SURRENDER by Joan Johnston

March 7, 2018

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A Bitter Creek Novel, Book 16

Taylor Grayhawk is a pilot who drops smoke jumpers off into the fires of a national park. But her last jumper, Brian Flynn, also happens to be her old high school flame (no pun intended!) Not to mention their families have been feuding for years. As she flies in closer, she realizes that there is no where to drop him, and then the worst happens, she loses control of the plane.

Flynn forces her to jump with him, and in doing so saves her life as the plane crashes and burns. Somehow they find a small patch of green to land in but a grizzly bear appears out of nowhere and mauls Flynn’s leg. He manages to scare off the bear and realizes it came out of a cave nearby.

They decide to take shelter in the cave, but before he can drag all his equipment inside with them, fire takes out a huge tree which falls over, completely blocking the entrance to the cave and their only way out. Luckily, there is clean water running down the rocks inside but they don’t have enough food to last very long.

Brian and Taylor have nothing much to do other than take care of his wounds and rekindle their relationship. But can it last? Will Flynn survive his wound? Will they starve to death before they are found? All good questions to be sure, but I’m not telling. Go read, it’s a fast, exciting story with a bit of sex thrown in for fun.

Johnston did her homework and learning about smoke jumpers, forest fires and firefighting in general was interesting for sure and added to the story.

I am a little confused about this series though – I read book 15 (the last book,  BLACKTHORNE’S BRIDE) and it was historical. I’ve never read a series that jumped from historical to contemporary. Am I missing something?

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SURRENDER by Joan Johnston. Dell (February 27, 2018).  ISBN 978-0399177767. 416p.

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THE ESCAPE ARTIST by Brad Meltzer

March 6, 2018

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Nola (named after the city) Brown is a truly damaged yet kick-ass woman; bright, tough beyond belief, and an amazingly talented artist. In fact, she is the youngest artist-in-residence the military has ever had. What that means is she decides where she wants to go and when she gets there she draws anything she wants. It turns out she sees a lot more than most people, and saved many lives because of her eye.

Zig is a mortician at Dover Air Force base who works on fallen soldiers. He considers himself to be an artist, and his work is his life. He got divorced after his young daughter died.

When Nola Brown’s body comes into Dover after a fatal small plane crash, Zig is shocked to discover the woman he’s working on is not Nola. He knew Nola as a child, she was in Girl Scouts with his daughter and saved her life after a can exploded near a campfire. Nola took the shrapnel instead, leaving her ear disfigured but the ears on the woman on Zig’s table are perfect.

Thus begins a twisty, at times violent, roller coaster ride of a thriller. There is a lot of really fascinating information on the death process of fallen soldiers, history about Houdini, his friends and family, and about magic in general. I love how I inevitably learn something from Meltzer’s novels, his research is always impeccable. The story moves back and forth between Nola’s childhood and present day, and that helps keep the pages turning.

The surprises keep coming, the pacing is relentless, and the body count high in this terrific political thriller. (And librarians, the President appointed Librarian of Congress plays a prominent part!) Readers who love strong women protagonists like Lisbeth Salander (Stieg Larsson,) Caitlin Strong (Jon Land,) and even Katniss (Suzanne Collins) will love Nola Brown.

Another terrific read from one of my favorite authors (and one of my favorite people!) Don’t miss it.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE ESCAPE ARTIST by Brad Meltzer. Grand Central Publishing (March 6, 2018). ISBN: 978-1455559527. 434p.

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THE ESCAPE ARTIST by Brad Meltzer

March 6, 2018

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Brad Meltzer’ s latest novel ties together two of the most interesting people ever united by events in a book. The first one is a soldier named Nola Brown. Nola’s background includes a childhood marred by the worse treatment ever received by an adopted daughter from the man that became her father. She was bullied, browbeaten, and treated as garbage. Her only escape was to join the army.

While there she was chosen to be the Army’s Artist in Residence. She had the open-ended assignment of going wherever she wanted to and drawing what she saw to be included in the army’s record of the battle or the event in order to form a better picture of what occurred.

The other person is Jim “Zig” Zigarowski who works at Dover Air Force Base as a mortician in the section that receives fallen military personnel. Zig does not treat the position as something to just work at as his day job. His feelings towards the dead received causes him to labor long and hard at fixing up features of those that combat has disfigured in order to allow next of kin to be able to have open casket burials and find closure in that process.

Zig knew Nola years ago while she was in high school and saved the life of his daughter. Later in that period there was a terrible accident that did claim the life of Zig’s child and thereby ruined his life. His wife left him and Zig went deeper into the lonely business of dealing with the dead to ready them for burial.

The novel opens with the news of the crashing of a small plane coming from a secret military base in Alaska. Among other casualties, Zig learns that Nola is among the dead and solicits her  body in order to work on it preparing for the funeral. He quickly discovers that the corpse is not Nola but someone else and begins his own intensive investigation of what is happening.

The events depicted keep the reader glued to the book in order to find out what is going on. Who is the person killed and, of course, where is Nola? Both Zig and Nola are very well delineated and their feelings and reactions to events are those that would happen to anyone caught up in those situations. It is possible that Nola might enter into future novels written by Brad Meltzer but the current book is able to stand on its own and provides an excellent reading experience for those enjoying it.  Very well done.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE ESCAPE ARTIST by Brad Meltzer. Grand Central Publishing (March 6, 2018). ISBN: 978-1455559527. 434p.

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THE LAST EQUATION OF ISAAC SERVERY by Nova Jacobs

March 5, 2018

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A Novel in Clues

The subtitle is “A Novel in Clues” and that is precisely what it is. Isaac Severy, the patriarch of an intellectually gifted family, passes away. His farewell note indicates that he knew he would die, and when, and also indicates that two others would become deceased and predicts the times. Murder, suicide, natural death? And what enables him to make such spot on predictions? Is it the equation that he has just finished?

Isaac sends a letter to his adopted granddaughter Hazel while she is in Los Angeles for his funeral. The letter alludes to a secret organization that is after the equation and will stop at nothing to obtain it. Isaac charges Hazel with finding said equation and delivering it to a close friend of his.

While still in Los Angles, Hazel comes to the realization that the equation has implications that could have disastrous consequences for her entire extended family and begins an exhaustive hunt for it. Clues sent to Hazel by her grandfather indicate that the equation can be found by clues hidden in one of her favorite novels, and we follow her reasoning and search through them.

Complicating events are the appearances of Isaac’s favorite son, a theoretical physicist, and a long lost cousin, both coming to Los Angeles. Do they know about the equation and what it can do? And of course the obvious question of what is it capable of?

The debut novel certainly bodes well for an exciting career for this author. It is  definitely one that will not let the reader put it down until finished and exhibits a literary style that is certainly captivating.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE LAST EQUATION OF ISAAC SERVERY by Nova Jacobs. Touchstone (March 6, 2018).  ISBN 978-1501175121. 352p.

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HARBOR OF SPIES by Robin Lloyd

March 3, 2018

A Novel of Historic Havana

An extremely well researched and compelling novel combining a story about sailors working  aboard ships still under sail and a little known stage of the American Civil War. In 1863, Everett Townsend, a young man recently dismissed from the U.S. Naval Academy for cause and subsequently in disgrace, is captain of a ship owned by his father and sailing to and selling that vessel in Havana. Cuba has become a center for Southern blockade runners to pick up  cargoes crucial for the Confederate war effort, run the blockade to Southern ports while evading the Northern navy, and return, bringing a cargo of cotton destined for European markets. It is a very dangerous but very lucrative venture when successful and Havana is therefore a good market to sell ships in.

On the way into Havana harbor, Everett rescues  a man escaping unknown danger and  swimming towards the ship while  pursued by sharks. This good Samaritan action results in jail for Everett with his release effected by a profiteering Spanish merchant who forces him into becoming  captain of the merchant’s blockade runner in order to pay the debt owed for obtaining his release from prison. Robin Lloyd’s descriptions of the Cuban world of that period:  huge plantations and very wealthy people,extremely poor people and slaves brought from both Africa and Jamaica to work the plantations are riveting and show the reader a world not normally depicted. For the blockade runners  there are the dangers of both conditions of the ocean these ships sail on and the equally dangerous possible meetings with Northern warships hunting the blockade runners.

The writing flows rapidly with the reader drawn into the reward of discovering a  world that is only 90 miles off the coast of the U.S. and at the time of the story  a base for Union warships hunting blockade runners. Two factors enrich the novel. One is the solving of a mystery that has haunted Everett since childhood with the answer found on Cuba, and the other meeting a girl of great interest for him. Both of these situations help enrich the attraction of Lloyd’s novel, keeping the reader glued to the pages.

The ending is well done and logically based on the story told, but fortunately leaving a good deal of factors that could go into another book about Everett Townsend and the world he finds himself in.I hope that this will be the case and I will be looking for those novels when published.

3/18 Paul Lane

HARBOR OF SPIES by Robin Lloyd. Lyons Press (March 1, 2018).  ISBN 978-1493032266. 320p.

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THE WIFE by Alafair Burke

February 28, 2018

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Wow, what a read! This was the last book I read before I went back to work and it was a one day read for me, I could not put it down.

Angela grew up in the Hamptons, and we find out fairly quick that something traumatic happened when she was a teenager – and that story teasingly unfurls throughout the book.

As an adult, Angela became a successful caterer in East Hampton, and when she meets Jason at her best friend’s house where she’s catering a party, she assumes this will be a short fling as most relationships between townies and summer people go. But Jason has other ideas.

Even being a single mother doesn’t deter him and Angela falls for him and the way he cares for her son. Jason is one of the good guys, a smart, successful college professor and they marry. They live in NYC and Jason gets Spencer into a good private school. When Jason writes a bestselling book, he becomes a celebrity which makes Angela somewhat uncomfortable because she’s always afraid her past will come back to haunt her. Jason, of course, knows, and he respects her wanting to keep her secrets.

Then Jason is accused of sexual harassment by one of the interns he supervises. He tries to blow it off, but then another woman comes forward and accuses him of rape. Angela, always a survivor, realizes she needs to stand by her man, even after he admits to having an affair with his accuser. But as things progress, their life starts spiraling out of control.

There are many twists in this story but the ending is the real shocker. The pacing is relentless, the characters are so well drawn that they completely drive the narrative. If you are a fan of the “girl books,” put this on your list. In general I’m not, but this book was exceptional, I loved it.

2/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE WIFE by Alafair Burke. Harper (January 23, 2018). ISBN: 978-0062390516. 352p.

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THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah

February 27, 2018

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I’m a long time Kristin Hannah fan. She started off  writing women’s fiction and I often recommended her books to Danielle Steel readers who wanted to step up a bit. Then she wrote The Nightingale, and never looked back. That book lingered on the NY Times bestseller list for well over a year, a real anomoly for fiction and certainly well deserved. The Great Alone debuted at number one on that list and I have a feeling this book, too, shall linger.

Leni Allbright is a young teenager who has lived a difficult life. Her father, Ernt, is a Vietnam war vet obviously suffering from severe PTSD, undiagnosed and untreated at that time. Her mom, Cora, loves her husband madly and truly seems to understand the demons that drive him. He can’t hold a job, he drinks to much, and he has black moods on a regular basis. Leni has a harder time, but knows her father loves her. Leni and her mom are very close, unusually close for a child that age, but the family constantly moves, often several times a year, due to Ernt’s troubles, so Leni and Cora cling to each other.

Ernt receives a letter from the father of an old army buddy of who had died in the war, informing him that his buddy has left him 40 acres and a house in the wilds of Alaska. This book opens in 1974 in the pre-cruise era, and even the cities in Alaska weren’t all that populated. Ernt decides this is just the break he needs and he loads his family into an old VW bus and they make the drive from Seattle to Alaska.

They arrive in the tiny town and are amazed – the main street has a general store and a bar and not much else. The population is in the double digits and everyone who lives there is living off the grid – no electricity, no running water, just spectacular vistas and a very hard life. Fortunately, they arrive in spring so they have the summer to prepare for the long, hard winter. Ernt seems happy, and Cora and Leni are enjoying learning to hunt, how to can fruits and vegetables for winter, how to smoke fish and so forth. Leni goes to school in the one room schoolhouse and makes her first real friend. But as darkness falls on Alaska, so does Ernt’s mood.

This is a fascinating look at a life most of us would never experience, living entirely off the land and bartering for whatever else you need. It is also a coming of age story, a story about the effects of war, about an abusive marriage, anarchy, and more. While the storyline is nothing like The Nightingale, it is about two strong women and the life they build, something Hannah excels at. This is not a happy story, but a dark, searing one that will be staying with me for a very long time. It is such a gripping novel that I just couldn’t put it down and I can’t wait to talk to someone who has read it – it will make a fabulous book discussion. Don’t miss it.

2/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah.  Holtzbrinck Publishers; First Edition edition (February 6, 2018).  ISBN 978-0312577230. 448p.

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THE ONE by John Marrs

February 22, 2018

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Our society is filled with formal and informal methods and systems set to introduce two people looking for someone to love and spend their lives with. These include special interest clubs, on line setups via filling out a background form, family groups and matchmakers.

John Marrs postulates a near term future when DNA testing will find one’s perfect mate including all permutations and combinations of individuals. One company, whose founder developed the system of a quick swab in the mouth, will become one of the largest businesses in the world when they corner the market on this method.

Five couples are followed when the swab indicates that they are destined for each other. In addition, Marrs points out the very probable human reactions to the testing when couples married or together for many years begin to doubt their union when each of the two involved take the test and find that they are compatible with someone else.

Presented are a couple who are thousands of miles apart, another where after the test one partner dies, still another where a female police officer is matched with a serial killer who continues his murders while professing love for the cop. In addition, the question of a couple taking the test and finding that the male member has another male as his perfect love, and finally when the founder of the company that perfected the test finds a match via the system.

The author uses a method of going from one set of partners to another throughout the book allowing the reader to relate to the situations faced in this new world. What type of world would such a system create? Can matches crossing international boundaries bring the earth to a point where intentional conflict is passe? Would there be mass divorces due to being found by the test for the couple to be incompatible?

My reaction to this novel was simply that I couldn’t put it down getting totally immersed from the git go. I do believe that most readers will have the same reaction and finish knowing that they have just read something completely different and completely well handled.

2/18 Paul Lane

THE ONE by John Marrs. Hanover Square Press (February 20, 2018).  ISBN 978-1335005106. 416p.

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THE IMMORTALISTS by Chloe Benjamin

February 21, 2018

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As regular readers probably know, in December I started having some trouble with my eyes. Reading becams difficult, but I perservered as long as I could. This forced me to become extremely discriminating in what I read until it became just impossible to read either print, on my iPad or the last to go, my Kindle. This is the last book I chose to start. I only got about a third of the way through it and I was so involved I even tried having my Kindle read it to me but I just couldn’t cope with that. So I set it aside. I had surgery, and week of horrendous recovery, and a few more weeks of tolerable recovery and my eyesight seemed to improve daily. It’s still not great, and computers are the most difficult for me to manage, but I have managed to read on my Kindle again. At first, I could only read for about ten minutes at a time, then my eyes would tire. So it took me an extraordinarily long time to finish this book, but I am so glad I did.

The story starts out in the late 1960’s on the Lower East side of New York. The Gold family, four siblings, have heard about a fortune teller who has recently come to their neighborhood. Apparently, she can predict the date of each client’s death. Intrigued, the children find her, and one at a time, she tells them their death dates. They are freaked out, as they should be, and take off without even paying her. But their lives are never really the same after that.

They don’t all share their dates, but hints are dropped. As they get older, this information steers how they live their lives. The youngest, Simon, realizes as a teen that he is gay and his sister Klara encourages him to move to San Francisco, and she lives with him. This is in the 1980’s at the beginning of the AIDS crisis and Harvey Milk and more. Klara becomes a magician and eventually moves to Las Vegas. The oldest son, Daniel, becomes a doctor and works for the armed services, determining who is fit to become a soldier and Vanya, the oldest daughter, becomes a research scientist studying, not ironically, longevity.

The book follows each of the lives until their deaths. It obviously poses the philosophical question if you knew when you were going to die, would you live your life differently? But it delves even further than that into relationships, both familial and others. It is beautifully written and each character drives their own story. Worthy of all the praise it has received, and certainly worthy of discussion. It is not a stretch to say that I’m sure it will be on my best books of the year list.

2/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE IMMORTALISTS by Chloe Benjamin.  G.P. Putnam’s Sons; First Edition edition (January 9, 2018).  ISBN 978-0735213180. 352p.

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SUNBURN by Laura Lippman

February 20, 2018

It’s been about two years since Lippman’s last book, the excellent Wilde Lake, and all I can say is that it was worth the wait. This is a standalone novel and Lippman’s turn at the unreliable narrator genre that has permeated the best seller lists. And she does an excellent job of it.

Polly has left her second husband and their daughter and is basically on the lam. She ends up in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Unbeknownst to her, Adam, the good looking man she meets at the local tavern, is actually a private detective who’s been hired to befriend her and find out where she has stashed quite a bit of money. Instead, they fall for each other and have a steamy affair.

Polly is very close mouthed, but slowly begins to reveal herself to Adam. She admits to murdering her first husband, which she was imprisoned for but got on on a sweeping governor pardon of abused wives. But Adam is not quite as forthcoming.

There are a lot of lies, more deaths and several unexpected twists to this story, not to mention quite the shocking ending. This was a one night read for me, albeit a very late night, but I couldn’t put it down. Sunburn is sure to be one of the best books of 2018 – don’t miss it.

As my regular readers know, I was not a fan of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, two of the most popular books in this unreliable narrator/Girl subgenre. But if you were fans of those books, this is a sure bet.

Note to the author: As much as I enjoyed Sunburn, I wouldn’t mind another Tess Monaghan book!

2/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SUNBURN by Laura Lippman. William Morrow (February 20, 2018). ISBN: 978-0062389923. 304p.

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