Below Zero & A Reliable Wife

Below Zero by C.J. Box

Looking at the title of this book you might think it takes place in Antarctica OR you may think it’s about a frozen body but you would be wrong in both instances. The term is actually about reducing debt and reducing your carbon footprint.

Joe Pickett is back—hooray! --in Box’s latest entry. There’s also a reappearance of April who seems to have survived the massacre described in Winterkill.

This is the story of a mobster named Stenko who is dying and wants to leave this earth with no debt. His son, Robert is an environmentalist who wants his father to make peace with the crimes against the environment that he has committed in his lifetime. Both go on a wild spree across the country with a girl named April. Joe Pickett is in hot pursuit (along with the FBI) to capture them.

It was good to read about Joe Pickett again.


A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

A 54 year old gentleman in a remote Wisconsin town advertises in the newspaper for a wife and so this story begins. It takes place in the early 1900’s, a time of decadence and despair.

Catherine Land responds to the ad and a conversation by mail ensues until Mr. Truitt sends her train tickets to come to Wisconsin.

This is the story of two souls who have been ravaged and experienced great sorrows in their lives. Neither one knows the full story about the other. Catherine has had a torrid past and carries it with her into the new relationship. Mr. Truitt has his own secrets and reveals them to Catherine after she saves his life.

Both start their relationships with lies and subterfuge and both attempt to create beauty in their life together.

This is a well-written, engrossing story that you will not soon forget.
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Knock Out and Roadside Crosses

In Knock Out our favorite FBI agents are back. Savich and Sherlock are right in the midst of things in this exciting new thriller.

A child with a gift for mental telepathy, a sheriff in the boondocks, and two bank-robbers on the run create two distinct cases in which Savich and Sherlock are involved. The author switches back and forth between the two cases which may seem confusing but in actuality works quite well. It may just be that she has used this method before and I am familiar with it.

Autumn is the child and she and her mother travel to visit an uncle after a family death and are thrown into a strange and unusual cult which wants Autumn (with her highly-skilled gift) to join them. Her mother has other ideas. The second case is about two bank robbers who were involved in a bank heist where Savitch happened to be at the time. They are on the run and the FBI is hot on their trail.

I have to admit I was not immediately entranced by the topic of this new entry but I stuck with it and read it to the end. Having finished it I can easily say it was not my favorite Coulter book, but it was good.


Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver

Kathryn Dance of the California Bureau of Investigation is the lead investigator in the apparent crime spree of a troubled teen who is being attacked on a popular blog because of his role in a fatal car accident.

During the investigation the teen vanishes and Dance becomes frustrated as the killings begin, prefaced by roadside crosses placed by the side of the road.

As if one investigation was not enough, Dance’s mother is arrested for the mercy killing of a patient in her care and Dance has to stay out of it so that the case is not compromised in any way.

In true Deaver fashion, this are mysteries fraught with twists and turns and the reader may find herself switching from one possible perpetrators to another and being surprised when the true murderers are revealed.

Not to be missed.

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Crazy Love and Die For You

Crazy Love by Leslie Morgan Steiner

Former editor of Seventeen magazine, Ms. Steiner was married to an abusing man for several years.

Her story is fraught with instances of low self-esteem, lack of confidence and succumbing to the violent behavior of her husband. This was a difficult story to read because we have Ms. Steiner, with her own “baggage”, who has managed to get beyond her problem-ridden childhood and land a respectable job with a popular magazine.

In spite of overcoming great obstacles during her teen years, she allowed an abusive man to run rampant over her life; even to the point of withdrawing an application on the way toward acceptance at a prestigious business school in order that her husband, who was not accepted, would not resort to more violence and abuse.

Hardly an “entertaining” book, it never-the-less has value in the field of domestic abuse and offers encouragement to those affected by this syndrome. Ms. Steiner’s experiences offer hope that those who suffer great difficulties can still find the courage to change their circumstances.


Die for You by Lisa Unger

How well do you really “know” a person, even someone to whom you are married? In this latest entry by Ms. Unger, Isable Raine has everything people wish for- a fine career, a loving and successful husband, and a beautiful home.

One evening her husband fails to come home and after repeated attempts to contact him, visits his office only to be attacked and lands up in the hospital. Upon returning home, she finds that her apartment has been ransacked. Working with a NYC detective, Isabel becomes reflective and begins to see “clues” rising up over the past five years.

As this story unravels, the reader is invited to journey along with Isabel to determine what happened to upset her perfect life. This is an adventurous story, but not the fast-paced thriller of Coben or Gardner.

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Reunion & Boy Alone

Reunion by Therese Fowler

This author was a first for me. She has written another novel besides this entry. Her writing is reminiscent of Elin Hilderbrand (Blue Bistro and Barefoot among others).

This is the story of Harmony Blue, a 19 year-old, unmarried, pregnant girl giving birth in a narrow bed when the story opens. She makes a difficult decision about the baby and her life changes in dramatic ways.

Later on in the story (after achieving success) she seeks to find the baby she gave up so long ago, not fully recognizing the ramifications of the search.

This is a gentle story about a young woman discovering who she really is.

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Boy Alone by Karl Taro Greenfeld
Sometimes you pick up a book because you like the cover, or the title or the author and sometimes you don’t know why you pick up a book until after you’ve read it—this is the case with this book.

Boy Alone is billed as a memoir and that it is. It’s the continuing story of Noah Greenfeld, a child born with autism. It’s also the story of Karl Greenfeld (Noah’s older brother) and his journey from childhood into manhood.

This story affected me profoundly. Although I’ve never had a great deal of interaction with an autistic person, several have crossed my path. This story made me want to know more about this affliction. While I recall having read A Child Called Noah in college this book gave me insight into what it was like being the sibling of an autistic person and what day-to-day life was like.

This book also gives a historical record of the treatment or lack thereof for persons with autism. It speaks openly about the controversies surrounding different modalities and the frustration of people caring for these individuals.

Greenfeld points out that while early intervention is a catch term and several programs focus on the young autistic person, autistics do grow up and he believes they are forgotten in the process.

Although the author has had a rather raucous adolescent and early adult period, he admits it would be wrong to blame his experiences totally on his brother’s affliction. Rather he takes ownership of his bad choices.

Throughout the telling of this story with all its heartache, frustration and disappointment, one is still reminded of the stalwartness of the power of love and what one family is willing to sacrifice for the sake of a child.

Ladybookbug!

The Last Child & The Way Home

The Last Child by John Hart
This story opens and it’s all about procuring an eagle’s feather because in Indian Lore it represents power and strength.

Johnny Merrimon is a 13 year old twin in a desperate search for his missing twin who police believe was abducted about a year ago. In addition, his father walked out on him and his mother after a particularly brutal argument. His mother is now involved in a difficult relationship with a man who is physically and verbally abusive.

Detective Hunt of the local police force is a man who refuses to give up on the case of the missing girl. Although they have no leads, he is determined and obsessed about this case.
While working on the case, another young girl goes missing in the small town. Johnny becomes involved in this case as well.

This is a fast-paced, well-written thriller. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Hart throws the reader a curve and you find yourself looking at more than one character as the perpetrator of the crime.

If you like Lisa Gardner and Harlan Coben, then pick up this latest entry from John Hart, you will not be disappointed.

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

I picked up this book because the title grabbed me. Who doesn’t in that deep part of whom we are want to know the way home?

This is the story of Chris, a bad boy. He grows up in an affluent neighborhood, an only child on his way toward being the best he can be. Unfortunately, somewhere around his teenage years, his good intentions go awry and he becomes a misfit, truant, robber and genuine pain in the neck for his parents. Eventually he ends up in a juvenile facility where he learns the rudiments of survival.

He is released and takes stock of where he is. His father gives him a job laying carpet and also employs one of his roommates from juvenile detention. Actually, his Dad is a regular guy and goes out of his way to help some of Chris’ wayward friends get back on their feet.

One day Chris and Ben make a discovery underneath the floorboards in a room where they are to lay a new carpet. Chris makes a decision and Ben reluctantly goes along with it. From this point on, the story twists and turns a bit until a conclusion is reached.

This is a story of hope and redemption. The author also wrote and produced the award-winning program entitled The Wire. It is worth a read, especially if you’ve ever been inclined to give up on someone.

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Buffalo Lockjaw and It's About Your Husband

Buffalo Lockjaw by Greg AmesI picked this book up to read because it’s a first novel. The story takes place in Buffalo, New York. It is a REAL- like REAL man- story.

A young man named James Fitzroy is struggling with his life. An author of greeting cards, he is conflicted and focused on the gradual demise of his mother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. On a trip home for Thanksgiving, he vacillates between wanting to rekindle former relationships and behave like a teenager or take the role of a man and do everything he can think of to help his mother, including contemplating matricide.

Greg Ames hits the nail on the head in this contemporary novel. Throughout this book the reader will find it easy to identify with Fitzroy’s feelings of helplessness as his mother is taken over by this insidious disease, his competitive attitude toward his sister, his relationship with his father, and his struggle to find the best place in his life. In addition to the story, we are treated to a myriad of trivia facts about the illustrious city of Buffalo which, incidentally, is where the author grew up.

Not a bad story for the first time out---not a new story but well written and engaging.


It’s About Your Husband by Lauren LiptonAnother first- time-out–of- the- gate novel. The author has gone on to write a second.

If you’ve read Emily Giffin of Love the One You’re With fame and Sophie Kinsella of the Shopaholic series, then you are in a prime state to read this book. It’s light, funny and you might learn something along the way like, spraying your bare feet with antiperspirant before putting on those to die for shoes and walking the pavement. It will spare you the unsightly and painful experience of blisters. There are a few more tips at the back of the book.

It’s About Your Husband is a story about Iris Hedge who left her husband, her job and the sunny state of California in search of more. Unfortunately “more” turns out to be less as she quickly becomes unemployed due to a restructuring of the firm she works for. Looking for some additional income, she quickly volunteers to shadow a friend’s husband in search of signs of infidelity.

The shadowing turns into a tale of twists and turns, funny and serious moments where Iris takes stock of who she is and what she knows and how to put it to the best use.

A light look at a serious topic that is very hip right now—unemployment- this book will give you a few laughs and perhaps some insight.

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It Sucked and then I cried & Look Again

It Sucked and Then I Cried by Heather B. Armstrong So this is one of those titles where I’m reading the book and I pause to wonder why am I reading this book? Do I have anything in common with the author? Well, yes……we both gave birth to a child, she is of the female gender, she is married and has parents and that’s about it.

Actually I read this book because I read a review of it and it looked interesting. It is interesting if you want to know what suffering from depression and having a baby have in common. Perhaps it would have been more enjoyable if I was the same age as the author and currently going through some of the same experiences. Is that being too biased?

I actually visited the author’s award-winning blog and saw first-hand the photographs and her current day-to-day ramblings. She does have a way with words—I’ll grant her that and if my own pregnancy was less than a life-time away, I’d more than likely gravitate toward her quips and quibbles.

However, I would be remiss if I just tossed it aside and spouted it wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on because it very well could be a book not to be missed by those of you who are more in line with what the author has happening in her life. AND please check out her blog dooce.com. It’s very current.


Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

A single newspaper reporter falls in love with a very ill baby and decides to adopt him.
The unmarried parents of the baby boy sign off and the reporter’s lawyer processes the adoption. When the story opens, the boy is about three years old and the reporter is raising him alone with the help of a nanny.

One day the reporter comes home from work and discovers a pamphlet in her mailbox which has several pictures on it of missing children. She gives it a cursory glance at first but something continues to nag at her and she takes a closer look. One of the photos shows an uncanny resemblance to her adopted son.

Through a series of thorough searches, the reporter decides to look up the parents of the missing child. The story takes an interesting turn at this point and it has a surprise ending.

I’m sure I’ve read some of Ms. Scottoline’s previous books. I would classify this as a fairly light mystery.

Ladybookbug!