The Secret Keeper
by Paul Harris
A hit! Be ready to read late into the night... (3/18/2009)
In his first novel, Paul Harris has done the near impossible: combining a tightly designed mystery; love story and self discovery journey into a compelling and exciting read.
When British journalist Danny Kellerman is unexpectedly summoned to Sierra Leone - the place where he made his best and worst decisions in life and journalism - by his former love, he begins a journey that will have him questioning what is and isn’t real, relevant or true.
A great book for a club read, Kellerman’s journey is filled with physical danger, unexpected emotion and the ultimate journalistic conflict between truth and consequence.
A twisty and unexpected plot keeps you reading far past the time you’ve allotted—expect to be drawn into The Secret Keeper late into the night—and expect to see Harris again; hopefully this is the first of a long list of bestselling novels from a talented writer. I hope he’s already working on the next.
Lima Nights
by Marie Arana
Beautifully detailed (12/24/2008)
Lima Nights draws you in with colorful descriptions of Peruvian nightlife and the excitement and eroticism of a new, forbidden relationship.
As author Maria Arana introduces Carlos and Maria and their extended friends and family to the reader, the story is artfully drawn; the emotions and circumstances compel empathy for the characters. Still, the relationship is complicated and at every chapter the reader weighs the decisions Carlos makes as the love affair grows—this is the best of the author’s gifts and would be fabulous fuel for a book club.
However, while beautifully detailed and empathetic at the start, Lima Nights, ultimately loses the crispness of the story telling as the novel draws to its close and rather than wanting more, the reader is simply relieved the story is over.
Greasing the Piñata
by Tim Maleeny
FUN, FAST AND EASY! (10/16/2008)
Anything can happen in Mexico. And pretty much everything happens to P.I. Cape Weathers in a mystery that starts with a couple of dead bodies in a golf course water hazard and doesn’t end until the Mexican Mafia, a Chinese Triad alum and a few U.S. politicians have made an appearance—and gotten a little sweaty, testy or dead.
All the while, Weathers keeps batting at the piñata that is his case: Who killed his client’s father and brother and why?
This Mexican party has Weathers getting fairly beaten around himself in a mystery that, chapter by chapter, will keep you reading at break-finger pace!
Enjoy this one on your own—while not a beach read by any stretch, this is a novel much more suited to personal enjoyment than a deep discussion by your local book club. Tim Maleeny’s Cape Weathers is a guy you want to savor on your own; and at your own pace. Like your first boyfriend, he probably won’t stand up to a lot of in-depth scrutiny, but he is a hell of a lot of fun!
The Crow Road
by Iain Banks
Complicated, compelling and thoroughly fantastic! (9/15/2008)
Iain Banks’ The Crow Road, is pure enjoyment. This compelling and complicated novel starts with a bang (quite literally) as 20-something Prentice McHoan returns to his Scottish hometown to attend the funeral of his grandmother--who explodes at the crematory in the novel’s first line. To say that the remaining 500 pages of Banks’ offering are a fun and tricky narrative of a young man coming to grips with death, family and the importance of being aware of who and what is most important to you would sadly water down a fantastic literary gift.
In McHoan, Banks has created a faulted, sometimes frivolous and always wildly entertaining character who introduces us to his merry band of sometimes semi-psycho friends and family as he delves into a family mystery. This is a book best read alone unless you want to spend a lot of time explaining to others why you are often laughing out loud--but it begs for a book club to share it with!
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