mystery

Review ~ Carthage, by Joyce Carol Oates

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18750474Have you a read a book where the words, the soul of it, the understanding, just completely resonated with you, and yet continually challenged your thinking?  How about a book, despite the fact that the narrative isn’t a free flowing, easy-on-the brain journey, yet keeps you engrossed and reading way past your bedtime.  Or perhaps even a book that leaves you speechless, but yet leaves you wanting to get up on the roof and sing its praises.    Yeah…  Those books are very rare indeed.    I am one of the lucky ones that have found a book that embodies all of the above experiences.   Carthage, the latest novel from Joyce Carol Oates, exceeded anything that I could have imagined.

Now, I am Oates virgin.   I of course had hear of her, but had never read any of her books.   Oates was one of those authors that I put into the “I must read something of theirs one day”.   When Carthage was released, I finally bit the bullet.   I wasn’t too sure what to expect; Oates is an extremely successful author and there was definitely an air of apprehensive mystery around her – in my opinion.   When I finally got my copy in the post, I was so excited and instantly began to read, or more accurately, devour.

Those that are knowledgeable in Ancient Greek history, will recognize that Carthage is the name of an ancient civilization, way back in the day.  So instantly, you have this connotation of potential tragedy brewing.   This of course, is before we even get to the names of some of the characters!  Zeno (a Greek philosopher who was known for his paradoxes) and his daughters, Cressida and Juliet (the main protagonists from Shakespeare’s tragedies Troilus and Cressida and Romeo and Juliet, respectively).  Now, I’ve seen other authors try and replicate their novels after tragic plays etc…, but Oates does it so subtly, yet delivers such a punch, that it doesn’t feel like a parody at all.   You feel the tragedy and the irony in such a profound way and indeed in such a contemporary fashion.

The plot focuses on the search for Cressida who has gone missing.  The blame is soon put onto Juliet’s ex-boyfriend, Brett, an injured soldier, recently returned from Iraq.   A fairly simple plot one may assume.   Well, yes, it is.  However, what makes it so complicated, and yet so fascinating, is the peppering of differing perspectives, and “truths” that Oates spreads throughout.   Where one character has a deep perspective on events, another character sees it in a completely different light; the reader is teased and led down the proverbial garden path, on more than occasion.

I really can’t say much else in case I inadvertently spoil it for someone, so all I’ll say is that you should go out and read, no scrap that, EXPERIENCE, this tour de force of a novel.    After reading this, I am going to have to buy some other novels by Oates.   Any suggestions, dear readers?

Well, I am going to go and sit in a book slump…..

Pegasus.

Carthage

Review: Mud Vein, by Tarryn Fisher

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“It’s your darkness that pulls me in. Your mud vein. But sometimes having a mud vein will kill you.”

This is not a book I can put in just one category. It’s not a mere thriller, mystery or suspense, or even a romance. This story can’t be simplified into any of those. It is an experience that will leave you speechless.

I am having a hard time putting into words all these crazy feelings that are running through me. Very few books have left me with this feeling of sadness, over the ending. But sadness isn’t the correct word. I’m not sad. I may be crying, but I’m not really sad. I’m more numb, than anything. See?? I need someone to reach down and pull the correct words out of my head and through them down here. I’m all a wreck.

If I could just write a review saying “Go and read it.” I totally would. Tarryn Fisher has a very unique writing style and it sucks you right in. This review will NOT do it justice. I’ll tell you that right now. You might as well just click on the buy link, at the bottom, and get started on reading it.

Senna wakes up in a cabin, in the middle of nowhere, and the only way out is to take good hard look at her past. But looking at her past may very well destroy her future. She must try and put the pieces together, or her life might not be the only one in danger.

Her past has completely shaped her. She is a broken soul with no way to be fixed. Or maybe, she doesn’t have the will to be fixed. She broke my heart. I was drawn into her and could totally feel everything she felt. I was breathless at a few parts. How one person could experience so much, was beyond me. I could feel her brokenness through these pages.

Isaac, was her savior, but she never really noticed that. He was there when she was at her worst, and he helped her when no one else did. He saved her from herself. He kept her alive. He was also with her in the cabin.

“Maybe lifting someone else’s weight makes yours a little more bearable.”

Every time I saw a glimpse of Isaac, from her past, I fell more in love with him. He never left her, when he thought she needed him. And she most definitely needed him, way more than she thought. He cared for her and never backed down no matter how hard she pushed. And boy did she push.

“Why are you here?”
“Because you are.”

But this wasn’t a love story really. It was a story about people and their darkness, and how even those with darkness in them they can still be loved. But it really wasn’t about love!! I still can’t put my finger on it.

My heart was racing almost this entire book. Watching Isaac and Senna try and put the pieces together, had my heart racing. It was a matter of their life or death. This is definitely not my usual type of story. I’m a fluff reader. Happy happy joy joy, with occasional heartbreak mixed in. This book terrified me, made me nervous, and of course, still broke my heart. The love shone, throughout this story, was beautiful, if not devastating. To have love like that would make anyone deliriously happy, but to Senna, it was unfathomable, until the very end.

“What you wrap around your soul determines your outcome.”

Tie yourself to those you truly love you.

~Melpomene

Buy Mud Vein

Review: The Swiss Affair by Emylia Hall

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20140403-223359.jpg I have such a list of books to read and review that sometimes I gingerly open a book expecting – but hoping not – that it will be drudgery. And so it was with The Swiss Affair. I had prolonged it so many weeks that I created false bias in my mind: probably historical fiction, I know nothing about Switzerland, there better not be spousal cheating going on, etc, etc, etc.

I was in for the surprise of my life. The Swiss Affair is so many things, wrapped up in beautiful language, distinct and varying characters, and set upon wintery white Lausanne, Switzerland.

While reading, I felt like I WAS Hadley, young British innocent. I was brought back to my university days, with eyes wide and bright, seeing more in people than may have truly been there…. A time and place where anything was possible, adventure abounded, and I lived for luxuriating in every moment.

“There’s a phrase in French, you know … Il faut profiter. It means ‘make the most of it’ … But it’s more than that. It’s about… luxuriating in a moment.”

So there’s the coming of age bit.

Then, the affair. The forbidden romance. The love story. It’s not perfect, but I love it all the more because it isn’t. And really there are three affairs – Hadley’s, Hadley’s friend Kristina’s, and the love affair with Lausanne – all worthwhile, and all bittersweet.

And there’s a murder mystery woven in The Swiss Affair. Lucky for Hadley she befriends a former detective novelist who wants to help her solve it. It’s well done with a few twists and turns, but nothing you can’t guess if you put your mind to it.

There’s skiing. There’s cognac and whiskey and beer. Hugs. Friends. And lots of snow. Walks amongst snowflakes — alone or together or in a large party. Wonder. Awe. And sadness. Guilty, heart-wrenching, lonely sadness.

I don’t remember reading anything that comes close to the well-roundedness of The Swiss Affair. It’s romance, tragedy, mystery, drama, chick lit, new adult, adventure, and literary fiction all rolled into one. It’s dark and it’s bright. And it’s dark again. And even though I’d always tell you I prefer a happily ever after, I appreciate that this ending isn’t. This ending is teary for the reader but full of new beginnings for Hadley and Henri.

–Calliope

Buy THE SWISS AFFAIR

Review: A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante

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20140312-091008.jpgAfter reading A Circle of Wives, my second read from this author, I can safely say that Alice LaPlante writes one hell of a story! I’d been looking forward to this one for awhile and was not disappointed.

When Dr. John Taylor, a renowned and respected pediatric plastic surgeon, dies a sudden death in a hotel room, at first glance it appears to be a sad yet simple case of a heart attack. However, detective Samantha Adams is convinced there’s more to the story than meets the eye. She’s young and highly motivated to prove herself. Not to mention there’s something deeper beneath the surface. You see, dear Dr. John was leading a double life. Or maybe more. In the course of the investigation, three separate wives come to light as well as other sinister secrets. There’s wife number one, Deborah. As the first wife, she’s a micromanager of the utmost kind. She even goes so far as to manage John’s other life. MJ is wife number two, a free-spirited hippie type who was completely unaware that she was sharing her husband. As was wife number three and the most recent acquisition, Helen, a fellow physician. Of course, there are other twists and turns along the way that you’d expect from such a story.

There’s always a risk when a story is written from multiple perspectives as this one is. If not done carefully, the reader is left wondering who is saying what and whose turn it is to speak. That’s not a problem with this book as the author seamlessly switches between the three wives as well as the detective, Samantha. I won’t claim any particular affinity for the wives as none of them did anything to endear themselves to me. And to be honest, none of them were particularly likeable. But isn’t that one of the signs of a truly gifted author, one who can keep you reading even when you don’t care for most of the characters?

Although this would be categorized in the psychological thriller/suspense genre, there’s none of the urgency often found in these types of stories that results in a page-flipping mad dash to the finish. The story hums long nicely but steadily and as a result it makes you want to slow down and savor each and every word. Still, there’s no lack of suspense in this book. Even though I thought I knew who dunnit, it could have plausibly been any one of several people up until the very end. My only gripe with the story is that there were too many loose ends and unfinished bits to leave me fully satisfied. Some people are okay with open-ended conclusions. I am not. I like to know what happens to each and every character after the big picture is revealed. Still, this is a good story told through the gifted words of Alice LaPlante.

~Thalia

Buy it Now: A Circle of Wives

Review – The Good German by Joseph Kanon

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147326There have been thousands of books written about WWII, but not as many focus on the immediate aftermath, let alone set in immediate post-war Berlin. In The Good German, Joseph Kanon explores the many different facets of war, the intricacies of motive, and the ethical dilemmas one can be faced with when carrying out actions in the name of love and war.

The plot follows Jake, an American reporter that is on his way to Berlin to write an article on the post-war efforts to re-build the city. Once in Berlin, Jake stumbles upon the body of an American soldier and finds evidence that all may not be what it seems. Along the way, Jake encounters a host of characters that he will later reunite with further in the story. The plot essentially is split up between a love story and a mystery; Jake has a secondary reason for going to Berlin, which is to seek out his former Girlfriend, Lena, who he had met on a previous trip. Rest assured though, there are many plot twists and diversions in order to save it from becoming a two dimensional experience.

What I loved most about this book, apart from the entertaining plot, was that it really made you question your already strongly held morals. It presents both sides of an argument and doesn’t necessarily side with either argument. What you once thought hypocritical, might actually make sense. What you once found acceptable might now be unacceptable. What you once found abhorrent might now be not so abhorrent. There is no right or wrong answer set in stone. If you want a book that will question and challenge your views/morals and not a cozy mystery that will sit you around a camp fire, with you signing kumbyah, and present you with a box of answers with a nice bow tie on it (I don’t knock any that type of book – sometimes we need that!), then do yourself a favour and pick up The Good German.
Hope to see you next week for another review!
~ Pegasus.
The Good German

Review: Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons

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20140215-082959.jpgThere was a time, not so terribly long ago, that medical thrillers were my book of choice. Having discovered Robin Cook, I devoured all of his work and then searched for any similar authors I could find. But, as is the case with too much of a good thing, I grew tired of this genre and moved on to different things. I’ve read maybe three medical thrillers in the past year and none of them have been very memorable. This book changed that in a big way.

Dr. Steve Mitchell’s life is as good as it gets. His medical career is on the fast track, and he’s in line for a position at the prestigious University Hospital in Boston. He has a wife he adores and two beautiful daughters. But then everything begins to spiral downward. Mistakes are made. Patients begin dying at an alarming rate. A sociopath is at work playing a dangerous game.

This was a good little medical story until about 40% in. It was humming nicely, if somewhat predictably, along. Lots of details about life as a resident, medical student, or intern as well as play by plays about what goes on in surgery and how easy it is for mistakes to be made. Still, I found myself wondering where the mystery/thriller part was. And then the bottom dropped out. In a big way. From that point on it was a mad dash to the finish for me.

Doing a Harm is an excellent debut novel by Kelly Parsons. While some aspects are slightly far-fetched, the medical details are highly believable as you would expect from an author who is also a doctor. With this novel, Parsons has renewed my interest in this genre. Five stars for me!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Doing Harm

Review: Just What Kind of Mother Are You? By Paula Daly

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20140208-185133.jpgThis is one of those books that I can’t, for the life of me, remember just where I heard about it from. Likely it came to me from a link to a link to a link…you get the idea. Regardless, it’s been on my list for a couple of months and the title recently caught my eye once again when I was searching for my next read.

Moms everywhere, and parents in general, will be able to relate to Lisa Kallisto. A mother of three who also runs a successful animal rescue shelter, she’s overworked and stretched too thin. Husband Joe is an involved father and husband as much as his job as a taxi driver will allow him to be. Still, Lisa holds it together most of the time and her family is basically happy and well-adjusted. Her carefully constructed balancing act begins to fall apart when the teenage daughter of a close friend goes missing while supposedly under Lisa’s care. To add to the sense of urgency, a serial rapist appears to be on the loose. Plagued by guilt, Lisa does her best to help find the girl. The dynamics of family and friendship play a huge part in this story as long -buried secrets on all sides begin to come to light.

I thought this was a good, solid story. It was definitely a page turner and held my attention all the way through. Lisa was incredibly likeable to me, in no small part because of her passion for the animals she rescues. It’s also easy to see how something like this could happen-wires get crossed, messages aren’t relayed, and so on. One thing did bother me, and still does. The lead detective, Josephine, is given a lot of page time to explore her personal life and background. Of notable mention is her desire to have a breast reduction. This comes up several times during the book but isn’t resolved by the end of the story. My only thought is that Josephine may be a recurring character in future books by this author. Just a little quirk of the story but something that bugged me. I also felt that some parts of the ending were a bit too far-fetched, especially after most of the book being so believable and relatable. Still, a good read for me!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

Review: Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon

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20140118-075431.jpgReading is a lot like eating. Sometimes you need an appetizer, something to whet your appetite for bigger things to come. Sometimes you need something more meaty and substantial, like a hearty filet of mignon. And sometimes you need something sweet and fluffy, like a delicious tiramisu. This wonderful little book by Jana DeLeon filled my craving for dessert perfectly.

Welcome to Sinful, Louisiana. Such a quaint, picturesque little town where everybody knows your name. Just the place for a CIA agent in hiding to lie low. Secret agent Fortune Redding has a price on her head after killing the brother of an international arms dealer. To make matters worse, there’s an internal leak at the CIA. When her superiors decide she needs to go into hiding until matters are resolved, Sinful is chosen as the perfect hideaway. It’s quiet, peaceful, and safe. The perfect place for her cover as a former beauty queen turned librarian. But as luck would have it, she arrives in Sinful right in the middle of decade old murder mystery. Helped by a not-so-harmless duo of grey haired ladies, she naturally attempts to help solve the mystery while at the same time not blowing her cover.

This was such a fun book to read. The characters are hilarious and had me laughing out loud. The author nailed the descriptions of small town life and southern life in particular. It’s not going to win awards for being thought-provoking or life-changing but it was a highly enjoyable read for me. I’ll definitely be reading the next two books in the series very soon!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Louisiana Longshot (A Miss Fortune Mystery)

Review: Crazy for You by Juliet Rosetti

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20131215-124140.jpgWhat a caper! I didn’t read number one in this series, but I didn’t have to in order to laugh out loud and appreciate Mazie Maguire’s ex-con predicaments. Mazie gets herself into lots of trouble by accidentally getting mixed up in a murder investigation. And not unlike Stephanie Plum, she has a handsome hero to help her out of the tough spots.

What makes this novel especially good is that Mazie doesn’t actually need a hero to rescue her, he just happens to make things a little more interesting. She appreciates Ben’s affections and his willingness to walk beside her as she weaves her way through new jobs, bad guys, and insecurities about her looks. She also appreciates Ben’s good looks!

Sometimes cozy mysteries or caper-ridden novels depend on the dumbness of the characters. Not here. I like that Mazie and Ben are smart. The trouble that meets them doesn’t result from any mistakes or idiocy on their part…. And they intelligently put their heads together to keep each other safe.

I laughed hilariously throughout this book, loved the romantic element, and will be on the lookout for book 3. Juliet Rosetti, you’re a find!

— Calliope

Buy it now Crazy for You

Review: Secondhand Stiff by Sue Ann Jaffarian

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20131204-095936.jpg Just released December 1!

This cozy mystery is the most recent in Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia Grey Mysteries series, and I’ve read them all. Yes, I love a good cozy mystery with a female protagonist who pals around with cops, but there’s something about the characters that makes this series stand out. Odelia isn’t too perfect or too quirky… She seems real. She and her husband Greg clearly love each other but have regular arguments, too. Their extended family annoys them – hey, just like real life! Odelia’s nosiness gets her mixed up with the wrong crowd more than occasionally, but she manages to solve mysteries and save herself – from death, but not always from harm – with the help of Greg and their friends.

This particular book explores the world of storage unit auctions, secondhand stores, and illusions of grandeur. Odelia and Greg’s commitment to their family means this mystery is personal – and they’ll stop at nothing to prove their relative’s innocence.

When I read this book, I felt like I was watching it happen in real life. Jaffarian describes places and events so well that reading it became a movie in my mind. She controls her writing so tightly: a grilled cheese sandwich is written in with precision – just enough mention to picture yourself at the table with the characters, hearing the crunch and licking buttery fingers (she doesn’t say that, but I imagined it!), but not so much that it interrupts the flow of the story. That’s good writing.

Secondhand Stiff is a solid, funny, caper-ridden novel with well-developed characters and awesome writing. Sue Ann Jaffarian is one of the few writers I regularly seek out for new releases, which I’ll pay top dollar for. I recommend the whole series, but they can be read as standalone books or out of order.

-Calliope

Buy it now Secondhand Stiff