FEVER by Deon Meyer

September 8, 2017

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A monumental work written by Deon Meyer unlike anything that he has done previously. Meyer is a South African and writes in Afrikaans, and then translated into other languages. I don’t know Afrikaans but the English version is hard hitting, fascinating and surely delivering the meat and bones of the author’s intent. It is a novel telling the story of a world decimated by a deadly virus that only reaches a stopping point when most of the entire world’s population has died.

The survivors of this 21st century Black Death are faced with the almost impossible task of adjusting to a life that was never in their plans. Not at all a surprise, the locale of the events is in South Africa, Meyer’ s home. Nico and Willem Storm, son and father, are driving a truck laden with supplies through a land devastated by the plague and find a secure spot to set up a living area. But Willem is a wise and compassionate man and envisions a place for him and his son that will allow them, with other survivors, to build a community that allows civilization to flourish again.

The place is found and in growing attracts people interested in the same thing. Meyer utilizes a literary style that has principal characters individually describing events occurring during the growth of the community called Amanzi. They deliver a perspective that helps make “Fever” the great work that it is. Among the people entering the area is a young girl named Sofia Bergman who immediately attracts Nico and causes him to make the decision that when the two are old enough he will marry her.

Meyer uses the vehicle of the book to deliver his opinion about our world; that it is spoiled, selfish, and is not paying the proper attention to things of importance like climate change. Due to the author’s opinions, we have a surprise ending which I found more than a little unsettling and does end the book on a note that may allow another to be written. Certainly, it will be a major draw for readers of Fever as well as the many fans Meyer has garnered over the years writing about his beloved South Africa.

9/17 Paul Lane

FEVER by Deon Meyer. Atlantic Monthly Press (September 5, 2017).  ISBN 978-0802126627. 544p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Hurricane Irma

September 7, 2017

I live in Palm Beach County, Florida and as you can see on this map, we are expecting to be hit by Hurricane Irma. This storm is not only fast – either hitting us as a 4 or 5 on the Saffir Simpson scale, but also enormous, I’ve never seen anything like it. According to the National Hurricane Center, it is the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded. It is twice the width of Florida! With any luck, the projections that it has moved slightly to the east is a good sign, the western side of a hurricane is the “better side.” Whatever that means. Oh, and right behind this bitch is Hurricane Jose – we are hoping he dies at sea.

cat 4

I’ve lived through more hurricanes than I care to think about, starting with David in 1979, Andrew in 1992, Wilma in 2005 and many more in between all those. We took a direct hit from Wilma twelve years ago. Lost our roof, which landed on our cars – lots of damage, and the landscape of the community was forever changed. Lost our electricity for over a week. But we were safe.

Because of Hurricane Harvey, people here are in full blown panic mode. The store shelves have been emptied, the gas stations depleted. People who live in evacuation areas (flood zones) should be evacuating to shelters. Emergency operations officials are telling everyone else to shelter at home so people don’t get stranded on the road.

Palm Beach County has been under a Hurricane Watch since this morning, yet the library stayed open (although closed early today, at 3:00 pm.) Many of the library staff were ordered to “volunteer” at shelters so there was a skeleton crew left behind. Due to various health and family issues, I am not helping at a shelter, although I will be making phone calls after the storm and anything else that I can do as needed.

My husband has been working on making us safe for days. He’s putting up the hurricane shutters, clearing the yard furniture, etc. We have enough water and chemically laden food to last at least a week, and some comforting snacks, too. I have another load or two of laundry left and I need to dig out the French press so we can have coffee even if we lose power.

We are as ready as we can be. We are hoping for the best and that everyone stays safe.

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NO ONE BUT YOU by Brenda Novak

September 7, 2017

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Silver Springs, Book 2

I haven’t read Novak for a while and I’m not sure why, I really like her books. Strictly speaking, this is a romance with its happily ever after, but it’s really more romantic suspense, with a heavy emphasis on suspense –  a real page turner. This is truly a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Sadie Harris is trying to finalize her divorce from Sly, but he wants her back and will stop at nothing to get her back. But the only reason he is after her is because she doesn’t want him, and his pride can’t handle that. They have a five-year-old son who is not the rough and tumble boy Sly would prefer, so he pretty much ignores him or insults him. Luckily, he doesn’t want to spend much time with the boy.

Sadie is struggling to make it on her own. She’s waitressing part-time and renting a tiny one bedroom guest house from a friend. She needs a full-time job to truly be able to provide for her son and she finds one as a housekeeper/caregiver for Dalton Reed. Dalton is the town pariah, acquitted of murdering his adoptive parents but the small town of Silver Springs still believes he did it. He spent a year in jail before his acquittal, and his house was vandalized and his mentally challenged sister put into government care. He wants to bring her home but has to get the house livable and the farm it sits on fully functioning before the state will allow that.

Sadie is scared of Dalton, but needs the job. She quickly realizes that this quiet, very good looking young man is a kind and good person. But Sly – a cop – is infuriated that she is working for a murderer, and starts creating trouble for both of them. When her small cottage is set on fire, Sadie suspects Sly but can’t prove it. Instead of moving back home with Sly, Dalton invites her to stay with him, adding more trouble to the Harris divorce.

Sly is apparently on steroids, which is not helping his situation, and while the brothers in blue stick up for him, his captain is slowly realizing that something is really off. Meanwhile, Sadie and Dalton are falling in love, and he loves her little boy, too. But Sly is a major hindrance to this romance until almost the very last page.

I really enjoyed this read, and the next Silver Springs book is already out: Until You Loved Me. The first book in the series was a Harlequin Special Edition paperback, Finding Our Forever, which is available as an e-book and already on my Kindle.

9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

NO ONE BUT YOU by Brenda Novak. MIRA (May 30, 2017).  ISBN 978-0778330615. 384p.

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DINNER AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Nathan Englander

September 6, 2017

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Englander gives us a novel that describes the ambiguity of the Arab-Israeli conflict via a series of contacts between members representing the two sides.  First, there is the General who has led attacks and wars against Arabs living in territory next to Israel. He is merciless, brilliant and has little guilt about the effects his actions protecting his country cause. He is a beloved figure and we meet him as he lays dying in an Israeli hospital.

Next is the man that the General imprisoned years ago in a secret cell.  No one except the General and the man guarding the prisoner knows where he is kept and why he is there.

There is a meeting and a short love affair between a character known as Z and a waitress. The waitress is actually a rich woman who says she does service work to retain her identity. She takes Z to meet her father in Italy but it is in reality to take him

A love affair develops between an Israeli woman who is a resident of a kibbutz and a Palestinian constantly mapping out Israeli territory in order to present his maps to his Hamas colleagues for use in an attack against the Jewish state. The two decide that they want to experience a dinner date but find that the only place they can have it would be in one of the tunnels dug by Hamas. These, of course, are to be used to invade Israeli at the proper time.

Each of the short vignettes used by Englander in the book illustrates the conflict between Israel and its neighbors. Both sides have a point; fight for their point, and refuse to recognize that the other side also has a point which could lead to settlement if everybody would give in a little.

The author is not presenting any other argument other than that the conflict that has gone on for years could be settled if both sides listened to the other and tried to get a solution based on discussion and coming onto common ground.   Very well done and certainly an argument for reason instead of conflict as the only answer to this grave conflict.

9/17 Paul Lane

DINNER AT THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Nathan Englander.  Knopf; First Edition edition (September 5, 2017).  ISBN 978-1524732738.  272p.

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Tables of Contents: a culinary reading series

September 5, 2017

Signature Views Mini-Doc – The restaurant Egg in Brooklyn holds a monthly event called Tables of Contents where authors give readings, and dishes based on passages from their books are served. Chef Evan Hanczor gives an inside look at the dinner series, featuring authors Adam Gopnik, Victor LaValle, and Sarah Gerard.

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MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS by Stephen Colbert

September 5, 2017

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Co-authored with The Staff of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert

I am a long time Stephen Colbert fan, although I must admit up front that “Midnight Confessions,” the segment on the Late Show, is not my favorite bit. So I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and how funny it is.

You would think if I didn’t like the segments much, I would really dislike a whole book of them but the reverse happened. Maybe because these are the best of these bits? I don’t know, but I read it rather quickly and was laughing out loud through most of it. I couldn’t resist sharing bits of it with my family, either. And I loved that they included tweets from fans with their own confessions! My personal favorite from @pjerickson, “Sometimes I make up words in order to sound more aproserial.”

Stephen Colbert has taken the show on a decidedly political/anti-Trump journey but this book does not reflect that. It is pretty much politics free, so would make a great gift for anyone, Democrat or Republican. (Maybe not strict Catholics who might find the whole confessions idea blasphemous, but what do I know.)

It’s still a bit early for holiday shopping but keep this book on your gift list. It’s a really pretty hardcover, with a padded cover and a non-book-like shape that would look pretty on a coffee table. And if you need a break from all the bad news in the world, do yourself a favor and buy this book. You’ll be glad you did.

A few favorites:

They say there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s, but I’m thinking a whole bag while you’re idling in the driveway is close.

I think women look great in stiletto heels, but if I were a woman and a man asked me to wear them, I would murder him with my shoes.

I’m a man in his fifties who eats like a man in his twenties who doesn’t plan to make it to his thirties.

A librarian pet peeve that I can get behind:

I have violent thoughts when people use the terms “sci-fi” and “fantasy” interchangeably.

“Oh, I love science fiction. I just read Lord of the Rings.”

I will end you.

9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS by Stephen Colbert. Doubleday (July 11, 2017).  ISBN 978-0385541800. 304p.

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Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton

September 4, 2017

A Kinsey Millhone Novel, Book 25

In 1979, a local private school became the site of an academic scandal that turned into murder. Two students were kicked out for cheating and a third, blamed for tattling, was shunned and then killed. Of the boys involved in the crime, only two actually served time­—one escaped and the other was given immunity for testifying. But the case had another twist to it: rumor has it the murder wasn’t over the cheating scandal at all, but a tape the girl was said to have stolen. A tape that was never recovered in the investigation.

Ten years later, the two boys who served time for the crime have been released and the parents of one have called Kinsey. It seems the rumored tape is not only real, it’s being used for blackmail and the parents want Kinsey to find out who is behind it all.

Kinsey’s latest case is something of a pain in the ass. A group of rather well to do (for the most part) teens gets caught up in a cheating scandal that goes south when one of the teens, gun in hand, accidentally kills a classmate. Ten years later, that teen is now a young man, newly released from his time served. But his parents are concerned that he’ll be arrested again when a sex tape from those same high school surfaces.

Everyone involved in making the film claims it was a lark, a joke with outtakes that show the kids laughing and goofing off. But the only actual evidence that seems to remain is the one tape, and there’s no question that it would lead to another trial. The biggest mystery isn’t just who is behind the blackmail, but where the video has been all this time. As Kinsey investigates answers are few and far between, though.

There are a few subplots. First, Kinsey has a stalker who’s returned from a previous case. Then there’s drama in the neighborhood as well, including Henry’s new houseguests, all of which commands some of Kinsey’s time and attention. But, as per usual, never causes her to lose her wits or cool.

I adore this series and I have loved each and every installment. Y is for Yesterday is no exception. Kinsey has grown so much over the course of the series and has learned a lot about herself and her family. Grafton has built a strong support system of characters around Kinsey as well, making each new book a welcome return not only to the PI we all know and love, but to Henry, Cheney, Rosie, and newer additions like Anna as well.

I can’t stress enough just how much I’ll hate saying goodbye to this series. I’ve been reading alongside Kinsey  and her cases for almost two decades now and I’ve loved each and every entry. With Y, there’s now just one more book to go.

9/17 Becky LeJeune

Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton. Marian Wood Books/Putnam (August 22, 2017).  ISBN 978-0399163852. 496p.

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HOLIDAY IN THE HAMPTONS by Sarah Morgan

September 3, 2017

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From Manhattan with Love, Book 5

This is one of my favorite series and I have enjoyed every one of these books. They have all been set in Manhattan but this one moves out to the Hamptons, summer playground of many city dwellers. And if you’re a dog lover, this is a must read!

Fliss and Harriet are identical twins who own a dog walking business in the city. Their business has grown tremendously since Urban Genie, the concierge service owned by the women who starred in the first three books in the series, started recommending them to their clients. The twins had a difficult childhood with a verbally abusive father, and Harriet was a stutterer as a child and Fliss her protector. As adults, Fliss still feels protective over her 3-minute-younger sister.

Fliss was briefly married to Seth Carlyle ten years earlier, and that marriage ended only a few months in. We don’t find out why for quite a while and that journey is at times heart wrenching and funny. When Fliss sees Seth at the vet’s office, she freaks out and when her grandmother suffers a fall, she offers to go out to the Hamptons to take care of her, escaping her ex. Except when she gets out there, she immediately runs into Seth. She freaks out and lies, telling him that she is Harriet. Turns out he was just helping out a friend in the city for a few days, but his practice is really out on Long Island.

Gradually he convinces her to meet with him and talk, but Fliss is used to keeping everything inside, and it is almost impossible for her to overcome all her baggage and open up to him – or to her twin. She grows closer to her grandmother, learns more about the family dynamics that play into her psyche, and eventually finds her happily ever after.

I loved this book. If you haven’t read the others in the series, it is not necessary to read them first. But if you enjoy this one as much as I did, please go back and read them in order. To be honest, I am very tempted to go back and read them all again, and that is not something I say lightly. In order:

1. Sleepless in Manhattan
2. Sunset in Central Park
3. Miracle on 5th Avenue
4. New York, Actually

9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

HOLIDAY IN THE HAMPTONS by Sarah Morgan. HQN Books (August 29, 2017). ISBN 978-0373803996. 416p.

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YOUNGER by Pamela Redmond Satran

September 2, 2017

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Pamela Redmond Satran was most well known for her baby name books, written with Linda Rosenkrantz and are “acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming.” Which I think is true, but Satran also wrote several chick-lit books back in the day and I loved them, but somehow I missed this one.

I only read this because of the TV show, which I found because I love the Gilmore Girls and watched the re-boot on Netflix. One of the episodes, “Summer,” featured a musical play starring Sutton Foster, who was fabulous. This led me to watching “Bunheads”, a cult favorite from the same creative team as the Gilmore Girls that only lasted one season. I loved that, so when I heard that Sutton Foster was currently starring in “Younger,” I binge watched the first three seasons of that on Hulu, and I’m now caught up in the fourth. During that binge, I noticed it was based on a book and after this very long (probably too long, sorry!) explanation, here I am.

So if you are familiar with the TV show, here’s what you need to know. There have been many name changes, starting with Liza, who is Alice in the book, Kelsey was Lindsey, Diana was Teri, and well, you get the idea. Charles is a woman in the book so no romance there. Josh is still Josh, only he’s a video game designer instead of a tattoo artist. And the book ends way sooner and without half as much drama or fun as the TV series. All that said, it was still fun to read the inspiration behind the series.

If you are not familiar, here’s the plot. Alice has been a stay at home mom whose daughter has now left college for the Peace Corps and her husband, a dentist, has left her for his much younger dental hygienist. Trying to find a job in publishing, where she worked for a few months before a difficult pregnancy, proves much harder than expected. Alice’s best friend Maggie lives in New York City and offers some advice and a place to stay while she’s looking for a job in publishing. Her advice is to do a makeover on Alice, buy her new clothes and prove to her that she can pass for a twenty-something instead of a middle aged housewife.  She does this by taking her to a bar on New Year’s Eve, where she meets and kisses Josh. He is much younger than her, but thinks she is only a few years older than he is, maybe 29? She’s really 44 but by leaving off the past decade or so from her resume, she lands a job with the same publisher she worked for before her pregnancy.

Living a lie causes all sorts of tension and working for a bitch isn’t any more fun for a pretend 29-year-old than it would be for a 44-year-old. Eventually, the truth comes out and Alice dumps Josh before he can dump her. But that wouldn’t make for a happily ever after so at the last possible second, they work it out.

I enjoyed the book and considering it was published twelve years ago, it holds up pretty well. But I have to admit I enjoy the TV show more. There are just so many more complications and plot twists over four seasons than is possible in a book of a few hundred pages.

If you love the TV show, you’ll probably enjoy the book. If you haven’t seen it, read the book then watch it. Either way you’ll have fun – I did.

9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

YOUNGER by Pamela Redmond Satran. Gallery Books; First Edition edition (July 5, 2005).  ISBN 978-1416505587.  284p.

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Win the September ’17 bookshelf of signed thrillers!

September 1, 2017

Welcome to the September bookshelf of signed thrillers! There are terrific books this month from some of my favorite authors and some new-to-me authors. To enter, go to the Win Books page. Best of luck!

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SLEEP LIKE A BABY by Charlaine Harris: Stricken with flu while her husband is on a business trip, Roe accepts the help of an in-home nurse who goes missing on a stormy night at the same time a body is found outside the house.

Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone monitors the release from prison of a sociopath who is determined to exact revenge on a fellow perpetrator who went missing after they sexually assaulted a fourteen-year-old classmate in the penultimate installment in the best-selling series.

VINCE FLYNN’S ENEMY OF THE STATE by Kyle Mills: In the aftermath of a secret non-aggression pact that America will cover up evidence of Saudi involvement in the September 11 attacks in exchange for oil, evidence of hostile Saudi activity forces Mitch Rapp to resign from the CIA and assume the guise of a traitor as part of a covert mission to keep the peace.

ENIGMA by Catherine Coulter: Agents Savich and Sherlock network with agent Cam Wittier and New York Special Forces agent Jack Cabot in a race against time to catch an international criminal and solve the enigma of the man called John Doe.

A CASUALTY OF WAR by Charles Todd: Caring for an increasingly unstable soldier who believes his cousin is responsible for multiple injuries, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford investigates the patient’s claims, only to find herself in unexpected danger.

WICKED DEEDS by Heather Graham: A romantic weekend for historian Vickie Preston and special agent Griffin Pryce is interrupted by the murder of a popular author in a literature-themed restaurant, a case with disturbing parallels to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

LIE TO ME by J. T. Ellison: When his wife, Sutton, disappears while they are having marital problems, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her, Ethan Montclair becomes the target of vicious gossip as friends, family, and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton.

CLOSE TO HOME by Robert Dugoni: When a young boy dies from a hit-and-run accident, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite realizes it is not just a case of the military protecting own of its own who was the lead suspect, but also part of a larger conspiracy related to a spate of heroin overdoses

TRACE EVIDENCE by Diane Capri: In a race against time to save a child’s life, the best heir hunter in the business is determined to find Josh Hallman, the boy’s father – if he’s alive – to provide a hoped-for match before two relentless killers do.

RELOAD by David McCaleb: To save his family—and the free world—Red Harmon is back in the line of fire in book two of the Red Ops Thriller Series.

A TALE OF TWO KITTIES  by Sofie Kelly: When one of two estranged brothers is found murdered, Kathleen Paulson and her highly attuned feline helpers are challenged to dig deep into the town’s history to clear a lead suspect’s name and find the real culprit.

You can win autographed copies of all these books! If you are new to the site, each month I run a contest in conjunction with the International Thriller Writers organization. We put together a list of books from debut authors to bestsellers, so you can win some of your favorites and find some new favorites.

What makes this contest really special is that all of the books (except eBooks) are signed by the author! Books with multiple authors will be signed by at least one of the authors.

Penguin Random House books for giveaway were provided by the publisher. #PRHpartner

Don’t forget, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on all these books and how you to enter this month’s contest.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

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