Friday, March 31, 2017

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson- Book Review

I would like to start with apologies to regular readers of my reviews. First, thank you for supporting me. Lent is a busy time for pastors and this Lent has been especially busy for me with ministry activities, so my reading generally goes down a bit in addition to my time to do fun things like blog. I was also sick this week and trying to read or blog with a fever just was not happening. The good news is I found out about two weeks ago what the new Book of the Month picks were and BoTM gave one to me to read early and I have already read one of the picks, so this weekend, I will make up for the week with two brand new spiffy reviews on Saturday and then Sunday and both will be April Book of the Month picks!

Her Every Fear, is not one of those picks, but it is one that I read fairly recently thanks to a hand sell from a local book store. I was looking for a mystery and a creepy one and this was the one recommended. It is indeed creepy.

It focuses on Kate, who after an unnamed incident (if you read the publisher's description it will spoil it), decides to switch apartments with her cousin, Corbin, whom she has never met. He goes to England and she comes to Boston.

When Kate arrives, a murder investigation is just beginning as Corbin's neighbor has been murdered. Kate is questioned, but knows nothing as she has just arrived. She finds it curious though that Corbin wanted eagerly to trade places with her. Was Corbin involved in the murder? Did he know the neighbor?

As she wanders the neighborhood, she runs into a man named Alan. Kate doesn't know it, but Alan knows the murdered neighbor as he has WATCHED HER FROM HIS WINDOW EVERY NIGHT! Enter the creepy neighbor (I am guessing that is him on the top right of the hardback cover). Did he have something to do with the neighbor's murder?

Corbin is in England, but is not enjoying the apartment. His was neat and huge, but Kate's is tiny and messy, so he decides to cruise the neighborhood bars. His behavior becomes a bit creepy too. Are you sure he had nothing to do with the murder?

I use those three as the book is narrated from the three different perspectives- Kate, Alan, and Corbin. There may be others, but I am not sharing. Each has a different tale to tell and each brings a unique voice to the mix.

The book itself felt a little long, but I wound up reading it very quickly, if that makes sense. It kept a good pace and told an excellent story, yet it felt long.

The big question is- did you guess the ending? Well, it isn't that sort of a book. There won't be a need to guess the ending as stories are told throughout the book that continue to unveil characters and their pasts, including the murdered neighbor. It is a good one in that not all are innocent and not all are guilty (well, there is a guilty party, but you will figure that out). It is a good mix of creepy characters though.

I wound up enjoying it for what it was. It fit the right need that I was looking for. Not too deep, but a fairly good mystery and a good array of creep factors.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Fisherman by John Langan- Book Review

It is kind of fun when you read a book that takes place near the place that your are currently living, especially when not in a city. There are tons of books that take place in NYC, for example, but not many that take place is say Esopus, NY. I will be truthful still in stating that until I moved back to the Hudson Valley, I didn't even know there was an Esopus, NY. Now that I am here and near there, it becomes fun when it pops up in a book.

It is even more fun when other similarities pop up. One of the main characters, for example, has the exact same name as a friend of mine. The book also mentions a Lutheran church in Woodstock. I am Lutheran and I happen to know the pastor of the church in Woodstock. So, there was lots of fun with these small coincidences for me in this book.

The Fisherman by John Langan is about two men, who both lose significant members of their family- Abe, who's wife dies from illness and Dan, who's whole family dies in a tragic car accident. These two men come together on weekends to fish in different areas of the Hudson Valley. One time, after a particularly rough patch, Dan suggest the men fish in Dutchman's Creek which suddenly appears on Abe's map.

As the men go to the Creek, they stop at a local diner and meet a man, who after hearing they are headed to Dutchman's Creek starts telling them the tale of the creek and the horrors of what has happened there. Will the men continue their journey? (Hint: yes) What will they find there? (Hint: not good things)

I read this book on a train ride and I will state that it was perfect for a train ride or a plane ride or some other such ride that a good chunk can be read, can be put down for a bit, only to finish it later. I am not sure I would have finished the book if it wasn't my train book. I write that because the book felt like two short stories on the same topic, shoved together to make one story.

There is the story of the two men, which happens in Part 1. You hear their story, you get to know them, and the book builds their relationship for 46 pages. The story of Abe and Dan is then interrupted for 144 pages with the backstory story of Dutchman's Creek as told by the man in the restaurant. Dan and Abe are gone for the entire story as is the man telling it. It is just the story of the past. In Part 3, we come back to the restaurant and to Abe and Dan's story for the last 66 pages to wrap up the book. Without the train stop and taking a long break in between reads, I am not sure I would have gone back to finish Dan and Abe's story. It was too much back story.

With that written, I gotta state, in spite of what I just wrote, it was still a fun book. I gave it a sort of pass too because it is a local author on an indy publishing house (Word Horde). I also only paid $10 for the book retail on Amazon (it is only $2.99 on Kindle), so there was lots of forgiveness for the semi disjointed story. If it were a major publishing house with a big time author, I might have balked a little more at how it was put together, but local author, small publishing house, and cheap book- it was tons of fun and a good story.

It was very imaginative and drew a good mix of religion and lore. There were bits and pieces of story that didn't make much sense. For example after hearing the long story (which would have gone late into the day at that point), Dan and Abe still act the way they do in Part 3, whereas I would think one would take off running or simply not go, but you kind of let that go. It is good monster horror that I would recommend for fun.

I gave this one 3 stars bordering on 3.5 stars mostly due to how the story felt like two different stories.

Here is your Amazon link- The Fisherman by John Langan

Monday, March 20, 2017

The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel- Book Review

I don't think there is an introvert who hasn't had the thought- "What if I lived in the woods away from everyone for a while." If you have had that thought, now imagine doing it for 27 years, in a tent, in Maine, and never lighting a fire. That is exactly what Christopher Knight did in the 80s until his arrest 27 years later. Twenty seven years with only one human contact in that time by a hiker to whom he said- hello. Twenty seven years even through winter where he swears he did not light one fire because he didn't want to draw people to his site.

One of the natural questions is how did he survive? That is how he was arrested. For 27 years, he broke into empty vacation houses and a local camp, where he would steal food, clothes, books, games, batteries, and a variety of other things he needed. He had a theft code- no permanent residences, no scaring people, only steal what was needed, and try to fix whatever he broke before leaving.

The other major question is why do it? What kind of person does this? This is what the rest of book explores. How can a seemingly normal guy- he was super clean, well shaven, even though his camp smelled, and kept up with current events- do such a thing? What did his family think? What did he do for 27 years?

I was worried when I got this book from Book of the Month that after the initial story there wouldn't be much left. The good news is the book is short enough and interesting enough that it doesn't fall apart. The book all rests on Christopher Knight's personality, who as it turns out isn't a kook, but a pretty smart guy who just sees the world differently. He is crass at times, but he hasn't had to have a filter, so it works. Finkel is a reporter who writes this with just enough info, but not too much to bore the reader.

My very minor critique was there wasn't a picture of Knight in the book, so every time I read his name, I kept finding myself thinking about the Brady Bunch Knight. That was just me though. Having a picture of the guy we are reading about would have been a big help.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is a super quick read and a cool story.

I gave this one 4 stars

Here is your Book of the Month link- try it for just $9.99 a month for 3 months- The Stranger in the Woods

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan Leach- Book Review

I will state up front there is a slight problem with the marketing of this book. Since Gone Girl was so popular, every book company seems to be stating their book is "just like Gone Girl!" This book does the same and it is nothing like Gone Girl at all, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fun book.

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach is a fun book. I want you to keep that in mind when reading this book- it is a fun book. It isn't a thriller, borders a mystery, but it is an experience filled with characters that are pretty much unlikable. The good news is they are unlikable in a good way in that they have very little morals and values, but that makes the book fun.

Ava and Zelda were twin sisters born to their mother who is a drunk and may or may not have dementia and their father, who attempted to start a winery, but abandoned the three of them for his new wife.

Ava and Zelda played lots of games as children, often bordering on torturing one another mentally. They also fought over the same guy when they were teenagers. Ava dated the guy and Zelda was jealous due to losing Ava's attention. Something happens and Ava decides to take off for France.

It is years later, when the book takes place and Zelda has died in a tragic fire where it seems like she was locked in a barn. Ava returns from France, but finds Zelda's death too much like Zelda's personality. It is also too coincidental that she died the same exact way as her namesake- Zelda Fitzgerald. Ava finds Zelda's cell phone and starts to received e-mails from Zelda, who is supposed to be dead. Ava must find out what happened to her sister, while dealing with her parents, the town she escaped, and must face the guy they fought over. Ava follows clues left by her sister to find out what happened that fateful night.

I'll go back to what I stated- this is a fun book and should be read as such. The reason being is there are plot holes everywhere, things that seem too convenient, and a reveal that will take a bit of a leap to accept. If it is read as fun, those things will not bother you as much as the story draws the reader in, the women have a unique relationship with one another, and the family problems are crazy.

The story does drag a bit, but that has to deal with the reveal, so I cannot write more on that. After the reveal, it makes a bit of sense why the story needed to drag, but it didn't help it. The book got caught in its own device.

I did enjoy the characters of Ava and Zelda. Their relationship is really what this book hangs on and the good news is it works. Ava and Zelda both love and seem to resent one another at the same time. Their relationship is complicated and not trite.

I wound up giving this one 4 stars.

Here is your Book of the Month link- Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

You can try Book of the Month for just $9.99 a month for 3 months with a free tote.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett- Book Review

I am going to be up front about a few things-

1. If you are a regularly reader of my reviews, you know I love the publishing company- Tin House. I have almost all of their fiction books and am a subscriber to their quarterly magazine. 

2. I received this book for review from Tin House. I received it in exchange for an honest review. I normally don't post this in the beginning, but I wanted to be up front in stating this will have no influence on my review. I would have purchased this book at some point more than likely.

3. I really loved Rabbit Cake because like most Tin House books, one will think about it long after finishing the book and it will continue to open up more and more. Most Tin House books have several layers to them, which is why I continue to follow my first point.

Elvis is a twelve year old little girl who knows a lot of facts. She can spout them off in a heartbeat. Lizzie is her sister who has begun sleep walking and eating to the point where she has become a danger to herself and to others around her. Their father has begun putting on his wife's make up, doesn't quite know what to do with Lizzie and gives into her strange ideas- such as setting the world record for rabbit cakes, and is deeply grieving. All three are grieving the death of Elvis and Lizzie's mother who in a sleep walking incident drowned while sleep swimming.

The entire book is told from Elvis' perspective who is convinced something else happened to her mother. She thinks her mother may have had a disease which made her do this and is afraid Lizzie has the same problem. Elvis narrates her grieving journey, what she sees and hears, and seeks out answers the best she can even if she cannot fully understand it. She will find things out about her mother and father that may not be comfortable, yet she will push forward as she attempts to figure out what happened on that night..

Having Elvis as the narrator was an interesting choice by Hartnett as Elvis doesn't really understand the world or what she is seeing. She doesn't really understand grieving and thinks it can be completed in 18 months or so. She also doesn't understand sex or relationships and that will come into play a bit within the book.

The book itself deals with grieving, but also mental illness as Lizzie continues to go down a path where she gets worse and worse in her conditions. Her father is caught up in his own process, so much so that he continues to give in to Lizzie (or at least how Elvis sees it). Lizzie will eventually be institutionalized (first quarter of the book, so not a spoiler) which will set her off another path. The family will need each other to get through everything. This is a deep book and it walks down paths that are quite unexpected, but you are limited to Elvis' perspective.

This leads me to my only critique- the ending. I will not ruin the ending at all, but the book ties up too nicely for the rest of the book. It is a- everything becomes resolved ending, even though grief, especially a death like their mother's, almost cannot have a resolved ending. It did not take away from the book and fits the book, but I wish the ending was a bit messier.

In the midst of writing the review, I realized I forgot to mention one item. The book is very funny too. It is a great mix of humor and seriousness that will keep one thinking.

Overall, I loved this book. Elvis was a great narrator and has a unique voice. This is also Hartnett's first book and I look forward to what else she will write in the future. This was a great freshman offering. I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg- Book Review

When I finished All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg,* I had this thought- people are either going to absolutely love this book, like super devotion to it, cult classic type love of this book OR people will absolutely hate this book and simply not get it. I think it might be that dividing line for readers of the book. Now stating that, I can say that I liked it, but a strong part of me didn't "get it." I got a strong "HBO Girls" type vibe off of this book and I don't get that show either, so I use that as a reference point.

The book is about Andrea, who is 39 and just about to turn 40. She is in a place in her life where she is comfortable where she is as a single woman living in NY. She has dad issues as she sleeps with many men trying to fill the space where her dad should be (her thoughts, not my analysis), often times not really into the sex or into the man she is with.

She struggles with abandonment from her mother who moved away, but seems to be having a fine life outside of NYC. Her mother is also demanding of Andrea as when she will have a baby and "grow up?"

Andrea though is in a place where she is content, but also wonders if she should be someone else at this point in her life. This is a sort of coming of age book as Andrea prepares to enter midlife. Is she fine with her life choices or is she just settling?

I turned 40 a few years ago and when I did, I had a career and have had it for 19 years at that point. I had a wife (still do) and had been married for a long time. I was not needy for my parents (even though I love them dearly). What I am saying is when I hit 40, I was in a place in my life where I wasn't seeking any longer, I knew who I was and was content with my life. So, I couldn't connect with Andrea's journey. Then again, I couldn't connect with a lot of people my age who I knew were still seeking who they were at 40.

The writing was great as Attenberg is a fantastic writer. The use of the first person narrative was an interesting choice I thought, especially in the opening where it is a pointed use of "you" before it slips into the "I" following.

I thought this was a fine book and I think a lot of people will connect with Andrea. It just didn't hit with me, but there was a lot in this tiny book. I gave this one 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg

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

Friday, March 3, 2017

What You Don't Know by JoAnn Chaney- Book Review

There was a Tuesday in February where a whole slew of great books were released. On the same day, A Separation, The Refugee, All our Wrong Todays, The Lonely Hearts Hotel, The Woman Next Door, Lincoln in the Bardo, and this little book What You Don't Know were all released. Of all the books released on that day, I am sure What You Don't Know would be one of the more overlooked ones. It has a plain cover, Chaney is a first time author, and it is a mystery which does not scream out- buy me! This is a book not to be overlooked though as it is a mystery where the murder takes a back seat to relationships.

The book opens with the capture of a serial killer, Seever, who would torture, rape, and then kill his victims only to dump them into his basement. He has a wife, Gloria, and several successful restaurants. He is known in the community as a guy who would also dress up like a clown and have grand parties at his house.

He is caught by Hoskins and his partner Loren while a reporter Sammie is making a name for herself writing about the killer. Sammie is also sleeping with Hoskins for information about the case and has a past with Seever. It seems as if the world is opening up in their lives.

A few years later, Hoskins in working in the basement after attacking another person, Loren starts dressing up like Seever, and Sammie is working as a make up sales person. Their lives have been changed from this story. Seever is on death row and is about to be executed when all of a sudden murders similar to Seever's murders begin again. The three- Hoskins, Loren, and Sammie are thrown back together and face their past demons.

As I stated earlier, while this is a murder mystery, it does not read like one. The murders become a backdrop to the relationships within the book. Sammie and Hoskins must work out what has happened to them. Loren starts becoming more and more obsessed with Seever to the point of dressing like him and acting like him. Gloria is left without a cent to her name and must navigate life as Seever's wife. Meanwhile, Seever is experiencing a bit of fame with paintings he paints while awaiting his death. The wake left after a serial killer becomes the real story.

As for the mystery itself, there are some pretty violent scenes and may set off some triggers. The nice thing is there are several candidates for who could be committing these new murders, so guessing who did it, will flip often. Seever becomes a Hannibal Lecter like character in that he becomes a mentor of sorts as to who did it.

I found myself engrossed in the story and the relationships within the story. This isn't a typical murder mystery, so I will once again warn, for those looking for a typical one, you might want to pick another one up. I wound up enjoying this one a lot.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- What You Don't Know by JoAnn Chaney

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Mexico by Josh Barkan- Book Review

If it were not for Blogging for Books, I am not sure this one would have been in my TBR stack. While the cover is an interesting one, the book never crossed my radar as a must get. Since it was an offering on the site, I figured- why not?

Mexico stories by Josh Barkan should have been called "Cartel stories" as each short story is about how an ordinary person just trying to get by in Mexico has a cartel figure pop into his/her life and now must figure out what to do.

We have stories of a chef who must prepare an outstanding dish for a cartel leader only using two ingredients or he loses his life. A story of a woman carved and what her scars mean. A doctor who must choose to save the life of a cartel leader. Along with many other stories.

Each story did have a uniqueness to it and were well written, but there was just something off about the book as a whole for me. After a few stories, I found myself wanting the book to end as each one pretty much has the same plot, but the story is now a new situation, namely how is this person going to overcome the cartel? It got a bit tedious after a bit and I wonder if that is why the book seems to be getting negative reviews on Goodreads. It just becomes too much.

I kept feeling that if the book is called Mexico, Mexico should be a "character" of some kind. The country barely plays a role, except here is where these two people will now square off. This is why I suggested a title change might be in order. Mexico is simply a backdrop and doesn't pop into the story.

These are not bad stories by far, although I did feel the doctor one has been told so many times, but they were too similar to each other. I also would not call the book a fun read. Many of the stories are depressing and there isn't much hope contained within them. For example, the chef overcomes the odds, but what is the payoff besides being able to live? It just ends with the cartel leader leaving and t he chef facing someone else in the restaurant. There isn't guilt or shame, but life goes on.

I would have a hard time recommending this one to people, but I can see an audience. I just wasn't one on that list. I gave this one 3 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Mexico stories by Josh Barkan