Book Review

Thankless in Death By: J.D. Robb

Thankless in death

Thankless in Death By: J.D. Robb

Plot:

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood. Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this. Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.

Review:

I’ve been reading cozy mysteries lately so this was sometime a gruesome shock. Not all of her books are this graphic,but because of my recent reading history it was made even more shocking.

I was pretty tense throughout and couldn’t understand why Eve was missing what I thought were obvious cues as to the bad guys motives and next victim. It was pretty rough.

Story was good, Eve didn’t seem as clairvoyant like she sometimes does, and bad guy was sick.

4/5

The Thin Man By: Dashiell Hammett

The Thin Man

The Thin Man By: Dashiell Hammett

Plot:

Nick and Nora Charles are Hammett’s most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, The Thin Man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.

Review:

I was looking for a mystery solved by a married couple and Nick and Nora were what came up when I searched. I liked the Maltese Falcon, years ago when I read it, and I’ve always wanted to read more Dashiell Hammett, so decided why not? Sadly it didn’t quiet scratch that itch.

Nick was definitely the main character in this story, with Nora being barely more than a side character. She did overhear some information that helped solve the mystery, but I was disappointed in her small role in the story. Since it was written in the thirties I shouldn’t have expected anything more, but I was, I think I’m going to try one of the movies and see if they’re better.

The language was really interesting and at times confusing since I’m not up on my thirties slang. By the end of the book I understood what was going on, but there were some parts in the beginning where I thought I was reading in a foreign language. Times have changed a lot, at least where it applies to language.

For the most part I enjoyed the story, I wasn’t able to guess who done it, though I did figure out a part of the story involving the murder that wasn’t revealed until the end. My main complaints were the depiction of women in the story, but that’s just the way things were back then.

3/5

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By: Lewis Carroll Illustrated By: Robert Ingpen

Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By: Lewis Carroll Illustrated By: Robert Ingpen

Plot:

One day, a young girl named Alice is sitting on the riverbank with her sister, when she sees a curious looking white rabbit. She soon after falls into the magical world of Wonderland, where she meets a series of strange creatures.

Review:

This is one of the books that’s been on my To Read list for a while. I’ve seen a few Wonderland movies/adaption’s so I didn’t feel a rush to read the source material. However, at a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, with my mother-in-law, we found this copy and it was so beautiful she had to buy it for me. So I decided to read it to my daughter. She’s only seventeen months old, but I wanted to have something that I could read out loud to her while she played. So every couple of days I read a chapter to her. She seemed to really like the pictures but couldn’t care less about the story, which is understandable for her age.

Story wise there were no surprises, everything was pretty weird, and I thought Carroll did an excellent job making me feel like I was in the dream of a child. The imagery was nice and random and occasionally I got bored. How long can you listen to someone tell you their dream? It was still a cute story.

Illustration wise I cannot recommend this edition enough. Robert Ingpen has done an amazing job bringing the story to life. The pictures are beautiful to look at and reflect the stories whimsical qualities. Love him!

4/5

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) By: Mindy Kaling

is-everyone-hanging-out-without-me

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) By: Mindy Kaling

Plot:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”   Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!   In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Review:

I find Mindy Kaling incredibly fascinating, not quiet the level of Tori Spelling, but getting there. I watch the Mindy Project and while I’m not a minority I do relate to her. Maybe it’s the weight thing? Not sure.

Anyway the book was well written, interesting, not so in depth that you started to wonder what the hell was wrong with her, but not so vague that you had no idea what was going on. I liked the random advice she gave and agreed with her view of marriage and love life in general.

It’s very easy to underestimate Kaling because of the roles that she has taken but she’s very smart and I liked that this book showed that.

Also they totally stole her idea for the new Ghostbusters and if she isn’t getting money from that she should and she should have a part cause it would be so awesome.

4/5

Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7) By: Ilona Andrews

Magic Breaks

Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7) By: Ilona Andrews

 Plot:

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate. As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

Review:

If I could I would have Ilona Andrews or Patricia Briggs baby. I love them so much! My husband would probably have issues with that, but how else can I express just how much I love them? I’ve read some pretty awful books, but knowing that Andrews and Briggs are out there writing makes it bearable.

I wouldn’t call Magic Breaks the climactic conclusion, but we did finally see Roland, which was pretty climactic. We finally got to see this huge evil that Kate has been preparing her whole life to kill. There was a pretty awesome fight with just her. Not as much Curran time, but he was there when he needed to be.

The ending was a complete surprise and I’m so glad that the next book comes out this year. I also enjoyed the short story at the end, it was a nice way to bring me back down to earth. It was short and cute and expanded a character that didn’t get much time in the book.

I’m excited to see what happens next, I’m happy with the way the book went, and I’m overjoyed that Andrews writes faster than some other authors I love.

5/5