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.)

The One by John Marrs

Hello everyone. Hope it's been a good day so far.

Do you have some great story about how you met your spouse? Was it super romantic, like something out of a movie?  I met my husband in college. We met in.....ready....ready...in cost accounting class.  Ooooo, sexy. Nothing will make you swoon like debits and credits. Nothing says love like "cost of goods sold". I tease, but am grateful that for whatever reason we were brought together and have been together for decades. What if something had changed?  What if we weren't both in that class, or were in a different school? Would there have been someone else?  Are we destined to have a soulmate or are you compatible with many people?

I recently read, The One by John Marrs. This thriller addresses the issue of a soulmate. A piece of dna has been discovered that can be matched to the person you were meant to be with. It discusses the trouble that match would cause if you were already married to someone else, someone you loved but they weren't The One. Or what if the one was the same sex, but you were heterosexual? What if your match is a horrible person or just lives on the other side of the planet?  This story follows several people and asks some of these questions and more. With each new and old couple we see how this match can ruin their past or possibly make a delightful future. It is well written, fast paced and will sending you thinking of things you've never considered. What would you do? 

For me, I'd kick hubby to the curb in a second. Just kidding, I guess. (Gotta keep him in line in case he reads this.)

Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

Hello everyone. I hope you're having a nice holiday season.

Ever think things are one way but they're actually another?  I'm a fairly good cook and baker, as far as home cooks go.  I usually approach any recipe with confidence. If someone else has made it, certainly I can.  During the last two weeks all I cook or bake turns to to....um...what's a polite way to say it....garbage...but think profanity because that's what I really mean!  I expected a great outcome and was shocked by what I received.

I recently read Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy. This book is full of thinking you're getting one thing but you're actually receiving something totally different. In this thriller, Sam and Annie are newlyweds who have moved to his hometown, setting up his new practice as a psychotherapist. What Sam doesn't know is that the sessions in his home office can be heard upstairs through a vent. Now, as always, I don't want to tell you much and give any of the fun away.  However, I have to tell you that this book made me crazy, in a good way!  There were multiple twists so simple and obvious that sent me flipping back through the book. How could I have overlooked it? The book is written like a magic trick, directing your attention here, while you miss something over there. It was very enjoyable.  

After I read this, I was in the hunt for other readers that had finished this book.  Had they missed the same things I had? Yes.  Will you?

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

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

Do you do goofy stuff to brighten the day? When we were dating my husband used to talk with Mickey Mouse's voice.  My sisters and I text movie lines back and forth, I'll tell you my favorite but if you're easily offended or underage please don't read the next line. "He would have an enormous svanschtooker." "That goes without saying." "He's going to be very popular."  Know what movie it's from?  Just like with the triplets, I'll have to disown you if you don't.  It's from Young Frankenstein. My dad always liked "Stay close to the candles, the staircase can be treacherous."  Also from Young Frankenstein, funny because the candles are unlit.  

I don't want to talk about politics on my blog, but here in the USA it's a mess.  To you around the world, please remember that Americans are different than the government. Also, the virus is spreading like crazy here. A little while ago, the daily amount of people in my state diagnosed with Covid in one day was around 2,000...a horrific number. Today, it was almost 7,500. Absolutely terrifying.  My point in discussing goofy stuff and horrible stuff is that during this difficult time we need as much foolishness as we can get or the bad stuff is overwhelming.

I recently read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. This is the author who has written several best selling books, including A Man Called Ove.  In this novel, a bank robber needs somewhere to go after making their escape. They run into an apartment building, to a unit that is for sale and at the time is having an open house. All the potential home buyers become the robber's hostages. Obviously the robber has issues and secrets but so do the buyers. The characters are very well developed and the reader comes to care for each of them. The story is interesting, sweet and at times will have you thinking twice about several issues. Most importantly this book is funny. Laugh out loud funny, read pages to others funny. Exactly what the world needs right now. You will not be disappointed with Anxious People, it just may help you find your smile.

Anxious People would make a great gift.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

Hello everyone. I hope you and your loved ones are all well.

Have you ever done anything to a family member that perhaps wasn't so nice?  When we were kids, I was fighting over a hula hoop with one of my sisters.  We were each pulling on the opposite side of it, probably rendering it more of a hula oval. Since my sister refused to let go, I did, on purpose. My sister went flying backwards and cut her chin on a metal cabinet (we were in the garage). In fact, she had to have several stitches.  Today, she is a married woman with two children and she still will not let me forget our struggle. In my defense, let me veer a bit off topic and tell you about what kind of a kid she was. When we were on a long car trip, we would define our space in the back seat by ridges stitched into the upholstery.  One time the windows were open, the same sister complained to my mother, that my hair blew into her "airspace". Yes, you read that correctly, apparently, my then eight year old sister thought she was NASA....I invaded her airspace.  Okay, now rethink the hula hoop ordeal, see I'm not the only bratty kid!  We all hurt the people we love. Hopefully it's by accident, but sometimes it is on purpose.

I recently read What Lies Between Us by John Marrs. If you haven't read anything by Mr. Marrs you are missing out. I've read and enjoyed three of his books. This is the story of a mother and daughter. Sounds like it might be sweet and uplifting. It isn't, instead it's dark, twisty and has that wonderful thriller tension. Maggie, the mother, doesn't spend her days vacuuming with pearls on while a pot roast cooks for dinner. Nope, Maggie spends her days locked in the attic, beyond locked she is chained.  Her daughter, Nina, is the person imposing the odd imprisonment. The book surrounds discovering why this odd duo behaves as they do and if it will ever change.  It is a quick, page turning and enjoyable read.  You'll never look at your family in the same way.

Christmas is coming, I wonder if Amazon has hula hoops.