Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Nothing beats an engrossing audiobook when you’re snowed in and cleaning up after the holidays! All those clean up chores didn’t seem quite so bad.

Again, Jack Reacher is righting wrongs and taking names, this time in a tiny Nebraska town. The townsfolk are under the thumb of the local shipping company run by the Duncan family: if the Duncan’s are upset with you, your harvest doesn’t get to market. Reacher thinks the townspeople just need to get a backbone where the Duncan’s are concerned, but he is intrigued by presence of city thugs in the area. What exactly are the Duncan’s shipping when corn isn’t going to market? And who is responsible for the disappearance of a little girl more than 25 years ago?

Even though this book is fifteenth in the series it can easily be read as a standalone. If you’re a fan of the Clint Eastwood Man-With-No-Name westerns you’ll really enjoy these. These truly are modern day westerns. A stranger comes to town, sees the plight of the locals, and takes on the bad guys. A thrilling and fun ride.

Blown Away by Sharon Sala

Blown Away by Sharon Sala

While gale force winds and snow are slamming into the sides of your home, reading about a tornado and its aftermath probably isn’t the best idea – it makes one a wee bit nervous. But the weather does contribute to the reading experience!

Cari North is walking through the woods by her Louisiana home thinking about her next mystery novel when she comes upon a man, her neighbor and ex-fiance, digging a grave, quite obviously for the dead man on the ground beside him. Needless to say, she panics and runs home, just as a tornado devastates her family home and kills her entire family. To protect herself from the murderer as she hunts for proof of his crime she assumes the identity of her cousin who was killed in the tornado. Will she manage to catch a killer before he catches her?

This is a romantic suspense book with undertones of grief. Cari has lost all she knows and is falling in love all in the same week. The author does an admirable job making Cari’s reactions believable and at the same time plots an engaging suspense story.

Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin

Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin

I’m on a bit of a chick lit kick since I haven’t read too many of them and needed some light listening this holiday season. One thing to remember about chick lit, it’s not romance. Yes, chick lit may have the typical boy meets girl romance in it, but the main element of chick lit is that the main female character falls in love with herself; she rediscovers herself and learns to embrace who she is. That said, this book is definitely chick lit. Ellen has been happily married to Andy, the man of her dreams, for 100 days when she bumps into her ex, Leo, in the middle of a busy crosswalk in New York City. Many of us have “the one that got away” and that is who Leo is to Ellen. Should she try to discover what went wrong with her relationship with Leo? Should she just forget about Leo and enjoy married life with Andy? Can she live with unanswered questions?

While this is a light story, it does ask a lot of deep questions. Even though you may not agree with the choices that Ellen makes (and doesn’t make) you can identify with her and struggle along with her decision making process. Also, the reader is excellent. Her introspection and personal turmoil come across well so you really empathize with Ellen.

Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

Imagine going out to the clubs with your girlfriends from work, fellow low women on the totem poll, falling down a flight of stairs and waking up in the hospital to discover that you’re rich, married and the boss! That’s what happens to Lexi Smart. She’s lost three years of her life. She actually lived them, but she can’t remember anything after smashing up her Mercedes convertible. (Which she seriously can’t believe since three years ago she didn’t even know how to drive.)

In this fun and perky tale which proves the adage “money can’t buy happiness” we learn about one woman’s rise to greatness and loss of self and what she does to get back in touch with what is important. I listened to this book and the reader’s British accent and sarcastic tone really makes this great fun to listen to.

A Very Simple Crime by Grant Jerkins

A Very Simple Crime by Grant Jerkins

In the mood for a dark, really dark, mystery? Like your noir, very, very, well, noir? Look no further. This is a twisty, suspenseful, psychological tale that keeps you guessing. The simple summary is a man is accused of killing his wife. He swears on the stand that he loved his wife. Did he? Or did he not?

I can’t say anything else without ruining the whodunit factor. Let’s just say the author is great at making you look one way, then another, then another until you don’t know where to look anymore.

This book has already been optioned for the screen, and I really hope they make this movie.

Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers

Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers

One of the added bonuses of reading this book is you won’t feel quite so cold venturing outside in the next few weeks when you’re reading about people near death from hypothermia. It gives you a little perspective. Granted, I’m not about to go winter camping on the side of a mountain in Vermont during a snow storm, but I’m also not on the run from assassins either. Again, it’s all about perspective.

There are two storylines that meet up in this book. In Washington D.C. an ambassador is killed in a hit and run, but the circumstances seem a little fishy. In Vermont, the ambassador’s stepdaughter takes off to the mountains fearing for her life. Also in Vermont, Jo Harper, Secret Service Agent recovering from the bad press of a viral video, and Elijah Cameron, Green Beret injured in Afghanistan and also recovering in his home town, meet up again fifteen years after their parents intervened and kept them apart. Here we have our steamy romance in our romantic suspense. Of course Jo and Elijah get involved in searching for the missing stepdaughter and trying to find out what the assassins are after. There are unanswered questions at the end of the book, and I have to admit to being curious about what will happen next!

Why am I reading a lot of romantic suspense? I’m getting ready for our Mysterious Mornings program on Wednesday, January 5^th at 9:30am at the Bridgewater Library. If it’s a mystery and it has a touch of romance, then it fits this month’s sub-genre of Crimes and Passion. If you stop by the Bridgewater Library after Tuesday (December 21^st) romantic suspense books will be on display.

Tough Customer by Sandra Brown

Tough Customer by Sandra Brown

Looking for an edgy edge-of-your-seat thriller with a bit of romance to listen to? Look no further!

If you were a fan of the rough around the edges trash-talking PI Dodge from Smash Cut, you’ll be thrilled to find out that this book is centered on him and his estranged family. His daughter, the child he hasn’t set eyes on since the day she was born about thirty years ago, is in a bit of a bind. Her stalker shot and injured a male co-worker who was staying over at her lake house working with her on a PR pitch for a client. Of course the rumor mill is in full swing (the male co-worker is a married man who was shot wearing only his underwear) and Dodge’s daughter is under loads of suspicion from all sides.

Sandra Brown’s writing is grittier than most romantic suspense and definitely sexy. The thing I like most about her books are her villains. They are some of the scariest deviants I have read about and this time is no exception. These guys are so scary you are applauding inside when they get their comeuppance at the end. (It’s romantic suspense: guy gets girl and bad guy gets caught – I’m not ruining anything!)

Proofiness by Charles Seife

Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathmatic Deception by Charles Seife

Like math? Or do you find math completely puzzling? Either way, this book will appeal to you.

Remember a few years back how it was reported that natural blondes would be extinct in the next couple of hundred years? Or how female competitive runners will soon out run their male competition? Now, do you remember how this was all proved to be completely wrong? Of course the reality (that it was all bunk) wasn’t as widely spread as the “news” – but how was this blatantly wrong “news” reported in the first place? That’s what this book explores: how numbers can be manipulated to say whatever you want them to say.

This is an easy read for the math lover and hater. It’s an easy to read book that explains through relevant and interesting stories. It will be an especially interesting read for those that were fascinated with the voting recounts of the 2000 election in Florida. If you enjoyed The Drunkard’s Walk you’ll really like this book.

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

Make fun of James Patterson and his rapid release of books, but the man has a winning formula. He’s also great at picking extremely talented co-writers. Liza Marklund definitely lent a bit of Swedish noir to the latest Patterson standalone.

Young lovebirds are being murdered throughout Europe and the authorities are stumped. A postcard of a famous place in a city is mailed to the crime journalist of a local paper. Then, a day or two later, a Polaroid of a dead couple is sent to the journalist as well. Only one man has been tracking the killers from city to city. He is a New York City cop determined to find out who killed his daughter and her boyfriend in Rome and why. We enter the story when a journalist in Sweden receives a postcard from the killers, and we know that a Polaroid is on the way.

I listened to this book and the multiple narrators really made the main characters come to life. We hear the story from three viewpoints: the female Swedish journalist, the male New York cop, and the killers. Yes, we know who the killers are from the very beginning, but we don’t know why they are killing or how they are choosing their victims. This book really moves and really keeps you guessing. Even if, like me, you’ve read a lot of thrillers I guarantee that there will be twists and turns you didn’t see coming your way.

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue

What if your whole life was lived in an eleven foot by eleven foot room? Room is all that five year old Jack knows. All the things he sees on Television are not real. How could they be? His reality is Room and Ma and his bed in Wardrobe where he stays when Old Nick visits in the night.

In this story, told entirely by Jack, his upbeat and innocent narration keeps you completely absorbed. I’m not ruining anything by saying that Jack and Ma will eventually leave Room, it is how they leave, and what happens when they do, that is surprising.

This is a psychological study which will appeal to those fascinated by the recent news stories of Jaycee Dugard and the Elizabeth Smart trial. It is also a story that illustrates the strength and creativity of the human mind.

The Popular Fiction Book Discussion Group will be meeting at the Bridgewater Library on Tuesday, February 15th at 7:00pm to discuss Room.

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for any type of fairy tale retelling. I love them. I must admit I really don’t like The Wizard of Oz (I know, the horror!) but I really enjoyed reading Wicked. Same with the Cinderella myth. I have a serious problem with a dude that can only recognize his true love (because that nasty dress she’s wearing disguised her so well) when the glass slipper fits on her dainty little foot. Whatever. This is why I like the movie Ever After so much, as well as this book, A Kiss at Midnight.

Things haven’t been the same for Kate since her father died ten years ago. Her stepmother and stepsister have been whiling away the hours at the dressmaker as Kate slaves away maintaining the family holdings. Then, disaster strikes. Kate needs to impersonate her stepsister at the prince’s betrothal ball.

Let’s face it, we all know how the story will end and some of the stops the story will take along the way. Yet the author really makes the story exciting, fresh, sassy and sexy. If you’re in the mood for a Regency romp, you can’t do much better than this.