Summer Reading Reviews, Week One

Thanks to our Barnard Crossing patrons for submitting reviews of the books they've been reading for the summer reading program this year!

Country by Danielle Steel
Reviewed by Susan W.
"A classic, happy love story by this well written and well known author. Likable characters; light story line of girl meets boy and eventually end up together. Easy read even though it's a bit predictable." 8.5/10

Freedom's Child by Jax Miller
Reviewed by Kim T.
"Debut novel from a new author. Interesting story line and a good read." 8/10

The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer
Reviewed by Jane B.
"Two families unknowingly rent the same beach cottage on Nantucket Island, so they share. Happiness all around. Perfect, light beach read." 7/10

The Hummingbird's Cage by Tamara Dietrich
Reviewed by Susan W.
"A new twist on the unfortunate story of abuse and how it's dealt with and the ramifications physical and emotional abuse has on many lives. Thought provoking, honest, and heart-wrenching. A bit of mystical throughout. Fast paced and hard to put down." 9/10

Eyes on You by Kate White

Title: Eyes on You

Author: Kate White

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 308

Published: 2014

"After losing her on-air job two years ago, television host Robin Trainer has fought her way back and now she’s hotter than ever. With her new show climbing in the ratings and her first book a bestseller, she’s being dubbed a media double threat.

But suddenly, things begin to go wrong. Small incidents at first: a nasty note left in her purse; her photo shredded. But the obnoxious quickly becomes threatening when the foundation the makeup artist uses burns Robin’s face. It wasn’t an accident—someone had deliberately doctored with the product.

An adversary with a dark agenda wants to hurt Robin, and the clues point to someone she works with every day. While she frantically tries to put the pieces together and unmask this hidden foe, it becomes terrifyingly clear that the person responsible isn’t going to stop until Robin loses everything that matters to her . . . including her life."

I always enjoy Kate White’s books. This one kept me guessing until the end. - Cathy H. 
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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: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Genre: Mystery, suspense

Pages: 419

Published: 2012

A LOT of our staff members have read Gone Girl since its release in 2012. With all the hold requests coming in for the book, we were all pretty curious. I have to tell you, our staff is very split on this book! A few of us (such as myself, Stephanie) absolutely LOVED it. A few of the staff absolutely hated it. A few of the staff couldn't even finish it. Below are my personal thoughts about the book which I reviewed on my own blog last week:

Let me just be real here and say that I was pretty darn tired last week. And why was that? Because of Gone Girl! I had WAY too many late nights reading, staying up way past my bedtime racing through this book until I literally could not keep my eyes open any longer. This book is crazy in the best way possible and I’m SO glad it was my book club pick for the month, finally prompting me to pick it up.

So what’s the story? It’s a big old mystery surrounding the disappearance of Amy Dunne on her and Nick’s five year wedding anniversary. Just like that, she is gone from their home and no one knows where she is. After unsuccessful attempts to find her, Nick’s odd behavior and the strange crime scene in the house make him the prime and only suspect in the case. Through multiple narrations (Nick’s point of view as well as Amy’s diary entries), the whole twisted story is eventually revealed.

Okay, this book REALLY lived up to the hype for me. I know it tends to be either a love it or hate it kind of book with no real in-between on how people feel. I obviously am in the LOVED IT party. It was an amazing mystery that kept getting stranger and darker as the story progressed. The reader really has no clue whether or not it was Nick or someone else for a huge portion of the story, and Flynn manages to make the mystery incredibly hard to solve and unravel. The characters were not at all transparent, and nothing is given away until Flynn wants you to know. I don’t want to say much about the character’s personalities, because I don’t want to reveal anything, but they will leave you in shock at every twist and turn.

While I know many people hate this book simply because they hate the characters, I’d have to disagree. You can like a book without liking the characters, especially if the author created them that way on purpose, which obviously was the case here. This story wouldn’t have been this story if the characters were any different than they were.

This story and everything about it was incredibly complex and rich. The characters were crazy and I felt like I was in the middle of the media frenzy myself. I can’t say much else except that if you are looking for a shocking read that you really won’t want to put down, pick this up immediately. It consumed my thoughts the whole few days I was reading it and I was constantly itching to pick it back up and discover what would happen next. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I still can’t! This is probably my favorite read of the year so far and definitely the most gripping book I’ve ever read. I declared a book hangover after finishing it because I know I may never read another book quite like this one again. I highly recommend it.

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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!

The Lincoln Myth by Steve Berry

Title: The Lincoln Myth

Author: Steve Berry

Genre: Suspense/Political Fiction

Pages: 429

Published: 2014

"In this 9^th novel featuring hero Cotton Malone, all is not what it seems. This novel involving a flaw in the United States Constitution, a mystery about Abraham Lincoln, and a political issue that’s as explosive as it is timely—not only in Malone’s world, but in ours. It tackles the secrets of Mormonism, a U.S. Senator's stealthy secession plan, and a history-shaping letter that was handed down through the chief executive line."

History lies in the heart of every Berry novel; at the end of the book he always explains what fact is and what of the story his fiction was.

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Recommended by Cathy H.

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: Without Warning by David Rosenfelt

Title: Without Warning

Author: David Rosenfelt

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 295

Published: 2014

I am a huge fan of David Rosenfelt, so I'm always excited when a new book comes out. Without Warning is a stand alone thriller, not part of the Andy Carpenter series, which is awesome. While the Andy Carpenter books have some humor in them, the stand-alones usually do not and this was no exception. Jake Robbins is the Chief of Police of the small town of Wilton. After a hurricane comes through town, a time capsule which was buried, comes to the surface with a dead body on top it. The capsule is opened, hoping to provide some clues and predictions made years ago are starting to come true. Along with the editor of the paper, Katie Sanford, Chief Robbins is trying to discover the author of these dire predictions in the hopes of preventing more deaths. 

 

This was a suspense novel in every sense of the word, as I was kept guessing until the very end. This is a must read for any fans of David Rosenfelt (although I am anxiously awaiting the next in the Andy Carpenter series) or anyone who loves a good thriller.

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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 Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Title: The Wrong Girl

Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 366

Published: 2013

This was a new author to me, although she has written four other mystery novels and another book, The Other Woman, featuring reporter Jane Ryland and detective Jake Brogan. In The Wrong Girl, Jane is asked by a friend to look into an adoption agency who is allegedly reuniting birth parents with the wrong people. Her friend Tucker is convinced that the woman the agency states is her birth mother is not and believes there is something fraudulent going on. While looking into this matter, Jane gets involved in the murder that Jake is investigating. There are a lot of twists and turns and I really liked this book. It might have been helpful to have read the first one before, but it was still enjoyable. I would definitely read from this author again.  
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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: Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly

Title: Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

Author: Paula Daly

Genre: Suspense, mystery

Pages: 312

Published: 2013

This is Paula Daly's debut novel and it has been very popular. It was very well written and grabbed me from the first couple of pages. The main character, Lisa Kallisto, is a super busy working mom, struggling to juggle everything in her life. Her best friend's 13-year-old daughter goes missing when she was supposedly staying with Lisa. She is wracked with guilt and is determined to help find the missing girl. As she begins to investigate, she discovers that not everything is what it appears to be. 

This book was full of suspense and I was eager to get to the end to find out what happened. There was a side story involving the female investigator that didn't really go anywhere and could have probably been left out, but other than that, a very impressive first novel by this author. I will definitely look forward to her next.  
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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: Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse

Title: Before We Met

Author: Lucie Whitehouse

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 276

Published: 2014

Hannah and Mark are newlyweds and she thinks life is finally perfect, until he does not return home from a business trip. His excuses don't check out and there seems to be some misunderstanding at the company he owns as to where he really went. Hannah begins to doubt herself and the wisdom of marrying him as she investigates his whereabouts.

This had a lot of twists and turns as Hannah questions how well she really knew Mark when they got married, as she discovers secrets he kept from her. It really kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how it turned out. I think anyone could relate to this, since when you meet people that you haven't known all your life, how sure can you be of the truth of how they are presenting themselves.  

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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!