BlueStockingReviews

Kingdom of the Blind

Unrelenting tension and a cleverly woven tapestry of characters, story and setting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Armand Gamache receives a peculiar letter inviting the former head of the Sûreté du Québec to an abandoned, dilapidated and snow ladened farmhouse. A complete stranger has named him as one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and curious, Gamache accepts and learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the deceased woman, Bertha Baumgartner.

The will includes bequests that are so inconceivable that Gamache and the others suspect that Bertha, who preferred to be called Baroness, must have been delusional. When a body is found in the house, the terms of the suddenly seem threatening.

But the will isn’t the only threat that Gamache is facing. The investigation into what happened six months ago—the events that led to his suspension—has dragged on. And most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved. Most, but not all. Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. Gamache races for answers, using desperate, measures to find and retrieve the drug. Will he find it in time to prevent additional deaths?

“...the four statements that lead to wisdom: I don’t know. I need help. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

REVIEW

KINGDOM OF THE BLIND is a cleverly woven tapestry of characters, story and setting. Gamache, despite his earlier suspension, is as busy as ever investigating the will, the Baumgartners, the whereabouts of the missing drugs and a rogue detective. He naturally captures your attention and keeps you fast on your feet, in order to keep up with his fast moving mind.

This is the 14th book in the much loved Inspector Gamache mystery series and author LOUISE PENNY does not disappoint her faithful readers. All her regular characters, including our favorite poet Ruth Zardo, are all safely ensconced by the fireplace in Three Pines, anxiously awaiting the passing of a blizzard. They have plans for after the storm.

Penny’s writing is seamless and it places her in a league of her own. You will rush through the pages to find out what happens next. And despite everything going on, we can’t help but wonder, whatever will become of Gamache’s suspension? If he finds the drugs will his job be safe? The book is full of unrelenting tension and intrigue that you don’t want to miss.

“In the kingdom of the blind, Amelia recited to herself as she trudged along— —the one-eyed man is king, Gamache read.”

Publisher Minotaur

Published November 2018

Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

All The Ways We Said Goodbye

A magnificent hotel, an intricately woven plot, three strong women characters written by three eloquent authors.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

France, 1914. Aurelie is at her family’s ancestral home, when the Germans move in and begin using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows one of the German officers, Maximilian Von Sternburg. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into a love, that will shatter them both.

France, 1942. Daisy was raised by her indomitable grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz. She continues to live in Paris with her two children and her husband Pierre, who becomes a Nazi collaborator after France falls to Hitler. Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger, who creates identity papers for the resistance and for Jewish refugees. As Daisy is drawn deeper into the underground network, she uncovers secret information, and commit the ultimate betrayal.

France, 1964. Babs was haunted by a mysterious woman known by her husband, Kit, as La Fleur. After Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at Bab’s door. He was hired to find the Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” Curious to know more about La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz—and to unexpected places of the heart….

REVIEW

Three strong women characters, three eloquent women authors, an intricately woven story and a magnificent hotel. What could be better? The writing was superb and the story was mesmerizing. I enjoyed following the alternating chapters of Aurelie, Daisy and Babs and discerning their role in the story and their connections to one another.

One of my favorite parts of this beguiling story was the transitions between chapters which take place decades apart. While perhaps just a little thing, I very much looked forward to these skillfully-crafted transitions which referenced to an item, for example, a scarf, at the conclusion of one chapter and then picks up on a scarf reference in the opening scene of the next chapter. This simple connection between the chapters captivated me. The attention to details such as this, makes this a treasure of a book,. If you like historical fiction, strong women characters, and a little romance thrown in this is the book for you.

I also appreciated the reference to the Scarlet Pimpernel and to the French Revolution.

Thanks to authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig for a delightful experience. I listened to the audible version of the book and felt the narrators also helped bring the story to life.

Publisher William Morrow

Published January 14, 2020

Narrated Helen Sadler, Nicola Barber, Saskatchewan Maarleveld

The Red Lotus

A dramatically chilling, tension-filled page-turner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Alex, an ER doctor meets Austin for the first time on a Saturday night when he is brought into the emergency room with a bullet in his arm. Six months later they travel to Vietnam together, on a bike tour so the Austin can pay his respects to the place where his father and uncle fought in the Vietnam war. At least that’s what Austin told Alex.

As Alex waits for Austin at the hotel in Vietnam, she becomes increasingly alarmed when his does not return from his day of cycling at the expected time. He is not answering his phone and a search of his route yields little. He has vanished into thin air and the only evidence were two yellow packets of energy gel, found on the road that might have belonged to Austin. Alex calls the U. S. Embassy in Vietnam and soon discovers several lies that force her to question exactly what Alex was doing on that bike ride.

REVIEW

Once again, CHRIS BOHJALIAN has knocked the ball out of the park. THE RED LOTUS is a dramatically chilling page-turner. It’s well-written and smartly structured with shifting points of view, that will keep you guessing till the very end. Who is responsible for Austin’s disappearance? Why?

The story is tension-filled, poignant and timely and I couldn’t read it fast enough. I was so enthralled that I read this 400 page thriller all in one day.

Bohjalian has a delightful knack for writing strong but vulnerable women characters, Alex’s character is no different. She’s smart, suspicious and persistent in her search to find out what happened to Austin. But she is also grieving and struggling, and all of this together makes her come alive on the pages.

One of my favorite things about THE RED LOTUS is on several occasions in the story Bohjalian made me want to “learn more” about a word, phase or topic, so I found myself googling references. I absolutely love it when a book goes beyond being highly entertaining but is also (unintentionally, perhaps) educational as well.

Author CHRIS BOHJALIAN is the best-selling author of 21 books including most recently The Sleepwalker (2017) and The Flight Attendant (2018), which is being turned into a limited HBO television series staring Kaley Cuoco.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Doubleday Books

Published March 17, 2020

The Other Mrs.

An intriguing psychological thriller soon to be a Netflix movie.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Sadie and Will Faust and their two sons Otto and Tate move from Chicago to a small remote island of the coast of Maine for a new start. They hoped to leave their previous dramas behind them. Will’s sister, Alice had recently committed suicide and had left her Maine house and the care of her daughter, Imogen to Will. Imogen is a troubled sixteen year old and does not want these strangers telling her what to do or living in her house.

Only weeks after the family’s arrival in Maine, a neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home. The murder rocks the tiny island but no one is more shaken and than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer on the loose. Suspicion for the murder soon turns towards the new family in town. Sadie is drawn into the mystery of Morgan’s death and begins investigating. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose.

REVIEW

There was something about THE OTHER MRS. that bothered me. It nagged at me the whole time I was reading. It made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the multiple points of view, perhaps something else entirely. I came very close to giving up, but when the twist came and I had to see the intriguing story to the end.

The characters were disappointing. I struggled to connect or care anything about any of them. I was particularly disappointed in Sadie. Professionally she is a medical doctor but her character is that of a sad, weak, scared woman, who makes really stupid decisions. And Imogen, the sixteen year old niece does not even speak, unless it’s to use foul explicatives or threaten murder. You can’t help but dislike her. There is not a strong, smart female character in the whole bunch.

While I didn’t like the characters, the writing was good and I liked the setting on an island in Maine. Word is that Netflix made a film deal with Mary Kubica for the novel, and Kubica will be the film’s executive producer. You may want to read THE OTHER MRS. just to see what you think. Be aware that Kubica covers some heavy topics in the novel: suicide, infidelity, obsession, bullying and mental illness.

Kubica is a New York Times and USA today best selling author of five novels, including The Good Girl, Pretty Baby, Don’t You Cry, Every Last Lie and When the Lights Go Out. Thanks to Netgalley and Park Row for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Park Row

Published February 18, 2020

My Dear Hamilton:

A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

An intriguing and richly told tale of a strong women with strong moral character

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Eliza Schuyler Hamilton was a general’s daughter who comes of age in the frontier of upstate New York during the American Revolution. When she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s passionate aide-de-camp, she is captivated by his charisma and brilliance. She soon becomes his wife, but their union is far from perfect. When a duel ultimately destroys Eliza’s marriage, she fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Hamilton’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threatens everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy.

But the measure of a man, of a life, of a union of man and wife or even country is not in the falling. It’s in the rising back up again to repair what’s broken, to put right what’s wrong. Your father and I did that. We always did that. He never stop trying until the day he died. And neither will l.

REVIEW

I was drawn like a moth to a flame by this intriguing and enlightening historical fiction book. Having read Hamilton’s biography by Ron Chernow and seen the Hamilton Broadway play, I looked forward to learning more about Eliza Hamilton and her contribution as one of the founding mothers of this nation. MY DEAR HAMILTON did not disappoint. It delivers a dramatic part-historical, part-fictional narrative of Eliza’s life during the years of 1775-1837.

Since very little historical source material exists for Eliza, the authors had an uphill battle and had to extrapolate much of what they wrote. Authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie did a stellar job capturing the woman, her character, her contributions and her place in history. The writing was smart and highly entertaining. In reading historical fiction it is always important to understand the liberties taken in the book, the author’s note at the end of the book are a must-read.

The story is a richly told tale of a strong woman with strong character, who led an interesting and challenging life. The book is long, at 652 pages. I listened to the audio book for over 23 hours. This book reminds me of one of my favorite historical fiction novels, America’s First Daughter, which was also written by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Both books are delightful and bring strong and courageous women from America’s past to life.

“What a high-minded thing revolution had seemed when it started; but now I wondered if, in trying to bring about liberty, we’d instead opened the gates of endless war, bloodshed, and immorality.”

Publisher William Morrow

Published April 3, 2018

Behind Every Lie

An engrossing and intense hearts-stopping thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street from her mother’s home, but she can’t remember what happened. In the hospital she learns the police are suspicious of her. Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London—Kat’s former home—for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. When violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

If you can’t remember it, How do you prove you didn’t do it?

REVIEW

She had me with the lightning strike. BEHIND EVERY LIE is an engrossing and intense heart-stopping thriller. The writing effortlessly blends the characters, settings and story into a compelling read that you will not want to put down. The cast of characters is masterfully developed with each character playing a vital role in the story.

Reading BEHIND EVERY LIE was like putting a huge thousand piece jigsaw puzzle together, there are so many pieces but it’s oh so satisfying when that last piece clicks into place. Eva’s confusion and angst was paramount to the story, and the vivid descriptions allow the story to come alive on the page.

The story is told in alternating perspectives of Eva’s search for answers and Kat’s mysterious past, which also alternates us between Seattle and London. Behind Every Lie explores the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships, family trauma, and the danger behind long-held secrets.

Author Christina McDonald is The USA today best selling author of The Night Olivia Fell, which has been optioned for television by a major Hollywood studio. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she has an MA in journalism from the National University of Ireland Galway. Cristina now lives in London, England with her husband, two sons and their dog.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Gallery Books

Published February 4, 2019

When You See Me

Detective D. D. Warren #11

A heart stopping thriller that is diabolical and haunting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Boston Detective D.D. Warren, FBI Agent Kimberly Quincy and vigilante Flora Dane join forces to investigate new evidence in a cold case in a small Georgia town. Quincy and D.D. Rely on their considerable skills and experience to crack the most disturbing case of their careers—and Flora must face her own troubled past, in the hope of saving others.

REVIEW

WHEN YOU SEE ME is a heart-stopping thriller that is immediately captivating. Lisa Gardner certainly knows how to grab your attention and not let go. Her female characters are vulnerable yet strong, courageous and admirable. They each come alive on the pages of the novel. The story alternates between Kimberly, D.D., Flora, and a young girl who will steal your heart with her fortitude and strength.

The story behind the cold case is diabolical and haunting, but you won’t be able to stop turning the pages. It is full of action and suspense and the tension is unrelenting. My favorite character is the young girl who looses her mother at the tender age of five, but knows she can still make a difference.

Author Lisa Gardner is a best-selling author of 21 previous thriller novels including her most recent, Never Tell. Her Detective D. D. Warren novels include Find Her, Fear Nothing, Catch Me, Love You More, and The Neighbor, which won the Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers. She lives with her family in New England.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Penguin Random House

Published January 28, 2020

Mercy House

A wrenching but hopeful story of women seeking shelter from abuse and the unconventional nun that ministers to them.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

MERCY HOUSE is story about Sister Evelyn, a feisty feminist nun who runs a shelter for abused women in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. When the Vatican sends Bishop Robert Hawkins to investigate American religious sisters as part of the Apostolic Visitation, convinced they are breaking Catholic doctrine, Sister Evelyn is distressed. When the Bishop shows up early at Mercy House she is more than frazzled. Sister Evelyn had been sexually assaulted as a young novice by this very bishop conducting the investigation. She had told no one of this abuse. She is now forced to appeal to her assailant, and hide the forbidden practices of her shelter—including helping women obtain divorce, birth control, and abortions—all to protect the diverse and vibrant individuals under her care.

REVIEW

MERCY HOUSE is a wrenching tale involving a unconventional nun, a malicious bishop and a colorful group of abused women who seek shelter from the storm that is their life. The story is intriguing, but as a Catholic, I struggled with the authenticity of a few elements of story. The writing and the character development were both good.

I particularly liked Sister Evelyn’s flawed character. The story showed both her vulnerability, as well as her fierceness in protecting the women at Mercy House. I loved the part where she uses a can of Lysol and a lighter, to fend off a gang leader with a Glock. Her feistiness, creativity and courage were admirable. The backstories of the women staying in Mercy House—Lucia, Katrina, Desiree, Esther and Mei-LI—were vivid and heartbreaking and their ultimate camaraderie was inspiring.

Bishop Hawkins, on the other hand was so virulently evil, it was almost comical, particularly when he searched the bedrooms of the residents of Mercy House and gleefully confiscated all manner of paraphernalia to support his investigation.

I searched for and would have loved to read an author note or an interview with the author to find out more about her inspiration for the story, and her research. MERCY HOUSE is author ALENA DILLION’s debut novel. She has also written a humor collection I Thought We Agreed to Pee in the Ocean published in 2015. She teaches creative writing at Endicott College and St. Joseph’s College and lives on the beautiful north shore of Boston.

Thanks to Edelweiss for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher HarperCollins

Published February 12, 2020

Bitter Falls

Stillhouse Lake #4

Gwen Proctor is a smart, strong and dynamic character who will go anywhere and do anything to protect her family.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

BITTER FALLS is the fourth book in the Stillhouse Lake series. Gwen Proctor has had a difficult life since she found out her husband was a serial killer. That was years ago and she desperately trying to put the past behind her, have a normal life and protect her two children, Connor and Lanny, from the internet monsters that haunt them. It’s not easy, and now the closed-minded town of Norton and her powerful drug dealing neighbors are also closing ranks against them.

Gwen is working as a private investigator for an out-of-town detective agency and is assigned a case of a missing twenty-one year old male college student who disappeared while out with friends at a bar on a Friday night. Remy Landry has been missing for three years. The police gave up on the case long ago, the file is thin and the case is cold. But Gwen knows what it’s like to worry about your children.

A church-related nonprofit hired the agency to look into the case, which is somewhat strange. But regardless of who is putting up the money, finding out what happened to the handsome Remy Landry has to be a good thing for his parents. Right? But it just might not be a good thing for Gwen Proctor, her partner, Sam or her two children.

REVIEW

Author RACHEL CAINE had me with her description of the waterfall that rambled and roared over the rocks above and broke into the white spray that floated weightless in the air. Her writing is vivid, riveting and evocative.

BITTER FALLS is a fast moving, and gripping thriller of a woman’s fight to protect her family. All the characters in the book are so well-developed, you can’t help but care about them and you’ll easily be caught up in the story. Gwen, Connor, Lanny and Sam each narrate various chapters in the book which add diverse perspectives to a tight plot. This is a perfect book for a quick weekend read!

Gwen Proctor is one of my favorite female characters. She is amazingly strong both physically and emotionally. She has had to be, at times she seems to be fighting monsters on various fronts. Her perseverance is phenomenal. She will go anywhere and do anything to protect those she loves.

Author Rachel Caine grabs her reader at the start and leaves them hanging from the edge of that waterfall the entire book. Caine is the bestselling author of more than 50 novels novels including Stillhouse Lake, Wolfhunter River and Killman Creek in the Stillhouse Lake series. Bitter Falls, the fourth book in the series is so well written you could read it as a stand-alone. But why would you want to?

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Thomas & Mercer

Published January 21, 2020

American Dirt

À beautifully written and timely story that is suspenseful, compelling and deeply affecting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

In a pleasant Acapulco neighborhood, gunmen slaughter 16 people at a family barbecue. From a grandmother, to the young girl who was celebrating her quinceañera, they are all dead. The only survivors were Lydia, a young mother and her eight-year-old son, Luca. Lydia immediately snaps into action. She knows she and her son must run as fast and as far as possible.

Among the dead is Sebastian, Lydia‘s husband, a well-known journalist who had just published a featured article on Javier Crespo Fuentes, the leader of the local cartel, Los Jardineros. That article is the reason that her entire family is dead.

Lydia knows Fuentes, and actually thought he was a friend. But now she knows he will be looking for her. She trusts no one, and is constantly looking over her shoulder. The cartel is everywhere. She will do whatever it takes to keep her son safe. Lydia and Luca’s harrowing 1,600 mile journey to el norte begins with a terrifying bus ride.

Along the way they meet sisters, Soledad and Rebeca, who teach them what they need to know to ride the trains. They also meet ten-year-old Beto, who was born in a dump in Tijuana, but has the uncanny ability to make them all laugh when things are at their worst. It’s unlikely that all of them will survive the journey.

REVIEW

AMERICAN DIRT is a beautifully told story of the drastic lengths a mother will go to protect her child. The book was both terrifying and riveting. Lydia and Luca’s journey is harrowing and frightening.

I felt as if I walked every step with Lydia. The descriptions of her emotions brought out in the story was impressive. Her shock and panic during and after the massacre, her courage and vulnerability on the road, and her strength and intelligence to do what it took to keep her son safe was heroic.

One of life pleasure is when a book totally surprises you with how good it is. This is one of those books. It’s a story that enlightens and educate us about the dangers so many are facing in Mexico as the power of the drug cartels increases. The dangers are real and their lives are at stake. The choice is difficult, do they stay in the home they know and love and die, or do they want to survive.

Author Jeanine Cummins the wife of a formerly undocumented immigrant started the novel to give a face to the migrants at the Mexican border. She is the author of three other books: The Outside Boys (2010), and The Crooked Branch (2013) and her best-selling memoir A Rip in Heaven (2004). She lives on New York with her husband and two children.

Cummings is interested in characters who suffer inconceivable hardship, and people who manage to triumph over extraordinary trauma, characters like Lydia and Soledad. While writing this book she asks the questions: how would I manage if I lived in a place that began to collapse around me, and If my children were in danger, how far would I go to save them? Those are the questions this book answers.

Publisher FlatIron Books

Published January 21,2020

Dear Edward

A heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a young boy who suffers an inconceivable loss and discovers what really matters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

One Summer morning in 2013, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.

REVIEW

DEAR EDWARD is a heart-breaking but hopeful coming-of-age story of a young boy who has suffered an inconceivable loss. The story alternates between the events prior to and on the flight and the aftermath of the crash.

You cannot help but feel Edward’s discomfort once he is released from the hospital and goes home with his Aunt Lacey and Uncle John for the first time. Lacey and John have been trying desperately to have a baby, and the nursery has had to be dismantled to make way for Edward. The tension inside the house is palpable.

My favorite part of the book is the instantaneous and delightful relationship between Edward and Shay, the twelve-year-old girl who lives next door. I loved both Shay and her mother, Besa. Edward believes that Shay, is his oxygen. He cannot live without her. The only way he can sleep, is in a sleeping bag on the floor of her room. This strange outspoken girl who has no other friends, is the one who forges a path forward for Edward, helping him to eventually understand his loss as well as his purpose in life. It is Shay’s character that carries the book.

Author ANN NAPOLITANO has written two other novels and was inspired to write this book by the true story of Ruben Van Assouw, the soul survivor of a plane crash in 2010. She received an MFA from New York University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Dial Press

Stay

Catherine Ryan Hyde has written a delightful book with a perfect blend of characters, setting and story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Lucas Painter is fourteen years old and overwhelmed with responsibility. It’s 1969 and his brother, Roy is fighting in Vietnam, his parents are endlessly fighting, and his best friend Connor is struggling with depression. Lucas is trying desperately to help all of them. Lucas has turned to running to take his mind off his troubles. On a run in the woods near his house, he finds an isolated cabin, two large dogs and Zoe Dinsmore. Zoe, a prickly and reclusive fifty-five year old woman with a tragic past, may be just the friend that Lucas, Connor and Roy need.

“When somebody holds a view that seems to make no sense, know that it makes sense to them, but for reasons you don’t know anything about yet.”

REVIEW

STAY is an endearing and engrossing coming of age story. Lucas is trying hard to understand the world around him. He wants everyone to stay put, but first he must learn that he is not in control of everyone else’s life. You will fall in love with Lucas, who is trying so hard to keep everyone happy. My favorite thing about the book was the beautifully descriptive writing.

The story is impressively direct and tackles some serious issues such as drug addiction, attempted suicide, and mental illness. But the book is really about friendship, kindness forgiveness and redemption.

STAY is my first CATHERINE RYAN HYDE book and I was delighted with the writing, the characters and most of all, the story. My favorite character was Zoe Dinsmore, when you peeled away her prickly layers she was wise, astute and compassionate. This was definitely a book I did not want to end. I loved this book so much I have just started listening to Have a You Seen Luis Velez? Which was published May 21, 2019. Watch for that review coming soon too!

“People need help with perspective sometimes. If they’re all alone in their own head, they can lose perspective. Sometimes you need to use somebody else like a mirror. Let them reflect back to you the way the world really is.”

Publisher Lake Union

Published December 3, 2019

Narrated Nick Podehl

Know My Name

A gut-wrenching chronicle of Chanel Miller’s experience, thoughts and feelings about the night she was raped and the aftermath in the days, months and years that followed

SUMMARY

A memoir of the unconscious woman who was sexually assaulted behind a dumpster on Stanford campus on January 15, 2015. Her rapist was apprehended by two graduate students who were biking across campus and incriminating evidence was immediately secured. After a grueling trial, her rapist Brock Turner, was sentenced to just six months in county jail on three counts of sexual assault. The judge ironically stated he feared a more severe sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner, a champion swimmer.

The woman’s victim impact statement was posted on the internet by Buzzfeed and went viral instantaneously. Within four days the statement had been viewed by eleven million people and gave a voice to millions of rape survivors. Her statement inspired changes in California law and resulted in the recall of the judge in the case.

She was known to the world as Emily Doe, but in this book she reclaims her true identity to tell her painful and traumatic story.

“You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we are here today.”

REVIEW

KNOW MY NAME is the powerful and emotional story of CHANEL MILLER. Miller is shockingly honest about her experience, thoughts, and feelings surrounding the night of the rape as well as the aftermath in the days, months and years that followed.

I found the book very difficult read not only because of the rape but also because of Miller’s emotional pain and the immense sadness that enveloped her following the tragic event, all of which is very clearly delineated in her writing. It’s a horrendous story that is hard to forget, and I am so please that she has stepped out of the shadow of that dumpster and reclaimed her identity. I am please that she has spoken up and spoken out not only about that event, and her attacker, but also about how the justice system required her to be victimized again and again.

While somewhat repetitive in places, I really appreciated her honesty about the anger, pain and embarrassment she felt during the most difficult experience of her life. I am very glad Miller found the strength and fortitude to write this book. I hope it been a healing experience for her. I am thankful I had the opportunity to read her story.

Hill Women

Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains

An enlightening and entertaining book of one woman’s journey out of the Kentucky mountains and back.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

HILL WOMEN is Cassie’s Chambers memoir tracing her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. Cassie grew up in Owsley County, one of the poorest counties in Kentucky. Cassie use her own journey to break down the myth of the hillbilly and to illuminate a troubled region. Cassie wants to make sure no one underestimates the “fire, grace and grit” of the women that live in the Kentucky mountains.

Cassie’s Granny was a child bride who rose before dawn every morning to care for seven children. Granny’s two daughters took very different paths: strong-willed Ruth—the hardest-working tobacco farmer in the county—stayed on the family farm, while Wilma—the sixth child—became the first in the family to graduate from high school, then moved a hour away for college. Married at nineteen and pregnant with Cassie a few months later, Wilma beat the odds and finished college.

Cassie spent much of her childhood with Granny and Ruth in the hills of Owsley County, where she was raised with “hill women” values. Cassie went to an Ivy League college and graduated from Harvard Law. She ultimately moved back to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services.

REVIEW

HILL WOMEN was a delightful read that was both enlightening and entertaining. The writing was both passionate and immersing. It’s a well-delivered portrait of the culture of the poorest county in the country as well as how one can emerge from it. Cassie skillfully transports us to the hills of Kentucky and gives us a beautifully descriptive vision of the women that live there.

I appreciated her honesty in her writing about her feelings of the family she had left behind and of not fitting in at Yale and Harvard. I found the discussion of the divergent paths between she and her cousin intriguing I loved how, after many years of being away, she felt the desire to go back to Kentucky to help those in need. Most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Cassie, her mother, Wilma, her Aunt Ruth and her Granny. These feisty hill women have already begun a charge for change in the hills of Kentucky.

CASSIE CHAMBERS graduated from Yale College, the Yale School of Public Health, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law School, where she was president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. Chambers then received a Skadden Fellowship to return to Kentucky to do legal work with domestic violence survivors in rural communities. In 2018, she helped pass Jeanette’s Law, which eliminated the requirement that domestic violence survivors pay an incarcerated spouse’s legal fees in order to get a divorce. She lives in Louisville with her husband, Bryan and their son.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Ballantine Books

Published January 7, 2020

Twisted Twenty-Six

Evanovich’s clear and clever writing draws you in and then delivers a knockout punch.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY

Bounty-hunter Stephanie’s Plum grandma just got married. She married a local Trenton, New Jersey gangster named Jimmy Rosolli. But before the wedding day was even over Grandma Mazur was a widow. Jimmy dropped dead of a heart attack on the floor of the casino, right in front of the slot machine he was playing just 45 minutes after the nuptials.

Things turn dangerous for Grandma Masur when Jimmy’s former “business partners” the Lazy Boys, are convinced that his new widow has possession of the keys to a financial windfall. But the one thing these wise guys didn’t count on was Stephanie Plum. She’ll do anything to save her grandma, the one person who means the most to her.

“Grandma was in her mid-seventies and didn’t look a day over ninety.”

REVIEW

Sometimes you just need a book that is light and easy and fun. This is it. While a book about a death is not necessarily funny, Stephanie Plum’s exploits certainly are. She can always make me laugh. We couldn’t be more opposite, but I love her, I closed the cover of Twisted Twenty-Six with a huge smile on my face. It was exactly what I needed.

Janet Evanovich’s clear and clever writing draws you in and delivers a knockout punch. All the regular characters in this epic series are, as always, delightful. You can’t help but fall in love with Grandma Mazur and her flaming red hair, or Stephanie’s full-figured sidekick Lula, and her spandex clothing. And you can’t blame Stephanie for not being able to decide between Ranger and Morelli. Evanovich makes reading a pleasure. The twenty-sixth book in this series is no exception.

“Notice he called us losers and not quitters. That’s on account of we never quit. In my mind that’s the difference between a loser and a winner. A winner is willing to look like an idiot for as long as it takes to get the job done.”

Publisher G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Published November 2019

Narrated Lorelei King