Six Years (Harlan Coben)

I always know that I won't be disappointed when I read a Harlan Coben novel.  This one was no exception.

Jake meets Natalie and they fall in love.  All of a sudden, she's marrying another man and informs Jake that he shouldn't try to contact her again and that he needs to move on.  Six years later, when he sees Natalie's husbands obituary, he tries to reach out and offer his condolences.  That's when things start to get a little weird.

Within the first few chapters, you get to know the characters and then all of a sudden you notice that things aren't lining up properly.  As a reader, I felt as much confusion as what Jake felt as he was trying to put together all of the pieces.  Why did Natalie leave him six years ago for another man?  What has happened in her life since then?  Why didn't she want to have anything to do with him anymore?

Without giving anything away (because apparently my new nickname is "Spoiler-Alert-Sarah"), I will say that I loved how many details there were in the book and how they all intertwined and finally make sense near the end of the book.  There were times when I felt confused and scared for the characters.

If you're into the mystery books, you'll be into this one.  I love how Harlan Coben writes books that are full of suspense and mystery, yet don't have all of the gore and terrifying details that some mystery books have.

You should make this book the last one you read during your summer vacation!




I'm a little concerned that I won't have time to finish my 2015 Reading List... But I'm not AS far behind as I look!  I have a couple blogs waiting to be posted!
As some of you know, I will be starting my Master's of Education this fall, so I won't be spending as much time reading novels since I will be spending more time reading textbooks!  I'll try to make these last couple of weeks count - and I'll also be able to finish up some novels during Christmas!

My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read - Six Years (Harlan Coben)
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

I need to be careful what I say about Gone Girl, because I don't want to give anything away!

Nick and Amy are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy suddenly disappears.  We don't know what happened to her - is she missing, was she murdered - but we do know that Nick is the prime suspect in the police investigation.  This book alternates between Amy's past diary entries and Nick's current experiences to lead the reader to the outcome of this scenario. 

This book had me in a reading spell and I loved reading the ups and downs of the investigation and of Nick and Amy's relationship.  There were no lack of twists and turns in this book, and it was another example of an author truly allowing the readers to get into the heads of the characters in the book. 

The only thing that I wasn't too fond of was the ending (*sigh*).  I'm going to pretend that I'm reading it all over again - and this time, I'm going to forget that the last three chapters ever happened and turn the book into a "create-your-own-ending" book. 

So, while this blog post about "Gone Girl" is quite short, I highly recommend this one.  (I kept it short because I assume everyone will want to go out and read it - no spoiler alerts!)  It was a good read, it kept me guessing, and it captured me in the world of some truly twisted characters. 

Caper (Lawrence Sanders)

What a great book to start my 2013 bookstack!

This Lawrence Sanders novels is by no means a new release.  Published in 1980, it's another one of those books that you should judge by the cover when you say, "It looks worn out and old - lots of people must have read this!"

"Caper" is a mystery/suspense novel.  Jannie Shean is a mystery writer who is told that her writing is starting to seem unrealistic.  She's given the advice of getting back into touch with reality and reading about real experiences in the news before starting on her next novel.  Jannie figures she's got an even better idea - Why not plan a whole crime and then pull out at the last minute?  Jannie decides that, along with help from her friend Dick Fleming, they are going to learn what it really involved as they plan a robbery.  They must do everything from figure out how to get hold of firearms and who to recruit as extra bodies in the mission to how to cover up their identities so that once all is said and done, none of this can be traced back to who they really are.

From the very first chapters, this book grabs your attention.  As one of the characters says in the book, we are all set in our routines and we live our lives knowing that we probably have a tomorrow and that we most likely have a good idea of what will happen in our 'tomorrow'.  These two characters show you how their lives transform when they start to live outside of their comfort zone.  This unknown territory that they are "adventuring" is a place that many of us have never been (and will likely never be!).

I don't want to ruin anything at all about the book.  But I really liked it.  I loved the characters (even the bad ones that you're not supposed to like) and I loved how it kept you guessing.

If you're a fan of the mystery genre, I would highly recommend this one.  Even if you're not a fan of the mystery genre, I would recommend it.  It's not a scary one, I promise - it's not the type of mystery that keeps you up at night thinking that something bad is going to happen to you.  (You just think to yourself instead, "I'm glad I'm not in their position...")

Back on the Bookshelf: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

It's rare that I don't finish a book once it's started.  I always figure that once started, I have invested time into reading the beginning of it that I feel bad putting it down.  Am I not wasting those minutes or hours that I have already spent reading the first few chapters?  I also always hope that the book will get better all of a sudden or there will be some twist that will make things more interesting.

However, this time I looked at it a different way.  There are so many books out there that I have been wanting to read that I didn't want to waste time reading a book that I wasn't 100% into.  As much as I feel bad for returning this one to the library unfinished, I am excited to move on to something else.

I made it exactly half way through the book The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley when I decided that I wasn't going to invest any more time reading it. 

The book is a mystery about a young girl, Flavia de Luce.  At their home, a bird is left dead on their doorstep with a stamp on its beak.  The next day, Flavia finds the body of a man in their garden.  She is quite the little scientist and tries to take it upon herself to solve the mystery behind the death and clear her father's name since he is currently the prime suspect in this murder investigation. 

Sounds interesting, right?  It came highly recommended from a family member and Goodreads even describes it as a "wickedly brilliant first novel." 

I don't want to say that since I wasn't enjoying it, no one else will.  In what I read in the first half, it was a well written book with lots of description and good character development.  I think I found it very wordy and maybe it was a little bit too much for me right now with the type of reading I am doing - mostly on my lunch breaks, in noisy environments, and for short periods of time.

This book isn't one of my favourites this year, unfortunately...  Here's hoping my next book adventure goes a little better!

Two for the Dough (Janet Evanovich)

Two for the Dough is the second book in Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" series.  (The first book being One for the Money, which I talked about last month and has a Hollywood film.)

In this novel, Stephanie Plum continues her work as a (terrible) bounty hunter.  She's put on the "easy" case of finding Kenny Mancuso, who didn't appear for his court date.  As with most Stephanie Plum cases, the chase for Kenny turns out to be more difficult and complicated than anyone anticipated.  The hunt for Kenny uncovers other mysterious events, such as stolen goods, missing caskets, missing body parts (yes...) and sudden murders. 

By the wood stove... It's fall!

I enjoyed Two for the Dough.  It was written similarly to the first One for the Money book - that is, it was easy to read, funny, and entertaining.  There is a lot of humour in the conversations Stephanie has with her co-workers and family and in the situations that she finds herself in, yet she is in such desperate need of the job and the money that she continues on her search. Nobody thinks that she can do the job, but she may be smarter than people believe. 

"The truth is, I'm not the heroic type.  I'm afraid of spiders and extraterrestrials and sometimes feel the need to check under my bed for drooly guys with claws.  If I ever found one I'd run screaming out of my apartment and never come back."  (Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich)

My favourite character in this book, by far, was Stephanie Plum's grandmother, Grandma Mazur.  Grandma Mazur, who can be remembered from the first book after she shot a cooked chicken at the dinner table, wants to be involved in the hunt for Kenny.  She goes on outings with Stephanie and her comments always made me laugh. You just kind of have to shake your head at what the grandmother does and wish that you are as cool of an older lady as she is someday. 

Again, I will mention that Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has eighteen novels, this one being the second.  I think this book stands on its own and you could read it without having read the first book.  Two for the Dough is a completely different case than the one in One for the Money, but the main characters are all the same.  The advantage to reading this series in order is to see how the interactions between the main characters evolve.  I think I would want to read the books in order, if only to see how all of Stephanie Plum's personal affairs turn out... 

After reading (and enjoying) the first two books in the series, I would say that there is a good chance I will continue with this list and read Three to get Deadly.  If you want a funny little mystery, this series of Stephanie Plum books could be the one for you. 

Devil's Waltz (Jonathan Kellerman)

This book had been sitting on my shelf for quite some time.  About a year ago, my mom put this book in my room and said, "I read this a long time ago and it was good."  Of course, I judged the cover and thought the book looked weird and old. 

So my lesson of the week: Don't judge a book based on the fact that it was written a long time ago.  And just because a book looks a little torn up doesn't mean it's bad - it probably just means that lots of people read it, therefore likely making it a good book (right?  I'll believe that logic).

Enjoying one of the last few
warm days of fall...

Jonathan Kellerman's book Devil's Waltz was written in 1993 - at least I was alive when it was written, unlike some of the other published books by Kellerman.  Despite the fact that the book was written nearly 20 years ago, I found it was still dealing with a topic that would be interesting to today's audience.  I was a young child when the book was published, and now, as a 20-something-year-old, I found the book exciting. 

The book is about a case that is going on at a hospital.  A two-year-old girl, Cassie Jones, is brought to the emergency room frequently with different symptoms.  By the time they get to the hospital and run tests each time, the doctors can't find anything wrong with her.  The doctor on the case, Stephanie, begins to suspect that this could be a case of Munchausen by proxy, which is basically when a parent does something to the child to cause them to be sick.  Alex Delaware, the main character in the story, is introduced to the case as a psychologist and is trying to figure out the mystery behind Cassie's illness.  Is the child actually sick or is someone purposely trying to harm this young child?

Throughout the book, I think I suspected just about every character at one time or another.  Is it Cassie's mother, Cindy, who is doing something to her own daughter, or could it be the father, Chip, who always seems very cooperative at the hospital.  Maybe it's the lead physician or the nurse dealing with Cassie, trying to advance their careers by bringing attention to her case.  Or possibly, it's Cassie's grandfather, who is actually the head of the hospital. 

It deals with such a complicated topic and analyzes the characters in so much depth.  There is so much more to the story than what it looks like on the outside and you really find yourself trying to figure out the mystery.  I would read a chapter and say, "It's definitely Cassie's mom, she's been acting a little weird lately."  Then, twenty minutes and a couple chapters later, I'd say, "No, scrap that, it's actually got to be the doctor.  She's hiding something, I can feel it."  It was a continuous guessing game and you keep finding out new information that keeps the story exciting. 

I loved the book and would recommend it to everyone.  It's very much a mystery book, but not a scary mystery - no one dies (well, almost no one) and it's not the type of novel that will keep you up at night.  (Well, it might keep you up at night since you won't want to put it down, but it won't keep you up with scary thoughts.)

One for the Money (Janet Evanovich)

Yes, this is the book that has turned into a recent movie (starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara and Daniel Sunjata).  I must admit that before reading the book, I did watch the first half of the movie.  Long story short, I fell asleep during the movie (must have just been too comfortable on the couch?) and I haven't been able to watch the second half yet.  At this point, it would definitely need a full re-watch. 

One for the Money is about Stephanie Plum, a girl who is recently unemployed and decides to take a job from her cousin as a bounty hunter.  She's given the case of finding Joe Morelli, an old "friend," which is proving to be harder than she anticipated.  Having little experience, running short on money, and finding it hard to keep up the courage to continue on her man-hunt, Stephanie starts uncovering realities that others are trying to keep hidden. 

I really liked this book.  I found it very entertaining because of the characters and the way they interact.  I also enjoyed how everything unfolds - it's exciting and a bit unexpected.  It has lots of mystery throughout the book as you are trying to put all of the pieces together.  You really start to feel for Stephanie Plum and want to see her make her capture, but because you can clearly read into her lack of experience, you see her struggling with her daily tasks. 

In the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, there are actually EIGHTEEN novels.  This is a little insane, but I must say that I am a bit excited.  How often do you read a novel, start to love the characters, and then find that the book is over?  This is that opportunity to keep reading into her life way after this "One for the Money" experience.  I don't think it would be a wise move for me to read them all in a row (because I would probably lose interest), but since I enjoyed the first novel, I would definitely continue reading the series.  (It actually is quite overwhelming the number of novels that Janet Evanovich has written!  Really, check it out.)

It was an easy-to-read, good book.  The story was easy to follow and was a good summer read for me!  Excited to find a copy of the second book, Two for the Dough.

The Wild Zone (Joy Fielding)

I recently picked this book to read for one reason - I didn't want to be bringing "Fifty Shades of Grey" with me to school. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't feel it would be very professional. 

Enjoying some sunshine and reading "The Wild Zone"!

I enjoyed "The Wild Zone" by Joy Fielding because it was an easy read, it kept me guessing, and it left me pleasantly surprised at the end. 

As a whole, I found the book was exciting but lacked a little in the suspenseful "I-Need-To-Keep-Reading-Because-It's-So-Crazy-That-I-Need-To-Know-What-Happens-Next" kind of way.  After reading about 80 pages, I remember saying, "It's good, but I feel like something is about to happen."  That feeling kept up for most of the book, with the most exciting parts happening nearer to the end. (I've read Joy Fielding books before, and this was wasn't as exciting as I remember those ones being.)

To clarify, it's not a mystery book where something crazy happens at the beginning (like a murder) and then the rest of the book is spent trying to figure out what happens.  Instead, it's a book where all of the events and information presented throughout the book are useful in determining what the future holds for each of the characters. 

I thought it was a good, easy read and it would be a great summer book for someone.  There's a bit of suspense and mystery, but there isn't the gore and scary stuff to turn those readers off of it.  I enjoyed it and thought it filled my prep and lunch times at school very well during these last couple of weeks of school. 

School is done and it is officially summer vacation - let's get my "read" on and have some much needed "me" time!

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (Stieg Larsson)

The day has finally arrived - I've finished "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson.  It took me way too long to read this book and I just need to point out that it wasn't because I didn't enjoy the book.

This was one of my photos for "Photo A Day May"
http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/04/may-photo-day-list.html

"The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" is the third book in the Millenium trilogy (also known as the Dragon Tattoo books!).  It's definitely a book that must be read as the third book of the trilogy - no skipping ahead!

Without giving too much away about the first two books, this third book starts with Lisbeth Salander (the girl with the dragon tattoo) in critical condition.  The book tries to solve the issues and make sense of everything that occurred in the first two "Millenium" books.  (Sorry, that doesn't give you much to go on...)

The book was good, but I wouldn't say that it was as exciting as the first two books.  While the other books had more "action" (that is, people getting shot or being chased and whatnot), this book really dealt more with the "figuring things out" side.  Lots of information into ongoing investigations and about characters who are somehow related to the events of the book.  It was slow at times (clearly, since it took me almost two months to make it through the 563 pages, I was able to put it down) but it really picked up near the end when real connections are being made.

It was a good ending to the trilogy and I felt like everything was resolved.

My verdict on the Millenium trilogy - it was good.  They were exciting books, though at times I felt like they were really long (because they are).  They're definitely good for a dose of mystery.

I've had my mystery fix for a while, now onto something a little different.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson)

This post won't be a long one because I cannot wait to start the next (and final) book in the Millenium trilogy. 

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson definitely met my reading needs this month!  While the book is a giant one, with 724 pages, it was so worth it.  Lisbeth Salander, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo, is wanted by the police for the murder of three people.  Her fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.  These three murder victims are all linked together by a book and article that were to be written about sex trafficking.  Mikael Blomkvist, who is the other big star in "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" books, knows Salander and doesn't believe that she's guilty of these crimes.  He uses the resources and staff available to him to help out Salander, even though she can't be found.  Anywhere. 

I remember when I was a couple hundred pages into the book, saying, "I don't understand why there are so many little stories here.  There is so much going on and I just don't get how it's all linked together.  I feel like they've talked about so much but that it doesn't really mean anything."  I was reassured that it would all come together soon and that the excitement would start.  And did it ever.  (I will admit that at times, I felt that the book was a bit wordy, but I think it just gives you a good description of everything that is going on.)

All of these little stories from journalists, police officers, Salander and Blomkvist come together wonderfully and you just keep saying, "Oh my goodness..." as you start to realize how things are playing out and how different parts of the story are fitting together. 

The ending of the book leaves you wanting more.  Hence the need to start the third book.  Tonight. 

You definitely need to have read the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in order to fully understand this book.  The relationships built between characters in the first book are really important to some of the events that occur in this one. 

On to book number three!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)

I don't know why I didn't read this book sooner, when it was at the front of Chapters or when my mom whipped through them.  I still didn't know much about the book when my aunt started talking about the new movie that's now out.  When I told her I hadn't read the book, she just told me, "Oh, you have to.  They were so good."

So, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was the next book I decided to read.  When I started it, I didn't read the back so I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. 

The novel is giant and it's a thriller/mystery/suspense book (with a bit of a love story at parts, I guess).  Without giving much away because most of this is on the back of the book, Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, is hired by Henrik Vanger to solve a mystery.  Henrik's niece disappeared forty years ago and Henrik believes that she was murdered.  He's been stuck on this case for forty years and is desperate to find an answer.  Lisbeth Salander enters the story (she's the one with the dragon tattoo!).  She's a "genius hacker with someone twice her age" and tries to help Mikael with this mystery. 

"You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to see that these events were somehow related.  There had to be a skeleton in one of their cupboards, and Salander loved hunting skeletons.  Besides, she had nothing else on at the moment."  (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, p. 390)

I really liked this book.  It took me a little while to get into for a few reasons.  First, I didn't have a good chunk of time devoted to reading when I started the book, and I think that you really need that to understand what is going on at the start of the book.  The whole novel isn't like the first fifty pages, so if you're having trouble with the beginning (the first hundred or so pages), don't worry - it gets a bit easier to read once the story is set up a bit for you.  Second, it just took some time getting used to the names of people and places (because they're all Swedish).  Once you start reading though, these names become familiar and it's fine.  Don't ask me to pronounce them, but it was easy to understand and recognize the names. 

This really was a "don't want to put it down" book for me.  It was exciting and a little bit crazy.  (That's one messed up family, the Vangers!)  If you haven't read it and are looking for something with a bit of substance, this could be it!  It's big and has a lot of details, but it moves at a steady pace and was very interesting. 

This is the first in the trilogy and I am looking forward to reading the next two!

Play Dead (Harlan Coben)

This book did not disappoint.  I was looking for another good mystery novel and that's exactly what I got.  I have always been impressed with Harlan Coben's novels and his ability to make me a) carry his book around everywhere I go, b) sit down for hours at a time and continuously flip the pages of his novel, and c) stay up late until it's finished. 

After reading those few non fiction books and some light summer reads, I thought it was about time that I got lost in another Harlan Coben novel.  This time, I chose one of the few novels that I haven't read by him, Play Dead.  Like I mentioned, I have loved every book that I've read by him in the past and this one was no exception.  (I may even have to go back and re-read a few that I remember really loving!)

At first I was hesitant to read it.  At the beginning of his book, Harlan Coben writes a short note to his readers.  He tells us, "Okay, if this is the first book of mine you're going to try, stop now.  Return it.  Grab another.  It's okay.  I'll wait."  He wrote this book when he was in his early twenties, and it was released for print in 1990.  He explains that he is not the same writer now as he was back then.  But that's okay - I liked the book anyway and I'm glad I kept reading. (Some other people who have written online reviews were very disappointed... I, however, thought it was still good and it kept me reading.)

Now onto the challenge of reviewing this book without giving too much away!  The book is about a Hollywood couple, Laura Ayars and David Baskin.  They were on their secret honeymoon in Australia when Laura went out for a quick business meeting.  When she returned, she was left with a note from her husband saying he had gone out for a swim.  He never returned.  Despite the coroner reports that say David drowned, Laura suspects some foul play and takes it upon herself to start finding answers.  Some secrets, as much as 30 years old, start to surface and prove that this is all a little deeper than we ever imagined it could be. 

As I was reading this book, I was starting to think that I had many things figured out.  There was a lot of foreshadowing and most people are able to put two and two together.  (I mean, come on, you can read the title of the book and figure out something!)  Half way through the book, I was even wondering why Harlan Coben needed another 200 pages to tie up the ends that I had already figured out.  Oh, how wrong was I.  Despite what I thought was happening, there were new facts that kept arising, changing the story entirely.

I would recommend this novel (as I would any Harlan Coben novel!).  If you're looking for a book that will keep you in suspense until the very last page, consider this one.  And consider his other novels, too!