts about her new book The Perfect Horse, which tells the story of a little know struggle to save horses during World War II, and a lecture by Craig Johnson, creator of the Longmire mystery series and television show that caused much laughter.

A classy event, that was free (donations accepted) except for the special speakers paired with meals, talk is that there will be another Festival next year. I recommend you subscribe to their newsletter if you think you might attend! Harbor Springs Festival of the Book.

Short Takes 9/24/2016

JSO (Jackson Symphony Orchestra, MI) composer, Spring Arbor University Music Department Chair, and now author, Jonathan Bruce Brown will be speaking at the Jackson District Library's Carnegie Branch on Friday, September 30th at 6:30 pm.

Dissonance, Brown's first book, is a mystery about music, Michigan, and its people.

American Library Association Picture

History was made on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 after Carla Hayden was sworn in as the first African American and woman appointed as the librarian of Congress. Read more HERE.

What are your favorite banned books? Celebrate Banned Books Week 2016 by reading one! An annual event celebrating the freedom to read. "Find out which challenged books made the 2015 list, which was released as part of the 2016 State of America’s Library Report." Read more HERE. (How can #1 on the top 10 on the video be John Green's Looking for Alaska? I loved that book.) 

 

Short Takes 9/15/2016

Becky Masterman has a new thriller featuring Brigid Quinn, a retired FBI agent pushing 60. coming out March 21, 2017. You can read what I had to say about her earlier books HERE.

I am currently reading Elinor Lipman's On Turpentine Lane. It lays down on February 14, 2017. I've read and enjoyed many of her chic-lit novels. You can read my comments on earlier titles HERE.

Love cozy mysteries? Have you discovered Wendy Sand Eckel yet? Her series features Rosalie Hart, who escapes to Maryland's Eastern Shore to build a new life when she discovers her husband wants a divorce. Small-town charm and charming recipes make this series irresistible. My reviews HERE.

THE TWENTY-THREE (2016) Promise Falls Trilogy #3

The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I discovered Linwood Barclay's thrillers, I waited anxiously each time until I could get my hands on the next one. This one won't be available until November 1, 2016 but you have lots of other choices before then.

I love the fact that his story telling can surprise the reader. His plots are clever. His characters unexpected. The Promise Falls, New York setting is a small town we know. It's a lot like where we all live but with unthinkable things happening.

THE FIRST LINE: "I know I won't be able to get them all. But I hope I'll be able to get enough."

THE STORY: Book 1: Broken Promise - "With a demanding job at the Boston Globe, single parent David Harwood cannot find enough time to spend with his son. The solution he chooses is to go back home and work for the local paper in Promise Falls. Things start going wrong immediately."

Book 2: Far From True - "A group of teens are planning to attend a final showing at the local drive-in theater, smuggling in beer and one of their friends in the car trunk. They are in line when there is an explosion, the screen collapses, and people are killed. The reader is hooked! From there the author begins feeding out various story lines. The daughter of one of the victims asks Cal Weaver, a private investigator, to help solve a break-in at her father's house where he finds a hidden room. Meanwhile Detective Barry Duckworth is trying to solve two murders, one three years old, that he suspects are linked. And lurking in the background is the ominous Mr. 23."

And finally Book 3: The Twenty-three - People are suddenly being felled by a mysterious illness which is quickly identified as the town's water supply (shades of Flint, Michigan). Private investigator Cal Weaver focuses on who could benefit from such a tragedy while Detective Barry Duckworth investigates another murder which seems to be part of a pattern. David Harwood is back with his troubles too. How will it all end?

WHAT I THOUGHT: The confusion of characters I noted in my review of the second book just becomes more intense here. I actually had trouble getting into the story but by the time I was halfway through, I was committed to finding out the answers. Barclay does a great job of reminding the reader of who characters are, but I find it annoying sometimes. Will I read his next offering? Of course. Linwood Barclay is a masterful storyteller.

BOTTOM LINE: My recommendation would be to read some of the stand alone titles first. If you find, like me, that you love Linwood Barclay, then go ahead and read this trilogy. You can find reviews of other titles on my blog. One of my favorites is Never Look Away.

Title: The Twenty-Three (Promise Falls Trilogy #3)

Author: Linwood Barclay

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 464

Copyright: November 1, 2016

ISBN-10: 0451472721

ISBN-13: 978-0451472724

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by Berkley and Net Galley for an honest review.

Linwood Barclay is a former columnist for The Toronto Star and the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye, a #1 Sunday Times (UK) bestseller. He lives near Toronto with his wife. (from Amazon)
 

ARROWOOD (2016)

Arrowood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's been months since I felt like reading with being sick and in the hospital. ARROWOOD was a perfect reintroduction to feeling normal again. It had all the elements I love in a gothic mystery: an old house, a creepy groundskeeper, and unsolved family secrets.

THE FIRST LINE: "I used to play a game where I imagined that someone had abandoned me in a strange, unknown place and I had to find my way back home."

THE STORY: Arden Arrowood was playing outside with her baby twin sisters when they disappeared forever. All these years later, she still holds out hope that they are alive somewhere. The man who was imprisoned has maintained his innocence.

Now Arden is returning to her childhood home to try to put her life back together. The house, the neighbors, and the community all know parts of the past that can solve the puzzle.

WHAT I THOUGHT: After having read Laura McHugh's first mystery, the excellent The Weight of Blood, I was excited to read this second book. Without spoiling anything, I have to say that there were several places that I found hard to accept. Things happened that should have made the heroine run screaming and didn't. On the other hand, I did enjoy reading the book, my first read after emerging from a difficult medical summer. So thank you, Laura McHugh. You got me reading again!

BOTTOM LINE: Suspend disbelief and just enjoy a great gothic story.

Title: Arrowood

Author: Laura Hughes

Genre: Gothic Mystery

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 288

Copyright: August 9, 2016

ISBN-10: 0812996399

ISBN-13: 978-0812996395

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by Net Galley for an honest review.

Laura McHugh is the author of The Weight of Blood, winner of an International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and a Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel: Literary Suspense. The Weight of Blood was named a Best Book of the Year by BookPage, the Kansas City Star, and the Sunday Times (UK), and was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award (Best Mystery and Best Debut). Her second novel, Arrowood, will be published in 2016.

A lifelong Midwesterner, McHugh lives in Missouri with her husband and children.

DEATH AT THE DAY LILY CAFE (2016)

Death at the Day Lily Cafe by Wendy Sand Eckel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Last year about this time Minotaur sent me an ARC (advanced reading copy) of Wendy Sand Eckel's first cozy mystery Murder at Barclay Meadow. As it turned out, I was one of the first people to review the book and I loved it.

You can imagine my excitement when Death at the Day Lily Cafe showed up in my mailbox, and I am glad to say that it a worthy second adventure for Rosalie Hart!

THE STORY: Rebuilding her life, divorcee Rosalie Hart is opening a cafe on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and serving tempting organic food. Of course, it doesn't take any time at all before her good friend Doris asks Rosalie to help clear her little sister of a first degree murder charge.

Nobody much liked Carl James Fiddler, so there are lots of suspects for Rosalie and her friends to investigate.

When Rosalie's daughter gets caught up in the investigation, things get serious.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Although you don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, I would because you are going to want to read each book in the series.

Charming, quirky characters the reader cares about surround Rosalie. The location is seductive and you will want to jump in the car and drive down to the Day Lily Cafe to hang out, have a brownie, and an espresso. The menus discussed and the recipes included are an added enjoyment.

Extra points for changing the name of an adopted cat who kills birds from Sweetie Pie to Todd (short for Sweeney Todd).

The story is told first person and sprinkled with clever jokes and allusions to popular culture. If you get them, it's fun. If you don't, it doesn't spoil the story.

Wendy Sand Eckel's writing and storytelling is intelligent and funny. I just wish Rosalie was my best friend and I lived close enough to stop by . I think all readers will feel the same way.

BOTTOM LINE: Any story that includes scrapple is a winner for me. A most worthy entry in this cozy mystery series. The book will be released on July 26, 2016.

Title: Murder at Barclay Meadow

Author: Wendy Sand Eckel

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Minotaur

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 288

Copyright: July 26, 2016

ISBN-10: 1250058619

ISBN-13: 978-1250058614

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by the publisher Minotaur for an honest review.

"WENDY SAND ECKEL is a psychotherapist who lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she enjoys her family, multiple pets, and life on the water. Murder at Barclay Meadow is her first novel." (AMAZON)

MY RANDOM INTRO FOR ARMCHAIR BEA

Is there an award for being the oldest blogger? There should be. I'm approaching 71.

My earliest memories are of my grandfather, who lived with us after my grandmother died, reading OZ books to me. Although he was actually my step-grandfather, he had raised my father and was probably responsible for the 21 OZ books in my father’s collection. By the time I inherited them, two generations had colored the illustrations and the bindings were falling apart.

Books were everywhere in our home. I bragged that I could find a book on any topic the teacher assigned that would at least get me started on my report. And then there was the library.

I don’t remember ever going to the library with my Mother. It was always my father and he had a very distinctive browsing style. It included the entire collection of our Philadelphia branch library. Sadly it no longer exists.

Questions:

1. What is the name you prefer to use? My grandmother insisted that my mother name me Dorothy, which was my mother's name; but from the day I was born I was called Annie. However, no thanks to the TSA and Homeland Security, I am Dorothy in all official capacities. My friends and family still call me Ann or Annie.

2. How long have you been a book blogger? I retired from a lovely library career in 2007 and immediately started my retirement book blog because books have always been a part of my life. (I have notebooks of everything I have read going back many, many years.)

3. Have you participated in ABEA before? You can check out my 2013 Introduction.

More Questions:

1. Do you have a favorite book? The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I read it at least once a year.

2. What is your favorite genre and why? I tend to read mysteries and psychological thrillers interspersed with something more literary or educational to assuage my guilt.

3. If you could recommend one other book blogger, who would it be and why? This is the blog I want to write when I grow up. It's professional, helpful, interesting, and visually appealing. Beth Fish Reads - Reading, Thinking, Photographing

5. If you could create a playlist that reflects your bookshelf, what would be the first song you choose?  Alexander Hamilton

7. What book are you most excited for on your TBR? What are you most intimidated by?

Theresa Rebeck, an American playwright, has written several novels and was responsible for the television show Smash among others. I loved her two earlier books so I am looking forward to I'm Glad About You.

I've started reading Alice Dreger's Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and one Scholar's Search for Justice. She is an American bioethicist, author, and former professor of Clinical Medical Humanities and Bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. I am totally intimidated. I feel like I have to take notes.

HAMILTON (2016)

Do you have your copy yet? If not, read more HERE.

I LET YOU GO (2016)

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After writing reviews here for over eight years, you'd think I would have figured this out. Write about the book you just finished reading before starting the next one and entering a new world. Many a worthy title has never been reviewed because I moved on. I think the fact that I enjoyed discovering I Let You Go so much was what propelled me to start Peter May's Entry Island.

THE STORY: A terrible accident changes everything in an instant. With nothing to live for, Jenna Gray flees her life finding solace in the isolation of a remote village in Wales. Slowly she begins to heal, but her past isn't through with her yet. To say more might spoil the experience.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I have always read a lot of 'first' books especially thrillers and mysteries. Readers find the popular titles on their own. I have always wanted to be able to discover new possibilities.

I Let You Go is an outstanding debut. Clare Mackintosh has cleverly plotted a griping and unexpected story - one that has the power to keep you up way past your bedtime. 

Well-drawn, interesting characters populate a world in which the reader gets caught up. The author's description of the beauty and bleakness of the ocean cliffs in Wales is seductive. A sense of dread lies below the surface. Like Jenna, the reader must be alert. This is storytelling at its best.

Although I am getting tired of multiple voices, they work perfectly in this psychological tale. Alternating points of view between first person (Jenna and Ian) and third person (the police investigation), draw the reader into the stories of all the characters. As a matter of fact, the story threads developed for Detective Inspector Ray Stevens and his team, could lead one to suspect this may be the beginning of a series. We can only hope.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The wind flicks wet hair across her face, and she screws up her eyes against the rain."

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for those who love psychological thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: I Let You Go

Author: Claire Macintosh

Genre: Psychological thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 480 pages

Copyright: May 3, 2016

ISBN-10: 1101987499

ISBN-13: 978-1101987490

Claire Macintosh spent twelve years in the UK police force, including time on CID, and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time.

Clare is the founder of Chipping Norton Literary Festival, and lives in the Cotswolds, UK, with her husband and their three children. (from AMAZON)

FAR FROM TRUE (2016)

Far From True by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Unexpected twists and interesting characters populate Linwood Barclay thrillers. This is the second entry in a trilogy set in Promise Falls.

THE STORY: Once again Linwood Barclay delivers an unexpected and ultimately shocking opening. A group of teens are planning to attend a final showing at the local drive-in theater, smuggling in beer and one of their friends in the car trunk. They are in line when there is an explosion, the screen collapses, and people are killed. The reader is hooked! From there the author begins feeding out various story lines. The daughter of one of the victims asks Cal Weaver, a private investigator, to help solve a break-in at her father's house where he finds a hidden room. Meanwhile Detective Barry Duckworth is trying to solve two murders, one three years old, that he suspects are linked. And lurking in the background is the ominous Mr. 23.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Although Barclay is a master at plotting and making threads weave together, this entry in the series introduces so many characters that it takes some serious work to keep everything straight. Some reviewers thought the story could stand alone, but I disagree. Not only are there cliff hangers from Broken Promise, the first title in the series, there are reoccurring characters from many of Barclay's earlier books. For me, part of the fun was running into them and recalling their back stories.

FIRST SENTENCE: "They ain't seen nothin' yet."

BOTTOM LINE: Don't read this one as a stand alone. At the very least, read Broken Promise first so you're ready for the conclusion due out in November of 2016. Personally I would suggest reading one of his stand alone thrillers. Two I enjoyed were Trust Your Eyes and Never Look Away. Linwood Barclay is a good writer with compelling stories. Highly recommended.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: Far From True

Author: Linwood Barclay

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Publisher: NAL

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 480 pages

Copyright: March 22, 2016

ISBN-10: 0451472705

ISBN-13: 978-0451472700

Linwood Barclay is the New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of fourteen critically acclaimed novels, including Broken Promise, No Safe House, A Tap on the Window, Trust Your Eyes, which has been optioned for film, Never Look Away, which has been optioned for television, and No Time for Goodbye.  (from Amazon)

ANGELS BURNING (2016)

Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In 2014 I read my first Tawni O'Dell. After just a few pages of One of Us, I wondered why I had never heard of her before. Then I learned that her first published book Back Roads had been an Oprah Book Club selection.

THE STORY: A fifty year old mine fire forced residents to abandon Campbell's Run years earlier. Now someone has tried to hide the body of a teenage girl in one of the fiery surface holes.

Fifty year old Chief of Police Dove (named after the soap) Carnahan narrates how the gruesome death of Cami Truly affects the nearby small town of Buchanan, Pennsylvania and its residents. The investigation brings unwelcome memories of the murder and trial of Dove's mother when she was a teenager. Complicating her life are a relationship with Police Detective Nolan Greely and unexpected family problems.

WHAT I THOUGHT: First of all, any author who can work Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets into a story using it as a paint color has my undying allegiance. And I've always been fascinated by the ghost town of  Centralia, Pennsylvania on which Campbell's Run is based. Beyond that, I marked a number of quotes - some touching and some funny like this one, "My ability to arouse passion in men who arouse nothing is me is the stuff of legends."

Family secrets, lies, and people trying to escape their roots in rural Pennsylvania are recurring themes in O'Dell's stories. In Angels Burning she has created another compelling psychological thriller, with memorable characters. You don't doubt she knows these people. It's the details that make the story resonate. Unsettling issues are handled well which makes the reader feel safe.

There were several compelling story lines that weren't actually wrapped up which led me to suspect (and later verify) that there will be more adventures for Dove!

FIRST SENTENCE: "The last time I was this close to Rudy Mayfield he was leaning across the seat of his dad's truck trying to grope my recently ripened breasts."

BOTTOM LINE: A highly recommended literate mystery.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review. Also have to admit I grew up and lived many years in Pennsylvania and that it will always be my home.

Title: Angels Burning

Author: Tawni O'Dell

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Publisher: Gallery Books

Rating:4 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 288 pages

Copyright: January 5, 2016

ISBN-10: 1501132547

ISBN-13: 978-1501132544

Tawni O’Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including Back Roads, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. She is also a contributor to several anthologies, including Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female. Her works have been published in more than forty countries. (from Amazon)

THE PASSENGER (2016)

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

THE STORY: Instead of calling 911, Tanya DuBois decides to run when she finds her husband's body even though she insists she isn't guilty of anything. Changing her identity, not for the first time, she attempts to start another new life, but it's not that easy in this day and age. Luckily (or not) she meets Blue, a bartender, and they trade identities. Still, Tanya continues to look over her shoulder.

WHAT I THOUGHT: This is one of those books. The kind that keep you up past your bedtime because you have to know what is going to happen. Peppered with e-mails that give clues to the past, the cat and mouse game criss-crosses the U.S. always just steps ahead of whoever is searching for Tanya.

Escaping one's life through reinvention fascinates us. Told in the first person, Lisa Lutz has created a compelling story and some interesting characters, whose sense of morality is slightly off plumb. There's not a lot of depth, some repetition, but a good ending.

FIRST SENTENCE: "When I found my husband at the bottom of the stairs, I tried to resuscitate him before I ever considered disposing of the body."

BOTTOM LINE: If you love thrillers, add this to your to-read list. You won't be disappointed.

DISCLAIMER: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Title: The Passenger

Author: Lisa Lutz

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

No. of Pages: 320 pages

Copyright:March 1, 2016

ISBN-10: 1451686633

ISBN-13: 978-1451686630

Lisa Lutz is the author of the New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award– and Macavity Award–nominated, and Alex Award-winning Spellman Files series and the novel The Passenger. She is the coauthor of Heads You Lose, written with David Hayward. She lives and works in upstate New York.(from Amazon)