REVIEW: THE CHALK MAN By C.J. Tudor

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Publication date: Jan 9, 2018 By Crown Publishing

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

 

******

This classic storyline concept of childhood friends, a murder, lies and then unearthed secrets many years later started off fairly strong for me. I love the setting of the small town English village and the time frame of the late 1980s. The tidbits of nostalgia from the 80s were actually one of my favorite parts of the whole book.

The story is told in alternating timeframes, shifting back and forth from the kids’ childhoods in 1986 to 2016 when they’re all living very different lives. I have to say I found the present storyline more engaging than the past but overall I didn’t enjoy the alternating timeframes structure. I felt like just when I was immersed in the present and trying to build connections with the characters, the chapters would end abruptly leaving me feeling disconnected.  I appreciate that the author was trying to build suspense with cliffhanger chapter endings and an abrupt time change but it left me feeling frustrated.

In terms of the characters, I found Eddie to be very odd and hard to connect with; in fact, I didn’t really connect with any characters which made it hard for me to care about what happened to them. I did find the pace to be steady and I didn’t have the mystery figured out but I also didn’t have a compelling urge to try all that hard to decipher the clues. When I reached the end my first thought was that the reveal was underwhelming and my next thought was that something that we find out about Eddie made no sense whatsoever. I absolutely know others are loving this mystery so take my review as just one opinion and try this for yourself, especially if you’re a fan of alternating timeframes and mysteries set in the 1980s.

Many thanks to Crown Publishing via Netgalley for my copy

Renee (Itsbooktalk)32 Comments

REVIEW: THE IMMORTALISTS By Chloe Benjamin

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Publication date: Jan. 9, 2018 By G.P. Putnam’s Sons

If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present?

It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

Their prophecies will inform their next five decades…..

******

I absolutely love the premise of this novel and that first sentence is what made me request the title on Edelweiss. I’ve been fascinated by psychics for years and go yearly to a big psychic fair in our city where I usually chat with 2 or 3 different psychics. I’ve went for the past several years and I always sit down with the same psychics every year but I’ve never asked about death or dying. It’s actually never been a question I’ve been tempted to ask. However, for this story, I couldn’t wait to find out how knowing their death dates would shape each sibling.

We immediately start the journey of the four siblings (Simon, Klara, Daniel and Varya) in the late 1960s with Klara and Simon’s stories. Simon is the youngest and only 16 when his life takes a drastic change. He and Klara have moved to San Francisco where their lives take very different paths. Simon came across as quite a lost soul and out of the 4 he was my least favorite character. (Side note: Varya was my favorite) One of the huge positives for me about this book was the author’s ability to bring each and every character to life. They were SO vivid and each was so well developed even though many were only briefly in the story. The authenticity of the characters and the flow of the narrative kept me reading through the first 35% when I wasn’t sure if this would get above a 3 star rating for me. Long story short…it did! I think my struggle with the beginning was not connecting with Simon’s character all that much.

I was so invested and immersed in the remainder of the story that I flew through it in one sitting. I had to find out if the psychic’s predictions were true and if so how would these characters I had come to like and care for die? I will be honest and say I found a particular resolution with Daniel way too convenient and not in alignment with what I felt I knew about his character. A minor issue. Overall, I thought this was a wonderful story about fate, living life to the fullest, and living it authentically. I never highlight in my kindle but there were many sentences toward the end that stopped me in my tracks and I knew I wanted to remember those thoughts. To me, that’s a sign of excellent writing. I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait for Chloe Benjamin’s next novel.

Many thanks G.P. Putnam’s Sons via Edelweiss for my copy 

 

Renee (Itsbooktalk)32 Comments

A 2018 REVIEW: FORCE OF NATURE By Jane Harper

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Publication Date: Feb 6th, 2018 by Flatiron Books

Short Summary: Five women go on a hike. Only four return. Did she purposely disappearance or was it murder? Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry, asks: How well do you really know the people you work with?

******

You may remember that this book was recently one I featured as one of my most anticipated sequels of 2018. I’m starting to dip into some of my 2018 reads and this was just calling to me. I loved The Dry and couldn’t wait to catch up with Aaron Falk. I did, however, read a couple reviews that weren’t all that favorable so I was anxious to see if I agreed with them or not…

The story basically centers around two groups (a men’s and a women’s) employed by the same company who’re sent on a professional team building retreat. The retreat consists of 3 days and nights of hiking and camping in a fairly remote wooded range in Australia. We find out right away that only 4 of the women return and when they do they are hours late and look much worse for the wear. So, the immediate question is…what’s happened to Alice?  Regarding the plot, the narrative structure, and the characters involved there honestly wasn’t that much that worked for me and it’s disappointing because I expected to love this.

What worked…

  • The descriptive details for the setting. Jane Harper can write wonderful setting details. While I didn’t find this to be as atmospheric as The Dry, I did feel like I was there in the woods with the cold and rain and darkness
  • The short chapters created a very fast reading pace and I was able to read this in one sitting
  • Aaron Falk. There’s something about this character that I really like. He’s somewhat of an enigma but just seems like a really good guy. I just wish the author would’ve done more with him in this story. To me, it seemed like he was an after thought and his character didn’t seem to evolve too much in this book.

What didn’t work….

  • The entire plot premise that a professional team building company would send inexperienced hikers out with no phones, no walkie talkies, no flares, no emergency provisions whatsoever and then never check to ensure they reached each campsite just made no sense to me and tarnished my ability to believe the story.
  • The characters. I felt the group of women were not only unlikeable but also thinly drawn. There were times I couldn’t remember who was who, they didn’t seem to be all that individualistic. And I found hard to care about any of them
  • The structure of the narrative. The story is told in present time from Aaron’s perspective as they are investigating and alternates with flashbacks of each day of the women’s journey. This seemed odd to me because we already know what happens so it often seemed unnecessary to retell some parts. For me, opening the book with the ending took away quite a bit of suspense.
  • The mystery. I found it to be pretty underwhelming and the red herrings were too obvious in my opinion.

Unfortunately, there was more that didn’t work for me than did in this story and I’m bummed about that because I think Jane Harper is a very talented writer. Maybe it was a case of rushing the second book as others have speculated, I’m not sure. I did enjoy seeing a little spark with Aaron at the end and I will definitely still give the next book in the series a try because I want to see what she does with Aaron’s character moving forward. If you haven’t read The Dry, I do highly recommend that one!

Many thanks to Flatiron Books for my copy

 

 

 

Renee (Itsbooktalk)23 Comments

THROWBACK THURSDAY PICK OF THE WEEK

throwbackthursday

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published months or years ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

My Pick This Week is….

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Published Jan 2014 by Touchstone

College senior Lana Granger has told so many lies about her past that the truth seems like a distant, cloudy nightmare. But she meets her match when she begins babysitting for a volatile, manipulative eleven-year-old boy. Soon after Lana takes the job, her close friend Beck mysteriously disappears. Lana instantly begins fabricating stories-to friends, to police, to herself. Why doesn’t her account jibe with those of eye-witnesses? Lana will do anything to bury the truth about that night…and about her life. But someone else knows her secrets. And he/she’s dying to tell.

******

This was my first Lisa Unger book and for the most part I enjoyed it. There was a definite creepiness about the story and a feeling of ‘something’s just not quite right’ with all of the characters. The setting, a small New England university town, in the late fall/winter was perfect for this time of year and helped increase the sense of dread. While I felt sorry for Lana due to her traumatic upbringing, I never really liked her and I was suspicious of her the entire book. Was she an innocent participant in the crimes of the past and present or was there more to her than meets the eye? Of course, you’ll have to read to find out but between Lana and the psycho boy she babysits for I found this to be a page turner….right up until about the last 1/3 and then it started to drift for me and I found myself really irritated with the characters. I powered on though because I was so curious to see if I had worked out the who, what, and why and it turns out I did! If you’re in the mood for a mystery with an eerie setting you might want to give this a try

HAPPY READING!

More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Lynne at Fictionophile

Annie at The Misstery

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

 

Renee (Itsbooktalk)10 Comments

THROWBACK THURSDAY PICK OF THE WEEK

throwbackthursday

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published months or years ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

My Pick This week is….

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Published March 10, 2016 by Avon

You think you know who to trust? You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong…
The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.
Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.
As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.
But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.
And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

******

I would never have picked this up based on the cover and title, neither are appealing to me. However, when my friend Annie at The Misstery suggested I give this detective series a try I immediately headed to the library to see if it was available. The murder mystery aspect of the story begins immediately with the killing of the head teacher of the school and from then on out, the bodies steadily keep dropping. All were killed by different means but all were given a warning that their time had come. Questions linger as to why and what, if anything, all these seemingly random people have in common?

Enter the detectives, DS Grey and DS Miles, two likable detectives who have obvious baggage from their pasts. I really really liked DS Miles, he was flawed but you could just tell he was a good guy. I also liked DS Grey and boy had she suffered some serious injuries in her past, not only physically but emotionally as well. I liked the respect and friendship these two had for each other as well as their intelligence in piecing together the puzzle. Speaking of puzzle, there are many subthreads to this story and while I did have the “who” figured out I didn’t have the “why” so I was happy about that. One very big word of warning for this book which is also at the bottom of the blurb on Goodreads….it’s most definitely NOT for the faint hearted! This is an overall dark themed book. The murders were gruesome, there were discussions of past abuse and torture…these were not images I particularly liked having in my head and reminded me of some of Karin Slaughter’s novels. Tough stuff. If you know that going in you’ll be better prepared. The best part of this book, for me, were the two detectives and the puzzle so if you’re looking for a new detective series why not give this one a try.

HAPPY READING!

More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Lynne at Fictionophile

Annie at The Misstery

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Renee (Itsbooktalk)32 Comments

REVIEW: DON’T LET GO By Harlan Coben

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Publish Date Sept. 26, 2017 By Dutton Books

Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn’t been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks—and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother’s death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he’s been looking for.

When Maura’s fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only leads to more questions—about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana—whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared imagine.

******

In many ways, this might be one of the harder reviews I’ve had to write. I don’t know about everyone else but I often have so much to say when I want to completely gush about a book like I’ve done with several of my recent reads. This one, however, will not bring gushing which is really hard for me to say because I’ve loved almost all of Coben’s standalones in the years past. I’ve thought for a few days about why one of my most anticipated Fall reads fell flat for me, while many others are loving this so much.   As my friend Chelsea recently discussed on her blog  The Suspense is Thrilling Me, that’s the wonder of the book world…we can all read the same book and have vastly different opinions.

Moving on with my actual review…Napoleon “Nap” Dumas is a detective on a serious mission. He’s been unable to make peace with the death of his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana and the subsequent disappearance of his first love Maura. To say he’s been obsessed for 15 years is an understatement as the man has basically put his entire life on hold trying to figure out what happened to his brother and why Maura disappeared. What he slowly starts to discover is a web of tragedies, conspiracies, betrayals and lies that may or may not lead Nap to getting the answers he seeks.

So, that’s a taste of the plot and here’s a breakdown of what worked and didn’t work for me….

What Worked…

  • Lightning fast dialogue. Harlan Coben can seriously write realistic dialogue and there’s a ton of it in this story which I really enjoyed
  • Fast paced plot. With lots of dialogue and a continuously moving plot, this was a super fast read.
  • A fairly difficult mystery to unravel. I wasn’t able to figure out what happened or why which is always a plus for me
  • Nap’s character. I liked that Nap was a flawed character who’s heart was always in the right place even when he was taking justice into his own hands. He was a good guy which made it easy to root for him

What Didn’t Work…

  • An over the top feel to the writing. The writing (example being the first line of the book) often came across as “cheesy” and trying too hard to be funny, witty, sarcastic, etc
  • Most everything about the military base plot line. I found myself uninterested in this plotline which was very central to the story. The author gave quite a bit of background detail about the abandoned military base and I found myself skimming quite a bit when this came up
  • Nap’s 15 year obsession with Maura whom he hadn’t really dated that long…in high school. I just had a hard time buying his complete obsession and inability to move on for so many years as an adult
  • An overall lack of connection. While I liked Nap, I wasn’t overly connected with him or the outcome of the story to consider myself fully invested and have that ‘I can’t stop reading’ feeling

It’s quite possible that I just wasn’t in the mood for this story at this time or maybe my reading tastes for this type of story are changing because five years ago I think I would’ve liked this more. That being said, I encourage you to try this for yourself, especially if you like mysteries with dynamic dialogue. I still highly recommend trying some Coben’s early books as well!

Many thanks to Dutton Books via Netgalley for my copy

Renee (Itsbooktalk)32 Comments

THROWBACK THURSDAY PICK OF THE WEEK

throwbackthursday

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, you’re welcome to use my pic as well. If you’d like to link back to me that’d be great as I really try my best to include everyone who’s participating week by week at the bottom of my post so all my readers can enjoy all the awesome Throwback picks!

My Pick This week is….

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Published Oct 2016 By Riverhead

It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother’s recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor’s son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it’s not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance–and the subsequent cover-up–will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently? The possibilities of the road not taken are a relentless haunt.

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This is one of the best blurbs I’ve read, it really highlights the book well without giving away the story. I finished this a couple weeks ago and I was blown away by the exquitsite writing of Brit Bennett. How is this a debut?? This was one of those books that I had seen around but resisted reading…why?…I have no idea. I need to do a post someday on all the books I’ve resisted reading that I end up loving!

The story begins with The Mothers narrating as all knowing voices from a time in the future. We meet Nadia who’s finishing up high school and living with her father in a small seaside community in California. I was immediately taken with the setting as well as Nadia’s character. Her heartbreak over her mother’s suicide pierced the pages and made me empathize with how painful that must’ve been. She had been close with her mom and she would never have answers as to why. Her sorrow leads her to make some impulsive decisions with consequences that will follow her for years to come.

The narrative flows beautifully through the years which I loved. I enjoyed seeing where Nadia’s ambition led her and whether she would achieve peace with herself, her father, the church and her community. We’re also privy to Luke and Aubrey’s life through the years and I really liked both of them, flaws and all. The story, however, belonged to Nadia and I was hoping against hope she was able to be happy in the end. Was she? Well, you’ll have to read to find out! If you’re in the mood for wonderful literary fiction with a roads not taken theme, I highly recommend giving this debut a try. As for me, I’ll be waiting impatiently for Brit Bennett’s next novel.

HAPPY READING! 

 

More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Cathy at Between the Lines

Julie at Novel Thrills and Chills

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Lynne at Fictionophile

Nicki atThe Secret Library Site

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Bill at Especially Books

Ann Marie at Lit Wit Wine Dine

 

Renee (Itsbooktalk)38 Comments

THROWBACK THURSDAY PICK OF THE WEEK

throwbackthursday

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, you’re welcome to use my pic as well. If you’d like to link back to me that’d be great as I really try my best to include everyone who’s participating week by week at the bottom of my post so all my readers can enjoy all the awesome Throwback picks!

My Pick This week is….

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Published Feb. 2014 By Doubleday

My Rating: 4/5 stars

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara’s fate, she discovers that she’s not the only person who’s desperately looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

******

I’m so glad I haven’t featured this book on TBT yet because now, with Halloween approaching and everyone putting together their creepy Oct TBR’s, is the PERFECT time to add this atmospheric mystery to your upcoming reads list. My book club read this a couple years ago and it was the first book by Jennifer McMahon I had read and boy was I impressed. Her ability to take you back to 1908 to that spooky farmhouse where murder is in the air and old legends abound was just spot on. From the opening chapter I was hooked! McMahon’s storytelling has a gothic, ghost story like feel to it and the dual timelines were equally eerie in creating and maintaining the thrills and mystery. I’m not always a fan of past and present timelines but I thought in this book they were seamless. Although I read this one a couple years ago, I still remember the feeling I had while reading because I don’t read too many scary books but this one definitely gave me the creeps. I think it would make the perfect hide under your favorite cozy blanket by the fireplace read this Autumn season.

I’ve added Jennifer McMahon to my must read author list after enjoying this one and Burntown  which I read in the spring. If you’ve read and loved any of her other books please leave me a comment and let me know which ones!

I’d love to hear what’s on your Fall TBR’s…anything creepy for the month of Oct? 

HAPPY READING!

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, you’re welcome to use my pic as well. If you’d like to link back to me that’d be great as I really try my best to include everyone who’s participating week by week at the bottom of my post so all my readers can enjoy all the awesome Throwback picks!

My Pick This week is….

Renee (Itsbooktalk)20 Comments

REVIEW: BEARTOWN By Fredrik Backman

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Published April 25th By Simon & Schuster

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. It is a town that has lost everything except it’s love of hockey the junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals;  they actually have a chance to win.  All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young teenager traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. 

******

When several of my fellow bloggers and one very good non-blogging reading friend, all whose opinions I very much trust, have raved about this book then I just had no choice but to see what all the fuss was about! I say fuss because I have very much resisted reading this book. You see, I’ve tried two of Backman’s other books…A Man Called Ove went into my Did Not Finish pile and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, which was a book club read, didn’t work on any level for me. Beartown, however, was like reading a book by a completely different author and I mean that as the highest compliment…this book was unputdownable and completely addictive!

What starts out, on the surface, as a book about a small town obsessed with hockey will, I promise you, turn into so much more. I’m going to be honest, the first half of the book is what you might call a character/setting set up and what I mean by that is the author takes you to Beartown…you are there in the frigid outdoors of a small isolated town in the forest as kids exhaust themselves playing hockey in an effort to not only make something of themselves and their future but also to save the town. These kids are aware of what a victory in the semi-finals means for Beartown and they will literally use their blood, sweat and tears to try to make it happen. As a result, we get to know some remarkable characters and their parents…Amat, Benji, Bobo, Maya, Ramona (seriously the love I have for this lady!) and others who infiltrated my heart and mind, and that’s just what Backman wants to happen because by the time the second half of the book rolls around, I was so obsessed with these characters, this town, and this story that…you guessed it…I was up until at least 2:00am reading!

I won’t tell you anything else about the plot except to say that of course there’s a pivotal, life altering, tragic event that happens that not everyone you’ve grown to love will recover from and the way Backman has this play out in the second half of the book is brilliant. I was so captivated by the writing and the story I didn’t care that I lost significant amounts of sleep for 2 nights…it’s just that good! And if you’ve read other reviews and/or blurbs about this book you might know that it’s often compared to Friday Night Lights which, in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest tv shows EVER, and it most definitely reminded me of that small Texas football obsessed town. Now, David (hockey coach) was no Coach Taylor but there were other characters who reminded me of Tim Riggins, Tami, Buddy and Landry no doubt about it and I loved it all the more for these similarities.  “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose…” Ah, miss you Coach Taylor:)

If you’re at all on the fence about this book I say give it a try, you might be like me and end up pulling a couple late nighters and making space for this one on your top reads of 2017 list!

 

 

Renee (Itsbooktalk)51 Comments

THROWBACK THURSDAY…AND THE WINNER IS…

throwbackthursday

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, you’re welcome to use my pic as well. If you’d like to link back to me that’d be great as I really try my best to include everyone who’s participating week by week at the bottom of my post so all my readers can enjoy all the awesome Throwback picks!

THE WINNER OF LAST WEEK’S THROWBACK VOTE IS….

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Published Oct 1, 2002 by Harper

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars 

A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it’s only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer’s twisted work becomes clear.

 

 

 

 

******

Well, it was a close race but Blindsighted beat My Sister’s Grave by 3 votes last week! Thanks so much to everyone who voted, that was fun. I was a little nervous starting this one only for the fact that I know with Karin Slaughter there’s going to be graphic scenes, the question is…how much and will I have to read with one eye open?

I was immediately taken with the setting of the small Georgia town on a lake as well as with the main characters, Sara and Jeffrey. Sara is the town’s pediatrician as well as the coroner and I was curious to see how she juggled those two very different jobs. Turns out, a lot of her time is spent as the coroner and she doesn’t seem to sleep EVER! Jeffrey is Sara’s ex-husband and let’s just say there’s quite a bit of unfinished business between these two and I had a feeling this would make for an intriguing part of the storyline. Another main player is detective Lena Adams who’s sister has just been murdered. Despite feeling bad for Lena, I have to say…I didn’t like her very much.

Little by little the threads of the murder investigation are weaved and when another girl goes missing, the suspense is ratcheted up immensely.  I should note, there are several scenes of fairly graphic violence as well as rape but they are never gratuitous and the author keeps them pertinent to the storyline. There was so much I Iiked about this book, but one of the main things was the fact that I felt like I knew these characters. I know I said it before in my review of The Good Daughter but Karin Slaughter is a master at bringing her characters to life. The icing on the cake for me is always a really good mystery that allows me to put on my detective hat and Slaughter provided one in this novel. I do have to say that, in the end, my theory turned out to be correct but I really wasn’t all that bothered by being right as I enjoyed the puzzle game of seeing if I put the clues together correctly. Well, the good news is… I really enjoyed this book….the bad news (for me) is now I have to figure out how I’m going to squeeze in the rest of this series amongst my exploding Fall tbr!

HAPPY READING!

More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Cathy at Between the Lines

Julie at Novel Thrills and Chills

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Noriko at Book Fiend

Amy at NovelGossip

Lynne at Fictionophile

Nicki atThe Secret Library Site

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Caryl at Mrs Bloggs Books

Sam at Clues and Reviews

Annie at The Misstery

Speedy Reader

Renee (Itsbooktalk)40 Comments