Book Review: CLAIM OF INNOCENCE by Laura Caldwell

CLAIM OF INNOCENCE

by Laura Caldwell

Pub. Date: August 2011

Publisher: Mira

Format: Mass Market Paperback , 448pp

ISBN-13: 9780778329329

ISBN: 0778329321

Description (from the publisher):

Forbidden relationships are the most tempting. And the most dangerous.

It was a crime of passion–or so the police say. Valerie Solara has been charged with poisoning her best friend. The prosecution claims she's always been secretly attracted to Amanda's husband…and with Amanda gone, she planned to make her move.
 
Attorney Izzy McNeil left the legal world a year ago, but a friend's request pulls her into the murder trial. Izzy knows how passion can turn your life upside down. She thought she had it once with her ex–fiance, Sam. Now she wonders if that's all she has in common with her criminally gorgeous, younger boyfriend, Theo.

It's Izzy's job to present the facts that will exonerate her client–whether or not she's innocent. But when she suspects Valerie is hiding something, she begins investigating–and uncovers a web of secret passions and dark motives, where seemingly innocent relationships can prove poisonous…

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars - an entertaining and fast-paced legal and romantic thriller

My Thoughts:  I like a good thriller now and then. Sometimes they're just what I need to cleanse my reading palate as I transition from one historical period to another or after an especially gut-wrenching memoir. Laura Caldwell's CLAIM OF INNOCENCE caught me at just the right time. I found it to be a pleasantly engaging light read.

CLAIM OF INNOCENCE is actually the fourth book in the Izzy McNeil series, though it was the first one that I read. I didn't find myself at much of a disadvantage picking up the series at this point. It's not that different than filling in a new friend's backstory. On the other hand, I do prefer reading a series in order just so certain subplots aren't spoiled.


In this installment, Izzy deals with a number of personal issues as well as the main story line - defending a woman accused of killing her best friend. She's torn between reuniting with her ex-fiance (clearly one of those aforementioned subpots) and developing a deeper commitment with her new, much younger lover; her long-dead father isn't so dead after all; her mother seems ambivilent about her own marriage, and her stepfather, the only real father she has ever known, is leaning on Izzy for counsel and support.

While it might be a bit of a stretch for an attorney to jump right into criminal defense without prior experience, this is fiction, and let's face it, escapist fiction at that. Izzy is dedicated and observent, and she's able to form a bond with the defendant that her co-counsel cannot. Despite this bond, and though Izzy believes the woman is innocent, she knows there's more to this case than meets the eye and she's determined to get to the truth.

I liked Izzy. She's smart and has a strong individualistic streak. (Besides dating a much younger guy, she drives around Chicago on a scooter!) I really liked her young boyfriend, Theo. Frankly, I wouldn't be giving the ex-fiance a second thought if Theo was in my life. ;-) I wasn't crazy about the ex-fiance, the not-dead father, or the killer (guess I wasn't supposed to like the killer anyway!).  I don't know that I'd go back and read previous books in the series because now I know too much, but I would read future installments and I'd also like to check out a few of Caldwell's stand-alone novels, especially THE GOOD LIAR.

I enjoyed this book. I'd recommend CLAIM OF INNOCENCE if you're looking for a good, basic legal thriller that will entertain you but not strain your brain.

Click here to read Chapter One.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):
Laura Caldwell, a former trial lawyer, is currently a professor and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Her first book, Burning the Map, was selected by BarnesandNoble.com as one of the best of 2002. The releases of A Clean Slate, The Year of Living Famously and The Night I Got Lucky prompted Booklist to declare, "Caldwell is one of the most talented and inventive—writers around." Her mysteries, Look Closely and The Rome Affair, received critical acclaim, and her international thriller, The Good Liar, was called "a massive achievement." She has been published in ten languages and more than twenty countries.

The Izzy McNeil series:


1. RED HOT LIES



2. RED BLOODED MURDER




3. RED, WHITE & DEAD



I read this book as part of the R.I.P. VI Challenge.

• Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes only. No monetary consideration was exchanged for my honest opinion.

Audio Book Giveaway and Review: DON'T BLINK by James Patterson and Howard Roughan; Read by David Patrick Kelly

CLOSED.

Thanks to the thrill-loving folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
 give away three (3) audio book copies of

DON'T BLINK
by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.

Rules for entering this giveaway
are at the bottom of this post.

DON'T BLINK

by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

read by David Patrick Kelly

Publisher: Hachette Audio
Category: Fiction, Suspense & Thrillers
Format: Audio Book
Subformat: CD (Audio)
Edition: Unabridged
Publish Date: 9/27/2010
Price: $34.98/$39.98
ISBN: 9781607882343
Pages: 0

Description (from the publisher):
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.

Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. Shocked and shaken, he doesn't realize that he's accidentally captured a key piece of evidence. Ensnared in the city's most sensational crime in years, Nick investigates for a story of his own. Back off--or die--is the clear message as he closes in on the facts. Heedless, and perhaps in love, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.

Click here to listen to an excerpt.

My Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5 - More thrilling than predictable.

My Thoughts:  I think Patterson is generally a love 'im or hate 'im kind of author. Some readers can't get enough; others can't get far enough away. Myself, I actually sit on the fence. I crave a good thriller now and then, but generally rush through them so fast that I feel rather empty and let down once I'm done. And I feel guilty the whole time I'm reading them because I can't put them down but think I should be doing something more worthwhile. Then there's the fact that they can be formulaic - you KNOW the main character will survive no matter how nail-biting the tension. So, I end up not reading as many thrillers as I'm really interested in.

Audio books have been the perfect solution for me.  I get my thriller fix while driving to and from work - no reason to feel guilty because I CAN'T be doing anything else; and I can't rush through them because I'm not the one doing the reading!

I had a great time listening to the audio book version of DON'T BLINK by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. The authors don't blaze any new trails here, but they do assemble all the essential componants of a good thriller with an entertaining and humorous flair. The authors serve up a wise-cracking hero who can't help but find himself in desperate trouble; gruesomely horrible bad guys (and plenty of them); innocents held hostage; suspenseful twists and turns; and the hint of romance to provide a ray of hope and sunshine.

If you like Patterson, you're sure to enjoy DON'T BLINK. If you're new to his writing, this is a great place to begin.

The audio book runs approximately 7 hours. One caveat:  if you listen while you're driving, be aware that the last half of the last CD contains traffic noises - horns blowing, sirens, etc. - that sound convincingly like the real thing!


About the authors (from the publisher):
James Patterson is one of the bestselling writers of all time, with more than 170 million books sold worldwide. He is the author of the top-selling detective series of the past twenty years--the Alex Cross novels, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, both of which were made into hit movies. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the new series of #1 New York Times bestsellers featuring Detective Michael Bennett of the NYPD. He won an Edgar Award, the mystery world's highest honor, for his first novel. He lives in Florida. Click here to visit his website. 

James Patterson's lifelong passion for books and reading led him to launch a new Web site, ReadKiddoRead.com, which helps parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians find the very best children's books for their kids.

Howard Roughan cowrote Honeymoon and Sail with James Patterson and is the author of The Promise of a Lie and The Up and Comer. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and son. Click here to visit his website.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, Hachette will only send one copy per household address.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, November 19, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Book Giveaway and Review #50: THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY by Victor McGlothin

CLOSED.

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
 give away three (3) copies of

THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY
by Victor McGlothin.

Rules for entering this giveaway
are at the bottom of this post.

THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY

by Victor McGlothin

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Category: Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Publish Date: 6/21/2010

Price: $13.99/$16.99

ISBN: 9780446178136

Pages: 384

Size: 5-1/4" x 8"

Description (from the back cover):

1950 New Orleans couldn't be sweeter for Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux and Hampton Bynote. Friends since meeting at an illegal gambling house outside Newberry, Louisiana, they indulge themselves with all the fine women, good food, and wild nights they can handle. All seems good in N'awlins-especially for Hampton, who plans to make a clean break from riotous living after falling for the woman of his dreams, classy Magnolia Holiday. But the love of a good woman may not be enough to pull Hampton from the brink of disaster when his pal Bones murders a white city councilman during a simple robbery gone wrong.

Now with the local police and the FBI hot on their trails, Hampton and Bones must decide whether friendship is worth losing their freedom-and possibly their lives.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars - Good but slightly flawed.

My Thoughts:  I had more than a little trouble settling on a rating for this book, most likely because despite what I view as some pretty obvious flaws, I still liked this book. THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY is a deceptively ambitious novel, and I think it just gets away from the author.  For the most part, I enjoyed the book while I was reading it but, once I was finished and considered it as a whole, I was frustrated and a little disappointed. I ended up with a lot of questions. On the other hand, I think it's a worthwhile, entertaining, and provocative read. It could certainly generate some good discussions.

Most of the story is set in 1950's Jim Crow era in and around New Orleans and is told from the point of view of Hampton Bynote, a young black man who has been banned from the plantation where his family has been sharecropping for generations -- actually, since slavery was abolished. He doesn't mind too much because he wants more of life than what sharecropping can provide, and he's still able to sneak onto the plantation to visit his family. When he's in the city, he dabbles in crime as a means of survival but doesn't want to get too deep into the life. Things change drastically when he meets up with Ivory "Bones" Arcineaux. Bones is of mixed race, mostly passing as white for safety and convenience while his loyalties are firmly placed within the black community. He has the potential to be a fascinating character, but the focus of the story is not on him and, as the story progresses, his character actually loses dimension. Unfortunately for the story, I believe his character and his motivations are too integral not to be explored more thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Hampton is a nice young guy, rather naive, who just wants to live a little before finding the perfect woman and settling down. He fully intends to lead a good life -- just not quite yet. He falls victim to Bones' manipulations and, for most of the story, it's arguable whether Bones will save Hampton or destroy him.

Actually, there are quite a few victims in THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY.  Back on the plantation, life hasn't progressed all that much since the era of slavery. It's revealed very early on in the story that the black women sharecroppers have entered into secret sexual relationships with the white plantation owners throughout the entire town, what is referred to as a "Gentlemen's Agreement," and the women believe this somehow protects the lives of their husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons. It was difficult for me to accept the premise that this secret has been successfully kept from the black men for generations. Both Hampton's mother and his sister, Pearl Lee, have become entangled in this agreement. What is hinted at and never fully explored, are the complex and conflicting feelings the women possess toward their secret "lovers" in particular and the agreement in general.

There are other victims of sexual abuse as well, far too many for this novel to address in a satisfactory manner. The frequent instances of abuse may be true-to-life, but in the circumstances of this novel, it strains believability and, therefore, detracts from the horror that is suffered.

So, what did I like about THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY and why would I recommend it? I liked both Pearl Lee and Magnolia, a young girl who sets her mind and heart on Hampton and won't let go. I also liked Hampton. I was probably most satisfied with the development of Magnolia's character. She arrives on the scene as a seemingly wide-eyed innocent, but she's a pretty spunky young woman with a keen eye on everything going on around her. She's determined, knows what she wants, and knows how to go after it.  The novel holds a rich cast of secondary characters, and I enjoyed observing their interactions and the various ways they handled conflict and adversity, as well as good fortune.

I also liked the glimpse into this complicated historical era - right on the cusp of the civil rights movement. You could see America changing, one person at a time. Some people were holdouts - some of the most steadfast holdouts grew by leaps and bounds at the last possible moment. Some just got meaner.

I liked the author's writing style - it's clean, straightforward, and very discriptive. The reader experiences the essence of the time and place, the voice of each character is distinctive. I liked the pace of the storytelling - threads are unwound slowly and leisurely - until toward then end when everything feels too rushed.

THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY would have been a better book if it had been more tightly written.  Kind of like this review!

So, enter the contest, and judge this book for yourself.

About the author (from the publisher):

Essence bestselling author Victor McGlothin is a former bank vice-president who nearly forfeited an athletic scholarship due to poor reading skills. Ultimately, he overcame that obstacle and later completed a Masters degree in Human Relations & Business. Victor is also an on-line columnist of Victor Said?, a real Brotha to Sistah look at relationship.

Victor lives in Dallas with his wife and two sons.

Click here to visit the author's website.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, August 6, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

Thank you to Valerie
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy of this book.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Book Review #42: WOMEN ARE CRAZY, MEN ARE STUPID by Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee

Desperately looking for
a last-minute Valentine gift?
 This is it!

WOMEN ARE CRAZY, MEN ARE STUPID:
The Simple Truth to a Complicated Relationship

by Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee

Pub. Date: September 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

Format: Hardcover, 256pp

ISBN-13: 9781416595052

ISBN: 1416595058

 
About the book (from the publisher):
Since the dawn of time, when the first smitten caveboy tried to woo the object of his affections by shoving her into the mud, men have demonstrated that when it comes to women, they are profoundly stupid. And when it comes to men, women — no matter how intelligent or mature — are completely crazy.

Based on this simple yet groundbreaking insight, comedy writers and real-life couple Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee have devised a relationship guide that is refreshingly honest, completely hilarious, and surprisingly practical. Using their own crazy/stupid romance as an example of these forces in action, they set out to explain why women ask questions that they absolutely do not want answered — and why men persist in answering them. What are men really thinking — or crucially, not thinking? Why do women view even the most mundane events through an emotional prism? Why do guys suck at being romantic? And why does every conversation with a woman lead back to whether or not she's fat?

Using wit, hard-earned wisdom, and a highly entertaining he said/she said format, the authors explore the surprising method to his dumbness and the valid reasons behind her insanity, while providing real solutions to perennial relationship problems. By teaching men how and why they're stupid around women and showing women how to "control the crazy" for everybody's sake, Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid helps couples to reach the place where giving isn't giving in, needing isn't needy, and where the sexes can break the dysfunctional patterns and find away to live lovingly, happily ever after.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5.

My Thoughts: If you're desperately looking for a last-minute Valentine's gift, this is it! Morris and Lee have written a laugh-out-loud funny explanation of why men and women are forever doomed to butt head (and hearts). The great thing about this book is that neither side really comes out ahead. Although Lee makes the point that it's men's stupidity that drives women crazy, Morris is right there with examples and anecdotes to show that women have some degree of mental unbalance right from the get-go.

Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid is a perfect gift for couples because you get the point of view of both men and women. Even with all the laughs, readers will still gain insight and understanding of the opposite sex. It's pretty clear that Morris and Lee have a lot of love and respect for each other - and themselves individually. They poke fun at themselves as much as at each other, and you can't do that without a pretty healthy attitude.

This is a terrific book for Valentine's Day, anniversaries, weddings - it's the kind of book couples can give to each other or someone else can give to the couple together. Hidden within all the humor are some great relationship pearls of wisdom!
Click here to read an excerpt.

About the authors (from the publisher):
Howard J. Morris began his career in television, writing for the revolutionary HBO series Dream On, and then on the Emmy-nominated Home Improvement. He created the series, Holding the Baby and In Case of Emergency. He's also written on My Wife and Kids, According to Jim, and most recently, The Starter Wife. Jenny Lee was a writer on the hit comedy series Samantha Who?, starring Christina Applegate. And a writer on the Nickelodeon show, The Troop. She is also the author of three books of humor essays: Skinny Bitching, What Wendell Wants, and I Do. I Did. Now What?!: Life After the Wedding Dress. They live together in Los Angeles.

Thank you to Julie at FSB Associates for my review copy.

Blog Tour and Book Review #22: OVER THE HOLIDAYS by Sandra Harper

OVER THE HOLIDAYS

by Sandra Harper

Pub. Date: October 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

Format: Paperback, 336pp

ISBN-13: 9781439158708

ISBN: 1439158703

Synopsis (from the publisher):
The best holiday traditions are meant to be broken.

It's only December 1, and Vanessa Clayton has been dreading Christmas since she spotted tinseled trees at her local mall in September. Thankfully, she and her husband, JT, can't afford to drag their twin boys across the country to New England for the annual celebration at her stuffy sister-in-law Patience's home. Not that Vanessa has prepared a proper Christmas for her family in years, and she has less time than ever since she agreed to consult on the script of a local play. Her older sister, Thea, is no help -- she'd rather make art and flirt with surfers than babysit her nine-year-old nephews. Then Patience drops a holiday stress bomb: Her family will come to California instead.

In between "baking" cinnamon rolls for the school potluck and overbearing Patience testing her patience, Vanessa can't stop thinking about the difficult but charming playwright at work. Meanwhile, Patience's teenage daughter, Libby, obsesses over a college boy she has met by the pool, and Thea searches desperately for the meaning of Christmas -- for her latest installation, of course. As their holiday plans go comically awry, these four women discover the true spirit of the season is hidden in every festive surprise.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

My Thoughts:

Sandra Harper's new book, OVER THE HOLIDAYS, is a light-hearted, pleasant read about four women who each experience an emotional growth spurt over one holiday season.

Over the course of just a few short weeks, the central character, Vanessa, mother of 9-year-old twin boys, is confronted with the temptation to stray from her comfortable and predictable marriage. While her husband, JT, is working out of town and upon his return is laid up in bed with the flu, Vanessa juggles a last minute visit from her in-laws, the varying demands of holiday contributions of time, money, and homemade food from her sons' school, and the growing flirtations of a cute playwright with whom she is working. Vanessa's biggest stress is that she just doesn't like her sister-in-law, Patience, whom she sees as a stuffy and overbearing perfectionist.

Meanwhile, Patience cannot understand why Vanessa doesn't appreciate her offers of assistance and guidance, struggles to understand the break with tradition that has brought her from her beloved New England Christmas to sunny, bouncy L.A., and suffers through the growing pains of her 17-year-old daughter, Libby, who is eagerly and naively trying to spread her wings and fly away.

Vanessa's older sister, Thea, a working artist, wonders if her talent has dried up and whether 15 years ago, she let Mr. Right slip through her fingers.

Although the story takes place at Christmastime and there are occasional questions of its meaning, the holiday does not really have a major role in the novel. It mostly serves as a device on which to display each woman's story - somewhat like a Christmas tree holding up its ornaments. What the characters experience could have been explored in a different way at any time of the year. If you are looking for a blatent message about the meaning of Christmas, you won't find it here. There is a message of hope and renewal if you read between the lines.

I enjoyed sitting back and escaping into this novel. While there's not a whole lot of depth to the characters, there is variety, and I could identify with some aspect of each woman's personality - even the teenaged Libby!  I liked the way the author wove their storylines together - sometimes intersecting, sometimes running parallel. There's no scene where all four sit around and connect, but each influences the others if not directly then through one another. And by novel's end, each woman has grown in such a way that her own life is enriched and she is better able to understand as well as enrich the lives of others.

What I did not like about the novel was the all too frequent use of the F-word. I suppose it's intended to make the characters sound realistic, but it almost always came across as too harsh. Almost every time I came across it, I found it jarring and it took me out of the story. Even if we hear the word several times a day, or even use it occasionally ourselves, there's more of an impact when it is used in print. I believe that it's a word that should be used very sparingly, if at all, so that when the reader does encounter it, it relays some real significance. Surprisingly, there was one instance when a character said "F*&^. F*&^. F*&^." That was the only time it's use seem truly realistic and conveyed the character's panic and confusion. I would have rated this novel higher if there had been less use of the word.  (Sorry, but I did not note the page number of the above quote - I'll edit it in later today.)

Overall, I would recommend OVER THE HOLIDAYS by Sandra Harper as a good escapist read -- not too heavy or complex, but with enough meat to keep the reader engaged and interested in how these women work through their issues.  I would recommend that you pick up OVER THE HOLIDAYS if you find yourself looking for a little stress relief . . . over the holidays. ;)

Click here to read an excerpt.

About the author (from the publisher):
Sandra Harper is the author of the play, Magpie's Tea Room, which enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles at The Ventura Court Theatre. She has written a cooking column, "The California Cook" for the newspaper, Skirt. A script reader for Pathe Studios and Springcreek Productions, she also wrote and produced fashion and rock videos for Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan and Vidal Sassoon, amonf others. Ms. Harper recieved her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California and has completed a children's book, The Witches Club.


Check out the reviews on these other blogs on today's tour:

Rundpinne: http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com

Frugal Plus: http://frugalplus.com/

The Life (And Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/

Drey’s Library: http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/

Wendi’s Book Corner: http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/

Opinionated? Me? : http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/

Me, My Book and the Couch: http://memybookandthecouch.blogspot.com/

Libby’s Library News: http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/

Bookin’ With Bingo: http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/

Books, Movies, and Chinese Food: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/

Psychotic State: http://www.psychoticstate.blogspot.com/

Readaholic: http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/

That’s A Novel Idea: http://thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com

All About {N}: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/

Starting Fresh: http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/

A Sea of Books: http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/

Just Another New Blog: http://justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/

Blog Business World: http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com

My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com

Cheryl’s Book Nook: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/

One Person’s Journey Through A World of Books: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

I Read: http://sumanam.wordpress.com/

So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/

Keep on Booking: http://keeponbooking.blogspot.com

Reading at the Beach: http://ilratb.blogspot.com/

Found Not Lost: http://jmomfinds.amoores.com/

Brizmus Blogs Books: http://brizmusblogsbooks.blogspot.com/

Book Reviews by Buuklvr81: http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com/

Thank you to Sarah at Simon & Schuster

for organizing this blog tour

 and providing me with a review copy.

Book Review #13: MERCURY IN RETROGRADE by Paula Froelich

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE
by Paula Froelich

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9781416598930
Sales Rank: 594
272pp

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble):

When Mercury is in retrograde, the only guarantee is anything that can go wrong, will.

Penelope Mercury, an intrepid reporter at the New York Telegraph, has pounded the pavement for five years from city borough to borough, carrying out her boss's eccentric orders to break stories that seem inconsequential to everyone but him. Finally, she is inches away from being promoted to her dream job -- covering courtroom drama for the paper -- but after one spectacularly disastrous day, she is fired instead.

Lena "Lipstick Carcrash" Lippencrass has a pretty fabulous life, even by a socialite's standards, as a top editor at the high fashion magazine Y. Long lunches with her girlfriends and afternoons spent shopping at Bergdorf's are all in a day's work. But when Lena's always indulgent parents abruptly cut off her cash flow and kick her out of her beloved West Village duplex for refusing to work for the family business, she is forced to confront the reality of what it takes to pay the bills.

Dana Gluck, a workaholic lawyer, had been married for two years to a man who was perfect on paper but increasingly critical in reality. She hoped that her dreams of motherhood would be fulfilled soon, which surely would also fix their marriage problems. Instead, her husband leaves her for an exchange student/model who, to make matters worse, promptly gets pregnant.

When fate conspires to have these three very different women move into the same SoHo apartment building, they soon discover that having their carefully planned lives fall to pieces might be the best thing that could have ever happened to them.

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars


My Thoughts:

It was May, 2009. Things started to go wrong. Very wrong. Computers crashed. The fax machine broke. Files couldn't be found. Checks were lost in the mail. The copier chewed whole documents and spit them out folded in micro-mini-pleats. Annoying people called frequently. Callers we wanted to talk to couldn't get through. Messages were lost. I was particularly inarticulate. I stuttered. I said all the wrong things at all the wrong times. Nobody listened to me anyway. They were all having the same problems. Suddenly, I understood. I was able to get online long enough obtain confirmation. Mercury was in retrograde. We had no choice but to wait it out.

And then, a sign, a beacon of light in the darkness, an ARC, a book! A book about our shared experience. A book about how everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. A book that confirms it's not all in my head! A book called . . . MERCURY IN RETROGRADE. If only . . . if only I could get to BEA . . . get to BEA and secure a copy! But nnnnoooooo! No BEA for me this year. No advance copy. Of course not. Because . . . Mercury is in retrograde! AARRGGRRHH!

But eventually Mercury turns direct and Atria Publishing offers a galley grab online to those who can't make it to BEA and two months later -- I get my book. Yea!

Paula Froelich has created a fun, fast, friendly confection of a story. I was charmed by the premise and pleased with the outcome. The three main characters are each likable even if somewhat less than memorable. I was able to identify with some aspect of each one's personality and predicament. The secondary characters are comfortably familiar stereotypes -- the gay friend with the flair for fashion, the overbearing bosses, the clueless but meddlesome parents, and the status-obsessed socialite. Froelich doesn't really break any new ground here, but she writes well and the story is smoothly paced. If I was hoping for a little more depth, well, at least the book stays true to its title.

All in all, MERCURY IN RETROGRADE is a pleasant if predictable read -- perfect for the beach, poolside, or backyard lounge chair. I'm hoping there'll be more books from Paula Froelich.


Click here to read (generously lengthy) excerpt.

About the Author:

The deputy editor for the New York Post's Page Six column, Paula lives in New York City. MERCURY IN RETROGRADE is her first novel.

Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy.

Book Review #4: THE RISK OF DARKNESS by Susan Hill

British, brooding, and blonde . . .

As will become evident to all over time, I prefer my detectives British and brooding. As for blonde, well, it makes a good lead in.

Frankly, though, I don't think you can pull off a really authentic air of brooding from under a shiny crown of golden locks, do you? So whenever an author describes the brooder as also being blonde, I just darken things up a bit with my mental Crayolas. Doesn't hurt anybody. After all, when the BBC brought Elizabeth George's blonde-haired Inspector Lynley to life on the small screen, they cast Nathaniel Parker - without dousing him in peroxide!

But, as long as I'm being honest, the British thing is really optional. The most important quality I look for in a good detective is the ability to brood. And the best brooder I've come across is James Lee Burke's Louisiana detective, Dave Robicheaux, who has brooded his way through roughly 17 novels and 4 wives. Maybe 5. If not 5 yet, it will be sooner or later. (How do I know this? Because that's what they brood about. No matter where, no matter who, the basis of a good brood is being unlucky in love - lonely, alienated, misunderstood. But that's a discussion for another essay.) Dave Robicheaux broods wide, deep, and long - and I don't believe he has ever set foot on the British moorlands. On the other hand, there's an awful lot to be said for atmosphere . . .

So, let's see how Susan Hill's DCI Simon Serrailler stacks up as a detective after my own heart:

British.
Check.

Brooding.
Check.

(Lonely, alienated, misunderstood.
Check, check, and check.)

Blonde.
Oh, all right! So he's blonde! In fact, he's "white blonde" and several times jeeringly referred to as "Blondie." There's brown crayon marks all over my book! Now, can we just get on with the review?!

Susan Hill's THE RISK OF DARKNESS is the third book in her series featuring Chief Inspector Simon Serreiller. This is an intelligent, provocative, and well-written novel. I just didn't like it. I read it because I received an advanced reader's copy through Library Thing's Early Reviewer Program. I had read the first book in the series, THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN, and it never quite clicked with me. At the time, I chalked it up to being distracted by some pretty serious real-life stresses and upheavals and not with any flaws of the book. But as I began THE RISK OF DARKNESS, I was overcome with a feeling of deja vu - I just couldn't get into it properly; I had trouble thinking of Simon Serreiller as the "main" character; interesting things were happening, but the threads seemed too random, and I wasn't connecting the pieces. When the murderer was apprehended within the first third of the book, I finally realized this was no who-dunnit.

Perhaps if I had not initially approached the book as a detective novel, I would have enjoyed it more, but the profusion of dead bodies added to my misconception. Aside from an unnamed number of children, there are several other deaths from both violent and natural causes. It seems to me that the novel is more of an examination of the ripple-like effects of death on those left behind. Simon, still grieving deaths which occurred in the first two novels of the series, not only attempts to support friends and family members suffering sudden losses but also endures yet another major loss of his own. I don't believe there is a single character in the novel who is not touched by death. It is the different ways in which the characters react and cope with these deaths that drive the story. Whether you find these reactions and coping mechanisms realistic and sympathetic will determine how much this novel appeals to you. As a psychological exploration of grief, I found it ultimately generalized and superficial. I would have preferred more in-depth focus on less characters. I also found the depiction of Max Jameson, a grieving husband who descends into insanity, to be distractingly over the top.

THE RISK OF DARKNESS is definitely not a stand alone novel. I'm sure my enjoyment of the story was compromised by not having read the second book in the series, THE PURE IN HEART. It might surprise you to learn that I have every intention of "backtracking" and reading that one as well as the next volume when it is released in the U.S. Why? Well, this may not be a conventional detective series, but it is not without some elements of mystery. For instance, what is the significance of Simon being one of a set of triplets? It's mentioned frequently enough that obviously it's a fact meant to be noticed. Simon's family members are important secondary characters, and we learn a lot about them, but why should he be one of a triplet? Has this distinction shaped his development in some way? It seems counter to him being so emotionally isolated. Also, what is the point of Simon so often being mistaken as gay? Male, female, straight, not, in both novels I've read, one character or another repeatedly assumes him to be gay. Coming across as gay is more complicated than just being good-looking, impecably dressed, and emotionally distant with women. As I read I kept asking myself, What is the point? THE RISK OF DARKNESS is less a "who-dunnit?" than a "why-is-it?"

That I believe there are answers to these questions (and others) is indicative of the respect I have for the author. Susan Hill's first book was published in the early 1960's, and since then she has written numerous novels, non-fiction, children's books, plays, and short stories as well as won multiple awards including the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize (1972 for THE BIRD OF NIGHT). This is a woman who puts enormous thought and planning into her writing. I haven't read any of her other works, but several titles are now on my to-be-read list, particularly THE WOMAN IN BLACK. I can't help but think there is some overarching theme to the Simon Serrailler novels that it not yet evident from my spotty reading of the series, and I want to find out what it is. I do so love a mystery!

And besides, I've thought of an actor to play Simon in my mental movie that makes his brooding blondeness much more appealing. Want to know who? Of course you do! (click that to find out)

MY RATING: 3.5/5

Synopsis (from BarnesandNoble.com)

Simon Serrailler in love at last — in the third crime novel about Susan Hill’s fictional Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler’s story began in The Various Haunts of Men (about a serial killer against a background of alternative medicine) and continued with The Pure in Heart (about a kidnapped schoolboy against a background of the “innocence” of children and the handicapped). Susan Hill is not afraid to tackle difficult issues, or face up to the realities of stress in a busy police station. Her third crime novel, The Risk of Darkness, equally compulsive and convincing, follows up the child abduction and explores the crazy grief of a widowed husband, a derangement that turns to obsession and threats, violence and terror. Meanwhile, handsome, introverted Simon Serrailler, whose cool reserve has broken the hearts of several women, finds his own heart troubled by a feisty female priest with red hair. The Risk of Darkness is packed with action and adventure. Like Various Haunts, it hinges on a terrific twist that comes as a complete surprise to the reader.

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: March 2009
ISBN-13: 9781585679270
Sales Rank: 81,802
374pp