THE LOST ONES (PsySusp-Nora Watts-Vancouver, WA-Contemp) – 1 in series – Sheena Kamal It begins with a phone call that Nora Watts has dreaded for fifteen years—since the day she gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Bonnie has vanished. The police consider her a chronic runaway and aren’t looking, leaving her desperate adoptive parents to reach out to her birth mother as a last hope. A biracial product of the foster system, transient, homeless, scarred by a past filled with pain and violence, Nora knows intimately what happens to vulnerable girls on the streets. Caring despite herself, she sets out to find Bonnie with her only companion, her mutt Whisper, knowing she risks reopening wounds that have never really healed—and plunging into the darkness with little to protect her but her instincts and a freakish ability to detect truth from lies. The search uncovers a puzzling conspiracy that leads Nora on a harrowing journey of deception and violence, from the gloomy rain-soaked streets of Vancouver, to the icy white mountains of the Canadian interior, to the beautiful and dangerous island where she will face her most terrifying demon. All to save a girl she wishes had never been born.
Cindy – G+ - Nora Watts. What imperceptibly pulled me along was Nora's voice. I took her at face value - she calls a lot on herself, but when she began to contradict her own values that surprised me. She's the heroine I wanted to like her and now she's doing one by one the things she doesn't do. So who is she and what's the limit? She wasn't a victim but a survivor. When she was on her way to being shot in the boat she sings a song - even at imminent death she is at cause how she will spend her last moments. Despite the crazy dangerous scenarios she finds herself in she looks at what she can do. And it turns out she can do a lot. The actually mystery and plotting took second stage and there were some holes there but I rejoiced for every victory of Nora's along the way. Corona – Okay - It did not bring me to a happy place. The woman was, although I have not experienced the depth of her abusement, however, her negativity, her chip on her shoulder, stubborn, uncompromising, etc. If this were a real person I'd be more tolerant, but she is not so I don't have to be. I enjoy a story with good communication 'twix the characters, this had almost none. Don – G - I liked the flawed protagonist & the setting. A first novel by author was unpolished in spots; I liked the characters. A theme of redemption? Gene – DNF – Couldn't get into it. Ginny – VG - I like a flawed protagonist and meeting Nora Watts was a welcome eye opener. She is so damaged and dysfunctional that I liked her right off. And trying to understand an alcoholic's behavior was an enigma. I will continue to read this series because of Nora and Shadow. Helen – Poor - There was far too much unneeded description. Too much about the scenery, the people, and extraneous details about what was going on. I could have put up with the excessive wordage if any of the characters had been likable. Most of the characters were pretty flat, and I didn’t care about any of them. I really had no emotional investment in this story at any point. I would have been just as satisfied with the ending if everyone was dead Actually, I think I would have been more satisfied. I suppose the ending was a climactic one, but I was so ready to be done with the book that all I felt was relief that the story was over Jeanne – DNF – Half-way through and it feels as though it still hasn't gotten started. Gave up. Kathy – Poor – She's with the "hate it" crowd. Seriously broken protagonist who seems to enjoy dragging other through her broken life. It was painful. Didn't buy her personality while Jazz. Katie – Good – Liked that the book was very realistic about trauma and that it was so up front about it. She might read another by the author. Marcy – VG – Not a likable character but she could imagine the book as a movie. The first half of the book was confusing, but then she did enjoy it. Marilyn – Good – Liked it okay, but realizes now she only remember the ending. She though the story was set in Vancouver, Oregon; it's set in Vancouver, Canada. She was sad when she reached the end of it.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
THE 7 ½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE (Myst-Aiden Bishop-England-Contemp) – 1st book – Stuart Turton Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. For fans of Claire North and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive novel that follows one man's race against time to find a killer―but an astonishing time-turning twist means that nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Corona – DNF - I took the patience to go thru the first guy's story but didn't have enough to do six more. Don – DNW - read 50 pages & no hook for me...... Gene – DNF - Was intrigued by the idea of the plot but then realized he was going to be reading the same story over and over. Decided he's wait for the movie. Gabriel – Good – Liked the original premise. Thought the author created solid characters. The story was told from the outside and the inside of the characters. Ginny – Poor - Like the song Carly Simon’s song “I Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” and neither do I. The book had too many unanswered questions to be satisfying. And I prefer a linear timeline; or, a clear separation of past, present and future. Helen – EX - The plot is incredibly intricate, and it needs to be. It isn’t clear until the end of the book who is on what side, who is the enemy, who is just a neutral party, and what motives everyone has. The pacing of the book is also executed well, which is really something considering how many plot threads need to be kept straight. It keeps you wanting to read while providing enough detail to make everything understandable, provide detail about the setting and characters, set up future events, and drop hints about what might happen later. The characters are very well done, as is the interplay between them. While there are a number of characters with types that are found in many stories, they aren’t tropes. The end of the book is pretty surprising. There are several things that are left for the reader to think about. I liked the ending a lot; it leaves what happened next wide open. I don’t want a sequel to this book, though. The story is done. It was hard to stop reading this mystery. Jeanne – DNF – She didn't have the patience Kathy – DNF – Just didn't have the patience for it. Katie – G+ - Enjoyed the puzzle nature of the story. The main drawback is that it turns into a redemption story. She might read more by this author. Linda M – DNF Marilyn – VG – She wanted to make a chart of how and when. Thought it was well done in a clever sense. Overall, she did enjoy it.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
DEATH IN AUGUST (PolProc-Insp. Bordelli-Florence, Italy-Contemp) – 1st in series – Marco Vichi Florence, summer 1963. Inspector Bordelli is one of the few policemen left in the deserted city. He spends his days on routine work and his nights tormented by the heat and mosquitoes. Suddenly one night, a telephone call gives him a new sense of purpose: the suspected death of a wealthy signora. Bordelli rushes to her hilltop villa and picks the locks. The old woman is lying on her bed—apparently killed by an asthma attack, though her medicine has been left untouched. With the help of his young protégé, the victim’s eccentric brother, and a semi-retired petty thief, the inspector begins a murder investigation. Each suspect has a solid alibi, but there is something that doesn’t quite add up.
Corona – Okay - I enjoyed a lot of this story although I was disappointed that it didn't actually "take me to" Florence. However, there was an especially disturbing scene, it added nothing to the story, it was gratuitous therefore I felt assaulted by it. A disappointing book. Don – DNW - read 50 pages & no hook for me...... Ginny – Good - I imagined walking with Bordelli because of his easy demeanor. His friends such as Dante and Botta were standouts! However, Bordelli the detective irked me. I wanted to shout “solve the damn murder first and then ponder the big questions in life”! I will continue to read this series. Helen – Poor - This book was not an enjoyable read for me. I alternated between heavily disliking Inspector Bordelli and feeling sorry for him. At the end of the book, I wanted to give him a hug, then pack him into therapy for a good ten years. The mystery was pretty straightforward. There was little excitement in what happened and not much to keep me reading to find out what did happened. All ends were neatly tied up. There was so much about eating and food in this book. There was a lot of filler in general. If all of the filler had been taken out, this would be a short story, not a full-length novel. I wish there had been more focus on the crime/mystery. This book was translated from Italian, so maybe something got lost in translation. Regardless, I really struggled to get through all of the filler. I suppose the characters were good, but I am wracking my brain trying to remember anything about them. I think their interplay was good, but it got lost in the irrelevant detail in the book. How the murder was accomplished was a new one for me. A bit of a stretch in terms of plausibility, but novel enough that I do remember it. This is the first book in a series, so maybe the author was laying the ground for more later on? Or exploring the characters a bit and trying to figure out what to do with them? I give this a Poor for the way the murder was accomplished. I’m not fond of books that make you feel like reading is work. Kathy – Good – Liked it. It was a good read. Interesting characters and relationships. Lied that all of the characters were a little quirky. She did have a problem with the protagonists fantasy about the 20-year-old. The murder seems more of a back story. It was a light, fun read. Katie – G+ - Loved the dinner. She would read more in the series. Marilyn – Okay – Quirky. The protag spent a lot of time thinking about …. Something. Got to the end and wasn't sure she liked it, so she read the second book in the series. That's enough.
It begins with a phone call that Nora Watts has dreaded for fifteen years—since the day she gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Bonnie has vanished. The police consider her a chronic runaway and aren’t looking, leaving her desperate adoptive parents to reach out to her birth mother as a last hope. A biracial product of the foster system, transient, homeless, scarred by a past filled with pain and violence, Nora knows intimately what happens to vulnerable girls on the streets. Caring despite herself, she sets out to find Bonnie with her only companion, her mutt Whisper, knowing she risks reopening wounds that have never really healed—and plunging into the darkness with little to protect her but her instincts and a freakish ability to detect truth from lies. The search uncovers a puzzling conspiracy that leads Nora on a harrowing journey of deception and violence, from the gloomy rain-soaked streets of Vancouver, to the icy white mountains of the Canadian interior, to the beautiful and dangerous island where she will face her most terrifying demon. All to save a girl she wishes had never been born.
Cindy – G+ - Nora Watts. What imperceptibly pulled me along was Nora's voice. I took her at face value - she calls a lot on herself, but when she began to contradict her own values that surprised me. She's the heroine I wanted to like her and now she's doing one by one the things she doesn't do. So who is she and what's the limit? She wasn't a victim but a survivor. When she was on her way to being shot in the boat she sings a song - even at imminent death she is at cause how she will spend her last moments. Despite the crazy dangerous scenarios she finds herself in she looks at what she can do. And it turns out she can do a lot. The actually mystery and plotting took second stage and there were some holes there but I rejoiced for every victory of Nora's along the way.
Corona – Okay - It did not bring me to a happy place. The woman was, although I have not experienced the depth of her abusement, however, her negativity, her chip on her shoulder, stubborn, uncompromising, etc. If this were a real person I'd be more tolerant, but she is not so I don't have to be. I enjoy a story with good communication 'twix the characters, this had almost none.
Don – G - I liked the flawed protagonist & the setting. A first novel by author was unpolished in spots; I liked the characters. A theme of redemption?
Gene – DNF – Couldn't get into it.
Ginny – VG - I like a flawed protagonist and meeting Nora Watts was a welcome eye opener. She is so damaged and dysfunctional that I liked her right off. And trying to understand an alcoholic's behavior was an enigma.
I will continue to read this series because of Nora and Shadow.
Helen – Poor - There was far too much unneeded description. Too much about the scenery, the people, and extraneous details about what was going on. I could have put up with the excessive wordage if any of the characters had been likable. Most of the characters were pretty flat, and I didn’t care about any of them. I really had no emotional investment in this story at any point. I would have been just as satisfied with the ending if everyone was dead Actually, I think I would have been more satisfied. I suppose the ending was a climactic one, but I was so ready to be done with the book that all I felt was relief that the story was over
Jeanne – DNF – Half-way through and it feels as though it still hasn't gotten started. Gave up.
Kathy – Poor – She's with the "hate it" crowd. Seriously broken protagonist who seems to enjoy dragging other through her broken life. It was painful. Didn't buy her personality while Jazz.
Katie – Good – Liked that the book was very realistic about trauma and that it was so up front about it. She might read another by the author.
Marcy – VG – Not a likable character but she could imagine the book as a movie. The first half of the book was confusing, but then she did enjoy it.
Marilyn – Good – Liked it okay, but realizes now she only remember the ending. She though the story was set in Vancouver, Oregon; it's set in Vancouver, Canada. She was sad when she reached the end of it.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
THE 7 ½ DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE (Myst-Aiden Bishop-England-Contemp) – 1st book – Stuart Turton
Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. For fans of Claire North and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive novel that follows one man's race against time to find a killer―but an astonishing time-turning twist means that nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Corona – DNF - I took the patience to go thru the first guy's story but didn't have enough to do six more.
Don – DNW - read 50 pages & no hook for me......
Gene – DNF - Was intrigued by the idea of the plot but then realized he was going to be reading the same story over and over. Decided he's wait for the movie.
Gabriel – Good – Liked the original premise. Thought the author created solid characters. The story was told from the outside and the inside of the characters.
Ginny – Poor - Like the song Carly Simon’s song “I Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” and neither do I. The book had too many unanswered questions to be satisfying. And I prefer a linear timeline; or, a clear separation of past, present and future.
Helen – EX - The plot is incredibly intricate, and it needs to be. It isn’t clear until the end of the book who is on what side, who is the enemy, who is just a neutral party, and what motives everyone has. The pacing of the book is also executed well, which is really something considering how many plot threads need to be kept straight. It keeps you wanting to read while providing enough detail to make everything understandable, provide detail about the setting and characters, set up future events, and drop hints about what might happen later. The characters are very well done, as is the interplay between them. While there are a number of characters with types that are found in many stories, they aren’t tropes. The end of the book is pretty surprising. There are several things that are left for the reader to think about. I liked the ending a lot; it leaves what happened next wide open. I don’t want a sequel to this book, though. The story is done. It was hard to stop reading this mystery.
Jeanne – DNF – She didn't have the patience
Kathy – DNF – Just didn't have the patience for it.
Katie – G+ - Enjoyed the puzzle nature of the story. The main drawback is that it turns into a redemption story. She might read more by this author.
Linda M – DNF
Marilyn – VG – She wanted to make a chart of how and when. Thought it was well done in a clever sense. Overall, she did enjoy it.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay
DEATH IN AUGUST (PolProc-Insp. Bordelli-Florence, Italy-Contemp) – 1st in series – Marco Vichi
Florence, summer 1963. Inspector Bordelli is one of the few policemen left in the deserted city. He spends his days on routine work and his nights tormented by the heat and mosquitoes. Suddenly one night, a telephone call gives him a new sense of purpose: the suspected death of a wealthy signora. Bordelli rushes to her hilltop villa and picks the locks. The old woman is lying on her bed—apparently killed by an asthma attack, though her medicine has been left untouched. With the help of his young protégé, the victim’s eccentric brother, and a semi-retired petty thief, the inspector begins a murder investigation. Each suspect has a solid alibi, but there is something that doesn’t quite add up.
Corona – Okay - I enjoyed a lot of this story although I was disappointed that it didn't actually "take me to" Florence. However, there was an especially disturbing scene, it added nothing to the story, it was gratuitous therefore I felt assaulted by it. A disappointing book.
Don – DNW - read 50 pages & no hook for me......
Ginny – Good - I imagined walking with Bordelli because of his easy demeanor. His friends such as Dante and Botta were standouts! However, Bordelli the detective irked me. I wanted to shout “solve the damn murder first and then ponder the big questions in life”!
I will continue to read this series.
Helen – Poor - This book was not an enjoyable read for me. I alternated between heavily disliking Inspector Bordelli and feeling sorry for him. At the end of the book, I wanted to give him a hug, then pack him into therapy for a good ten years. The mystery was pretty straightforward. There was little excitement in what happened and not much to keep me reading to find out what did happened. All ends were neatly tied up. There was so much about eating and food in this book. There was a lot of filler in general. If all of the filler had been taken out, this would be a short story, not a full-length novel. I wish there had been more focus on the crime/mystery. This book was translated from Italian, so maybe something got lost in translation. Regardless, I really struggled to get through all of the filler. I suppose the characters were good, but I am wracking my brain trying to remember anything about them. I think their interplay was good, but it got lost in the irrelevant detail in the book.
How the murder was accomplished was a new one for me. A bit of a stretch in terms of plausibility, but novel enough that I do remember it. This is the first book in a series, so maybe the author was laying the ground for more later on? Or exploring the characters a bit and trying to figure out what to do with them? I give this a Poor for the way the murder was accomplished. I’m not fond of books that make you feel like reading is work.
Kathy – Good – Liked it. It was a good read. Interesting characters and relationships. Lied that all of the characters were a little quirky. She did have a problem with the protagonists fantasy about the 20-year-old. The murder seems more of a back story. It was a light, fun read.
Katie – G+ - Loved the dinner. She would read more in the series.
Marilyn – Okay – Quirky. The protag spent a lot of time thinking about …. Something. Got to the end and wasn't sure she liked it, so she read the second book in the series. That's enough.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Okay