The Kingdom of Savannah by George Dawes Green

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

I have a soft spot in my heart for Savannah.  If you are not from the US, Savannah is an old city in Georgia.  I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, when it first came out.  My niece went to the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).  They appreciated her talents, which are unending.  When traveling to Disney World, we would spend the night in Savannah as it's a hefty drive from home yet not exhausting.  Years ago, my parents went to the city for several days, doing the whole tourist thing, and loved it.  Most importantly, we had a beloved dog named Savannah, one of the sweetest Scottish Terriers ever.  Yep, I definitely have a soft spot.

I recently read The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green.  I've never read anything by him before but he's quite famous. He wrote the award winning The Caveman's Valentine, which went on to become a movie with Samuel L. Jackson.  He also wrote The Juror, which was an international bestseller and also became a movie, featuring Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin.  I have been missing out. 

The Kingdoms of Savannah is about a woman that disappears and a man that is found dead.  Looking into these ominous events is the Musgrove family.  The matriarch is a bit of an investigator and her children have varying degrees of career sucess, lending their talents toward a solution.  The book features tons of characters as we are introduced to many citizens of Savannah.  Still the reader quickly catches on that while they add to the story, the only characters you really must keep track of are the Musgroves with a couple of exceptions.  While the public image, and certainly my image, of Savannah is mint julips in sizable stately old homes, this story explores another side.  Green expertly shows us the dark side, the forgotten people, the marginalized.  Does it preach about topics, no.  It does, however, have a dark, gritty feeling.  Atmosphere is a huge part of the story, and it is remarkably well done without "it was a dark and stormy night" type of descriptions. The story was involved yet easy to follow and kept me interested the entire way.  A great read that will linger for weeks to come and may have you calling your travel agent.  Have a mint julep for me.

All I Want by Darcey Bell

Hello everyone.  I hope you're safe and warm.

So today, ladies and gents I want to talk to you about a horror story.  A truly scary topic, you may want your children to leave the room.  Ready, wait, are you seated?  Okay.., house prices.  Oh yes, I dared, I "went there".  Now that I have it out in the open, I feel so much better.  House prices in the United States have gone absolutely berserk!  Now, for selling my house, I, of course, welcome a high house price.  But how dare other house sellers want me to pay ridiculous prices for what amounts to a two-car garage.  Not even living over the "gay-raage" Sabrina style.  I'm talking almost $800,000 for less than 2,000 square feet, in some cases just two bedrooms.  And you house lovers please enlighten me about the current trend of NO DINING ROOM?  What numskull thought that was a good idea?  Don't people know I've got my grandparents china that is begging to be used.  No matter how you dress it up, fine, heirloom china and silver just doesn't work when you're eating in the kitchen, where dirty dishes abound, and the ice maker rumbles...there is no decorum.  Our old house days are done (after our current), but a Victorian house always has a stunning dining room.  Yup, they sure could make 'em back then and for less than a gazillion dollars too.

I recently read All I Want by Darcey Bell.  She is the author of A Simple Favor, which I read and enjoyed.  This time the story is about Emma and Ben.  They live in NYC, where Ben produces Broadway shows and Emma is pregnant with their first child.  Ben finds a great house at a cheap price (picture me rolling my eyes with jealousy).  The house is an old elaborate Victorian in the Catskills, it has a sorted past due to its large size.  Ben and the realtor convince Emma that this would be a great place to raise their child.  The purchase is made, a restoration contractor is hired.  Everything seems to be going as planned until Ben starts spending more time on his new show in the city and odd things start happening to Emma, now alone at their mansion.

This quick hit book of just over two hundred and fifty pages, is fun.  While it doesn't feature things jumping out at you, it definitely has the reader waiting for what's around each corner.  I thought I had it figured out, but on the very last page there is another twist and I discover I was wrong. I love when the author fools me.

If you want Shakespeare or a slasher movie....I mean book...this isn't for you.  If you want a quick hit of spooky, gotcha fun, this fits the bill.  Just the thing to keep you occupied during that next snowstorm.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

Do you have siblings?  I find them very odd, in sooo many ways!  It is weird to have someone share your DNA but be completely different people.  We have shared memories but then branched out into our own lives.  I think my experience may be different from many people's as my sisters are triplets.  They have a unique bond I don't share.  Many years ago, lotto was really big and my husband was going to buy a "family" ticket.  He called each of the trips to have them give him a number, they all gave the same one! They seem to have a sense of each other's welfare despite living hundreds of miles apart.  I told you they were odd!

I recently read The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth. This author also wrote The Mother-In-Law, which I enjoyed.  This new book is the story of twin sisters who grow up in less than ideal circumstances. Fern, is now a librarian, and is sensitive to too many stimuli.  Rose, an interior designer for businesses, has always acted as Fern's protector.  Sadly, Rose discovers that she is unable to have a baby so Fern decides to get pregnant and give the baby to Rose since she has been her lifelong champion and beloved sister.

This book is very much like The Mother-In-Law, it is an interesting story...to start.  Just as we are engaged and feel we really know the characters the author starts throwing in subtle hints that perhaps something is not right.  Slowly the delightful storyline is in doubt.  Can we believe anything we read?  Then those hints that things aren't as they should be turn into all out twists as the world she has created for the reader falls completely apart.  This book was very enjoyable, especially as I've become more familiar with Sally Hepworth's plotting style.

I'm gonna start sending the triplets a mental image and see if they pick up on it.  "Send me a book....send me a book!"  

The Last Word by Timothy Moonlight

Hello everyone.

My dad passed away several years ago. He was a fantastic father, the best!  I feel sorry for all of you, that you didn't have my dad as your father. I could tell you about him for days.

My dad worked as a contract negotiator between a major technology company and the federal government.  He was really good at it. My husband jokes that when my dad would go to buy a new car the salesman would see a mild mannered guy not knowing what he did for a living. The car dealer didn't stand a chance!  One thing my father was not good at was technology, funny considering where he worked. His company tried to get him to use a computer, he refused, preferring a legal pad and pencil. They even sent him to computer classes, he failed. Finally they gave up, buying him a case of legal pads. Thank goodness he was a great negotiator.

I recently read The Last Word by Timothy Moonlight. The book is labeled a techno thriller, which I completely agree with but I think this story would really hold the interest of sci-fi lovers as well. The novel opens with Claire Bigsby at her father, Jack's funeral. Jack had been the founder of an extremely successful technology company called InfiniTech. As Claire tries to come to terms with her loss, odd things begin happening. There is an involved, twisty, plot that the leads the reader to new discoveries around every corner. The author includes interesting characters, good and bad, that will have you rooting for some and cursing the others.

The writing is strong and the pacing steady as mysteries are revealed. While every author has their own style, Mr. Moonlight writes in a very meticulous manner which serves him well especially in action scenes. The end leaves the reader surprised and satisfied. The Last Word is due to be released on August 23rd and is currently available to pre-order on Amazon. This would be a great way to start your fall.

After reading about all this technology I'm going to buy a big box of number 2 pencils.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Hello everyone.

I know I've told you that I have three sisters, younger sisters they would point out. Have I ever told you that they are triplets? They arrived in a world long, long ago...picturing Star Wars opening text scrolling away from me...when multiple births other than twins were highly unusual. No fertility drugs, just bad luck or good luck, depending on if they are driving me crazy or not. My parents wanted a boy, don't ask my why as boys are such problems!  They had me. They tried again and had triplet girls, they quit having kids.

Triplets were so unusual at the time, their birth was featured in the newspaper. I remember the press photographer coming to the house to take photos for the article. At first my mother was told she was going to have twins, so my parents had purchased two of everything. Businesses in the small town I grew up in made a big fuss, delivering a third of everything as a gift. My parents were even given free diaper service. For you youngsters, this is the time of cloth diapers. This is gross, but you likely don't know, with cloth diapers you actually rinse them by hand...BY HAND in the toilet, then wash. In my parent's case, they set aside the toilet water rinsed, wet and smelly diapers for the service to pick up and launder. That is a smell I will NEVER forget. Ick. Aren't you so glad you signed on today? And to think all you wanted was to hear if a book sucks or not.

Yes, having triplets in the family, especially when it was unusual, was a different experience. They would be noticed everywhere, people would come to our table at restaurants asking about them. Strangers would always say "you must be so happy being the big sister."  I should have asked them if they ever smelled dirty diapers times three! Bless my parents, I don't know how they did it. In later years, I remember my dad fake complaining about trying to get in the bathroom and it being a blur of mascara wands. Needless to say, he really loved it. He was a great Dad. I can still see him pushing a stroller with three seats across. Frankly, I think he was proud as could be.

Speaking of babies in strollers, I recently read a great book called Little Darlings by Melanie Golding. This story is part thriller, part mystery with a bit of horror thrown in for good measure. Lauren and Patrick have just had twin sons, Riley and Morgan. One night in the hospital Lauren meets a creepy, insistent woman with two children who wants to swap babies. The next day, the odd lady is gone and the staff maintains they know nothing about this unusual patient.  After it happens repeatedly and the strange woman actually physically grabs Lauren, the police are involved. Even after Lauren takes her new children home, the strange woman reappears. But being a new mom, under stress and completely exhausted, Lauren quickly becomes an unreliable narrator and the reader doesn't know who to believe, especially when the police woman working on the case finds evidence that Lauren might be telling the truth. This becomes even more complicated when Lauren falls asleep while resting after pushing a double stroller through a riverside park. She wakes to find the babies and stroller missing. The children are quickly found, still in the stroller,  looking the same and unharmed but the new mom knows they are not her children.

This story is creepy, atmospheric, and engaging from page one. It moves quickly to a satisfying end staying on topic the whole way, making the book impossible to put down. While I think many of us love psychological thrillers this one may hit home with more people. Thankfully, not many of us have a spouse that kills for sport but oh so many readers are new moms, full of doubt, questions and very low on sleep. This book plays on all those experiences that are so common making this story one to really send a shiver up your spine.

If you are ready for a twisty, suspenseful read, this is a great one. If you are about to deliver your own little bundle of joy, don't pack Little Darlings in your hospital bag.

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

Hello everyone.

If my spelling is off today, it is not really my spelling...well it could be, but I'm sticky. Why you ask? I did something housewifey today. I made flakey pastries with a chocolate cream filling, golden brown topped with a light dusting of confectioners' sugar. They are tasty and pretty but seems like a lot of work for something that will be gone so quickly. Although if I think what I'd pay for something like it in a store or coffee shop, hmmm, I guess the stickiness is worth it. It was a nice surprise for hubby too, who is working from home this afternoon. Speaking of hubby, this is the second and last of his reviews for the moment. He read and loved Transcription by Kate Atkinson. When I read him the plot, he was all in and dove into the book the second it arrived, not putting it down until it was over.

His thoughts:

Although the title suggests a somewhat mundane activity, typewriter keys drumming an erratic song as voices resonate from earphones, the assignment only begins that way. Set against a backdrop of the early days of England ’s entrenchment in World War II, the MI5 job suddenly casts a large shadow. The eavesdropping heroine of our tale is neither saddled with an escape-worthy past nor endowed with extreme talents. This everywoman quality makes it a comfortable fit for the reader to hear both her catty thoughts about a coworker one moment and tensely follow a flashback as duty tested her bravery and patriotic dedication to her newfound craft. Immersive and spanning a decade in the environs of London, the story will leave the reader pondering the character’s post-novel life, proof of a good tale. Mid-century and espionage fans will want to listen along with Miss Armstrong.      

Well there you have it, hubby read two books about spies and loved them both. I'll make a reader of him yet....picture Scarlet O'Hara in the scene with the orange sky where she says "As God is my witness I'll never be hungry again." If you have any suggestions about what to tempt him with now, let me know. Next time you are back to boring old me y'all.

The Silent Patient

Hello everyone.

I hope you are enjoying the winter weather and not too snow bound. Last time I was talking about the big storm that was coming and how my sister in upstate NY was due for something like eighteen inches. I admitted I was a little bit evil because I had a smirk on my face while writing about it. Hey, my family teases me about moving south when I complain about the humidity, fair is fair. Only I guess it isn't really. My sister slid while walking on the ice and really hurt her knees, like x-rays and Cortisone shots under both kneecaps hurt. Rrrrr, gives me the willies just thinking about it. Thankfully for her, she is much stronger than I am. Anyway, now I feel terrible, like a horrible rotten person. We were supposed to get a little ice and snow but had pouring rain and bad wind for a couple of hours, that was it. Just enough to make everything in our old house creak and groan, especially as the temperature dropped and the wood shrank. It was both creepy and annoying. I swore I heard dripping on the third floor, in the storage-rafters part. Of course I woke up hubby and sent him from bed to literally crawling all over to find no dripping. Phew, I would rather be wrong on that issue!

While all this "weather" was going on last weekend and we were hunkered down, I finished a book. I received an arc of The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides from Celadon Books. It is available for pre-order and is released February 5, 2019. You all have busy lives so I'll cut to the chase, it was great, I loved it. See ya later!

Okay, just kidding. Figures huh, spend 45 minutes yammering on about the weather and family issues and one sentence about the book. Seriously, this is my favorite, a thriller. A husband and wife seem like everything is fine, one day she shoots him in the face several times, killing him. Then she never speaks again. Instead of jail she is in an institution. The story is told as a new doctor arrives and is very interested in this silent patient's case and is determined to help her. Now you mystery and thriller readers will agree that when you read a lot of these types of books you think you can beat the author, figure out the "who dun it" or the big twist. Sometimes we get it right, which is fine if you enjoy the story. Sometimes, however, the author shocks you and you, as the reader, are wrong. This story has an enormous twist, HUGE, as I am ashamed and delighted to tell you I didn't see it coming. I've been trying to get hubby to read it. I'm wondering if I missed signs, was this twist obvious? But I keep telling myself that I have read so many thrillers I would have seen it coming. Nope, boys and girls, you can cross the butler off your list in this one, he definitely didn't do it.  You've got to love when a book can make you gasp out loud and that is what this one did.

One more thing, I hate medical stuff so the title had me a little leery, but rest assured that is not an issue here at all. Also, know that this book is nicely paced and certainly keeps you turning pages before and after the "gasp". Get ready for February 5th, see if you figure it out!

The Red Ledger Reborn by Meredith Wild

I was lucky to receive an advanced copy of The Red Ledger Reborn by Meredith Wild. I had never heard of this title or author. Upon receiving this book I googled Meredith and found some very interesting things. First, I don't think this is the first novel in what appears to be a series. It does not matter, this book stands on its own. Next, I discovered an interesting story about the author. It seems she usually writes romance and used to self-publish. Apparently finding it difficult to get books into brick-and-mortar stores, she started her own publishing house.

Good for you, Meredith Wild, and good for Waterhouse Press (her publishing brand). I so adore when someone hits a wall and can't find a way around, then blasts through to make their own door, saying "Take that, book world!" Now I'm intrigued. So I start the novel the author classifies as suspense. Thriller, suspense, tomato, toe-maato. Right from the beginning...(I'm smiling here because it has an usual beginning that I desperately want to tell you, but I won't, it's too good not to read for yourself)...right from the beginning I'm hooked.

The story is about a hitman who is about to kill a young woman who is his target, but he realizes that she knows him. Some parts of his memory are unclear so he wonders if her knowledge would help him, but then again he does have this "job" to do. I don't want to say more.  Know that the book moves quickly, stays on topic, is well written and is pleasant and interesting reading. One thing that might annoy readers is that this narrative alternates back and forth, being told from the perspective of each of the two main characters, Isabel and Tristan. Frankly, it didn't bother me in the least and I really found it a helpful way of telling the story. I found myself looking forward to the perspective change so I would know what the other character was thinking. A very enjoyable book, indeed.

I want to thank Meredith Wild, Waterhouse Press and Bookish First for the copy of this great novel. It will be released on August 7, 2018 and is available for PRE-ORDER NOW.  I'm heading to the bookstore myself. I want to read everything else Meredith has written!