Jen

Gillian Flynn's high praise in reviews pulled me in and was what encouraged me to take a chance on this book. I can see why Gillian Flynn enjoyed it for I saw many similarities in their styles.

You will be shocked when I tell you that the ending of this book is the books weakness. It doesn't end badly, just not very inventive, surprising or powerful. Kind of ho hum. Don't let that stop you though. All the other parts of the book are mind blowing. The fact that this is the author's debut novel will have me watching her for years to come.


A large cast of complex and deep characters that range from 13 years old to 60. They are cleverly woven in such an impressive manner. The author really nailed each character "spot on". Cassandra Campbell was just masterful in her narration. Together they really spoke for those characters and brought them to life. Not a weak or boring one in the bunch.

How the author chains one character to another was keen and my favorite part. It's pure art how she did that. The author draws for you one character then hints to you the possible connection to a previous character in such a teasing slow method that allows you to slowly think ahead or assume that you have seen the relationship - sometimes you get ahead of yourself and you are wrong, other times you see it coming. A stunning novel.

One of the best written books I have listened to lately. Well thought out plot with lots of unique ways to look at the hard topic of the death penalty all in a captivating and clever fiction.


Noa is the very cynical main protagonist. If I have one complaint about this book that it’s a downer. Not a single upbeat in the entire book. I don’t know how you would write a death row novel that wouldn’t be. Noa has been sitting on death row ten years when the story opens. The remainder of the book gets the author up to date on Noa’s history and moves on to where she goes from here. Wow. The reader gets the back story before the trial. The trial of Noa is so resilient of the some recent death trials involving female lovers and mothers, but from all angles. For all the information that I thought was important to the case was not revealed in the light I thought would give be the best conclusion.

The story allows the reader to make their own conclusion though it’s extremely thought provoking. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and listening more dubiously to those television trials.

I think that this would make Jeannette Walls first fictional novel as her first book was a personal memoir and her second book was a fictional true story about her grandmother. Both her previous books were well written page turners despite the shocking neglect and emotional abuse she suffered in the pages of her life. I was very anxious to get this book and eager to start right away.

The Silver Star is set in 1970. Fifteen year old, Liz and twelve years old, Bean plowing through their less than idealistic life, seemingly on their own. Walls characters and situations in this tale are not a leap away from Walls own childhood – abandonment, mental illness, siblings raising siblings, selfish parenting. It’s a coming of age tale set during the Vietnam war in a town at the ebb of racial segregation.

So, it’s surprising that I felt it was lacking. It dunked it’s toes into so many meaty topics but, just the toes, never deeper than the knees, before quickly jumping out and moving to a different topic. Was it rushed or just undeveloped? I just know that this book didn’t pack a wallop, for me that her previous books have. Oh sure, Jeannette Walls is a wonderful writer and once again her vagabond characters make for an interesting adventure. I know I will be reading her for years. Though, I don’t know how many self-centered neglectful mothers I am going to be able to take from her.

I was anxious to "Touch & Go" for I really enjoyed the Tessa Leone character in a previous book. I was able to pick it up during an Audible sale. I'm glad I waited awhile to get this because frankly I was underwhelmed.

This book centers around a corporate kidnapping of a CEO's family. The book flows well while there is action. The problem is that it drags more than it should, like there when laying back story. Gardner's best suit is the situations she creates. I thought many she created in this book were inventive, but honestly when was the last wealthy family kidnapped in the United States? Where was the press? In reality, no one would have been able to sneak in and out of so many houses for the press would have been camping out.

I too wish there were more of the Tessa character. It seemed like she was a background character in this book. I did enjoy the entrance of the New Hampshire County Sheriff. I especially enjoyed Elisabeth Rogers rendition of his accent. I can see him being in presented in a future book and will look forward to reading it.

It's just the place where you choose to stop.............

A story of relationships and friendships hooked me right from the beginning. We easily can find our flaws in the characters and work on them with the characters. The Myth of you and me did not go in the direction that I thought it would at most every step along the way. I was thankful that I had purchased the book long enough ago that I forgot the synopsis and read few reviews before starting it. It was like jumping in a bucket of warm water. I didn’t always agree with their actions but, I understood them.

I enjoyed "The Myth of You and Me.". It's the tale of two childhood best friends, who have a falling out and how that act shapes their lives. At each twist and turn I was surprised in the direction it took. Thankfully, a path becomes available for them to move past their unforgiveable sin in friendship. The authors words are often so beautifully constructed and thought out, you will want to quote them.

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I think I am a Koontz fan. I always thought that he wrote supernatural thrillers. A story has to be realistic for me to enjoy it. In reading reviews I see that many of his books do have touches of supernatural fantasy, which would not interest me. I chose the right book. Koontz’s quick development of characters that he stayed true to throughout the story was refreshing. I quickly became attached to the bad guy, Krait, as well as I did to the main good characters. From the beginning it was a ping pong game of whom I enjoyed more.

In this book, a stonemason is mistaken in a bar for a professional hit man. The hit man soon makes his appearance then it’s a page turner like no other to close to the end. What really made this book for me is the humorous dialog of the characters. I fell in love with Tim and Linda. Oh and how evil his bad guy got. Watching the evil mind go in a direction that I would never dream of was fascinating. I would have followed these characters across the United States in 26 sequels and preordered their mouse adventures in Europe.

The weakest stupid ending made of nothing but Swiss cheese though. The ending didn’t ruin the book for me because the journey there was so fantastic. I won’t ruin it for others – just saying that I could list 27 reasons why it was nothing but stupid and 127 ways it would have been better

It's a very cute premise. There are times when I like reading a tame book. This book reminded me a great deal of "Babe." Then it went on and on and on much longer than it needed to and went in a strange direction. Then it ended and I was mad. This wasn't a mystery - it was a default.

The Poacher's Son is the first in a series featuring Game Warden Mike Bowditch. Mike finds himself in a murder mystery that involves his parents. He walks a tightrope between his allegiance to his family and his business ethics.


It’s well written for a debut novel. The story line is believable and interesting. It’s moves at a steady pace. I did not know till the near the end – how it would end. It’s everything one wants in a mystery. I’m looking forward to a good sale on others in this series.

Not only did I get a great mystery in this book - it also gave me a few tricks that my cat my cat enjoyed.

The characters in this book were fun, the story line interested me to the end and though I saw some parts of the ending coming - many I didn't.

What a fun read!!!

I enjoy a light historic chick lit every once in a while and this was a good one. I would probably read all, though audible doesn't have all of the books in their catalog. I will be on the lookout for them.

Hosseini is a masterful storyteller. He seriously weaves stories that break your heart and leave you exhausted from pondering. If you have read and enjoyed his previous works, this book will not disappoint you. It’s a piece of art. I found this to be not as sorrowful as his previous works. That’s not to say that it’s upbeat. I think the area he chooses to base his stories in doesn’t allow for your average feel good stories. This reads like linked short stories when actually it's family story that spans generations and travels in circles.

I will not spoil the beauty for you by telling way too many details.

I immediately was hooked. There were several times that I got a bit nervous while listening that I worried that my adoration for the work was about to take a bad turn; the next narrator was difficult to acclimate to at first or a new chapter took a little while to suck me up. Those fears left soon and each chapter left me claiming that was my most favorite.