Review: I've Got You Under My Skin by Mary Higgins Clark

Title: I've Got You Under My Skin

Author: Mary Higgins Clark

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 303

Published: 2014

"When Laurie Moran’s husband was brutally murdered, only three-year-old Timmy saw the face of his father’s killer. Five years later his piercing blue eyes still haunt Timmy’s dreams. Laurie is haunted by more—the killer’s threat to her son as he fled the scene: “Tell your mother she’s next, then it’s your turn . . .”

Now Laurie is dealing with murder again, this time as the producer of a true-crime, cold-case television show. The series will launch with the twenty-year-old unsolved murder of Betsy Powell. Betsy, a socialite, was found suffocated in her bed after a gala celebrating the graduation of her daughter and three friends. The sensational murder was news nationwide. Reopening the case in its lavish setting and with the cooperation of the surviving guests that night, Laurie is sure to have a hit on her hands. But when the estranged friends begin filming, it becomes clear each is hiding secrets . . . small and large.

And a pair of blue eyes is watching events unfold, too . . ."

If you are a Mary Higgins Clark fan, you will enjoy this book.  While some of her previous books were not all that appealing to me this is one of her better storytelling efforts. 

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Reviewed by Cathy

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Reasons to Love Your Library!

We recently asked our Barnard Crossing Branch Facebook fans what they love about Barnard Crossing Library. Here are their responses:

"It's a cozy neighborhood library. I love how friendly everyone is." - Cheryl

"The librarians are friendly & helpful!" - Mary Anne

"I love the small cozy space, and great selection of books and recent DVD releases. The ladies who work here are very welcoming also!" - Liz

"Love the location, I can walk there from my house!" - Christine

We were really excited to read all of this great feedback! Thank you, all! What do YOU love about your library? Share below in the comments!

Review: The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

Title: The Good Luck of Right Now

Author: Matthew Quick

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Pages: 284

Published: 2014

38-year-old Bartholomew Neil has always lived with his mother and when she dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. While going through his mother's things, he finds a "Free Tibet" form letter from Richard Gere. Since at the end of his mother's life, she was calling him Richard, he believes that Richard Gere must be his life guide, so he begins chronicling his life in a series of letters to the actor.

The premise of this book sounded really interesting and I've heard raves reviews of Silver Linings Playbook, both the book and the movie, which Matthew Quick also wrote, so I had really high expectations. I was a little disappointed, in that I thought the book was pretty good, but not outstanding. If you are deeply offended by foul language, I would not recommend this, as the character Max has a terrible potty mouth. Overall, an okay read, but not one of my favorites.

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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd

Review: The Heiress of Winterwood

Author: Sarah Ladd

Genre: Inspirational, historical, regency, love stories

Pages:  314

Published: 2013

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend's baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word -- even to the point of proposing to Graham, the child's father -- a sea captain she's never met. When the child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting at her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one. Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she’s forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride. Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect. Both must learn to have faith and relinquish control so they can embrace the future ahead of them.

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Reviewed by Cathy

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: Out to Lunch by Stacey Ballis

Title: Out to Lunch

Author: Stacey Ballis

Genre: Women's fiction

Pages: 403

Published: 2013

Jenna and Aimee were the closest of best friends, as well as business partners in a very successful catering and party planning venture. Then Aimee dies of cancer, leaving Jenna at loose ends. Fortunately, they had sold their business, leaving them extremely wealthy. Without her business or her best friend, Jenna is unsure of what to do with the rest of her life. In Aimee's will, she has basically left financial custody of her lovable, but not very business savvy husband, to Jenna, meaning she has to listen to all of of his wacky business propositions, consider them as carefully as Aimee would have, and then let him down easy if they are not feasible.  At first, Jenna is completely mortified by this request, as she was never a big fan of Wayne, but as she gets to know him better, his latest money-making scheme begins to intrigue her.

I absolutely loved this book and the characters. I am a huge fan of Jen Lancaster's books and this was very similar in style. Besides the lovable characters, she also includes recipes for some of the delicious food she describes in the story. I would highly recommend this book.  

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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: Death on Eat Street by J.J. Cook

Title: Death on Eat Street

Author: J.J. Cook

Genre: Cozy mystery

Pages: 295

Published: 2014

Man oh man, do I love cozy mysteries. It’s one of my favorite genres that I don’t get to read often enough, so I was thrilled to read Death on Eat Street, the first in the new “Biscuit Bowl Food Truck” mystery series.

The story centers around Zoe Chase, an Alabama girl and former banker turned diner owner. When she buys an old run down diner in the sketchier side of town, she starts a food truck company to try and make some money while renovating the diner and trying to get it open. She serves her own special deep fried biscuit bowls from her truck, along with her friend Ollie, from the homeless shelter down the street. Business finally starts picking up and things are going great until a competing food truck driver (from Tacky Tacos) winds up dead in HER food truck. Now there are all sorts of people after Zoe, accusing her of stealing something very valuable, and starting to turn violent. Already battling with her snobby family who are disapproving of her new business endeavor, Zoe must rely on her new friends and cute lawyer to help her track down the real killer before she gets hurt.

This was a really fun and fast paced mystery centering on two of my favorite things: food and the South! I love all cozy mysteries, but as a foodie, I was particularly drawn to this one for its story line and Southern setting. The cast is unique and varied, from Zoe’s swamp-living Uncle Saul, to her down on his luck but intriguing (not to mention CUTE) lawyer, to her conniving, snobby ex-boyfriend Tommy Lee; this book has quite a colorful cast! I grew to really like the characters and was really rooting Zoe on, hoping her new business would flourish, despite the protestations from her family. I liked that she stuck to her guns and followed her dreams, even when they didn’t align with her family’s vision and dreams for her.

This story also had so many twists and turns, with nearly every single chapter ending on a cliffhanger, which really kept me turning the pages. I was constantly racing to find out what drama would happen next.

I have a couple of minor complaints, one being the constant cliffhangers, even though I enjoyed them a lot too. I felt like there was just SO much action that I didn’t see quite as much character development in Zoe that I would have liked. I really liked her as a character, but would have really enjoyed getting an even better glimpse of who she really was. Maybe this will happen in subsequent books? One other little thing was that I would have liked to see was a bit more Southern-ness, if that makes any sense. I knew it was set in the South, but aside from the Southern cooking and some elaborate homes, I didn’t get quite the Southern feel I was hoping for… y’all.

All in all though, I thought this book was a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to future books in this fresh new series!

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Reviewed by Stephanie

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

Review: The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Hirshberg

Title: The Chase

Author: Janet Evanovich and Lee Hirshberg

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 303

Published: 2014

I am a big fan of Janet Evanovich and all things Stephanie Plum, but I was a little skeptical when she started collaborating with authors, fearing that she was becoming the new James Patterson and just slapping her name on any horrible piece of writing for a fee.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that this new series with Lee Hirshberg (the first in the series is The Heist) was actually quite enjoyable, although the plot line is very reminiscent of the TV series', "White Collar" and "The Blacklist," which I love.  Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent who chased master thief, Nicolas Fox, for years and when she finally caught him, the FBI decides that in exchange for his freedom, he will help them catch other criminals, while she is still pretending that she is on the hunt for him.  In this installment, they are trying to bring down an ex-chief of staff who a private collection of stolen artworks.  Nick is a fun character and I am enjoying this series so far and look forward to their future adventures. 

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Reviewed by Kim

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!

DVD Review: Escape Plan

Escape Plan, starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a thrilling movie. My husband was surprised when I told him I wanted to watch it, but come on, have you heard what it's about?! Absolutely intriguing and very cool!

Ray Breslin (Stallone), is a security expert who makes a living testing out maximum security prisons for safety. He has a business, along with several business partners, which sends him into these facilities as a "prisoner." He then must play along and observe these prisons and their staff until he finds a way to escape, thus proving how "secure" these prisons really are or are not. Things are going great until the CIA calls with a new, very high paying escape assignment. They want to send Breslin into a for-profit, off the grid facility that has been designed to meet Breslin's security standards and should be impossible to break out of. The moment he is picked up on this assignment, though, things are very “off.” It appears that Breslin has been framed and is truly being taken captive as a prisoner. He can’t find a way to escape, and the captors will not let him go. That’s when he meets Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), a fellow prisoner who needs to find a way out. Together, they work on an escape plan to break out of the world’s most secure, and hidden, prison.

So as I said, this is a completely thrilling movie with so many questions, twists, and turns. I was feeling tense the whole time as I rooted the characters on. I was also intrigued by the prison itself, which had a very unique and futuristic setup for advanced safety. Also intriguing was the fact that this prison was totally off the grid, illegal, and at an undisclosed location, so no one had any idea where Breslin was being held captive after they found out it was all a scam. 

The film often switches between the prison setting with the two men plotting together, to Breslin's partners who are desperately trying to find where he was brought to so they can break him out after they discovered it was all a plot against him. I enjoyed seeing these two perspectives, of Breslin's desperation to get out, and his friends desperation to GET him out. There were two teams working separately towards one common goal. 

I will say, I REALLY enjoyed this movie, but I have one minor complaint: it got to be a bit confusing at times and I am still unsure of exactly who Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) was and how he ended up in the prison. I'm also a bit confused on some other details too. Other than that though, this movie was pretty darn awesome and one that I would highly recommend!
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Reviewed by Stephanie

As always, feel free to call us to check on an item's availability at 720-4106, or try our Barnard Crossing Branch at 663-3357. You can also check our online catalog 24/7 at http://greecepubliclibrary.org/. Click on the title above to link directly to the item in our catalog!