The Last One by Alexandra Oliva - a survival reality game crossed with a worldwide pandemic. The story is told in first person by Zoo and then flashes back to the other 11 contestants. People and situations are manipulated by the producers and when real disaster strikes no one realizes it. Some reviews complain the other characters aren't fleshed out but my take was that the author wanted them to be the caricatures that the producers in the book chose for them. This was an odd one, I really enjoyed it and yet felt it was dragging in some places.
4 stars
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Nothing Short of Dying by Erik Storey - Clive Barr is on his way to the Yukon to live his life alone and in peace when he gets a call from his sister saying she needs to be rescued. From there it's a fast paced adventure with hardly a breather. Small pieces of Clive's previous life are released in the rare quiet moment - he's a man who can handle himself very well in violent situations. His main fault is that he can't stop himself from helping those in need. PG13 verging on R for violence. The beginning of a series.
3.5 stars
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
Sept 11 - 17, 2016
The Last Time She Saw Him by Jane Haseldine - Reporter Julia Gooden's brother disappeared 30 years ago when she was 7 years old and she still blames herself for not remembering anything about it. Now she's zealously protective of her own children. But that doesn't keep her own son from being abducted. Soon, it looks like the two cases are related and there are many suspects from the past and present. The end was exciting but rather unbelievable. I didn't find any of the adults likeable. It looks like this is the beginning of a series.
3 stars
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City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong - Police detective Casey Duncan was eighteen when she killed a man and got away with it. When the past threatens to catch up with her, she flees with her best friend, a victim of domestic abuse, to a secret town where everyone is hiding from something. That might not have been such a good idea. It seems there have been several suspicious deaths in a town with a very small population. And since Casey has been "allowed" into the town only because she's a detective, she has to hit the ground running. I really enjoyed this one. Also the beginning of a new series.
4.5 stars
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An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson - the 12th Longmire books finds the sheriff and Henry Standing Bear in a small town near Sturgis, ND, during the annual motorcycle rally. They've been asked to look into the motorcycle accident of a young man. Was he run off the road for what he was carrying or what he knew? I have to say I found this one confusing and had trouble keeping track of people. Too many interruptions at the beginning of the book or old age? Some good one-liners from Henry but this was disappointing for me.
3 stars
* I'm anxiously waiting for the next season of Longmire starting on Netflix Friday, the 23rd. I keep both series completely separate in my head and enjoy them both.
3 stars
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City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong - Police detective Casey Duncan was eighteen when she killed a man and got away with it. When the past threatens to catch up with her, she flees with her best friend, a victim of domestic abuse, to a secret town where everyone is hiding from something. That might not have been such a good idea. It seems there have been several suspicious deaths in a town with a very small population. And since Casey has been "allowed" into the town only because she's a detective, she has to hit the ground running. I really enjoyed this one. Also the beginning of a new series.
4.5 stars
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An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson - the 12th Longmire books finds the sheriff and Henry Standing Bear in a small town near Sturgis, ND, during the annual motorcycle rally. They've been asked to look into the motorcycle accident of a young man. Was he run off the road for what he was carrying or what he knew? I have to say I found this one confusing and had trouble keeping track of people. Too many interruptions at the beginning of the book or old age? Some good one-liners from Henry but this was disappointing for me.
3 stars
* I'm anxiously waiting for the next season of Longmire starting on Netflix Friday, the 23rd. I keep both series completely separate in my head and enjoy them both.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Sep 4 - 10, 2016
The Black Widow by Daniel Silva - just before Gabriel Allon is about to become the director of Israel's secret service, there is an attack on a Jewish center in Paris. (The author wrote this before recent events in France.) It seems a new leader has risen, calling himself Saladin, and dedicated to cause catastrophe in the west. Gabriel recruits a female doctor to infiltrate the caliphate to find out when and where the next attack will be. Starts pretty slow and ends with a literal bang.There's not enough Gabriel in this book, he seems to have been reduced to mostly a watcher.
3 stars
3 stars
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Aug 28 - Sep 3, 2016
A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love and Faith in Stages by Kristen Chenowith, Joni Rodgers - Kristen's story of her journey to Broadway. A little too chirpy and not enough details for me.
2 stars
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Someone Always Knows by Marcia Muller - the 31st Sharon McCone mystery. Sharon and her husband have just combined their agencies and moved into a new building when a man they thought dead reappears. He's out for revenge, but why? And what will he do? A rather thin plot but I'm grateful the author didn't stretch it another 100 pages as seems to be the norm these days. I've been reading this author since 1977, so for loyalty's sake (and because she has a lovely name)
3 stars
2 stars
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Someone Always Knows by Marcia Muller - the 31st Sharon McCone mystery. Sharon and her husband have just combined their agencies and moved into a new building when a man they thought dead reappears. He's out for revenge, but why? And what will he do? A rather thin plot but I'm grateful the author didn't stretch it another 100 pages as seems to be the norm these days. I've been reading this author since 1977, so for loyalty's sake (and because she has a lovely name)
3 stars
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