Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Friday, May 18, 2018

Review: Emerald Green


Title: Emerald Green
Author: Lindsay Marie Miller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 416
Rating: 4 stars

Emerald Green is the first book in the Murder in Savannah series, and it is also the first book by Lindsay Marie Miller that I've read.  I can honestly say that I am in no way disappointed by the story that she has created.  This book is honestly a satisfying read. It intrigued me from the very beginning.  The dream that Addie had, the boy suddenly showing up at her school.  It was a unique and interesting experience, and something that I hope travels through the rest of this series.

I originally wasn't certain what to make of Addie at first, but as the story went on I quickly fell in love with her.  She is absolutely one of my favorite characters, and one of the first that I've been introduced to by Lindsay Marie Miller. 

Miller's descriptions are absolutely fantastic, stunning and easily draw you into the story she has crafted.  Her characters are relatable, easily pictured in your mind while you read.  She transports you into the world of Addie and Tom and the drama and intrigue that surrounds them in Savannah, Georgia and Maple Creek High.

The murder mystery is definitely a good draw for this particular story, and the reveals are not what the reader would expect, and when they come they are rather large twists.  The twists and turns are enough to keep the reader entertained and further draw them into this fantastic story.


Honestly, I wasn't certain how fast I would read this book, but the fact that I'd finished it in two days or maybe it was less, I don't honestly remember.  It was that good, and rapid page turning (which at first confused my poor Kindle Fire) had me simply forgetting the world around me and living for the story that Lindsay Marie Miller crafted in this novel.  

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Book of the Week: Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls


Welcome to another week!  That means, Book of the Week time!  Yes, I know I forgot last week's book of the week...don't judge me.  Panic attacks and anxiety attacks are not known to be the best of means to get productive things done...just saying.  Anyway! 

This week's book, you can find listed on my TBR for the month...right there *points to the shiny box*  Chances are I will actually get it done by the end of the month and it won't have to carry on another month...This is what I'm hoping anyway!  

This week's book is....*insert drum roll here*: 

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
Lynn Weingarten


I've had this book for a few months (got it as an early Christmas gift because my friends know that books are always a win for me) and I'm actually looking forward to reading it.  

I've read mixed things about it, and ultimately I'm willing to give it a shot. It's been on my wishlist for a while, and was actually near the top of it until of course it became mine in one form or another.  

I share with you the awesome blurb taken from Goodreads about this book..

They say Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather’s shed. They say it was suicide.

But June doesn’t believe it.

June and Delia used to be closer than anything. Best friends in that way that comes before everyone else—before guys, before family. It was like being in love, but more. They had a billion secrets, tying them together like thin silk cords.

But one night a year ago, everything changed. June, Delia, and June’s boyfriend, Ryan, were just having a little fun. Their good time got out of hand. And in the cold blue light of morning, June knew only this—things would never be the same again.

Now Delia is dead. June is certain she was murdered. And she owes it to her to find out the truth…which is far more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

Sexy, dark, and atmospheric, Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls will keep you guessing until the very last page.
 

So, yeah, I'm really, really hoping that I get to this one at least by the end of the month.  There will of course be a review .... eventually, because that's what I do :) 

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

What's On My Kindle: Unsorted Part 2

This week's What's on My Kindle? is venturing back into my unsorted categories (yes, since the last one this particular sorting location has multiplied...I blame my one-click addiction with freebies, and various gift cards for birthdays, Christmas, etc.)

I've been working hard in the last month and a half to break into some of these novels, short stories, erotic moments in the unsorted categories on my kindle, and ultimately get them sorted into categories (even if it is the challenge category for this year or any subsequent year).  For now, I will be showcasing a few more books from that category.  Enjoy!


1.) The Gingerbread Man - Maggie Shayne

When did I actually get this book...umm..*flees to check amazon purchase log...* August 15, 2013...Yup, it's been sitting on my kindle nearly 2 years...and have I read it? NOPE!  Never even cracked it open.  Will I?  Quite possibly in the near or not so near future, but it will get read at some point...just like everything else on my Kindle.

This is a mystery/thriller novel, that focuses around Detective Vincent O'Mally.  When he finds two missing children dead, the FBI has taken over the case and O'Mally takes time off going to upstate New York.  While he's there he meets a woman whose sister had been abducted and murdered.  O'Mally believes that death of Holly Newman's sister is tied to the two missing children that had been found and begins attempting to gain information from Holly.
2.) Quantum Shaman: Diary of a Nagual Woman by Della Van Hise

Another one that I'd purchased 2 years ago (though I think it might have fallen into a spree of one-click freebie purchases, I don't entirely remember!).  Purchase date is the same as The Gingerbread Man, and I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this title, other than the fact that it was free.  Though, now that I read over the blurb again, I originally had thought it interesting and perhaps it will be when I get around to reading it.

Diary of a Nagual Woman is the compelling story of one woman’s journey on the path with heart. A personal and chilling confrontation with the very nature of life and death, which brings the reader face to face with the shaman’s double: the immortal & mysterious Other who takes on a life of his own, & manifests the key to unlocking our own evolution of consciousness. 

3,) Choking on a Camel by Michal Anne McArthur

This one has officially been on my kindle for 2 years, and I've not cracked it open, or even considered cracking it open though the title does amuse me.  I am usually not a fan of Christian fiction/religious fiction in general, so what made me actually one-click this book I'm not entirely sure - though I think it may have been the title.

I've learned that some of the one-clicks are a hit-or-miss with the writing/story/etc.  So, I will be giving this one a try, and if I like it yay, if not then it will be time I cannot get back, but it will be another book read.

So, here is a bit of the blurb:

In the spring of 1969, Alex Ferguson’s fiancĂ© breaks their engagement. A strong Calvinist, he’s stung by Alex’s sharp questions about predestination, determinism, and the eternal damnation of non-Christians, ideas that horrify Alex.
On June 20, 1969, Alex is forced to face her questions again when her atheist brother is killed in an accident. To think of her beloved younger brother in eternal torment is more than she can handle. Who is God, that He should predestine people to damnation? Her emotions start to unravel.
She returns for her senior year to her fundamentalist university in the heart of the smoldering, still largely segregated South, her mind burning with questions. She’s always been a devout believer, but now she’s not so sure she can continue in her faith. Under intense pressure from the school, outwardly she conforms, but inwardly, she’s seething. She lives a double life to cover up how she really feels. She wrestles with a God she wants to love, maybe hates, and definitely doesn’t understand.
4.) The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld by Christine Wiltz

Purchase date: May 12, 2013...Yup, another one sitting there for over 2 years.  This is why I cannot have nice things.  This is further proof that I will never, ever, ever get to the bottom of my TBR pile.  Seriously, I have a problem.  This I know.

However, I do know what drew me to this one.  I'm a sucker for a good memoir, a good biography.  This is just that.  This is the story of Nora Wallace who arrived in New Orleans in 1916 at age fifteen and had quickly gone from streetwalker to madam, and by 1920 had her own house of prostitution.  Clientele included governors, gangsters and movie stars.  She was arrested in 1962.   Christine Wiltz used the tapes recorded by Norma Wallace before her death in 1972, and her own research to write this thrilling account of the woman's life, as well as grants us another look into the social history of New Orleans.
5.) Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Purchase date: March 12, 2013...birthday gift card two years ago.  I am not entirely sure what else was purchased with that gift card and if I'd read the rest of the books that had been purchased...but this one apparently has been allowed to remain dormant in my unsorted category since I purchased it.  This one, I do have plans to start as soon as I am done with my current book, so it will soon be sorted!

I'd purchased this one because so many of my friends on Goodreads had provided rave reviews and had sent me countless recommendations for it.  So, once my gift card had come in for my birthday I made it one of my purchases and it got buried under everything else I'd read that year and the year after and apparently most of what I'd read this year so far. 
What books are on your TBR pile that you've not gotten to in a couple of years?




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Review: Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster




Title:  Beneath the Shadows
Author:  Sara Foster
Rating: 4/5

Summary:  A year after her husband, Adam, vanishes outside their Yorkshire moor cottage, Grace returns with her infant daughter Millie.  However, when the weather turns nasty and the winter storms threaten to cut her off from the rest of the world Grace makes a discovery and now must attempt to get her daughter back from the one person intent on taking her away, praying she can get to them on time.


Review:  North Yorkshire has been setting to some of my favorite stories throughout my reading career Dracla, Wuthering Heights, and that in and of itself gives this story brownie points in my book.  After Adam’s mother dies of cancer, he moves in with his grandparents, after attending University and meeting Grace, he marries her, their daughter born within their first year of marriage.  Adam’s grandparents die, and leave him the cottage, so they move from London to the cottage in North Yorkshire.  After they move into the cottage, Adam takes Millie for a walk – Millie is returned, Adam however is not found. 
The tiny village near the cottage is pretty much deserted; however, there is still an old schoolhouse where Meredith and her daughter Claire live. Claire is fine, however, there is something being masked by Meredith’s perfectly polite demeanor.  Ben, the handyman/contractor Grace hires to renovate the cottage is also hiding something…and no one is willing to divulge their secrets.  Winter’s approaching, and this often means snowstorms that keep drivers from being able to see the road, along with a grandfather clock that stops and starts at 3am, and we can’t forget the stories in Ghosts of the Moors – all of these things are slowly doing their best to drive Grace slightly mad. 
The sense of menace is real in this story, and the setting only adds to it and brings it more into being.  The mysteries surrounding Adam’s disappearance, Ben’s secret, and Meredith’s less than honest welcoming attitude are all eventually revealed.  My only disappoint me is that it didn’t have a bit more touch on Wicker Man/Harvest Home theme to it.  My only complaint that dropped this down from a five star review was the constant use of “tears streaming down her face” in reference to Grace when she was crying (which happened frequently).


If you have any questions, comments or recommendations you can contact me at simplicity.kindreth@gmail.com
My reviews can be found here:
http://www.caedyslibrary.blogspot.com
http://www.tumblr.com/caedy
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/caesreviews