Book Review: Killer Move by Michael Marshall

Title: Killer Move: A Novel by Michael Marshall
Hardcover: 368 pages. William Morrow
Publication date: June 28, 2011
Genre: psychological thriller.
Source: Publisher
Objective review: 3.75/5

Comments: An unusual thriller, noir, with a plot that involves a lot of high tech computer savvy. The book seems to be making a comment on how people can use computer technology to manipulate, change, and even destroy other people. A little frightening too, in this respect. A good read for those who like techno-thrillers and psychological suspense.

Product description: A creepy, fast-paced thriller... Bill Moore's got a lucrative job selling condos in the Florida Keys, a successful wife, a good marriage, a beautiful house. He also has a five-year plan for super success, but that plan has begun to drag into its sixth year without reaping its intended rewards. So now Bill's starting to mix it up—just a little—to accelerate his way into the future that he knows he deserves.

Then one morning Bill arrives at work to find a card waiting for him, with no indication who it's from or why it was sent. Its message is just one word: modified. From that moment on, Bill's life begins to change.

At first, nothing seems very different. But when things begin to unwind rapidly, and one after another, people around Bill start to die, it becomes increasingly clear that someone somewhere has a very different plan for Bill's future. Confused and angry, Bill begins to fight against this unseen force until he comes to a terrifying, inescapable realization: Once modified, there's no going back.

Teaser Tuesday: Eyes Wide Open: A Novel by Andrew Gross

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

I was in the den, flipping through some medical magazines. Suddenly I heard screams, Sophie's. From outside. "Get off, Evan. Get off! Mom! Dad!
I bolted up.     
 (ch. 7, uncorrected proof. Final version may differ).

Title: Eyes Wide Open: A Novel
Hardcover: 352 pages  by Andrew Gross
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: July 12, 2011
Source: Uncorrected proof from publisher

Product Description:
A horrible family tragedy that may not be what it seems . . .
A past encounter with an infamous killer turns deadly today . . .
An ordinary man must risk his own family to find the truth.

Jay Erlich's nephew has been found at the bottom of a cliff at Morrow Bay. It's all just a tragic suicide, until secrets from the past begin to rear up again. Did a notorious killer, jailed for many decades, have his hand in this?

Years ago, Jay Erlich's older brother, Charlie, a wayward child of the sixties, set out for California, where he fell under the sway of a charismatic but deeply disturbed cultlike figure. Tragedy ensued and lives were destroyed, but as the decades passed, Charlie married and raised a family and lived a quiet, secluded life under the radar. Yet the demons that nearly destroyed him never completely disappeared.

When Jay heads out west to help his grieving brother, he is pulled back into Charlie's past—and begins to suspect that his nephew's suicide may not have been that at all. With eyes wide open, Jay puts his own life at risk to uncover the truth, a quest that goes beyond the edge of madness and a family haunted by a secret past . . . and into the depths of evil.

About the author: Drawing on two real-life experiences from his own past, New York Times bestselling author Andrew Gross has crafted a richly personal, yet utterly terrifying tale of two brothers, one successful, one wayward, trying to bridge the gap of what tore them apart.

Teaser Tuesday: Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon, A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery


'No special friends?' Brunetti enquired.
'No,' she said instantly. 'Patients aren't  friends. She knew the danger of that.' (p.71)

Library Finds: Two Mysteries and a Memoir

I volunteer at the local library and so have a chance to review a lot of books on display. Here's what I've recently found, old and new...

Drawing Conclusions A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon.

Donna Leon and her shrewd, sophisticated, and compassionate investigator have been delighting readers around the world. For her millions of fans, Leon’s novels have opened a window into the private Venice of her citizens, a world of incomparable beauty, family intimacy, shocking crime, and insidious corruption. In Drawing Conclusions, the 20th in the series, an old woman’s body has been found in a Spartan apartment on Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio. Brunetti can’t shake the feeling that something may have created conditions that led to her heart attack, that perhaps the woman was threatened. With the help of Inspector Lorenzo Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra Zorzi, perhaps Brunetti can get to the truth, and find some measure of justice. (from Goodreads book description)

Grey Zone by Clea Simon

Product description: A Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery - When a student goes missing and a professor ends up dead, Dulcie Schwartz realizes that midterms are going to be worse than ever. She’s hard at work on her thesis, but present day concerns – including the destructive mischief of her growing kitten – keep dragging her back into a tangle of motive, misbehavior, and maybe even murder. If only Mr Grey, her beloved feline ghost, would lend a hand, at least with that rambunctious kitten . .

At Home in Japan: A Foreign Woman's Journey of Discovery by Rebecca Otowa.

At Home in Japan tells the true story of a foreign woman who has been, for 30 years, the housewife, custodian and chatelaine of a 350-year-old farmhouse in rural Japan. This astonishing book traces a circular path, from the basic physical details of life in the house and village, through relationships with family, neighbors and the natural and supernatural entities with whom the family shares the house. Rebecca Otowa then focuses on her inner life, touching on some of the pivotal memories of her time in Japan, the lessons in perception that Japan has taught her and, finally, the ways in which she has been changed by living in Japan. (Goodreads book description)


I've good more than my share of books to read over the long weekend. What do you plan to read?

Book Reviews: A Clutch of Cozy Mysteries

I have been enjoying these cozy mysteries from Berkley Publishing, review copies sent by the publisher. What a bonanza for summer reading! Here are my comments on the books.


Title: The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Release date: July 5, 2011

Comments: In this cute Southern cozy, the Darling Dahlias are a group of women in Alabama in the 1930s who have formed a garden club, and the "naked ladies" is the nickname given to a type of lily that sheds its flowers and leaves and comes up as a naked stalk, only to bloom again in a few days. The title could also refer to the Naughty and Nice Sisters, dancers from the Ziegfeld Frolic, who suddenly show up in town.

"So this woman is incognito," she said, buttering a piece of hot corn bread. "I guess that means she doesn't want anybody in town to know that she was in vaudeville." (ch. 4)

The Dahlias set out to uncover their secrets, and the novel gives the reader the added bonus of gardening information, southern style recipes and some good old fashioned household cleaning tips.



Title: Unraveled by Maggie Sefton
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Release date: June 7, 2011

Comments: A group of friends near Fort Connor, Colorado welcome Eustace Freemont, a writer of Old West history, who has come to town to do research on "modern" outlaws of the West, namely the big shots in real estate and energy development. Kelly Flynn, a CPA and a member of the local knitting club, accompanies her real estate friend Jennifer to visit a ranch and find the real estate developer/owner shot and killed. She becomes involved in finding out if it was suicide or a crime,and who might be responsible.

Jennifer looked up, her brown eyes huge. "Oh, my gawd! I can't believe we've walked in on another corpse. Kelly...we can't come into the canyon together anymore. Not alone, anyway." (ch. 3)

A knitting pattern for a summer tee, a recipe for Yummy Chocolate Cake, and  the story of Kelly's love interest add to the spiciness of the book. I would have preferred "proper introductions" to the many friends of Kelly's, however, as they enter the story only through conversation and speech. I kept track of them by taking notes!


Title: Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: July 5, 2011

Comments:  Lindsey Norris is director of the Briar Creek Public Library in Connecticut, trying to help one of her librarians, Beth, to get her children's book published. The chance arrives when a well known editor, Sydney Carlisle, visits the town. Sydney is really the editor for Beth's boyfriend, well-known writer Rick Eckman, who lives on a nearby island off the Connecticut coast. Rick, however, is adamant that Beth's book is not good enough to be published.
When Rick is murdered, the police suspect Beth as she was the one who found his body and the one with the most obvious motive. Lindsey thinks otherwise and sets out to prove it, with a little help from her current love interest, Capt. Mike Sullivan.

"Chief Daniels," he said."He's going to take the shortest route from point A to point B and completely disregard anything that doesn't fit into his preconceived notion of what happened." (ch. 9)

I really enjoyed this Library Lover's mystery, being a big library fan myself.



Title: How to Moon a Cat by Rebecca M. Hale
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: July 5, 2011

Comments:  This is the third in the Cats and Curios Mystery series but the first read of the series for me. History buffs interested in California's Gold Rush era will enjoy this mystery that begins with the finding of a California flag and a toy bear in a deceased collector's stash, hidden behind the walls of his old apartment, and discovered by his neice and the curious paws of a cat.

This toy bear might well be a clue to one of Oscar's hidden treasures, I thought excitedly. I flipped the paper flag over and read the message printed on the opposite side.
Shiny gold lettering typed out  the words: NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA. (ch. 4)

Other people are searching for the treasure too, and there is danger in Nevada City! Definitely a lot of research went into this cozy!

Sunday Salon: Great Summer Reads

Welcome to the Sunday Salon. Click on the logo to join in!

A nice summer so far, not too hot, and with brief showers when the garden needs it! On another nice day, yesterday, we took a one-day bus tour to Chicago to see the sights, Navy Pier among them. The weather was perfect. Luckily we didn't try to eat at the annual Taste of Chicago, which had ten long lines waiting to buy food tickets and more long lines at each food kiosk. Our bus group decided the long waits were not worth it and opted to eat at other restaurants. Most of the group landed up at the Art Museum, but we sat by the Chicago River enjoying the boats, water taxis, and the views. Chicago is a great city to people watch too. Everyone wore sandals or tennis shoes, many people were speaking in different languages, and almost everyone on the streets seemed to be tourists. The city architecture also makes you want to keep looking up. Too bad we had to leave at 8 p.m. and couldn't sample the nightlife.

I reviewed some great novels last week, thrilled to be reading books that I really enjoy:
Mercy, a crime novel by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen
The Sweetness of Tears, a novel by Nafisa Haji
The Art of Saying Goodbye, a novel by Ellyn Bache

In addition, I received books by authors whose work I have read and liked:
Betrayal of Trust: A J.P. Beaumont Novel by J. A. Jance
Overbite by Meg Cabot, the follow-up to Insatiable, a vampire romance I reviewed on June 10, and
a new author to me, Michael Marshall and his new thriller Killer Move.

Can't wait to sink my teeth into these, plus the other neat books I have on my shelf. What have you been reading?

Book Review: Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Title: Mercy (The Keeper of Lost Causes)
Author: Jussi Adler-Olsen, translated by Lisa Hartford
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.
Genre: detective, crime fiction
Source: review copy from publisher
Objective rating: 5/5

About the book: Deputy detective superintendent Carl Morck of the Copenhagen Police, a detective with a good reputation, was nevertheless described by his coworkers as indolent, surly, and morose, a man who wanted to do things his own way and in his own time. Instead of demoting him, they decided to promote him and make head of his own section, Department Q, where he would be working on his own, with only an assistant for help.

Department Q was formed to handle cold cases, those deemed unsolvable yet important. Carl was given a new assistant, Assad, who seems to have no prior police experience. He turns out to be a gem in disguise, however, and helps Carl to get out of his chair and begin delving into the case of a former member of Parliament, Merete Lynggaard, missing for five years and presumed dead.  Merete is not dead, however, but imprisoned for five years in a box-like cell by unknown people, who leave her sometimes in perpetual darkness or perpetual light, without change of clothing, living for years in the most primitive conditions. She doesn't know who or what is behind her imprisonment or how long she will be allowed to live.

Carl begins to investigate with the help of Assad and his former contacts in government and the police.

My comments: A great police procedural with an unusual detective and an even more unusual side-kick in the resourceful and energetic Assad, who provides food, advice, information, and some comic relief to the serious situations Carl finds himself in. The plot was original, the main characters complex and realistic. There is pathos, humor, suspense mixed in this excellent thriller, which I enjoyed reading, almost all in one sitting. In other words, I didn't want to put it down.

About the author: Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen worked as a magazine editor and publisher before starting to write fiction. Mercy is the first of four novels in the Department of Q series. He was awarded the Glass Key Award for a crime novel by a Scandinavian author and has received several other awards in 2011.