By: Ian Rankin

This was a discovery at my library. I was looking for a good mystery to sink my teeth into. This book featured a retired detective named John Rebus. Now that he has all this free time, he asks an associate (on the sly) to bring him a cold case file about a socialite who was killed, over thirty years ago, in a hotel the same night a famous rock star and his entourage stayed there. There is also a current day investigation which ties into this past mystery.

This book is part of a much larger series. I give the author credit for making me feel a part of these character’s lives even though I haven’t read any of the other books in the series. Continue reading →

By Jane Haddam

Lately, I seem to have a knack of picking books that don’t satisfy me.

My last few reviews have been all over the place. Maybe it’s me. (deep sigh) This book is a mystery. The main character is an  ex-FBI profiler named Gregor Demarkian. He is called in as a consultant on hard to solve cases. Jane Haddam has written a whole series of books with this character. Each novel is a stand alone however characters from the books appear in each novel. Continue reading →

So what happened? What happened was I have read some SEP novels before and uh… I didn’t care for them. I know, I know, I gave such glowing reviews to “First Star I See Tonight” and I genuinely liked it.  Here’s the problem. Continue reading →

By: Bernhard Schlink

This was a book club choice. I’m fairly torn about how I feel about it. On one hand, it is a short two hundred and eighteen pages of stripped down prose that is a delight to read in its own right, but on the other, it lacked emotion and failed to engage me enough to care for the protagonist.

I feel like this was more of a “thinking man’s” book than a truly engaging piece of literary fiction. It raises a host of questions about guilt, shame, love, and morality. And yes, it was made into a movie starring Kate Winslet. Continue reading →

Author: Ruth Ware

I love a good “locked room” mystery, but I had some problems staying engaged in this story, at least in the beginning.

I borrowed this book from my local library. It’s part of their Express Collection, which means you only get to keep the book for a week. If you are late, it’s a dollar-a-day fine, which can really rack up if you’re not paying attention.

I can usually plow through a good book in a few hours ( if I have the time), if not, then in a couple of days. Unfortunately, this book was slow out of the gate for me, which kept me struggling to finish it within the week deadline. Continue reading →

Author: Fredrik Backman

What can I say? I love this book! Sometimes you just find a story that hits all your emotional buttons. That’s what A Man Called Ove did for me.

Unbiased, objective, not this time. If you like a story about a curmudgeonly, old man with a heart of gold than this book is for you.  If you’ve checked out the reviews on Amazon then you know there are some people who strongly dislike this book.

I think the reason I like this book so much is because I’ve known a few Oves in my lifetime. Continue reading →