Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Hello everyone. I hope your day has been fun.

A few years ago, we were driving to Florida. Naturally, I am an impatient traveler. What did you expect?    I think I begin asking the "Are we there yet?" question incessantly after being in the car for thirty minutes.  Don't get me wrong, I love exploring, driving around.  The highway, however, like 95, is a snoozefest once you can get over that whole "taking your life in your hands" part.  If you are not on the east coast, it is high on traffic and low on scenery. Obviously, the solution is to read.  Which I do, often in the car.  That's when it happened.  I made a huge mistake.  I read a few sentences to my husband.  That was all I intended, just the brief part that had some sort of importance to him.  Instead, he uttered that word I may now count as a curse word...."Continue."  He wanted me to read him my book, out loud.  All the way to Florida.  In case you don't know, that is like eleven hours from here. I relented since he was driving and ended up reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It is a wonderfully imaginative book, but if you read it out loud you will realize how many funky made-up names there are for things.  Names you must say over and over...AND OVER.  I personally blame Gregory Maguire for my inability to ever move to Spain.  I could never learn adequate Spanish as he broke my tongue, and I simply cannot roll a single "R."  So, years have passed, we were doing something around the house last week, and I made the same fatal mistake.  I read the beginning of the latest Riley Sager book out loud.  I was trying to illustrate how captivating he can be. Hubby agreed and uttered that word...."Continue."  Yesterday...well this morning at 1 AM I finished reading him the book.  Yes, 1 AM, he said he couldn't wait until this morning.

I recently read Middle of the Night by Riley Sager.  This is the story of Ethan Marsh, who moves back into his childhood home after his parents retire and move away. Ethan is having a difficult time sleeping.  Not only is he separated from his wife, whom he adores, but this is the thirty-year anniversary of the disappearance of Billy Barringer.  Ethan and Billy were best friends.  When they were ten, they were sleeping in a tent in Ethan's backyard.  Ethan awoke to find the tent slashed open and Billy gone.  As Ethan and the few neighbors that are left on Hemlock Circle try to go on with their lives, it is evident something is amiss.  Ethan needs to discover what happened to his best friend, Billy, and why.  Told in true Riley Sager form, most chapters end on a twist.  They alternate from the present and the day when Billy actually disappeared.  Both race to the end to reveal all, intersecting with several last-minute satisfying twists. My husband and I had so many theories, changing them almost daily.  Hubby did successfully guess a tiny piece of what happened but only after 340 of the 365 pages. Very fun and fast paced, exactly what Riley Sager lovers have come to expect.

To Riley Sager, more please, next time I'll read to myself!

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak

Hello everyone. I hope you're having a great day.

We've been meeting this way for over five years now; we're getting close right? I feel like I must confide in you something extremely personal.  My husband and his friend "B" won World War II.  They played army in hubby's backyard.  Two little boys with those green plastic soldiers, the pooled pad attached to their feet, knowing both of them ...covered in dirt, trying to free those occupied by the Nazis.  Today, when they are on the phone, look out.  Talk of the past is flying by at lightning speed.  Everything was at one time a Caroll's Restaurant or some kind of obscure burger barn.  Every stop light on every single street (and they lived in a large beach city) is someone's corner, Edgar's corner, Bobby Sherman's corner, Romper Room's Corner. They know every owner and their house on their side of town, when it was painted, and when the trash cans are rolled to the curb.  If someone from the family worked in the garage on 17th Street...well, that was an extra hour of chat. One of the topics that frequently seems to come up is those darn little green men, soldiers, Martians would be more interesting.  I wonder if that is why hubby loves spy books so much.  He's grabbed a couple of mine.  Here is one he smuggled out of my tbr.

I recently read The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak. While the title evokes images of a snow ensconced covered landscape, this novel is not set entirely in Finland, however, and begins on a hot day in Rome. There, a nervous Russian Citizen tries to warn those within the U.S. Embassy about a pending event. The man’s information leads diplomat and spy Amanda to uncover a much larger global conspiracy.  She and her coworkers disguise, surveil, and deduce their way to the truth. But a name within a dead politician’s notes may lead Amanda to places she and her family don’t want to go.  

The story moves along, the characters are realistic, and there seems to be hazard at every turn. What more could a spy novel ask for?

Honestly, I try my best NOT to listen to hubby's conversations.  How many decades can one person hear about The Sea Shanty for?

Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

When we first met, my husband thought I was a little more, hmmm, how do I put it...upscale.  I was wearing a shirt that had a word on it followed by CC.  He thought it meant country club.  How posh!  Big surprise for him when he found out it meant community college, while a nice school, a far cry from posh.  We were engaged for several months before our wedding date.  During that time, we were able to go home to my parents in New York for Christmas.  As always, my parents went all out.  Presents were thigh high under the tree and that didn't count those from Santa.  Naturally, with all those gifts comes lots of gift-wrapping paper.  To think we behaved in a ladylike manner precisely, graciously, reservedly opening our gifts like posh people, was not to be.  That image pretty much dissolved when my dad dragged a full-size metal trash can up the stairs and into the center of the living room.  Yep, one of the smelly cans that sat out for the trash collection.  So much for the "country club set".  Funny thing is, we really did belong to a country club.  I took golf, tennis, and dance lessons there.  Oh well.

I recently read Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year's by Liz Ireland. This is the story of April Claus, who is Santa's wife.  Santa is out delivering gifts when three strangers are found outside of Santaland.  They are lost in the frozen wilderness after being stranded during a scientific expedition.  One of the strangers is murdered while staying in Santaland. The reader is along for the ride as Mrs. Claus and cast solve the mystery.  The story is complicated as the Santaland residents don't want their existence to be discovered.  Everyone; elves, reindeer and talking snowmen, must pretend to be part of a normal Canadian town, hiding their true identities.

This book was lots of fun.  Loaded with charming characters and an easy to picture location, it is super creative.  This would make a great holiday read, definitely taking your stress level down while increasing your holiday spirit.  A win all the way around.

Many thanks to NetGalley and, the always kind and generous, Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy.  I'll never look at Santa the same way.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a great day.

When I was in college, I was five hundred miles away from my hometown.  Every time I went home, I had to fly.  Over a few years I was on 54 flights because of all the transfers.  Going through Dulles at Christmas, not that pleasant.  Tiny planes in turbulence will test the sticking power of even the most solid of lunches.  After school, I vowed to never fly again.  A promise I have happily kept.  My grandfather loved to fly, so much so he got his pilot's license.  Of course, my mother worried about her dad.  That amused him, so he used to fly 60 miles away just to get a cup of coffee.  Yeah, those two egged each other on.  My mother would call someone like that an "itch".  She didn't mean it in a derogatory way or what might have you thinking it was missing a letter.  It meant someone that tickles you...that gives you an itch...trying to stir up trouble...something funny.  She, of course, was the biggest "itch" of them all, something she got from her dad.  Phew, sure glad that wasn't passed down and I got the serious gene.  Queue my sisters laughing hysterically, pointing at the screen, screaming "liar!"

I recently read Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty.  This is the story of people who have a shared experience on an airplane. While not the typical turbulence, the occurrence is still memorable and for many passengers, troubling.  A woman, behaving as if in a trance, walks down the aisle telling each passenger how they will die and at what age.  Some, after learning they will live a long life and die of old age, are joyous.  Others, discovering they will die much sooner than expected, and in an undesirable manner, are terrified. This story follows these characters to see what happens after the flight and delves into the life of the woman giving the unusual predictions. 

I have read every book Liane Moriarty has written and have enjoyed them all, this is no different. For me, this ran a bit longer and drier than her norm, but that is likely a necessity of this elaborate story. My favorite Moriarty book is Truly Madly Guilty.  I also have a soft spot for Three Wishes, since my three sisters are triplets. While this latest offering does not unseat my favorites, you really can't go wrong with any of her books, Here One Moment included.  If you are a Moriarty lover, as I am, this will be an enjoyable and fun necessity.  

Many thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy and feeding my Liane Moriarty addiction.

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

My dad had a very serious job, negotiating the cost of putting computer systems into military and NASA products.  You'd never know how much he liked to have fun. Going on vacation, drives in the country to see the fall leaves, playing tennis, swimming in the pool, playing cards, or holiday parties...he loved them all. One thing he enjoyed was movies.  I could go on for hours about all his favorites.  Often times he would say something about a movie that would stick.  I remember being in the theater seeing Towering Inferno.  No don't look to see how old it is, I know it was a long time ago!  Us kids were sitting in front of my parents, as the movie got really intense my dad leaned forward and whispered, "I've got sweaty palms, sweaty palms." We still talk about sweaty palm movies today.  One Saturday night we were watching The Omen on TV. Dad was totally into the suspense. As the scene where the priest is in the churchyard plays, he is watching intently, knowing something was about to happen. Suddenly a flagpole goes sailing and impales the priest.  My dad made the funniest half groan, half hard swallow sound.  We still make it today when anything really major happens in a movie. Frankly, I was more creeped out by the nanny hanging herself, telling Damien it was all for him.

I recently read House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen. I have read and enjoyed several books from this author, so I'm always excited when she has a new offering. In this book, we follow Stella, an attorney who advises the court on what is in the best interest of a child during custody battles. Stella has suffered her share of childhood trauma so tries not to take the cases of young, troubled kids, not wanting to reawaken bad memories of her own. This time is different, she accepts this case as a favor, and meets Rose, a nine-year-old girl. Not only are Rose's parents divorcing but she was present when her nanny fell to her death from a third-floor window. While the police suspect multiple people for the nanny's demise, they can't prove anything, admitting that it may well have been an accident. To help Rose, Stella tries to figure out the mystery of the nanny. Naturally, she wouldn't want to advise the court to give custody of the young girl to a murderer.

This book is pure thriller. It is engrossing right from the beginning and hard to put down until the end, leaving the reader with heavy book hangover. The characters are clear, yet complicated, nobody is one dimensional. Very helpful as the reader's suspicion is moved from one person to the next. The plot shoots straight through making for a quick, entertaining novel. The heart-pounding ending is deeply satisfying. Loved it and am ready for the next!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for their generous copy of House of Glass.

The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

Do you believe in fate, or do you think it is a myth and you completely control your own destiny?  Heavy question, I know, especially for someone who goes around talking in movie lines.  Wait...I'm serious.  What do you think?  I am thinking about "the one".  Is there just one perfect person for us or are there many and we consider the first perfect fit "the one".  For example, would my husband ever find anyone else who would put up with his shenanigans?  The answer is absolutely not.  Of course, I'm sure he would say, and my sisters would concur that I am the problem child.  Naturally, you know different...that I am the innocent, sweet one.  Stop laughing.

When I was little, my parents came to this area on vacation.  They had a favorite hotel on the beach where they would always stay. There are slides (yes, slides...look them up youngsters), with me there as a three-year-old.  Here is the thing, this is the town where my husband grew up. In fact, he knew the family that owned that hotel.  We could have physically passed each other as kids, never knowing that we would later meet and be married for decades. The one, and for me, the only.

I recently read The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner.  This is the story of Ellie and Jack.  Ellie, from a well-off family, goes to stay with her aunt for the summer in rural Tennessee.  There she meets Jack, a young man with a love for the water he boats tourists around.  A sweet summer romance develops but is interrupted when Ellie is suddenly required to leave without notice. What seems like heartbreak to the young adults slowly calms to wonderful memories.  One day, Ellie receives a mysterious package.  It is a book written by Jack about his experiences on the water and with his true love Ellie.  Naturally, Ellie is shocked.  She has developed the life she has always dreamed up but now wonders what might have been.  Even more interesting is what might be possible for the future.

This love story will grab you from the first page in the gentlest of hugs but refuse to let go.  It is well written, reads quickly, has fantastic character development and quite the story.  I cannot say enough good things about it.  Grab a box of tissues. Memorable from beginning to end.

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

The topic of the evil child has been around for a long time.  The classic The Bad Seed by William March is a creepy example, the book and movie. I, however, have firsthand experience.  I have lived it.  As you know I have three sisters, triplets.  Think The Bad Seed times three!  Now you know the horror I have and continue to live through.  Instead of making things easier for my sainted mother, and wearing the same thing, they demanded their own color of clothing. Same style but different color.  For their birthday, my poor mother, as if having nothing else to do, made three birthday cakes and each triplet demanded their cake being a certain color...all different. My poor dad would try and watch a baseball game and inevitably one of the three would stand in front of the TV blocking his view of the beloved Yankees.  He'd say name after name, trying to figure out who it was, there was so many of them running around.  Finally yelling, "hey you, you're blocking the game."  Oh yes, be wary, evil exists and it watches The Flintstones and eats Popsicles!

I recently read Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage.  This is the sequel to Baby Teeth, published in 2018.  I admit I have a soft spot for Baby Teeth.  Not only did I love the book, but it was the first advanced copy of a story that I ever received.  Baby Teeth is about a young child that is devious.  Hanna dislikes her mother, very much.  She scares her mother.  The story makes you feel twisted for liking the delicious evilness about it.  It is heart-poundingly tense.  

This time in Dear Hanna we are following Hanna again, years have passed.  She is married and has a teenage stepdaughter. Hanna enjoys not only a successful life with her new family, but she also corresponds with her brother.  As things in her life begin to change, dark feelings of the past bubble to the surface once again.

I appreciate that this book is carefully written so that it may be easily read as a standalone.  For those who are experiencing Hanna for the first time, they will likely enjoy this story.  For me, it was not quite as fun as the first story, Baby Teeth.  First, since we are seeing everything from Hanna's point of view, there is no suspense, no tension, which I expected but found missing.  I kind of felt like I was on a behind the scenes tour at Disney World.  I don't want to know how the Haunted Mansion works; I just want it to delight me.  I found seeing the darkness in Hanna's head, instead of wondering what she will do next, both disturbing and disappointing.  Next, for me, the plot was not strong enough.  Nothing really happens until the end of the book, and even that I knew would happen early on.  No surprises, no big twists. The plot of Baby Teeth was fairly simple, as well, but had the suspense to support it, which is missing here. 

I enjoyed reading Dear Hanna, especially reconnecting with the characters.  Although it wasn't my favorite book, I encourage you to keep an open mind and to give it a try.

Many thanks for Thomas and Mercer for the advanced copy. Obviously, my thoughts are my own (I'm not Hanna, you know!)