[ebooktalk] Re: June Reads.
- From: Ian Macrae <ian.macrae1@xxxxxxx>
- To: ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2013 08:18:24 +0100
Shell, an interesting and diverse bunch. I have to agree with you about the
Judy Finigan except that for me it was so cringe-worthy that I couldn't come
close to finishing it. Had she not been who or what she is I'm convinced this
book would never have seen light of day. I wish now I'd picked up the Charity
Norman when Dave posted it.
On 3 Jul 2013, at 22:37, Shell wrote:
> Hi, here are the books I read in June.
>
> Norman, Charity. After The Fall. 2nd June 2013. 10 Stars.
> Audio book from David.
> Martha and Kit's relationship is on the rocks so they decide to have a new
> start and move their family from England to New Zealand. Although home sick,
> they find their dream house and everything seems to be wonderful. We then
> read a scene where Martha sees one of her young twin sons fall from the
> balcony and the rest of the book goes back in time to find out how the
> tragedy happened.
> This is the most fabulous book. It may not have a murder at it's heart, but
> it is a true mystery that gathers such intense tension to a truly shocking
> climax. Really think it will be my top book of this year.
>
> Pavone, Chris. The Expats: 10th June 2013. 8 stars.
> Audio book.
> Kate leads a double life as a CIA agent, but is glad to give it up and move
> with her family to Luxembourg. Once there however, she becomes bored with
> the life of a housewife and is not sure that she isn't inventing intrigue for
> her own fantasies when her husband starts to behave strangely.
> A really well plotted book with some excellent twists. Good characters and
> Kate is a good strong protagonist.
>
> Hawley, Noah. The Good Father: 14th June 2013. 7 Stars.
> Audio book.
> Dr. Paul Allen is at home with his wife when they see an article on the TV
> news about the shooting of a politician at a campaign rally. Shortly after
> the FBI are at their door saying that Paul's older son from his previous
> marriage has been arrested for the murder. Paul sets out to prove his son
> innocent, which becomes increasingly difficult.
> A very readable book with lots of interesting details about several mass
> murderers in the US. Paul's son's life is unraveled slowly and we see how a
> Father can have not known what his son was doing at all. Noah Hawley can
> seriously draw out the sympathy of the reader for his characters.
>
> Finnigan, Judy. Eloise. 19th June 2013. 2 Stars.
> Text to Speach.
> Cathy and her husband have a holliday cottage in Cornwall, but when they are
> there Cathy often becomes dangerously depressed when she thinks about her
> friend's early death from breast cancer. Cathy keeps seeing her friend in
> dreams and when awake giving her mysterious messages about her death being
> suspicious.
> A poorly written badly plotted and implausible book which was cringingly
> uncomfortable to read.
>
> Russell, Alan. Burning Man. 23rd June 2013. 7 stars.
> Audio Book.
> Michael Gideon apprehends a serial killer but by the end of the arrest he has
> serious burns and his beloved police dog has been shot. After a long time
> Michael is back at work, but can no longer be a street cop and needs to
> adjust to a life of solving old crimes or crimes that no one wants. One
> crime involves the discovery of a new born babies body and Michael is
> determined to find the Mother.
> Quite a good book, but lacks some feeling. Also Michaels wise cracking
> dialogue got very tedious towards the end, so not an author I will be wanting
> to read again in a hurry, but possibly might at a push.
>
> Armstrong, David. Less Than Kind. 27th June 2013. 8 stars.
> Text To Speach.
> In this first in a series about Birmingham policeman John Munroe, he is sent
> to a Welsh farming community on a routine enquiry. Whilst he is there a man
> is murdered and once John starts to dig he finds that a lot of the locals
> have secrets to hide.
> A great start to a series, John Munroe is a likeable character. The book
> finished very abruptly though catching me a bit off-guard. One of those
> books where lots of people have a motive so it's just plump for one of the
> unlikely ones. I feel it was a good effort for a first book and will try
> another in the series.
>
> Henry, Sara J. Learning to Swim: A Novel. 28th June 2013. 8 Stars.
> Text To Speach.
> When Troy Chance sees a child fall from a nearby ferry, she jumps straight
> into the water and swims back to dry land with the boy. Once they have
> recovered, she discovers his name is Paul and he can only speak French. She
> decides to find out why no one has raised the alarm for a missing child and
> why it seems he had been tied up before entering the water.
> I always have doubts when reading books where people find children and
> decide to keep them rather than handing them over to authorities. I'm just
> not sure how many average people would actually do that in this day and age.
> However, once I'd got past that part I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found
> Troy a good strong woman and Paul an interesting child that I wanted to know
> more about. It did contain a few other plot holes for me too that I didn't
> find credible, so it missed getting top marks. I would try another by this
> author.
>
> Grecian, Alex. The Yard. 30th June 2013. 10 Stars.
> Audio Book.
> First in a series about the murder squad of Scotland Yard in the late 18
> hundreds. Full of wonderful historical detail both about life in general and
> police and autopsy procedures of the day. There are 2 main crimes to be
> solved and we meet an interesting cast of characters whom I can't wait to
> catch up with again in the next book.
> I highly recommend this book.
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