Book Reviews | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

HOUSE OF SECRETS by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg

July 7, 2016

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Brad Meltzer has demonstrated his lifelong interest in discovering hidden aspects of historical events. In addition to books dedicated towards fact, he has also written fiction utilizing Beecher White. a young archivist employed by the National Archives in Washington. White is shown discovering hidden stories, unknown facts tied to historical events.

In House of Secrets, Meltzer introduces a new protagonist, Hazel Nash, who has been taught from the age of six that mysteries need to be solved. Her father/teacher, Jack Nash, had hosted a long term show exposing conspiracies called, “The House of Secrets”.

We meet Hazel as she is recovering from an auto accident which killed her father and injured her brother. She has completely lost her memory from the trauma. She is visited in the hospital by an agent from the FBI who begins questioning her about her father and the body of a man with a book stuffed into his chest. The book is believed to have belonged to Benedict Arnold, the most famous traitor in American history.

Leaving the hospital, Hazel finds material in her house that she cannot remember obtaining nor have any reason to get. There is a large collection of guns and she has scars on her face that she doesn’t recall suffering. When Hazel digs into these mysteries, she begins to discover facts about her father that show him to be a very different person than he seemed to be.

What does Benedict Arnold’s book have to do with her father and why was it sewn into a dead man’s chest? What are the realities of her father’s directing the TV show?

A very engrossing novel, and one that leads the reader through an apparent maze into a logical conclusion with the possibility of a different direction in one of history’s events than normally perceived. Hazel appears to be developed into another protagonist for Brad Meltzer and his new writing partner, Tod Goldberg, that can expand the horizons of historical discovery into the international sphere.

7/16 Paul Lane

HOUSE OF SECRETS by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg. Grand Central Publishing (June 7, 2016). ISBN 978-1455559497. 368p.

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ONCE UPON A MOONLIT NIGHT by Elizabeth Hoyt

July 6, 2016

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A Maiden Lane Novella

Hippolyta Royle has just escaped from a kidnapper. This is no ordinary kidnapper, however. No ransom was involved; instead the kidnapper, a Duke, wants to marry the wealthy heiress, but she’s not interested. More to the point, she wants out and with the help of a kind maid, makes her escape, wearing borrowed, ill fitting clothes and running through the rainy woods, the hounds after her.

Eventually she makes it to the road, a mud splattered mess, where she flags down a passing coach, begging a ride. The occupant, Mr. Matthew Mortimer, takes pity on her, thinking her to be a poor beggar girl or perhaps even a prostitute.

They have quite the adventure as they travel to London, where they each find out the other’s true identity and realize they are meant to be together.

This is a novella and available as an ebook or audiobook only, so I can’t say how long it is exactly. I can say I read it in an hour or so and enjoyed it. Hoyt is a good storyteller, and that comes across even in this abbreviated format.

7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ONCE UPON A MOONLIT NIGHT by Elizabeth Hoyt. Forever Yours (July 5, 2016). ASIN: B01CDDAF88. 464p.

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THE TRAP by Melanie Raabe

July 5, 2016

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Linda Conrads is agoraphobic, suffers from depression, anxiety, hallucinations and panic attacks, and hasn’t left her home since her sister was murdered eleven years earlier.

Fortunately, Linda is a very successful novelist so she has the means to live her life isolated on a luxurious estate. Unfortunately, Linda had discovered her sister’s body, caught a glimpse of the murderer as he left the apartment, and been haunted by the scene for years.

Her only links to the outside world are her editor, her part time assistant, and the television. She is watching the news when she suddenly realizes the reporter, Victor Lenzen, is her sister’s murderer.

She decides to set a trap; she writes a thriller utilizing all the details of her sister’s murder, then arranges for her first interview in twelve years – with Victor Lenzen. Linda hopes to maneuver him into a confession, but her careful plan goes horribly awry.

A fast, twisty read for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn. Not for me.

7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE TRAP by Melanie Raabe. Grand Central Publishing (July 5, 2016). ISBN 978-1455592920. 352p.

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HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION by by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter

July 4, 2016

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Last fall, I was watching The View and Whoopi Goldberg raved about this new Broadway musical she had just seen. I was intrigued, and since I was planning a trip to NY this summer, looked into buying tickets. They were out of my price range, around $300 a ticket, so I didn’t buy them. That was a mistake – the weekend I was looking at coincides with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s last performance and that $300 ticket is now selling for thousands of dollars. I still wouldn’t have seen the show but I could have made enough to see several other shows!

My library offers Hoopla, a streaming service that offers music, movies, audiobooks and more. They have the Hamilton soundtrack, and I’ve checked it out several times now. This book is just the icing on the cake for me. It’s really gorgeous, the paper is just perfect for the subject, and there are dozens of interesting pictures. If you’ve seen the show, you will want this book (or so I hear!) and if you haven’t, like me, you can enjoy it vicariously through this book. Add the soundtrack and you can have Hamilton magic without ever leaving home!

From Amazon:

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country’s origins for a diverse new generation.

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages–“since before this was even a show,” according to Miranda–traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.

Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sondheim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by President Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don’t throw away their shot.

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7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION by by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter. Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (April 12, 2016). ISBN: 978-1455539741. 288p.

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COLD by John Sweeney

July 3, 2016

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John Sweeney’s credentials are such to cause a reader to assume that any novel he will produce will immediately grab the reader, pull him or her into the story and keep them there. The elements are here in the details, the action and an interesting plot.

The problem is a myriad of details that take Joe Tiplady, Sweeney’s protagonist, into a dizzying array of events that make him a priceless target but cause the book to become more than a little cumbersome for the reader.

The book opens with Joe walking his dog in London, in the snow, but shadowed by two men. He is then rapidly immersed into troubles that become overwhelming. A retired Soviet general is hunting for his missing daughter. A ruthless assassin is hunting something he lost that is so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the background is Zoba ruler of Russia and master of the world’s darkest operatives.

The ending solves the problems but is disappointing for those that have waded through the book and expect something more to the point. The details are tied together logically, possibly allowing for future Tiplady novels to become tighter and more interesting for the reader. That is if Sweeney thinks a bit smaller and doesn’t try to solve too many problems in his books.

7/16 Paul Lane

COLD by John Sweeney. Thomas & Mercer (July 1, 2016). ISBN 978-1503934221. 398p.

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FIRST STRIKE by Ben Coes

July 2, 2016

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A Dewey Andreas Novel, Book 6

Since Dewey Andreas’ first appearance in Power Down, Coes has brought him a long way. From a job on an off-shore oil rig in which his long dormant fighting skills acquired as a special forces operator reappeared when the rig was attacked by terrorists, to First Strike, where he has become a highly skilled counter terrorist agent, Dewey has come a long way. What hasn’t changed is the author’s talent for writing a novel in which the action is nonstop. And that is certainly the case here.

The Pentagon has created a scenario in which one handpicked man would emerge as the most powerful leader in the troubled middle east. But the individual selected turns the tables on the U.S.

Tristan Nazir twists the program to create the elite terrorist army of ISIS. When the U.S. is ready to send a final shipment of munitions to Nazir, it becomes suspect that ISIS is receiving the funding to pay for that delivery in order to use the material for their own ends.

Dewey Andreas is sent into Syria to find out what is going on and where the arms are actually being sent. Arriving in Damascus, Dewey is caught and held prisoner, but with the ingenuity he has always exhibited, escapes and returns to the U.S.

The second half of the novel is centered on an ISIS attack on America, which is geared to blackmail the U.S. into releasing the last shipment of weapons to them by a threat almost beyond belief. The action is rapid during the entire novel, but in this lengthy segment is staggering and does not let up. Dewey becomes involved with thwarting the terrorists, and his actions, as well as those of a force aiding him, will keep the reader breathless.

Coes has evolved during his five books involving Dewey Andreas into a master of writing the all nighter. Extremely well formulated and guaranteed to keep his readers awaiting the next book with bated breath.

7/16 Paul Lane

FIRST STRIKE by Ben Coes. St. Martin’s Press (June 28, 2016). ISBN 978-1250043177. 480p.

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DARK HORSE by Rory Flynn

June 30, 2016

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Eddy Harkness Novels (Book 2)

They call it Dark Horse and it’s a bit of an anomaly in the drug market: an almost pure heroin sold and darkened as though it’s not. And it’s deadly, resulting in death by overdose all over Boston. Eddy Harkness and his fellow Narco-Intel team members have had their eye on it for some time, but when a hurricane rips through the city a discovery of a large cache of the drug offers their first possible break in the case.

But while Dark Horse and Boston’s drugs are supposed to be the focus of their efforts, Eddy soon realizes there’s something larger going on in Boston’s neighborhoods – the Lower South End in particular. And when citizens of the neighborhood begin taking up questionably legal residence in Eddy’s old hometown, it’s inevitable that he’ll get involved.

I would love for more people to discover this fantastic series. Harkness is a man with a troubled past, much of which is covered in Dark Horse’s predecessor, Third Rail.

In this second of the series, Eddy has put much of that trouble behind him, regaining his place as head of Narco-Intel. He’s also in a much healthier relationship than his last and considering making it permanent.

A literal (and figurative) storm is brewing in Boston when the book begins, and Eddy finds himself caught in the very center. His actions have him branded a hero but it’s clear he may soon make some very powerful enemies.

This is a perfect follow up to Third Rail, another smart installment in what is a real standout series.

(I’d suggest reading them in order as there are some callbacks to Third Rail throughout Dark Horse.)

6/16 Becky LeJeune

DARK HORSE by Rory Flynn. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (June 7, 2016). ISBN: 978-0544253247. 240p.

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FIRST COMES LOVE by Emily Giffin

June 29, 2016

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Josie and Meredith are sisters with a lifelong, contentious relationship, like a lot of sisters. Added to their stress is the fact that their brother died in a car accident when they were young women.

Meredith ends up married to her brother’s best friend, and while the marriage seems great on the surface, she is afraid that she isn’t in love with her husband. She’s a successful lawyer, but hates her job. And while she loves her young daughter fiercely, she struggles with that relationship, too.

Josie is single, a teacher, and goes into a mild panic when one of her new students is the child of her ex-boyfriend, the one that got away, and his wife – who volunteers to be room mother.

Josie has a lot of guilt about the night her brother died. She also has decided to have a child via a sperm donor. Gabe, her best friend and platonic roommate, is the only one who is privy to Josie’s guilt and is also the most supportive person in her life.

As these women try and work through their individual problems, they are also trying to get past their own relationship problems. The story moves back and forth between their perspectives, making both characters empathetic.

Giffin’s a terrific storyteller and really brings these characters, and the peripheral characters as well, to life. This is a wonderful book about sisters, exploring both the joys and the heartaches that go along with that relationship. A very enjoyable read.

6/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FIRST COMES LOVE by Emily Giffin. Ballantine Books (June 28, 2016). ISBN: 978-0345546920. 400p.

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WARNING ORDER by Joshua Hood

June 28, 2016

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Search and Destroy Thriller

Second in what should become a popular and successful set of novels about the US army in battle with elements of radical Islam, Hood’s book is nothing short of an adrenaline rush. Combat is present from start to finish keeping the reader glued to the pages and mesmerized by the action.

Mason Cane, on the US government’s Black List, strikes a deal with the CIA to clear his name and throws himself back into action. He finds that he is up against a radical cell of terrorists with possible roots within the US president’s inner circle.

Moving against the cell, Cane is joined by a group including Renee Hart, a DOD operative, and Special Forces soldiers. Action is constant with no let up. Renee was apparently set to become a love interest for Mason Cane in the first book by Hood, Clear by Fire, but there is no time in this novel for any private contact for the two.

The ending finds Cane wounded in action and taking a leave in order to recuperate from his wounds. He is contacted by the individual that guides his actions, and the book ends as Mason is ordered into his next action.

The book is for any reader that appreciates combat action written by a veteran of war who has the knack to describe military action and the weapons used in the fighting. This is a well done novel of war.

6/16 Paul Lane

WARNING ORDER by Joshua Hood. Touchstone (June 28, 2016). ISBN 978-1501108280. 352p.

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TRACER by Rob Boffard

June 27, 2016

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Outer Earth, Book 1

Tracer is the first of a projected science fiction trilogy. It is set in a future where the Earth has been made uninhabitable due to the mishandling by the people living there. The survivors are living in a crowded space station orbiting above the former home to our species. It is at once dirty as well as overcrowded and with hardly any room for people to live.

Riley Hale is a tracer trying to survive by delivering material sent by individuals and receiving payment in food, water or other tradeable items in conjunction with the group known as the Devil Dancers, with whom she lives. Her group has built a reputation of reliable deliveries and no meddling with the products they carry for their customers. She is secretly loved by Parkesh, a laboratory worker. It would appear that Riley is unaware of Parkesh’s adulation.

Rob Boffard’s strong suit is his ability to bring to life the station in which the action takes place. In too many science fiction stories there are situations and products that are described as being present and not really traceable to anything known today. The space station contains people and materials that are believably products of a forced exodus from a dying earth. The conditions described are certainly attributable to an overcrowded situation that is due to huge masses of people forced to flee to an area many times smaller than they are used to.

With a similarity to other dystopian novels, the space station is ruled by a hierarchy of persons whose sole interest is in retaining power and adding to that by their actions. There is also a villain that has the idea that conditions can be made right if the humans on New Earth are eliminated and a new group allowed to evolve.

Boffard’s ending this first part of his trilogy is neatly done and presents the most likely problems to be taken up in book two, Zero G.

6/16 Paul Lane

TRACER by Rob Boffard. Redhook (June 28, 2016). ISBN 978-0316265270. 448p.

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