Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Hello everyone.

I hope you are having a good week.  How open are you to things we can't explain?  Ghosts are a topic often covered in books, I haven't read a good ghost story recently but there are lots out there. Do you believe in something you can't see? Just think about things like the ocean, scientists say we've only explored a tiny amount so who knows what beings exist in places we haven't been. Giant squid used to be mythical until they were actually discovered. What about something drier that requires no bottom scrunching wet suit, like ghosts. For ghosts not to exist, then every person who ever experienced something ghostly would have to be lying or nuts. Don't write to me about how that doesn't figure into religion, I know, I have no answers. Frankly, I doubt I would want to know all life's secrets, a bit of mystery is good. The Victorian house we restored was haunted. Yes, I can hear you laughing from here. Someday I'll tell you about it. Anyway, I ask you about an open mind because of a book. Yes, I realize everything in my life involves cooking a chicken, cleaning a toilet or reading a book....obviously that is why I'm here to talk about a book (to avoid cooking and cleaning).

I recently read Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. This is a psychological thriller about a secretary, Louise, who meets a man in a bar and they have instant chemistry. She is hopeful that this is the beginning of something wonderful. Later, Louise is shocked when she arrives at work only to discover her dream man is her new boss and he is very married. Amidst undeniable sexual tension between Louise and her new boss, David, they come to terms with his being married and continue on as employer/employee. While taking her son to school one day, Louise meets Adele, David's wife, by accident. She soon discovers that all is not as rosy as has been painted. The story moves quickly changing from each person's perspective. The reading is fun and easy and the story propels the reader forward without any effort. As the reader gets close to the end we are presented with a situation that requires having an open mind. you must be able to believe in something that can't be proven. No spoilers but if you cannot have an open mind in that way, you will not enjoy this book. However, if you can make that leap of faith, you will find the ending shockingly twisty.

Well I must run, I have lots of research to do with my open mind. I heard Elvis is alive and well and cleaning carpets in Sheboygan.

TH1RT3EN (Thriteen) by Steve Cavanagh

Hello everyone.

Are you one of those people that watches all the latest shows deemed cool? Do you binge watch Netflix, Prime or Hulu? Obviously, my husband missed the cool train. He is a huge Perry Mason fan. So many tv channels are now showing retro shows. If Dick Van Dyke, Twilight Zone or Perry Mason is on, good luck on getting his attention. You could send a marching band through our living room and he wouldn't notice. Funny that he likes Perry Mason so much but prefers to read books about spies instead of mysteries. Just for the record, Columbo is way better than Perry Mason...I mean there is the raincoat and the basset hound named "dog", nothing can compete with that!  If you haven't seen any of these tv shows from the past you are really missing out.

I just finished the new book Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh, actually spelled TH1RT3EN on the cover. This is an interesting story of a serial killer. We know who the killer is from the beginning, Joshua Kane. A young starlet and her bodyguard are murdered.  Mr. Kane, the real killer, appears in a courtroom not as the person on trial but as a member of the jury! Diabolical huh? The murdered woman's husband, also a major movie star, is the man on trial, fighting for his freedom and the truth. For the defense is attorney Eddie Flynn, the lawyer in charge of making sense of the rock-solid case against his innocent client.

This book moves quickly from high point to high point. There is absolutely no bric-a-brac here. No time is wasted on thinking in the shower or ordering a pizza. If the author writes it, you better pay attention because it is critical to the story and often either action packed or quite shocking. This book is a mystery in that the reader is wondering if the serial killer will be discovered and still a thriller with its breakneck pacing. In addition, there is a large amount of courtroom drama here, if that is not your favorite rest assured it is completely engaging and never EVER dry. This is by far the best legal thriller I've ever read. Filled with flawed characters that the author seems to spend little time developing yet the reader ends up knowing them well. Filled with action, yet lots of behind-the-scenes investigation. Thirteen or TH1RT3EN, is unputdownable from the first sentence to the last.

Wait until I tell hubby, this book puts Perry Mason to shame.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Hello everyone. Hope you are well. Also, hope you have a hot cup of coffee as I have a bit to say today.

I had the world's best parents. Yes, I know it is a bit like saying my kid is the best, when everyone thinks their own child is the most amazing thing on the planet. Honestly, I had great parents. Despite having four kids they were always a couple. Of course, they constantly had their parental hats on, but it was common to walk past the kitchen and see them leaning against the kitchen sink, kissing...in their 50s. We had a finished basement with fireplace and if the mood struck, they'd be slow dancing while the stereo played and fire crackled, often while it snowed outside. How romantic is that? It is with this never-ending love and adoration for my parents that I must tell you about what my father often gave my mother for a gift. Blue eyeshadow. Now, he gave her gifts all the time, brought flowers, etc. But for regular gift giving occasions, Dad couldn't quite figure it out. Sometimes he got it right, but often you'd find him at the drug store buying blue eyeshadow. Now after many years, my mother, having accumulated every shade from Glacier Blue to Night Sky, began to buy her own gifts. She could do anything creative with thread or yarn from sewing our clothes to knitting hats for the homeless and every kind of needlework. Mom would order herself some needlework kits for her birthday and Christmas and call it a day.

Now, I know you are saying this is a book blog and despite the housewife angle this is a bit more off track than normal. But alas, I give you this story as a gift and a warning. The holidays are fast approaching, and you husbands out there may be looking for a gift for your wife, or your secret girlfriend. Often as a gift of last resort, men these days have progressed past the drug store blue eyeshadow to the spa gift certificate. If your wife is a reader, I warn you to avoid this gift at all costs, especially if your wife is a fan of Liane Moriarty.

The new Liane Moriarty book, Nine Perfect Strangers, has so many of the magical traits readers have come to expect in her books. They are so normal, in character and setting. Wives, husbands, neighbors, PTA meetings, neighborhood parks, cookouts...normal everyday things. People that could be any one of us at any time. That is what makes her books so spellbinding, that it could be me...you.... your wife or husband. In Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane takes her characters to a spa. You know I don't restate plots, read the jacket, but it is not your everyday run-of-the-mill spa. Things are a bit rigid and get more so. If you think spas are all relaxation and facials, guess again.  This book gives us the back story of the characters, as always, and brings them together masterfully. However, it has a bit of a thriller edge. I think this makes the pacing of this book faster than her usual stories. The tension is unfurled slowly but steadily, building to a place you won't see coming. As I've said in the past, I have read all Liane Moriarty's books and enjoyed them all, but I think she constantly is improving. This is my favorite and I think her best.

Now back to you husbands, remember, shop early for something your wife actually wants, perhaps a book like Nine Perfect Strangers. For those of you that are naughty with a girlfriend on the side, may I recommend a 10 day stay at a spa.