Book Club

[dawg lover]

Here's what I've read recently:

JUST THE NICEST COUPLE by Mary Kubica - a very good thriller!

BETWEEN TWO STRANGERS by Kate White - her latest thriller - pretty good.

IDENTITY by Nora Roberts - a good suspense novel about an identity theft victim.

KILLING ME by Michelle Gagnon - a good thriller with humor.  Reminds me of the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz that came out some years ago.

I also read all 8 of Simon Brett's Mrs. Pargeter mystery series books..They are light and short, written somewhat in the vein of the Agatha Raisin books by M. C. Beaton.  I liked this author's Fethering series of books, so I thought I would try a different series of his and I liked them too.  The first book in the series is A NICE CLASS OF CORPSE.

[icezeus]

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@sandy53 wrote:

Today I finished Dark Angel by John Sandford.  This is the second book in the Letty Davenport series.  I thought the beginning of this book was really good, but it lagged in the middle and the ending was not all that great.  I think the biggest problem was that I just don't care about Russia and Ukraine.  Call me shallow.  The characters (Letty and those who worked with her) were all smart and interesting, but the storyline did not interest me. 

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@sandy53 

I was extremely disappointed in this book. I wrote a review in either the April or May thread.  

[sandy53]

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@icezeus wrote:

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@sandy53 wrote:

Today I finished Dark Angel by John Sandford.  This is the second book in the Letty Davenport series.  I thought the beginning of this book was really good, but it lagged in the middle and the ending was not all that great.  I think the biggest problem was that I just don't care about Russia and Ukraine.  Call me shallow.  The characters (Letty and those who worked with her) were all smart and interesting, but the storyline did not interest me. 

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@sandy53 

I was extremely disappointed in this book. I wrote a review in either the April or May thread.  

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Yes, I remember reading your review.  I was hoping I'd like it more than you did, but not so much.  I'm glad I got it from the library instead of spending money on it. 

[Alter Ego]

Ugh  - hate getting behind in posting on this thread!

The following are Kindle books read on vacation:

The Shadow Murders by Jussi Alder-Olsen. 9th in the series, with the 10th planned to be the final.  These have gotten progressively more fomulaic; used to love the relationship between the two main male characters, but it lost what it used to be a few books ago. Will still look forward to the final chapter in the Department Q story.

The Housemaid and its sequel The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden. These were kind of mindless thrillers that I tend to only read on vacation.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill.  This is not well reviewed on Goodreads, but I actually enjoyed the different storylines (can't share anymore without spoiling it - and I think what I can't tell you is what a lot of people didn't like!)

Listened to on Audible:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - read for Governerd book club.  I really liked this one.  Basically, each chapter follows a different generation as it moves forward the stories of two half sisters who didn't know each other. Staring in Ghana, one is sold as a slave and the other is married to the British slaver.Then, like I said, the chapters alternate between the descendants who were sold to slavery and those who stayed, ending up pretty much modern times  I tended to prefer the earlier chapters and admit that I had a large break between listening in the middle of this.  Still a very interesting book and I look forward to our author chat.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Quite violent (as one would expect it to be - described as Gladiators meet the American prison system) but had some great characters (I could absolutely envision Hurricane Staxxx.).  I should google to see if anyone bought the rights.

The Wager by David Grann, thanks to the separate post about this.  I don't "read" a lot of nonfiction because I listen and don't usually find the storytelling compelling.  This was an exception.  In fact, I'm not certain if the narrator will be my favorite of the year or was truly horrible! (one reviewer said he should stick to children's books).  I finally compared him to one of those "old-timey" storytellers telling stories around a campfire - he was very dramatic!  LOL  Great book.

ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs.  I occassionally like books where magic is real.  This kind of read like a young adult book, except that the main characters were in their 20s vs their teens.  Feel like they are setting up for a sequel.

And I think that's it.  Next, I'm catching up on last month's Reese pick.  Didn't get great reviews, but is a Hollywood story, which I'm looking forward to.

[dmod nj]

Hi everyone, 

I am currently listening to Marie Force's, How Much I Love. It's book three in the Miami Nights series.  It's light fun romance.  

I read, and LOVED, Joanne DiMaio's, The Visitor, book #18 in the series.   I'm looking forward to the next one. 

I listened to Melanie Harlow's, Runaway Love. It was a cute, light romance, where everything always works out. lol 

I, also, finished listening to Kristan Higgins', On Second Thought.   I enjoyed the story of the sisters becoming closer, and understanding one another better, after both going through heartbreak. 

[SWEET]

Just finished The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop.  Comes out in July.  It was very long to my liking (just over 400 pages) and very detailed and verbose.  It was interesting though. I finished it in 3 days which surprised me so I guess it kept me interested.

[spumoni99]

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@CANDLEQUEEN wrote:

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@icezeus wrote:

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@CANDLEQUEEN wrote:

Just finished Small, great things by Jodi Picoult. It was soo good!!! I finished it in 3 days-just reading on my lunch hour. It was published I believe maybe back on 2017...

I am now back to reading Deadly Cross by James Patterson!!!!

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@CANDLEQUEEN 

I read Small, great things a few years back, and it was one of my favorite books of the year. 

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@icezeus It is definitely one of mine!!! A book everyone can benefit from reading in my opinion......

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I enjoyed Small great things also, I read it was being made into a movie in 2017 but I don't see any updates on that?  I think it would be good made into a movie.

[Lilysmom1]

Just finished Hello Beautiful by Ann Napalitano.  The book is rich in character development and tells of the development of a rift in a close family and how they dealt with it over the years.  I would give this 4/5.  A good book that I looked forward to returning to read.  LM

[icezeus]

I just finished The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. First of all I am not a fan of Psychological Thrillers. However, so many people have commented on this book that I became curious and decided to give it a try.

The book did not disappoint. Every time, you thought the story was going one way, an unexpected turn would occur. The story kept me engaged and more importantly turning the pages, to see what was next. 

I will have to give it a 5/5 on Goodreads.

[JillyMarie]

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@Epicurean wrote:

CUTTING FOR STONE by A. Verghese. It's about twins in India/Ethiopia. There mother dies at birth and there father walks away.

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Just a quick FYI.  Abraham Verghese has a new novel on the NYT best sellers list.  The book is THE COVENANT OF WATER.  I haven't read it yet  but plan to soon.