Review - Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Book Summary from Amazon

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered when the tyrannical Simeon Lee is found dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. When Hercule Poirot offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man.

My Review - 5

In one word - delightful.  I can't stop grinning after reading this mystery, very clever in deed.  When Hercule Poirot is giving the blow by blow details, peeling an onion layer by layer you are glued to his story as a reader and can visualize the family being mesmorized by him, a smooth talker.

If you enjoyed And Then There Were None, you will love this one also, similar in many ways, you will never guess.  I thought I had it but nope.

The father, Simeon Lee requested his estranged family home for the holidays and enjoyed every minute of making them miserable.  He had quite the dark humour, it was funny but I also felt sorry for them.  They described him as "the kind of man you might say had sold his soul to the devil and enjoyed the bargain!" page 220 Many thought he deserved to die and so the finger was pointed to all.  He treated them horribly but he enjoyed every minute of making them miserable.

This was so well done, definitely makes me want to read more Agatha Christie, Queen of Mystery for sure.

Favourite quotes

"I believe the present matters - not the past!  The past must go.  If we seek to keep the past alive, we end, I think, by distorting it.  We see it in exaggerated terms - a false perspective.  Page 39

"I agree with you.  It is here a family affair.  It is a poison that works in the blood - it is intiate - it is deep-seated  There is here, I think, hate and knowledge....  Page 211

 

Review - The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald

Book Summary from Goodreads


He's gone. And telling the truth won't bring him back...

When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world.

Lies, rumours and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other.

Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected? And what will it take to make things right?

The Cry is a dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart and characters who will keep you guessing on every page.

My Review - 3 1/2

An unexpected read, I have always enjoyed psychological thrillers, a favourite genre.  I would recommend this one to those that enjoy emotional novels that deal with morals and values, think Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah.

You are on the edge of your seat trying to figure out how they connect the pieces together about missing Noah.  And the ending was brilliant, I absolutely loved the ending.  Even though I enjoyed the story overall, the middle kept me wondering what next, it took me past the suspense feel because a main part was revealed early which had you waiting for when the truth would come out.  At times the flow of the story almost lost me and then wham, oh Joanna, I loved her character again.

Alistair has an older daughter who he is trying to get full custody for.  We meet his ex wife and then Joanna and her connect also.  Everyone involved with the search for Noah and the manipulation going on was fascinating and had you considering all the different judgments.  In the end what happened does it match your own morals and values, you need to read it and consider this.

Helen Fitzgerald gives flashbacks throughout the story which helps to flesh out the journey, very well done.  Good suspense psychological thriller, you will be surprised.

Quote from 16% on iPad

She was on her way to hell.  That's why the sky ahead was getting blacker.  Joanna calmed herself with the idea.  She died and went to hell, that's all - just as she knew she would, since the affair.


My Review of her other book, The Donor

It's Monday - what are you reading

Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2014 Wishlist.

I am currently reading a heart wrenching memoir, all about timing, tears tears tears......

 

 

I finally reviewed The Cry, it will be up on Wed

 

 

 

Up next I think is going to be a Christmas story, of course still my genre of choice, mystery

 

 

 

Any Christmas reads you would recommend?  I thought these were great:

 

Snowed Over - 4 1/2

 

Silent Night - 5

 

 





 

Yuletide Treasure - 5

 

 

 

Teaser Tuesday - Memoir by Eleanor Vincent

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following and go here to participate: Teaser Tuesday

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser from Swimming with Maya

Kindle app on Ipad - 12%

Still groggy from the sleeping pill I had taken, I swim up out of sleep and find Meghan curled into a ball next to me.  Her deep, relaxed breathing immediately reminds me of the forced rise and fall of my other daughter's chest, the tubes snaking into her, the swollen, puffy eyelids.


Summary from Amazon

Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.

Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor's life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya's fate.

Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya's organs. Years later, in one of the most poignant moments you will ever read about, Eleanor has the opportunity to hear her daughter's heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as the experiences that shaped Eleanor as a woman and as a mother to Maya.

An inspirational/motivational true story recommended for anyone who has experienced tragedy, who is grappling with traumatic experiences of the past, or who wants to better understand the strength and healing power of the human spirit.

Giggle, gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to take the time to tell all my US blogging friends Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy all the food and family time.

Even though I do not celebrate Thanksgiving, the day always makes me stop and take a moment to think of all the things to be thankful for.

My giggle for the day, I saw this and have ordered immediately.  I seriously cannot stop laughing and look how the chicken is bounded, lmao.

Summary from pdfmagazines

And before long, from unbearably slow drizzling to trussing, Miss Chicken discovers the sheer thrill of becoming the main course. A parody in three acts—“The Novice Bird” (easy recipes for roasters), “Falling to Pieces” (parts perfect for weeknight meals), and “Advanced Techniques” (the climax of cooking)—Fifty Shades of Chicken is a cookbook of fifty irresistible, repertoire-boosting chicken dishes that will leave you hungry for more.

With memorable tips and revealing photographs, Fifty Shades of Chicken will have you dominating dinner.

Review - November Echo by James Houston Turner

Book Summary from Amazon

Every spy has a beginning, and for Colonel Aleksandr Talanov of the KGB, that moment occurs one summery night in 1985 on the Costa del Sol, at the height of Cold War tensions between the Americans and Soviets.

As a signatory to the Biological Weapons Treaty of 1972, the United States had already destroyed its military stockpiles of weaponized pathogens. The Soviet Union, however, responded differently to the signing of that treaty. They created a network of forty-seven top-secret production facilities spread across Russia. Called Biopreparat, it was the largest biological weapons program in history.

So when a scientist from one of those facilities decides to defect, Talanov has the assigned task of bringing him back. But after tracking the scientist and his family to Spain, Talanov is betrayed and the scientist and his family are murdered.

The only survivor is their teenage daughter, Noya -- short for Noyabŕ -- in English, "November" -- and what happens in an impulsive moment changes the course of Talanov's life by placing him in a desperate race to save Noya from the deadliest and most vicious adversary he will ever encounter: the KGB.

Published - October 2013

My Review - 4

Talanov is one of my favourite characters of all time, intense with a brilliant mind, top notch spy for sure.  This was action packed as his other two books in this series, Department Thirteen and Greco's Game.  Espionage thriller at its best.

I respect James Turner more for always have strong female characters in his books also.  Sophia is Talanov's partner during an undercover job and she wants to prove to Talanov that she is just as good as he is.  The banter between the two is fierce and entertaining.

Every book gives us another side of Talanov.  I was such a fan when I was introduced to him in Department Thirteen, in November Echo we get to see the beginning of Talanov's life and getting into KGB.

These books are similar to Mission Impossible, Bourne Identity types, the perfect gift for men readers.  My only issue with all the stories is Talanov and others seem to have 9 lives, a few impossible moments in my opinion.

As I have said, I am a Talanov fan, very easy to cheer for and love.  At first I wasn't happy with him during this journey, he came across as a pompous ass where I always thought he was humble but superior in every way before. 

I will have to recommend to start with Department Thirteen, brilliant from beginning to end.

My Reviews

Department Thirteen - Favourite thriller of 2012

Greco's Game

Interview with James


 

Review - The October List by Jeffery Deaver

Book Summary from Amazon

Gabriela waits desperately for news of her abducted daughter.
At last, the door opens.
But it's not the negotiators. It's not the FBI.
It's the kidnapper.
And he has a gun.
How did it come to this?

Two days ago, Gabriela's life was normal. Then, out of the blue, she gets word that her six-year-old daughter has been taken. She's given an ultimatum: pay half a million dollars and find a mysterious document known as the "October List" within 30 hours, or she'll never see her child again.

Published on October 1, 2013

I received this eBook from NetGalley

My Review - 3

Gabriela was an amazing character which in the end I respected and loved even more.  This was the highlight of the book for me.  An added personal author touch was that each chapter opened with photography by Jeffery Deaver.

The main style he tried was writing this novel in reverse, this was not a success. While reading until 80% I wished it was not in reverse, nothing that came up made it shocking or worthwhile and then wham at 80% I was blown away and finally wowed by the creativity but really much to late. And unfortunately, it just felt unfinished, I actually had to read chapter 1 again to feel like it ended. I have read an edgy action packed reverse novel so I did have expectations.

Overall, great suspense, if it was in normal style, I would have gave this 4 stars or more.

Quote from book

I'm going to tell you what I need.  I need someone dead.  Someone who's bad and who's been troublesome and has caused me and other people a great deal of pain.  It's a simple goal - a killing - but there are complications.  A lot of complications.

I would recommend this novel in reverse.  My Review of The 13th Hour  4 1/2





 

Monday's can be Sweet, right....

Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2013 Wishlist.

I took Thursday and Friday off, so a 4 day weekend, sweet :-)  do you think Monday can be sweet too, I am going to start my day thinking it will be.

Thursday was my birthday, Happy Birthday to me, such a lovely 4 days.  Spa, dinner with my love, happy hour with my friends and brunch with my daughter, her brother and daddy.  I have to remember that I am blessed even when life is hard.

On to the books......

I am currently reading  The Cry.  I enjoyed her book The Donor so decided to read her new one.  My Review of The Donor

 

 

I completed Trans-Sister Radio, the perfect book club read about Transgender.  My Review

 

 

 

 

I am going to read a Netgalley book next, my 2nd Jeffrey Deaver.  I read the Bone Collector for the first time this year, my review is here.

 

 

 



 

 

Review - Trans-sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian

Book Summary from Amazon

Published August 2002

When Allison Banks develops a crush on Dana Stevens, she knows that he will give her what she needs most: attention, gentleness, kindness, passion. Her daughter, Carly, enthusiastically witnesses the change in her mother. But then a few months into their relationship, Dana tells Allison his secret: he has always been certain that he is a woman born into the wrong skin, and soon he will have a sex-change operation. Allison, overwhelmed by the depth of her passion, and finds herself unable to leave Dana. By deciding to stay, she finds she must confront questions most people never even consider. Not only will her own life and Carly’ s be irrevocably changed, she will have to contend with the outrage of a small Vermont community and come to terms with her lover’s new body–hoping against hope that her love will transcend the physical.

My Review - 4

If you want debate, choose this for your book club.  I thought this was a fascinating, thought provoking but at times uncomfortable book to read.  And to know this is reality for some makes it a wow moment, I feel a little shell shocked but I also feel more educated.

One of the debates is when should personal life be a factor for professional life.  Allison has fell in love with a transsexual while she is a school teacher.  Chris B was fantastic in the genuine characterization he used in the book for all involved.  The ex husband Will, daughter Carly, principle, parents, students and of course the couple themselves Dana and Allison.  Some of the advocates at school were out of order and made me realize a great reputation will not always win over decisions that truly should only be yours.

I enjoyed the style of the book, they used the transcript of radio clips and then we heard from different characters in the book in relation to how they were affected or their role in the process.  We get some details about the surgery, it can be uncomfortable to read, squeamish at times.

I loved how they alternated between calling Dana he or she, this proves as great debate also.  An interesting thought was if Dana had got in an accident and was castrated by mistake, many would be supportive but to choose castration, how could he. Very complex thoughts.  Allison has always been straight, now that her partner is no longer a man, is she gay, hmmm.

Every thought that you have while reading this, the author will touch on, amazing really.  I live in a small community and if this happened, I can see many reacting the same, news and radio for sure.  Unfortunately some of the judgments too.

My only issue was the ending and I think it just made me uncomfortable in so many ways which also makes me feel guilty.  It ended a little to quickly and neatly but then I think do I really want to know.

I highly recommend this one just for the heart wrenching, emotional but thought provoking adventure it take you on.

 

Waiting on Wednesday - Harry Dolan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event spotlighting upcoming releases we are highly anticipating. It is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.



I am excited to see more from Harry Dolan and the character David returns.

Release Date - January 9, 2014

David Loogan’s dark past is revealed in this prequel to Bad Things Happen—the critically acclaimed mystery that Stephen King called a “great f***ing book.”

On a rainy night in April, a chance encounter on a lonely road draws David into a romance with Jana Fletcher, a beautiful young law student. Jana is an enigma: living in a run-down apartment and sporting a bruise on her cheek that she refuses to explain. David would like to know her secrets, but he lets them lie—until it’s too late. 

When Jana is brutally murdered, the police consider David a prime suspect. But as he sets out to uncover the truth about Jana, he begins to realize he’s treading a very dangerous path—and that her killer is watching every move he makes.

I loved his debut - My Review 5 star

I am really surprised to not have seen this book more around the blogosphere.  Highly recommend.

Harry Dolan also did an interview here at Tea Time with Marce, have a read here.

Hope you are having a great week, enjoy Hump Day.

Another Monday - getting my reading mojo back

Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2013 Wishlist.

I'm  currently reading a great 'make you think' book

Have you read Chris Bohjalian before - any recommendations on which book to try next by him?

 

 

I completed a book and reviewed right away, yaaaay - My Review 4 1/2

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like my groove is slowly coming back, getting my reading mojo back, thank goodness.  I am going back to old review recommendation so unsure what is next.

 

 

Have a great week

Review - Creep by Jennifer Hillier

Published - July 2011

Book Summary

IF HE CAN’T HAVE HER . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology, an expert in human behavior with her own hidden past. But she’s not the only one keeping secrets. . . . When Sheila began an affair with her sexy graduate assistant Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, she was riddled with guilt when they were apart. Now she’s finally engaged to a good man, and it’s time to end the dangerous liaison. But Ethan has something different in mind. He intends to make her pay for rejecting him.

. . . NO ONE CAN.

As Sheila attempts to counter Ethan’s increasingly threatening moves, he schemes to reveal her darkest, most intimate secrets by destroying her prestigious career . . . and then her. Caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game, Sheila must fight for her life and free herself from the ex-lover whom she couldn’t resist—who is now the manipulative monster who won’t let her go.

CREEP

My Review 4 1/2

You will not be able to put this thriller down once you start.  It is dark, sexy and edgy suspense.  It was good characterization, I embraced all the characters even when I didn't like them.

I thought Sheila was a strong woman but then went on a roller coaster ride with what I thought of her.  A professional, a psychology Professor, how do they mistakes but everyone is human right.  She made some very bad choices starting a sexual relationship with her student but she is a sex addict that has fell off the wagon and her choice may kill her.

Some people can not be turned down and Ethan will not be sharing Sheila, how can she reject him now.  Ethan should have been an art student with the talent he has and on top of being a brilliant psyche student, scary, very scary. 

Morris, the fiancé, totally in love with Sheila had the rug pulled from under his feet, the week before their wedding.  I enjoyed his story, everything felt true with his reactions.

I did enjoy the genuine responses the characters had with each other, some of those moments were edge of your seat. It was a great intense book with the right amount of tension to keep you engaged and racing to the end.

The ending was brilliant, true meaning of "If I can't have you, no one can't".  A psychopath making safety decisions or is it just power and manipulation gone completely wrong.

This was a great escape thriller.  Fans of Chelsea Cain and MJ Rose will enjoy this one.

 My blogging friend Michelle, reviewed this and I wanted to read since 2011.  Here is her review on red headed bookchild.
 

Monday - What are you reading?

Sheila over at Book Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2013 Wishlist.

 

Currently Reading

 

 

I completed a great 5 star Legal Thriller

My Review

 

 

 

 

 I need to do reviews on the 1st three in series

Club Shadowlands by Cherise Sinclair

all get 4 1/2

 

 

 

I hope you had a great weekend, enjoy the week, happy reading.



 

I miss blogging but not reading......

I have tried so many books and just can't get into them, this mood reading is not working and it always does, what is going on???

And from not reading, my blog is falling off, when I try to network, I don't recognize any of the books, how does that happen so quickly....

Life has been hard for a year, feeling like a roller coaster and my reading has been the same.

To be honest, I am 4 reviews behind this year and probably won't get to them, I need to rate them at least.

Have any of you read Cherise Sinclair, the erotic romance author?  She is amazing, hot, with story lines too, I read 2 last year and I am reading book 3 from the Masters of the Shadowlands series.

 

And also, I LOST my kindle.  I remember unplugging it to take on vacation.  On the plane I noticed I didn't have it.  Called home and got everyone to check the houses and car, no Kindle.  I assumed they just didn't look properly but nope, no kindle, sigh.  I had to deactivate it, thank goodness for the iPad and iPod but I did Love my Kindle.  It was the 2nd version though so looks like a new one for Christmas, lol

So friends, I am sorry for not visiting as I usually do.  I am going to try again to get back with it.  This is usually Thrill Week here on my blog too, sigh, I am disappointed I didn't plan but I just couldn't get into it. 

I look forward to catching up with you, HAPPY READING.....