INFLUX by Daniel Suarez

February 20, 2014


A theme last seen in science fiction’s pulp era was that of “suppressed inventions”, i.e.; cars getting 1000 miles from a pint of alcohol, anti-gravity travel, pills and plants curing most major diseases for little or no cost. These discoveries were suppressed by people not wanting to lose high revenues from current methods and having the inventions take over the situation.

Suarez creates a U.S. government agency titled The Bureau of Technology Control. They are charged with ascertaining orderly progress in society by withholding or suppression of advanced findings in order to maintain social structure that does not rocket past what should be the ordinary rate of progress. The BTC has thrown off all U.S. government control and holds in secret technology that puts them at least 50 years beyond the rest of the world.

Jon Grady, a particle scientist, and his team come up with perfecting a device that will reflect gravity. This should bring him worldwide acclaim, but instead causes him to be swept up into the path of the Bureau of Technology Control that offers him a chance to work on his invention under their supervision and control. Jon refuses and is thrown into a high tech prison maintained by the BTC.

How he escapes and gets into contact with other prisoners that have refused to follow BTC dictates places the reader into one of the most imaginative and fascinating plots in science fiction to date. What happens to an agency set up to maintain orderly progression in society that places itself outside of the control of any other ordinary organization is certainly a study in Machiavellian cause and effect. Well done novel by Suarez, who has done several other books involving high technology and its consequences while not under control.

2/14 Paul Lane

INFLUX by Daniel Suarez. Dutton Adult (February 20, 2014). ISBN 978-0525953180. 416p

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

FROM SCRATCH: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin

February 19, 2014

As a long time Food Network fan, I couldn’t resist picking up this book. Unfortunately, the first two hundred pages had me putting it down repeatedly. It was just the facts, all the facts in all their statistical glory but I wanted more. I finally got more in the second half of the book.

To be fair, the book wouldn’t have worked if Salkin hadn’t included all the money and machinations that went into creating the Food Network. The parade of presidents, the turnover of corporate suits, and the complete lack of interest in food beyond what sort of profits it could bring in was the story of the first several years of the company. Eventually, the Scripps network came on board, coughed up some real money and things started to change. And so did the book.

The second half was way more interesting and entertaining. Here is where we learned how Bobby Flay, streetwise and smart, worked his way into the corporate culture and why Mario Batali finally left. The Paula Deen story, including the mess she made in 2013, was included, and I would guess the paperback release will include her inevitable comeback. Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Anne Burrell and the rest have their moments in the sun.

Salkin is a freelance food journalist who has written for the New York Times among other publications, and he didn’t set out to write a sensationalistic type book, but rather a corporate overview of one of cable’s behemoths. He succeeded, and ultimately, I was glad I stayed with it.

2/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FROM SCRATCH: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin. Putnam Adult (October 1, 2013). ISBN 978-0399159329. 448p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

HALF WORLD by Scott O’Connor

February 18, 2014


From about 1953 until 1973, the CIA clandestinely conducted methods of mind control on both U.S. and Canadian citizens without their consent. It wasn’t until project MKUltra, as it was termed, became public knowledge due to national headlines based on the release of thousands of declassified documents in 2001, that the public became aware of these activities.

Scott O’Connor has written a compelling book about characters caught up in the illegal operations and destroyed by the knowledge of what they were doing to the people that unwittingly became subjects of the experiments. Henry March is the first individual to head up a project in San Francisco selecting people and then drugging them in order to warp their minds.

Two generations later Dickie Ashby, a young CIA agent, is sent to Los Angeles to try and infiltrate a group of bank robbers that claim they have all been abused in a government brainwashing operaton. O’Connor is excellent in setting the mood of the events, and describing the damage done to the individuals that are put in charge of the experiments. First Henry March is shown trying to come to grips with the horror of what he is forced to do and unable to do so and then Ashby facing the results of the experiments two decades later both with the subjects as well as with the families of the planners and their lives.

This is compelling reading and an indictment of a government agency going beyond the pale to prove a point. O’Connor is very good at creating the moods and atmosphere of the events depicted in addition to outlining what are most likely to be the facts of the occurrences during the experiments. Knowing that these experiments were actually carried out makes the book a more fascinating read.

2/14 Paul Lane

HALF WORLD by Scott O’Connor. Simon & Schuster (February 18, 2014). ISBN 978-1476716596. 432p

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

BAPTISM by Max Kinnings

February 17, 2014


The only thing that may be more terrifying than a subway train taken over by terrorists  is a subway train taken over by religious zealots, especially when they want to die and take everyone with them, and that is the premise here.

Tommy and his sister have big plans to kill everyone on board the train by flooding the tunnel, the titular “baptism.” Ed is the lead negotiator with a unique skill set; he is blind, and can hear more in the timbre of voice than most people, and what he hears is truly frightening.

Tommy claims the train is wired with explosives, and he kills anyone entering the tunnel, causing the body count to soar and MI5 to pull back. Ed is convinced that Tommy’s religious beliefs are stronger than anything he has to offer, so he grasps at straws, contacting an engineer and a criminal to try to save the trainload of passengers when MI5 can’t.

Lots of violence and a high body count lead up to an exciting ending in this fast paced adrenaline read. James Patterson fans will find a lot to like here.

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

2/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BAPTISM by Max Kinnings. Quercus; First Edition (February 4, 2014). ISBN 978-1623651022. 448p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE OTHER TYPIST by Suzanne Rindell

February 16, 2014


I stumbled across this first novel and decided to give it a read because it’s published by Amy Einhorn, Putnam Books. Einhorn has published some of my favorite reads including The Help by Stockton, The Weird Sisters by Brown, The Postmistress by Blake, and Liane Moriarity’s The Husband’s Secret and What Alice Forgot. Needless to say, I was expecting a lot from this one. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

Rose Baker is a typist for the police department in the early 1920s in New York City. She hears confessions ranging from bootlegging to murder and everything in between, but when she’s not typing she still considered the weaker sex, good for making coffee and filing. Prohibition has increased the workload, so a new typist, Odalie Lazarre, is hired.

Rose grew up in an orphanage raised by nuns, and is completely enchanted with the beautiful, flirtatious Odalie. They become “bosom friends,” and eventually Rose moves out of her shared room into Odalie’s apartment. Odalie has quite the past, but Rose looks the other way, her Puritan upbringing being pushed to the limit as Odalie takes her to speakeasies and summer parties.

Rose is the most unreliable of narrators, so it’s hard to know exactly what is going on but it seems like all parties and fun until it’s not and someone is accused of murder. Fans of Gatsby-esque settings and psychological mysteries like those of Patricia Highsmith will love this.

2/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE OTHER TYPIST by Suzanne Rindell. Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (May 7, 2013). ISBN 978-0399161469. 368p.

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THE GODS OF HEAVENLY PUNISHMENT by Jennifer Cody Epstein

February 15, 2014


On March 9-10 of 1945, the US military firebombed the city of Tokyo in what is said to be one of the most deadly air raids in history. For the people involved and the people affected, this event is understandably recalled in vastly differing ways. In her latest, Jennifer Cody Epstein illustrates this night in history, as well as the years leading up to and following the event, from the viewpoints of a handful of very different characters.

Yoshi Kobayashi has been raised loyal to her family and her country. Her father, the top builder at a firm owned by an American, is later involved in the establishment of a Manchurian colony, a site that will see more death than any imagined. Anton Reynolds was impressed by Tokyo so much so that after apprenticing under Frank Lloyd Wright on the building of the Imperial Hotel, he started his own firm in Tokyo. He and his family would remain in the city until war forced them out. Sadly Reynolds’s love for the city he once called home will fuel a weapon to be used against the Japanese while Kenji’s loyalty to his country will place his family in the crosshairs of this deadly campaign. Meanwhile, new pilot Cameron Richards dreams of a life with his new wife and child, a life that relies on his survival in an important mission.

While The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is overall a story of the firebombing of Japan, Epstein tells it in such a way that it almost reads as a collection of individual pieces connected by a common focus. Each section does tie nicely into the next, with each of the characters ultimately proving to be connected to one another in some way.

All in all, it’s a harrowing look at war from as many sides as you can imagine—those involved directly and indirectly, those who were at the center of the event, and those who were on the other side of the world waiting to hear the outcome. It’s a book filled with loss and horror but one also filled with hope.

2/14 Becky Lejeune

THE GODS OF HEAVENLY PUNISHMENT by Jennifer Cody Epstein. W. W. Norton & Company (January 13, 2014). ISBN 978-0393347883. 400p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

AFTER I’M GONE by Laura Lippman

February 13, 2014


Lippman returns with a brilliant standalone novel that includes a nod to her series heroine, Tess Monahan, and is set in her hometown of Baltimore. She grabbed me on page one with a quote from the classic Herman Wouk book, Marjorie Morningstar, which sort of set the mood for me. (If you’re not familiar with the 1955 bestseller, Slate did a great piece on it for the 50th anniversary: Marjorie Morningstar: The conservative novel that liberal feminists love.)

Felix Brewer is a charmer with an eye for beautiful women, and Bambi Gottschalk is a stunner. Their chemistry is instanteous and explosive, and long-lasting – until Felix disappears after many years of marriage and three children.

Felix does very well, keeping the family in the lap of luxury. He owns a strip club among other businesses, mostly not legal, but when he’s arrested and facing ten years in prison, he takes off, hiding his assets and leaving the family penniless. Bambi, who was barely graduated from high school when they married, has never worked and has no job skills. She relies on her husband’s lawyer and his wife, her best friend, and they help as much as they can.

The only one who may know where the money has gone is Julie, Felix’s girlfriend, and she’s not talking. Surprisingly, no one ever looks for Felix and his disappearance is just accepted as fact by everyone except his wife and mistress. Bambi refuses to have him declared dead so never collects insurance, and in her heart believes that someday he will come home. Julie is convinced that Felix will send for her, which becomes her undoing.

Ten years after Felix disappears, Julie disappears too, and it is believed that she is finally with Felix. Except that many years after that, her body is found in a deserted area of a park, and her murder is at the heart of this mystery.

Sandy is a retired Baltimore homicide police who is working on cold cases as a consultant to the police department. He starts looking into Julie’s murder, and while it is central to the story, this is much more than a mystery. We also get a look at what happens to the five women left behind when Felix disappears – his wife, his three daughters, and his mistress. The story spans more than thirty years, moving back and forth from the early days of the marriage, the years when Felix disappeared, the three girls growing up, and the 2012 murder investigation.

This is a fast moving story with believable characters that you can’t help caring about and rooting for. In fact, the characters propel the story along as much, if not more, than the mystery.

Laura Lippman is one those authors that I drop everything to read; she is one of the best crime fiction writers working today. If you haven’t read her yet, do yourself a favor and pick up any of her books. I fell in love with her very first novel, Baltimore Blues, and haven’t looked back since.

This is a genre bending novel; mystery for sure, but women’s fiction readers will love it too, as will book groups. After I’m Gone is a truly wonderful read and I was very sorry to have to turn the last page. 

2/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

AFTER I’M GONE by Laura Lippman. William Morrow (February 11, 2014). ISBN 978-0062083395. 352p.

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WENDELL BLACK, MD by Gerald Imber

February 11, 2014


Dr. Gerald Umber is a Plastic Surgeon and an honorary police surgeon for many years. This is his first novel.

Not surprisingly, the central character is a doctor working for the New York City Police Department as well as having a second job as a doctor at a regional hospital. On a flight back to New York from a trip to London he is called upon to minister to a woman suffering from cardiac arrest. She does not survive and Dr. Black is drawn in by the death and later exam of the body in the morgue to what may be an international drug smuggling ring using “mules” (people that carry drugs in cavities in their bodies.)

Black’s girlfriend Alice, a Brit, introduces him to a friend of hers who believes that the death is connected to an international ring based in England. When Alice’s friend is killed and she disappears, it leads to the probability that the smuggling is much more than drugs and may be a plot by international terrorists as part of a plan to attack the United States.

Various departments such as the FBI, the DEA and Homeland Security are brought into the action and Dr. Black is kept on as an expert in getting to the bottom of what the plot may entail.

Dr. Umber’s medical expertise and his skill in creating plot and events make this a riveting book as fact after fact is brought out in the action. The ending is a direct result of the facts brought out in the book, but does not, in any way, spoil the pleasure. I would expect that based on the creation of Wendell Black the author plans to use his position and expertise in future novels.

2/14 Paul Lane

WENDELL BLACK, MD by Gerald Imber. Bourbon Street Books (February 11, 2014). ISBN 978-0062246851. 416p

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE YELLOW EYES OF CROCODILES by Katherine Pancol

February 10, 2014

Guest reviewer Kimberly Bower shares one of her favorites today.

English-speaking readers finally have an opportunity to become acquainted with highly acclaimed French author, Katherine Pancol. According to the author’s website, “The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles” has already sold two million copies and has been published in 30 countries. Finally, it’s ‘our’ turn.

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles opens with Josephine’s life on the verge of collapse. Her unemployed husband considers himself too noble to accept menial tasks even though the bills need to be paid and food put on the table. Her work as a historical scholar barely makes ends meet. They have two children. Their teenage daughter, Hortense, takes cues from Josephine’s high profile sister, Iris. Hortense is on the fast track for high society living. She walks, talks and acts the part. Her younger sister, Zoe, lives quietly in the shadow of her older sister. Reality slaps Jo in the face when her husband runs off to Kenya to farm crocodiles with the mistress Jo didn’t even know he had.

Charismatic Iris, always seeking the spotlight, wins a lucrative book contract after spinning historical tales to a publisher based on conversations with Jo. All she has to do next is convince Jo to ghost write the historical romance on her behalf. Jo gets the money while Iris gets the publicity. That’s the plan. When the book starts flying of the shelves, tension between the sisters escalates. Do you hold fast to a secret you swore to keep or rise up and claim the credit you rightfully deserve?

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is a tale of two sisters, Josephine and Iris, opposites in every way yet each longing for the strengths found in the other sister. A complementary storyline follows Hortense and Zoe as they depict many of the same realities but on a much younger playing field. Pancol weaves her many characters in and out of tensions due to economic disparity, secrets, lies and betrayal. An assortment of romances among both primary and secondary characters adds interest and keeps the pace of the story at a fast clip. The characters are well rounded and believable. Zoe’s occasional outbursts of frustration keep her character real.

Pancol’s use of language is clever and tickles my brain, describing common feelings in the most interesting ways. I like the way she relays the many unusual ways we demonstrate love for each other through the different relationships. Pancol’s The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles provides readers with a can’t-put-down tale that you definitely will not want to miss.

2/14 Kimberly Bower

THE YELLOW EYES OF CROCODILES by Katherine Pancol. Penguin Books (December 31, 2013). ISBN 978-0143121558. 464p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE HIGHLANDER’S DESIRE by Margo Maguire

February 9, 2014

Lachann MacMillan had his heart broken when his affianced, Fiona, weds Cullen Macauley a few days before their planned nuptials. He is determined to never risk his heart again.

His family lands were attacked by pirates and they lost some men, so Lachann is trying to find a way to protect them and he does. The Isle of Kilgorra is in the perfect place to protect his homeland, all he has to do is marry the laird’s daughter and take over. Rumor has it she’s very plain, but that works for him, he doesn’t want to ever fall in love again.

He arranges everything by mail then takes his men and sails to Kilgorra. To his surprise, Cullen Macauley is already there, and seems pretty cosy with the laird’s daughter. It seems Fiona has passed away rather unexpectedly. But when Lachann meets Anna, a servant in the house, they both can’t fight the chemistry.

Every year on Super Bowl Sunday I read a romance novel and this year I raced through this one. The game was pretty bad (the Seattle Seahawks completely dominated from their record setting 2 point safety one minute into the game) so it was easy to read. I enjoyed this and will look for more from this new-to-me author.

02/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE HIGHLANDER’S DESIRE by Margo Maguire. Avon (July 30, 2013). ISBN 978-0062122902. 384p.

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