Fatal by John Lescroart- Book Review

Fatal by John Lescroart is one of those books that will sell a good number of copies based on the author's name. He has an audience and a voice that his readers have come to know and love. This was my introduction to his writing and I am not sure I would read another. While the writing was ok, there were some speeches that just seemed odd, the premise was pretty strange, and I had guessed the ending due to one of the speeches in the beginning of the book.

The story is about Kate, who chooses to cheat on her husband with Peter a friend and partner of her husband Ron. Kate meets Peter in a hotel for a one shot affair. The problem is Peter begins to unwind and starts to obsess over Kate. He goes to her house, calls her, and winds up near her when she is having lunch with her best friend and homicide investigator Beth. All of a sudden a terrorist attack occurs. Yes, you read that right. This is also the first quarter of the book.

In the next section, we are a few months after the attack when Peter washes up on shore. He has been shot and dumped into the river and it is up to Beth to find out what happened to Peter. She knows that Kate had an affair with a man named Peter, is it the same Peter?
I was actually into the beginning story. I figured I was in for a a reverse fatal attraction type story. When the terrorist attack happened and the book turns into a murder mystery following, I sighed out loud. It became a slog to read through, especially since I guessed who did it from something said in the beginning of the book. It turned out I was completely right.

This leads me to the speeches. There are some strange speeches within this book. Beth does a speech about how much she loves her gun, which borders on a 2nd amendment speech. It also goes no where. There is a strange speech about the priests not liking gay and lesbian people, which doesn't pan out. Finally, there is a lesson about anorexia which just is strange as it is a side character. I know people love Lescroart, but since I was a first time reader of his, it screamed that the editor is giving him freedom to write whatever he wants even if it doesn't fit.

I wound up not enjoying this one and felt there were too many things fit into a book that we have all read before. The hard part is I know this will sell a bunch of copies and wind up on the bestseller list. I found it just ok.

I gave it 2.5 stars.

I want to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit- Book Review

I heard about this book while listening to the Book Riot podcast. They were commiserating about the election results and were looking for books to help people. This book- Hope in the Dark- came up as a book about hope in the midst of perceived darkness. I have to admit that it hit me in all the right spots.

Rebecca Solnit wrote this during the W Bush presidency after being an activist against President Bush. In the midst of her heartbreak, she started writing a series of essays on a wide variety of topics, but always centering on the idea of hope in the midst of hopelessness.

Solnit's background is in activism and she has a deep understanding of history. The way she tells stories about people standing up in seemingly overwhelming odds to help fight injustice was not only grounded in her knowledge of history, but was simply a great storytelling.

Solnit has an incredible writing style that draws the reader in. While it may seem the essays are dated, I found they were applicable to today. I was inspired to stand up in the face of hopelessness and declare there is always hope.

I gave this one 4 stars. It is well worth the read!

Here is your Amazon link- Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit

Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri- Book Review

Kill the Father by Sandrone Dazieri was a best selling thriller in Italy that finally made its way to the US. The book is a translation of the Italian edition into English.


A murder happens on top of a hill- a woman is beheaded, her son is gone, and the father is the only suspect. Deputy Captain Colomba is brought in as the lead investigator, even though she succumbs to panic attacks and is on leave for an incident that has happened in her past. Her help is Dante Torre, an independent consultant, yet an expert in reading faces and body movements. The problem is Dante is a former victim of a kidnapper/torturer named The Father and is afraid to leave his house. It is up to these two to solve this murder that seems open and shut, except the father of the boy doesn't seem like the killing type, is The Father back? (Hint: yes he is, but that isn't a spoiler)

This book relies on the relationship between Colomba and Dante as the rag tag, psychologically hurt partners who must solve this murder. It is their back and forth that helps hold this book up, as well as the story. The story is good, but their relationship is what bumps this book up a bit more.

Both Dante and Colomba are great characters who want to do the best they can, but just have pasts that hold them back. I enjoyed Dante a bit more as he is wise cracking, yet incredibly knowledgable. He holds information back, while at the same time being incredibly blunt. The difficulty I had is how connected he is, even though he has been trapped in his house for the most part. He knows all sorts of people, who conveniently can help the case move forward, even though it might not be technically legal. For example, Colomba and Dante can go to a high class hotel because Dante helped consult on the disappearance of the owner's daughter, yet just pages before, it took Dante 40 minutes to go down his own stairs and 3 hours to drive a short distance. So, how does he know the hotel owner so well? There were quite a few of these instances of Dante's connections that seem a bit off.

There were parts of this book that seemed long and just lots of filler. The book is just over 500 pages and as a reader, I felt it. The opening flew by, but the middle just seemed to go on and on, until the great ending. To compare, Silence of the Lambs, which is pretty great mystery with a similar character as Dante in Lecter comes in at 384 pages in the Mass Market version of the book. At over 500+ pages, for this type of murder mystery, it is just too long and I felt it could have been trimmed a bit.

I gave Kill the Father 3.5 star slipping close to 4 stars. If it was a bit tighter, it could have easily been a 5 star book, but it just felt long.

Here is your Amazon link- Kill the Father by Sandrone Dozier

I received this book from NetGalley and Scribner in exchange for an honest review.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller- Book Review

I had the book Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller sitting next to me for a few months. The wonderful people at Tin House sent me an early copy and I was thrilled. I noticed though it was not going to be published until February and I would have to wait for this incredible book. I loved her first book- Our Endless Numbered Days and I couldn't wait to tear into this one, but I had to wait.

Then Book of the Month did a wonderful thing and released the book early as a selection for December! I had my excuse! I could read the book and review it now. Thanks to BoTM. I am so glad I had the excuse as this is a heartbreaking story, but Fuller did it again.

There are two stories going on throughout this book. One is the story of Flora and her sister as they go to the bedside of Gil, their father. He jumped from his balcony when he said he saw his ex-wife Ingrid. The problem is Ingrid disappeared years ago and was thought to have killed herself or some thought Gil murdered her, but no one knows the truth.

The other story is the story of Ingrid and Gil, told from Ingrid's perspective through letters she wrote to Gil about their life together and stuck in between his books. It is the story of a womanizing, famous husband who is never home and the woman who is left behind struggling to keep the family together. Stuck home with kids, as Gil does his thing. The letters build to the day Ingrid will disappear.

Each story is about broken relationships as the childish Flora has a strained relationship with her sister and her father. Even though she has heard things, she simply does not want to believe them. Ingrid and Gil's story gives light to how the sisters acted as children which helps one see why they act the way they do in the present.

There is such a feeling of stuckness too. The town seems tiny, Ingrid seems trapped, and here Flora and her sister must co-exist to care for their dying father who wasn't part of their life. They are trapped in their lives because of the man at the center of it all- Gil.

Fuller has an incredible voice and she develops characters quite well. There were bits of callbacks to letters Ingrid had written in the beginning that play out in the sisters. In some ways, they don't really grow up, at least Flora didn't. Fuller's writing voice is just right for a story like this one.

I really enjoyed this one and I thank Tin House for the early copy. The advanced copy in no way helped change my opinion of the book. I would have given this one 4.5 stars either way.

Here is a link to Book of the Month- right now you can take 30% off of 3 months and get a free tote!

Star Wars Bloodline by Claudia Grey- Book Review

I have not written about them much, yet, but I am a huge Star Wars fan and have read most of the expanded universe. I was one of the many Star Wars nerds who mourned the loss of the expanded universe books when Lucas sold the franchise to Disney. I had read all the books and would dedicate a few weeks in summer to Star Wars summer, where I would catch up on the many releases that year. I am writing this to warn you. I know what my Santa wife is handing over to me come Christmas and there will be many Star Wars titles in the stocking this year.

With all of that written, this was the first of the new expanded universe books that I really enjoyed with the other being Tarkin. Star Wars Bloodline by Claudia Grey takes place before Episode 7 The Force Awakens and answers what happened to the peaceful Republic that was left after Return of the Jedi and why is Princess Leia fighting against said Republic in the movie?

This is an incredible Princess Leia adventure where an older Leia is having some of her past catch up with her a bit. She is a powerful Senator in the Republic, where the Senate is divided. After she hears about a possible army building up, Leia seeks out what is going on and is forced to go with one of her fellow Senators to find out what is happening. This Senator happens to be on the other side of the divide.

As things play out and as friendship builds, Leia's dark secret of being Darth Vader's daughter and murderer of Jabba the Hut will come back into her life. What will happen when these two items come out?

I enjoyed this one as a fan and as a reader. While Luke and Ben do not make an appearance, Han Solo does as Leia's husband. The story gets a bit intricate at times and there was at least one instance where I rolled my eyes a bit, but it is a Star Wars book, so some plot devices become a bit convenient at times. 

Leia is a complex character in this one as she herself has to struggle with her identity both as a Senator and as the daughter of one of the most evil people of that Universe. She also struggles with being a wife to one of the most famous smugglers of all time. 

I really enjoyed this one and if you are a fan, I think you will too. I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Star Wars Bloodline by Claudia Grey

The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley- Book Review

There are certain books that just sneak up on you and grab hold for dear life. The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley was one of those books. To say I devoured this book would be an understatement, but I simply devoured this book. I started it on a whim in the afternoon and I resisted putting it down to go to sleep, that is how engrossing this book is.

The premise is intriguing in itself. Charles is a black man who lives in his house, which has been in his family for generations. Fired from his banking job for embezzlement, he is starting to run out of funds. He has some African masks that are worth a lot of money, but it would take years for those to sell and he needs funds now.

Anniston Bennet, a rich white man, shows up on Charles' doorstep with a proposition- boatloads of cash if Charles would allow him to live in his basement for a few months.

Charles will eventually take the deal (spoiler, but it is in the title) and as the man moves in, he realizes Anniston's furniture is a cage in which Anniston will live and Charles is to be his jailer/warden. The big question is why. That is the joy of the book.

I am going to resist spoilers since the conversations between the two men are what build this book, but the book isn't just their conversations, in fact, they have only a few conversations. The book is about who Charles is and how did he get to the place he is in, what his relationships are like, and why does he just sort of coast through life.

When I was discussing this book with my father, his initial question was- is it about race? My answer was, race has something to do with it, but it isn't front and center. This is a book about relationships and how one lives a life with elements of race thrown in. Race cannot be ignored, Charles is poor and black, while Anniston is rich and white, but to boil it to a race book would be cheating the fuller thrust of the book.

I had not read a Mosley book before and after reading this one, I am ready for more of his. This is simply a great book, but I will warn you, Charles is a womanizer and there is lots of sex in this book. I was actually a bit surprised by how much, but it has to do with Charles' character.

I gave this one 4 stars, leaning on 4.5 stars. I have not stopped thinking about this book since reading it.

Here is your Amazon link- The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley