Never Never

NeverNever by James Patterson & Candice Fox, 363 pages

“Never... assume you know someone. Harry Blue is the top Sex Crimes investigator in her department. She's a seasoned pro who's seen it all. But even she didn't see this coming: her own brother arrested for the grisly murders of three beautiful young women. Never... accept a reassignment to the middle of nowhere "for your own good." Harry's been sent to a makeshift town in a desolate landscape-a world full of easy money, plenty of illegal ways to spend it, and a ragtag collection of transient characters who thrive on the fringes of society. A place where little grows, but evil flourishes. Never... trust anyone. Looking into a seemingly simple missing persons case, Harry's been assigned to a new "partner." But is he actually meant to be a watchdog? Still reeling from the accusations against her brother, Harry can't even trust her own instincts, which she's never doubted...until now. Never... go anywhere without leaving a trace. Far from the world she knows and desperate to clear her brother's name, Harry has to mine the dark secrets of her strange new home for answers to a deepening mystery-before she vanishes in a place where no one would ever think to look for her. Never Never is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with enough intrigue and suspense to keep you guessing until the final page. You'll never be able to put it down.”  I liked this story, although it was a little too predictable because I had the mystery solved well before the end.  Also, I was a little disappointed that a major plot point was not resolved.  I’m assuming that there will be a sequel, but I will be bitterly unhappy if there isn’t, since such a large part was unresolved.  Patterson fans will enjoy it.

The Outsider

The Outsider by Stephen King, 561 pages

“An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories. An eleven-year-old boy's violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City's most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad. As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King's propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.” This book was an extremely satisfying horror story.  It was awful and scary and gory and I loved it.  It was typical King, although maybe slightly less awful than he has been in the past, but still very, very, good.  I would highly recommend it to people who like horror.

Unearthly Things

Unearthly Things by Michelle Gagnon, 278 pages

“After losing her parents in a tragic accident, surfer girl Janie Mason is forced to trade the sunny beaches of Hawaii for the cold fog of San Francisco. She's never even met her new guardians, the Rochesters - an old money family who relish being pillars of high society. Janie feels hopelessly out of place in their world of Napa weekends, fancy prep schools, and cotillions. But something isn't right in the Rochester mansion. There are noises - screams - coming from the attic nearly every night. Noises everyone else claims they can't hear.” This was a creepy but awesome story.  Although it is a loose retelling of Jane Eyre, I liked it much better than the original.  I ended up bored with Jane as an adult in the original story, but this moves much more quickly and held my attention much more.  I would give this to any teen who likes horror or magical realism.

The Store

The Store by James Patterson & Richard DiLallo, 259 pages

“When Jacob and Megan Brandeis plan to expose a secretive and evil corporation, the fallout threatens to destroy them. Jacob and Megan Brandeis have gotten jobs with the mega-successful, ultra-secretive Store. Seems perfect. Seems safe. But their lives are about to become anything but perfect, anything but safe. Especially since Jacob and Megan have a dark secret of their own. They're writing a book that will expose the Store-a forbidden book, a dangerous book. And if the Store finds out, there's only one thing Jacob, Megan and their kids can do: run for their bloody lives. Which is probably impossible, because the Store is always watching . . .” I had a few issues with how this book worked, logistically, and the message was way too overt.  It was mildly entertaining but not Patterson’s best work.

Sleeping Beauties

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King, 702 pages

“In this spectacular father/son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the highest of high-stakes stories: what might happen if women disappeared from the world of men?  In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep: they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent. And while they sleep they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare. One woman, the mysterious "Eve Black," is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Eve a medical anomaly to be studied? Or is she a demon who must be slain? Abandoned, left to their increasingly primal urges, the men divide into warring factions, some wanting to kill Eve, some to save her. Others exploit the chaos to wreak their own vengeance on new enemies. All turn to violence in a suddenly all-male world. Set in a small Appalachian town whose primary employer is a women's prison, Sleeping Beauties is a wildly provocative, gloriously dramatic father-son collaboration that feels particularly urgent and relevant today.” I liked this book.  It was a little less like Stephen King’s other stories in some ways, perhaps because of the collaboration, but there was enough of him in this book for it to work for me.  It was definitely creepy and certainly made me think.  There were parts that were hard to read but it was very good.  I think that most people who like horror will enjoy it.

Zoo II

Zoo II by James Patterson, 146 pages

“Will the last humans on Earth please turn out the lights? James Patterson's ZOO was just the beginning. The planet is still under violent siege by ferocious animals. Humans are their desperate prey. Except some humans are evolving, mutating into a savage species that could save civilization-or end it.” These bookshots are a little too compact for me.  This one was better than some of the others but too much is packed into too little time.  I feel like I’m missing something when I read these.  I appreciate the fact that they are short but they feel over before they really get started to me.  I’m sure they appeal to people who like shorter books but they aren’t really for me.

Y Is For Yesterday

Y Is For Yesterday by Sue Grafton, 483 pages

“In 1979, four teenage boys from an elite private school sexually assault a fourteen-year-old classmate--and film the attack. Not long after, the tape goes missing and the suspected thief, a fellow classmate, is murdered. In the investigation that follows, one boy turns state's evidence and two of his peers are convicted. But the ringleader escapes without a trace. Now, it's 1989 and one of the perpetrators, Fritz McCabe, has been released from prison. Moody, unrepentant, and angry, he is a virtual prisoner of his ever-watchful parents--until a copy of the missing tape arrives with a ransom demand. That's when the McCabes call Kinsey Millhone for help. As she is drawn into their family drama, she keeps a watchful eye on Fritz. But he's not the only one being haunted by the past. A vicious sociopath with a grudge against Millhone may be leaving traces of himself for her to find...” I have always loved Sue Grafton’s alphabet series.  I can’t believe that this is the last book but it’s a worthy ending to the series.  Anyone who likes mysteries should read the series and will enjoy this book.

Gwendy’s Button Box

Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King, 171 pages

“It's 1974 when 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson is offered a magic box by a man named Richard Farris, whom she meets at the top of one of the cliffside Suicide Stairs in Castle Rock, Maine. Farris wears a "small neat black hat" and seems to know just who Gwendy is and what she wants. Eight buttons grace the mahogany box he offers to Gwendy, and a lever dispenses silver dollars and intricate chocolates that Farris claims will help Gwendy lose weight and escape being called "Goodyear" by her classmates. Lose weight she does, but that's not all. Wonderful things keep happening in Gwendy's life, and she's happier than she's ever been. But when she decides to press one of the buttons, the consequences are horrendous. The novella follows Gwendy through high school and beyond, capturing the golden-hued joy of childhood and the wonder of friendship and first love, all under the shadow of temptation.” This was entirely creepy and I loved it.  Anyone who likes horror will love this book.

The Day I Died

The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day, 406 pages

“Anna Winger can know people better than they know themselves with only a glance--at their handwriting. Hired out by companies wanting to land trustworthy employees and by the lovelorn hoping to find happiness, Anna likes to keep the real-life mess of other people at arm's length and on paper. But when she is called to use her expertise on a note left behind at a murder scene in the small town she and her son have recently moved to, the crime gets under Anna's skin and rips open her narrow life for all to see. To save her son--and herself--once and for all, Anna will face her every fear, her every mistake, and the past she thought she'd rewritten.” This was a fascinating, unexpected story.  It definitely fits under psychological thriller but it was a quitter book than that.  The thrill didn’t really come in until the end.  The story was compelling and I would give this to anyone who likes thrillers.

113 Minutes

113 Minutes by James Patterson, 139 pages

“I know who killed my son.  Molly Rourke's son has been murdered...And she knows who's responsible. Now she's taking the law into her own hands. Never underestimate a mother's love.” There was a lot of story packed into these few pages.  I have to admit, I was a little surprised by the ending as well.  This has been the best of the short “Bookshots” that I have read so far.  These are definitely for people who like a shorter, quicker read, especially people who enjoy action packed mysteries.

Dangerous Minds

DangerousMinds by Janet Evanovich, 317 pages

“Buddhist monk Wayan Bagus lost his island of solitude and wants to get it back. The island was about two hundred miles northeast of Samoa. It had a mountain, beaches, a rain forest, and a volcano. And now it's gone. Poof! Vanished without a trace. Brilliant and boyishly charming Emerson Knight likes nothing better than solving an unsolvable, improbable mystery. And finding a missing island is better than Christmas morning in the Knight household. When clues lead to a dark and sinister secret that is being guarded by the National Park Service, Emerson will need to assemble a crack team for help. Since a crack team isn't available, he enlists Riley Moon and his cousin Vernon. Riley Moon has a Harvard business degree and can shoot the eyes out of a grasshopper at fifty feet, but she can't figure out how to escape the vortex of Emerson Knight's odd life. Vernon has been Emerson's loyal and enthusiastic partner in crime since childhood. He now lives in an RV behind Emerson's house. Together, this ragtag, mismatched trio will embark on a worldwide investigation that will expose a conspiracy one hundred years in the making.”  I didn’t think this was quite as funny as the Stephanie Plum series but it was still pretty good.  I definitely want to keep reading the series and I think that people, especially women, who like humorous adventure will like it.

Two If By Sea

Two If By Sea by Jacquelyn Mitchard, 401 pages

“Just hours after his wife and her entire family perish in the Christmas Eve tsunami, former police officer Frank Mercy pulls a little boy from a submerged car. Not quite knowing why, Frank doesn’t turn Ian over to the Red Cross. Instead he makes up a story about where the boy came from and takes him home, where Frank realizes that Ian has an otherworldly gift—an extraordinary ability to transform lives beyond anything he’d ever imagined. Awed and confused, Frank confesses Ian’s secret to Claudia, a beautiful champion rider who is training for the Olympics. They join together to fight the sinister forces gathering to take Ian back. In a final confrontation, Frank and Claudia will risk everything—their love, their family, their very lives—to save this boy they now love as their own son.”  I really liked the book, even though it was kind of dark and the ending was a little unsatisfying.  However, I would give this to people who like thrillers and supernatural books.

The Pursuit

The Pursuit by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, 304 pages

“Nicolas Fox, international con man, thief, and one of the top ten fugitives on the FBI's most-wanted list, has been kidnapped from a beachfront retreat in Hawaii. What the kidnapper doesn't know is that Nick Fox has been secretly working for the FBI. It isn't long before Nick's covert partner, Special Agent Kate O'Hare, is in hot pursuit of the crook who stole her con man. The trail leads to Belgium, France, and Italy, and pits Nick and Kate against their deadliest adversary yet: Dragan Kovic, an ex-Serbian military officer. He's plotting a crime that will net him billions . . . and cost thousands of American lives. Nick and Kate have to mount the most daring, risky, and audacious con they've ever attempted to save a major U.S. city from a catastrophe of epic proportions. Luckily they have the help of an eccentric out-of-work actor, a bandit who does his best work in the sewers, and Kate's dad, Jake. The pressure's on for Nick and Kate to make this work--even if they have to lay their lives on the line.”  This is typical Evanovich.  Her books are always funny with madcap adventures and just enough romance.  Fans of the genre or her previous books will read this.

Liberty

Liberty by Andrea Portes, 390 pages

Paige’s parents are missing, presumed dead.  They are journalists, following a story, when they disappeared.  Paige wants to believe that they are still a live but doesn’t know what to think for sure until she is approached by a representative of a secret government agency who wants her to do a job for them.  In return, he will reopen a case to retrieve Paige’s parents, who he knows are still alive.  Paige, who doesn’t see much alternative, agrees.  After some training, she finds herself in Russia, meeting people she isn’t sure she can trust, and possibly falling in love with her target.  This was a wacky, hilarious, adventure romance.  I really liked how it started and I liked it all the way through.  The editing in this was a little annoying.  I hate reading books that pull me out of the story because of misspellings, such that the line I’m reading doesn’t make sense.  This happened at least three times in this book.  Also, the suspension of disbelief got stretched pretty thin for me a couple of times, but overall, I thought that teens would enjoy the humor in this story.

Private Paris

Private Paris by James Patterson & Mark Sullivan, 411 pages

"Someone is targeting the most powerful people in Paris--only Jack Morgan can make it stop.  When Jack Morgan stops by Private's Paris office, he envisions a quick hello during an otherwise relaxing trip. But Jack is quickly pressed into duty after getting a call from his client Sherman Wilkerson, asking Jack to track down his young granddaughter, who is on the run from a brutal drug dealer. Before Jack can locate her, several members of France's cultural elite are found dead-murdered in stunning, symbolic fashion. The only link between the crimes is a mysterious graffiti tag. As religious and ethnic tensions simmer in the City of Lights, only Jack and his Private team can connect the dots before the smoldering powder keg explodes."  This is typical Patterson although the longer chapter length and slightly more depth gives away that these aren't completely Patterson.  I like them a little better for it.  Some of Patterson's fans may prefer his classic style and appreciate the fact that his books are such quick reads.  These are still fairly quick but not as much because they have a little more meat to them.  Some fans will like that the book takes a little longer so they have something to read while waiting for the next book.

The Water Knife

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi, 371 pages

"Angel is a water knife for the South Nevada Water Authority, pitting himself against anyone who threatens Las Vegas and its control of water rights from the precious reserves of the Colorado River even if it means cutting desert communities off at the knees. Lucy is a journalist chronicling the desperate state of affairs in drought-ridden Phoenix. Maria is a refugee from Texas struggling to make ends meet. Their lives converge in a city dying from a lack of water but drowning in violence, and all become tangled in the search for long-lost water rights that could change the power structure of the American Southwest."  This might be my favorite book by this author.  Adults who like dystopian novels will love this story.  I definitely did.

Deceptions

Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong, 453 pages

"Olivia Taylor Jones's life has exploded. She's discovered she is not only adopted, but her real parents are convicted serial killers. Fleeing the media frenzy, she took refuge in the oddly secluded town of Cainsville. She has since solved the town's mysteries and finds herself not only the target of its secretive elders but also her stalker ex-fiance. Visions continue to haunt her: particularly a little blond girl in a green sundress who insists she has an important message for Olivia, one that may help her balance the light and darkness within herself. Death stalks both Olivia and the two men most important to her, as she desperately searches to understand whether ancient scripts are dictating the triangle that connects them. Will darkness prevail, or does Olivia have the power to prevent a tragic fate?"  This series continues to entertain.  Give it to fans of dark fantasy.

It Takes One

It Takes One by Kate Kessler.  416 pages.

This is the first book in a new thriller series about a criminal psychologist, Audrey Harte, who uses her own dark past to help catch dangerous killers.   In this book, she is returning home to the small town where she grew up, after seven years away.  Not everyone is happy to see her; when she and her best friend Maggie were thirteen, they killed Maggie's abusive father.  Audrey has left her past behind, but when she is confronted by a drunk Maggie on her first night back, it's not a good start. And things don't get better when Maggie turns up dead.  With some people looking to blame Audrey, she has to find the killer, putting herself in the path of danger.

Audrey is a flawed character, which makes her interesting (and easy to relate to).  She's got an alcoholic father, unresolved issues with her ex-boyfriend, and unresolved issues with her home town. She's also got a quick temper.  She's mostly nice, but she doesn't let anyone push her around.  She knows her past is dark, but she owns up to it, which I liked.   The book is pretty dark, and the pace is even, which makes it a compelling thriller.   The way it's written, it's hard to know if you can trust any of the characters (other than Audrey), and there are some twists and turns.   I felt it was a good pageturner, and am interested to see where the author takes Audrey in the next book.

In The Company of Educated Men

In The Company of Educated Men by Leonce Gaiter, 177 pages

Julie E-C reviewed this in March of 2015 and her review is what prompted me to read it.  I had to wait a while for the library to get a copy, but it was worth the wait.  Julie covered as much plot as I would and I’m not going to recap much of it.  It’s a book about three friends and a road trip and a lot of unexpected happenings.  Because the book changes time perspectives, it’s also about reflection.  I think I liked it almost as much as Julie did and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction.  Definitely a must read, in my opinion.