This book was quite the thrill ride especially towards the end. Betrayed follows the story of Judy Carrier and associate with Rosato & Associates. This novel is the second installment in the Rosato and DiNunzio series. I read this novel while in my daily confessional... and it was highly entertaining.Because I'm familiar with this author and some of the other guest appearances in the book. Judy Carrier is given the news from her aunt Barb that she's battling breast cancer and will need surgery soon. And in the midst of that tragic information, a woman named Iris, Barb's best friend, dies suspiciously on a lonely stretch of road from a supposed heart attack. Aunt Barb enlists Judy's help to investigate the suspicious death since the police don't seem too keen on solving an illegals' mysterious death. Then of course, things begin to be more and more bizarre. People begin to disappear or are mysteriously killed. And while Judy is carrying the weight of her aunt's health on her shoulders, a seemingly disengaged fiancee, an overbearing mother, and her first real solo case, she finds her own life in danger after delving a little too deep in the mysteries surrounding Iris. Yes... there are a lot of moving parts. The thing that makes novels like Betrayed easy to read are that there are so many moving parts. What makes it the furthest thing from literary aptitude but it sure is fun... at least for the purposes I used this novel for. Sure the characters are quite thin and the moments of suspense could have been a little further dragged out, overall, it was still a good mystery thriller. Betrayed is a fast, easy read that fans of Lisa Scottoline will surely find enjoyable. My 3-Star rating is due to the fact that the writing is just "ok" and the tense moments should have been reveled in and not so rushed through. The betray entices readers to see the unseen. ***Copy provided by Goodreads via a Goodreads Giveaway
Anna Hope's Wake is a touching and moving account of the affects of war on men and women alike. The book opens by defining what the word wake means:
(1) Emerge or cause to emerge from sleep
(2) Ritual for the dead
(3) Consequence or aftermath
Each definition can be used in one way or another to describe the characters Ada, Evelyn, and Hattie as we watch their stories unfold as the unidentified body of a World War I soldier is brought home to be buried. It is the two-year anniversary of Armistice Day and the excitement, fear, and dread of what it means brings each women on a paths that are only separated by a few men.
Ada is the mother of a young soldier named Michael. She mourns his death and walks around seeing his face in every young man that she sees on the streets. She is in a sort of dead sleep. She doesn't even see that she is a fraction of the person she once was. All she can accept is the guilt she feels for allowing her young son to go to war.
Evelyn works for a government that has long stopped caring for their veterans, meaning she works where stipends are to be provided to injured (or out of work) soldiers. She too is in a rut having lost her only love to war. Her brother, Edward, served in the army as a captain and has shown a clear difference since coming home from war. At one point they were so close but he seems much more distant. The truth is far worse than she knows. They both wander in the consequence of their lives after war.
The third woman, Hattie, is young and works as a dancer. She is paid to dance with men whenever they pay her boss. She shares those earnings with a volatile mother, and mute brother. He's barely spoken since the war. Hattie is unaware of the trauma he's been through and yearns for her brother to be whole again.
The characters in Wake can each define their lives in the before and after of war. This is the way that many can identify their lives. I had a friend who served in Iraq. She was 20 when she left. A vibrant, loving girl, unafraid of what was in store for her. She returned with a serious drug problem, a son, and only a few years to live. I identify with these men and women wholly, and I'm nothing more than a witness... a mere bystander.
Although the novel is written about a horrific time in history, Anna Hope manages to write poetically, vividly, and clearly. Wake doesn't read like a debut which is an awesome feat for any author coming out the gate. Even when I had to stop reading to take care of my own personal life, and ironically, plan my father's wake, the moment I picked it back up, I was once more gripped in the lives of each character. I couldn't wait to see how their stories tied into each other. And ohhhhh did they...
Overall, Wake is a beautifully written debut novel that fans of historic fiction will need to read. It's not a super sappy women's only novel that gets tiring as it describes one flighty woman after another but rather a journey for emerging from sleep. I loved this novel and hope that Hope (no pun intended) writes more like it. ****
Copy provided by Random House via a Goodreads Giveaway
Of course, like the two books preceding this one, Best Kept Secret begins where The Sins of the Father left off. For those unfamiliar with the Clifton Chronicles, this is the story that follows a family through decades of secrets, lies, losses, gains, enemies, and more enemies. Best Kept Secret begins with an answer to who will inherit the Barrington fortune. Will is be Giles or (maybe bastard son) Harry? Eventually, the story starts to focus more on the new generation of Clifton's. Primarily Sebastian Clifton, that is. Seb seems to be a magnet for trouble. Although he's exceptionally intelligent, there never seems to be anything he does that won't get him in some sort of trouble. No he's not malicious, but he's young, inquisitive, and... the story must go on.Jeffrey Archer manages to maintain the attention of those who have followed this serie religiously. For those hoping to start somewhere in the middle with this series, I say STOP! You will be doing yourself a huge disservice and really book 1, Only Time Will Tell is especially worth the time. And thankfully, Archer doesn't make us wait long enough to forget the multiple storylines. In conclusion, Best Kept Secret is a great addition to the Clifton Chronicles. It's not up there with the first two in the series but... still makes a strong case for continuing on to Be Careful What You Wish For. I am officially on to Book 4. ***
The Disappearance is the first book I've read by J.F. Freedman and it's pretty good. I really enjoy a good legal thriller and this one definitely fits the bill. The Lancaster family is rocked to its core when their daughter is abducted and murdered during a slumber party with her friends. The evidence leads to an arrest of a close family friend. Let the suspense and intrigue begin!
There are definitely a lot of red herrings provided by Freedman to throw the reader off course but it's pretty believable once the true killer is revealed. One thing I did like about this book and stood out for me is that I never felt sorry for the defendant. Usually courtroom dramas have me wooed by the defendant and unable to admit they may possibly be guilty. This guy in particular, Joe Allison was not one of those characters. He's just the right amount of sympathetic and disgusting to keep me guessing to the end if he was in fact guilty.
Fans of John Grisham and Michael Connelly will enjoy this novel. It's a little dated since it's original release date in 1997 but that's easily overlooked. Overall, readers will find themselves unable to stop turning pages. Freedman maintains the suspense and mystery the entire novel. I look forward to reading more by J.F Freedman.***
