Mini Reviews

A quick look at what I've been reading lately, with an excerpt from the publisher's synopsis (in black) and my thoughts (in purple).

The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans 

In the wake of personal tragedy, Christine and Paul meet on a humanitarian mission in Peru. They must confront their deepest fears and learn to trust and love again.

Above average love story.  Particularly enjoyed the detail of life in the Peruvian jungle.  

Sharp Objects by Jillian Flynn

Camille’s assignment from the newspaper where she works takes her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.  As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. 

Every bit as disturbing and unsettling as Gone Girl.  Won't quite mess you up for life, but it will sure stick with you.

An Angel for Christmas by Heather Graham 

Christmas has never brought out the best in the MacDougal family.  In the midst of a sibling shouting match, a stranger appears. He could be a criminal, a madman, or something far more unexpected. The MacDougals take a leap of faith, but when another stranger arrives, they don't know which of them to believe. One of these men can't be trusted. And one is about to bring Christmas into their hearts.

Not as fast-paced as it could be, but I love the slightly un-resolved ending.  A twist on the typical feel-good Christmas story. 

Live by Night by Dennis Lahane  

The '20s are roaring, liquor is flowing, bullets are flying, and one man sets out to make his mark on the world.  Joe Coughlin has graduated from a childhood of petty theft to a career in the pay of the city's most fearsome mobsters.  Joe's climb up the ladder of organized crime takes him from Jazz Age Boston to Tampa's Latin Quarter to the streets of Cuba. 

Not up to what I expect from Lehane.  Ho-hum plot moves agonizingly slow at times.  2 stars for story, bonus star because he's usually one of my favorite authors.

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie, Ranger, Morelli, Lula and all the cast of crazies . . . yada yada yada.  Decent story, no progress.

Silent Night by Deanna Rayborne 

Lady Julia and Brisbane hope for a quiet, intimate Christmas together.  Amongst the celebrations, a mystery stirs. There are missing jewels, new faces at the Abbey, and a prowling ghost that brings back unwelcome memories. 

Novella that I really didn't care for but I'm blaming myself.  The story was more about the characters, with whom you need to be familiar, than the mystery.  Poor choice of places to jump into a series.

The Boddy in the Snowbank by Jenna Bennett  

A short story based around the classic game of Clue.  Published on
Smashwords.

It had complete sentences and paragraphs and stuff.

The Golden Spiders by Rex Stout

Why has the brilliant sleuth, Nero Wolfe, taken a case for $4.30?  And  why were his last two clients murdered? Archie Goodwin goes undercover as a mortician to find out. And Wolfe ponders the cryptic clues: a gray Cadillac, a mysterious woman, a pair of earrings -- shaped like spiders and dipped in gold.

Classic.  Best sleuth ever written. 

Poseidon's Arrow by Clive Cussler

An attack submarine capable of incredible underwater speeds. Nothing else in any other nation’s naval arsenal even comes close. One problem: A key element of the prototype is missing—and the man who developed it is dead.  It is up to NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his team to go on a desperate international chase to find the truth, from Washington to Mexico, Idaho to Panama. What they discover at the end of it is a much, much greater threat than even they imagined.

Dave and I read this together.  He ranked it a 3 on the scale of all Cussler's books.  I've only read one other, so couldn't really judge.  Plot was good, quick pace, unique story.  But I couldn't get past the narrative changing perspective mid-paragraph.  One sentence calls the hero, Dirk Pitt, by name (as in "Dirk ran up the gangplank." - only, you know, better than that) The next sentence of the same paragraph refers to "he" ("He grabbed the binoculars.") But "he" isn't Dirk - it's a totally different guy on a totally different ship.  Very disconcerting - not to mention confusing.  So it gets 2 stars from me.

The Unseen and The Lost Years

I'll tell you right up front, that both of these books should probably take advice from their titles and remain "lost" and "unseen".  Sorry, but with so many good books lined up for the summer, I was a little disappointed that I spent time on these newest from a couple big names.

1800s. San Antonio, Texas: In room 207 at the Longhorn Saloon, in the long shadow of the Alamo, a woman renowned for her beauty was brutally murdered. Her killer was never found.

One year ago: In that same historic room, another woman vanished without a trace. Her blood was everywhere, …but her body was never recovered.

Now: In the last month, San Antonio has become a dumping ground for battered bodies. All young women, many of them long missing, almost all forgotten. Until now.

Texas Ranger Logan Raintree and U.S. Marshall Kelsey O'Brien team up to use their psychic abilities to track down the killer. 

Together, Kelsey and Logan follow their instincts to the Alamo and to the newly reopened Longhorn Inn.  If the spirits of those long-dead Texans are really appearing to the victims before their deaths, only Kelsey and Logan have the skills to find out why.

And if something more earthly is menacing the city's oldest, darkest corners, only they can stop it—before more innocent women join the company of San Antonio's restless ghosts…. (from publisher's blurb)

There's just no pleasing some people . . . and evidently I'm one of them.  I'm not, generally, a fan of paranormal stories (OD'd on them in my teens), especially the current trend toward the vampire-zombie-freakish end of the spectrum. I'm a Paranormal Lite girl.  That's why I bought this book - Heather Graham's stories aren't usually too spooky.  But I found myself wanting more spook from this book.
The whole thing was rather bland and too easy.  The hero/heroine fall in love too easily.  The crime is solved too easily.  Although there is a strong plot foundation, she doesn't build on it.  There's no tension, either in the romance or the mystery.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars.  It's an easy, pleasant read, but it's not going to keep you up nights.


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At its center of The Lost Years is a discovery that, if authenticated, may be the most revered document in human history.  Biblical scholar Jonathan Lyons believes he has found a letter written by Jesus Christ. Stolen from the Vatican Library in the 1500s, the letter was assumed to be lost forever.

Now, under the promise of secrecy, Jonathan is able to confirm his findings with several other experts. But he also confides in a family friend his suspicion that someone he once trusted wants to sell the parchment and cash in.

Within days Jonathan is found shot to death in his study. His wife, Kathleen, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, is found hiding in the study closet, incoherent and clutching the murder weapon. It is up to their daughter,  Mariah, to clear her mother of murder charges and unravel the real mystery behind her father’s death. Mary Higgins Clark’s The Lost Years is at once a breathless murder mystery and a hunt for what may be the most precious religious and archaeological treasure of all time.  (from publisher's blurb)

There is nothing "breathless" about this book - except me because I read the e-book while walking on the treadmill.  Maybe, again, I was too hard to please, but I expected more Dan Brown and less Encyclopedia Brown.  The whole thing was rather bland and too easy. (I think I've said that somewhere before.)  Perhaps Ms. Clark has become too familiar with her long-time amateur detectives, Willie and Alvirah, and forgets that readers may not be.  There were a ton of suspects, but none of them was fleshed out enough to distinguish them from each other. Again, no tension and, just a detail, it seems that a 2000+year-old document would need to be handled with more care than it was.  3 out of 5 - will appeal to Willie and Alvirah fans.

Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham

Home in Time for Christmas is a charming story of time-travel, star-crossed romances and family. I love Heather Graham's books for her ability to put a supernatural twist on a standard story and transform it into something special. I must admit, I had some concern about overlapping the occult and Christmas, but this time the twist is more magical than spectral.

Jake, a Revolutionary War hero, is transported through time just as the British hangman's noose is tightening around his neck. Unluckily, he arrives in 2009 on a slippery road, in front of Melody Tarleton's car. Or maybe it's not so unlucky - Melody takes him into her home, family and heart.

Melody's attempts to discover Jake's identity and teach him about 200 years of American history naturally bring them closer and, even though their romance may be the obvious next step, it's well-written and sweet. Melody's off-beat parents add a quirkiness to the story that is fun. The family relationships, both in 1776 and 2009, are realistic and add an extra heart-warming element to the story.

The only character I would change is Mark, Melody's ex-boyfriend. He's understandably unlikeable through most of the story so that we root for Melody to be with Jake instead, but I needed a little more insight into him to accept his conversion later in the story.

This tale of magic potions and time travel is told with a credible "suspension of disbelief" right up to the end, then I think it runs off the rails just a bit. There is a limit to how long the reader can put aside rationality and believe in magic. I think Ms. Graham drug her story just past that limit - and unnecessarily so. One less "bewitching" moment and a little more drama surrounding the necessary ones would have been a better ending for me. Even so, I recommend this book for a fun, entertaining holiday break.