Fiction | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

LOVE AND MISS COMMUNICATION by Elyssa Friedland

May 22, 2015

Evie Rosen is addicted to the Internet. Her phone is always by her side and even in the most intimate of settings – well, the most intimate of settings Evie’s seeing these days, i.e. friends’ weddings and a few blind dates that go nowhere – she never misses a tweet or status update. It’s possible that her need to stay connected is affecting her friendships and relationships, or lack thereof… like the time she was called out for Googling one of those blind dates.

But then Evie is fired for spending too much of her work time on personal emails. Reeling over her new unemployment situation, Evie binges on a Facebook stalking session and discovers that her allergic-to-marriage ex has just tied the knot. The results of that revelation are embarrassing, to say the least, and prompt Evie to finally admit that she has a real problem. And so she decides to give it all up. But going Internet free isn’t necessarily easy, especially in a day and age when everyone is expected to take part in the social media circus. And for a girl who’s single and unemployed, it means getting a little creative about dating and job hunting.

Elyssa Friedland’s debut is a fun and eye-opening look at today’s always connected, always updating online frenzy. But it’s more than just a girl experiencing the inconveniences of internet-free living. Love and Miss Communication is a story about the importance of family, friends, and real connections rather than friend requests.

05/15 Becky LeJeune

LOVE AND MISS COMMUNICATION by Elyssa Friedland. William Morrow Paperbacks (May 12, 2015). ISBN: 978-0062379849. 400p.

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I, RIPPER by Stephen Hunter

May 21, 2015

Jack the Ripper, the very name brings an image of the most horrific serial killer that ever existed. Jack not only murdered but dissected his victims. He killed 5 prostitutes in the Whitechapel section of London in the year 1888 and then disappeared from view. Never caught, his crimes terrorized London and took a place in history from that year to today. Conjecture about who, or what he (or possibly she) is still rampant even now.

Stephen Hunter has written many successful novels involving guns and snipers. His knowledge of ballistics is encyclopedic. The present novel deviates from guns to the knife used by the Ripper and shows the same research that his other books embody. His descriptions of London of 1888, and the territory inhabited by Jack bring up a picture of another time and place. The misery of the poor living in the Whitechapel section is captured and made into the background of the action for the reader.

The book provides the facts, the conditions and the horror of the murders. Hunter names the women killed and provides as much as possible about them at this point in time. His descriptions of each murder are lurid, probably taken from actual newspaper accounts. The narrative uses a young Irish Journalist who follows the Ripper’s path in order to make a name for himself. He brings out facts that lead to a possible solution to who the murderer is and with literary license provides an ending to Jack’s career.

Hunter uses supposed diaries written by the journalist, and Jack himself to tell the story. He notes suspicions of the era bringing up theories prevalent and popular during the period of the Ripper’s career. There are tie-ins with the methods used by Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes to solve cases via astute observation and logic, as well as reference to the novel “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw.

The descriptions of the murders will be upsetting but are key to postulating the Ripper’s possible motivation in carrying out the crimes. Another fascinating book by Stephen Hunter.

5/15 Paul Lane

I, Ripper by Stephen Hunter. Simon & Schuster (May 19, 2015). ISBN: 978-1476764856. 320p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Permalink
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DISCLAIMER by Renée Knight

May 20, 2015

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Novels generally come with the disclaimer that “any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental” and so does this one, twice – once in its usual place, and once in the book within the book, and therein lies the story.

That book is on documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft’s night table, only she didn’t put it there. Catherine has a comfortable life; her husband is in law, and her son, while having problems of his own, has moved out and is living an independent life.

When she starts reading the mysterious book, she quickly realizes that she is the main protagonist, and the secret she has kept hidden is about to tear her life apart.

In a seemingly disparate story, Stephen Brigstocke is a retired teacher and grieving husband who is living a very sad life. Eventually their stories intersect with devastating consequences.

A good psychological thriller with the ever popular unreliable narrator, in this case two of them, along with lots of family drama will keep the pages turning. Sure to appeal to fans of Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson.

4/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

DISCLAIMER by Renée Knight. Harper (May 19, 2015). ISBN: 978-0062362254. 352p.

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LITTLE BLACK LIES by Sharon Bolton

May 18, 2015

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The Falkland Islands makes for an unusual setting in this twisty tale of missing children.

Catrin Quinn hasn’t been the same since her two children died while in the care of her best friend Rachel. It was an accidental death, but it cost Catrin their friendship and her husband Ben; he was able to move on, she was not. Her former lover Callen feels helpless; still in love with Catrin but not sure how to reach the damaged woman, while he suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, a holdover from the Falklands War.

When a young boy goes missing, the local police chief is hesitant to blame any local residents, and wants to keep it quiet to protect the tourism trade. But it is the third such child to go missing in a year or so, and Callen figures it has to be a local.

Callen and Catrin find a body on a shipwreck, but even that isn’t enough to convince the authorities. Then a fourth child goes missing; Rachel’s youngest boy, and Catrin becomes the chief suspect.

A pod of beached whales that need to be euthanized adds another layer of horror to the story, and animal activists will not be happy with it.

Each of the main characters has a voice here; the story unfolds in sections, each by a different character leading to various points of view and adding to this compelling novel of suspense.

Note: Sharon Bolton also writes as S.J. Bolton

5/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

LITTLE BLACK LIES by Sharon Bolton. Minotaur Books (May 19, 2015). ISBN 978-1250028594. 368p.

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Thriller | Permalink
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ORIENT by Christopher Bollen

May 13, 2015

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Orient, New York has long prided itself on its closed community of year-round citizens. Anyone else is viewed as an outsider no matter what their circumstances may be. The only exception is architect Paul Benchley, who was born and raised on the island, and so forgiven for leaving them behind to live most of the year in the big city.

But now Paul is back and he’s bringing a guest with him. A guest his neighbors aren’t anxious to welcome to Orient. The guest is Mills Chevern, an orphan and runaway Paul takes pity on and vows to help by removing him from the temptations and dangers of New York City. But Paul and Mills’s arrival coincide with the death of one of the village’s own. More crime and dead bodies follow and suspicion immediately turns to newcomer Mills, leaving the teen no choice but to prove his own innocence.

Bollen is incredibly long winded, something I thought was going to be a detriment to the book early on. Before long, however, I’d settled into the narrative and really started to enjoy myself.

The insular community of Orient is fabulously drawn with resident busybodies, gossip mongers, and the few “outsiders” like Paul, Mills, and Beth, an artist recently returned to Orient herself. As the plot unfolds, the politics of the town begin to have great influence on the various happenings and goings on, including multiple murders. Bollen does a fair job of keeping the identity of the true killer and their motive under wraps until the very end, though.

Orient is a doorstopper of a read, to be sure, but once the first hundred pages or so are behind and all of the characters are introduced it moves along at a great pace.

5/15 Becky LeJeune

ORIENT by Christopher Bollen. Harper (May 5, 2015). ISBN 978-0062329950. 624p.

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THE TELLER by Jonathan Stone

May 12, 2015

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Elaine Kelly is a beautiful young bank teller who is supporting her dying mother, both financially and emotionally. She is a favorite of many of the banks’ customers, especially Antonio Desirio, an old gentleman who makes a weekly deposit into a savings account of over a million dollars.

When Antonio is killed by a truck right outside the bank, Elaine acts on a rash impulse and transfers most of the man’s money into her account. She’s never done anything like that before, but she’s sure he is all alone in the world and she’s barely scraping by.

The police are investigating the accident, and Elaine is cooperating with the detective and doing some snooping on her own. Then a man comes in the bank, claiming he is Antonio Desirio, and tries to withdraw the money – but it’s already gone. The police freeze the account, but there are bad men after the money and they are targeting Elaine.

This fast paced shell game of misdirection, where it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad, is reminiscent of Good People by Marcus Sakey and Found Money by James Grippando. The author’s previous novel, Moving Day, was also terrific.

5/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

Kindle: THE TELLER by Jonathan Stone. Thomas & Mercer (May 12, 2015). ASIN: B00OV403US

Paperback: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 29, 2012). ISBN 978-1250035028. 384p.

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RULES TO CATCH A DEVILISH DUKE by Suzanne Enoch

May 7, 2015

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Scandalous Brides Series (Book 3)

As usual, I’m starting a series somewhere in the middle of it and I don’t mind a bit. Suzanne Enoch is a new writer to me, and one that I will be reading again.

Sophia White is a heroine that can win anyone over, even the Duke of Greaves. One of his closest friends married one of her closest friends, so the Duke invites Sophia to spend Christmas with her friends, and many others, at his estate.

Sophia is the offspring of a Duke and his maid, and society turns up their noses at her. Her father paid for her education but never really acknowledged her, forcing her to make her own way in the world. She gets a job as a card dealer at a gentlemen’s club called the Tantalus Club, which has a bit of a reputation. When her father finds out, he is determined to get her out of his way before she can embarrass him. He arranges a marriage with a vicar far outside of London society, and the vicar is delighted – he considers her his project, reforming a Jezebel.

So when Sophia receives an invitation to the Duke’s home for the holidays, she decides to have some fun before she has to marry the vicar. On the way there, the bridge collapses and the Duke saves her. None of his other guests can get to his estate until the bridge is fixed, and that takes weeks, leaving the two of them, plus the Duke’s snob of a sister, to pass the time.

The Duke is entranced with Sophia, and she with him. Among the other expected guests, however, are several marriageable women. According to the Duke’s father’s will, he will lose his estates, money & title to his sister’s young son unless he marries very quickly and produces an heir so he invites this group in hopes of finding a bride. Sophia knows she is not in the running but nonetheless wants to have some fun. And they do, but they also fall in love. Can the Duke marry an illegitimate bride?

I loved the humor in this book, and there was a lot of hot sex, but it was the characters that really won me over. I am looking forward to reading more of Suzanne Enoch.

5/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

RULES TO CATCH A DEVILISH DUKE by Suzanne Enoch. St. Martin’s Paperbacks (September 25, 2012). ISBN 978-0312534530. 352p.

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CHECKED OUT by Elaine Viets

May 5, 2015

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Dead-End Job Mystery (Book 13)

The fun continues, this time at the library, in Viet’s latest entry into one of my favorite mystery series. Being a librarian, this book holds a special place in my heart.

People return the most outrageous things along with their library books and Viets mentions several of my favorites. But the mystery here is based on a John Singer Sargent painting worth close to a million dollars that is inadvertently left in a book that is donated to the library.

When Elizabeth’s father died, the family donated his collection of books to the library. When she realizes the painting was in one of the books, she hires private eye Helen Hawthorne to find it.

Helen gets a coveted volunteer position at the small city library and gets to work. But other people are aware of the missing painting and don’t necessarily want it returned to its rightful owner, and are willing to kill to keep it.

Meanwhile Helen’s husband Phil, also a private investigator, is looking for a missing ruby and diamond necklace that was stolen during a private party, along with a golf cart. Yes, lots of folks in south Florida own their own golf carts. Some are used for golf, of course, but there are also communities where they are street legal.

I love the south Florida culture that Viets always infuses her mysteries with, and this time out she also inserts lots of interesting library trivia. Any library regular will love all the inside gossip.

Another great cozy mystery with lots of laughs, warm, wonderful characters and an intriguing premise. Don’t miss it.

5/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

CHECKED OUT by Elaine Viets. NAL (May 5, 2015). ISBN 978-0451466327. 288p.

3 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: Thriller | Permalink
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GIRL UNDERWATER by Claire Kells

May 2, 2015

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Avery expected a smooth flight from California to Boston, but then she awakens to find her fellow passengers screaming and the plane losing altitude. Six of them would make it off the plane when it crashed somewhere in the Rockies and for five harrowing days they would try their best to survive through winter storms and near starvation.

When Avery awakens again, it is December 10^th and she is recuperating in a Colorado hospital. Everyone says she’s one of the lucky ones. Avery does everything she can to get on with her life and goes out of her way to avoid discussing what happened during those awful days in the mountains, but for this once driven college swimmer nothing can ever be the same.

Girl Underwater is a majorly fabulous debut. Kells pretty immediately lets the reader know that Avery survives the crash, switching the narrative back and forth between the crash and the aftermath. What we don’t know is exactly what happened while she and the other survivors were stranded awaiting rescue.

Avery is a great character and one conveniently skilled at survival, but Kells does a quite convincing job of making this aspect of Avery’s life believable. What Avery is less prepared for is making it through what comes later. She finds herself plagued by fears, particularly when it comes to returning to school and the swim team. She’s also plagued by guilt. Hers is a story not only of survival but of love and friendship and of the courage it takes to make it against the odds as well as the courage it takes to rely on others.

5/15 Becky Lejeune

GIRL UNDERWATER by Claire Kells. Dutton (March 31, 2015). ISBN 978-0525954934. 304p.

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THE DOLL MAKER by Richard Montanari

April 29, 2015

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Byrne and Balzano #8

Mr. Marseille and Annabelle are young, good-looking, beautifully dressed, and exceedingly polite murderers. We meet them when they kill a teenage girl, pose her in macabre fashion on a freshly painted bench, and leave her with an invitation to a tea dance.

Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are assigned the case. On the day of the tea dance, two more bodies are found, this time with another invitation to a tea dance, along with a doll that is an exact replica of the first victim; things get progressively darker from there.

More bodies and more dolls keep Byrne and Balzano following a path that takes them tantalizingly close, yet the twists and turns keep coming as they are thwarted by this young couple time and again.

The relationships here are interesting; Marseille and Annabelle are an enigma, which is nicely juxtaposed by the relationship between the detectives, who have worked together so long that they can practically read each other’s thoughts.

Longtime fans of the series will not be disappointed; The Doll Maker is just plain good, creepy fun.

4/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE DOLL MAKER by Richard Montanari. Mulholland Books (April 28, 2015). ISBN 978-0316244732. 496p.

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