The Colorado Kid

Title: The Colorado Kid
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Mystery
Source: Library Book: Paperback
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws

Two older newspaper journalists are telling their protégé about the most interesting unsolved mystery their town has even seen: the choking death of a mystery man on an island of the coast of Maine.  They go through the investigation and the ins an outs of what makes this death so mysterious.  The further along the investigation gets, the more mysterious the circumstances get. What was a man from Colorado doing in Maine? How did he get a piece of sandwich stuck in throat, and where was the rest of it?  Was it an accident or was it something more sinister.

I wanted to read this book so much because of a television show.  I had watched the show "Haven" on syfy and after one of the episodes it said based on this book.  I loved the show and thought the book would be similar or have the same subject material, but it didn't.  The only similarities were the town's name and the journalist names.  Nothing else matched up between the two, which is fine but I was a little disappointed.  Plus this was my first Stephen King novel.  I figured I would take an easy step into this remarkable author's writing.

I did have to chuckle because one of the character's names was David Bowie, who if you know me, I am OBSESSED with the musician, so that got my interest and enjoyment off the bat.  I liked how King made the story mysterious, all the way to the end readers are unable to pick up on what happened.  He kept everything in the dark and created a certain atmosphere of the unknown.  He kept me in suspense, but at the same time there were no answers.  I enjoy a mystery that has an answer, like a puzzle.  I am a little OCD when it comes to needing a puzzle to be complete and while I know the whole point of the story is that the case is left as an unknown mystery, I was hoping there would be some sort of conclusion that would be satisfying.  It was a little lackluster, and I expected something more from an author so infamous and renowned for his writing.

It seemed to drag on and not have anything resolved from it, I felt a little let down.  I know this is my first novel by Stephen King, but it will not be the last.  I will try another one of his novels, maybe a different genre.  Horror might be his expertise, but based on what I read of this novella, mystery may not be his forte.  While it was entertaining enough to read, but it was not something that will standout with me as one of the best books/stories that I have read this year.

The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell

 Title:  The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell

AUthor: Lilian Jackson Braun

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: Paperback

Rating: 3 out of 5 paws

The mystery solving cat; Koko is at it again.  While the city of Pickax is getting ready to celebrate it's 150th anniversary, Koko has decided to drop from balconies and hide in very odd places, even for a cat.  Qwill realizes something is amiss when a couple has mysteriously gone missing.  What does this crazy cat know now and how can Qwill solve the mystery without disrupting the festivities?

 

I grew up reading this books, and loved every bit of them.  I still do.  I am a book lover, mystery lover and a cat lover so what's not to love about these books.  Koko and Yumyum are Siamese cats which our very own honorary literary cats Luna and Artemis is part Siamese so I can easily picture the two of them acting the same ways that Koko and YumYum do.  Heck there might even be an interesting book revolving around the antics of these two adorable kitties.  I mean look at Artemis' face, you can just see the mischief in his eyes, and I imagine that's what Qwilleran sees when he looks at Koko.  From my experiences with the two Siamese I can easily imagine the fun and surprising actions of the two cats within this series especially Koko as I imagine him looking much like Artemis here.


The story is a cute one with Koko dropping off of balconies and hiding in odd and strange places, but what cat doesn't like to hide in really odd places.  And believe me cats loooove to hide in strange places.  While it is a cute story, it is not one of my top favorites within the series.  It starts out slow and begins to drag on a little bit.  Some sentences are repeated throughout chapters and Qwill seemed a little out of character.  Some characters popped into the story, but didn't really add anything to the story other than the sheer mention of their names.  Like they were a part of the series before so naturally they needed to at least be mentioned in this book.


Normally Braun excels at descriptive prose, but that talent doesn't completely come through with this novel.  But with 30 books in the series, there are bound to be a few books that do not hit the mark, especially when they get closer to the end of the series.  Some of the earlier books like "The Cat Who Read Backwards" and "The Cat Who Saw Red" really held my attention, but sadly this one didn't.  I was hoping it would begin to tie things up for the characters, but it doesn't.  Except one randomly dying in a car accident which felt very out of place compared to her other books when the deaths were always connected in one way or another.  We don't see that here. 


While the book wasn't outright completely disappointing, it wasn't completely thrilling like the rest of the series was.  I do plan on reading more until I have read the whole series, but I may get them from the library rather than purchasing them.

Chalk Man

Title: The Chalk Man
Author: C.J Tudor
Genre:Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Source: Hardback: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5 paws


In 1986 as a young boy Eddie witnessed a tragic event.  Eddie and Mr. Halloran (the new teacher) helped a young girl who was struck when an amusement park ride broke from it's frame.  Through converstations, Mr. Halloran gives Eddie the idea of drawing chalk symbols as messages between his friends.  But then; the chalk men lead the group of friends to a body.


Fast forward 30 years and Eddie is now a teacher in his home town when an old friend pays him a visit.  One the same day a letter arrives in the mail containing one thing...a chalk man.  When his friend turns up dead in the river, memories of the past come back to Eddie.  Is the past beginning to repeat itself?  Will he ever be able to escape the Chalk Man?

The Chalk Man is another novel I have seen recommended everywhere I looked so I pick it up from the library (I am loving my library lately). It is a hauntingly fascinating tale that took me only 2 days to finish.  I went into it with an open mind, not knowing what to expect and I am happy that I picked it up.  While I expected something else, this was definitely worth the read. 

The tale opens with a tragically morbid scene of a fair ride coming off it's tracks and injuring a girl, but as usual life goes on, the kids enjoy their summer while other more serious things happen around them such as abortion clinic protests, sordid affairs, and dark rumors.  While the book focuses on Eddie and his friends it is about so much more.  Everyone seems to be hiding something even when the story jumps ahead 30 years to 2016.  While some may think the back and forth may be tedious or make the story difficult to read, it wasn't.  The parts in 1986 give detail into what is happening in 2016.  I almost wanted more from each time period, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.


The ending, you never see it coming.  You have suspicions throughout the book, and you think you know all the answers, but you don't even as the book ends there are still some questions left open which make for great book club discussions.  C.J. expertly inserts little hints throughout the chapters giving readers subtle clues as to what will happen next, but you have to really pay attention to what he is saying.  While you know things like abuse and sex are happening, Tudor doesn't out right describe it in gruesome, heated scenes.  He does it in a way that lets readers speculate at what is happening between the lines.


I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers and mysteries.  Tudor is truly a master storyteller and I for one cannot wait to read something else from this author.  I did expect it to be more "edge of the seat" thrilling, unable to sleep til I finished.  It was thrilling enough but not as much as it was made out to be by others.  But still a wonderfully written tale that will intrigue readers and hold them captivated until the very end.

Couple Next Door

Title: Couple Next Door
Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Source: Hardback: Library
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws.


Anne and Marco are next door enjoying a dinner party with their friends.  Or rather Marco is enjoying himself.  Anne is not only worried about their baby and wants to go home, but she watches as her beautiful neighbor shamelessly flirts with her husband.  Upon arriving home, they discover the front door is open, and the worst has happened.  Someone has taken the baby.  Immediately suspicions falls on the parents.  As Detective Rasbach investigates the kidnapping, the truth of what happens begins to unravel and he believes the couple are hiding something, but what is it exactly that they are hiding?

I heard a lot of different good things about this book and people saying that I wouldn't be able to put it down. so I decided to check it out. While it was good but I don't think it was as phenomenal as a lot of people say it is.  It fell flat in many places and I found myself not really caring about the characters.  I tried to tell my mom and best friend about the book, but struggled to explain some of the "twists" found within this novel.  It is interesting and engaging in the beginning, but as the investigation continues it becomes completely unrealistic and I found myself wondering "now why would he do that," "shouldn't he have thought of this."  Again while it was good and interesting, it was completely outlandish and I struggled at times with it. There are so many different theories in this story intended to lead the reader to think one thing when it turns out to be something else.  At first I felt for Anne, her baby is missing, the detectives think it's her.  But as the story progresses and as a reader I notice things aren't right with her husband, I begin to wonder how she could be naïve.  There wasn't really any depth to the characters other than a few hints at something in their past, but nothing that really goes anywhere with the story.  Just a bunch of red herrings that after a while it begins to distract from the tale. I found it easy to put down and then come back to because it wasn't one of those books with a lot of deeper things happening within the story, everything was surface action.  Characters began to get annoying and their actions completely far-fetched.  The consistent switching of POV got to be annoying, I wanted the story to focus on one person rather than 3 or 4, it took away from the suspense in finding out what would happen.  For example readers would find out something in one chapter from the POV of a character then it gets revealed two chapters later and it feels anti-climactic because we already knew it. Now would I read this book again, probably not. Would I recommend it?  I don't know, I have but then took it back because of how much of a let down the rest of the book became.  I will not say it was the best book I have read, nor was it the worst book that I have read. I think if you are interested in thrillers and suspense novels you should give this a try.  Just because it was meh for me doesn't mean it would be for you.

Wicked River

Title: Wicked River
Author: Jenny Milchman
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: Kindle Ebook from NetGalley
Rating: 2 out of 5 paws


Natalie and Doug have just gotten married and are spending their honeymoon in the Adirondack mountains.  This is a chance for them to start a new life together, to become something new.  They begin to explore their own hearts and dive deeper than they ever have before.  But the couple learn quickly that they are not alone.  Something or someone more sinister lurks between the trees.  The mountains are a beautiful place to be, but also a place where someone can hide, or for someone to go missing without a trace.  Someone watches them, waiting for them to come closer.  Then he will ensure they never make it out of the mountains again.

I couldn't be more excited to have received this book from the kind publishers and those at NetGalley for an honest review. I am always excited to find new authors and potential find something out of my normal read.  That was my hope with this novel.  The synopsis makes it sound so thrilling and exciting to read, sadly it missed the mark.


From the beginning readers will see the sentence structure is a little different than what we may be used to with sentences like the first one "Twigs and branches tore at her arms like razor wire, so fast she was running."  The second part of that sentence is what made me stumble a little bit, but the structure does get easier to read.  Also some of the vocabulary makes it feel like the author is trying to hard at something.  Some of the words in the first few pages I had to look up because I never seen them used before like "fleeter" which she could have used something more common like "nimble". 


The story takes a very long time to develop and the characters weren't all that interesting aside from Mia, but she's a secondary character.  The idea for the story is interesting in itself, but I don't think Michman executed as effectively as she could have.  About 8-9 chapters in and readers are still basically at base camp of the story, and find themselves wondering when will the action begin.  It almost feels like you are pushing yourself to read more just to get to "the good part."


I wanted to enjoy this book so much, but I was really disappointed in it.  The excessive use of uncommon vocabulary was rough, but you get used to it, the drab characters happen sometimes, as so the slow moving story, but all of it mixed together makes for a book that is really difficult to finish.  I don't think I would recommend this book.

Blow Out

The murder of a Supreme Court justice is always a terrible thing, for Sherlock and Savich as their weekend away in the Poconos is ended when they need to fly back for the investigation.  Callie Markham is an investigative reporter with a lot riding on this investigation for her career and personal life as the Justice was her father.  She is partnered with the police liaison, Ben, but within a day there is another murder.  One exactly the same as Callie's father's.  Every lead the detectives find seem to be far-fetched and unrelatable to each murder, but is it possible that everything is somehow connected to one another.  Is Callie onto something about the murder of her father and the others that seem to have the police detectives stumped.  Callie is a woman determined to find out all the answers no matter what the costs may be.




This was my first novel by this author, and honestly I wasn't all too impressed, but some other reviews I have read stated this wasn't her best novel.  I had a hard time relating to Callie, sure I felt for her with the lose of her father but I had a hard time beyond that.  While the story is engaging and interesting it seemed to be lacking something, something that I cannot put my finger on what it is.  The book didn't do much for me being a first time reader.  I wish I can say that it did.  I had a hard time connecting with the characters, in fact thinking now it's a little hard to remember much about them (I read the book about a month ago). 


While there were moments of suspense, it wasn't something that had me on the edge of my seat excitedly waiting to see what will happen next.  Some things were almost predictable which seemed to be a let down when discovered that my theories early on were correct.  The characters were kind of bland as I mentioned before, but they didn't seem to grow as the story progressed and the situations they were in did not feel realistic, nor did the dialogue. 


I had high hopes for this novel because I have heard such great things about Coulter.  The plot itself seemed interesting enough, but I don't think it was executed well.  Unfortunately, I would not recommend this novel and give it a 1.5 out of 5 rating.

 

Where The Lost Girls Go

Laura is a rookie cop trying to show she is capable of doing her job despite her small stature and meek manner.  She obtains her first investigation when a car crashes into a tree and goes up in flames.  Clues point to a homicide, possibly involving the daughter of a famous local author.  As Laura digs for clues and interviews the family she is convinced she knows who the killer is.  But then the identity of the Jane Doe is revealed to be a missing girl, the investigation takes a different path.  How did the missing girl find her way into the Jameson estate and eventually one of their cars?  How did she meet her end and why?  Admist this investigation is another bigger one into the corruption of the police force and how deep does it go.  Why are some officers given special duty, while others are hung out to dry?  Get ready for an action packed novel that will keep you guessing until the very end.


I had the honor of receiving this book from the publisher/author via NetGallery.  I could not have been more excited for the opportunity to read this book.


It starts out with excitement with the fiery car accident and the mysterious driver, but as the story goes on it deeper into a homicide and keeps you guessing at what will happen next.  There seemed to be a lot of premature theories and jumping to conclusions, but I guess that would come from the main character being new to the force, just off her training.  There was another sub-plot about corruption in the force that I think was unnecessary, the story stood well on its own without that added tidbit.  It almost feels a little too overdone - corruption in the force, but the main character and a few secondary ones are working to expose it as they are the only good ones.  I hope there is a bigger story that come from that, but at this point it is still a mystery why that was included. 




There are still a few questions within this story as I got to the end that leaves the book feeling almost unfinished. The moments of Laura expressing feelings for her neighbor felt more like fluff than anything else especially after he "sort of is seeing someone,"  that left me with a let down as there was a build up of possibly them getting together or a huge surprise twist him being the mastermind behind it all, but no.  Again something else that could have been left completely out of the story and it would not have made much of a difference.  I highly enjoyed the story and liked the added touch of "squatters" in the woods that was something different added to the story. 


It was a mixture of predictable and unpredictable, if that makes any sense.  There were parts I was able to figure out while others were a complete surprise.  It held my attention throughout the story, I couldn't wait to find out who was the mastermind behind the murders.  There were a few things that I was surprised wasn't revealed earlier such as the gravesite, I think having someone find it earlier and finding the girls already in it would have added to the story and suspense of who was killing these girls.  I could almost see this plot reflected in a crime drama or movie.


I would highly recommend this book to mystery lovers of all sorts, as well as general fiction, suspense fans.  I think there is a little of something everyone can enjoy in this book.  I give this a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Purr M Murder

Sydeny left New York after ending her engagement and returned hom to Deer Park where she now helps her sister run the local animal shelter.  Syd and Kat organize a fun fundraising event with a local café shop: a cat café! where people can pay an extra fee and have their coffee and play with adoptable cats.  Things are going great that is until Trowbridge Littleton begins to make troubles from them and threatens to not only shut down the event, but also the shelter.  Kat and Syd decide to try and reason with him only to find his dead body.  Now the sisters need to try and clear their names off the list of suspects.  When Syd starts investigating further, with the help of a tabby cat Toby, the killer sets their sights on her.

We cats decided the human needed to review a book with the hero is a cat! I mean, we are the literary cats after all right?  The human was honored to review a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGallery, awesomesauce right?   The cover is cute with the orange tabby looking all mischievous with his skull cookie, and makes the reader wonder what the book will be about and how the cat will play a part into the story.  It reminded me a lot of the "Cat Who" series by Lilian Jackson Braun.






While this novel was light and airy, it was very suspenseful and keep me guessing at what would happen next to the characters.  It doesn't have many dark undertones that most mystery novels have, but then most mystery novels that have an animal as a central character seem to be light and airy.  Lotempio creates characters and a setting that leaves readers invested in them.  I couldn't wait to find out what would happen with the shelter, almost more than I wanted Littleton's murderer found, is that odd?  The story was almost hypnotic in that it pulls readers into the story and time seems to stand still until something interrupts you.






It is an easy read, but not to the point of feeling too simplistic or "childish" (I'm not sure if that is the word that I want).    I found myself curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa getting lost in the book on a snowy afternoon.  It was exactly the kind of book I needed to read to lift my spirits and bring a smile to my face.  I seen on the cover that it is a part of series, and I look forward to what Lotempio has in store for us in other books.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery novels, animals, cats, a good soft read, and reading in general.  I would even allow a child of pre-teen age read this because there isn't a lot of gore, sex, or otherwise inappropriate material.  It's a good, clean, fantastic book.  Keep up the good work Toni.


My rating is an enthusiastic 5 paws up.

What She Left Behind

Sara and her mom had it all planned out, finally they will be able to escape her abusive father and start a new life together.  Sara waits eagerly for her mother to pick her up, but her mom never shows up and doesn't answer her phone.  She is convinced her father has something to do with her mother's disappearance, although he continues to claim she on a business trip.  Her friends know something isn't right as Sara begins to act on edge and jumpy, but she doesn't want to endanger anyone else.  As each day passes her fears and worry grow stronger as she tries to find out what has happened to her mother, and pray it doesn't happen to her.



This book is marketed as YA, but I honestly think adult readers would enjoy this thriller as well.  It is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There is a dark, deep atmosphere to this book that doesn't waver through the story and draws you in.  I found myself almost biting my nails waiting to see what would happen next.  Sara is a strong female lead.  I like the fear in Sara that radiates off the page especially at the thought that she has no help from the cops as her father is still friends with many of them.  Bilen does a great job at making her readers feel the emotion with her characters.


While I loved this book, there were a few short comings such as the feeling of disconnection to some of the other characters.  We don't get a chance to feel connected to her mother before she disappears, and then Alex just pops onto the scene which is almost jarring.  I understand he provides the romantic interest for Sara, but in a story like this a romantic interest is not necessary and almost at times takes away from the story.  There are things that make the story memorable, but other elements that make it forgettable.  I feel like the story was very well written and well told to the readers.  Bilen does paint a terrifying picture with her words, it's just some elements were un-needed, others almost unrealistic.


If you enjoy mysteries, dark thrillers, suspense then this is a book you should look into adding to your collection.  What She Left Behind is Bilen's first novel, and I think it was a great beginning and look forward to seeing what she has in store for readers.  Overall I give this book a 3.5 out of 5.