Mary

Insight and wisdom wrapped in a mystery

Revisado: 01-13-24

In this 15th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, he is back after his suspension from the last book. I must admit I took a break from Three Pines after Kingdom of the Blind which left me wanting. But I was ready to return to Three Pines and Better did not disappoint.

Penney artfully combines some important issues of the day, with an outstanding and difficult mystery to solve. The issues of climate change, abuse and the devastation it causes, and the good and bad of social media. All combined seamlessly in the lives of various members of the community we have come to love. Penny writes with humanity and compassion, with insight and wisdom on the contradictions and complexities of individuals, no-one is purely good, not even Gamache, or just evil.

Armand Gamache is one of my favorite characters. I love Three Pines and its quirky residents.

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Good but weak

Revisado: 01-06-24

The Lincoln Lawyer #4; (Mickey Haller #4, Harry Bosch Universe #22)

Good but weak book by what I have come to
expect from Connelly. And it is still better than an average book by some other authors. I enjoyed it in spite of the flaws. Not my favorite case of Mickey's and two many twists and turns that didn’t add value.

I don’t read courtroom dramas but this kept my interest. There’s a lot of courtroom time which was ok as an audiobook but might drag a little if reading the physical book. There were a lot of unexpected things going on that it was hard to track at times.

The plot is very well constructed. It is particularly nice that Haller, and his team, during their investigation, stay within the law. There is no smart hacker on the side or “don’t ask how I got this” moment which is refreshing. Connolly writes the physical scenes, whether violence or seduction, well. It was curious and apparent that he was comfortable writing a scene of graphic violence, while seduction stopped at the bedroom door. There were very effective twists and, at one point, a good build of intensity. The ending, with very powerful plot twists, was extremely well done.

“The Fifth Witness” was not Connolly’s best book and certainly did not come up to the level of “The Lincoln Lawyer.” It was, however, fascinating for its timeliness and engrossing enough to keep one reading.

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Neither a straight courtroom drama, nor a detective story

Revisado: 12-29-23

The Lincoln Lawyer #3; (Mickey Haller #3, Harry Bosch Universe #21)

This is the third entry in Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller series, after The Lincoln Lawyer and The Brass Verdict. The Reversal, was almost as much of a Harry Bosch novel as it is a Mickey Haller. The Reversal is neither a straight courtroom drama, nor a detective story, but a clever and compelling combination of the two. There is also an appearance by Rachel Walling.

The story is told, basically, in alternating chapters, one from Haller's first-person POV and the next from Bosch's third person POV; which I found confusing at times.

Connelly repeatedly refuses to do the expected and produces a variety of twists and turns that will keep the reader turning the pages long into the night. A bit of the tension leaks out of the book at the end with a conclusion that seems somewhat rushed and is a bit of an anti-climax after the events that have led up to it. Still, this is a very entertaining book and Connelly fans will not be disappointed.

A good solid 4☆ read

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Fast paced but average

Revisado: 12-26-23

(Harry Bosch #14, Harry Bosch Universe #20)

9 Dragons is an incredibly suspenseful book! It starts out like your average police mystery novel—and then the action ramps up fast! While this wasn't one of my favorites, I still found it hard to stop reading and eventually move to the audiobook.

There was a recklessness about Harry that I hadn't seen before and it had some devastating consequences. The whole story was pretty good, but I was disappointed by how the end was written and how we were told about exactly what happened. That didn't work for me since I'd rather be "shown" instead of "told".

Other characters in the series take part or are mentioned, so it's key to read this in order, as usual. Mickey Haller had a small, but excellent role to play.

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Another enthralling crime thriller

Revisado: 12-26-23

Needed some holiday traveling reading and saw the new Agent Tori Hunter (Book #6) had been released. Every book has its own storyline that is very interesting and different. I enjoyed revisiting with Tori & Braddock. I will say it was not my favorite of the series. I truly love the dynamic of these characters and how the author has developed them. The mix of making good guys also bad guys added an element of depth to this story as well.

Although it's over 400 pages long, I flew through as Stelljes's writing flows so easily, and the characters are so engaging. The story was pretty fast-paced, and even when the leads seem to dry up, we know something is coming along soon that will jump-start the investigation once again. I couldn't wait to see what Tori was going to do once she figured that part out. It takes time for them to see the way forward but when they do it leads to a thrilling takedown.

Negatives; I'm not a fan of all the back story dialogue, it's obvious that this is a series and should be read from book 1, so it just gets redundant. I don't think it needed to tie together so many different crimes, the initial murder in the story that started the investigation kind of got lost as the book went on, which was disappointing.

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Quirky and charming

Revisado: 12-26-23

Under the Whispering Door was recommended to me by a colleague. This is my first book by the author. The concept was a bit formulaic and the story line, a bit recycled. T. J. Klune tells a tale that has been told many times before; he just dresses it with a fantastical flair. Nearly everything about the novel is predictable – the plot, the characters, the humor – and while reading it, I could never quite shake a sense of been there, done that. However the story was wonderful, cozy, hilarious, kind, caring, gentle goodness with a touch of love, laughter and tears to boot.

The writing is very good, simplistic and easy to follow. The heavy topics are balanced with humor and fun moments with weird characters. This isn't a funny book, but there are parts that made me laugh and lots of parts that made me smile. The world-building is good I liked that everything was clear and easy to follow which made it easy to read. I think some of the foreshadowing made things obvious for me but it was good anyway. I think I have mixed feelings about the ending and I stand somewhere between I am satisfied but the ending defeats the purpose of the book.

So I'd rate it at around 4 *good-but-not-awesome* stars.

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The Housemaid’s Secret is a quick and entertaining read!

Revisado: 12-22-23

A read ‘The Housemaid’ from Kindle Unlimited not knowing it was a series. The good news is “The Housemaid’s Secret” is just like ‘The Housemaid.’ The bad news is… it is just like ‘The Housemaid.’ It’s a fun, popcorn thriller, as long as you don’t overanalyse the storyline.

If you have not read,The Housemaid, I highly recommend it. “ The Housemaid’s Secret” could work as a standalone but reading the first book gives you more insight into Millie and her need to help others.

Book 1 is much better. As I read Book 2 for most of the story I thought… “Really the same trick as Book 1?” But just I was about to put it down, a major twist with a Lifetime movie ending. For those of who read a lot of psychological thrillers it's a piece of cake to guess the particular twist. Though predictable, McFadden’s fast pace writing allowed me to enjoyed the sequel.

Overall it was an entertaining read.

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A wild ride

Revisado: 12-10-23

I couldn’t stop turning the pages of this thriller! This is my first novel my Minka Kent and I think I would read 1-2 more. Her writing is solid, good character development, easy to follow storyline. The twist and turns are good although some of them are expected. The ending is really good though!

After Dark was a fast and easy read. A break from my normal genre. I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it!

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Massive letdown

Revisado: 12-07-23

OMG!! This has got to be worse book I have read. I switched from Kindle to Audiobook format to get through this ridiculous book as fast as possible. I saw the raving reviews and I wonder if I read the same book as everyone else. This wasn’t even a mystery/thriller book. I’m not sure what it was.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1 was reminiscent of the Nancy Drew books I read as a teenager. Book 1’s plot line and writing style absolutely phenomenal. I high expectations for Book 2 and it was okay but more of the same and I was looking for more character development. However Book 3 was nuts. The storyline and plot could have gone in so many directions because it is Pip!! And is she's Pip freaking Fitz-Amobi!! If you have read the other two books you won’t recognize Pip by the halfway point.

One of the reasons I liked the first two books was Pip’s character; she's smart, fearless, and snarky. But not in book 3. In this book, she is angry and traumatized (albeit understandably), and has turned into a pill-popping, freaking out, paranoid, therapy-is-not-for-me female victim. And of course she's traumatized by what happened to her in the last two books. Who wouldn't be, if this was real life? I expected her to rise above not turn into a psychopath. I’m truly pissed to see how Pip acts out of character, how the entire progression takes a dark and unexpected turn and how things start to fall away from clever and smart! The inner dialogue was annoying, repetitive and not well thought out.

I’ve never been more disappointed in a book. Ever. In my life. I wish I could erase this book from my mind completely.

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A bit of a let down

Revisado: 12-04-23

In this 14th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, the Canadian cop becomes the executor of a will and investigates a murder

This was my least favorite so far in the series. The story was predictable and felt longer than necessary. I figured everything out earlier on. The beginning of this book was strong. Louise Penny's strengths is her beginnings as a he sucks you right into the story and the characters.

However this time the familiarity of the characters and the scenery got in the way. there was a scene with our familiar cast of characters, in their familiar setting, and I thought to myself..."I've read this before." It's getting redundant, and that's a bad thing. Dialogue feels recycled, character reactions feel recycled, even the twists/big reveals are things we've seen before (Gamache has a big secret...yeah, we know. HE ALWAYS HAS A BIG SECRET).

The plot here felt disjointed, and at times I wondered if we were ever getting back to the other story line of the narcotics that went onto the streets after GH. The "twist" for this story line was obvious and the ending was rushed and a bit too clean for me.

But I must mention that in no way does Louise Penny's writing lack. Her prose is beautiful and I still would love to reside in a town similar to Three Pines. Having said all that, it comes down to this: If Louise Penny were to write another Armand Gamache book I would read it. In. A. Heartbeat.

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