Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff (2018) 362.299S

 

I do not typically read non-fiction. Not because I don’t respect the genre, but I find that at this age I enjoy reading for pleasure and escape. But this book got so much hype I couldn’t help but check it out. It was also an option on one for the Beanstack reading challenges in which I was participating.

Beautiful Boy is the true story of one man’s path alongside his drug addicted son. In fact, David’s preoccupation with Nic’s situation becomes an addiction in itself. While the story does discuss some of Nic’s thoughts and feelings; it is more focused on how the addiction of a family member affects the parents and siblings. I cried a lot reading how David took on the burden of assuming he had done wrong when raising Nic. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for David when he hit rock bottom of his co-dependency at the same time as his son with his addiction.

If you are not already a non-fiction reader, please take the time to read this one.

4.09 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (2016)

How can one night out at the next-door neighbor’s dinner party turn so bad? Anne and Marco decide to leave their baby Cora at home alone while they’re at the party. She is in bed, the baby monitor I turned on, and they go home and check on her frequently. Yet at the end of the night they return home to find that Cora has been kidnapped.

The scene is too neat, and the stories just aren’t adding up. Is Marco responsible in an attempt to free up his life? Did Anna have something to do with the disappearance of her daughter? Or is there a mad man on the loose? All of these seem possible scenarios until the ransom note arrives. Soon after both Anne and Marco begin to realize their marriage and life is not what they thought it was.

Who did take that sweet baby, and will she be returned safely? Pick up the book and find out. You won’t regret it. This was the second book I read by Shari Lapena and it was truly a page turner.

3.79 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda (2017)

 

This book is about Paul Strom and his wife Mia who appear to have the perfect marriage. Paul has planned a romantic weekend with his wife at their summer home before the season starts. He continually refers to the getaway as the Best Day Ever. On the drive-up Mia gets very irritated by Paul. I was annoyed with him as well. The character seems to be a real jerk, and he gets even more egotistical as the couple gets closer to their destination. By the time they arrived at the summer house I believed Mia was having an affair with a neighbor.

It is as the evening comes to an end that the reader begins to see why Paul believes his is the Best Day Ever, at least for him. Or is it?

I found this book to be simply wonderful, bringing something new to the usual thriller plotline. I gave it a big fat 5-star review on GoodReads.

3.71 stars on Goodreads, 4.1 on Amazon

The New Husband by D.J. Palmer (2020)

 Nina Garrity finds herself in a position where her husband Glen disappears, presumably drowned while fishing on his boat. However, there is no body, nothing to indicate whether he is dead or alive. Nina would like to say she cares at this point but it’s hard because she has learned he has been lying to her. Nina, both broke and broken, must move on with her two children. Just when she is at her lowest point, a new man comes into her life.

Simon couldn’t be more perfect. He seems to know so much about Nina although they just recently met. A short time after meeting this perfect man Nina and the kids move into a new home with Simon. The problem is the youngest child is not adjusting well to the new situation. Not only is Simon a teacher at her school, daughter Maggie is also disappointed that her mother wants to believe the worst of her dad.

Maggie begins receiving messages on social media that she believes are from her dad as Simon becomes weirder. Finally, Nina starts to notice things aren’t adding up. Will she get the bigger picture before it is too late?

3.80 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020) (Large Type)

 

Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction (2020)

I thought his book was extraordinary.

The story starts out with Nora making a decision that will change her life forever. Yet what she thinks will be the end to her story is only a detour on the real journey. Nora wakes up in a library full of books. Like a regular library, each book provides an escape for the reader. In each volume Nora experience a version of her life that coulda, shoulda, woulda been. It gives her a chance to live out regrets and dreams that have hindered her life. Or so she thinks. In reality, Nora is learning what regret really means.  She discovers the consequences of the choices she made in her life and must decide whether to continue on with her real life or choose one of the other options.

I typically read suspense and thrillers and this one was neither. Yet I would highly recommend this book to any reader. Especially now in a time when people are contemplating their lives and the choices they’ve made. Were they the right ones?

This really is a must read for any reader. It was a quick read but quite meaningful.

4.19 stars on Goodreads, 4.4 on Amazon

Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson (2021)

 

Our Darkest Night is Robson’s sixth book and I have read all of them but this one I couldn’t put down. The story takes place in Italy during the German occupation, a dark time which brought out the best and worst of mankind. Antonina Mazin is a young Jewish woman who lives with her father in Venice, her mother in the equivalent of a nursing home. When Jewish roundups seem imminent, Antonina’s father sends her away with a friend of a friend, Niccolo Gerardi.

Antonina Mazin becomes Nina Marzoli and goes to live with Nico on his families’ farm, posing as his Christian wife. Nina was training with her father to be a doctor and has no knowledge of the work required to run a farm. Guided by the last words of her father, “Eat the food they give you. Do the work that is expected of you. Never complain.” Nina slowly adapts to life on the farm.

Nico’s neighbors are leery of the girl Nico suddenly married and their distrust is shared by the local Nazi official who has a vendetta against Nico. Karl Zwerger becomes obsessed with Nina and learning everything about her in his quest for revenge. As the charade becomes a reality, can Nina and Nico survive until the end of the war?

Jennifer Robson has a doctorate in British history from Oxford and relies upon conventional research sources as well as personal recollections for her books. She doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the time. Robson’s writing style brings the characters and historic events to life.

4.18 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

This book is not available at EPL. Ask any of the reference librarians to get it for you from an area library.

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth by Daniel Warren Johnson (2019)

 

Throughout the years, Wonder Woman has had many dramatic storylines, but maybe none as dire as this. After hundreds of years in a deep sleep, Diana   awakens to find herself in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Her friends, the Justice League, gone…or dead. The reason why, wiped from her memory.

Wonder Woman must find others in the wasteland; she needs to know what catastrophe took place, and why. Most importantly, she needs to find her way home to Themyscira, to her mother. The mythical island must have survived this desolation, right?

Daniel Johnson, writer and illustrator, creates a strikingly visual tale of fallen gods and monsters. His tale of destruction and death still holds tight to forgiveness and hope, making for one of the more captivating short runs in DC comics.

While, we know that this is just one version of Wonder Woman, one of the many in an infinite pool of dimensions, it is still a heartbreaking ode to one of DC’s most powerful heroes.

4.04 stars on Goodreads, 4.8 on Amazon

A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries #1) by Charles Finch (2007)

 

Agatha Award for best new mystery nominee 2007

One of Library Journal's Best Books of 2007

In this his first novel, Charles Finch introduces the reader to Charles Lenox, an amateur detective in Victorian London. Charles is the wealthy younger brother of a baronet who likes nothing more than dry feet and relaxing by the fire with his tea and his books. But he can’t help himself when an opportunity to investigate presents itself. Lenox is aided in these investigations by a host of characters including his brother Edmund, his best friend Lady Jane Grey, his assistant and friend Dr. Thomas McConnell, and his faithful butler Graham.

In A Beautiful Blue Death, the investigation begins when Lady Jane requests Lenox’s aid in discovering how a former maid died while working in another household. Lenox discovers he is dealing with a murder by poison rather than suicide and we are introduced to a plethora of potential suspects. Like any good mystery writer, Finch drops small clues throughout the book, some relevant, others misdirects.

The book’s characters are fully developed, and you’ll feel you actually know them.  The same attention to detail is given to the customs, events, buildings, and neighborhoods of historical London.  If you are familiar with the city, you can travel along with Lenox during his investigation. Some might find the book slow going because of all the detail but I appreciated it.  If you are looking for a fast read, this is not it.

Currently there are 14 Charles Lenox Mysteries. I’ve already started book #2, which takes place at Oxford.

3.63 stars on Goodreads, 4.2 on Amazon

Dirt (Stone Barrington series #2) by Stuart Woods (1999)

 

Stone Barrington is a former cop, forced into retirement by a department in which he never fit. Stone holds a law degree and after passing the Bar he is hired by a prestigious New York law firm to handle special cases.  He also maintains his own office where his services are more of an investigative than legal nature. And Stone sleeps with every woman he meets, all of whom are beautiful. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but wonder if Stone and James Bond had ever compared notes.

In the fast-paced Dirt, Stone takes on a blackmail scheme involving Amanda Dart, a nationally syndicated gossip columnist known as "the High Bitch Queen". Amanda receives a fax entitled Dirt containing details of her very private life and learns it has been sent to everybody who is anybody. The fax scheme soon expands to include Amanda's publisher, who also hires Stone, and the gay but closeted editor of a sleazy L.A. tabloid.

Stone is tasked with finding out who is behind the faxes and enlists the help of a former cop who ends up murdered. Stone finds answers hard to come by and his clients begin to take matters into their own hands without Stone’s knowledge. Tension builds as Stone discovers the seemingly random murder of his friend is related to the case.  There is a large cast of potential suspects introduced throughout the book.

Dirt is fast moving story with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the surprising reveal.

If you like Dirt and want to read more about Stone Barrington’s cases, there are currently 59 other titles in this series. By the looks of it, Stuart Woods isn’t done yet. Each can be read as a standalone title.

3.89 stars on Goodreads, 4.4 on Amazon

The Search by Nora Roberts (2011)

 

When we first meet Fiona Bristow, she is happily living her life on an island off Seattle's coast, where she runs a thriving dog-training school, and has three labs of her own. Fiona also heads up a search and rescue team with the dogs. The reader soon finds Fiona has struggled to find this idyllic life after her escape from the Red Scarf Killer, the serial killer who then killed her K-9 officer fiancé and his four-legged partner.

Fiona’s peaceful existence is interrupted by the arrival of grumpy artist Simon Doyle and his out-of-control puppy, Jaws. Jaws is the glue that brings these two very different people together. Just when all is going well, Fiona finds herself being hunted by a copycat killer, with a possible connection to the Red Scarf Killer. Will she be able to escape this time?

Reviewers either love or hate the Fiona/Simon dynamic, but all agree the dogs steal the show. The Search is one intense read.

4.15 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon

Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy by Larry Lofts (2019), 940.54 L

 

Code Name Lise is the true story of Odette Sansom, a British spy operating in occupied France during World War II, who fell in love with her commanding officer, Captain Peter Churchill. In 1942, Odette’s British husband is off fighting and she leaves her three daughters behind to become a SOE agent and spy for her adopted country. Peter and Odette are eventually captured by the German secret police. The pair are sent to Paris’s Fresnes prison, and from there to concentration camps in Germany where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. No matter how bad it gets, Peter and Odette never give up hope, their colleague’s whereabouts, or their love for each other.

The author seamlessly weaves together the growing romance between Odette and Peter and their many missions which put them in the crosshairs of the secret police. Although non-fiction, Code Name: Lise contains all the elements of WWII spy thriller.

3.94 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Circe by Madeline Miller (2018)

 From the author of The Song of Achilles, Circe is the most recent book from Madeline Miller. In this novel Miller takes various myths where Circe appears, and retells her story in a cohesive novel. With regards to the mythology we see Circe as a side character in various stories. For instance, when Circe meets Odysseus and his men in books 10 and 11 of the Odyssey, and changes his crew into pigs. While in this novel Miller tells of Circe’s life and how she is exiled to the island of Aiaia. While on the island of Aiaia meets with various characters from Greek myth such as Daedalus, Jason, Medea, and Odysseus among others. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest I Greek myth, along with The Song of Achilles, especially if the idea of reading a translation text such as the Odyssey.  Miller presents the material in the form of a novel written for a current audience. 

 4.26 Stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Burning Bright (Peter Ash #2) by Nicholas Petrie (2017)

 

Peter Ash spent eight years in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Marine lieutenant. He has returned to civilian life with severe claustrophobia which Peter calls “white static”. As a result, he has spent the last two years backpacking through the west, camping, and living out of his truck. Throughout the series, Peter uses his skills to help others and Burning Bright is no different.

When escaping a large grizzly bear by climbing a tall tree, Peter discovers a series of climbing ropes moving from tree to tree. As the bear has no intention of leaving, Peter follows the ropes to a hanging platform. There he meets June Cassidy,  an investigative journalist who has just escaped a kidnapping attempt. June’s mother, a prominent software designer for the Department of Defense has recently been killed in a hit and run accident. Given the mysterious events that followed her death, June comes to believe her mother was murdered for one of her many projects. Could the kidnapping attempt have something to do with that project? But which one?

There are several references to the plot in the first book, The Drifter, but it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy this well-developed story and cast of characters.

Reviewers have compared Peter Ash to Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne.

Profanity throughout.

The sixth book is the series, The Breaker, was recently published.

4.10 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon