Long Lost by David Morrell

I picked this book up from the bargain bin because it intrigued me and had no intention of writing a review. But after reading it, I wanted to share this novel to others that may not have heard about it.

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author David Morrell is back with a fast-paced tale of a man struggling to reclaim his abducted family from a stranger who may possibly be his long-lost brother. Brad Denning is a successful architect living a perfect life in Denver with his loving wife and son. Or so it would be, if not for the haunting memory of his brother Petey who disappeared while under Brad’s supervision when they were kids. Now, a man claiming to be his sibling has mysteriously appeared and Brad is eager to take him in, despite the man’s haggard appearance and reluctance to reveal anything about his past. Petey is a welcome addition to the family, until a camping trip goes terribly wrong and Brad returns home to find that his devoted wife and son have been abducted. Certain that Petey or whoever he may be is responsible for the horrible crime, Brad sets out to recover his family. Travelling alone through America’s heartland, it’s a race against time as Brad struggles to get to his family before the terrible secret of what really happened long ago destroys everything he cares about.

My thoughts
This book begins with a quick tale of the disappearance of Brad Denning’s brother, Petey when they were children. Fast forward to the future and Brad is a successful architect, happily married and a father to his only son. Out of the blue, after an appearance on national television, Brad is approached by someone claiming to be Petey. With details that only his brother would know, Brad accepts Petey into his life. Then Petey disappears with Brad’s wife and son, and after the FBI exhausts all avenues, Brad takes it upon himself to track down Petey. Or is it Peter or a con artist? On his quest, Brad learns more and more about the abductor.

Each page kept me so involved in this story that I couldn’t put the book down. I finished reading it in one afternoon. I really enjoyed this one.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Book DescriptionOn the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

My thoughts
Reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens kept my involved from the start. Annie O’Sullivan, a realtor, was abducted and held captive for one year. Even afterwards, she is still captive within her own mind. She struggles with her life, family, friends and everything. Life will never be the same.

Some of the narrative is told from Annie’s point of view as speaks to her therapist and we are also learn more about the captor and the reasons behind her abduction. I couldn’t believe how the story unfolded and as I mentioned before it kept me captivated until the last sentence.


Note: I borrowed this book from my local library.

Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver

Book Description
The Monterey Peninsula is rocked when a killer begins to leave roadside crosses beside local highways -- not in memoriam, but as announcements of his intention to kill. And to kill in particularly horrific and efficient ways: using the personal details about the victims that they've carelessly posted in blogs and on social networking websites.

The case lands on the desk of Kathryn Dance, the California Bureau of Investigations foremost body language expert. She and Deputy Michael O'Neil follow the leads to Travis Brigham, a troubled teenager whose role in a fatal car accident has inspired vicious attacks against him on a popular blog, The Chilton Report. As the investigation progresses, Travis vanishes. Using techniques he learned as a brilliant participant in multiplayer online role-playing games, he easily eludes his pursuers and continues to track his victims. Among the obstacles Kathryn must hurdle are politicians from Sacramento, paranoid parents and the blogger himself, James Chilton, whose belief in the importance of blogging and the new media threatens to derail the case and potentially Dance's career. It is this threat that causes Dance to take desperate and risky measures...

My thoughts
A killer leaves roadside crosses to warn of a murder he will commit that day. As the CBI tries to track down a teenage boy whom they believe is the killer, their trail leads to the world of blogging and gaming.

Although, there are twists and turns, as the lead detective searches for the killer I found the whole gaming and blogging tale fairly unappealing. Not one of Deaver’s best.


Note: I borrowed this book from my local library.

Lake Overturn by Vestal McIntyre

Book Description
Eula, Idaho, has never seen a battle, an earthquake, or a Democrat in City Hall. Yet life here is anything but simple.

Lina's angry son Jesus has recently returned to the trailer park after living with wealthy white foster parents. Her younger son Enrique and his best friend, Gene—who lives in a neighboring trailer with his very Christian mother, Connie—are misfits who cling to their studies in the face of schoolyard cruelties. Determined to win the statewide science fair, Enrique and Gene devise an experiment involving "lake overturn," a phenomenon in which deadly gases erupt from a lake's depths. In their endeavor to discover if Eula could suffer from such an event, the boys come into contact with an odd assortment of locals—including a frail-hearted school principal with grand ambitions, a lonely lawyer who finds new love as his wife is dying, and a woman who decides to escape a life of exploitation and addiction by becoming a surrogate mother.

With sweeping perspective and a Victorian wealth of character, Lake Overturn exposes small-town America in all its beauty and treachery, sunshine and secrets.

My thoughts
Lake Overturn is a look at Small-town, USA and the loneliness of lives people lead. Although, it deals with two boys who are determined to win a science fair by explain a phenomenon within their lake. The characters are well developed and Vestal McIntyre writes well, but somehow I still felt disconnected. Maybe because it was more like a bunch of short stories then a cohesive novel.


Disclaimer: This book was received for review from the publisher. I received no compensation for my thoughts.

The Last Child by John Hart

Book Description
Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .

Undeterred by Hunt’s threats or his mother’s pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.

Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power.

My thoughts
Johnny Merrimon’s twin sister Alyssa goes missing and he spends all his time trying to track her down in the small town he lives in. Meanwhile, his father runs off; his mother takes to drugs and Johnny isolates himself from everyone but his friend Jack. Detective Clyde Hunt is also obsessed with the missing girl, or is their mother? After a year of no leads, another girl goes missing and things begin to heat up.

John Hart’s The Last Child is an intense (can’t put this book down) story and there is as many twists as there are tears as we watch Johnny and Clyde struggle with their own problems and loves and the search for little Alyssa. Definitely a tear jerker.


Note: this book was borrowed from my local library.

Scooby Doo and Jennifer too!

I painted this for my daughter's dorm room.

Inside Out by Barry Eisler

Book Description
Torture.
Ghost detainees.
And a massive cover-up that continues even today.

Marooned in a Manila jail after a bar fight fatality, black ops soldier Ben Treven gets a visit from his former commander, Colonel Scott Horton, who explains the price of Ben’s release: Find and eliminate Daniel Larison, a rogue operator from Ben’s unit who has stolen ninety-two torture tapes from the CIA and is using them to blackmail the U.S. government.

But other players are after the tapes, too, and to find Larison, Ben will have to survive CIA hit teams, Blackwater mercenaries, and the long reach of the White House. He’ll also have to find a way to handle Paula Lanier, a smart, sexy FBI agent who has her own reasons for wanting the tapes and is determined to get them before Ben does. With the stakes this high, everyone has an angle—everyone but Ben, who will have to find the right alliance if he wants to stay alive.

My thoughts
I enjoy Barry Eisler’s books and his experience within the CIA shows in his writing. Inside Out is no exception. This story deals with the CIA’s torture tapes, which they have told the US were destroyed, but in reality were stolen. And the thief wants one hundred million dollars.

Ben Treven’s mission is to find and dispose of the blackmailer. Treven was introduced in Eislers’ Fault Line which I thought was an okay book. This one also, was just okay. I really like his John Rain stories and look forward to the one which combines both characters as hinted at the end of this book.


Note: This book was borrowed from my local library.

Feed by Mira Grant

Here is another zombie book that I just had to read. Am I back into the zombie mode?

Book Description
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

My thoughts
Feed has an interesting zombie premise. Scientists have created the disease that turns humans into zombies. They didn’t do this on purpose; instead they were looking for cures for the common cold and cancer. In doing so, they accidently created this zombie virus. And so, life still goes and the human race endures. Not only that, bloggers are the way we receive our news. Georgia and Shaun Mason are two such bloggers and to make it into the big time, they are hired to follow presidential hopeful, Senator Ryman on his campaign trail. But they are sabotaged and Georgia and Shaun try to find out why. One of the better zombie stories I have read. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Note: I borrowed this book from my local library

THE ELEPHANT KEEPER by Christopher Nicholson BOOK GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Mary at Harper Paperback, I am giving away one copy of The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson.

Since the publisher will be shipping this directly, this contest is for U.S. residents only and no P.O. Boxes.

Please leave a comment telling us what your favorite wild animal is (mine is the timber wolf) and your e-mail address (so I can contact you if you win).

Subscribers and followers get 2 additional entries (but let me know that you are one or the other or both).

Contest ends Saturday, July 24rd, 2010

Day By Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile BLOG TOUR

Book Description
The first book of Day by Day Armageddon took us deep into the mind of a military officer and survivor as he made a New Year's resolution to start keeping a journal. The man kept his resolution and brought to us the fall of humanity, day by day. We see the man transition from the life that you and I live to the prospect of fighting for his very survival against the overwhelming hordes of the dead. We see him bleed, we see him make mistakes, we witness him evolve. The highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling underground cult classic, Day by Day Armageddon begins where the first novel left off.

BEGIN INTERCEPT
Armies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe;there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering for human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.
INTERCEPT COMPLETE

Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capture the desperation--and the will to survive--as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battle soulless enemies both human and inhuman from inside an abandoned strategic missile facility.

But in the world of the undead, is mere survival enough?

My thoughts
This is a magnificent sequel to Day by Day Armageddon. As with the former, it is written in the form of a journal of one mans’ view of surviving a world of zombies. It begins where the last one left off, and this time around, the writer is left to his own defenses as the helicopter he was in crashes and he has to find his way back to safety. Filled with horror and graphic visualizations, this zombie book is an easy and quick read. I can sense it continuing in a third book.

Shadows in Summer: A Novel in Six Voices by Crescent Varrone

Book Description
Plagued by dreams of her dead father, Katrina Nielsen returns to her native Denmark to face the ghosts of her past. After seven years in New York, sidelined by a career-ending injury, Katrina is determined to reunite her shattered family. But when she and her American husband, Richard, purchase Sound House, an ordinary-looking home overlooking the water, a series of weird events begins: inexplicable smoke and footsteps, a ghostly face at the window. After she is "pushed" down the cellar stairs by an unseen force, her charming (if slightly creepy) neighbor, Søren, convinces her that she is being haunted by the ghost of Karl Damsgaard, the original owner of Sound House. As the terrifying disturbances escalate, the desperate couple puts their faith in Rowena, a flamboyant psychic - which leads to the book's tragic conclusion. Inspired by actual events, Shadows in Summer is a deliciously scalp-prickling tale that will haunt readers long after the final page.

My thoughts
The title itself explains this novel; Shadows in Summer: A Novel in Six Voices. This story is told from the point of six of its characters and done quite well. What it doesn’t tell you that this is a ghost story. An intriguing concept to bring to the ghost story. Based in Denmark, it tells the story of one native New Yorker moving to Denmark with his wife who is a native, but has not been back home in some time. When strange things begin to happen in their home, we learn more about not only about the individuals involved but how they react to this phenomenon. We also get to learn a little of about the Danish culture. Crescent Varrone keeps the reader engaged with his debut novel.


Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for review. I received no compensation for my thoughts.

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

Book Description
David Pepin has been in love with his wife, Alice, since the moment they met in a university seminar on Alfred Hitchcock. After thirteen years of marriage, he still can’t imagine a remotely happy life without her—yet he obsessively contemplates her demise. Soon she is dead, and David is both deeply distraught and the prime suspect.

The detectives investigating Alice’s suspicious death have plenty of personal experience with conjugal enigmas: Ward Hastroll is happily married until his wife inexplicably becomes voluntarily and militantly bedridden; and Sam Sheppard is especially sensitive to the intricacies of marital guilt and innocence, having decades before been convicted and then exonerated of the brutal murder of his wife.

Still, these men are in the business of figuring things out, even as Pepin’s role in Alice’s death grows ever more confounding when they link him to a highly unusual hit man called Mobius. Like the Escher drawings that inspire the computer games David designs for a living, these complex, interlocking dramas are structurally and emotionally intense, subtle, and intriguing; they brilliantly explore the warring impulses of affection and hatred, and pose a host of arresting questions. Is it possible to know anyone fully, completely? Are murder and marriage two sides of the same coin, each endlessly recycling into the other? And what, in the end, is the truth about love?

Mesmerizing, exhilarating, and profoundly moving, Mr. Peanut is a police procedural of the soul, a poignant investigation of the relentlessly mysterious human heart—and a first novel of the highest order.

My thoughts
Alice Pepin is found dead from an allergic reaction from eating a peanut. Her husband says it is suicide but did her really kill her. And this is the beginning of Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross. The two detectives assigned to the case have problems of their own. One was accused of killing his young wife years ago and this case parallels his. The reader also learns that each of these men have problems with their own wives and vice versa. This is more than a murder mystery. It is also a look at relationships and intimacy.


Note: This book was borrowed from my local library.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Book Description
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.

My thoughts
What an odd, yet remarkable story that The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is. Nine-year-old Rose bites into her mother’s lemon cake and can all of a sudden sense the feelings her mother had when making the cake. Unfortunately, these feelings were of sadness and loneliness. From that moment on, when she eats something, she feels those feelings of those who prepared the food. Too understand this quirky novel, one must read it slowly to really understand it. I found it somewhat gloomy, but it is well-written and one you won’t forget.


Disclaimer: I received the book for review from the publisher. I received no compensation for my thoughts.

The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst

Book Description
Bestselling novelist Octavia Frost has just completed her latest book—a revolutionary novel in which she has rewritten the last chapters of all her previous books, removing clues about her personal life concealed within, especially a horrific tragedy that befell her family years ago.

On her way to deliver the manuscript to her editor, Octavia reads a news crawl in Times Square and learns that her rock-star son, Milo, has been arrested for murder. Though she and Milo haven’t spoken in years—an estrangement stemming from that tragic day—she drops everything to go to him.

The “last chapters” of Octavia’s novel are layered throughout The Nobodies Album—the scattered puzzle pieces to her and Milo’s dark and troubled past. Did she drive her son to murder? Did Milo murder anyone at all? And what exactly happened all those years ago? As the novel builds to a stunning reveal, Octavia must consider how this story will come to a close.

Universally praised for her candid explorations of the human psyche, Parkhurst delivers an emotionally gripping and resonant mystery about a mother and her son, and about the possibility that one can never truly know another person.

My thoughts
The Nobodies Album is a multi-layered story revolving around author Octavia Frost, who has written a new book which is nothing but re-written endings to her previous books. On her way to drop her manuscript to her editor, she sees a news flash that her son, a popular rock star is being accused of killing his lover. Having being estranged from him for four years, she tries to reconnect with him and help him in his time of need. This is the meat of the novel which is also intertwined with the endings of the manuscript. In reading this story and the re-written chapters, we learn of Octavia’s life and struggles and wonders if it could all have been different. Could we re-write our lives? This is an emotion journey and I enjoyed the ride, but at times found the re-written chapters a little distracting.


Disclaimer: I received this book for review from the publisher. I received no compensation for my thoughts.

July's Making Room for More Books Giveaway

For the month of July, I am giving away the following two YA books:

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman
Wicked Will by Bailey MacDonald

This contest is open to U.S. residents only

Please leave a comment with your e-mail address (so I can contact you if you win).

Subscribers and followers get 2 additional entries (but let me know that you are one or the other or both).

Contest ends Monday, July 12, 2010

The Andover Inn, Andover, NJ

The Andover Inn recently re-opened after a fire destroyed the landmark building in 2006. Although, we did eat in the restaurant when we first moved in, it closed soon thereafter. When the restaurant re-opened as the Iron Mine Grill & Tavern, we never had a chance to taste their menu. But now after rebuilding the entire structure, the new restaurant is now called Jimmy’s Italian Tavern.

I wasn’t sure if we needed a new Italian place in the area, and I am always the skeptic when it comes to restaurants, but was pleasantly surprised by this place.

We were able to get a table on Saturday night around 6:00 (it soon filled up). The host (owner?) seated us and came around during our dinner to see if everything was okay. Even our waitress was attentive. Although, she didn’t introduce herself (I like when I know my server’s name), she was there to refill drinks and help with clearing away the plates.

We started with mozzarella and prosciutto, which was served on four large slices of tomato. We also received two half-loaves of bread, one seeded, the other not.

My eyes went directly to the veal section. I love my veal and ordered the Veal Rossini, which I had never tasted before. My wife ordered the Veal Valentino, but unfortunately received the Veal and Chicken Capri. The portions were a nice size. I received three slices of veal. My wife ate her Capri, but mentioned to the owner when he came around that she received the wrong dish. We also complained about the funny taste of the water. It seems they have city water and it is chlorinated. He did say that they would have bottled water for our next visit. Sides were extra, but the dishes did come with a house salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Everything was delicious and flavorful.

We ordered dessert and coffee also. The prices were medium to the pricey side and with two drinks each; it came to about one hundred dollars for two. I liked the atmosphere, the staff and the food, and I hope they keep it that way as we shall be back. Yes, they are many restaurants that we have tried once and never went back. So, to say I will return means it is very good.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

Book Description
Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

My thoughts
The Castaways deals with a group of best friends who have to deal with death and the aftermath when one couple drowns and leaves behind two small children. The other three couples begin to rethink their own lives and secrets and they wonder what really happened on that boat. Elin Hilderbrand’s novel is written from each person’s perspective, hopping back and forth and where the reader gets an insight as to watch each person in this group is feeling and thinking. It is like we are a part of these characters. We can like and dislike what is going on inside their heads and what they are keeping secret from the others. Only we know the full story of these relationships and how they deal with the death of their friends. I enjoyed the book. At first, I was a little confused, but as I got to know each character, the story developed into a remarkable piece of work.



Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher for review. I received no compensation for my thoughts.