TLC BOOK TOUR and REVIEW: Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Synopsis

Catherine has been enjoying the single life for long enough to know a good catch when she sees one. Gorgeous, charismatic, spontaneous - Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. And her friends clearly agree, as each in turn falls under his spell. But there is a darker side to Lee. His erratic, controlling and sometimes frightening behaviour means that Catherine is increasingly isolated. Driven into the darkest corner of her world, and trusting no one, she plans a meticulous escape. Four years later, struggling to overcome her demons, Catherine dares to believe she might be safe from harm. Until one phone call changes everything. This is an edgy and powerful first novel, utterly convincing in its portrayal of obsession, and a tour de force of suspense.

Paperback, 403 pages
Published February 1st 2011 by Myriad
ISBN  0956251579 (ISBN13: 9780956251572)


About the Author

Elizabeth Haynes grew up in Seaford, Sussex and studied English, German and Art History at Leicester University.

She currently works as a police intelligence analyst and lives in Kent with her husband and son. 




Check out her website
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My Thoughts

Part of this story takes place in present day London, and part takes place some years before in Lancaster.

Lancaster, England

Catherine Bailey, like all of us, has a past. However her past has drastically scarred her, leaving her crippled with obsessions and compulsions and avoidance issues. The doctors call it by simple little acronyms like "OCD" and "PTSD". I think Catherine would simply call it "life shattering". Several years ago, she had a violent and obsessive boyfriend, leaving her paranoid and always looking over her shoulder, never trusting her surroundings.

Stuart is the upstairs neighbor. Being a therapist, he seems to see beyond all of the compulsions to the woman that lies beneath, and he is drawn to the woman she was and he knows she can be again.

I found this gritty and emotional story quite fascinating. When looking at Catherine "today", you see a broken woman, weak, out-of-control, totally irrational in her behavior. Yet the way that the book is written, shifting quickly from the past to the present and back again, you get to slowly walk through her past relationship, watching it build little-by-little. As you do, you find that the present-day actions and behaviors that previously seemed irrational begin to make total sense. She isn't crazy at all. Her obsessive behaviors seem almost "right" in light of the past.

A note of warning: This book can be quite graphic, violent and vulgar. But it is real, believable, and not exploitative.

My final word: Guttural, this story reaches deep within, leaving you a little uneasy as you think perhaps "There but by the grace of God go I." How a person can enter your life so innocuously and damage it so irreparably. How you could be taken from a strong and powerful woman, and left shattered and fearful. And mixed in amidst the twisted fears and terror is a touching romantic story. Frightening but intriguing and, in the end, utterly fascinating.


My rating: 8.5 out of 10

Disclosure:

I received an ARC of this book to review through TLC Book Tours, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. 

Check out the full book tour schedule:

Tuesday, May 22nd: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Wednesday, May 23rd: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Thursday, May 24th: StephTheBookworm

Monday, May 28th: Jen’s Book Thoughts

Tuesday, May 29th: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, May 30th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Friday, June 1st: A Worn Path

Monday, June 4th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, June 5th: Book Reviews by Molly

Wednesday, June 6th: Book Addict Katie

Thursday, June 7th: Paperback Princess

Monday, June 11th: Mary’s Cup of Tea

Thursday, June 14th: Twisting the Lens

Friday, June 15th: “That’s Swell!”

Monday, June 18th: Book Hooked Blog

Tuesday, June 19th: Kritters Ramblings

Monday, June 25th: Reviews By Lola

Tuesday, June 26th: Life In Review

Wednesday, June 27th: A Bookworm’s World

Friday, June 29th: Proud Book Nerd

Wednesday, July 4th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Thursday, July 5th: Veronica M.D.

Monday, July 9th: Booksie’s Blog

Thursday, July 12th: MariReads

Friday, July 13th: My Life in Not So Many Words

REVIEW: Edge of Light by Cynthia Justlin

Synopsis

Taken prisoner by a ruthless group of anarchists deep in the Cambodian jungle, anthropologist Jocelyn Hewitt is isolated in a dark prison cell. Without chance of rescue. Or hope. Until the man in the next cell reaches out to let her know she’s not as alone as she thinks.

CIA agent Oliver Shaw has been held prisoner for over two years. Forced to witness the brutal torture and slow murder of his entire team, his spirit is not just broken, it’s crushed. He no longer believes in hope. Until he hears Jocelyn through the wall, and suddenly feels like a glimpse of light is trying to reach in…

Jocelyn’s heart aches for the tortured man whose presence and voice give her the courage to risk their escape. But first she’ll have to remind Oliver who he once was, what he once loved, and bring him back to life. Only then will they have a chance for freedom—and the kind of love neither ever thought possible.

ebook, 348 pages
Expected publication: May 14th 2012 by Carina Press
ISBN13  9781426893766

About the Author
from GoodReads

Cynthia is a former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Finalist in Romantic Suspense. She started out writing contemporary romance, but when all her plots began to turn dastardly, she decided to stop fighting the urge to throw explosions, dead bodies, and evil villains into her books.

With her B.S. in the chemical sciences and her love of the periodic table (yes, she’s a geek and proud of it!) she finally found the perfect potent mix of love and danger to put into her stories.


My Thoughts

You're still alive.

Town/Location:

Most of this story takes place in Cambodia.

Jocelyn is in Cambodia, trying to find out the real story behind what happened to her father, and to hopefully bring her father's remains back with her. While in Cambodia, she and her team are unexpectedly attacked, and Jocelyn is taken hostage. She finds herself in a stark prison cell, frightened and confused, but realizes that she isn't alone, as someone resides in the cell next to her.

Oliver has been held captive for two years, regularly beaten and tortured, and he is half the man he once was. But the voice of the woman in the cell next to him stirs something in him, and the man he used to be lies just beneath the surface, waiting for the opportunity to rise again.

This is one of those strange books that is hard to classify. It was an "easy" read-- after all, it is a modern-day romance novel. However it is intermingled with brutality and violence in a way that can be a little unsettling. 

Additionally while I know that there is a certain degree of "suspension of disbelief" needed for most fictional stories, I had to really extend myself with the romantic plot line in this book. I think I am too rational and realistic to be able to lose myself in romance anymore. My mind is always thinking, "Oh, come on! In real life, this could never work out! Keep your heads on straight! You can't build a relationship on such a traumatic experience! Don't make any foolish commitments without years of therapy!"

My final word: If you can handle the brutality, and the uncomfortable mixing of violence and romance, go ahead and give this one a go. It's a fast read, and an interesting take on everyday romance.

My rating: 7 out of 10

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this ebook to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The ebook I received was an ARC, and could differ slightly from the actual release book.

REVIEW: Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

Synopsis

Mark Twain meets classic Stephen King--a bold new direction for widely acclaimed Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale.

May Lynn was once a pretty girl who dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. Now she's dead, her body dredged up from the Sabine River.

Sue Ellen, May Lynn's strong-willed teenage friend, sets out to dig up May Lynn's body, burn it to ash, and take those ashes to Hollywood to spread around. If May Lynn can't become a star, then at least her ashes will end up in the land of her dreams.

Along with her friends Terry and Jinx and her alcoholic mother, Sue Ellen steals a raft and heads downriver to carry May Lynn's remains to Hollywood.

Only problem is, Sue Ellen has some stolen money that her enemies will do anything to get back. And what looks like a prime opportunity to escape from a worthless life will instead lead to disastrous consequences. In the end, Sue Ellen will learn a harsh lesson on just how hard growing up can really be.

Hardcover, 292 pages
Published March 25th 2012 by Little, Brown and Company
ISBN 0316188433 (ISBN13: 9780316188432)


About the Author
from his website

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror." He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.  

Follow Joe on Twitter
Like Joe on Facebook
Check out this interview with Joe by another of my favorite authors Robert McCammon
And this interview from Mulholland Books


My Thoughts

That summer, Daddy went from telephoning and dynamiting fish to poisoning them with green walnuts.

Town/Location:

The story takes place in a small town near Gladewater, Texas.

This story is narrated by Sue Ellen, a young girl living in poverty in a small southern town during the Depression. A local girl is found dead, and Sue Ellen and her friends are joined by Sue Ellen's mother as they head out to take the ashes of the young wannabe starlet to her ultimate goal of Hollywood.

Of all of the characters, I think my favorite was probably Jinx. I loved her honesty and found it refreshing. Any scene with Jinx I could see clearly in my head, as Jinx was so colorful and full of life-- a mouthy little firecracker!

At times this book made me feel somewhat depressed, but a lot of the time it made me smile with the quaint colloquialisms and honest remarks. And once it actually made me shiver, as a few parts of the story were particularly creepy.

A mysterious and dangerous character by the name of Skunk is introduced partway through the story, and this character was presented in such a creepy way that I actually felt a shiver go through me at one point, which is not easy to do. I do not creep-out easily!

Part psychological thriller, part pure entertainment, and part cautionary tale, this story held my attention throughout. While not a roaring ride, it kept a nice steady pace, and it kept me guessing.

I loved the author's writing style. Shocking, honest, horrifying, and brutal. I can't wait to read more.

Mama smiled at me as I sat down in a stuffed chair by the bed. The chair smelled damp and old, like a wet grandma. (p. 56)

“I know. I wear my mistakes like a coat, only it’s heavier,” Mama said. (p. 110)

She touched my hand, and then was quiet. I snuggled in close. I felt like a sad old dog that had finally been petted. (p. 112)

“She’s still a human being,” Mama said. “God makes all human beings, no matter who they are.”

“Well, he needs him a better mold,’ Jinx said, ‘cause some of these he’s making ain’t worth the waste of material.” (p. 241)

I was not a real fan of the book cover. Branches in the foreground, hazy background with a glimpse of the sun. The font looks as if it is smeared by water. I think it is somewhat clever, but it just doesn’t appeal to me. However my male friend absolutely loved the cover! So maybe it’s a guy/girl thing...

My final word: Author Joe Lansdale has found a fast fan in me. Honest and genuine writing, quirky southern prose, refreshing characters, and shocking subject matter coalesce into one of the best books I've read thus far this year, and has left me hungering for more!

Cover: 6.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Storyline/Plot: 9/10
Interest/Uniqueness: 9/10

My Rating: 9 out of 10


Disclosure:

I received a copy of this e-book to review from Little, Brown and Company, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

REVIEW: Getaway by Lisa Brackmann

Synopsis

Michelle Mason tells herself she’s on vacation. A brief stay in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a chance to figure out her next move after the unexpected death of her banker husband, who’s left behind a scandal and a pile of debt. The trip was already paid for, and it beats crashing in her sister’s spare room. When a good-looking man named Daniel approaches her on the beach, the margaritas have kicked in and she decides: why not?

But the date doesn’t go as either of them planned. An assault on Daniel in her hotel room, switched cell phones and an encounter with a “friend” of Daniel’s named Gary gets Michelle enmeshed in a covert operation involving drug runners, goons, and venture capitalists. Michelle already knows she’s caught in a dangerous trap. But she quickly finds that running is not an option. If she’s not careful, she’ll end up buried in the town dump, with the rest of the trash. Now she needs to fight smart if she wants to survive her vacation.

Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Soho Press
ISBN 1616950714 (ISBN13: 9781616950712)


About the Author
from the author's website

Lisa Brackmann has worked as an executive at a major motion picture studio, an issues researcher in a presidential campaign, and was the singer/songwriter/bassist in an LA rock band. She still takes pride in her karaoke-ready repertoire of bad pop hits and an embarrassing number of show tunes. Her debut novel, ROCK PAPER TIGER, set on the fringes of the Chinese art world, made several “Best of 2010″ lists, including Amazon’s Top 100 Novels and Top 10 Mystery/Thrillers, and was nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award for Best First Novel. A San Diego native, she lives in Venice CA.

Follow Lisa on Twitter 
Become a fan on Facebook


My Thoughts

Michelle dropped the sarong she'd started to tie around her waist onto her lounge chair. Nobody cared what her thighs looked like.

Town/Location:

Most of this story takes place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Photo of street in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, taken November 2005 by User:Stan Shebs

Michelle Mason is at a crossroads in her life after the recent death of her husband. In order to recuperate and gain some perspective, she takes a trip to Puerto Vallarta where she soon meets local American Danny and finds herself caught amidst a mystery fraught with danger.

This was an enjoyable story, but something about it fell a little flat. I think it was the character development. This is one of those suspenseful stories that keeps you guessing, and you really have no idea who to trust. Unfortunately this leads to characters that aren't very well developed, in order to assure that you don't really know who they are or whether they can be trusted. This created characters that I found mostly one-dimensional.

And there were moments that were alluded to, but never revealed further, leaving me wondering what was happening behind scenes. Or a minor detail that seemed a focus of attention which I thought would lead to something, but it never did, so I would be left wondering why such focus was put on that little detail? Was it purposeful, to throw me off?

This was very easy to read without bogging down the story with overly descriptive text. However in the first 100 pages there were too many slow moments, which would lead to me losing focus.

My final word: While many of the ancillary characters orbiting around the central storyline seemed a little flat and one-dimensional, I enjoyed the guessing game of "what next?" with this story. I never really connected with Michelle, I wanted Danny to have more charisma, and some characters had so little impact that I almost wondered why they were included at all. Too many storylines were left open-ended, so I was left with too many questions after it was all over. Overall this was a good "light" read that will keep you guessing, even after the story is over.


Cover: 7.5/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Storyline/Plot: 8/10
Interest/Uniqueness: 7.5/10

My Rating: 8 out of 10

Getaway is expected to be released May 1st.

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof.

REVIEW: The Expats by Chris Pavone

Synopsis

Kate Moore is a working mother, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to keep a spark in her marriage . . . and to maintain an increasingly unbearable life-defining secret. So when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg, she jumps at the chance to leave behind her double-life, to start anew.

She begins to reinvent herself as an expat, finding her way in a language she doesn’t speak, doing the housewifely things she’s never before done—play-dates and coffee mornings, daily cooking and unending laundry. Meanwhile, her husband works incessantly, doing a job Kate has never understood, for a banking client she’s not allowed to know. He’s becoming distant and evasive; she’s getting lonely and bored.

Then another American couple arrives. Kate soon becomes suspicious that these people are not who they claim to be, and terrified that her own past is catching up to her. So Kate begins to dig, to peel back the layers of deception that surround her. She discovers fake offices and shell corporations and a hidden gun; a mysterious farmhouse and numbered accounts with bewildering sums of money; a complex web of intrigue where no one is who they claim to be, and the most profound deceptions lurk beneath the most normal-looking of relationships; and a mind-boggling long-play con threatens her family, her marriage, and her life.

Hardcover, 336 pages
Published March 6th 2012 by Crown Publishing Group (first published March 1st 2012)
ISBN 0307956350 (ISBN13: 9780307956354)


About the Author
from his website

"I was born in 1968, grew up in New York City, and attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn and Cornell University, where I majored in government. I worked at a number of publishing houses over nearly two decades, most notably as an editor at Clarkson Potter, where I specialized in cookbooks (I love to cook). In the late nineties, I also wrote a little book called The Wine Log. 

I’m the father of twin schoolboys named Sam and Alex, and an old cocker spaniel named Charlie Brown (he’s brown), and the husband of Madeline McIntosh. I’ve lived in New York City my entire life, except for college and the year and a half that we lived in Luxembourg, where I started writing The Expats in the cafés of the cobblestony old town. We now live in Greenwich Village and the North Fork of Long Island."

Check out his website
Like The Expats on Facebook


My Thoughts

"Kate?"

Kate is staring through a plate-glass window filled with pillows and tablecloths and curtains, all in taupes and chocolates and moss greens, a palette that replaced the pastels of last week. The season changed, just like that.

Town/Location/Environment

This book takes place in various countries around Europe, but most of it is set in Luxembourg.

Kate is an ex-spy adjusting to the normal life of a stay-at-home Mom in a foreign land, who finds herself caught up in a mystery. Unable to give up her roots, she can’t help but investigate to find out what is really going on. Strong, intelligent, surprisingly trusting for someone who spent years as a spy, she winds up feeling betrayed, not trusting herself, and not always thinking straight when she finds that she is too close to the subject.

Dexter is the perfect husband and father, until the move to Luxembourg. Suddenly he is a workaholic, rarely available to the children or his wife. The roles have shifted, after workaholic secret spy Kate gives up her career to follow her husband to Luxembourg, where he is taking on new work. And suddenly the father that used to be at home all of the time is rarely home and a distance falls between him and the family.

Further rousing his wife’s suspicions are their new friends Bill and Julia, a husband and wife from Chicago. Julia quickly becomes Kate’s best friend in Luxembourg, but questions are aroused.

This is one of those stories where you are continually asking yourself  “what if” and “what would I do”.  It shows the fine line drawn through moral delineation and ambiguity. Hear one side of a story and you may think someone is morally bankrupt. Hear more of the story, and maybe what they do is justified, but hear yet more and perhaps you question their motives once again. “Morality” and ethics are not black and white.

Kate's character was pretty well developed, and a character with which I could really connect. Her husband is more elusive and shady. You are never sure what is going on with him, and whether or not he can be trusted.

A book editor for nearly two decades, The Expats is Chris Pavone’s first novel. Part psychological thriller, part escapism, part cautionary tale and part pure entertainment, this is a really fun story!

The author is quite good at seeing into the human condition, down to the heart of things, and sometimes I just had to smile...

Jake sighed, the immense disappointment that a little boy can feel hundreds of times a day, over anything, everything, nothing. (p. 58)

We all see ourselves as the center of everything. (p. 299)

(Note: Quotes were taken from an Advanced Readers Copy, and wording could differ in the actual released copy.)

I like the cover. Shiny and almost a metallic red in appearance, there is the dark silhouette of a woman in front of an old European town (possibly Luxembourg?). It gives a really good clue as to what is held between the covers.

However I did note that, because of its metallic nature, the red color does rub off easily, leaving the beautiful cover marked more obviously than your average cover.

I like the fact that the book has shorter chapters and choppy sections, with lots of spots for me to find a stopping point. The font is well-spaced and easy-to-read; the dialogue is easy to follow.  There are some shifts in time, from past to brief periods in the present, but this transition is assisted by the fact that the font is slightly different in the scenes of the present. So you can visually see the change to present day, as well as a date stamp at the top of the page to make it clearer. Still you do need to pay attention, as the time shift can be a little tricky to navigate. It gets especially tricky in the last few chapters of the book.

While not gratuitous, there is some vulgarity, sexuality and adult situations and content.

My final word: This was a fun, smart story. It kept me entertained and challenged. I continually wondered what would happen next, but it was really light and fun. A clever story of suspense laid out in a very easy-to-read fashion, and a very satisfying read.

BUY NOW:

Random House
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository
Amazon

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Disclaimer:

I received a copy of this book from Crown Publishing, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

REVIEW: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Synopsis

Years ago, Marina Singh traded the hard decisions and intensity of medical practice for the quieter world of research at a pharmaceutical company, a choice that has haunted her life. Enveloping herself in safety, limiting emotional risk, she shares a quiet intimacy with her widowed older boss, Mr. Fox, and a warm friendship with her colleague Anders Eckman. But Marina's security is shaken when she learns that Anders, sent to the Amazon to check on a field team, is dead-and Mr. Fox wants her to go into the jungle to discover what happened. 

Plagued by trepidation, yet propelled by her sense of duty, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the unknown, down into the Amazonian delta, deep into the dense, insect-infested jungle to find answers from the company's research team. Led by the formidable Dr. Annick Swenson, the scientists are looking into the development of a new drug that could have a profound impact on Western society. But the team has been silent for two years and the daunting Dr. Swenson does not like interlopers inserting themselves in her work, as Marina well knows. The eminent and fiercely uncompromising doctor was once her mentor, the woman she admired, emulated, and feared. To fulfill her mission, Marina must confront the ghosts of her past, as well as unfulfilled dreams and expectations-a journey that will force her to make painful moral choices and take her deep into her own heart of darkness. 

A rich narrative dense with atmosphere and full of deeply realized characters, packed with amazing twists and surprises-encounters with an anaconda, cannibals, death, and birth-State of Wonder is Ann Patchett's most enthralling and confident novel, a tale that will leave readers in their own state of wonder, examining their own values and beliefs. 

Hardcover, 353 pages
Published June 7th 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published 2011)
ISBN 0062049801 (ISBN13: 9780062049803)
http://www.bloomsbury.com/State-of-Wonder-Ann-Patchett/


About the Author
 from her website

Ann Patchett is the author of five novels: the New York Times bestselling Run; The Patron Saint of Liars, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Taft, which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize; The Magician’s Assistant; and Bel Canto, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, the BookSense Book of the Year, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is also the author of two works of nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling Truth & Beauty and What Now? Patchett has written for many publications, including the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Magazine, Gourmet, the New York Times, Vogue, and the Washington Post. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Check out her website
Fan her on Goodreads
Read her Goodreads interview about the book!

My Thoughts

The news of Anders Eckman’s death came by way of Aerogram, a piece of bright blue airmail paper that served as both the stationery and, when folded over and sealed along the edges, the envelope.

This story begins in Minnesota, but fairly quickly transitions to Brazil and the heat of the Amazon.

Dr. Anders Eckman is reported dead in the Amazon after being sent there to get a status update from Dr. Swenson, who has been working in the Amazon jungle on a fertility miracle drug. Dr. Eckman's office co-worker Dr. Marina Singh is sent down to the Amazon to find out what she can about his death, and to pick up Dr. Eckman's mission where he left off.

Mr. Fox is Dr. Singh's boss, and the one responsible for sending both Eckman and Singh down to the Amazon. There is something a little off-putting about him. Detached, self-centered, only thinking about the science and with little apparent regard for the safety of the people under him, but yet not a really bad guy.
 
Dr. Marina Singh is capable, but full of self-doubt. Starting with a mishap during a surgery when she was a resident at John Hopkins under the tutelage of Dr. Annick Swenson, Marina abandoned her promising career in obstetrics and got into the pharmacological field instead. Now she is being sent to the Amazon to confront her old nemesis. 

Dr. Annick Swenson is all science. Think a female version of Sean Connery's character in the movie Medicine Man. Socially inept, self-centered and tactless, she is one of those people who believes that the ends justify the means and has no problem doing questionable things for the "greater good". 

After learning of her co-worker's death, Marina is convinced by Anders wife to go down to the Amazon to find out what happened to him and where his body is, and her boss Mr. Fox wants her to find out where Dr. Swenson is in her research on a fertility treatment that has 70-year-old women giving birth. 

While in Brazil, Marina meets Milton, a sort of Brazilian "jack-of-all-trades". He is a driver, messenger, and a man who can get things done. Handsome, charming, always ready to rescue Marina in times of trouble, the ladies in my book club all agreed that he was the man of our dreams! 

Attempting to track down  Dr. Swenson, Marina encounters Jackie and Barbara Bovender, who play the "gatekeepers" for Dr. Swenson, blocking all access to her. These two were an odd couple. Bohemian beauties described as looking alike, they had my book club wondering whether they were brother and sister or husband and wife. I don't think that the book ever makes it clear. 

This book was an odd one for me. I didn’t want to put it down, wanting to turn the page and discover what would happen next, and yet I was left feeling a little...melancholy. That’s the best way I can describe it. This was a good story, well-written, but it wasn’t a rip-roaring fun ride. It was emotional and thought-provoking, but a little sad- always a little sad. There were never really any “giddy” moments.

Once the book shifted to the Amazon, it quickly reminded me of the movie Medicine Man, and that familiarity was continually reinforced as I continued to read. The book even mentions the candiru, a fish that will swim up the urethra of river swimmers, which is likewise the subject of a conversation in the movie Medicine Man. 

I had an issue with the sub-plot of the book related to fertility, but they did sort of address my concerns nearer the end of the book. And we agreed in the book club that you really must approach this book as something of a fairytale. There is a lot of "suspension of disbelief" required with this book.

You know, I tried my hand at writing recently, and I discovered how difficult it is. I can do dialogue. I can outline a plot. But I can’t really “write”. There is something that true writers can do that bring realism to a story. It’s the little details. Like when the author mentions Marina answering the phone in the middle of the night, and sitting up in bed, she reaches down to adjust the bottom of her nightgown caught underneath her. Such a minor detail, but it brings such realism to the story. Every woman knows what that is like. We’ve all become tangled in our nightgowns. But would I ever think to include such a personal little tidbit in a piece I was writing? Probably not. I really loved these little bits that drew me closer to the characters and made them my friends-- or myself. And sometimes her lyrical descriptions were just gorgeous...

“The city was breaking her down along with the Lariam, her sense of failure, her nearly mad desire to be home in time to see the lilacs. But then the orchestra struck a note that brought her back to herself.  Every pass of the cellists’ bows across the cellos’ strings scraped away a bit of her confusion, and the woodwinds returned her to strength. While she sat in the dark, Marina started to think that this opera house, and indeed this opera, were meant to save her.” (p. 124)

I liked the book cover. It is reminiscent of a antique map used by discovers, and is very fitting for a book about the Amazon.

My final word: This book is not for someone who insists on an ending all tied up with a neat little bow. It leaves the ending much to your interpretation, and I actually found that I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book much more than the ending. So the first half of the book I loved, and the last half I just liked. But I liked it enough to want to try Ann Patchett again, as this is my first book written by her.

 
My Rating: 8 out of 10

REVIEW: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Synopsis

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when — or if — it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens — town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing — even murder — to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.


About the Author (like I need to tell you!)
from Barnes and Noble

Biography

Fiction powerhouse Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, in 1947. As a student at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, became active in political causes, and met his wife, the former Tabitha Spruce. In the early years of his marriage, King augmented his meager teacher's salary by selling short stories to men's magazines. Then, in 1973 he hit pay dirt: his novel Carrie was accepted for publication, and a major paperback deal provided the means for him to leave teaching and concentrate full-time on writing. Since then, the prolific author has never looked back. 

Dubbed the Master of the Macabre for his domination of the horror genre, King has also written bestselling thrillers, mysteries, fantasies, novellas, and short stories, many of which have been turned into blockbuster films and miniseries (A partial list includes Carrie, The Shining, The Stand,, Misery, It, The Shawshank Redemption, The Langoliers, Stand by Me, and The Green Mile). He also has two works of nonfiction to his credit: a gorgeously crafted memoir/scribbler's how-to (On Writing) and Faithful, a chronicle of the Boston Red Sox' stellar 2004 season, cowritten with Stewart O'Nan. In 2003, he received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. 

In between books, the indefatigable King performs in the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band that includes among its rotating personnel fellow authors Dave Barry and Amy Tan; attends as many Boston Red Sox games as is humanly possible; and contributes with his wife, Tabitha, to many local and national charities.

Good To Know

Don't believe everything you read about Stephen King. Among the gossip circulating about the scribe is the rumor that he is going blind. King assures his fans that while he is genetically predisposed to a disease called macular degeneration, which could result in blindness, he is not actually going blind.

King is probably one of the most easily recognizable authors alive, and it's not just because of his string of bestsellers. King has appeared in a number of films based on his work, including Pet Semetary, Thinner, and The Stand. 

If you've ever wondered why Stephen King has written several books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, there is actually a very simple explanation: King is so prolific that he felt it necessary to create an alter-ego so that he could publish more than one book a year. The name was a hastily hobbled together combination of writer Richard Stark (ironically, a pseudonym for Donald Westlake) and Randy Bachman of rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

My Thoughts 

What would happen if a dome suddenly appeared around a town, cutting it off from the rest of the world? That's what this book is all about. What happens from a scientific standpoint to the air, trees, water, etc? What happens to society? What questions get asked, like "Who is doing this?" and "Will it ever stop?"

I’m a big Stephen King fan. I have been since I first read The Stand at age 12. So I’ve been eager for this book.

At times King can be a little verbose, and I was tiring of the slow lollygagging way of the first 50 pages as King laid the groundwork for the rest of the story. I was impatient. I wanted to get to the meat! It was like nibbling on the bread while you wait for the meal to come.

But when the meal did finally arrive, the flavors were bold and satisfying!

This feels like old-school Stephen King. I haven’t been the biggest fan of some of his books that I’ve tried reading over the last 10 years or so. I’ve started a couple that I just put down. But this one felt more like the old Stephen King I loved from my youth! This book feels similar to me as King's The Langoliers (found in Four Past Midnight).

A rich cast plays out this story, so rich in fact that there is a list of the cast in the beginning of the book to help you in keeping them all straight. Initially this was difficult, but then you "get to know them" and don't find it so difficult later on.

Enjoyable, closer to classic King, I "lika daf one" (as my friend's boy said when he was young). While it may not register as one of my favorites, like The Stand and The Long Walk, it will definitely hold its own for me up at the top of the Stephen King list. If you like King, if you like creepy and complex societal breakdown, definitely give this one a try!

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10