HORRORSTÖR by Grady Hendrix

October 5, 2014

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The newest addition to the Orsk family of Ohio stores has been experiencing some… weirdness. Furniture is shifted around and defaced overnight when the store is supposed to be empty. The bathroom graffiti has gotten truly out of control. And now corporate is arriving to investigate.

The manager is at his wit’s end when he asks two fellow employees to stay behind for an overnight in hopes they can find the person responsible for all the damage. Not long after their extended shift begins, however, the three find that another set of employees has stayed behind as well. These two are conducting a supernatural investigation in hopes of finding ghosts on the premises. Turns out the store’s location has something of a shady past, one that’s convinced some Orsk employees that the problems are otherworldly in origin. As the night progresses, each one of them will find that this retail job really could kill them.

Oh, this was the most fun ever. Horrorstör is not only set in an Ikea-like wonderland, the book is designed to resemble the catalog.

If you think the gimmick and fancy design might detract from the story, you have absolutely nothing to fear. Hendrix’s tale is one filled with sarcastic minimum wagers facing down existential crises as well as supernatural spooks. It’s a win-win in my opinion; a clever premise, a crafty plot, and a wonderfully constructed package poking fun at everyone’s favorite flat-pack furniture store.

10/14 Becky LeJeune

HORRORSTÖR by Grady Hendrix. Quirk Books (September 23, 2014). ISBN 978-1594745263. 240p.

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THE WHITE SEA by Paul Johnston

October 2, 2014

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An Alex Mavros Mystery

Private Investigator Alex Mavros returns in his seventh adventure set in Greece. Local police have a problem; Greek billionaire Kostas Gatsos is missing and they need help to find him.

The highly dysfunctional family is offering a small fortune to launch the investigation with the promise of more to come when Gatsos is found, but they are not forthcoming about their activities.

Mavros has lost his wife, his elder brother has been missing for years, and with the dismal Greek economy, he is living at home with his mother. He cannot afford to turn down the money so he launches an investigation.

Gatsos made his fortune in the shipping industry, but was involved in many shady deals and made enemies along the way. Meanwhile Gatsos’s captors are putting him through mock trials, finding him guilty then sentencing him to torture.

In a seemingly disparate story, Jim Thompson is an Australian traveling the world and leaving wives in various ports. Thompson shows up at the denouement, helping to bring these storylines together in a riveting climax. Readers who can tolerate torture scenes will enjoy the beautiful international setting and all the action in this fast paced, twisty story.

Copyright ©2014 Booklist, a division of the American Library Association.

10/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE WHITE SEA by Paul Johnston. Creme de la Crime; First World Publication edition (October 1, 2014). ISBN 978-1780290676. 240p.

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THE CHILDREN ACT by Ian McEwan

September 30, 2014

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This is another small book and a quick read from one of my favorite authors, Ian McEwan. Most of his books are short and powerful, and this is no exception.

High Court judge Fiona Maye rules over family court matters. She is very successful and enjoys a good reputation, making decisions on child custody, divorce settlements, etc. Long married but childless, she is shocked when her husband comes home one night and tells her he wants to have a fling before he is too old to enjoy it, and wants her permission.

Fiona throws him out and doesn’t tell a soul, keeping busy with work gets her through the long days and nights. She is presented with a case that is generating a lot of media attention. Adam. a seventeen year old boy has leukemia, and his oncologists want to transfuse him as part of his treatment. But the boy, and his parents, are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and their religion forbids blood transfusions.

Adam is just a few months shy of 18, the age of majority when he alone will have a say about his course of treatment. So Fiona decides to visit him in the hospital, to get a better idea of how to handle the case. The doctors are demanding immediate treatment, or fear the boy will die in a few days, or worse, go blind or other devastating endings.

The story revolves around Fiona dealing with everything on her plate, until the shocking ending. Not one of my favorites from this author, but definitely a worthwhile read.

9/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE CHILDREN ACT by Ian McEwan.Nan A. Talese (September 9, 2014). ISBN 978-0385539708. 240p.

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WAYWARD by Blake Crouch

September 29, 2014

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The Wayward Pines Trilogy Book 2

Two weeks ago, Special Agent Ethan Burke woke up in Wayward Pines. He was told that he’d been in an accident, but he soon found that nothing was quite as it seemed.

Now he’s been tasked with policing the town and he’s one of the few who knows the truth about its existence. It’s a truth that he cannot reveal even to his own family, but the secrets might just be too much to bear.

Ethan’s concerns about hiding the true nature of Wayward Pines soon take a backseat, however, when he discovers there’s been a murder in the town. This kind of crime in Wayward Pines is all but unheard of and when he finds out the identity of the victim things become even more complicated.

Crouch ratcheted up the intensity in this second installment by adding an actual murder. While observing Burke in trying to maintain the front that’s being perpetuated by Pilcher and his other insiders makes for an interesting and conflict laden scenario, the wrinkle in having to investigate a crime in Wayward Pines is all the more engaging. There are some fun flashbacks into Pilcher’s creation of Wayward Pines as well as a mysterious nomadic character roaming around beyond the town in this one, too.

This second in Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy maintains the feverish pace and non-stop action that I enjoyed in Pines. There is a sense of relief, however, in finally knowing the secret of the town.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

WAYWARD by Blake Crouch. Thomas & Mercer (September 17, 2013). ISBN 978-1477808702. 322p.

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THE BANKS OF CERTAIN RIVERS by Jon Harrison

September 28, 2014

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Neil Kazensakis has a lot on his plate. His wife has been hospitalized, kept alive by costly medical intervention, since an accident left her completely debilitated. Since then, he’s been raising his teenage son alone. But life is generally ok for Neil and his little family. He loves his job teaching and even offers up extra time as a running coach. And he’s met someone.

Just as he’s ready to finally open up to his son about his relationship, though, he finds himself in the midst of a scandal that could cost him his reputation and his career. An incident after school is caught on tape and the video seems to show Neil beating up a student. While it’s anything but the whole – or even the true – story, Neil is forced to defend his innocence and hope that an investigation will clear up the matter. Tensions are running high as the town splits in opinion about the matter. For Neil, though, worse than losing the respect of the people he once called friends, he faces the very real possibility of losing his job and the insurance that allows him to continue caring for his wife.

The Banks of Certain Rivers is such an emotional read. Knowing that the so called fight isn’t what everyone believes, knowing that Neil is innocent, and knowing exactly what the consequences of it all will mean if he’s not cleared forces the reader to share in much of Neil’s anger and frustration. At the same time, the struggles he faces with his wife’s situation are truly heartbreaking.

I was blown away by Harrison’s debut. The characters are so real and the story is so intense that it honestly became a bit uncomfortable at times. And yet, The Banks of Certain Rivers is not a story that’s easy to walk away from. I wanted to know how it would turn out. I was invested in Neil and his family.

9/14 Becky LeJeune

THE BANKS OF CERTAIN RIVERS by Jon Harrison. Lake Union Publishing (September 23, 2014). ISBN 978-1477825235. 366p.

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IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis

September 27, 2014

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After an outbreak of polio hits their small society, Lynn and Lucy strike out for California. Though Lynn has spent all of her life living in one spot, defending her little pond, she knows that Lucy needs more. Lucy needs people. Lucy needs hope. What Lucy doesn’t need is to be faced with the fear and animosity that falls on her after the cause of the outbreak is narrowed to either her or her boyfriend as a carrier.

Some say that after the Shortage parts of California were able to maintain some semblance of normalcy. The stories suggest that folks there were able to come up with a way of making ocean water drinkable. There they wouldn’t have to worry about harsh winters and the promise of limitless water means no more living or dying by their small pond.

The road will be long and the journey will be difficult, but together they’re willing to face the challenges ahead in hopes of a better future.

Mindy McGinnis does it again. This companion/sequel to Not a Drop to Drink returns readers to Lynn and her unforgiving waterless world, this time throwing Lynn and young Lucy into a cross-country journey that tests their limits. Fans of McGinnis’s debut will no doubt find this second outing equally satisfying (and harrowing.) but even if you’ve not yet read Not a Drop to Drink you can easily start with In a Handful of Dust.

McGinnis is definitely not afraid to put her characters in the thick of it or to expose her readers to some ick, so if you’re a more sensitive reader this might not be the best choice for your TBR. All I’ll say about that here is: Oh, Vegas.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis. Katherine Tegen Books (September 23, 2014)). ISBN 978-0062198532. 384p.

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FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

September 26, 2014

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Narrated by Rebecca Lowman & Maxwell Caulfield

I love Rainbow Rowell. I first read her debut novel. Attachments, and then went through all of her books. With Fangirl,  I am now all caught up – until she publishes another book., and I can hardly wait for it.

Fangirl is an adult novel that is probably more popular with the Young Adult set since it is about a college freshman who writes fan fiction. I personally don’t know any adults who read fan fiction, although I’m sure they are out there. But my 22 year old daughter devours it, as do other young adults that I know. And interestingly, the paperback was published by Macmillan Children’s.

Anyway, Cather is the college freshman and I listened to this on audio book. Rowell’s books are fantastic on audio, and this one is no exception. There are two narrators, Rebecca Lowman, who reads Cather’s story, and Maxwell Caulfield, who reads the fan fiction that Cather writes. It is loosely based on Harry Potter, but is called Simon Snow and is gay fan fiction with vampires. I don’t like vampires and I wasn’t a fan of the fan fic, as it is called, so I tended to fast forward through those parts.

Cather is an identical twin, her sister is Wren (say the names together and you’ll get it.) Their mother took off when they were 8 years old and their father is bipolar but has managed to bring them up by himself. They girls go away to school in Lincoln, Nebraska, not too far from their home in Omaha. Much to Cather’s dismay, Wren decides she doesn’t want to room with her sister and they drift apart.

Cather’s roommate is Reagan, an upperclassman with a string of boyfriends. One of them, Levi, is always in their room and is very kind to Cather. Eventually they fall in love, but not without a lot of misunderstandings along the way. There is more angst with Cather’s family – her mother shows up, her sister gets alcohol poisoning, and her father has a bad manic episode. But Cather’s real struggle is with her fiction writing class – she wants to write fan fic, and her professor isn’t having any of it.

This is another charming story from this terrific storyteller. The characters are deftly brought to life and their stories are absorbing. I hated when it ended, and I can’t think of a better recommendation than that.

9/14 Stacy Alesi

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell. St. Martin’s Griffin; First Edition edition (September 10, 2013). ISBN 978-1250030955. 448p.
Audiobook on CD: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (September 10, 2013). ISBN 978-0804121286.

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NO TIME TO DIE by Kira Peikoff

September 25, 2014

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There’s something wrong with Zoe Kincaid. Her stunted size and figure are that of a pre pubescent teenager rather than a twenty-year-old. To date none of the doctors or tests have yielded any results and her parents are ready to write it off as a fluke, but after being embarrassed out of college Zoe has had enough.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Zoe submits herself for a series of genetic tests and finally gets an answer: physically her body stopped aging at fourteen. Only one other person has ever been known to suffer this same disorder and further testing could show the exact gene responsible. Zoe is all set to sign on for whatever it takes – after all, her genes could be the key to agelessness – but lawyers have determined that if Zoe is only physically fourteen, she is still a minor. Without the consent her parents refuse to give, any further study of Zoe and her condition are a no go.

When a group called the Network steps in and offers Zoe what private doctors can’t, she jumps at the opportunity. But the Network is the focus of a government investigation determined to unmask and dismantle the organization. In Zoe’s quest for answers has she actually placed herself in the hands of a group of murderers?

This latest from Peikoff is certainly a thought provoking one. On one hand there is the seemingly endless quest for longevity and immortality (should we, shouldn’t we, and what are the ramifications of an un-aging population?). On the other there are the politics involved in medical research.

Some aspects of the book do come across as far fetched, but most of story works. The Network itself is an intriguing prospect, and one I’m sure exists in some throughout the scientific community (though that may just be a bit of conspiracy theory talking).

9/14 Becky LeJeune

NO TIME TO DIE by Kira Peikoff. Pinnacle (August 26, 2014). ISBN 978-0786034895. 448p.

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SPARROW HILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire

September 23, 2014

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It was 1952 when Rose Marshall was killed on Sparrow Hill Road on her way to the prom. She was only sixteen. The circumstances of her death left her a hitcher, a ghost forced to roam the roads in search for rides.

The Phantom Prom Date who murders those who offer her a ride. The Ghost of Sparrow Hill Road whose date died alongside her. The Girl From the Diner who is an omen of bad things to come… for generations her story has been passed on, becoming twisted into a legend that barely resembles the once real story. But Rose herself isn’t a harbinger of doom. Instead, she can tell when an accident is on the horizon and can sometimes save someone who would otherwise die. In other cases, she helps those who have passed on get to their final destination.

In 2010 Seanan McGuire released a dozen Rose Marshall stories through the ezine The Edge of Propinquity. While the mag does still have a few stories in its archives, including McGuire’s “Good Girls Go To Heaven,” the rest have been collected here in the author’s latest release.

This is a story most readers probably know in one form or another, but McGuire expands it and gives it a depth that the word-of-mouth urban legend never could. What’s more, she’s placed the story smack dab in the middle of an urban fantasy world populated with some of the most unusual characters I’ve ever seen: routewitches, trainspotters, crossroads and dead highways, strigoi who don’t suck blood, and a bevy of ghosts ranging from the hitchhikers to maggy dhu (ghost dogs who collect souls).

Sparrow Hill Road is a ghost story, a love story, a horror story, and a story of the road.

09/14 Becky LeJeune

SPARROW HILL ROAD by Seanan McGuire. DAW Trade (May 6, 2014). ISBN 978-0756409616. 320p.

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THE ESCAPE by Mary Balogh

September 21, 2014

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Survivor’s Club Series, Book 3

Just to recap, this series focuses on a group of men who all sustained injuries during the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke of Stanbrook, having lost his son in that war, had invited this group of five men with various serious injuries, and one woman who had the misfortune of seeing her husband tortured and killed, to recuperate at his estate. They spend a few years there healing, form an eternal bond, and after they have healed enough to return to the world, they meet up once a year at the estate to renew their bonds. And apparently each year, at least one of them will marry.

The Escape centers on Major Sir Benedict Harper, who had his legs crushed during the war. He was told that he would never walk again and the surgeon wanted to amputate, but he refused, and through sheer strength of will, has fashioned two canes that allow him to walk, albeit slowly, and with some pain.

Benedict is out riding and decides to try jumping a hedge, which he accomplishes but unfortunately, when he lands he scares a young woman and her dog, and his horse gets a bit spooked. He gets the horse under control and then notices the woman has fallen on her behind. His temper gets the best of him and she storms off.

It turns out she is Mrs. Samantha McKay, recently widowed after caring for her invalid husband for many years after he was injured in the war. Their meeting doesn’t get off on the best foot, but Benedict’s sister helps make amends. Then Samantha finds out that the home she thought was hers has been given to her brother-in-law and his family, and she is being sent to live with her puritanical in-laws, so she decides to run away to a cottage by the sea in Wales that her mother had bequeathed her.

Benedict offers to accompany her, and she reluctantly acquiesces. During that trip, that learn a lot about each other, and they fall in love but are hesitant to admit it. The village in Wales is dominated by a mansion on top of a hill that overlooks the town and the sea, and it turns out to be owned by the grandfather Samantha never met. Family issues are complicated, and Benedict leaves for several months to allow Samantha to finish her mourning for her husband, and to get to know her recently found family.

This is another terrific story in what has turned into a favorite series. I’m looking forward to the next book, but as an added treat, there is a short story called “The Suitor” that is included in the paperback that stands alone, but also ties up a loose end from The Arrangement.

9/14 Stacy Alesi

THE ESCAPE by Mary Balogh. Dell (July 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0345536068. 416p.

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