Coal River

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

            Since reading Wiseman’s novel, What She Left Behind, I have been eagerly anticipating her next novel. Coal River has a great setting and premise. Unfortunately, it never lives up to its potential.

            The coal industry in the early 1900’s in Pennsylvania was a time of forced child labor, little to no safety, and mine owned stores. Into this setting, Wiseman drops nineteen year old Emma, an orphan coming to live with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle, an evil little man, is a supervisor in the mines and lives very well. Emma’s aunt is a flighty, nervous caricature who is never fully developed. Predictably, Emma is horrified with the conditions of the mine workers, children, etc. and sets out to change matters. The rest of the story is just too predictable. Even a secret revealed at the end cannot save this novel.

            I wanted to like this novel. I slogged my way through it. I put it down, I picked it back up. I hoped it would get better. It never did. The characters in Coal River are just too one dimensional, and unlikeable. Emma in particular comes off as dull, whiney and weak. The bad guys are spectacularly bad, and the good guys are saints with halos.

            Let’s hope Wiseman’s next novel is better. Leave this one at the library.

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

The Drifter

by Nicholas Petrie

            In his first novel, Petrie has created an interesting protagonist in Peter Ash, a veteran suffering from PTSA that manifests itself in extreme claustrophobia. His solution; live outdoors in the wilderness. When Ash receives word that his friend and former sergeant Jimmy has committed suicide, he feels that he has somehow failed his friend. He should have visited, called. Ash’s solution to his guilt is a visit to Jimmy’s widow offering to help with home repairs. When Ash finds a suitcase filled with money and C4 under the porch he is repairing, he wonders just what his old friend was involved in. When Ash traces his friend’s last days, he finds that all is not as it appears, and finding out the truth just may get him killed.

            Billed as a thriller, this book does not quite live up to that. It is, instead, an excellent character driven book with plenty of suspense. This is not a page turner kind of book. However, it is a very good first book with excellent character development.  I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

            Borrow this book from your local library and watch for more from this author.

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

The Bone Labyrinth

by James Rollins

            James Rollins has the ability to blend an edge-of-your-seat thriller and cutting edge technology (with a touch of sci-fi thrown in) into a white knuckle ride that will leave you breathless from start to finish.

            The 11^th installment in his Sigma Force series deals with two geneticists: twin sisters, Lena and Maria Crandall who are researching the origins of human intelligence. When one sister goes missing, Sigma Force is tasked with finding her. On the other side of the globe, the other sister is attacked. What is so important about the sisters research that someone is willing to kill for it, and who is that someone?

            Rollins offers the reader a heady brew of ancient mysticism, the lost continent of Atlantis, the bible, the lost minutes of a moon landing recording, numerology and some giant hybrid apes. If this sounds too far-fetched, rest assured that James Rollins knows how to make all these elements work together to create a wholly plausible story.

            Buy this book. Turn off your phone, tell your family you’re out of town and prepare to lose a weekend to this excellent thriller.

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