Reviews in Brief

Here are some short-and-possibly-sweet reviews of recent reads.  All but the Evanovich have been in audio form.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly - I'm working my way through the entire Mickey Haller series.  Talented author, suspenseful courtroom drama and a hero you'll love.

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly - Same series - same review

Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly - Same author - stand-alone novel - same review.  Are you catching on?  Michael Connelly can write!

Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich - I give.  I have enough years invested in the Stephanie Plum series that I'll continue to read them in the hope that she (the author or the protagonist) will eventually move on, but I'm not wasting another minute on this shabby remake of the original.  Actually have about 30 pages left on this one and don't care if I ever read them.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - Another reliably awesome author.  This wasn't my favorite of his, but still way above the average.

A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth - I'm not a big biography reader, but this was fun.  I fell in love with Kristin on West Wing and now seek out anything she's in.  She narrates the audiobook herself and that made it even more fun - especially the parts she sings.  







If you have any questions or want further info on any of my recent reads, just ask.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple-murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades-with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems. - synopsis from Barnes & Noble

Although this book was published 8 years ago, it will definitely make my list of Top 10 books read this year.  I had never heard of Dennis Lehane (I know - BAD librarian!) until Mrs. Bumbles recommended him last year.  I read his most recent book, Moonlight Mile, and was hooked.  When the movie of Shutter Island came out about that same time, I thought it looked intriguing, but our daughter saw it and didn't give it glowing reviews so I decided to save my $7.  It took me a while - I'm not forty-nine anymore, you know - but when I finally made the connection between the movie and Lehane, I couldn't get to the library fast enough.  

As always, I find it difficult to write a review of a book I really loved because I either end up sounding trite or gushing like a 15-year-old with a new Justin Bieber CD.  "OMG, you've just got to, like, read this book.  It's, like, soooo totally awesome, and it's all scary and, like, tricky."  To avoid both of those things, I'll give you a couple quotes from more professional reviewers . . .

To finish the novel -- and it would be criminal even to hint at its ending -- is to be disoriented, perhaps angered, and finally to reflect on the ability of a master storyteller to play havoc with our minds. - The Washington Post

“Combines the claustrophobia of . . . Agatha Christie . . . with the creepiness of a good Stephen King yarn. . . . Good luck putting this one down. - San Francisco Chronicle

. . . and just add "like, yeah - what they said".