THE HIDDEN MAN

Author:  David Ellis

Genre:  Legal Thriller,
Jason Kolarich Series #1

Published:  2009

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Luke Daniels

Yearly Count:  35

Lawyer Jason Kolarich is hired by "Mr. Smith" to defend a childhood friend who is charged with murdering the man he believes kidnapped and murdered his sister when she was two-years-old.  

This was my first introduction to this series, and I hope to listen to more -- despite my dislike of the narrator.  I thought his voice was a bit robotic or maybe a step up from monotone, so I just tried to accept that that was Jason.  That helped, but it didn't solve the problem.  However, I don't have time to literally read this series, so if I want to move forward, I have to listen to them.  We'll see how it goes the next time around.

In regard to the plot, it was good.  My interest level was up, and I went along with Jason as he tried to sort things out.  In general, there were quite a few subplots causing me to lose a little bit of interest at times, but overall I thought it was a good storyline.  It was enough to entice me to put the second book on hold. 

     

TRUST YOUR EYES

Author:  Linwood Barclay

Genre:  Thriller, Standalone

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/

Ken Marks & Rick Holmes

Yearly Count:  34


Thomas Kilbride is a high functioning schizophrenic that spends all his time memorizing the streets/buildings of every major city in the world on a program called Whirl360.  During his work sessions, he sometimes discovers things that weren't intended for his eyes.

I love this author.  He's another one that I can count on for a good read.  This one struck me a little differently, though.  I didn't like the audio narration.  There were too many pauses, and I simply didn't care for the voices.  Interestingly enough, I would have read it if I had received my win from LibraryThing.  This is not the first time I have not received a Barclay book that I won.  So bummed about that!  Anyway . . .

I was, also, disappointed that the storyline was not linear.  HOWEVER, the non-linear style also brought me some surprises, so it wasn't a terrible experience.  As usual, the plot was creative, and I wanted to keep listening; therefore, I'm sticking with my "very good" rating despite the negatives.


  

THE SERIAL KILLER WHISPERER

Author:  Pete Earley

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  DNF #4

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Alan Sklar

I listened to 4 of 11 CDs, but could listen no more.  It was just too much.  The reality of what was filling my head was beyond disturbing.  I made it through 4 CDs because I was intrigued with the basic storyline, and was curious as to what the boy and science would gain from these relationships.  However, the stories shared by the serial killers were detailed and just plain horrific.  I was able to detach myself and also deemed them as untrue (fabricated lies - fantasies), but even with that theory I didn't see any benefit in filling my mind with the gruesome thoughts of serial killers.  

April Reads

24.  Helskinki Blood (Thompson)~ 4/5

* Cell 1 (Adichie)~ 4/5

* Imitation (Adichie)~ 3.5/5

* A Private Experience (Adichie)~ 3/5

* Ghosts (Adichie)~ 2.5/5

25.  Out of the Easy (Sepetys)~ 4/5

* On Monday of Last Week (Adichie)~ 4/5

* Unprotected (Rich)~ 3.5/5

* Jumping Monkey Hill (Adichie)~ 3.5/5

* Six Short Stories (Adichie)~ 2.5/5

26.  The Thing Around Your Neck (Adichie)~ 3/5

27.  Tuesday's Gone (French)~ 4.25/5

28.  Marbles (Forney)~ 3.75/5

29.  Perfect (Hopkins)~ 4/5

Life After Life (Atkinson)~ DNF #3

30.  The Racketeer (Grisham)~ 4/5

31.  Love You More (Gardner)~ 3.75/5

32.  Where'd You Go, Bernadette (Semple)~ 2/5

33.  Gone Missing (Castillo) ~ 4/5

Monthly - Yearly

Audiobooks:  4 - 20

Books:  5 - 9

eBooks:  1 - 4

New-to-Me Authors:  3 - 15

*Short Stories:  13 - 39

GONE MISSING

Author:  Linda Castillo

Genre:  Thriller, Kate Burkholder Series #4

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  33 

Several teenaged Amish girls have gone missing, so Kate Burkholder, Chief of Police, is on the hunt to find them.

This was a quick read and one that I enjoyed.  The plot held some twists and turns, and the relationship between Kate and John (state agent) was just right.  I liked trying to solve the disappearances alongside them, and as always, look forward to the next in this series which will be published in June!

  

Thank you, Nise' from Under the Boardwalk, for this win!

WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE

Author:   Maria Semple

Genre:  Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2013  

Personal Rating:  2/5 (not enjoyable)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/

Kathleen Wilhoite

Yearly Count:  32

Bernadette, wife to husband Elgin and mom to 15-year-old daughter Bee, is a unique character who experiences things in her life to make her want to disappear.  And, that she does.  

Sadly, I can't say that there was anything that I liked about this book.  I didn't hate it, but the more I listened, the less I thought of it.  Also, the narrator's voice never felt comfortable to me, it was actually on the verge of annoying.  I'm astounded by the 4.5 rating (769 reviews) on Amazon.  To each its own.

 

    

LOVE YOU MORE

Author:  Lisa Gardner

Genre:  Mystery, D.D. Warren Series #5

Published:  2012

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (good +)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Kirsten Potter

Yearly Count:  31

D.D. Warren's current case looks simple enough to process, a beaten wife who says she has killed her husband in self-defense.  The problem is the six-year-old daughter is missing and the wife is a state trooper -- both of which complicate the case.   

I think this is a terrific series, and this book was just as compelling as the rest.  However, in the long run, I felt like I had to suspend disbelief a bit too much.  It contained a lot of twists and turns that kept me listening, though, and I look forward to the next. 

  

THE RACKETEER

Author:  John Grisham

Genre:  Legal Thriller, Standalone

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  30

Malcolm Bannister, former lawyer, loses everything when he is charged and convicted of murdering a federal judge.  He is bound and determined to receive a "get out of jail" card and seek revenge.

After my disappointment of Life After Life (DNF after 50 pages), I turned to one of my favorite authors to perk up my spirits . . . John Grisham.  He rarely fails to entertain me on some level, and he did not disappoint with The Racketeer.  I found the entire book to be engaging, and hard to put down.  For me, this was another winner and look forward to his next.  Woo!

LIFE AFTER LIFE

Author:  Kate Atkinson

Genre:  Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  DNF #3

Format:  Book

Oh goodness.  I pre-ordered this book because of all the hype, not knowing anything about it.  Big mistake.  I was extremely bored from the beginning and hate repetition.  Bad combo.  I was absolutely devastated that I was not enjoying this "brilliant" work, but it was 50 pages and out for me.     

PERFECT

Author:  Ellen Hopkins

Genre:  YA Fiction, Impulse Series #2

Published:  2011

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/
Aya Cash, Heather Lind, Aaron Tveit and Tristan Wilds.

Yearly Count:  29


Four high school students struggle with their identity and being perfect.

This book covered a multitude of critical life-changing topics.  Each character experiences their own form of distortion regarding perfection and what it means for them.  If you understand from the beginning that these four are chosen for that purpose, it makes it easier to accept.  The whole teenage population is not like these students.  Everybody has some form of something, but these are extreme cases.

My rating reflects my enjoyment level more than the content.  It kept my attention, and Hopkins did a great job of getting me into the minds of these teenagers.  I enjoyed it.

 

MARBLES

Author:  Ellen Forney

Genre:  Graphic Memoir, Standalone

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  3.75/5 (good +)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  28

Ellen is diagnosed with Bi-Polar I Disorder and shares her deepest thoughts and actions as she goes on a quest for making her life the best it can be.

Geez!  Reading this book made ME feel bipolar!  The ups and downs and racing thoughts were difficult to read.  I can only imagine living it!

I really liked that Ellen pursued a question throughout the book that I found intriguing:  Does taking medication (to temper the highs and lows) affect creativity?  It gave a focus to the book, and she does come to a conclusion for herself.  I liked her perseverance and the insight that she gained.

TUESDAY'S GONE

Author:  Nicci French

Genre:  Thriller, Frieda Klein Series #2

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  4.25/5 (very good +)

Format:  eBook

Yearly Count:  27

From NetGalley:

In Tuesday’s Gone, a London social worker makes a routine home visit only to discover her client, Michelle Doyce, serving afternoon tea to a naked, decomposing corpse. With no clues as to the dead man’s identity, Chief Inspector Karlsson again calls upon Frieda for help. She discovers that the body belongs to Robert Poole, con man extraordinaire. But Frieda can’t shake the feeling that the past isn’t done with her yet. Did someone kill Poole to embroil her in the investigation? And if so, is Frieda herself the next victim?

 I really enjoyed this!  The set up for the mystery was a little peculiar, but that made the psychological portion of the thriller very intriguing.  My attention never wavered, and I was very curious as to how it was going to get solved.  I even liked the teeny tiny bit of romance and was actually hoping for more.  Go figure!  :)

I didn't care for one clue in particular.  It didn't fit the character, so it didn't make sense.  And, again, like in Blue Monday, I didn't care for the abrupt change in scenes.  That may be an eGalley formatting issue, I don't know, but it annoyed me.  There were also a lot of characters to remember, but they were manageable.  Other than those minor issues, it was a very interesting mystery.

 I strongly suggest reading Blue Monday first.  There are major references to it throughout this book.

My thanks go to Penguin Group and NetGalley for sending me this eGalley.

THE THING AROUND YOUR NECK

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)

Format/Narrator: Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

Yearly Count:  26  

From Amazon:

The tension between Nigerians and Nigerian-Americans, and the question of what it means to be middle-class in each country, feeds most of these dozen stories.

My average rating for these stories is approximately a 3, but I do not have "just okay" feelings about it.  I don't remember many of the stories and simply wasn't impressed.

STORIES (7-12) The Thing Around Your Neck

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating: 2.5/5 average (eh)

Format/Narrator: Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count: 34 - 39 

UGH! I have never done this before, but I'm going to use Wikipedia for descriptions of these stories due to my failing memory. I happened to listen to this audiobook in the car (7-12 anyway) and by the time I was able to write anything down, I was unable to remember. HA!

Wikipedia Descriptions:

7. "The Thing Around Your Neck" a woman named Akunna gains a sought after American visa and goes to live with her uncle; but he molests her and she ends up working as a waitress in Connecticut.

8. "The American Embassy" in which a woman applies for asylum but ends up walking away, unwilling to describe her son's murder for the sake of a visa.

9. "The Shivering" set on the campus of Princeton University, it concerns a Catholic Nigerian woman whose boyfriend has left her, finding solace in the earnest prayers of a stranger who knocks at her door.

10. "The Arrangers of Marriage" in which a newly married wife arrives in New York with her husband; and finds she is unable to accept his rejection of their Nigerian identity.

11. "Tomorrow Is Too Far" a young woman reveals the devastating secret of her brother's death.

12. "The Headstrong Historian" covers the life-story of a woman who believes her husband was killed by his cousins and is determined to regain the inheritance for her son through his education by missionaries.

There were only a few stories in this collection that kept my attention, so overall it was a disappointing book for me. Two of the six above were worthy of at least a 3.75/5, but the rest were 2.5/5 or lower. It could have been timing and/or the format, but it just didn't entertain me.

JUMPING MONKEY HILL (6 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good) 

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count:  33

A group of adults join together for a two week writing workshop in South Africa.  The main character, Ujunwa, experiences harassment by the leader.

This went back and forth between the workshop and Ujunwa's writing.  I sympathized with Ujunwa's frustration.

UNPROTECTED

Author:  Simon Rich

Genre:  Short Story, The New Yorker

Published:  The Last Girlfriend on Earth: And Other Love Stories,  2013

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)

Format: eStory

(ss) Yearly Count:  32

This story is the auto-biography of an inanimate object.

Books on the Nightstand highlighted this story from The New Yorker website.  What prompted me to click the link was that there was an interesting narrator.  I had no idea it was an inanimate object until I started reading.  I don't like personification, but toughed it out -- it was short.  :)  It could have gone off the deep end, but didn't.  I appreciated that.

ON MONDAY OF LAST WEEK (5 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count:  31

After reuniting with her husband in America, an African woman gets a job watching a couple's son.

This one had a little oomph at the end, so I liked it more than the others.

OUT OF THE EASY

Author:  Ruta Sepetys

Genre:  YA Historical Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  25

Josie Moraine, the daughter of a prostitute in New Orleans, decides to make more of her life than remain in her bleak existence. 

This transported me to another world, and kept me fully engaged.  It's a quick read, so I was able to finish it in one day.  The variety of characters were unique, and they drew me in.  Some appeared more often than others, but all were interesting.  The storyline, itself, was pretty good.  It didn't reach any great heights, but was still satisfying.  I have no interest in visiting New Orleans as it is today, but I thought this was an interesting peek into the city as it was back in the 50s.  While this one didn't make my Best Reads of 2013 list like Between Shades of Gray did in 2011, I still love the writing style of Sepetys.  I think she has a true gift.

GHOSTS (4 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  2.5/5 (eh)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count:  30

A widower runs into a former university colleague who he thought to have died in the war.

This one ended up with the possibility of having many different meanings or topics to ponder.  Unfortunately, none of them really grabbed me.

A PRIVATE EXPERIENCE (3 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  3/5 (just okay)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count:  29


While visiting an aunt, two sisters find their way into the middle of a riot.

This one started out really good, and I was intrigued as to where this one was going.  It really didn't get very far.

IMITATION (2 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh

(ss) Yearly Count:  28

A wife/mother lives in the US with the children, while the husband/father lives in Nigeria most of the year.  The wife/mother makes an important decision.

I liked this one.  It kept my interest, and I was curious as to what the wife/mother was going to do.

CELL 1 (1 of 12)

Author:  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Genre:  Short Story Collection

Published:  The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)  

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Adjoa Andoh
(ss) Yearly Count:  27

A son gets into trouble with the law, and the whole family has to deal with the ramifications.

Great start!  I felt like I was listening to a true story.  Well done.

HELSINKI BLOOD

Author:  James Thompson

Genre:  Thriller, Inspector Vaara Series #4

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  4/5 (very good)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  24

From the Publisher:

HELSINKI BLOOD opens with our favorite detective, Kari Vaara, recovering from the physical and emotional toll of solving the Lisbet Söderlund case when he’s approached with a plea.  An Estonian woman begs him to find her daughter, Loviise, a young woman with Down syndrome who was promised work and a better life in Finland . . . and has since disappeared.

One more missing girl is a drop in the barrel for a police department that is understaffed and overburdened, but for Kari, the case is personal: it’s a chance for redemption, to help the victims his failed black-ops unit was intended to save, and to prove to his estranged wife, Kate, that he’s still the man he once was. His search will lead him from the glittering world of Helsinki’s high-class clubs to the darkest circles of Finland’s underground trade in trafficked women . . . and straight into the path of Loviise’s captors, who may be some of the most untouchable people in the country.

As Kari works his new case, a past one comes back to haunt him when powerful enemies return to settle unfinished business. In a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, he is propelled toward a reckoning in which the stakes are life or death . . . and only the victors will be left standing.

Hooray!   Thompson redeemed himself!   After the last book, Helsinki White, I didn't know if I was going to be able to read anymore in this series.  Don't get me wrong, this was still filled with brutal behavior and foul language, but Kari and his wife had different attitudes this time around due to the circumstances of the last book.  That made an incredible difference.  I was engaged and rooting for them.  I hope the series continues in that vein.

While I really enjoy Thompson's writing style, I still don't care for the mobster mentality and so much government talk.  Those types of plots aren't for me, but I'm so happy that there was a shift from the last book.  I look forward to what happens in #5!

  

My thanks go to Putnam and LibraryThing for sending me the ARC.

March Reads

14.  The Cold Dish (Johnson) ~ 3.25/5

15.  Okay for Now (Schmidt) ~ 3.5/5

16.  Buck Wilder's Hiking & Camping Guide (Smith) ~ 3/5

17.  Talking to the Dead (Bingham) ~ 3.5/5

18.  Missing Mark (Kramer) ~ 3.25/5

19.  Suspect (Crais) ~ 3.5/5

20.  Dead Peasants (Thompson) ~ To Be Posted May 21

21.  The Fault in Our Stars (Green) ~ 3/5

22.  With or Without You (Ruta) ~ 3/5

23.  A Faint Cold Fear (Slaughter) ~ 3/5

Monthly - Yearly

Audiobooks:  6 - 16

Books:  1 - 4

eBooks:  3 - 3

New-to-Me Authors:  5 - 12

*Short Stories:  0 - 26

A FAINT COLD FEAR

Author:  Karin Slaughter

Genre:  Thriller, Grant County Series #3

Published:  2003

Personal Rating:  3/5 (just okay)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/

Deborah Hazlett

Yearly Count:  23

Sara Linton, a Medical Examiner, is called to the scene of an apparent suicide near the local college campus.

I was very engaged in this book until the plot began to focus on Lena, a former policewoman.  I didn't care for her character at all.  The actual mystery was fine, but it was not a favorite in this series.  This book solidified that I'm a bigger fan of Slaughter's Will Trent series.  It's more edgy, which I prefer.

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU

Author:  Domenica Ruta

Genre:  Memoir, Standalone

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  3/5 (just okay)

Format:  eBook  

Yearly Count:  22

From NetGalley:

Domenica Ruta grew up in a working-class, unforgiving Italian town north of Boston where in the seventeenth century women were hanged as witches. Her mother, Kathi, a notorious figure in this hardscrabble place, was a drug addict and sometime dealer whose life swung between welfare and riches, whose highbrow taste was at odds with her base appetites. And yet she managed, despite the chaos she created, to instill in her daughter the idea that art—via a classic film or a classical education—could transcend this life of undying grudges, self-inflicted misfortune, and the crooked moral code that Kathi and her cohorts lived by. With or Without You is the story of Domenica’s unconventional coming of age—a darkly hilarious chronicle of a misfit ’90s childhood and the necessary and painful act of breaking away, and of overcoming her own addictions and demons in the process. In a brilliant stylistic feat, Domenica Ruta has written a powerful, inspiring, compulsively readable, and finally redemptive story about loving and leaving.

This was an interesting, quick read, but chronologically it was a mess.  Ruta mentions that when she began writing she just took the memories as they came.  Well that's fine and dandy, but if you're going to publish the memories into a book, a logical step would be to put them in order so they easily make sense to a reader.

Ruta's childhood obviously was not one anybody would wish for and good for her for rising above what she grew up with; however, I didn't find her story to be "darkly hilarious, powerful or inspiring."  I wish her well.        
    

My thanks go to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with this eGalley.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Author:  John Green

Genre:  YA Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  3/5 (just okay)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/Kate Rudd

Yearly Count:  21

Hazel, a terminally ill teenaged girl meets a boy, Augustus, at a support group and love blooms.

This book sounded just like watching John Green on YouTube.  And . . . for me, that's not necessarily a good thing.  I have seen many episodes of Green and his attempt at getting in as many words in one breathe as fast as he can is very annoying to me.   It's that cadence that the narrator reads the book as well.

I found the teenage relationship to be a bit cheesy, and the flirting banter, as well as the playful interactions between friends a bit over the top.  The plot itself had a few unbelievable scenes and ones that took some meaning away from the book.  I think this is probably a great book for young adults, but for this adult, it was just okay.  I think it's safe to say that I'm simply not much of a John Green fan.

DEAD PEASANTS

My thoughts will be posted on May 21 for the Book Tour.

SUSPECT

Author:  Robert Crais

Genre:  Police Procedure, Probably
Scott & Maggie Series #1 

Published:  2013

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)

Format/Narrator:  Audiobook/
MacLeod Andrews

Yearly Count:  19

After the death of Scott's LAPD partner and Maggie's (dog) handler, the two meet and become a new team.  Scott and Maggie pursue the unsolved mystery of why and who killed Scott's partner.

This is getting very high ratings everywhere I look, but I'm not one to be thrilled with animals as characters.  Maggie did not talk, but her behaviors/thoughts were described in third person.  That did not convert me, I'm still not a fan.  I did like learning about the K9 training process and watching the growing relationship between the two.   And, the storyline was pretty good.  I would recommend it to those that really enjoy police procedures and animal stories.