Julie's Review: Lady Killer

Summary: Philadelphia attorney Mary DiNunzio, last seen in Killer Smile (2004), agrees to help her high school nemesis, Trish Gambone, at the start of this less than convincing thriller from bestseller Scottoline. Trish, whom Mary used to regard as the quintessential Mean Girl, has turned in desperation to the lawyer, the all-around Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood at St. Maria Goretti High School, because she wants to escape from her abusive, and possibly Mafia-connected boyfriend, Bobby Mancuso. Trish rejects Mary's practical suggestions for dealing with Bobby, but once Trish disappears, Mary finds herself under pressure from other high school classmates as well as people from her old neighborhood who blame her for not doing enough. Mary unwisely hides a connection with Bobby from the Feds, who then shut her out of the search for Trish when they learn of it. Scottoline fans will cheer Mary as she stumbles toward the solution, but others may have trouble suspending disbelief.~amazon.com

Review: I can't remember when I started reading Lisa Scottoline but I do remember the first book of hers I read....The Vendetta Defense. Lady Killer brings us back to Mary DiNunzio and Rosato & Associates. Coming back to them is like putting on your favorite sweatpants after a long day or week, it just feels so good. Mary is someone that all of us can identify with, unless of course you were the "mean girl" in high school and identify with Trish. Trish comes to Mary for help because she's afraid her mob connected boyfriend is going to kill her. Mary tries to get her to go to the cops but that's not going to happen and then Trish goes missing. That's when the story starts. Mary becomes and investigator to try to find Trish because she feels guilty since Trish came to her and she didn't do anything.

We meet, Trish's gaggle of girlfriends, who are a bit much at first but then turn out to have their heart in the right place and give the book some comic relief. Since Mary grew up in South Philly it seems that word spreads that she let Trish down and her clients start to fire her. So much for the "Good girl made good" identity.

The plot goes along at a good clip and there are at least 2 twists that I didn't see coming and somehow feel like I should have seen one of them, but I thought it was going to take a different turn.

There was only a minor thing wrong with the novel, a subplot that I just didn't really care about. I understand why it was in the book, I just think we could have gotten Mary's emotional connection to Bobby without it. It got a bit maudlin for me at times. It seemed to shift the story in a direction that didn't need to be taken.

All in all another fine novel by Lisa Scottoline. It makes you wonder if you would help the person who made your life hell if their life was in danger. Are you a bigger person to let go of the painful past and do good? I like to think I could but then again it would depend on the type of trouble they were in. Yes, I harbor grudges.

Final Take: 4/5

A Review of Lauren Groff's new book:

Julie noticed a review of Lauren Groff's new book, Delicate Edible Birds, and we wanted to pass it along to everyone, so here's the link:

EW.com Review

If you're reading this book, be sure to come back and tell us what you think too!

Julie's Review: Eclipse

Summary: This stellar legal thriller from bestseller Patterson (Exile) both informs and entertains. On the eve of getting a divorce, Damon Pierce, a 40-year-old partner in a huge San Francisco, Calif., law firm, who specializes in international litigation, e-mails Marissa Brand, a woman he was once in love with in college, to update her on his life. Marissa is married to Bobby Okari, a firebrand reformer whose Nigeria-like country, Luandia, is awash in oil. With these riches come the usual scenarios: ecological disasters, a brutal dictator with murderous henchmen, a rapacious foreign oil company and an oppressed populace. After everyone in Okari's village is slaughtered, Bobby is arrested for the lynching of three oil workers. Damon, because he's a good man and because he's still in love with Marissa, signs on to defend Bobby from the bogus charge. Patterson has exerted all his considerable skill in creating a nightmare atmosphere that will cling to readers long after the last page is turned. ~amazon.com

Review: Dear God, I can't finish Eclipse. Let me start by saying that I don't mind politics as long as it's not in your face and this is in your face. Oil companies and American politics are bad. We are all money hungry fools who are blind to other areas of the world. First of all as an American I can say that I'm not a money hungry fool and while I wasn't happy with the last 8 years I didn't think it was the worst time in history either. That being said. Even putting the politics aside, I just didn't care about the characters. Bobby Okari is a flat, 2-dimensional character and I really didn't care about him and if he lived or died. I did find that the movement of the Akari people to be fascinating and I felt for their plight. His wife Marissa was a weak woman whose cause was her husband's and she was there to support him. Now I have no problem with that if that's the path you chose BUT don't make that the main female character in your book. Then there's (Damon) Pierce...he's in love with Marissa and agrees to defend her husband, since his speciality just happens to be International Law. I mean I didn't even finish the book and I could tell where this was going.

I was over 1/2 done when I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. I used to love Richard North Patterson but probably won't be reading him again unless he goes back to his non-political thrillers. If you want to read a really good book by him try Eyes of a Child.

If political thrillers are your thing and you don't mind the author's politics being shoved down your throat from page one....Eclipse is for you.

There are too many other good books waiting to be read.

No final take since I didn't finish it.

A Note From Lauren Groff:

Author of The Monsters of Templeton

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to announce that my second book, a collection of short stories called Delicate Edible Birds, is in stores today. I'm skipping around the house like a madwoman in glee. In one short year, I had two books and a baby. Frankly, I'm pooped.

The good news is that there will be a launch party tonight in Gainesville, FL at Wild Iris Books (6-7:30--everyone is welcome) and I am going on tour tomorrow. On this trip I'll visit Madison, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Bellingham, WA. and Oakland and Corte Madera in California. At the end of the month, I'll be in Cincinnati, Louisville and Nashville. If you'd like to attend an event, or keep up with Groffian news, please go to my website: www.laurengroff.com for more information. I even have an RSS feed. Hello 21st century!

Thank you, and I hope you have a fantastic day.

With love and warm wishes,

Lauren

The Girl Who Chased the Moon: Sarah Addison Allen's New Book

I can't wait for this to come out on May 12, 2009! It sounds magnificent!

Summary: In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times
bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world…no matter how out of place they feel.

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life.

Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.

Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she’s lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother’s past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily’s growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby’s most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she’s found so far are more questions.

Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love? In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different. ~amazon.com

Anyone else adding this to their wishlist???

Jenn's Review: The Sugar Queen

Summary: Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother…

Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey’s clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return she’s going to change Josey’s life—because, clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey is soon forgoing pecan rolls and caramels, tapping into her startlingly keen feminine instincts, and finding her narrow existence quickly expanding.

Before long, Josey bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who makes the best sandwiches in town, is hounded by books that inexplicably appear whenever she needs them, and—most amazing of all—has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush.

As little by little Josey dares to step outside herself, she discovers a world where the color red has astonishing power, passion can make eggs fry in their cartons, and romance can blossom at any time—even for her. It seems that Della Lee’s work is done, and it’s time for her to move on. But the truth about where she’s going, why she showed up in the first place—and what Chloe has to do with it all—is about to add one more unexpected chapter to Josey’s fast-changing life. ~blurb

Review: Sarah Addison Allen's second novel is just as delectable as the first; it was like reading hot chocolate, warm, comforting and delicious. (Cliché, I know, but there it is.) It was yummy. I've actually been savoring it for days, not wanting to move on to a new book just yet.

Allen's character's are enchanting and she easily jumps back and forth telling the story from each character's point of view to round everything out nicely. It is hard to feel for Josey's mother, Margaret. She states early in the book that she had Josey out of desperation and spite and that, like her, Josey should have to "give up everything for this life, for this house, for this money." Margaret can't let go of the past and she has guilted Josey into living there too. But suddenly there is Della Lee, hiding out in the closet, who pushes Josey outside her comfort zone (and her stash of treats) into the world.

It's no surprise that, after years of observing life from a far, Josey is very astute at reading people. In meeting Chloe, who has problem's of her own, Josey develops her first real friendship and begins to interact with her secret crush, Adam. Against her better judgement, Josey even gets drawn into Jake and Chloe's passionate torrent. Chloe tells Adam that he is the object of Josey's affection (which surprised both Josey and me), figuring that Josey needs a little push. Between Della Lee, Chloe, and Adam, Josey learns about friendship, love, and forgiveness (most importantly, self-forgivness).

Like Julie, I didn't see the final twist(s) coming, which is a huge accomplishment for an author. Usually I pick things out a mile away, but I was so wrapped up in the characters that I missed all the signs. I was even empathetic towards Margaret by the end and saddened by her plight, her pride, and her stubbornness. As before (Garden Spells), Allen leaves us wanting more. I wanted to know more about the mysterious herbalist and Amelia, a forty year old woman with no dreams of her own. Allen even teases us with a little preview in the form of the candy names she gives each chapter.

The only slight let down, for me, was when Della Lee has Josey look into her father's philandering, intimating that there were illegitimate children around town, and Josey doesn't follow through with this investigation. I realize that originally she looked into it to prove her father's innocence and cling to living in the past, and, by the end with all she learns about life, Josey realizes that things are not always black and white and that the past is just the past, so it's no longer of dire importance... However, I would think she'd want to know, just for the sake of knowing, how many half-siblings are out there!

This was a fabulous read. I have come to love Sarah Addison Allen's work and I can't wait for the next addition!

Final: 5/5

Julie's Review: The Sugar Queen