THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion

I finished Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. It's the 1970s and Lydia Lee - the promishing 16-year-old daughter of a Chinese father and American mother - is found dead in a lake in Cincinatti. Lydia's family struggles to deal with what happened.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dean wrote: "http://harpers.org/archive/2015/04/th...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/boo...

Hi, Kathleen, no I haven't read that one. I'll give..."

Dean, I looked at a couple of the reviews and it's clear the story is very complex. I can see why you're doing a second careful reading.

I finished A String of Beads by Thomas Perry.

In this 8th book in the series Jane Whitefield (a Seneca Indian with prodigious skills) has to find and help her childhood friend, Jimmy Sanders. Jimmy has been unjustly accused of murder and is being pursued by both the cops and the mafia. 3 stars for me.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. In 1950s Elizabeth, NJ there were 3 plane crashes within 3 months. Judy Blume based this fiction book on those true events and how they affected the local residents. It's supposedly a book for adults but feels more YA to me. Pretty good book. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Born with Teeth by Kate Mulgrew. This memoir by Kate Mulgrew (known for her roles in 'Star Trek Voyager' and 'Orange is the New Black') was just okay for me. I thought it was too much about her love life and too little about her professional life. 3 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

12:06 PM EST. Just finished reading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I had known of Sandra Cisneros for years. But this was the first time I read one of her books. Very readable this one was.

Currently I am not reading anything, but yesterday I finished HEARING JESUS. I enjoyed the book and it gives you something to think about at the end.

I am waiting for The Solomon Curse a Sam and Remi Fargo adventure from the Clive Cussler collection. It comes out September 1st.

In the meantime, I am writing the second of the Johnnie King novels. First one BLOOD DEATH AND SALT available on Amazon. I know BLOOD DEATH AND ----- is part of the title, but I have to come up with the element that holds or connects the events.

I just finished E.A. Aymers YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD -- his follow-up to the wonderful thriller, I'LL SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE DEAD. Both books are fun, edge-of-your-seat reads.

Just started VISITATION STREET by Ivy Pochoda. I'm completely caught up in this tale set in Red Hook where two girls head out on the water on a raft and only one comes home.

Peggy wrote: "I just finished E.A. Aymers YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD -- his follow-up to the wonderful thriller, I'LL SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE DEAD. Both books are fun, edge-of-your-seat reads.

Just started VISITATION ST..."

I read Visitation Street last year. Very good book.

I finished Deserves to Die by Lisa Jackson. Detectives Pescoli and Alvarez investigate serial killings in Grizzly Falls, Montana. At the same time a woman on the run arrives in town followed by a stalker. Fast moving story but some plot points don't ring true. 3 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yesterday, I began reading the new novel "The Fall of Princes" by Robert Goolrick, which is centered on a group of young men fresh from graduate school who worked on Wall Street during the 1980s, highlighting their colossal highs, their newfound status and wealth which once seemed bottomless, their mad, hedonistic parties, the scourge of AIDS and the general indifference of a presidential administration to its impact, and the hard fall each of these men took.

As someone who lived through the 1980s, this is a fascinating, at times funny, and highly readable book.

I finished Backlash by Lynda La Plante. In this Anna Travis thriller a traffic stop leads to the discovery of a body and arrest of the driver - who just may be a serial killer. The book is essentially a long police procedural where the cops search for bodies and evidence. 3 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another book I'm now reading is "News From Berlin" by the Dutch writer Otto de Kat.

It is June 1941 and Oscar Vershuur, a Dutch diplomat, has been posted to Switzerland, a neutral nation sandwiched within a Europe at war. His family lives at different ends of the continent. For instance, his wife Kate is in London, where she works in a hospital, assisting wounded soldiers in their recovery from combat. And his daughter Emma lives in Berlin with her German husband Carl. Both of them work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of Adam Trott, an ardent anti-Nazi ever hopeful of Hitler's regime being deposed.

Emma visits her father in Bern, Switzerland, and discloses to him over lunch in a restaurant that Germany will attack its ally, the Soviet Union, on June 22. Codename: Barbarossa. That is little more than 2 weeks away.

Oscar is shaken by the news, but unsure what to do with it. The Gestapo has eyes and Emma has put both herself and her husband in danger. Thus, he finds himself on the horns of a dilemma, knowing he must plan his future moves carefully, for his daughter's life - and the lives of millions - are in the balance.

What I'm currently reading? A rather thick fantasy tome called The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Why am I reading it? Oddly enough, I first heard about Rothfuss because of a line in a song on the latest Nightwish album (that's a Finnish symphonic metal band, if you don't know). It mentions the Edema Ruh. Since the album (Endless Forms Most Beautiful) is mainly about the evolution of life on Earth, I wondered what this Edema Ruh thing was, so I looked it up on the magical repository of all human knowledge--the internet. It said it was from a fantasy series by this guy named Rothfuss.

I read the blurb for the book, and dismissed it as just another epic fantasy series (yawn). Not long after that, someone mentioned Rothfuss in a Discworld forum (Discworld is a series by Terry Pratchett, which is NOT just your typical fantasy, much to my delight). Still, I didn't bite.

Then, months later, someone on Facebook posted a link to an article Rothfuss wrote on the recent death of Terry Pratchett. Rothfuss, apparently, was a huge fan. Well, I figured if he appreciated Pratchett, maybe his books were a bit above the fantasy norm. And, since Nightwish thought enough of him to mention his work in a song, and Discworld fans liked his stuff, I'd give it a try.

I just started reading The Name of the Wind last night, and so far all I can say is that he writes well.

I finished Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton. A child has disappeared in the isolated Falkland Islands, the third such occurrence in recent years. The book's three main characters, each suffering from terrible traumas, join in the search. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My latest read is, Descent, by Tim Johnston. Its a thriller, abduction narrated by several members of the family, including the abducted young girl. Very well written, fast paced and tense. My guilty pleasure read lately is the Wayward Pines series. Not literary, but a good read. I wasn't aware it had been a TV series on Fox.

I have read loads of different books since I last posted, but not sure I am enjoying current book which is What You Wish For - Mark Edwards. Have now read/listened to 23% (56 pages so far) and still not grabbing me :(

Reading Time to Die - Caroline Mitchell

I finished NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson. A vigilante serial killer is murdering people who thwarted justice and dressing the victims in Hazmat suits. When a high-profile political aide is killed, the elite NYPD RED squad is called in. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Yes Please by Amy Poehler. In this humorous book Amy tackles a wide variety of subjects including her childhood, getting into show business, SNL, Parks and Recreation, her family and friends, and much much more. I enjoyed the book. 4 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished The Affair by Lee Child. This 16th book in the series goes back to 1997 when Jack Reacher was an army MP. When a young woman is brutally raped and murdered near a military base, Jack is sent to investigate - and hopefully to deflect attention from the army.

3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

An article in Daily News comparing Kurdish children to Little Black Fish, who fight for freedom and justice:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/litt...

Here is my translation of the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Black-Fi...

One Second After This is a fact based fictionalized account of what could happen if the US is hit by an EMP, Electromagnetic Pulse. Really eye opening and scary that this is a real possibility. Great narrative and fully developed characters. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, One Year After.

I'm now avidly reading "Kitty Rocks the House" by Carrie Vaughn, which is another novel in the Kitty Norville Series I've been a fan of for the past few years.

Kitty has returned back home to Denver after attending a convention in London, which gave her international notoriety for being both a nighttime radio talk show host (with national syndication) AND a female werewolf who with her husband Ben (a lawyer and a werewolf) constitute the alpha pair leading the Denver pack of werewolves.

Kitty unexpectedly finds her authority under challenge by a newcomer to her pack, in addition to facing another grave threat from Roman, the 2,000 year old vampire who has achieved dominion over a large number of the vampire communities in the U.S. and Europe. Now it appears that he wants to subjugate the Denver community of vampires (with which Kitty has formed an alliance -- a rare thing, because of the age-old antagonisms between vampires and lycanthropes). Fascinating stuff!

I finished The English Spy by Daniel Silva. Israeli spy Gabriel Allon blames bomb-maker Quinn for the death of his first wife and child. In this fast-paced thriller Gabriel's out to find and kill the terrorist. 4 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett. Carol Burnett, who had a popular TV variety show for 11 seasons, relates anecdotes about her life. Some are funny, some touching, some sad. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Emily and Chris, who've known each other since they were babies, are high school sweethearts until Emily is shot dead. Chris claims the tragedy was a failed suicide pact.
I couldn't accept some of the basic premises in the book so it was 3 stars for me.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Today I've begun reading the novel "Blaze of Noon" by Ernest K. Gann, who possessed many talents -- writing and flying being among them.

This novel is set in the U.S. during the 1920s when the burgeoning developments in aviation stimulated widespread interest in it among the general public. There are barnstormers, tales of the challenges faced by mail pilots in delivering the mail in well-worn World War I De Havilland DH-4 airplanes across country, and struggles faced by pilots, sweethearts, and families to simply survive in the aviation business. Fascinating stuff. (Brings to mind the movie "The Great Waldo Pepper", which I've seen several times over the years.)

I finished The Cat-Nappers by P.G. Wodehouse - in the Bertie Wooster/Jeeves series.
Attempts are made to fix a horse race by kidnapping the cat companion of one of the racehorses. Very funny book. 4 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm re-reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles for Halloween. Right now, I've nearly finished "Interview with the Vampire." Then, I'm going to watch the movie again.

Dawn wrote: "I'm re-reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles for Halloween. Right now, I've nearly finished "Interview with the Vampire." Then, I'm going to watch the movie again."

That's a pretty good movie.

Tonight I've begun reading "Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years" by Thomas Mallon. I lived through the era described in the novel (as a high school/college student) and from the time I first heard of this novel, I was eager to read it. Besides, I'll be going to a book reading the author will be giving tomorrow at a local, independent bookstore. Hope to get his autograph. Smile.

Though I am trying to retire from book reviewing and concentrate my energies on my own novel writing, I keep getting offers from authors who want reviews, and sometimes I can't turn a good-sounding book down! Right now I'm reading Exigency by Michael Siemsen, SF about a group of interstellar observers who have to evacuate their observation station and land on the planet they've been watching. Great stuff, lots of intrigue and adventure!

Rick wrote: "I recently read a thriller by Seth Harwood, who is a member of the Group called JACK WAKES UP- it was simply stunning! very much atmospheric and character driven, I was so taken by the lead charact..."

I loved Jack Wakes Up, too! There are others in the series that follow, but I have not yet had a chance to read them.

Tod wrote: "I just started The Unabridged Edgar Allen Poe. Poetry isn't really my thing, unless there is a substantial mood to it. I want to understand his work better though and will try to get through most o..."

Have you read The Gold Bug?

I finished A Death In Vienna by Daniel Silva. In this thriller, Israeli spy/art restorer Gabriel Allon is on the trail of a Nazi war criminal. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished A Conspiracy of Friends by Alexander McCall Smith. In this entertaining addition to the series we catch up with some familiar friends: Caroline's mom tries to be a matchmaker; Freddie de la Hay (a lovable dog) goes missing; Barbara's beau Hugh tells a harrowing tale about working in Colombia; and lots more. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Only 3 days left to WIN A FREE KINDLE COPY of my new Detective Al Warner thriller, BORN TO DIE. Visit my campaign on Kindle Scout where can see it, read excerpts, and, IMPORTANTLY, nominate it for publishing. Highly nominated novels can get published by Amazon on line, and those who nominated it will receive a free Kindle copy. This is the link:


https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2P31...

Look at the page and take the 30-seconds needed to nominate the novel, with a chance to receive a free Kindle copy, about a $5.00 value. Only 3 days left to vote and win.

A few days ago, I began reading the new novel "The Wilson Deception" by David O. Stewart. It's a thriller set in Paris during the Peace Conference of 1919, which culminated in the signing of the Versailles Treaty.

I am finally able to start Clive Cussler/Russell Blakes "The Solomon Curse". Had to finish the Durham Citizen Police Academy course before I could really enjoy the book.

Only 1 days left to WIN A FREE KINDLE COPY of my new Detective Al Warner thriller, BORN TO DIE. Visit my campaign on Kindle Scout where can see it, read excerpts, and, IMPORTANTLY, nominate it for publishing. Highly nominated novels can get published by Amazon on line, and those who nominated it will receive a free Kindle copy. This is the link:


https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2P31...

Look at the page and take the 30-seconds needed to nominate the novel, with a chance to receive a free Kindle copy, about a $5.00 value. Only 1 days left to vote and win.

I finished Resistant by Michael Palmer. A diabolical group has created a deadly, antibiotic-resistant, flesh-eating germ so they can blackmail the government into dismantling entitlement programs. When Dr. Lou Welcome's best friend is infected with the bacteria Lou is determined to help find a cure. Violent, fast-moving thriller. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading/listening to 3 books right now; on CD, also in audiobook format, and .

I read The DaVinci Code , can't say as I liked it, strictly a personal thing.

I finished Shadow Play by Iris Johansen. Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is asked to do a facial reconstruction when the skeleton of a 9-year-old girl is found. The killer, however, will do anything to keep the girl from being identified. Murder and mayhem ensue. For me some motives and behavior didn't ring true. 2.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

@Kath

I have the audiobook of The Hanging Girl from the library and will start it soon. I'm a fan of the author.

I finished Blue Moonlight by Vincent Zandri. The FBI coerces Private Investigator Dick Moonlight to go to Florence, Italy to retrieve a flash drive with nuclear secrets. A simple plot but plenty of action. 3 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and currently reading
great thriller!!!

I finished As the World Churns by Tamar Myers. Magdalena Yoder is a Mennonite woman who owns an inn in Pennsylvania and solves mysteries in her spare time. In this book Magdalena is after the perp who clonked her friend Doc Shafor on the head. Very funny book. 3.5 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Department Q in Copenhagen investigates the cold case of a beautiful girl killed 17 years ago. Good mystery, but not quite as good as previous books in the series. 3 stars.

My complete review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...