RUN by Andrew Grant

October 10, 2014

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In this standalone thriller, Grant introduces computer consultant Marc Bowman, and right out of the box, he is fired from the same company that employs his wife. Bowman has this idea that he is sure will make him millions, only he needs the data he collected from the company to run tests, so he steals it.

The impact of that bad decision gets more and more twisted and dangerous every day. First his computer, along with his million-dollar idea, is stolen, then his wife walks out on him. Marc has the unfortunate problem of believing every person he speaks with, despite their conflicting stories, so he never knows who to really trust.

Ultimately, he finds himself on the run, zigzagging from one unreliable character to the next, dodging bullets and more in a race to stay alive and keep one step ahead of whoever is out to get him.

Grant writes his character into a corner, and the only way out is to use a ploy that doesn’t really work and creates a rather unfortunate ending. For readers who enjoy corporate espionage or high tech thrillers.

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

10/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

Another opinon:

A novel opening with the speed and power of a machine gun and continuing in that mode all the way to the very end. Marc Bowman is a computer expert working as a consultant.  His problems begin with his going to work on a normal Monday at a high tech company he is currently solving problems for.  He walks in, is escorted to his boss and fired being told only that there are cutbacks in personnel throughout the company.

Going home his wife, who is an executive level employee at the high tech company he was fired from, returns home and demands that he return company property he stole when leaving.  He did load a flash drive with data that he was developing and refuses indicating that it was his plans for a design of a breakout software package and not property of the firm. An argument ensues and  his wife stalks out, the first of a week long set of problems  for Marc.

The next morning he awakens, his wife still gone and finds the front door wide open. Marc of course calls the police. Sets of run ins with the police that came in response to his call, Homeland Security and the FBI, running and hiding ensue throughout the remainder of the week, all apparently are due to the content of the material on the flash drive.

What’s going on and what  are the  problems Marc attempts to answer in the midst of trying to rectify the breakup with his wife. This is a book that will capture the reader from the start and not let go until the end.  It is  an all nighter and definitely one to make anyone reading it a fan of Andrew Grant anxiously awaiting his next book.

10/14 Paul Lane

Note: Andrew Grant is Lee Child’s brother.

RUN by Andrew Grant. Ballantine Books (October 7, 2014). ISBN 978-0345540720. 288p.

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THE BETRAYERS by David Bezmozgis

October 8, 2014

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This short novel by Bezmozgis is about one day in the life of Baruch Kotler a dissident Israeli politician that had emigrated from the Soviet Union years ago.  His views on the Israeli West Bank settlements run contrary to the popular view of his contemporaries.

As a result, they attempt to ruin him and his reputation by exposing an affair he is having with a  woman much younger than he is.  In order to escape the notoriety the two escape to Yalta, the Crimean resort that Baruch is familiar with from his youth.

By a coincidence, they accept lodgings in the home of a man that had lied about Baruch years ago and caused him to be sent to the Gulag at that time. Kotler had spent years plotting a revenge against the man if they ever ran into each other again.

Bezmozgis brings us into the thoughts and emotions of both men when they meet after so many years. His doing so is a masterpiece of literary creation.  They become alive in the author’s hand as do his enemy’s wife as well as the young lady traveling with Kotler.

Four people, with all the weaknesses and strengths that they have are brought to life and provide us with a brilliant picture of human emotion and reaction.  Very well done.

10/14 Paul Lane

Little, Brown and Company (September 23, 2014). ISBN 978-0316284332. 240p.

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MOST TALKATIVE by Andy Cohen

October 7, 2014

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Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture

Narrated by Andy Cohen

I love Andy Cohen. I am a Bravo junkie and never miss an episode of Top Chef (in all its incantations,) the New Jersey Housewives and Watch What Happens Live, hosted by Andy Cohen.

So I when I heard he had a new book coming out,The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year, I decided to listen to his first book. I had read it when it came out, but listening to it brought a whole other level of pleasure – Andy reads it himself.

Most Talkative is a memoir, rich with stories of growing up in St. Louis, attending college at Boston University, his semester abroad in London, and finally landing in New York City and the news business. And of course, he dishes about celebrities he’s met, the Housewives and the Reunion shows. It’s camp at its best, and hearing him read his own stories is just fabulous.

The best memoirs are entertaining, informative and ring true, and this one meets all those criteria. If you like Bravo, the Housewives, or Andy Cohen, don’t miss this book. And I can’t wait for the next one!

10/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

MOST TALKATIVE by Andy Cohen. St. Martin’s Griffin; Reprint edition (April 2, 2013). ISBN 978-1250031464. 304p.

Audible Audio Edition: Macmillan Audio (May 8, 2012.) ASIN: B0081CDQ0K. Listening Length: 8 hours and 37 minutes.

 

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT by David Liss

October 6, 2014

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David Liss is the author of several very well researched novels taking place in mid 18th century London. He uses Benjamin Weaver, a man of Jewish descent as his principal protagonist.

The Day of Atonement is set at about the same time involving a man with the anglicized name of Sebastian Foxx (born Sebastiao Raposa). Sebastian is born in Lisbon, Portugal into what was then termed a New Christian family. This denotes people that converted to Christianity in order to avoid capture and torture by the Portuguese Inquisition. But they secretly practiced Judaism among themselves in order to maintain contact with the religion of their birth.

Inquisitions in other countries in Europe had somewhat toned down their inhumane practices, but the Portuguese sector remained as harsh as ever. When Sebastian is about 13 years of age his father and than his mother are seized by the Inquisition, imprisoned and eventually die. Fortunately, Sebastian’s mother is able to send him out of the country to England, where Benjamin Weaver takes him in and raises him into early manhood.

Weaver is a bounty hunter and teaches him all the physical and coercive tricks used on the objects of his hunts. Sebastian eventually makes the decision to return to Lisbon, to avenge his parents by killing the priest that imprisoned them, possibly find and continue with a girl he knew before he left Portugal and thought that he was in love with and perhaps get hold of the fortune that his parents had and secreted from the Inquisition.

Liss is a master of bringing his readers into the period and place he is writing about and The Day of Atonement is no different in that regard from the books about Weaver in England. We see a Lisbon a city filled with filth, terrified of the Inquisition, and replete with corruption. A highlight of the novel is a description of a monumental earthquake that struck Lisbon on November 1, 1775, killing about 90,000 people, and leveling most of it. The same quake did damage in north Africa, and neighboring European cities.

We are brought into the disaster and made to understand the horror felt by all that were involved in it. Sebastian and people he has met and befriended in his attempting to accomplish what he wants while in Lisbon are affected by the change in circumstances of the monumental quake. The novel ends on a perfect note to set the reader up for the next one in a possible series using Sebastian Foxx as the principal protagonist. Well written, well researched and a draw for the reader into the world of the 18th century.

10/14 Paul Lane

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT by David Liss. Random House (September 23, 2014). ISBN 978-1400068975. 384p.

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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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ANGRY OPTIMIST by Lisa Rogak

October 4, 2014

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The Life and Times of Jon Stewart

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

I am a long time fan of Jon Stewart so I was delighted to come across this new biography. I learned that his real name is Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz and he changed it after a comedy club introduction was botched, then legally changed it after he got married. I learned a tiny bit about his wife, and a little about his childhood. I definitely get the feeling that this is an unauthorized biography – the only quotes are from a few former employees and critics.

The vast majority of the book is a look at Stewart’s career, which can more easily be obtained from imdb.com or Wikipedia. I found some of the information given repetitive at times, and at least in one instance, completely inaccurate (no book can reach the New York Times bestseller list in one week; they compile two weeks of sales before placing on the list.)

Rogak presents Stewart for half the book as insecure but hard working, and then skews towards overbearing, demanding and still hard working. I have to say that I didn’t love this book. It really didn’t shed a whole lot of light on much in the way of personal information; she claims repeatedly that Stewart is a very private person, so that is understandable. But if you want to trace his career, it’s all in there. All that said, I’m not sorry I read it by any means, so I would suggest it for diehard fans. It is not the juicy celebrity bio, the type that often lingers on the bestseller lists.

Finally, I didn’t love the narrator of this book. I found her tone unnecessarily snarky much of the time.

10/14 Stacy Alesi

ANGRY OPTIMIST by Lisa Rogak. Thomas Dunne Books (September 9, 2014). ISBN 978-1250014443. 288p.
Audiobook on CD: Tantor Audio; MP3 – Unabridged CD edition (September 9, 2014). ISBN 978-1494555559. Listening Length: 6 hours and 16 minutes

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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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