Stacy Alesi

FLASH POINTS by David Hagberg

March 28, 2018

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A Kirk McGarvey Novel, Book 22

The principal character in this novel is Kirk McGarvey, a man who was previously an assassin for the CIA. In addition, he was the head of the CIA for a short time. The story opens as Kirk is getting ready to enjoy a vacation with his girl friend but walks out to his car and suffers a grave accident. One of McGarvey’s enemies has had a bomb placed in the vehicle in order to do away with him.

McGarvey’s sixth sense jumps into play and he exits the car moving off to the rear. This action saves his life but causes a whole host of internal and external injuries including the loss of his leg just below the knee. None of this stops Kirk from puzzling out why he was singled out for assassination and leads to the inescapable conclusion that he knows something and must be silenced because of that.

A new president has just been elected and members of his military senior staff deem him a danger to the country because of his policies. They set up a series of attacks at several points in the country with the object of embarrassing the new president. It is assumed that the president will not be able to handle the three emergencies at once causing the American public to demand his impeachment. But before this action occurs it is necessary to eliminate McGarvey who is the one person to be able to figure out what is happening and intercede with the plot against the president.

In spite of his many wounds and the loss of most of one leg, Kirk soldiers on to foil the plotters and save the day. He is admirably helped by his girlfriend, who incidentally is a member of the CIA and does want the vacation promised.

The story is the pure adventure that David Hagberg always delivers in his novels. It is a fast read, keeps the reader glued to the book and following the continually developing plot. Future novels featuring McGarvey are a given and surely to be looked for.

3/18 Paul Lane

FLASH POINTS by David Hagberg. Forge Books (March 27, 2018). ISBN 978-0765384881. 320p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

SOCIABLE by Rebecca Harrington

March 27, 2018

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The premise of this sophomore novel by Harrington (Penelope) is that journalism is dying and millennials will save it. To do that they will have to fit some work in between parties, fighting with friends, romance, and in this case, surviving a bad breakup.

Our heroine is Elinor Tomlinson, a vapid, immature twenty-something working as a nanny. Her boyfriend’s mother, a well respected journalist, recommends her for an opening at a second tier online news magazine. Elinor stumbles through the interview spouting generic nonsense and gets the job, creating viral content for the web. She is probably better at her job than the two men who want to mentor her, yet she doesn’t seem to like her job very much. Her boyfriend dumps her, and she just wallows in self pity.

Readers may be able to empathize with the breakup if they can slog through the changeable points of view, the too-brief attempts at humor, hash tags and even comments addressed directly to the reader. ©Library Journal, 2018

This book sounded so good from the publisher:

The Assistants meets The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. in this exuberant comedy of manners set in the world of Internet media, a brilliantly irreverent novel about what it means to be young, broke, dumped, and scarily good at creating viral content.

Um…not so much. Very disappointing read.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SOCIABLE by Rebecca Harrington. Doubleday (March 27, 2018). ISBN 978-0385542821. 256p.

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Spare Me the Sneak Peaks

March 26, 2018

Can I just tell you all how much I hate “sneak peaks” of books? It wasn’t really an issue when I was mostly reading crime fiction or literary fiction and before there were digital galleys. But once I started reading romance, it became a problem; the same with digital galleys.

If you’re not familiar, and really unless you are a reviewer why would you be, digital galleys are the e-book version of advance reader copies. ARCs are the paperback pre-published books that publishers mail out to reviewers usually months before the book actually hits store shelves. I still get a lot of print galleys, but no where near what I used to get prior to the end of the world as we know it, AKA e-books.

Now I am like a kid in a candy store. There are two main websites that distribute digital galleys and they are constantly updating them. Between the two, I can choose between literally thousands of pre-published books, most of which are mine for the taking. Some I have to send a request to the publisher, but they almost always approve it.

So when I saw Gayle Forman has a new book coming out, I clicked on “read now” before I read the fine print. She writes both “young adult” and “women’s fiction” books and while I don’t read many young adult books, I make exceptions for certain authors like Rainbow Rowell and Gayle Forman. The upcoming book is called “I Have Lost My Way” and I was still excited after I realized it was a young adult book. But then when I looked a little closer, I saw the dreaded “Sneak Peak” on the picture of the book cover. Luckily, the other website had the full galley available so I was spared.

Romance readers are undoubtedly used to this. You read a romance, get your happily ever after, then you turn the page and there is chapter one of the next book in the series or the first book of a new series or whatever. But just the first chapter, or sometimes the first few chapters.

With the advent of digital galleys, there are occasionally “buzz books” put together, a compilation of sneak peaks of several upcoming books. There are monthly versions and usually after a big conference, like Book Expo or the American Library Association annual conference, there will be digital “books” of sneak peaks of the upcoming books heralded at the conference. I still like the buzz books because they also include a roundup of upcoming titles, but I mostly ignore the excerpts now.

I used to eagerly read them, but then I noticed something, and maybe I’m the only one with this issue. When the book finally did become available in its entirety, I would start reading it and realize it was way too familiar – oh wait, I must have read this already. Then put the book down and move on to the next one. Occasionally, if a book becomes really popular or I keep hearing about it for whatever reason, I will look at it more closely, and once or twice I realized I hadn’t actually read the book, just a sneak peak!

So my solution now is to just ignore them. I don’t turn the page at the end of a romance, if I download buzz books to my e-reader I just read the roundups, and if I accidentally get a “sneak peak,” I’m not going to read it. I got an email from the marketing department at Grand Central letting me know that David Baldacci’s next Amos Decker thriller, The Fallen, will be available on April 17. They included a link to a digital excerpt. I will not be clicking that link. I will wait, however impatiently, for the entire book.

Maybe its symptomatic of reading 4-6 books a week that I can’t remember that I read only the beginning of whatever book feels familiar. And I’m certainly not going to start scanning through the thousands of titles on my Kindle and iPad to see if it was in another book somewhere. If it took me weeks to read a book then I may not have this problem, but it doesn’t. I read most books in a day or two and almost immediately start the next one.

That is the beauty of the e-book, by the way, to have hundreds of books just waiting for me to read them. Just not the sneak peaks.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE OCTOBER MEN by David Impey

March 25, 2018

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Hindsight Can Be Deadly

Impey begins an intricate and mesmerizing story during the early days of WWI with a company of soldiers moving up to the front lines. He than goes forward describing other seemingly non-related events, including the later attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. A series of color photos which appear to be beyond the range of photography during the periods covered by these photos calls attention to what is going on.

The novel goes on describing other events and bringing into the picture a young Oxford physicist, Otto Parsons, who has been conducting experiments in quantum physics, attempting to create zero gravity without going into outer space. His work yields totally unexpected results which serve to tie together the various events described in the story.

A group of scientists attempt to tie Parson’s experiment together by producing a historical TV series that attempts to uncover the truth behind such isolated instances as the Roswell incident and the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. The show unfortunately attracts the attention of a group of international criminals who use the equipment developed by Parsons to take advantage of both the financial and art markets.

A very interesting plot and a narrative that will definitely capture and keep the reader’s attention.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE OCTOBER MEN by David Impey. BigBear Communications Ltd (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-1912145799. 340p.

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THE TERMINAL LIST by Jack Carr

March 24, 2018

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The phrase,”revenge is a dish best served cold,” is a piece of advice with roots in literature possibly stemming from the time of William Shakespeare. Carr’s powerful novel resoundingly takes a different track.

Lt. Commander James Reece is in charge of a group of Navy Seals and certainly a warrior’s warrior. He is sent on a mission to Afghanistan and his entire team is killed and then the group of rangers sent to extract his squad also lose their lives in the attempt.

Sent back to the states, Reece is astonished to learn that another member of the team has committed suicide. With these deaths weighing heavily, a medical exam ordered for him due to unexplained headaches finds that there is a tumor on his brain. The only thing now buoying him up is the expectation that he is going home to his wife and daughter. The final horror hitting him is the discovery that both his wife and daughter were killed in an attack on his house.

Reece must hold himself together in order to avenge the deaths of his men and wife and daughter which he soon finds are related. The action to find and kill those that were responsible comprises most of the novel. He is livid and not knowing if the brain tumor that he has will kill him shortly, moves as quickly as possible with the help of a few friends. One is a young reporter who is aware that there is definitely malfeasance involved in the actions of the upper level military command, a pilot whose life he once saved, and the boss of a Mexican Mafia group.

There is nothing cold involved in Commander Reece’s actions. He is livid, he just wants revenge and expects to die when it is exacted in order to join his wife and family. The descriptions of the manner Reece handles the actions against those on his list of persons to be punished is, to say the least, gruesome and certainly done in hot blood.

One of the obvious opinions Carr brought out in the book is the low opinion he has of the juggernaut of our Federal government. He obviously feels that it has grown too large and become too cumbersome to properly provide good government, and the system of rules and regulations obstruct rather than help the growth of the economy. People are hindered by regulations which serve to basically interfere with their every day lives. Whether or not the novel was written to postulate Carr’s opinions or not it still is an extremely well written and captivating book about the professional military. It is one that the reader will not be able to easily put down until finished.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE TERMINAL LIST by Jack Carr. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (March 6, 2018). ISBN 978-1501180811. 416p.

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STILL ME by Jojo Moyes

March 23, 2018

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This is the third book in what I guess is the Louisa Clark series, although not advertised as such. But if you haven’t read Me Before You and After You, don’t start here.

Louisa Clark is back and this time she’s heading for New York City. She’s gotten a job as the personal assistant to a very wealthy second/trophy wife, Agnes Gopnik. They live on the upper East side and while Louisa’s room is tiny, it’s all hers. Agnes is an interesting woman, and they get along pretty well other than the lack of free time for Louisa. Her boyfriend, Ambulance Sam, is still back in the UK, and they are trying to make the long distance thing work.

Then Louisa meets Joshua Ryan, who bears a startling resemblance to Will Traynor. (This is why you need to have read the first two books, none of this will make sense otherwise.) She also finds a vintage clothing store where she feels right at home.

The long distance thing is working, sort of, and the Josh Ryan thing is also sort of working – without giving anything away, Louisa is somewhat torn between the two, and then the fates conspire to make things even more complicated.

This is another terrific read, full of charm, humor and just enough pathos to make it all worthwhile. Moyes’ fans will be thrilled to spend more time with Louisa – I certainly was.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

STILL ME by Jojo Moyes. Pamela Dorman Books (January 30, 2018). ISBN: 978-0399562457. 400p.

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THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman

March 22, 2018

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Sam Mullins grew up on the northern shore of Michigan on her family’s orchard, and couldn’t wait to leave and make her own mark on the world. She went to culinary school in New York and landed a much coveted job – baking for a television celebrity chef in his restaurant/bakery. Except he’s a jerk and can’t even cook, and when the head chef quits, Sam is picked to create something wonderful for the Good Morning America team that will be filming in the bakery that morning. She does, and everyone loves it but her boss – he trashes her grandmother’s beloved slab pie and orders her to make something else. Finally growing a spine, she, too, quits.

Sam heads home to the family orchard and bake shop where her grandmother and mother rule supreme. They are delighted she has shown up for a visit but she doesn’t tell them why she’s suddenly home, at least not for a while.

The recipe box is a family tradition. On each daughter’s 13th birthday, they are given a wooden recipe box filled with family recipes going back generations. The key to the box is worn on a chain around the neck, close to the heart. When Sam went off to culinary school, she left her recipe box at home but now she is feeling the pull of family and all that means.

In a side story, there is a produce delivery man she has been chatting with every morning of her working life in New York City. After turning down several invitations to date him, they remain friends. After she gets home, he tells her he’s taking a few days off and wants to see the Michigan she loves. This romance adds a bit more story to the story, as it were.

Every chapter is named after a recipe and the recipes are all included. Most are desserts but there is at least one savory dish as well.

The book held my attention but it verged on being sickeningly sweet, if you’ll pardon the pun. It actually felt smarmy at times and way too heavy handed and I just don’t like being manipulated. The story was good, I didn’t need to be hit over the head about the importance of family and tradition and love on every page. All that said, it moved me to tears more than once and I couldn’t put it down, so I guess it was compelling smarminess, if you will. If you like reading stories about food and families, and don’t mind emotional minefields, this is the book for you.

I am planning on making that slab pie for sure, and probably a few of the other recipes as well.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman. Thomas Dunne Books (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-1250146779. 336p.

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THE BISHOP’S PAWN by Steve Berry

March 21, 2018

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A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 13

Steve Berry and his wife Elizabeth are both ardent advocates of historical preservation. Their passion has taken them to a multitude of places and sites as well as the founding of a charitable foundation, “History Matters,” to raise both awareness as well as money to preserve historical places. Many of Berry’s novels have had a little known historical event become the basis for the story told in the book.

Bishop’s Pawn is the latest adventure of Berry’s main protagonist Cotton Malone, but includes several changes in the format of the story. It is written in first person with Malone being the one telling the story. It is also out of the continuing time sequence of Malone’s career with the Magellan Billet, a secret group attached to the Justice Department. Insteaed, we are taken to the beginning of Cotton’s work for Stephanie Nelle, who founded the Magellan Billet and is the supervisor.

Eighteen years ago Malone was working as a lawyer in the Navy and trying to outgrow his reputation as a maverick. He is approached by Stephanie and asked to help with an investigation currently underway by the Justice Department. Cotton takes the assignment with the hope of getting into a situation other than his present tedious job with the JAG.

Cotton then finds himself involved with an extremely rare coin and a set of documents that provide explosive data on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Malone becomes embroiled in a war between the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for possession of both objects.

Dr. King is pictured here as the giant that he was in the early days of the Civil Rights movement, but also shown as a man with faults and hesitations. The real life war between the F.B.I. and Dr. King is brought vividly into the scenario.

J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the F.B.I. at the beginning of Dr. King’s work, had an obvious hatred for the man. Hoover ordered wire taps, surveillance, and branded Dr. King as a trouble maker all against orders from Congress. Berry brings out the distinct possibility that Hoover ordered the assassination of Dr. King and was instrumental in bringing James Earl Ray, Dr King’s killer, conveniently into the picture in order to do the actual shooting.

The book is a fascinating study of both the events surrounding Dr. King’s assassination and portraits of some of the individuals that both worked for and against him. Berry eloquently pictures the F.B.I. as Hoover’s fiefdom, and due to the secret files held on many people by him, was able to establish total control over the organization as well as becoming a law unto himself.

The ending consists of the airing of Berry’s thoughts about the assasssination with actual facts presented to back up his theory. I feel that while Steve Berry may have written better books, Bishop’s Pawn is beyond any doubt the most thought provoking of them. Totally mesmerizing and the “king” of all nighters.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE BISHOP’S PAWN by Steve Berry. Minotaur Books (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-1250140227. 352p.

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ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen

March 20, 2018

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So Anna Quindlen finally decided to write a love letter to New York City. Manhattan, to be precise. And while she may point out its foibles and idiosyncrasies, even the bad stuff is wrapped up in love.

Nora and Charlie have been married for many years and have boy and girl twins in college and a dog. They live in a townhouse which is crammed in between the townhouses on either side of them, all on a dead end street in Manhattan, an almost unheard of thing in the city. This is a clannish group of New Yorkers who share a handyman and a small parking lot, overseen by George, the self-appointed street mayor, issuing coveted parking spots, warning about any infractions to the desired appearance of the block, and offering non-negotiable recommendations of flowers to plant and when to put out the holiday decorations.

Nora and Charlie consider theirs to be one of the better marriages among their circle of friends. They are well off, and attention to class distinction is paid here. Charlie is an investment banker, but his career has never taken off the way he thought it would and he dreams of leaving the city for greener pastures. Nora is the director of a small, private museum and loves her job, her family, and most of all, her home, but definitely feels that something is lacking in her life.

Then one of the neighbors, a wealthy attorney with a viscous temper, attacks the Latino handyman, beating him with a golf club and causing serious injury because his truck was blocking the parking lot. The neighbors are divided; was it provoked? Was it an accident? Charlie was a witness and stands up for his neighbor, but Nora heard the whole thing and knows Charlie is wrong. That incident creates a wedge in their marriage and in the neighborhood, causing feelings to shift and change and ultimately deteriorate.

An interesting look at friendship, marriage and class warfare within the city that never sleeps, with lots to talk about for book discussion groups. I didn’t love it, maybe because I need at least one character to care about, to relate to, and Nora just barely made the cut. I’m from New York and know people like her so I understood her, but also know I could never be friends with her, and fortunately that is not a deal breaker. The book did give me pause – and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Thought provoking for sure.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen. Random House (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-0812996067. 304p.

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SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands

March 19, 2018

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The Highlanders Series, Book 5

I tend to avoid historical romances set in Scotland because I can’t help but compare them to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and let’s face it, there is no comparison. So I was determined to just read this book and judge it on its own merits, so I did. It was okay, nothing bad to say about it but nothing great, either.

From Amazon:

In New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands’ captivating romance, a lass targeted by an unknown foe is saved—and seduced—by a bold Highlander

Edith Drummond owes her life to Niels Buchanan and his brothers. Waking after an illness to a castle overrun by rugged Highlanders is disconcerting, but so is learning that she’s slowly being poisoned. Niels insists on staying by her side, and Edith soon discovers that even more dangerous is her wild attraction to the fierce warrior.

Niels has never met a more courageous—or enticing—woman than Lady Edith. The idea of such a bonny lass being forced to enter a nunnery is more than any red-blooded Scotsman could bear. He’ll gladly marry her himself. But while sweeping her off her feet is easy, it’ll take all his skill to defeat her family’s relentless enemies, and convince her to surrender to his sweet embrace. . . .

This definitely falls into the historical romantic suspense category. People are dropping dead with some regularity and we don’t find out the who or why of it until the end. The romance plays nicely against this backdrop and we get the requisite happily ever after. Maybe if I had read the entire series I would have been more invested, but I didn’t like this enough to pursue any more. If you like Scottish historicals with a lot of suspense, then this is the book for you.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands. Avon (January 30, 2018). ISBN 978-0062468987. 384p.