Julie's Wrap Post: List Swap Challenge 2011

Even though the year isn't quite over, I know that I fell short of finishing my portion of the List Challenge for Alice and I. Granted, it's only 2 books but still, that's not finishing something I started out doing very well on.

Here is what I did finish and the reviews:

True Blue by David Baldacci
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis
The End of the Affair by Graham Green
Blue Diary by Alice Hoffmann
Room by Emma Donoghue

Here are the two books that I didn't get to this year:

Runaway by Alice Munro
Open House by Elizabeth Berg

I'm hoping that I can complete our challenge in 2012. What I've learned from all these challenges is that it is best to stick to reading one a month and then you won't get behind.

Did you guys have trouble finishing challenges in 2011?

Alice's Review: Speak Softly, She Can Hear

Summary: Blurbed by Wally Lamb as "a sexy and suspenseful psychological thriller," Lewis's debut opens with shy, overweight New York City schoolgirl Carole Mason heading to a Vermont cabin, where she intends to lose her virginity to handsome but venal Eddie Lindbaeck. Soon after she does, Eddie's friend Rita shows up for a threesome. When a bout of rough sex leaves Rita dead, Eddie convinces the drunken Carole that she broke Rita's neck. Carole's best friend, Naomi, arrives at the cabin, and the three of them dump Rita's body in a snowdrift, swearing to never reveal what has happened. The reader knows (if Carole doesn't) that Eddie and Naomi will use this secret to make her life a living hell. Eddie demands that Carole give him stolen presents, extorts money from her and seduces her mother. Carole responds by leaving college and starting a new life as a waitress in Manhattan. Eddie finds her, and she runs again, and again, winding up in Vermont not far from where they buried Rita years before. Eddie and Naomi turn up and cause more trouble until a final confrontation settles the matter once and for all. There aren't many surprises, but this is well-written and gripping enough that readers will stay up late to see whether beleaguered, tortured Carole can free herself from the despicable Eddie. ~amazon.com

Review: Speak Softly, She Can Hear is one of those novels that is an unexpected surprise.  I have a fondness for novels about girlfriends and sisters.  When I purchased this novel last year, I was intrigued by the tale of two friends, a pact to lose their virginity and a handsome and fatally charming stranger.  What I received was a story of one woman's resiliency. 

Carole was the average girl.  She felt she wasn't anything special, plain, slightly overweight, normal when she would rather be anything but.  Actually, that's not entirely true.  One of Carole's characteristics I really like was her confidence in herself yet that confidence didn't communicate with her classmates.  Sadly, I think she was the odd girl in class.  Nothing really wrong with her, yet the perfect target for bullies and snobby girls.  I think her desire to be perfect was her biggest downfall.  With each page, I felt more compassion for Carole.  She was thrown into a situation by the one person she felt was her friend yet Naomi was just a troubled young girl. 

I was extremely impressed with Ms. Lewis.  This story was a relatively simple.  One girl, one villain, one secret. It was intriguing, a page turner.  I turned every single page because I needed to know how Carole would escape under the weight of guilt she felt over Rita's death and under Eddie's thumb.  She was a survivor, a fighter. A runner but she did what she had to for self preservation.

What drives me crazy about novels like this is that if only Carole has told the truth, none of this would happen.  Then again, there wouldn't be a novel if she had.  What I'm getting at is people are so afraid of the truth.  In reality it is the lies and deception that harm us.

This novel is a must read.  As a debut for Ms. Lewis, it is stellar.  I'm looking forward to what else she brings us.

Final Take: 4/5

Alice's Review: China Lake

Summary:  Santa Barbara attorney Evan Delaney is gutsy and tough, but she has a tender side, too. She dotes on her nephew, Luke, who’s staying with her while his fighter-pilot father, Brian, is deployed overseas. (Brian, who’s stationed at the Mojave Desert naval weapons-testing center, China Lake, has been divorced from Luke’s mother, Tabitha, for years.) Evan’s peaceful cohabitation with Luke is thrown into chaos when Tabitha returns to town under the spell of the Remnant, a fundamentalist sect arming itself for the apocalypse with artillery and biological weapons. Tabitha wants Luke back—no questions asked. Brian comes home, and when the sect’s eerie leader is found dead in Brian’s backyard, the career military man is thrown in jail with little hope of release. Evan and her boyfriend, Jesse, come to Brian’s defense, prompting a flood of memories for Evan, who grew up in China Lake. ~amazon.com

Review:  The thing about the List Swap Challenge is that I get to read great novels chosen for me by Julie.  China Lake is a great one too.  From the very first page, Ms. Gardiner threw me right into the story.

I enjoyed the characters.  I liked Evan a lot.  She was the kind of person I would like to be friends with.  Down to earth, witty, a bit of a smart ass but a heart of gold.  She was stubborn and willful.  Thankfully that tenacity paid off.  She was the ultimate hero.  Jesse, Evan's boyfriend, was a bit annoying at times.  I'm not a fan of characters who are omnipotent, overly opinionated and sanctimonious.  At times Jesse was the poster boy.  Brian, Evan's brother, was a bit like Jesse.  He carried himself in a way that showed he was in-charge and the authority on all. Truthfully, I thought he was a jerk.  The string of villains Ms. Gardiner brought to the table were fantastic.  All equally creepy and delusional.  I particularly liked Glory who with time I thought could have been a great ally to Evan. And with Evan's guidance, a strong resourceful woman.   And then there is Luke.  I liked Luke a lot.  He was well spoken, smart, an old soul.  I hated seeing all the trauma he had to go through.  Thankfully Aunt Evan was there to protect him. 

What frightens me about this novel is how real it can be.  How there are Christian zealous groups out there who can wreck havoc on the world in the name of Jesus.  I think Ms. Gardiner wrote this novel in such a way that I experienced that terror myself.  While I was reading this novel, I actually went on the Internet, searching for these kinds of groups to see how safe we are as a nation from them. 
This novel was chocked full of surprises.  With every page there was a new surprise.  Every corner led to more mystery, more thrills.  I had no idea where she was going or how we would get there.  It was a suspenseful  journey, one that left me breathless in the end.  One that had me wanting more adventures with Evan. 

Final Take: 4/5

Alice's Review: The Eternal Ones

Summary:  Haven Moore has always lived in the town of Snope City, Tennessee. But for as long as she can remember, Haven has experienced visions of a past life as a girl named Constance, whose love for a boy called Ethan ended in fiery tragedy.  One day, the sight of notorious playboy Iain Morrow on television brings Haven to her knees. Haven flees to New York City to find Iain and there, she is swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Is Iain her beloved Ethan? Or is he her murderer from a past life? Haven asks the members of the powerful and mysterious Ouroboros Society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again. But what is the Ouroboros Society? And how can Haven know whom to trust? ~ http://www.eternalones.com/


Review: I picked up this novel on a whim after hearing the good buzz about it. I’m a sucker for romance, especially the kind that transcends time. I’m just going to put it out there right off the bat…I loved this novel. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Was it perfect? No. Am I so crazy excited about the sequel that I ordered it as soon as I flipped the last page? Yes.

I’m not even sure where to begin. I really enjoyed the Manhattan setting of Eternal Ones. Ms. Miller mentions city neighborhoods that are right around the corner from where I work. I can see Gramercy park from my office window. I’ve shopped in the drugstore Haven hid from the grey men. I loved that she made New York a character as well.

Eternal Ones was well written, well researched. I liked the idea of past lives and links formed that last lifetimes. She breathed life into all the characters making them very real, annoyingly so at times. What drove me the most nuts were Haven and Iain. Funny considering they are the main characters in this adventure. Haven because she kept doubting Iain. Although, truth be told, there wouldn’t be much of a novel if she had believed him. And Iain because if he would have told her the truth, she wouldn’t have doubted him. Oh, what a vicious circle it was.

And Haven? Where do I start? Although she was seventeen years old, she didn’t show much maturity. At times, she came across a like a self-centered thirteen year old instead of a young woman searching for her true love of 2,000 years. Even now, I have a hard time picturing her as an adult. I hope that in the sequel she will act more like one. It’s not that I disliked her, it’s that I wish she’d grow up.

There were quite a few characters I really enjoyed getting to know. First of all was Beau, Haven’s best friend. He always gave it to her straight and everyone needs a friend like that. I also liked Marta, the troubled artist. I wish her scenes were longer. I hope there is a Marta spinoff in the future. I would love to find out her story in detail. And I just loved the villain, who was so wonderfully creepy.

Through ever page, the story flowed at a quick pace. I was looking forward to what happened next. I suspected a couple things along the way and when they were revealed, I was pleased more than disappointed I was able to figure it out. In the end, I was happy with the resolution but would have been equally happy if it had gone another way.

Although the novel classification is Young Adult, I think anyone will enjoy it, regardless of what genre the reader likes. There was enough mystery, drama, excitement, sci-fi, and romance to draw in most readers, enough variety without overpowering the next. One thing I will say is that there is a bit of religion in the novel however, it is a means to move along the story.

Maybe I was connected to the setting, I don’t know. All I know is that I kept going back to it, excited to find out if Haven and Iain have the kind of love what will make it in this lifetime.

Final Take: 5/5

Alice's Review: The Monsters of Templeton

Summary:  "The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass." So begins The Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part acontemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story, this spellbinding novel is at its core a tale of how one town holds the secrets of a family. In the wake of a wildly disastrous affair with her married archaeology professor, Willie Upton arrives on thedoorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York, where her hippie-turned-born-again-Baptist mom, Vi, still lives. Willie expects to be ableto hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but the monster's death changes the fabric of the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Even further, Willie learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie: he wasn't the random man from a free-love commune that Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. Someone from this very town. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, she discovers that the secrets of her family run deep. Through letters, editorials, and journal entries, the dead rise up to tell their sides of the story as dark mysteries come to light, past and present blur,old stories are finally put to rest, and the shocking truth about more than one monster is revealed. ~amazon.com

Review:  I remember reading Julie’s review when she first read this novel. I know she was fond of it so I was excited she suggested I read this one as part of our List Swap Challenge. I have to admit, the beginning of this novel began in fits and starts for me. It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I got wrapped up on the story. I loved Willie from the word go.

Willie is the main character in this novel, the prodigal daughter returned shamed after a tryst with her very married college professor. And if that isn’t bad enough, she’s knocked up. She has a bun in the oven she (somewhat) lovingly refers to as The Lump. The thing about Willie is that she’s heartbroken (and I love the brokenhearted) and remorseful and so lost she doesn’t know what to do with herself. To help her recover, her sweet former hippie turned Christian mom tells her that her father is a “Random Templeton Man” and Willie’s mission is to find out who it is with minimal help from dear old mom. That sets Willie off on a crazy chase into her family’s past to find out who this mystery man is.

The next thing I loved about this novel is the darkness. About 7 or 8 years ago I read a book called Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman. Although the pages where blinding white, the novel was shroud in darkness. This novel was the same. Even as I got to know Willie and her struggles, it felt like I was reading The Monster of Templeton in the dark. I guess it’s appropriate to feel that way because I’m sure that’s how Willie felt. She was in the dark about who her father was and what to do about the Lump.

This novel was filled with a crazy cast of characters from Willie’s crooked family tree. Their stories are told mostly in chapters dedicated to flashbacks. Of those wacky branches, my favorite had to be the correspondence between Cinnamon Averell and her best friend Charlotte Franklin Temple. I wish there was a novel dedicated to their story, especially Cinnamon. She was a spicy little gem full of moxie. Oh to sit with her for a cup of tea and hear her sordid little secrets.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Monsters of Templeton. Lauren Groff is a gifted writer with the ability to write in lyrical, poetic prose and expressive descriptions. I will admit by the end of the novel, I couldn’t care less who Willie’s father was. I guess it was the point to all this but really, it didn’t matter to me. My desire to know got lost in the pages and pages of the town and Temple family history. I am glad I read it and would recommend it but I wouldn’t read this novel again. I would, however, read Ms. Groff’s other novels. She has a gift, that much is true.

Final Take: 3/5

Julie's Review: Ask Again Later

Summary: Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. When her mother dramatically announces, "They've found a lump," Emily gladly leaves behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unans­werable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life to be by her mother's side. But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn't run fast or far enough—especially when she opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face.
~harpercollins.com

Review: Ask Again Later is another choice from Alice for our List Swap Challenge. While I felt it started off a bit shaky and scattered, it found its legs and grew on me.

We are quickly introduced to Emily, a 30 year old who uprooted her life when her mother calls her to tell her she has cancer and is dying. Emily is working in her father's law office as a receptionist and has major issues stemming from her parents' divorce when she was young. To say that her adult life has suffered from her childhood would be putting it mildly. Her father was absent from her life for about 20 years and her mother has her own issues. Not to mention her sister who barely speaks to their mother and won't acknowledge their father's existence.

Parts of the book are told in flashbacks and then brought present day towards the end of the book. For me the first part of the novel seemed choppy and scattered, much like Emily. The second part flowed better and seemed more coherent, again like Emily. Believe me the correlation wasn't lost on this reader.

Initially I was irritated with Emily. I wanted her to quit whining about her deadbeat father and her slightly irrational mother and get her own life together. As I read on, Emily grew on me. She was taking the steps to get her life together; seeing a shrink, working on her psychoses on her own and trying to establish healthy relationships with her parents.

Having someone in your family get ill can put all kinds of things in perspective, for you and for them. I think that Emily begins to heal a bit when she sees her parents in the same room and getting along. Of course, it helps that her mother actually starts to tell her some things from her childhood and that she starts to realize that she is a lot like her father and that he isn't all bad.

There were a couple characters that I would have liked to get to know a bit better and that I felt were underdeveloped. I would have liked to get to know her sister Marjorie a bit better because essentially I felt that she was vapid and selfish. I would have also liked to know more about Perry and be more of a rock for Emily. I didn't get the connection between them.

I was happy to see Emily grow over the course of the book but you still knew that she'd keep working on her issues. The ending of the book was satisfying and yet I didn't feel that everything was wrapped up in a neat bow. There were a couple leaps in the plot to get to the ending, but overall I was left knowing that Emily will find her happiness.

If you are looking for a quick read over a weekend, then go and pick up Ask Again Later.

Final Take: 3.75/5

Julie's Reviews: The End of the Affair

Summary: The novelist Maurice Bendrix's love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, had begun in London during the Blitz. One day, inexplicably and without warning, Sarah had broken off the relationship. It seemed impossible that there could be a rival for her heart. Yet two years later, driven by obsessive jealousy and grief, Bendrix sends Pakris, a private detective, to follow Sarah and find out the truth. ~penguin.com

Review: As part of our List Swap Challenge for 2011, Alice chose The End of the Affair as one for me to read. I'll be honest I had never heard of it or the author before. I know, for shame! I wasn't sure what to think when I read the description of the book. Would it still be relevant? What would a love affair be like from the point of view of a man?

To be upfront, I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable perhaps that's part of the point of the book. You are already predisposed to not liking them because of the affair. Who do you dislike more though, the single guy who is having an affair with the married woman or the married woman who is cheating on her husband?

Does Bendrix really have the "right" to be jealous of Sarah's husband Henry? Is jealousy need a rational reason to rear it's ugly head?

I enjoyed how the book started out with Bendrix's point of view 18 months after the affair ended and how he took us back into the affair through his eyes. Bendrix is flawed and owns up to them. He knows at times he was too critical of Sarah and would be overly harsh.

The book then switches to the affair through Sarah's eyes via her journals. This is an interesting peek into a woman's heart and mind. How she feels about her husband and how she feels about Bendrix. I never got the feeling that Sarah felt much remorse regarding her affair with Bendrix. She had guilt but not guilt about cheating on her husband but guilt about giving up Bendrix. She tries to find God because of her promise to Him during a bombing. Is she really trying to find God, or is she trying to find a way out?

What I enjoyed about this book was that it still felt very relevant, even with the references to World War II. I also enjoyed that the book started out with the telling of an affair from a male perspective. I often think that we women think that men don't get wounded or their hearts torn out like we do. The End of the Affair proves that not to be fact. While I might not have initially liked Bendrix, I did feel sympathy for him. He seemed to really love Sarah and want to be with her. Although part of me will always wonder if it was the fact that he couldn't have her that made him love her or want her even more.

I'm thankful to Alice for telling me about The End of the Affair  for our List Challenge, because I'm fairly certain I probably would have never read it otherwise.

If you haven't read this classic, I definitely recommend it. I think there is a little something in it for everyone.

Final Take: 3.75/5

Julie's Review: The Heretic's Daughter

Summary: Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived. ~KathleenKent.com

Review: I'm not obsessed with the Salem Witch Trials but it is a period in history that I do find intriguing. What interests me the most though is the psychological aspect of the hysteria instead of the hangings themselves. A good friend of mine and avid reader recommended The Heretic's Daughter, so I added it to my huge pile of books.

While at times I found the book to be mired in the details, overall I really liked this account of the effects of the trials on families. The story is told from the point of view of Sarah Carrier, Martha and Thomas Carrier's eldest daughter. She is a bright, precocious kid when we are introduced to her. She doesn't understand her mother and doesn't really know her father that well. When small pox consumes her family, Sarah and her sister Hannah are taken to live with her Aunt Mary and her family. Sarah is taken back by the difference in their families. She feels that Aunt Mary is more loving than her mother and her Uncle is a great storyteller at night by the fire.

Sarah also begins to bond with her cousin Margaret and they become so close that Sarah is devastated when she is retrieved by her father to come home. Sarah knows that she won't see her cousin again because of the tension between the two families.

When Sarah arrives home she is angry with her mother for ripping her away from her cousin. She is bitter and stubborn. Once she moves back home this is where the story starts to pick up. The Carrier's have always been outsiders when it comes to living in Andover but ever since the outbreak of small pox, they are treated even worse. They also take in a young girl to help them with the household chores but she only wants to get in the family way with Sarah's oldest brother Richard. When Martha kicks the young lady out of her house and she is given another job at the local inn.

As soon as the word spreads about women being accused of being witches in Salem, it is only a matter of time before the hysteria reaches Andover. Martha is accused of being a witch because of things that she's said to neighbors in the past that has eventually caused them strife. She had said these things out of anger for their disregard of her property. They believe the things she said to them were curses. Nowadays we say these things are coincidences.

What impacted me the most while reading this book was the relationship that Sarah develops with her father while her mother is in jail waiting trial. She begins to understand who he is as a person and what his responsibilities are in the family. She begins to understand her mother a bit better and perhaps herself as well. We watch Sarah grow up during this period of time and start to take responsibility for her family.

I enjoyed how Ms. Kent wrapped up the story. We got a glimpse into Sarah's life as an adult woman, married with her own kids and her own life but yet never forgetting the past.

I loved the fact that Ms. Kent drew from her own family lore, they are descendants of the Carrier's (Martha's side), weaved in the historical accounts and then put it all in a rather fixating fictional story.

If you are at all interested in the Salem Witch Trials, then this personal account in fictional verse would be a good pick for you.

At some point I will pick up Ms. Kent's 2nd novel The Wolves of Andover because I am intrigued by Thomas Carrier's colored past.

Final Take: 3.75/5

Group Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Summary: It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.  For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” ~randomhouse.com

Alice's Review:  I found this sweet little mystery at the library at work, by library I mean about 20 or so books left by employees for the use of others. I picked it up for two reasons. The first is that it’s set in the 50s and the second is that I loved the main character’s name, Flavia de Luce. I know those are not exactly the best reason to choose reading material, but that oddness never failed me before. And it hasn’t failed me yet.

When I first read the back cover, I thought Flavia was much older. I wasn’t expecting a quirky 11 year old. I’m glad that’s what I got. Flavia and her cast of slightly off-center characters were fantastic. I can’t say enough about what a unique character Flavia is. She has moxie, a great sense of humor, and she has a “passion for poison.” Not only is this novel a mystery but it’s laced with humor, especially in the ongoing feud between Flavia and her sisters Ophelia and Daphne.

There were a few things I loved about this novel, underlying things that Mr. Bradley snuck in there that completely tugged at my heart strings. Flavia has a slightly troublesome relationship with her sisters. They treat her like the little sister and try to make her life as difficult as possible (when they are not ignoring her, that is). She’s not fazed by this and gives it right back to them. I love how she refers to one of her sisters as the Devil’s Hairball. Yeah, I’m pretty sure those are fighting words. There are times when she feels alone and unloved yet she doesn’t let that affect her. One of my favorite things about her is while riding Gladys, her trusty rusty bicycle, she thinks to herself, “I was me. I was Flavia. And I loved myself, even if no one else did.”

I was thoroughly impressed with the way Mr. Bradley showed Flavia’s vulnerable qualities. He does it in such a way that it reminded me she is only 11 years old, much younger than she acts. She has a yearning for her mother, who passed away when Flavia was born. She is a bit envious of her sisters, of their memories of Harriet. She even refers to her as Harriet. The mother she never knew, just a woman who happened to give birth to her.

Another great surprise was Flavia’s relationship with her father’s wartime friend Dogger. Dealing with Post Traumatic Stress, Dogger keeps to himself. The only one he bothers with is Flavia and I believe she loves him the most, more than her selfish sisters and absentee father. He’s the one she turns too when she finds the dead body and he’s the one she keeps going back to for help and comfort. 

Overall, I found the mystery to be entertaining at best. But more than the actual mystery, it was Flavia who kept me coming back. She’s the one who made me want to keep flipping the pages to see what happens next. Although at this time I’m not in a rush to read more in this series, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good mystery and an unlikely heroine.

Alice's Final Take: 4/5

Julie's Review: Hmmm, I was wrong. I was wrong about the mystery in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. It seemed so simple to me. I figured it was simple so that we could get to know Flavia and the cast of characters that will (I bet) continually pop up in the series. Did I love this book? Not really. Did I love Flavia? YES!! She is a gem, a dynamo and smart as a whip. I wish I had her brains when I was her age. Ok, I wish I had her brains now! She is a delight. I love how the book was told from her point of view and not 3rd person. It really wouldn't have worked well if told any other way. We get to know her view of her family and the world. Does it skew things? Of course, but I had no problem with that. Her sister's live in their own little world and treat Flavia like she's a tick that they can't get off their backs.

I honestly didn't really care too much for the mystery. It didn't intrigue me. I can't really put my finger on why though. I think I was more interested in the way Flavia was going about trying to figure it out, than the actual murder/mystery it's self.

I loved all the character's in the book and had a good time visualizing her part of the English countryside and Buckshaw during the 1950s. Although, at times I did feel like I was reading a book set in the late 1800s because of the writing style. 

While I said I didn't love The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, it certainly isn't going to stop me from reading the rest of the series and seeing what other kinds of messes Flavia can get herself wrapped up in. So far there are a total of 4 books in the series. The next one is: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag.

Julie's Final Take: 3.75/5

Julie's Review: And Then There Were None

Summary: Considered the best mystery novel ever written by many readers, And is the story of 10 strangers, each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests have arrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--until they begin to die. ~amazon.com

Review: What is there to say about a book from the Queen of Mystery? A lot. I was first exposed to this book in 7th grade and I remember reading it and then watching the movie in class. I also remember calling it "Ten Little Indians" and not the new politically correct title. Nonetheless, And Then There Were None is a perfect mystery for the rainy weather we've had this week but you don't need that to be engrossed.

When I read this book back in 7th grade, I fell in love. It was my first introduction to mysteries and I was hooked. It's probably why mystery is a go to genre for me still. While I still enjoyed the book, I found the writing to be a bit old-fashioned. Not that I'd change that but, it was just something that stuck with me through the book.

What Ms. Christie does so well is make you think. I couldn't stop shifting my focus between the characters and wondering "who dunnit". She made each of the 10 so convincing as the murderer, that I kept changing my mind every other chapter.

There were so many things that came flooding back to me. The 10 little Indian china figurines that go missing either before or after someone dies. The reasons they were all collected and accused of. The little hints that are given to you throughout the book that hit you over the head at the end.

It is a masterful story and one that I'm pleased I read again. I will warn you, it is one of those books that reveals "who dunnit" in the very last page. So if you don't want to be spoiled, don't look. :)

I can't wait for my daughter to be old enough so I can introduce her to this book and maybe hook her on mysteries as well.

Final Take: 4/5

Alice's Review: The Double Bind

Summary:  Readers will be startled to learn early on that the heroine of this engrossing puzzle, 26-year-old Laurel Estabrook, was born in West Egg. Wait a minute, wasn't West Egg where Jay Gatsby lived? Laurel works in a Burlington, Vt., homeless shelter and is trying to overcome mental and physical scars incurred from a brutal assault some six years earlier. After being given a portfolio of photographs taken by a recently deceased resident of the shelter, Bobbie Crocker, she becomes obsessed with questions surrounding what appears to be a picture of herself shot on the day of her attack. Laurel's already fragile mental state begins to unravel as she follows Bobbie's life from his rich-kid childhood on Long Island to homelessness in Vermont. The Gatsby references form the basis of the mystery, compelling readers to try to imagine how this fictional backdrop relates to the novel's "reality." It's a high-wire act for bestseller Bohjalian (Midwives), and while the climactic explanation may be a letdown for some, he generally pulls off a tricky and intriguing premise. -Publishers Weekly

Review: This is the kind of novel I would never pick up myself, even with stellar reviews and recommendations from my fellow Girls Just Reading cohorts. In fact, if it wasn’t part of the reading challenge I am involved in with Julie, I still wouldn’t have read this novel. I can tell you right now that would have been a, quoting Vivian from Pretty Woman, “big mistake, huge mistake”.

This novel was a real page turner for me. I loved Laurel. I loved how she overcame the most horrific thing that can happen to anyone: being attacked, almost raped and killed while bicycling through the woods in Vermont. If it wasn’t for other cyclists, she wouldn’t have survived. After the attack, she moved on with her life. She finished college, she started working at a homeless shelter, she dated. I loved how strong she was. With everything she went through, she learned to rely on herself.

When Bobbie Crocker, one of the shelter charges dies suddenly, Laurel is given the task of cataloging the photographs he had with him. And here is where the mystery begins. Through these photographs, Laurel begins to unravel the truth about who Bobbie Crocker was, where he came from, who his family was. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Bohjalian incorporated The Great Gatsby into this novel, making Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and others real characters instead of fictional classics.

The Double Bind totally blew my mind. Seriously. It was quick moving and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a real page turner. I was as invested in finding the truth about Bobbie Crocker as Laurel was. The closer she came to the truth, the more addicted I became to words on a page. I had to do that thing where I fight with myself because all I want to do is flip to the final pages and satisfy my curiosity. I’m really glad I didn’t because the final three pages rocked. I did not see the final twist in the novel coming at all. I was so shocked the first thing I did was text Julie, “Holy Beep!!!”

If you have read this novel already, it’s worth a revisit and if you haven’t, then you need to go pick it up soon. And be prepared to have your mind blown.

Final Take: 5/5

Julie's Review: True Blue

Summary: This promising first in a new series from bestseller Baldacci (First Family) introduces Beth Perry, chief of the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police, and Beth's younger sister, Mace Perry, a former police officer dubbed the Patty Hearst of the twenty-first century after she was seized by bandits, drugged and taken along on a series of armed robberies around Washington. Mace, who's just getting out of prison after serving a two-year sentence, is willing to risk everything to clear her name and reclaim her life as a cop by cracking a big case on her own. The rape-murder of a powerful lawyer as well as the killing of a prominent U.S. attorney provide Mace an opportunity to vindicate herself. While Baldacci draws his characters in bright primary colors, and some of the action reaches comic book proportions, he delivers his usual intricate plotting and sets the stage nicely for highly competent Beth and impulsive, streetwise Mace to take on more bad guys. ~amazon.com

Review: As with all authors there are some books where they hit it out of the park and others where they don't. In this case, Mr. Baldacci has another triple! True Blue introduces us to the Perry sisters: Beth and Mason/Mace. Beth is the Chief of Police for D.C. and Mace is a former Detective who was wrongly imprisoned for 2 years. The book begins with Mace being in prison and enduring her last 48 hours in the clink by trying to survive. As soon as Mace gets out she puts her nose in a case that she thinks will get her back to being a "Blue".

Mace is a bit of a rebel and yet as a reader I loved her for it. I can see why it worked for her as a cop and how it might assist her in getting back onto the force. I can also see how it is detrimental to her getting back on the force as well. Mace has tunnel vision with getting back on the force and at times it doesn't serve her or Beth well.

We are also introduced to Roy Kingman, a lawyer who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Instantly, there is chemistry between him and Mace (no shocker there). He is enamored with her no holds barred attitude. You know instantly that he has a bit of a crush. Roy and Mace make a great duo and work well off of each other, using their strengths to go after a case.

Are there things in the book that you have to suspend reality for? Of course, but it wouldn't be a thriller if you didn't. The book deals with different organizations of the U.S. Government. I did find all of the acronyms confusing at times but that's ok. In the end, you don't have to be an expert to get the gist.

Mr. Baldacci has yet again created strong female characters that rock and are fun to read. I would love to see Mace and Beth join forces with Sean King and Michelle Maxwell on a case.

If you are looking for a great thriller with a strong female character, then you should pick up True Blue. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Final Take: 4.5/5