In Burnedby Thomas Enger, Henning Juul is a veteran investigative reporter, returning to work after a series of personal tragedies left him changed and fragile. An apartment fire killed his son, ended his marriage and left him physically disfigured. He is struggling to deal with his fears and a case of PTSD that has left him unable to work for more… Read more
Joe O’Loughlin is an unlikely hero. He’s a psychologist with a failing marriage, serious health problems a troubled relationship with his daughter. He’s in a holding pattern, not sure if he’s looking for a safe place to land or just circling until he runs out of fuel and crashes. He makes some bad choices in Bleed for Me, but it’s… Read more
There is something I find really intriguing, at least in novels, about a female criminal. Their motivations seem so different from most male criminals — it never seems to be just about greed or power. It’s something more subtle. In The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb, Margot is a promising young journalist. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that… Read more
There are a number of things about In Search of the Rose Notes that I really liked. For one, I love the way that author Emily Arsenault portrays the friendship between Nora and Charlotte, both as children and later as adults. I love the mystery storyline, the way the children pursue their “investigation,” the difficulty that Nora has dealing with it… Read more
I think this is the first time that reading a book has made me want to watch a tv show. I’ve read books and wanted to see them made into movies, but I don’t normally watch a lot of television. Still, I might have to make an exception for Justified, the show based around Raylan Givens. Givens appears in Riding… Read more
This is apparently my week for finally catching up on a few reviews that have been in the hopper. I really tried to love Love Me. There are a number of genuinely funny bits. But overall, it’s just too much. There’s not enough plot to hold the funny bits together. “I’ll have the Jesus Fish sandwich,” one diner requests. “A… Read more
Contemplating this review, I started off thinking that This Burns My Heart has all the hallmarks of great historical fiction. It takes place in an exotic location (South Korea) in an interesting time period (1960s). It has an ambitious female protagonist, Soo-Ja Choi, who wants to do great things. There is plenty of conflict for Soo-Ja — with her parents, her… Read more
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In Reluctant Muse, Carrie takes a job at Betta Burger to pay her college expenses. Mr. Singleton, the boss, isn’t too bad, but his nephew, Steve, is a real jerk. Luckily, Carrie has the blonde, handsome Jamie to show her the ropes — literally. Their friendship, after Carrie’s initial reluctance, becomes something much, much more. Carrie has a lot of… Read more