I received an ARC from NetGalley for **Family** by *Caroline Leavitt* in exchange for an honest review. Caroline Leavitt has also written **Into Thin I received an ARC from NetGalley for **Family** by *Caroline Leavitt* in exchange for an honest review. Caroline Leavitt has also written **Into Thin Air** which is what prompted me to read **Family**.
This story begins with Nick Austen in the 1950's when his family was intact, and life seemed perfect. Tom and Helen, Nick's parents treated Nick a bit differently from the way his friends' parents treated them. There were no harsh restrictions even so far as when he was expected home for dinner. He went in when he wanted to. If dinner was still there on the table and hot, he could eat. If it wasn't available any longer, he was free to make himself a sandwich. He chose his own clothing. He also decided on his own punishments. Even though there were not many restrictions, there were still rules, and if he broke them it was up to him to decide what his punishment should be. He always chose something that truly was a punishment for him. He was growing up to be strong and proud, and he loved his parents dearly.
Tom found a stray yellow cat and brought it home for Nick. However, Tom was the only person the cat seemed to like. Tom was not happy with his job, and he often talked about finding something else. He applied for a job in California, and he got an interview. The day the family was supposed to leave for California, the cat disappeared, and no one could find it in the house. Tom and Helen decided to go out looking and told Nick to stay at home in case the cat showed up there. The cat did not show up. Instead two policemen came to the door to tell Nick that both his parents had been run down by a car while standing on the side of the road. Both of them had been killed.
Nick became a ward of the state, and he did the rest of his growing up in institutional surroundings. He was never the same boy after that. When he was grown, had a job of his own, and on his way to a career in being a book salesman, he quite by accident met Dore. They met because Dore was blind as a bat without her glasses, and they literally ran into each other as Dore was groping her way down a hall trying to get to a spare pair of glasses. Dore was a school teacher, and Nick just happened to be in that same school, meeting with the librarian hoping to get a book order. As it turned out the librarian gave Nick quite a large book order, so Nick was feeling on top of the world and wanted to see more of Dore. She was a little reluctant at first, but eventually she and Nick became an item. They decided to live together, and Nick thought it would be a good idea to live in a house trailer rather than rent an apartment Or wait until they could buy a house. When Dore became pregnant, they were delighted, but the issue of marriage was off the table. Dore did not want to marry Nick just because she was pregnant, so the issue was not discussed further. Dore's parents were horrified that their daughter was "living in sin" AND on top of that, residing in a trailer park with no intention of moving.
Once again, life was good for Nick. He and Dore were crazy about each other; neither of them had any need to associate with anyone besides each other. Dore had a baby girl who both she and Nick loved beyond all else. And then tragedy struck again, and again, there seemed to be no way for Nick to make it right or get around it. Again, life as he treasured it was no longer an option.
The story goes on from there to reveal what both Nick and Dore do to themselves and each other in an effort to keep going. Neither of them is particularly good at it, but they try and try some more. Caroline Leavitt has a way of putting the reader right into the minds of her characters. She reveals what turmoil each goes through, and as the reader, I could not put the book down. These characters took on a reality because their situations were so believable as possibilities for true to life circumstances. Leavitt makes this story brand new, and she continues to surprise with events I did not see coming.
I highly recommend **Family** to readers who enjoy reading about characters with depth, as well as very good stories that give the reader something to think about. There are more characters in the book than I have covered in this review, and they all have an impact to what happens in the end to Nick and Dore. It was a satisfying ending to a well thought out story, and worth every one of those 5 Stars. ...more
I received an ARC from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. **Hot Pursuit** is published by Open Road Integrated Media. The book was writteI received an ARC from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. **Hot Pursuit** is published by Open Road Integrated Media. The book was written by Roderick Thorp in 1995. At the time of Thorp's death in 1999, the book had not been sold; however, Judy Coppage had not forgotten about **Hot Pursuit**, and after contacting Thorp's son, she was able to get a copy of the manuscript. One of Thorp's best known stories was the basis for the movie **Die Hard**, and **Hot Pursuit** follows in the tradition of that edge-of-your-seat thriller. Open Road Media is publishing this book as it was written without the benefit of editing. From some authors, this would be a difficult publication to sell because of the lack of an editor's discerning eye. Such is not the case for Hot Pursuit. This book can stand up to a reader's criticism because of Thorp's talent in writing suspense, action, and nail-biter moments.
The novel begins with Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Sam Merrill about to board what appears to be an abandoned ship with the word "*Ghost*" painted on its side. A thorough search of the ship nets the Coast Guard a billion dollar drug haul. What follows is a media circus complete with a Senate Committee Hearing as well as a flurry of activity around Sam Merrill who eventually is billed as a hero. No one thinks to question how this abandoned ship came to be so easily found. It was just sitting there in the water waiting for the right authorities to stumble upon it. Although Sam has doubts about how the scenario unfolded, he is kept too busy with media attention to sit down and carefully think through how this all happened, and why it happened to him. After a few weeks of attention, Sam is beginning to feel like a fraud, and some of the strain of the demands made on his time begins to affect his marriage. Finally it is decided that Sam and his wife, Amy, are going to take a well deserved vacation in the Bahamas. That's when both Sam and Amy are kidnapped and taken to two different locations. No one knows who kidnapped them, and no one suspects what the kidnappers want for the return of the husband and wife, IF they ever are to be returned.
This story has movie adaptation written all over it. It has action and suspense, as well as a hefty role for the woman who is Sam's wife. While the love story between Sam and Amy is not the central issue to the story, it is important, and their relationship is written with a strong bond between them which helps make the story open to another layer of intensity. While the ending does have some credibility issues, that's what thrillers are all about... Thorp seemed to instinctively know how to write the fine line between what could conceivably happen and what was impossible. In addition, his characters had more depth than is often missing in the thriller genre in my experience.
We lost a great entertainment writer when Roderick Thorp died. His final work, **Hot Pursuit**, is a tribute to his talent....more
I received a free ARC of **Calling** by *Joe Samuel Starnes* from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. The publisher of this book, *Open RoI received a free ARC of **Calling** by *Joe Samuel Starnes* from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. The publisher of this book, *Open Road Media*, caught my attention these past few months because of the high quality of new books they are publishing as well as the republication of some iconic past authors whose work should not be forgotten.
It has been my experience in going to the doctor's office, and yes, even on a bus, that someone who is lonely or just simply obnoxious, will get the seat next to me and begin to talk. I always have a book open in my lap to discourage this, but there are some who refuse to notice that I'm trying to read. I won't answer questions with more than a grunt or ignore the speaker completely, but this never stops the truly determined conversationalist who somehow believes that it's my burning passion to know about and even see an appendix scar, or hear about her daughter's sex life. So, I completely understand the annoyance Timber Goodman feels when Reverend Ezekiel Blizzard Jr gets on the same bus, and immediately begins to tell Timber the story of his life. In fact, Zeke seems to believe it is Timber's obligation to hear this story no mater what he does to discourage the telling of it.
To sweeten the temptation for Timber to listen, Rev Zeke offers him some of his bottle of Jim Beam, and eventually, as we knew it would, this weakens Timber's resolve. Throughout Arizona, Zeke relates the story of his growing up under the strict hand of his father. When Zeke left home, his mother sobbed and was inconsolable; later Zeke came to believe she was afraid to live by herself with her husband. When Zeke came home for Christmas, he was informed that his mother had died 3 weeks prior, and his father was vague on all the details including why he never notified Zeke of her passing. This incident cut Zeke loose from any ties he may have had with his father or the town where he was raised.
While Zeke is relating his story, Timber begins remembering incidents from his own past and begins to see where he and Zeke share a few things in common. Both were raised in strong religious backgrounds, although Zeke became much more involved in the religious life by becoming a minister himself. Timber was more indifferent to the preaching and never had a call to Jesus moment like Zeke did. Yet he knew the kinds of reactions Zeke talked about when he spoke of what religion did for him. The storytelling in this section was first rate. I became more and more interested in where this was going. When Zeke got on the bus, it was obvious he had had some sort of physical encounter because he was wearing all the marks of a struggle or beating. He showed Timber that he carried a Bowie knife with him, and he left no doubt that he knew how to use it. So, how does a man of God wind up on a bus going across the country with a life story that is beginning to sound far from innocent or religious?
That's where Starnes begins to inform us of more of the truth about both Zeke and Timber. There are surprises in store, and they are somewhat startling given what we think we know about these two men so far. While religion does play a part in both men's lives, it's interesting to see how it's used to rationalize questionable behavior into something a little more palatable or even to squeeze sympathy where it has no place at all. I think **Calling** is about how slick the most moral high ground becomes with the right person calling the shots and keeping the "flock" who look to them for guidance from catching on to what's at stake.
For me, **Calling** had a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a well told story with a few ideas to ponder when finished. This book would be a good choice for book clubs. ...more
I received an ARC from Open Integrated Media (Mysterious Press, Inc) for **A Swollen Red Sun** by *Matthew McBride* in exchange for an unbiased reviewI received an ARC from Open Integrated Media (Mysterious Press, Inc) for **A Swollen Red Sun** by *Matthew McBride* in exchange for an unbiased review. My thanks to Open Road Media for allowing me to read and review this book.
The Author, *Matthew McBride*, begins his book with a note to the readers, telling us that the places he's described in the book are all real. He also says that Gasconade County was once considered the methamphetamine capital of the world. In spite of that, many hardworking, honest people live there. So do a few degenerates. It's the degerates McBride writes about, and that's pure gold for his readers, because to my way of thinking, those degenerates make for the best stories.
The story begins with Deputy Sheriff Dale Everett Banks and Deputy Bo Hastings at Jerry Dean Skaggs' (ever notice the degerates are often named Skaggs?) trailer. Jerry Dean is on parole for shooting a bald eagle, and Banks means to take him back to jail. Jerry Dean is a meth-head and will not go easily. When Banks and Hastings knock the trailer door down, they find evidence that Jerry Dean has been cooking meth which, of course, would be a parole violation, and all the more reason to put Jerry Dean back behind bars.
It's Banks who is the constant presence in this story, and he is very clear about what his role in life is to be: go home alive to his wife and kids. Not that he doesn't do his job effectively; he just won't be shot by "some tweaker". The trick is, can he make it to the end of the book alive when there are some pretty hardnosed bad guys trying to outsmart the law at every corner.
Some of the gang eager for the law to go away are: Reverend Butch Pogue who can spend a whole afternoon butchering horses because he prefers horse meat to any other; Junior, Reverend Pogue's son who is roughly 5 cupcakes short of a baker's dozen; Jackson Brandt, who works with Jerry Dean Skaggs in whatever capacity is needed, but who sometimes seems reluctant to follow an outlaw's path; and Olen Brandt, an 81 year old rancher whose body is letting him down lately. There's also Reverend Pogue's new wife, a whole lot of money, and a hiding place no one in his or her right mind would guess.
McBride has brought together a very interesting bunch of people and then let them have at it. For me, this was a 5 stars novel, and I look forward to what else McBride can do. Keep those degenerates coming!...more
I received an ARC for **The City** by *Dean Koontz* from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
When **The City** begins, Jonah Ellington BasI received an ARC for **The City** by *Dean Koontz* from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
When **The City** begins, Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk is 9 years old. When he was 8, he was visited by a woman he called *Pearl* who told him she was The City, by which she implied she was familiar with all the ways in which the people of this particular City interact with each other. She was to visit Jonah several times throughout the story, and each visit centered around a significant incident in Jonah's life. At least part of her point seemed to be that for every bad person who exists within The City, there are many, many more who do not subscribe to the kind of bad behavior and destructive influence exhibited by the few.
Jonah has a very close relationship with his mother and his grandfather. His father is no longer a factor in the family, although the man does pose a threatening presence now and then. Jonah knows enough about his father to understand he is someone to be feared. Jonah also develops relationship with Mr Yoshioka, another tenant in the building where Jonah lives; Malcom, a boy Jonah's age; Malcom's sister; and Mrs Lorenzo, also a tenant in Jonah's building. Once these people have all become acquainted, Koontz throws everything from terrorism to memories of World War II to Sophie Tucker at them to move the story along. This is where Koontz's talent for storytelling is most obvious. Never mind that the incidents he creates often have nothing to do with each other and fracture the story rather than give it any sense of cohesion. So long as Jonah is the focal point for all the action, Koontz keeps grinding out new situations to add to the story.
The biggest problem I have with Koontz's books is his inability to be original. His ideas, for the most part, come from someone else's creativity. At first, Koontz just wrote as a Stephen King wannabe; now he has picked up on an idea prominent in someone else's story and tried to make it his own. He didn't disappoint me in this book. There is an object featured in this story which comes right out of another very successful, very popular storyline used elsewhere. After all the books Koontz has under his belt, I think it's pathetic that he continues to rely on this ruse. That is why I continue to read Koont's books. I want to see what he has copied this time. As I said, he never disappoints.
I would recommend this book to Koontz's many hardcore fans because they will probably enjoy his latest attempt to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. To everyone else out there who thinks like I do, stick with the master... Read King....more
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