The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Hello everyone.

Have you ever gone to one of those old roadside motels? No? Me either. Hubby always wants to stay at them, referring to them as "mom and pop" places instead of something corporate owned. I agree it is a lovely idea, but I can't get the picture out of my head of sagging mattresses, rusty, dirty bathrooms, and bugs. Yes, I've seen those things in big chain hotels.  I don't know, maybe one day.

I recently read The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. I couldn't wait for this to be released. A haunted old motel, what is not to like?  For me, it wasn't all pleasant. In this story, a young woman, Viv, works at the motel in 1982 and goes missing. In 2017, Viv's niece who is obsessed with the story of her aunt's disappearance, also works at Sun Down so she can investigate what happened years ago.  It's an interesting premise but for me, the ghost story takes a back seat to the mystery that both girls are trying to solve. Timelines that shift are often an excellent way to tell a story and I love when they come together in the end but in this case everything just gets too jumbled, the story isn't clean enough. The ghost story could be expanded on and much scarier and the mystery could be much less. In fact, I correctly guessed the answer to the mystery after the first few pages of the book.

If you love Simone St. James, read this, by all means, you might love it as so many people do.  If she is a new author for you, I suggest Broken Girls, a great ghost story. Even though The Sun Down Motel wasn't my favorite, I'll be in line to purchase the next St. James novel.

The Passengers by John Marrs

Hello everyone.

Are you a driver or a passenger? Often people have a preference, they would rather drive or not. My husband loves to drive, I hate it.  One of the reasons I don't like driving is that I have a terrible sense of direction. I get so confused what direction is correct, I get turned backwards so easily. I once got lost in our old neighborhood while out walking. WALKING! Seems difficult when the streets were not tricky and laid out on a simple grid, but I did. Hubby jokes that I could head to the grocery store, a mile from our house, and end up two states away. I confess, it is a problem. Another thing I don't like about driving is the possibility of being out of control. Now, I can hear you saying, "But April, you'd have more control if you were driving rather than just riding along." True, but I distract myself with two things, one...scenery, two.... backseat driving.  You are all running to kiss your significant other right now, grateful that they aren't me!

Several years ago, while I was driving home on the interstate during a rainstorm that made me question if the end of the earth had begun, two cars, at different times along my trip, hydroplaned in front of me. They spun around several times, crossing five lanes of traffic, each coming to rest on the guard rail on the opposite side from where they started. By some miracle, all other cars were able to either slow down enough to avoid these out-of-control vehicles or slalom around them. Ever since then, when it rains and hubby is driving, I annoy him with my begging him to slow down. I don't care, he didn't see those cars auditioning for the Ice Capades sans ice.

I just finished reading The Passengers by John Marrs. This story is set in England in the future where they are using driverless cars. Sounds good to me! The passenger is now able to do whatever they want while they ride to their destination; email, watch a movie, read a book (an obvious choice). Several people get into cars one day and the door locks and won't open, their destination is changed to a place several hours away, and a voice comes over their operating system telling them they are going to die. There is no way out of the car, and they have no ability to regain control. In addition, the passengers' complete terror is now being broadcast everywhere, all over the internet, television, etc. These fantastic characters all pull at the reader's heart as they are made to tell their story to the world, who votes on the one person who will be allowed to live. However, the mastermind of this experience knows that they are each flawed with secrets that he is about to make public.

This book takes off from the beginning and flies ...well drives... to the end. The characters are so well developed, especially when you consider that this is a breakneck speed thriller. The plot is unique and thought provoking, the pacing, perfection. This is a classic example of everything a thriller should be, what baby thrillers aspire to when they grow up.  Do not miss it.

If you go buy this book, don't start reading it in one of those coffee shops often in bookstores. Don't start it until you've safely driven home. You'll see why!

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Hello everyone. I hope you are well and happy.

Although I am married to a southerner and have lived in the south for a long time, I actually grew up in upstate NY. I've mentioned this before. The town was small, so pretty, safe, and in a river valley with views of mountains all around. It was one of those places where high school rivalries are huge and football games are attended by thousands. There was an independent department store and loads of specialty stores that all flourished. At Christmas there was usually snow but well plowed streets, topped with swags of tinsel garland featuring candles, snowflakes, or Santa at the center of each swag or light pole. Lots of houses would be decorated for the holidays, not with the elaborate, computer generated mini-Vegas shows people have today, but with the big C9 bulbs hand placed in shrubs and in each window as part of plastic fake drippy candles. It sounds like a movie, doesn't it?  Well, it really was amazing living it and remembering too.

The town and those nearby had an advantage that some others didn't, several big industries. The area was home to a major shoe making company. You wouldn't know the name now, but during it's prime it was so important it even made all the boots for the army in the World Wars. They had a huge commercial division as well. All footwear was made completely by hand. It was a lot of work for such a small town/area. My grandfather worked there his whole life. He did what they called piece work, meaning he was paid by the piece. He received one penny for a pair of shoes in which he had installed the eyelets. Think about all the eyelets, at least 24 in a pair. Ever set eyelets before? I have, it's hard. It our high tech, sit on your butt all day world, it sounds terrible. It wasn't. This company, headed by two brothers, loved their employees. They built beautiful houses at bargain rates for their workers to purchase, if wanted. The company held the mortgage, if you missed payments, not a big deal. You were not foreclosed on. Try that today. They had free hot meals during the day, free medical care, pensions, and many public parks built by the company with enormous historically significant pools and carousels. It was perfection. The owners loved their workers and the entire town loved the brothers.

As you can probably imagine the word got around, picturesque valley with loads of jobs. Pretty soon the area was a destination for settling immigrants. They came from everywhere, Greece, Poland, and Italy. I think there were more Italian people than any others. When I tell you I grew up with the best pizza, believe me! These new residents also brought their customs with them. I would imagine, to the locals already living there, some of the new neighbors' traditions seemed unusual. Arranged marriage, for example, I have never heard of anyone that had an arranged marriage but I'm sure it was done at times.

I recently read The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. If the author sounds familiar it is because she wrote the very popular novel The Kiss Quotient. If you liked the writers "voice" in that book, you will surely like The Bride Test. Helen Hoang, writes about people that can struggle with certain issues. The Bride Test, like The Kiss Quotient features a character on the autism spectrum. I was surprised to learn that the author herself has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Obviously, it does not hold her back, instead allowing her to put her insight to good use. In this new story a mother wants her son, Khai, to get married, but he has a difficult time processing feelings. Mom goes to Vietnam to find the perfect girl for him. After literally making several girls cry during her interview process, Khai's mom settles on Esme, the girl who was cleaning the bathroom. Esme is brought to America to see if her and Khai are a good fit. If not, she will have to return to Vietnam. This story is well written, quick moving and very cute. It will pull at your heartstrings and have you cheering on these very likable characters. I was pleasantly surprised finding that this story had much more depth than The Kiss Quotient.

This book is the perfect summer read, sweet and funny. If you are taking this novel on vacation, be sure to take a backup as you'll finish this long before you get the sand out of your... swimsuit... (hubby insisted I edit what I originally had there, use your imagination).

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

Hello everyone.

Hubby is back to work! I feel terrible about how he spent his vacation. He did some things around the house, one was cleaning out a walk-in closet to make it a mini library for me. After he went out and bought all the wood and brackets to build beautiful shelving I actually looked at the cleaned out closet and admitted I had forgotten how many shelves it already had and didn't want more. When I asked him to return all the lumber I think he might have hit me with it like in an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. In fact, it is still sitting in my hall, days later, unreturned, taunting me. It smells so good, that new wood smell. The boards he picked are so nice, thick and straight, they'd make beautiful shelves. I don't know, maybe I should ask him to build shelves anyway. If you see me in divorce court you'll know why. Likewise, if I suddenly go missing in a very mysterious way, first alert the police, second call my sisters, third write a book about it and make sure you make me an innocent victim with a much smaller butt and better hair!

While we were on our staycation, I read My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing. I wanted this book the moment I saw it but resisted buying it. I had just read For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt. Frankly, I was afraid they were they same thing. For Better and Worse is about a murdering couple. They murder for a reason, someone has hurt their child. They have a purpose, a gore filled goal (it isn't really gory). Thankfully, My Lovely Wife is completely different.  I got lucky, my husband is a hopeless romantic, he sends flowers for notable occasions, big beautiful bouquets. In My Lovely Wife, the husband/father is the narrator and honestly, I don't think the author gives his name...ever. He is married to Millicent and they have two children. Life is perfect, their version of perfect.  Instead of showing his affection for his wife with flowers, jewelry or an exciting trip, this husband finds her someone to murder! It is so dark and twisted. They live everyday life like everyone else, making you wonder what the "normal" people you know do in private. Nothing like a Wednesday night of, "honey, can you pass the green beans and how do you think we should torture victim number three?"  As I was telling hubby the story I kept gripping the book, holding it up, laughing, saying it was so good. Makes me wonder about myself!

So, if you have read the latest round of husband/wife killer books, don't worry. You'll enjoy this too. It is well written, fast paced, full of twists that you won't see coming and perhaps a bit shame inducing for how much you'll like it. This was a heart racing rollercoaster from start to finish!

We have our wedding anniversary coming up next month, I'll have to think of "something" to do to celebrate!

Our House by Louise Candlish

I was so fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy of Our House by Louise Candlish. This book is published by Berkley and hits stores on August 7th, although you can pre-order now. Huge thanks to Berkley publishing not only for the book copy but for all the work you do!

This book is set in England, where a couple with two children live a nice life in an area where real estate values have dramatically increased. Their home is now worth substantially more than they paid for it, in fact more than 2 million pounds. One day the wife, Fi, (short for Fiona) comes home to find her husband, Bram, (short for Abraham) in the backyard inside the children's playhouse. The kids are in bed asleep but Bram isn't playing alone in the little house, he is with one of their female neighbors. Shortly after this infidelity, Fi and Bram Lawson separate.

One day, when Fi is going out of town, she pops back to the house to discover someone else moving in. She confronts the intruders to discover that all her and the children's belongings are gone and indeed, the house has not only been emptied but has been legally sold. The money paid for the home is missing, but the deed has been transferred. The act complete, her house is gone. Fi tries in vain to reach her estranged husband, who now has a disconnected phone and is nowhere to be found.

I don't want to say anything more about the plot, but suffice it to say I love the plot. In fact, this could have been one of my all-time favorite thrillers. Could have been. Sadly, for me, this book's pacing is way too slow. The facts learned by page 150 could have easily been told in 20 pages.  As the story progresses past the halfway mark of this over 400 page book, the pacing increases slightly.  I'll give you an example, something happens to Fi, you as the reader witness it. Then Fi tells the neighbor what happened, instead of just saying that she explained the occurrence to the neighbor, no, the author retells every detail. Then the neighbor retells someone else....again....geez. I really liked the story but don't want to read the same portion retold over and over. This is what holds up the pacing. The plot has all the makings of a blockbuster thriller, I mean it is a really interesting idea, it should be a page turner. My eyes should be bloodshot from reading without sleep because the story drives forward so quickly. Instead I kept putting the book down, yelling at it to just move on. Then there is the end. The end is abrupt and completely unsatisfying. I guess you could say it is ironic, but I was left saying "What, that's it?".

Now, please keep in mind I read a lot of thrillers that move very quickly. I have never read anything from Louise Candlish before, maybe this pacing is her style and something I am just not used to. Remember every book simply cannot be for every person. While this book was too slow for me, the plot was wonderful and the pacing maybe perfect for you. I hope you love it.