Playing With Myself by Randy Rainbow

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

Today's book deals with several sensitive topics, the author does this with heart and comedy.  If you are politically driven, don't like a raunchy laugh or are easily offended, perhaps skip this review.  I promise to have a delicious thriller up next. 

I recently read Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow.  Randy is a popular personality on YouTube.  He does parody videos with rewritten songs generally from Broadway shows.  He is enormously gifted and if you have a sense of humor, he will brighten your day.  I gave my speech about politics because once Trump became President, his administration was the subject of many videos.  I thought this book would be about how Randy makes those videos, using a green and a computer, and it is, but there is much more substance, which surprised and delighted me.  The book tells the story of when he was a child, figuring out he was gay, eventually telling his parents.  He encounters plenty of mean kids in school, as we all do.  Randy talks about wanting to be a performer but almost falling into his current career.  There are loads of sarcasm, profanity, laughs galore and even a few tears. If you're interested in the people he's met and has worked with, the author does not hold back, naming them all specifically.  He has charming stories about Carol Burnett, who I'm so happy to say is actually due the adoration I've had for her for years.  You'll read about Stephen Sondheim, Steve Martin, Patti LuPone...the list of his admirers is endless and the stories amazing.  Best of all, the reader is treated to a peek into Randy's relationship with his mother, which will make you choked up and smile at the same time. This is a feel-good book you'll be glad you read.

If reading nonfiction isn't your thing, I get it, in general it isn't mine.  At the least do yourself a favor, put away your political affiliation, pull on your big boy/girl pants, and go look up Randy Rainbow on YouTube.  You will be amazed at his talent.

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a fantastic day.

Am I having a fantastic day? Oh gosh, thanks for asking, it's okay.  I'm tired.  I'm always tired. Why?  Because I am a bad sleeper.  There is one person to blame for that and it's not me, it is my mother.  Oh yes, my mother was a saint in most ways except when it came to naps...she insisted on them when I was a kid.  I was the only one of all my friends who had to come inside from playing to take a nap.  I would be over at Laurie's house, playing jump rope with several of the neighborhood girls and my mother would open the door and start yelling, "April, come home, it's time for your nap."  First of all, when you are eight, nothing gets you labeled faster than being called home for any reason other than dinner.  Secondly, I missed out.  Not only did I have to slunk home but I was forced to lie in bed. With the windows open on the glorious play outside kind of day, I had to listen to all my friends continue to have a blast...without me.  It was torture.  Whenever my husband says anything about a nap, to this day, I shoot him a dirty look.  In addition, now I'm a bad sleeper at night.  I hate sleeping and have seen every TV show on at 3 or 4 AM, in fact, I have most of them memorized.  All because of being called home for naps.  

I recently read Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough.  This book was so good, I don't even want to waste the time to tell you what it's about, just go buy it. If you enjoyed Behind Her Eyes, this is even better. Okay, for those wanting a bit more, this is the story of Emma.  Emma is a divorce attorney up for partnership at her firm.  She supports her family, her husband stays home taking care of the house and kids.  Emma is counting down the days to her fortieth birthday, because that's when her mother went mad.  Not just a little crazy, like I'll eat my chicken nuggets with no barbeque sauce crazy, but locked away crazy.  Mom's break with reality started when she couldn't sleep just prior to her birthday, now Emma can't sleep.  No matter what she tries, tea, pills, sleep eludes her.  As the days tick by Emma doubts her sanity, is she sleep deprived or worse.  After all, her mother always told Emma they were exactly alike.

I just don't want to tell you about this book.  It is so good and I would be crushed if I ruined it for you.  In fact, I've got it set aside for hubby to read and it's driving me crazy not talking about it.  Just trust me, if you like thrillers, boy are you in for a wild ride.  This book will keep you up all night in the best way (reading....I mean reading). Let's be honest, you can only watch Frasier reruns so many times.

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

Hello everyone.  I hope you are well.

Spring has sprung here.  I lied, spring has gotten drunk, suffered the hangover, and is resting quietly in a dark room, we have moved right on to summer.  I totally object.  I need at least three months without running heat or air conditioning. Someone ought to call mother nature and tell her that running both the heat and the air conditioning in the same month is unfair.  It plays havoc with my sinus and checkbook.  Why can't it just be pleasant?  While I'm on my soap box and giving my megaphone a workout, I just ordered groceries.  I'm not going to say I passed out, but a bit of hyperventilating was definitely in order, butter is now $7.36 here, lest you think I'm trying to buy an entire cow, no, that is just for one pound.  If you've never made butter, let me flex my housewife muscles, (stop laughing) I've made butter.  Yes, from scratch.  You put heavy cream in a container and shake it.  That's it.  What on earth could make that simple product be over seven bucks?  Honestly.  By the way, we only shook it the first time, every time after we threw the cream in the food processor, pressed the button and viola ...butter.  None of this has anything to do with a book except that relief from my personal butter crisis and the world's bad news has been to read.

I recently read The Resting Place by Camilla Sten.  She is the author of The Lost Village, which I enjoyed. The Resting Place, set in Sweden, follows Eleanor who has face blindness.  One night when going to visit her grandmother, she walks in on her granny, Vivianne, being murdered.  Due to Eleanor being unable to recognize faces she cannot identify the killer, not even their gender.  Eleanor is shocked to find she has inherited a mansion in the country, that she never knew existed and has been empty for the last fifty years.  This massive house comes with acreage, stables, outbuildings, the works.  Eleanor, her boyfriend, aunt, and a lawyer visit the house to inventory all the belongings.  Things start going wrong, odd parts of the house discovered, things are not as they appear.  A snowstorm blows in making roads impassable and being outside for even a minute dangerous. As secrets are revealed the need to run, the urge to leave, is imperative but impossible. 

This story was very entertaining, and I flew through this book.  I very much liked the last Sten book, but this was even better.  The plot was much stronger and the characters were fewer and more well defined.  I loved that nothing could be trusted in this multi-level story.  This was a good time from page one until the very end.

Treat yourself and go get this book, heck it's almost cheaper than butter!

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Hello everyone.  I hope your day has been wonderful.

You'll have to excuse any misspelled words or typos; my hands are frozen.  In the land of housewifery all is not well.  Our hot water heater has a bunch of corrosion on the pipe that exits, bringing steaming hot water to the house...too hot if I'm being honest.  Fortunately, hubby noticed the pipe's decline while spraying for bugs, another wonderful house duty, luckily not mine.  Anyway, getting a plumber in this small town has been like getting a book from Dan Brown, difficult.  They are all so busy, even the guy we always use.  Although hubby swears it isn't necessary, I have been curtailing my use of hot water. Washing dishes in frigid winter water has left me feeling like I have been paddling a boat with my hands in the artic. Yes, we have a fantastic dish washer but some things I don't trust to its practically acid like soap and blasting spray (that's a compliment not a complaint).  Plumbing has nothing to do with today's book, but I just knew you would want to know every single detail about things going on in our basement. Yes, I'm being sarcastic, no I haven't lost all of my mind but I'm working on it, thanks for asking.

I recently read Nine Lives by Peter Swanson. This is the story of nine people who are strangers from all over the country.  Each of these characters receives an envelope with no return address, inside is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, nothing else.  Each recipient has the unfortunate surprise of finding themselves on the list.  Several discard it as junk mail.  Some people think it's a joke.  It becomes clear that the list is trouble once people on the list start being murdered, one by one the list is getting smaller as the FBI races to track down and protect the remaining survivors.

This book is exactly what a thriller should be, full of anticipation, dread, curiosity, and page flipping fun.  This is aided by the fact that this book is told in a unique way.  It is told by a countdown.  Yep, when the next chapter comes you know that someone else will be dead as we count down from the nine strangers. Further, the major twist is something I've never seen done before and I read a ton of thrillers.  Order take-out and ditch Netflix, this book will hold your attention all night.

An evil thought: if you have a book club reading this, it would be so creepy to send them each an anonymous single sheet of paper with all their names on it.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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

I think I might be a homebody.  When I look back at my parents' scrapbooks, they traveled all the time.  In fact, we frequently went on vacations when I was a kid.  My maternal grandparents were the traveling champions!  First, they went to Hawaii every year, usually around my birthday.  It was the only available time originally, then it got to be a running joke, they'd call from the pool to wish me Happy Birthday in freezing cold upstate New York. They went to what seemed like every country: in England they met Lord Mountbatten, in Spain (which they adored) they learned to flamenco dance and nearly drove my parents crazy bringing home castanets for all four of us kids, in Alaska they lead a group jumping out of a helicopter onto an iceberg, in Paris they bought watercolors of the Eifel tower, they soaked up all the sun in Acapulco leaving none for anyone else.  They went to many other countries and loved all the wonderful people they met.  Yes, my grandparents lived remarkable lives, in part because of their excitement for meeting other people and learning about their cultures.  I wish I was like them.  Well, I would love to go everywhere, especially the middle east, Egypt, etc.  As a history lover those areas are fascinating. Sadly, I am a terrible traveler.  As soon as I finish the cup of coffee I've brought with me to sip on in the car, I'm whining about aren't we there yet.  Yup, that's my tolerance length, one cup of coffee. Then, while away, I worry about things at home.  Yes, I'm a homebody and hate it.

I recently read The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley.  This is the story of a woman, Jess, who travels to Paris looking for a break, perhaps a fresh start.  She decides to stay with her brother, Ben, who is already there.  Jess is disappointed when Ben isn't home to meet her when she arrives but she's worried when he doesn't turn up the next day.  Ben's apartment is in a beautiful old building, that had once been a large house. His neighbors are less than helpful when Jess inquires about her lost brother.  Something is wrong and she is convinced they are hiding secrets. 

If you liked Lucy Foley in the past, I doubt you will be disappointed.  While there are several characters that you have to keep track of, the residents of the building, it becomes easy very quickly as the characters are well defined. I suppose the story might have been a smidge shorter, but the book is a quick read and remains interesting throughout. While this fun book has many twists, I'm proud to say I guessed one of the major surprises. The other twists, I missed completely.  If you can't travel to Paris, this might be a fun escape.

Hubby told me to end this by saying "arrivederci." He thinks he's funny and knows that's Italian not French. I might be saying "au revoir" to him soon!

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone. I hope your day is going well.

Would you ever cheat on your spouse?  I wouldn't.  Let's face it, I'm too lazy.  First, there is all the prep, the scrubbing and shaving, the makeup and clothes.  Then the actual act, the "ow, not there" or "get off my hair."  Then there is the hiding it and the eventual guilt.  I'm a huge feeler of guilt, half the time for stuff I didn't even do.  Yep, an affair just seems exhausting.  When my husband makes a totally male comment about some girl, I tell him "ahhh go ahead but make sure she cooks dinner before she leaves, and a load of laundry wouldn't hurt."  Honestly, I'm starting to think my attitude toward affairs should be on stage in the Catskills.  (look up Concord hotel)

I recently read The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  This is maybe my fourth book by the dynamic duo and it fits right in with their twisty thriller resume.  This is the story of a wealthy couple, Marissa and Matthew.  At first you believe they have the perfect, fairytale life.  As so often is the case with psychological thrillers, things are not what they seem. Marissa has had an affair and wants to inform her husband of her infidelity.  Marissa wants to do this in the presence of another, specifically a counselor.  Hmmm.  Why must another person be a witness to such a sensitive issue?  The therapist, Avery, has some rather unconventional methods and has, in fact, recently lost her license.  As the trio work through the issues of being unfaithful more secrets are brought to the surface, some that should have stayed hidden.

This book is exactly what you expect from Hendricks and Pekkanen, twisty, shocking, intense, and a page turner.  What else is there to say?  As usual, a great read.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

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

Do you have a hobby?  Reading, I suppose.  My husband has the worst hobby, model *!@#$ trains!  Oh yes, you heard me correctly, you read the implied curse word.  I meant every upper number key stroke too! First of all, let's face it....they are trains, that is strike one.  Two, they are super expensive, his train money I could use for my cool hobbies, like reading or paper crafting.  Third strike, they take an enormous amount of room.  Again, room I could be using for some other purpose.  In addition, those rail riders have dictated every house we can buy as we must have a large third floor or room over garage. So young parents, when your child wants a Thomas the Tank toy, I beg of you....run.

I recently read The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James.  I've read two other books by her, The Broken Girls, which I loved, and The Sun Down Motel, which I didn't.  My issue with The Sun Down Motel is that as with both earlier books and the current offering, there is a mystery to be solved and something spooky. In The Sun Down Motel, there was just too little of each for me and I guessed the ending during the first ten minutes.  So, I was apprehensive but hopeful going into The Book of Cold Cases.  My faith has been restored as I liked this book very much, it might even be my favorite of St. James', which is saying something since I really enjoyed Broken Girls.  

The Book of Cold Cases basically revolves around two people, Shea and Beth.  Shea is a blogger whose hobby is running a true crime website called The Book of Cold Cases.  Beth is a rich socialite, who lives in the same town. Beth had once been on trial for three murders, one of which was her own father.  After a chance meeting Beth decides it is finally time to tell the truth and get everything out in the open and decides Shea is just the person to help her. The story is told from both characters' perspectives, with Beth's being both current day and from her childhood.  While Shea is at Beth's elaborate mansion on several occasions for interviews, she begins to notice all is not right with the house.  Beth hides nothing and invites Shea to explore the building that seems every bit as alive as they are.  

This story is a breeze to read, the writing solid and plot clear.  This time St. James has a mystery you won't figure out and a house that will truly have you listening for noises at night.  If you are new to this author but liked the style of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and enjoy haunted house author Darcy Coates, this book will be one of your new favs.

I wonder how many model trains Beth's house would hold?