Posts
All Comments
Title: What the Bayou Saw
Author: Patti Lacy
ISBN: 978-0825429378
Publisher: Kregel Publications/2009
Pages: 336
Back Cover:
Since leaving Louisiana, Sally Stevens has held her childhood secrets at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband Sam, has heard the truth about what happened when she was almost twelve years old.
Now a teacher in Illinois, Sally has nearly forgotten the past. But when one of her students is violently attacked, Sally's memories of segregation, a chain link fence, and a blood oath bubble to the surface like a dead body in a bayou. Lies continue to tumble from Sally's lips as she scrambles to gloss over harsh reality. Finally cornered by her deceit and nudged by the Holy Spirit, she resolves to face the truth, whatever the consequences.
My views:
Sally has all but forgotten her past. It all comes back when one of her student's is brutally raped. Now that student is a coloured one. Sally finds racial prejudices all around her in the investigations. No one wishes for a white man to be involved in the crime. Sally has her misgivings and does not how to handle it.
Her memories come to surface. She remembers her childhood friendship with a coloured girl, Ella Ward. And also the secret they both shared. No one was aware of their umlikeliest friendship. Sally had let down her friend by keeping her mouth shut, which had affected Ella's family.
Now this incident makes Sally question herself. And she knows, she has to stop her lies to get to the bottom of it irrespective of the consequences. And she has to redeem herself in her friend Ella's eyes.
The novel raises the age old issue of race. Sally and Ella become friends. Ella can go to any length for Sally but Sally doesn't. Ella had hoped that Sally would come out with the truth but Sally doesn't. Sally's silence destroys their friendship.
Here we see Sally continue to lie at the drop of a hat. And it catches with her. When skeletons tumble out, she knows she has to tell the truth. It is pegged as a Christian fiction. That does not bother me as I feel that choosing rightous path is mandatory for everyone, irrespective of religion.
What is hidden in the Bayou is what we have to find out here.
Found this on the blog, Lost in Books. If you do the meme, don't forget to post the link URL on her linky thing!
Rebecca asks," What are your favorite genres to read?
Very easy for me to answer. Firstly, I like Crime Fction, which covers hell lot of sub-genres. Suspense, Thrillers, Mysteries, Police Procedurals, Whodunnits, Whydunnits, medical thrillers, Legal thrillers, Detective fiction, spy stories, cozy mysteries, psychological thrillers.
As you can see, crime fiction takes us into a whole gamut of emotions, thrills and you name it, you get it. My mind gets totally involved when I read crime fiction.
Then, I like World Fiction. That takes me into a journey all over the world. I learn about places, cultures, religions and so much more. I can read travelogues too.
I used to read a lot of historical stuff. I still do but not as much as I did. Lately, fantasy literature hasn't held my interest. Unless a book is too good, I can't get into fantasy stuff.
Now what are yours? Is there a genre that you avoid like plague?
He hasn't been arrested," Abby said automatically. She dropped back into the chair and ran her hands over her face, blew out a long breath. "I keep telling you, they need evidence to arrest someone. He's fine. Lexie, sit down.
~Page 394
Title: The Likeness
Author: Tana French
ISBN: 978-0143115625
Publisher: Penguin/2009
Pages: 512
Detective Cassie Maddox gets a call from Detective Sam O'Neill, who is also her boyfriend, to visit a murder scene in a small town of Glenskehy. She is not very keen to go as she has opted out from the Dublin's Murder Squad. But she does go and is surprised to see the body of a girl, who is exactly her double. That is, has a ID as Alexandra Madison, the same identity Cassie had used while working undercover. No one knows who is that girl and who is the murderer.
When Frank Mackey, Cassie's former undercover boss asks Cassie to impersonate Lexie and take her place as one of the housemates in the Whitethorn House, Cassie and Sam are not very keen about the idea. But Cassie does take Lexie's place. She is pulled into Lexie's life and has to know all about her.
Now who is Lexie really? Why did she have so many identities. What ailed her? And how are the housemates involved in her murder, if they are? Cassie, while living with them, slowly gets embroiled in their lives. And her instincts of investigation comes forth.
Here we see Cassie's life changing in the company of the housemates, who are a close-knit University friends. They are as diverse as they can be yet are bonded well with each other. Cassie's interest in their lives is filled with intrigue and interest. She too can't stay detached for long. She instantly relates with them. We can feel her sadness when the time comes for her to get away from them.
Despite being a long novel, it doesn't deter us from reading it. Tana French has weaved a great story, with well etched out characters. Nowhere we hate the housemates. Even when we know all about them. This novel is supposed to start from In the Woods. I haven't read In The Woods. The Likeness has some background of that novel. However, it works well as a stand alone book too.
Also reviewed by:
In the past weeks:
I finished:
Last Last Chance by Fiona Maazel
I am still in the midst of reading:
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
I posted reviews of:
Inside Out by Barry Eisler
Virgin Widow by Anne O'Brien
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you read amidst distractions? (tv, others talking, sporting events, etc)
Actually I can. I do it all the time. In trains, in waiting rooms, TV in the background, loud music (that is, rock) playing. People talking. Etc etc. With a book I can simply close the world out.
For my reading, it doesn't really matter if it is quiet or noisy. I can read in any environment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia.
I didn't receive a single book! How is that?! *grin*
Since last sunday I have not read a word of anything or reviewed anything either. Somehow I am not very inclined to read. 1/3 of July has passed without a single book being read. How is that?
Weekly Geeks: Do Book Trailers Do It For You?
Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise asks us to list the best 5-10 Crime fiction books we read in the first 6 months of 2010.
Here I list 10 Crime fiction books that I liked best, in no particular order:
Sworn to Silence by Linda
Venom by Joan Brady
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie--Graphic Novel
The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Rule Book by Rob Kitchin
Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten
The Likeness by Tana French
Inside Out by Barry Eisler
I am yet to review The Likeness by Tana French. You can read my reviews of the other books by clicking on the title.
After reading The Rule book by Rob Kitchin, I wish to read The White Gallows by Rob Kitchin. Do check it out.
Product Description from amazon
In Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland the murder rate is soaring and the gardai are struggling to cope with gangland wars, domestic disputes, and drunken brawls that spiral into fatal violence. To add to Detective Superintendent Colm McEvoy's workload are the deaths of two immigrants - an anonymous Lithuanian youth and an elderly German billionaire. While one remains an enigma, the murky history of the other is slowly revealed. But where there is money there is power and, as McEvoy soon learns, if you swim amongst sharks, you better act like a shark.
Do you have friends and family to share books with? Discuss them with? Does it matter to you?
I have friends and family who read books. But what I and they read seldom match. My friends are mostly into romance reading along with Chick Lit. Nowadays, my brothers read sci-fi or techie books. They also go for the most popular books. The kind of books I read are mostly unheard by them. However, my love for Crime Fiction is a result of reading my brothers books. My eldest brother loved Perry Mason and Agatha Christie novels. He gave the lot to me. My middle brother gave me his Alistair MacLean collection. My younger brother contributed to my Tintin and Asterix albums. My dad used to buy me Physics books. My mother read short stories.
I have discussed books with them. On and off. Not in a regular basis though. Now I and my 13 year old nephew talk about graphic novels.
Discussion or not, I am blessed to be born a family of readers! Despite the fact that I read the most!
Title: Virgin Widow
Autor: Anne O'Brien
ISBN: 978-0778303756
Publisher: Mira/2010
Pages: 624
Book Description: Anne Neville is the heiress and daughter of the greatest powerbroker in the land, Warwick the Kingmaker. Trapped in a deadly tangle of political intrigue, she is a pawn in an uncertain game, used by the houses of Neville, York and Lancaster alike.
In England’s glittering, treacherous court, not all wish to see the Neville’s raised high. The Earl of Warwick’s ambition and pride lead him into an attempt to depose the Yorkist King; his treason forces his family into exile.
Humiliated and powerless in a foreign land, Anne must find the courage and the wit to survive in a man’s world.
My views:
Anne O'Brien is not very well known, although she was married to Richard III. Here here story is told in such a manner that we are drawn into the political intrigue and treachery. Earl of Warwick uses his own daughter to further his own selfish interest. Edward Lancaster, a volatile person, even though married to Anne, doesn't treat her well. He is totally influenced by Margaret of Anjou. She does not allow them to get close to each other. Anne, at a young age 14 year, faces too much tribulations. Yet she does not give up. She knows she has to carve a niche for herself. Medieval England comes alive for us. It is a tome of a book. But that did not deter me from reading it at two sittings. It is a must read for history lovers. Anne's thoughts might have been fictionlised by she has been given a great voice here. It seems as real as the history of that time. Maybe it is, if she had been given a voice at that time."Let me get this straight," he said, deliberately speaking slowly and clearly so Clements and the rest of the Langley contingent assembled before him would understand exactly what Ulrich made of their collective mental acuity. "Ninety-two interrogation videotapes, and you're telling me they're just… missing?"
Ulrich stared at Clements, wanting to believe he'd misheard. Even in the grand panoply of CIA incompetence, this one would be a standout.
Title: Inside Out
Author: Barry Eisler
ISBN: 9780345505101
Publisher: Ballantine Books/2010
Pages: 368
In Inside Out, Ben Treven, first introduced in Fault Line, reappears. Treven has landed himself into a Manila Jail, after a Burgos Street bar brawl. The jail is so dark, crowded and unknown, that Ben finds himself in a soup with no rescue in sight. However, Colonel Scott Horton, chief of Ben's secret unit, tracks him down. He offers Ben freedom in exchange of something very big. Now Hort had tried to kill Ben and his brother, Alex in Fault Line. Ben does not whether he should trust Hort or not.
Ninety-two tape recordings documenting the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorists”/“torture on people of interest” by U.S. personnel have gone missing. And can create utter chaos if released in the public domain. The man who has them, Daniel Larison, is infact a former member of Ben's unit. He is supposedly deceased and has his reasons for going the opposite way. He has a secret life and needs money to lead that life. He is demanding $100 million in diamonds.
Treven finds himself in an unwanted partnership with an FBI agent, Paula Lanier, who is not what she appears to be. They plan how to catch hiold of Larison and recover the tapes from him. But there are people with their own interests, who can go either way to further those. Ben doesn't find Daniel to be the rogue that he is made out to be. Ben Treven also understands that he is own his own, with no support from anyone and has to find the right path to get out of it.
