Motive    

     

by Jonathan Kellerman

 

                Motive is the latest installment in Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series. It opens with the murder of a young woman in her apartment. The aberration is that her table has been set up post crime with a dinner for two. When another woman is murdered and her table for two is set, the case moves into Dr. Delaware’s area of expertise: motive.

                This novel is classic Kellerman. It’s a fast paced story that is a quick enjoyable read. There are plenty of red herrings along the way. In fact, Kellerman is known for this. He throws out red herrings like a crazed jester throwing beads at a Mardi Gras parade. I know this. I expect this. Every time I read a Kellerman novel, I have a conversation with myself. “You know he’s going to try to lead you down the garden path, right? Yep. You’re not going to fall for all those false clues, right? Nope.” Of course, I do fall for his misdirections and slight of hand. I don’t know why I even bother.

                For fans of Kellermans, you will not be disappointed. If you’ve never read this author, what are you waiting for?

The Forever Bridge

by T. Greenwood

             

            Set in a small town in Vermont, The Forever Bridge begins with a storm that fractures a family and ends with a storm that holds the possibility of healing that fracture.

            Sylvie is a woman who can no longer face the world after the death of her son in an accident. For two years she has closeted herself in her home believing the world to be a dangerous place.

            Ruby is Sylvie’s eleven year old daughter. For her, the accident took not only her brother, but also her mother. Living with her father, Ruby longs for her mother. Alternating between pity and anger, Ruby tries to navigate the mine field that is her mother’s world.

            Nessa was a throw away child. Now seventeen and pregnant, she longs for the only thing she has ever wanted; a home. Returning to Vermont to find her mother, she carries secrets that could destroy some lives and heal others.

            These three lives are on a collision course that will explode one night as a hurricane bears down on their small town.

            Beautifully written, The Forever Bridge may just be Greenwood’s best novel to date. Her books are always a joyous, sad, funny, heart breaking, lush, barren and thought provoking examinations of relationships. This book is no exception.

            If you've read T. Greenwood’s novels before, you will love this book. If not, you're in for a treat. A must buy.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

 

            An epic novel that spans over 50 years, this is beyond a doubt Hannah’s finest book to date. Hannah is at the height of her ability on this one, and it is impressive.

            Set in France during WWII, the book follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, ordinary French women who experience the evil, desperation and desolation of war in occupied France. Vianne, the elder sister, believes that if she keeps her head down and follows the rules the Germans impose, all will be well. Isabelle has seen the evil of the German army and believes that resistance is the only choice.  Each of the sister’s attitudes not only shape their choices and change their lives, but will affect many others, both in the present and in the future.

            The book moves from the present day to the past in the two sisters voices. Vianne and Isabelle in the past, and one of the sisters in the present. It is not until the end that the present tense sister’s identity is revealed.

            It is impossible to read this novel and not loose oneself in it. There is just so much to this book: love, loss, beauty, evil, horror, courage and hope.

            Hannah’s opening line to this novel sums it up best: ‘In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

            Buy this book for yourself, your friends, anyone who enjoys an epic read of the first quality.

The Great Zoo of China

by Matthew Reilly

 

Think Jurassic Park with dragons and you have Reilly’s latest book. Just as the dinosaurs run amuck in Jurassic Park, so do Reilly’s dragons. However, Reilly takes this idea and goes far beyond expectations.

The book begins with a media tour of a fantastical zoo, amusement park, vacation destination spot the Chinese government has been building in secret for over 40 years. Of course, the tour goes horribly awry very quickly. That’s when the fun begins!

Led by a female protagonist, CJ Cameron, the cast of characters includes a host of Chinese officials, technicians, a U.S. ambassador, scientists and dragons, dragons, dragons. Lots of dragons of varying sizes, shapes, colors and abilities.

What makes this book work so well, is the author’s ability to make the existence of dragons in the modern world seem so believable. Whatever objection your mind can conjure up, Reilly has an answer to, and that answer is very plausible.

The Great Zoo of China is a thriller, a fantasy and a sci-fi novel all rolled into one really good read. Even for readers who are not fantasy or sci-fi readers (I count myself among them) this is a novel that will be enjoyed by most.

                Buy this book, buckle your seat belt, and let Matthew Reilly take you on one fantastic ride. Oh, and when you dream of dragons, blame the author, not me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.