Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
This mystery has been getting a lot of pre-publication press, and a lot of positive reviews, so I was first in the list to grab it when it arrived at the library.
Kate Burkholder is the female, curse-word-using, gun-toting Chief of Police for Painters Miller, Ohio, a small bucolic town that is half Amish and half "English". So when a series of violent murders of young women - all linked by gory details - rocks the town, Kate is square in the middle of it, battling time, the weather, her city council and her own past to solve the murders - and her own past harbors a dark secret that could affect the case...
Oh, and Kate used to be Amish.
All these elements together combine for an engaging cast of characters - especially Kate - and a twisty and turny mystery as the police race to find the killer. Interestingly, I figured out who the murderer was about halfway through...and I NEVER figure out the murderer until the page when it's revealed! Still, though I had my suspicions of the murderer, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of Kate's struggles and of the setting of Painters Mill, even when the killer was revealed (I was right, even!)
I'm glad to see Castillo is writing a new Kate Burkholder novel - I'll be in line for it!
This mystery has been getting a lot of pre-publication press, and a lot of positive reviews, so I was first in the list to grab it when it arrived at the library.
Kate Burkholder is the female, curse-word-using, gun-toting Chief of Police for Painters Miller, Ohio, a small bucolic town that is half Amish and half "English". So when a series of violent murders of young women - all linked by gory details - rocks the town, Kate is square in the middle of it, battling time, the weather, her city council and her own past to solve the murders - and her own past harbors a dark secret that could affect the case...
Oh, and Kate used to be Amish.
All these elements together combine for an engaging cast of characters - especially Kate - and a twisty and turny mystery as the police race to find the killer. Interestingly, I figured out who the murderer was about halfway through...and I NEVER figure out the murderer until the page when it's revealed! Still, though I had my suspicions of the murderer, it didn't lessen my enjoyment of Kate's struggles and of the setting of Painters Mill, even when the killer was revealed (I was right, even!)
I'm glad to see Castillo is writing a new Kate Burkholder novel - I'll be in line for it!
Labels: book review
...The Loud Librarian is there. :-)
I was surprised and honoured to discover I had been nominated as Posey County's "Good Neighbor of the Week". I got interviewed by the Posey County News, got a glamor shot taken, and voila! My fifteen minutes of newspaper fame! :-)
(Click to imbiggen)
I love how I'm listed as a single parent of Zoe. Hee!
I was surprised and honoured to discover I had been nominated as Posey County's "Good Neighbor of the Week". I got interviewed by the Posey County News, got a glamor shot taken, and voila! My fifteen minutes of newspaper fame! :-)
(Click to imbiggen)
I love how I'm listed as a single parent of Zoe. Hee!
Labels: library, newspaper, relay for life, theloudlibrarian
A few random thoughts for the day...
- I am extremely disturbed by that chick in the Palm Pre commercials. Those commercials just creep me out. I don't know why. *shudder*
- Just finished watching Torchwood: Children of Earth. And I AM.NOT.HAPPY. How could you do that to me? *wails*
- For the first time in my life, I have been certified in adult CPR. I feel all superhero-y now. :-)
- Why does my dog have to go through the bratty adolescent phase NOW?
- MotoGP in a few weeks! No one at work seems to understand...until I explain about hot boys in hot leathers. ;-)
The Summer Kitchen by Karen Weinreb
Nora Banks lives an idyllic life in Bedford, New York - huge renovated home, great kids, solid marriage, and all the trappings of a rich, kept wife with no worries in the world, though the rigidity of "fitting in" in Bedford has always bothered Nora somewhat.
But all that changes when the doorbell rings, and the feds take away Nora's husband for white collar crimes - two years in the pen, and suddenly Nora is left alone in the shark tank of Bedford.
As her possession disappear, her dignity takes a hit, and her children have to transfer to public school, Nora transforms from a fairly shallow, kept character into one of strength and more depth - doing what she needs to do to keep her remaining family intact, while keeping her head up. Enter her baking skills and a growing business...
Weinreb's writes so convincingly about the "lives of rich wives", because this novel is based on her own experiences (husband and all). I really enjoyed the "peek behind the curtain" at that type of lifestyle, though at times I found the writing a bit dense for the story it was telling.
Overall, this is an ultimately hopeful story with a great setting and engaging characters. Reminds me why I'm NOT cut out for life in places like Bedford!
Nora Banks lives an idyllic life in Bedford, New York - huge renovated home, great kids, solid marriage, and all the trappings of a rich, kept wife with no worries in the world, though the rigidity of "fitting in" in Bedford has always bothered Nora somewhat.
But all that changes when the doorbell rings, and the feds take away Nora's husband for white collar crimes - two years in the pen, and suddenly Nora is left alone in the shark tank of Bedford.
As her possession disappear, her dignity takes a hit, and her children have to transfer to public school, Nora transforms from a fairly shallow, kept character into one of strength and more depth - doing what she needs to do to keep her remaining family intact, while keeping her head up. Enter her baking skills and a growing business...
Weinreb's writes so convincingly about the "lives of rich wives", because this novel is based on her own experiences (husband and all). I really enjoyed the "peek behind the curtain" at that type of lifestyle, though at times I found the writing a bit dense for the story it was telling.
Overall, this is an ultimately hopeful story with a great setting and engaging characters. Reminds me why I'm NOT cut out for life in places like Bedford!
Labels: book review
Time for another fast 'n feisty reading round up...let's go!
Candy Everybody Wants by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
I adore JKP's memoir (I Am Not Myself These Days) so I was eager to grab his fiction debut. Filled with snappy dialogue, laugh out loud moment, and oodles of 80s pop references, but also has a darker tone (homelessness, coming out in the 80s, heartbreak, drugs, etc), which diluted the funny, but was still wonderfully written...
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline
After hearing Scottoline speak at ALA, I'm on a quest to read all her titles. I listened to Barbara Rosenblat's amazing narration of this title, which is the first of read of Scottoline's "Rosato & Associates" law firm. Two thumbs up for great characters, great pacing, great plot!
Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann
Love anything by Brockmann, including this one. Sam and Alyssa may be everyone else's favorites, but I like my boys better - now adding Gilligan to the list. ;-) Great action, great sexual tension, great writing, great characters, great series!
Miss Harper Can Do It by Jane Berentson
This wasn't what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Annie Harper's boyfriend has just been deployed to Iraq, so she decides to keep a "wartime memoir" of her own life back home, complete with stories of her students, her best friend Gus, a chicken, an elderly lady, and a lot of soul searching. Didn't end how I expected, but I really loved Annie's "voice" (and footnotes!). Great!
The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
Molly Marx is sarcastic, loveable, the mother of a 4 year old girl, somewhat happily married, successful...and dead. This is narrated by Molly (in present and past days) as she watches from "The Duration" while her family mourns her loss and tries to solve her murder/suicide/accident (?). Sort of like The Lovely Bones without the gut wrenching and tear inducing. I really liked Molly!
Candy Everybody Wants by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
I adore JKP's memoir (I Am Not Myself These Days) so I was eager to grab his fiction debut. Filled with snappy dialogue, laugh out loud moment, and oodles of 80s pop references, but also has a darker tone (homelessness, coming out in the 80s, heartbreak, drugs, etc), which diluted the funny, but was still wonderfully written...
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline
After hearing Scottoline speak at ALA, I'm on a quest to read all her titles. I listened to Barbara Rosenblat's amazing narration of this title, which is the first of read of Scottoline's "Rosato & Associates" law firm. Two thumbs up for great characters, great pacing, great plot!
Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann
Love anything by Brockmann, including this one. Sam and Alyssa may be everyone else's favorites, but I like my boys better - now adding Gilligan to the list. ;-) Great action, great sexual tension, great writing, great characters, great series!
Miss Harper Can Do It by Jane Berentson
This wasn't what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Annie Harper's boyfriend has just been deployed to Iraq, so she decides to keep a "wartime memoir" of her own life back home, complete with stories of her students, her best friend Gus, a chicken, an elderly lady, and a lot of soul searching. Didn't end how I expected, but I really loved Annie's "voice" (and footnotes!). Great!
The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
Molly Marx is sarcastic, loveable, the mother of a 4 year old girl, somewhat happily married, successful...and dead. This is narrated by Molly (in present and past days) as she watches from "The Duration" while her family mourns her loss and tries to solve her murder/suicide/accident (?). Sort of like The Lovely Bones without the gut wrenching and tear inducing. I really liked Molly!
Labels: book review
