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Title: To Sleep...Perchance to Die
Author: Donald R. Grippo
ISBN: 9781938501128
Publisher: Turn the Page Publishing/2013
Pages: 222
Two people set out to destroy another. Why? Now that is complicated. Jake and Brett are oral surgeons. Mia, unknown to Jake, chooses him to be in her life. He is much in love with her and kills for her. So much so that he traps his best friend, Bret Manley in their plotting. Mia seduces Bret, marries him. She and Jake carry on with their affair behind his back.
With surgical precision, they destroy his life. Bret ends up in jail for murder he did not compete. However, his uncle Hubie Santos is a well known criminal attorney. He sets out to find out the truth by hiring a private investigator. For more than a year, there is no breakthrough. Then the PI hits the jackpot....
It works well as a psychological thriller. Mia and Jake are evil. The way he uses his medical knowledge to kill is very scary. For Mia, he is prepared to die. And Mia?
It might not appeal to all but for crime fiction readers, I would say go for it, if you like deception, passion, betrayal and murder, all thrown in good measures.
Do check out the Tour Schedule for To Sleep...Perchance to Die. Some bloggers are having giveaways.
Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...
I am going post mini reviews of two historical romances:
Winter Heart by Jane Bonander
This novel speaks about horrors of mental institutions in 19th century America. Dinah Odell has been put in one such institution by her greedy uncle. Daisy, a dying nurse at Trenway, helps Dinah escape and take her place caring for a mentally unstable girl at a ranch in California. Tristan Fletcher is a rancher. Dinah has to care for his sister Emily. Dinah is in hiding from her uncle and Tristan has been too scarred in his past to contemplate a serious relationship with anyone. But they are both drawn to each other. Will their past lives drive them apart?
Dying is a way of life on the border.
And if her true identity ever became known, she'd be dead before the sun again rose over the Rio Grande. But here in the colonias on the outskirts of Laredo, she was just the Angelo nurse who made house calls. Not that the residences qualified as houses. They were just shanties constructed of scrap material--plywood, sheet metal, cardboard, even discarded garage door--but they provided shelter from the hot sun if not the dry wind that blew in from the Chihuahuan Desert. It was early September, but it was still summer on the border. It was always summer on the border.
The Governor's Wife by Mark Gimenez
Bode Bonner, the Governor of Texas is bored with life. He wants excitement. He aspires to become the President of US. His wife wants something more than just being the Governor's wife. She leaves him and secretly becomes a nurse in the border helping a doctor who was born in the colonia but educated in Harvard. The same border that touches Mexico. A Mexican drug lord wants Bode killed because he thinks Bode is responsible for the death of his wife. He hires killers but Bode escapes each time. He kidnaps the Governor's wife......
The novel is heavily political in the initial chapters. It speaks of illegal Mexicans. And much more. It is a good thriller. Bode might be a womanizer but he is in love with his wife. So he has to go and rescue her. He goes all alone heavily loaded with ammunition. The good doctor offers to help. Then we meet another character who to is out there to protect Bode.
The novel is fast paced, has lot of wit and totally enjoyable in the last half. I couldn't put it down.
'I reckon they could be spies....men like that. They swore to Mussolini to kill us all."
The Paperbark Shoe by Goldie Goldbloom
~~~Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice
Title: The Paperbark Shoe
Author: Goldie Goldbloom
Unintended Consequences by Marti Green"What kind of idiot pleads to a life sentence? The smart move would've been to roll the dice. You never know what a San Francisco jury will do?"
Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice
Title: A Criminal Defense
Author: Steven Gore
ISBN: 9780062025074
Publisher: Harper, Mass Market Paperback/2013
Pages: 352
Mark Hamlin, is found murdered gruesomely. He had the reputation of being a corrupt lawyer who intimidated witnesses, suborned perjury, laundered money and destroyed evidence.The way he is murdered, it is difficult to say if he was a victim of murder or of a sexual encounter gone bad. Former detective Harlan Donnally is assigned the case. As Donnally investigates, he finds himself drawn into unknown mystery. He starts to ponder over the deceits of Hamlin. Then the reader is shown the inner workings of, the justice system which is somehow filled with intricate lies and betrayals.
The beginning is good. In the middle it dragged quite a lot. There were too many red herrings. But the novel holds interest towards the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am trying to catch up with my 2013 reviews....
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Under the stern gaze of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and standing there in the center of a room that was timeless, Ray began to realize that his father was not breathing. He comprehended this slowly. He coughed, and there was not the slightest response. Then he leaned down and touched the Judge's left wrist. There was no pulse.
Judge Reuben V Atlee was dead.
The Summons by John Grisham: Judge Reuben Atlee is a much respected person in Clanton, Mississippi. He lives alone in his ancetral home. Then one fine day he summons his sons to talk about the estate. Ray Atlee is a professor and Forrest Ray is the proverbial black sheep who is into all kinds of addiction. Both his sons have issues with the Judge.
None wants to visit him but when Ray reaches the estate, he finds the judge dead and also he becomes a part of a secret which is only known to the judge and now him. But there is someone else who knows about the secret....
Ray tries to play an amateur detective and for that he almost gets killed. The ending is, well, unexpected. Grisham is a master of that. He can hold you enthralled till the end. This is another one which does the same, minus the courtroom drama......
Genetics was a strange thing, he thought. And while he looked like his father, he felt nothing. Jake didn't hold a grudge because his father was an alcoholic, workaholic, or womanizer. He may have been all of the above, but Jake didn't know. And it is hard to be upset about something you don't know or can't remember. He wasn't angry, hurt or disappointed-he wasn't close enough to the man in front of him to have any of those emotions. Everything happens for a reason and Jake tried to leave the past in the past, a skill he learned from his mother.~~~Page 26
He disappeared into a utility closet, came out the other side onto a landing which led to another hidden staircase. In decades past, this had been used to haul convicts from the jail to the main courtroom to face the wrath of the judges, but now it was seldom used.
Title: Theodore Boone: The Accused
Author: John Grisham
ISBN: 9781444757194
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/2012
Pages: 288
Synopsis: [From the back cover]
Theodore Boone is the thirteen-year-old who knows more about the law than most adult lawyers. He certainly never expected to be a victim of crime himself. But then his bike is vandalized, he's attacked while doing his homework. and, worst of all, framed for robbery.
When stolen computer equipment turns up in Theo's school locker, the police start leaning on him hard. And he is the only suspect. What if he's found guilty? What about his dreams of becoming a lawyer?
In a race against time, aided by his renegade uncle, Ike, Theo must find the rel felon and reveal the true motivation behind the crimes of which he stands accused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My views:
Theo's bike is vandalized, someone throws a rock at his window while he is doing his homework, and most of the stolen computer equipment are found in his school locker. The police get an anonymous call and Theo is the prime suspect for the robbery.
Theo has nightmares of being put in jail and everyone calling him a jailbird. It went on and on. Then his Uncle tells him to steal the password of his parents filing system in the computer. Pre-teens are easily influenced and might end up thinking it is the done thing!
I do like Grisham novels but this one did not appeal to me.
I watched my father closely and at one point saw something that did not surprise me. With Joe flat on his back, unconscious, seriously injured and convulsing, I saw my father smile.
Title: Calico Joe
Author: John Grisham
ISBN: 9780385536073
Publisher: Doubleday/2012
Pages: 208
Calico Joe is unlike any other novel written by John Grisham. It is novel based on baseball and what happens off the field touches the heart. So much different from his legal thrillers, Calico Joe makes a moral statement, speaking of good versus evil.
It is told in the voice of Paul Tracey, son of Warren Tracy who is a Mets baseball player. Warren is not a role model for anyone. He is abusive towards his family. No one seems to like him,not even his children. Whenever Paul watches his father playing, he feels good and proud but Warren does not give a damn. The Mets and Cubs are locked in a mid-season pennant race. Paul is a huge Mets fan for obvious reasons, and always roots for his father.
The clubs call Joe Castle to replace one of their regular players who has been injured. Castle becomes a sensation overnight and Paul is torn between his loyalty towards his dad and admiration for Joe Castle. Warren feels threatened by Castle and what happens in the field between him and Castle has tragic consequences. Castle's career ends as abruptly as it had started. Paul's relationship with his dad takes a nose drive. Warren goes away from their lives.
Thirty odd years later, Warren has cancer and Paul wants him to face what he did to Castle. Joe has disappeared from public life and now leads a quiet life, fiercely protected by his brothers. The novel epitomizes the rise and fall of an upcoming baseball player. The forgiveness of a person to the one who did him wrong. I do not know baseball but that did not deter me from reading it. It is as interesting as his legal thrillers.
"I hated it when he gave me the Cutter Shark name. Even if it is catchy. I have to admit, he does get results. He's already been on Fox, CNN and the BBC."
~ Page 247
Title: Cuts Like A Knife
Author: M.K. Gilroy
ISBN: 9781936034697
Publisher: Worthy Publishing/2012
Pages: 410
Cuts like a Knife is totally a character driven novel. The psychopath has killed 47 people in six cities, mostly females before he arrives in Chicago.
The book opens with the voice of the psychopath, who speaks how he is going to be after his victim. How he is going to use his knife on the victim. Then there is a Vlogger, who kind of taunts the authorities for not catching the killer. He questions the police and the detective. And he is the one who names the psychopath as Cutter Shark....
Kristen has a weird family, one of her sisters is the wife of a pastor, the other sister is a model and their mother keeps inviting her so-called boy friend even after she tells him off. When Kristen is not doing anything interesting, she works as a soccer coach for her 7 year old niece's team. Kristen is no way perfect, she has anger issues and a wry and dry sense of humour. She has to keep her wits around to deal with her madcap family. All this while investigating the serial killings.
Slowly it dawns on Kristen that he is setting his sights on having her as the next victim. It becomes doubly important for her to identify him and catch him. There is that nail biting tension, yet there is humour. It sets a good pace for reading.
Title: Love Thy Neighbor
Author: Mark Gilleo
ISBN: 9781611880342
Publisher: The Story Plant/2012
Pages: 438
Love Thy Neighbor deals with terrorism, which is a hard reality in the current times. No country is immune from it. It exists all over the world in one form of the other. And the neighbors we think are harmless might turn out out to be terrorists, in guise.
I live in India, our neighboring country is Pakistan. We have had too many terrorist attacks. And those are not going to stop anytime soon. The novel appealed to me as I could connect with it. Terrorist activities might go on right under our nose and we choose to ignore those. We turn a blind eye thinking it is not going to affect us.
Clay Hayden comes home to his mother Maria, who is suffering from Dementia. It is Maria who notices strange men in her neighborhood and calls CIA. No one listens to her initially. FBI follows and also a person from IRS who is looking out for tax discrepancies regarding Maria and her deceased husband. Clay finds himself in the midst of it all.
Not going into much detail, I would say, it scares us. It makes us ponder, if we can prevent terror activities by being vigilant. It does not seem that way here. Based on a true story, this work of fiction makes us question ourselves and our Govt. agencies. (For me it is the Indian Govt.)
Wally tricked her into signing a contract for legal representation, promised her the moon, sneaked out of the room as quietly as he’d sneaked in, then proceeded to butcher her case. She netted $40,000, which her husband drank and gambled away in a matter of weeks, which led to a divorce action filed by Oscar Finley.
~~~The Litigators by John Grisham
David Zinc is sick of being in a big time law firm. He is tired of the work and one day he walks out of it and lands up with Finley & Figg, which is a non-descriptive law firm. They mainly deal with divorce cases and are ambulance chasers. They don't really need David but he offers his services and they just accept him.
Finley & Figg land up a big case, where they take on a very big drug company, which has produced a wonder drug for cholesterol control. But it is also supposed to cause heart problems. They think they are going to make a lot of money without much work. David is skeptical but he goes along. In the way he pursues another case on his own.
Small time lawyers going for big time keeps the story line in a good pace. Grisham can still keep our interest intact. I couldn't put it down once I started it. I recommend it all those who love legal thrillers.
"Read it? No. And I'd never answer one of the ads. I don't suppose you would ever...?"
"Advertise myself? Not on your life. You know what kind of women you'd meet, pathological liars, schizophrenics..."
Lonely Millionaire by Carol Grace
Mandy Clayton answers a personal ad in the Yukon Man on her sister's dare, and she finds an interesting man in Jack but when Adam Grey arrives at her Bed and Breakfast, she is irresistible to his charms. Yet the thought of Jack keeps her away from him.
Adam Gray is there because of his friend, Jack to check on Mandy but obviously he can't tell her that. He finds her very attractive. It was he, who had written all those mails for Jack. Adam works was not interested in a mail-order romance, but he was willing to write some love letters for his friend. Adam wants her for himself but his work is such which prevents him from a permanent relationship. Also the fact that he can't just take her away from Jack. After many twists and turns, they overcome all hurdles to be together. What else do you expect from a romance?
It has good pace and dialogues are enjoyable. I read it in the midst of a reading slump and found it pretty interesting. For all those romance reader out there I say go for it. Available free from Amazon for your Kindles! Nooks owners might find it in B&N!!!
"I doubt if he abducted her."
"Well, if he's not upstairs in his room, we may have a problem."
Title: The Abduction
ISBN: 978-0525425571
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile/2011
Pages: 256
I used to read a lot of John Grisham. The Pelican Brief is one of my favourite novels. The Abduction was sent to me by the publisher. I was happy to receive it. But when I saw it has a teenage detective, I had my misgivings. But when I started it, I changed my mind. I am way older than the intended readership for this novel.
Theodore Boone's friend April disappears. She has a dysfunctional family and her only friend is, Theo. The police is clueless. Theo, along with his friends and an Uncle, who is the black sheep of the family, searches for her. He has a good legal knowledge (His parents are lawyers) and also has wonderful investigative skills.
This is a very enjoyable read, not too complex but keeps our interest intact till the end. It has good pace, and any adult reader too will like it. I found Theodore very knowledgeable, he hates going to school but goes nevertheless. He likes to be present in the court. This is not an blood and gore type of mystery, considering the teenage readers. That is what I liked about it. But then, John Grisham does not disappoint.
I have read too many romances in the form of e-books. And none of those need a full review. So I thought I would do Mini Reviews! All these novels can be found free! From Amazon. I read those with the help of a Kindle For PC, which can be downloaded for free from there. Try it! Works GREAT!!
Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren
Alex is a private investigator who works with her dad, and she is hired by a woman who has seen a photo in a newspaper of Brodie Hayes,a former rodeo star. And thinks that he is her long lost son stolen from the hospital forty years ago. Alex tracks him down and unknown to him takes something from for a DNA sample. Initially Alex is skeptical about the whole thing but somehow it is not really closed case at all. She starts to empathize with Brodie. It is not really a superficial romance although the does does suggest that. It has depth and the characterization is good even of those who have grey shades. The love story is only secondary to the story of stolen child..that is Brodie...
The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding
Tom and Sylvie have an one-night stand and as a consequence Sylvie gets pregnant. When Tom sees Sylvie after a few months, he thinks she is having a baby by some other man and also thinks Sylvie is going to marry that man. Both are in love with each other but they don't say it. This novel is all about misunderstanding. And it kind of finishes fast. The characters are too proud to talk about their feeling. Made a fast and easy read.
A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight
In a stormy night, the reclusive Ethan Hunter leaves his infant daughter in Molly's care. She is terrified but does care for the little girl. And when he returns to get his daughter back, Molly and Ethan are stuck in the farmhouse during the snowstorm, but when they're back in the real world that their relationship starts. Molly, who has withdrawn from society after being part of a horrific tragedy, is forced to get and it seems she can't Ethan. Both Molly and Ethan have histories and troubled pasts but they do deal with that to find happiness with each other.
Click on the titles to get all those downloaded for free!!
To be continued, next Sunday.......
Title: Deadly Exchange
Author: Geoffrey M. Gluckman
ISBN-13: 9780595420469
Publisher: iUniverse/2007
Pages: 339
Jennifer Chance is a well known Motivational speaker, for Lectures and More, Inc. Unknown to her, this company is trying to push a device with such a radio frequency which can alter thinking pattern of the listeners. It is way to control minds. Ulrich Rogers, an ex-secret, is The Director pushing for it. His second in command, Jones has other plans. He wants a slice of the world and for that he is prepared to cross the line.
Something goes wrong with their plans and many deaths are reported but the govt is unable to find out the cause. Jennifer Chance has been feeling not up to her work. She thinks that it is all a lie that she is preaching. Her previous life feels like a big question mark. When she is learns about this radio frequency, she turns to Frank Revere, who too is an ex-secret agent. Frank had lost his girl-friend Sara, to an accident five years back. Although he is not keen to pursue another relationship, he and Jennifer have a strange pull for each other.
It gets murkier. Jones with his hudlums, goes on a killing spree, eliminating anyone who comes in their way. He wants the new device to be installed and work in all parts of the US. Frank, Jennifer, team up with some other ex-agents to stop it. But who should be trusted?
This novel has taken an unusual plot. It is like brainwashing the minds of the people via radio frequency devices. On the face, The Director wants it for world peace but Jones has other plans. The device is bigger than any terror activities with horrifying consequences. Killing ones own people to have control over the world is very cold blooded. There is danger, at every step. And everyone is at their wits end. I took a while to read this novel but once I started, I had to finish it.
It has the right suspense, mystery, and thriling elements to sustain interest. And also to make us think that do we really need motivational speakers to pep us up? What can another person do that our own mind can't? What is truth, anyway? Think about it.
Title: The Queen of Palmyra
Author: Minrose Gwin
ISBN: 978-0061840326
Publisher: Harper Perennial/2010
Pages: 416
Based in summer of 1963, in Milkwood, it depicts those times in the eyes of 11 year old Florence Forrest. Her father is a racist and mother is the cake lady, who is trying to get away from her brutal marriage by drinking and bootlegging. Florence finds a friend in the form of her grandparents maid, Zenie, which is a soetrt form of Zenobia, the Queen of Palmyra. Zenie can simply considers Florence as unwanted chore but Florence look forward to being with her every day.
Florence's father has a dark secret, which even when revealed to the young girl, is not comprehended by her. She doesn't understand class or colur differences and her father is totally racist. He is abusive too for her and her mother. ONly her grandparents seem to be somewhat tolerant towards coloured people.
Everything seems to be peaceful until the day Eva Greene, Zenie's niece appears in time. Along with college, she too is selling insurance like Florence's father. In a race divided community, it is unthinkable and tragedy strikes.
Florence's relationship with Zenie and Eva is well brought out. Zenie barely tolerates her but Eva cares for the girl. Both bond well. Florence's mother gets drunk to forget her abusive husband. She in her own way even tries to protect the black community.
Florence tries to understand all that is happening around her and her struggles are well depicted. She is naive in the beginning but circumstances do make her grow up and all the other characterisation have been done very well.
It did remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird. And that is saying something about the novel. With good prose, Minrose Gwin has written a winner.
Title: The Kitchen House
Author: Kathleen Grissom
ISBN: 978-1439153666
Publisher: Touchstone/2010
Pages: 368
Book Blurb:
In 1790, Lavinia, a seven-year-old Irish orphan with no memory of her past, arrives on a tobacco plantation where she is put to work as an indentured servant with the kitchen house slaves. Though she becomes deeply bonded to her new family, Lavinia is also slowly accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. As time passes she finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds and when loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare and lives are at risk. The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.
My views:
The premise interested me because of a white girl working as an indentured servant with black slaves. I had not read any other book on that. Lavinia has no memories other than random dreams of a family she had, before she was brought to the tobacco plantation by the owner, Captain Pyke. She is to be trained as servant under the care of Belle, who is the illegitimate daughter of the Captain. Lavinia and Belle develop a bonding over the years.
Told in alternate voices of Lavinia and Belle, we get deep insights into the lives of slaves, and their relationship with their masters. Belle's voice is logical, practical and she is not afraid to narrate the unpleasantness. Lavinia is emotional and wavers at times. I think that is normal as she is younger and has not found her footing in the initial few years. Lavinia is taken in by both the Pyke's family and the slaves working in the Kitchen House.
The Captain is seldom home and his wife, Martha, is sickly, mainly due to addiction to opium. A tragedy befalls, which makes Martha almost lose her mind. That's when we see Lavinia getting closer to her. She too comes to like Lavinia. When the Captain dies, Lavinia is sent to Martha's sister and here we see her getting some sort of education. However, Lavinia is always wishing to go back to the Tall Oaks, which she eventually does after marrying Captain Pyke's son, Marshall Pyke. When she discovers his drunkenness and infidelities, it is very late. Now the slaves are no longer the family she always had. She is torn apart by all this happenings.
Belle, despite being the Captain's daughter doesn't get her due. Infact she is brutally raped by Marshall, who thinks that she had always been his father's mistress. With other characters like Will Stephens, Mama Mae, which are essential for the development of the novel, we see the various dilemmas between the two worlds. The worlds, which can't be merged, no matter how hard one tries. Despite love, honour and so much more. And that is the tragedy.
Written in a interesting manner, this novel is fast paced and not something to be forgotten easily. I simply had to read it at one go.
Thanks to the author for the ARC.
