Counting on You

by Lisa Bork

Truth is stranger than fiction. No one knows that more than storyteller Julia Locke, who travels to the Marshall Islands in order to attend her birthfather’s memorial service and watch his cremains be launched into space. Julia’s real mission is to meet her half-brother and ask him to be tested as a potential donor before kidney disease claims her life. But she stumbles on a dead body the morning of the launch, makes the wrong choice, and ends up discredited when she later tries to alibi her half-brother, who’s under arrest for murder. Now, with her health declining and her mission in jeopardy, Julia must sort through the Islands’ bad blood with the U.S. military, unravel the tall tales everyone else is telling, find the missing ashes of her birthfather and a famous starlet, and identify the real killer before her time runs out.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

251 pages, ebook

First published August 2, 2012

About the author

Lisa Bork is the author of seven contemporary novels. Her most recent release is Missed. Lisa is also the author of Counting on You and Discovering Nowhere as well as the Broken Vows mystery series. Her debut novel, For Better, For Murder, was a 2009 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. The second book in the series, For Richer, For Danger, was released in September 2010 and In Sickness and In Death hit the shelves September 2011. The fourth book in the series, To Love and To Perish was released in December 2012.

Reviews

[Karol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this entire book in one day - it is not often I try to accomplish that! However, the story drew me in quickly and I just had to keep finding time to get back to it all day long.

Everything about this book was great - the characters, the unusual relationships, the mystery, and the setting. I appreciated that the author did not whitewash life on the Marshall Islands, but rather did a good job showing the contrast of the nicer tourist areas (which by themselves are not perfect) to island life in general.

I was surprised at how much I did enjoy the book, and I hope to read more from this author.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storyline just wish the main characters had a little more depth to them.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, when I first started this book, I was not optimistic. The writing did not grab me, but I decided to plod on. As the story continued, I became more interested, but still there was something missing. This book falls into the soft-boiled mystery genre. There is no thrilling chase or high suspense. A book that you can easily pick up and put down when needed. A beach read if you will. Traveling to the Marshall Islands to see a canister of cremains of the man that she believes is her birthfather shot into space, Julia Locke, a professional storyteller, must also use this time to seek out the man that she is certain is her half-brother.

Julia is not really looking for her long lost family per say, she is in desperate need of a kidney transplant and Matt is her last hope. With a rare blood type and no other family member’s that will match, this is a make it or break it time for Julia.

What she did not anticipate was finding the body of a man in the hotel room next door and being lead on a wild chase to save her brother and his mother from being tried for his murder. Throw in the island police, the military police, a Hollywood actor with a brain tumor, a starlet that is dead but everyone is still seeing on the island, an innocent village boy that is just trying to collect laundry for his sister to wash so they can save enough money to travel to Arizona to be with their mother and you have a tragic situation on your hands.

There is one section near the end that I had to reread to get how everyone was related. I do not know if it was the writing or my attention span, but it took a visual forest of family trees for me to keep everyone straight. Why did she have to throw in something so complicated? It did do some explaining and answered a nagging question that had popped up, but still, when your mind has been slowly meandering through a simple story, to throw in a “thinking” part was surprising to say the least.

This book definitely fits into the vacation read category. No heavy thinking throughout the book only to be grabbed with an ending that has the reader wondering “how did we get here, did she just make it at the end”. If you are leading a reader down a particular path, leave some breadcrumbs from time to time so the ending makes more sense

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Equal parts family drama and murder mystery, Counting on You is a light read with a few twists.

I can sum up this novel in one word: "nice". The writing is meticulous, clean, crisp and well thought out.

Julia, who comes to the island to meet her half-brother, Matt, and his mother Lynn, needs a kidney and her health is quickly diminishing. When another guest at her hotel is murdered, she makes a choice that causes her to weave lies but she soon finds she's not the only one withholding the truth. To cover up for themselves and each other, these three characters tell some tall tales. I sometimes felt a distance between reader and characters. There wasn't enough background information to form any opinion on who they really were. On the island, the choices they make are made under duress which made it hard to feel any real emotion one way or the other.

There's no action or thrill ride. The story is more drama then anything. The plot is a tad predictable but there are enough twists to keep it interesting. Some secondary characters were a little "off" and a few of the side stories were a bit far-fetched but those are really irrelevant to the main story. The author did a nice job of putting in some history of the Islands'.

A nice light mystery that would make a great beach read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting story from lisa. Interesting plot. Quick paced. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Truth is stranger than fiction. No one knows that more than storyteller Julia Locke, who travels to the Marshall Islands in order to attend her birthfather’s memorial service and watch his cremains be launched into space. Julia’s real mission is to meet her half-brother and ask him to be tested as a potential donor before kidney disease claims her life. But she stumbles on a dead body the morning of the launch, makes the wrong choice, and ends up discredited when she later tries to alibi her half-brother, who’s under arrest for murder. Now, with her health declining and her mission in jeopardy, Julia must sort through the Islands’ bad blood with the U.S. military, unravel the tall tales everyone else is telling, find the missing ashes of her birthfather and a famous starlet, and identify the real killer before her time runs out.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julia Locke travels to the Marshall Islands in order to meet her half-brother Matt because she wants to ask him if he will be a potential kidney donor. Matt is there with his mother Lynn to view the cremains of his father being lauched into space. Julia's task becomes even more difficult when she sees a dead body across the hall in her hotel on the way to the funeral service and decides not to tell the authorities. Then, much to her dismay, Matt is arrested for the murder.

I enjoyed this story including the travel facts about the Marshall Islands and the American nuclear bomb testing on Bikini Island. Julia's health issues were treated compassionately. My only criticism is that I think that the ending wrapped up a little too quickly and conveniently. The discussion questions at the end would do well for your book group.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story. Both books (Discovering Nowhere) I've read have had interesting plots and characters. Although it is not the most important part of the plot I could definitely relate to Julia's physical reaction to the heat and humidity. I think I knew who the villain was before the end but it may just have been wishful thinking. I was surprised by the ending which is always fun when reading any book.
Julia is in need of a kidney transplant and goes to the service of her biological father in hopes of asking her half-brother for his help. She sees a dead body in her hotel but decides not to report it because she is in a hurry to reach the service. The police chief's questioning and the arrest of her half-brother and his mother gets her deeper into her guilt and her need to set things right. In the meantime time and her medication are running out.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting on You (Lisa Bork)
Suspense/Murder

Julia Locke goes to Marshall Islands to attend her birth fathers memorial service. Not only is she attending a tribute to her dead father whom she has never met, but she has another agenda. One that is of extreme importance to her , and it involves her half brother.

Once there she stumbles upon a dead body and things get hot. It is a small community and soon suspects are named and Julia is on a mission to save herself and to find the real killer.

Fast paced page turner, with plot twists and turns that kept me guessing until the last page. I look forward to more work from;
Lisa Bork

[Rosalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a girl in need of a kidney transplant trying to find a relative - step-brother - she never met and she isn't sure he even knows she exists. The setting, where she tracks him and his mother down, is the Marshall Islands. The foray into the history of Marshall Islands, the cultural twists,a little sci-fi with cremains fired into space, and subplots, all keep you guessing as to how it will all work out. Not sure all the things Julia or Matt do are very realistic, but this is fiction, after all. Author includes some discussion questions if being considered for a book club (or just to reflect on some of the issues - historical or current - that are raised.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting on You is the second book that I found on my Kindle by Lisa Bork. It was very different from Discovering Nowhere, which I’ve also read recently. The setting was in the Marshall Islands and the story involved a mysterious murder. As in Bork’s other book, the story and characters were engaging. Characters with a life-threatening illness, Marshall island cultural background, and a mysterious murder make this cozy mystery a good read. I like Lisa Bork’s style and will definitely try more of her books.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have ONE nit pick. in California, the birth cert Always lists the mother by maiden name, NEVER any other name. annoying perhaps, but the genealogist in me can't let it slip.

aside from that; The book is a bit melodramatic, but I suppose the subjects are as well. I also suspect that a person who is undergoing a dramatic debilitating illness is likely to be more than a little bit emotional. In any case I like that the solution was not so straight forward. interesting plot twists.

[Wanda Shuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. The characters were interesting, struggling in their own way. Not as fun (only because main character is in desperate need of a new kidney) as some of Ms. Bork's other books but love the ease of her writing style.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd is the best way to describe the plot of the book. Lost family, found family, murder, strangers who become friends, add an exotic setting with both military and police involvement. Not terribly believable but interesting and I could not stop reading it!

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't an amazing book but was definitely not a bad book. most of the charges were filled out enough to make it an easy read. I'm not a huge mystery fan but it had enough plot twists to keep me both guessing AND reading. (it was a freebie.)

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Lots going on and an interesting storyline!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were so dishonest to each other and themselves. I had a hard time feeling much emotion for their plights.

[Barb Foerst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julia travels to the Marshall Islands hoping to meet her half-brother. She is in need of a kidney transplant and hopes he may be a willing match. Nice story although predictable.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept of burial in space. Dragged in places.