He Started It by Samantha Downing

Hello everyone.  I hope your week has been a great one.

You know how some people are egotistical and always believe they are right?  Well, I freely admit I am terrible at many things, one of them is direction (the north, south, east, west kind). Now if you're going to say it's because I'm female, then I have a few choice words for you that I'll withhold for the health of this blog. However, I swear I might have a negative sense of direction.  Not only do I get lost going to the grocery store, which is two miles from my house and just two turns (I think), but I once got lost walking in our old neighborhood.  Turned out I was only a block from our house. Obviously, hubby does a lot of the driving in our household.

I recently read He Started It by Samantha Downing.  She is the author of the very popular My Lovely Wife, which gave me an evil laugh when I told my family how twisted it was but I couldn't stop reading it.  He Started It is about a family that has lost it's grandfather.  In his will, the wealthy man has left a hefty inheritance.  To collect their money, the now adult grandkids must recreate a lengthy road trip they once took with their granddad.  So they begin the repeat adventure complete with spouses, and the book also begins to reveal to the reader what happened on the original trip. This time the adults bring their own baggage and secrets.  You might think this is simply a story about memory lane, until several odd things happen and they realize they are being followed.  This is an enjoyable, quick read.  Thriller lovers will appreciate a break from the evil neighbor/spouse novels that are so common these days.

I often read a book out loud to my husband when we are on a long car trip.  I wish I had read him this one to watch him squirm.

  

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Hello everyone. Hope you are well.

Are you a house lover or are you happy where you happen to land?  Hubby and I love houses and are always looking at the real estate listings.  We recently saw a mansion, yes, a real "have a heaping helping of our hospitality" Beverly Hillbillies mansion, that is on a street we used to live on.  We've been in this enormous, nine bedroom, house several times. The mega-estate is on the market and the listing is shocking. The current owners have filled this historic house with glass block walls, seven foot tall concrete nude statues, and enough gilded brick a brac that even Belle Watling would throw up. Guess it's a good thing that there are endless kinds of houses, something for everyone's taste (even if it's bad). Books are the same way, fun for all.

I recently read The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins.  This thriller is a wink to Jane Eyre, which you'll recognize if you've read the classic.  A Wife Upstairs is about a young girl, Jane, who has started a dog walking business and works in a prestigious neighborhood. One day she meets Eddie, the mysterious owner of the house she admires.  She finds him charming and is saddened to hear that his wife has passed away recently, in a boating accident.  Of course, in true genre form, Eddie has secrets, but so does Jane. As a romance between Jane and Eddie blooms, Jane becomes nervous her secrets will be told and that perhaps Eddie isn't the dream man she thought he was.  This was a quick, fun read.  I guessed the ending early on, so will you if you read lots of thrillers, yet it was still very enjoyable and had a satisfying end. 

Back to the REALLY important stuff, if you don't know who the Beverly Hillbillies are or their theme song, I'll be forced to throw you in the ce-ment pond! If you don't know who Belle Watling is....frankly, my dear, I don't give a...

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

Hello everyone.  I hope your year is off to a good start and I certainly hope it's better than last year!

Are you a big tech person? My niece and nephew are fluent in cell phones, excuse me, they say it's just "phones"...saying "cell phones" means you're old. We can be having a holiday dinner with lively, hysterical discussions and they'll still have their phones (notice I did it right that time, I'm so hip) under the table, their thumbs, obviously bionic, operating in a blur. I once told my niece that when I was little I had a vacuum cleaner (yes, even way back then), that when you pushed it, little colored wooden balls would pop up inside like a deranged popcorn popper.  Her response was that she can't help it if my generation is technologically challenged.  I think that was one of the first times I really felt old, well, that and the first time someone called me ma'am, but that's another story.

I recently read People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd.  This is a book about technology, well, the life of a well known Instagram personality.  Emmy is a high producing influencer that shows the tougher sides of being a mom. The book shows us the pressure people in that position are saddled with, always being driven to produce interesting and photogenic content. This book is a thriller so I feel no shame in telling you that Emmy has a stalker, one that tells the reader she's going to do terrible things to Emmy.  This ominous warning comes early in the book so I was reading frantically to find out what was going to happen. I'll tell you....nothing.  Okay, not nothing, you know I won't give you any spoilers but 97% of the book is about being an Instagram star.  Then when the villain is at their worst, they take time to garden.  A gardening villain?  Like some kind of possessed Snow White with birds flying seed packets around and Bambi nudging over the watering can?  This book was disappointing, at best.  Now, if I had known it was a book about being on Instagram and the pressures, great, I would have read it and really liked it.  Unfortunately the novel is being sold as a thriller making it completely miss the mark for me.

Sorry to start the new year on a negative note, but you may love People Like Her, especially if you live on your phone (see, did it again...guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.)