Thriller | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

I, HUMAN by John Nelson

May 27, 2016

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This is a highly intellectual look into a dystopian future where the use of neural implants and drug conditioning are used to keep the population calm and malleable.

Difficulty is that this conditioning represses feelings and intuition and can cause mental breakdowns in the population that represent future problems for the government. In addition, segments of the population have refused the treatment, and are involved in living and working in a low tech environment. They are known as “bornies” and have evolved, living completely apart from those that have accepted the treatment and its consequent enhanced functioning.

Alan Reynard, a government agent, is given the assignment of infiltrating a spiritual commune run by a healer named Maria Fria, who has modified the implants for increased functionality. Alan grows to believe in what Maria is doing, and it causes him to begin to work towards modifying the government’s social control.

The thesis of the book is interesting and the concept possible. But Nelson falls into the trap of an overabundance of explanation of what is happening and could very easily lose the reader in sheer wordiness.

5/16 Paul Lane

I, HUMAN by John Nelson. Cosmic Egg Books (May 27, 2016). ISBN 978-1785353307. 288p.

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BROWN-EYED GIRL by Lisa Kleypas

May 23, 2016

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Travis Series, Book 4

I always like Lisa Kleypas’s books. She writes both historical and contemporary romance, and she is a great story teller. So when I saw this book on the Romantic Times list of best contemporary romances of 2015, the ones they call “Love and Laughter,” I decided to give it a read. And I’m so glad I did.

Avery Crosslin is a wedding planner who was left at the altar, so she believes in happily ever after, but for other people. And she has some body image issues.

Avery is partners in business with her half-sister Sophia, who never knew about each other until their father died. Once having found each other, they move away together and start the wedding business. Sophia’s mother is not happy that her daughter moved away, but Sophia also left her fiance, an overpowering control freak, and she’s not moving back.

Joe Travis is a trust fund baby who seems to forget that. He works as a photographer, so when Avery runs into him fiddling with his camera while setting up for a Texas society wedding, she assumes he is the wedding photographer and gives him several orders. He listens respectfully, then introduces himself. She is mortified, and he is intrigued.

Avery can’t believe this rich, good looking man could possibly be interested in her, but a hot one night stand leaves her breathless. Determined not to get involved, she ignores him afterwards, but he is having none of that. He is smitten, and in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile Avery’s dream job – a reality TV show starring her as a wedding planner, may become her new reality. She has difficult clients to deal with, Sophia’s mother comes barreling into town causing trouble, and her friends from New York want her to move back. But what does that mean for Joe?

This is another winner for Kleypas.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BROWN-EYED GIRL by Lisa Kleypas. St. Martin’s Press (August 11, 2015). ISBN 978-0312605377. 304p.

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UNKNOWN REMAINS by Peter Leonard

May 22, 2016

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A story told against the backdrop of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, and kudos to Peter Leonard for his mesmerizing plot and character creation.

Jack McCann is a Wall Street Trader working out of an office in the World Trade Center and in the process of cleaning out his desk when he is shaken up by a big bang. Jack is in financial trouble with the mob and can’t see a way out of his difficulties. He manages to escape the destruction caused by the terrorist attack and decides to fake his own death as a way out of his insurmountable difficulties.

Jack’s wife Diane learns about his death. Distraught with grief, she is visited by a grief counselor and also the mob the day after the tragedy. She learns that there are things about her husband that she was unaware of. Most important is the fact that Jack owes $750,000 to the mob, and they are transferring the debt to her. She quickly finds out that their personal bank accounts have been emptied and she is broke. The insurance company carrying a policy on Jack’s life want proof of death before they will pay, and his body has not been recovered.

Leonard presents us with an inventive crime story, twists and turns in an imaginative tale and people with stakes in the scheme. We are led logically and inexorably to an ending that is keeping with a fascinating plot. Very well done indeed.

5/16 Paul Lane

UNKNOWN REMAINS by Peter Leonard. Counterpoint (May 10, 2016). ISBN 978-1619026063. 375p.

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ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld

May 20, 2016

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A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice

Hats off to Sittenfeld, she really caught Jane Austen’s voice in this contemporary story of women, class, romance and family.

Liz Bennet is a writer for a woman’s magazine in New York City. She is one of six sisters; closest in age and geography is Jane, a yoga instructor who has started in vitro with a sperm donor, determined to be a mom even though she is not in any relationship. When their father has a heart attack, they rush home to Cincinnati to find chaos.

Their younger sisters all live at home. The two youngest are all about the gym and their diets and have no interested in work or living on their own. The middle sister is a professional student, also living at home. And home has become a problem; he old Tudor house that’s been in the family for generations is falling down around them, and the family is oblivious.

Liz’s mother is only interested in social climbing and marrying off her daughters. Her father has been managing the family money right into the ground. Liz takes charge and finds solutions for all of it, but gets little respect, appreciation and just grudging acquiescence.

Chip Bingley is a doctor who also starred on a “Bachelor” type TV reality show called Eligible. He’s returned home without having found his true love. When he meets Jane, sparks fly but the road to romance is hard won here.

Chip’s friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is also a doctor and a surgeon, with the expected super ego. Liz finds him condescending, to say the least.

If you’ve read Pride & Prejudice, you have a good idea where this all goes. If not, read it anyway. Eligible is great fun.

If you enjoy this sort of thing, check out HarperCollins’ Jane Austen Project. The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux is another new update on Pride & Prejudice that’s a fun read.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld. Random House (April 19, 2016). ISBN 978-1400068326. 512p.

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BOAR ISLAND by Nevada Barr

May 17, 2016

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An Anna Pigeon Novel

Anna Pigeon is asked to fill in for the Chief Ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine, but before she can leave, her best friend Heath’s daughter Elizabeth, Anna’s goddaughter, attempts suicide. Turns out she’s been the victim of cyber bullying, taken to the extreme.

It slowly comes out that Elizabeth was sexually assaulted by her best friend’s father. It would have been much worse except her friend Tiffany suspected something and showed up, along with her mother, in the nick of time, but then tried to blame Elizabeth.

Anna and Heath, along with Heath’s aunt Gwen, decide to get the girl out of town. They go with Anna to Maine and stay on Boar Island. As Anna assumes her new role, a lobsterman is murdered in town. While outside of her jurisdiction, she still gets caught up in it.

Denise, a park ranger, is assigned to drive Anna and is acting hinky. There’s a murder attempt on Anna’s life, kidnappings, and the cyber bullying evolves into stalking, leading to a hot mess in Acadia and a real page turner. Barr’s fans will be happy with this nineteenth entry into the series.

6/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BOAR ISLAND by Nevada Barr. Minotaur Books (May 17, 2016). ISBN 978-1250064691. 384p.

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THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL by Jude Deveraux

May 16, 2016

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A Summer Hill Novel, Book 1

This is my second Jude Deveraux book, and I’m actually starting with the first book of new series, most unusual for me, but I like it!

Let me start with a platitude; everything old is new again. And there are a couple of theories espoused (former English major here) that every novel is based on either the Bible, or a combination of the Bible, Shakespeare and Homer. In this case, Summer Hill is literally based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Let’s call it the circle of literary life.

Summer Hill is a small town with an increased summer population. The town is preparing to put on a play to raise funds for various local charities. The play is based on Pride and Prejudice. So this is sort of a book within a book, both based on the same book. Sounds confusing but it isn’t. In Deveraux’s skilled hands, it is entertaining, fun, and fresh.

Casey has escaped from an overwhelming chef job in Washington D.C. She’s living in the guest house on an uninhabited plantation, cooking for the cast of the show and baking and preserving to her heart’s content. So she is shocked to walk into her kitchen one morning and find a gorgeous man on her porch, stripping naked and using her outdoor shower. She enjoys the show until her phone rings, and the man breaks her screen door and threatens her, seeming to think she was taking pictures of him.

That man is Tate Landers, Hollywood leading man and mega movie star. Casey hasn’t seen any of his films, but her best friend adores him so she knows who he is. And we have our Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. They end up playing those parts in the town production, as well as living them.

There are several subplots that really keep the pages turning, some mystery and lots of romance, not to mention the stress of a small town production starring Hollywood’s most popular leading men. I read it in one night and enjoyed every page, so I’m looking forward to the next Summer Hill book.

If you like this sort of thing, check out HarperCollins’ Jane Austen Project. Curtis Sittenfeld has a new book out, Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL by Jude Deveraux. Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (May 3, 2016). ISBN 978-1101883266. 384p.

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WALLEYE JUNCTION by Karin Salvalaggio

May 10, 2016

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Macy Greeley Mysteries, Book 3

In this third entry in the fine Macy Greeley mystery series, a kidnapping/murder in the small town of Walleye Junction, Montana, keeps state-police detective Macy occupied.

Controversial radio talk-show host Philip Long is kidnapped, then murdered with Macy’s own gun, making this case clearly personal. Long had been angering the growing number of right-wing militias in the area, so they are the prime suspects until the two alleged kidnappers turn up dead of heroin overdoses.

The local authorities are satisfied that the case is solved, but Macy is not convinced; the kidnappers’ bodies had been moved, and their son is on the lam. Macy leaves her kids with her mother so she can concentrate on investigating in the small town.

Meanwhile, Long’s daughter, Emma, returns to Walleye Junction after a long, troubled absence, and suddenly prescription-painkiller abuse becomes an issue in the town

This is another complex thriller that drives much of its appeal from the author’s ability to evoke the small-town Montana setting; C.J. Box and Archer Mayor fans will feel right at home here.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WALLEYE JUNCTION by Karin Salvalaggio. Minotaur Books (May 10, 2016). ISBN 978-1250078926. 336p.

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CITY OF THE LOST by Kelley Armstrong

May 7, 2016

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Casey Duncan Novels, Book 1

Casey and her college boyfriend, a mobster’s son, are mugged and he takes off, leaving her to get beaten within an inch of her life. When she is sufficiently recovered, she kills the boyfriend and is never caught.

In an ironic twist, Casey becomes a cop, quickly moving up the ladder to homicide detective. Her only personal relationships are with a bartender she’s using for sex, and her friend Diana, who she protects from a crazy, abusive ex-husband. +

The mobster finds Casey and Diana’s ex shows up and things get ugly. In desperation, they decide to try and get into Rockton, an invisible town in the Yukon where people go to disappear. They apply and are accepted as there has been a murder in town, and a good detective would be an asset. There are more gruesome murders, and in a town this small, everyone is suspect.

Rockton is completely off the grid – no electricity, running water, or Internet, and is ruled by martial law. I’ve read a couple of books with towns reminiscent of Rockton, most notably The Pines by Blake Crouch and more recently, Make Me by Lee Child, so I was expecting this to go in a much darker, different direction than it took. Not that this was light reading by any means.

At heart this is a blood-soaked locked room mystery on steroids; lots of tension and enough twists make this an all nighter.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

CITY OF THE LOST by Kelley Armstrong. Minotaur Books (May 3, 2016). ISBN 978-1250092144. 416p.

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THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci

May 6, 2016

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Amos Decker series

In his novel Memory Man, David Baldacci created one of the most original detectives in fiction. Due to an accident, Amos Decker cannot forget anything. He can take part in a situation, or read something and can call up the incident anytime with a total remembrance of every detail involved.

In The Last Mile, Decker joins an FBI special task force with the mission of looking into older cases, bringing up the facts and finding additional evidence in order to solve the case. On joining the task force, Decker arrives with an interest in looking at a situation involving Melvin Mars, a convict on death row with his execution pending shortly. Amos is struck by the similarity between Mars’ case and his own personal experience. Both have had their families murdered and both have had someone come forward years after the crimes and confess to the killings.

Another commonality is that both Mars and Decker were talented football players in their youth with both having their careers cut short by the tragedies befalling them. In the case of Melvin Mars, he was charged with and convicted of the murders of his parents and sentenced to death.

Decker and his group pick up the case when another death row inmate comes forward and confesses to the Mars’ family killings. The confession has the potential to get Melvin out of prison and return him to society. Cementing Decker’s belief that there is a lot more than first appears is the disappearance and probable kidnapping of one of the members of his team.

Baldacci’s portrait of Amos Decker is striking in itself. Decker comes into the task force about 100 pounds overweight. One of the other members, who might appear as a love interest in future books, talks Amos into going on a strict diet and his agonies in following it will be familiar to all of us that have gone on one. The medical causes for Decker’s extraordinary memory have been researched and explained for the reader’s information about the man.

There are stops and starts in going forward on the case, and insight into the intricate world of playing football. Descriptions of the characters involved, especially those of Decker and Mars, make them into very real people going through a traumatic situation.

The twists and turns provide a rollercoaster ride for the reader, making this one of the better whodunnits in a long time. Extremely well done novel and providing definite interest in looking for the next book in this series.

5/16 Paul Lane

THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing (April 19, 2016). ISBN 978-1455586455. 432p.

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WEDDING GIRL by Stacey Ballis

May 5, 2016

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Sophie Bernstein is an up and coming pastry chef in Chicago. Her fiance works at the same restaurant as the sommelier. Sophie is planning her dream wedding, and maxing out every credit card she owns, figuring her wealthy husband-to-be will take care of the debt after they are married.

If that sent up some red flags for you, pat yourself on the back. Theirs may be a match made in a restaurant, but like many restaurants, it is headed for disaster. Sophie is left at the alter when the news of fiance’s elopement hits social media practically during the wedding march.

Humiliated and deep in debt, Sophie moves in with her beloved grandmother, Bubbles. She finds a job at the neighborhood bakery, way beneath her skills but no one she knows will find her there and she can hide out and lick her wounds.

The bakery is barely breaking even. The menu hasn’t been updated in decades, and neither has the decor. So when word that a food TV star (think Martha Stewart) is opening a bakery a few blocks away, Sophie knows her days are numbered there.

Unbeknownst to her, the owner of the bake shop enters them in a city wide bake off, figuring with her skills they can win and that will help his business. But when he can’t compete, his son steps up. Sophie is none too fond of the businessman, but it turns out he has mad baking skills.

Meanwhile, Sophie helps out a bride with some wedding advice and that bride turns into her new best friend. To thank Sophie for all her good advice, she sets up a wedding advice website for her, WeddingGirl.com. Sophie gets emails and charges a few dollars for her advice. It’s a good way to earn some extra money to pay off her debt, but things get even more interesting when a best man planning a bachelor party takes her advice and starts an online flirtation with her.

Sophie is falling for this online romance, but also for her boss’s son and she is torn. If this sounds a bit like You’ve Got Mail, it should, and I enjoyed this book almost as much as that movie. This is a really fun read – just don’t read it while you’re hungry! Recipes included.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WEDDING GIRL by Stacey Ballis. Berkley (May 3, 2016). ISBN 978-0425276617. 416p.

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