As you've gathered by now, I have a penchant for good mysteries and heard a lot recently about a new author, Rosamund Lupton, and her book Sister: A Novel.
I picked it up on my way to Charlotte for a week off and started it right before I drove back to PA, which was terrible timing! It was such a good book, I had to resist pulling into every rest area to read a chapter.
The story is told through a long narrative from Bee to her sister, Tess, who is missing and then is found dead. The police rule it a suicide, but Bee is convinced that the sister she knew so well would never kill herself. She relentlessly pursues leads and the truth and the reader is taken on a roller coaster as Bee considers and dismisses various suspects.
What was so compelling for me about Sister, is that Lupton combines the art of a great mystery with a story about the misunderstandings and unconditional love among sisters.
Showing posts with label Mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mystery. Show all posts
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Close Your Eyes
Amanda Eyre Ward's books are the kind of stories that I can read in a few days. They pull you along and don't let you put them down. Close Your Eyes was no different.
After her mother is murdered in their home and their father goes to jail, Lauren grows up unable to trust in love and relationships. Meanwhile her brother, Alex, believes in his father's innocence and will not give up proving he did not kill their mother.
As Lauren suffers from panic attacks, she is pulled into the story of her mother's death and eventually we uncover the truth.
After her mother is murdered in their home and their father goes to jail, Lauren grows up unable to trust in love and relationships. Meanwhile her brother, Alex, believes in his father's innocence and will not give up proving he did not kill their mother.
As Lauren suffers from panic attacks, she is pulled into the story of her mother's death and eventually we uncover the truth.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Never Knowing
Chevy Stevens is a new mystery writer who is often recommended to me based on my reading and browsing history on Amazon and other sites, so I was excited to find Never Knowing at the local library.
Stevens is a great mystery writer and I have found her story staying with me for weeks after I completed the novel. I didn't pay too much attention to the plot recap when I picked up the book, so I was a little thrown when I started reading and found that the story is about an adopted woman who searches for her biological mother and then figures out that her father was a serial killer and rapist.
The story is told through a series of therapy sessions in which the adopted woman, Sara, recounts what is happening as she learns the truth and her biological father reaches out to her and she develops a relationship with him in order to help capture and stop him. Riveting and frightening, it was like watching a great episode of Law & Order SVU or Criminal Minds.
I have Stevens' other book, Still Missing on my shelf, but it is written in the same format of therapy sessions, so I feel I need a little more time before picking up a book with such a similar format.
Stevens is a great mystery writer and I have found her story staying with me for weeks after I completed the novel. I didn't pay too much attention to the plot recap when I picked up the book, so I was a little thrown when I started reading and found that the story is about an adopted woman who searches for her biological mother and then figures out that her father was a serial killer and rapist.
The story is told through a series of therapy sessions in which the adopted woman, Sara, recounts what is happening as she learns the truth and her biological father reaches out to her and she develops a relationship with him in order to help capture and stop him. Riveting and frightening, it was like watching a great episode of Law & Order SVU or Criminal Minds.
I have Stevens' other book, Still Missing on my shelf, but it is written in the same format of therapy sessions, so I feel I need a little more time before picking up a book with such a similar format.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Brat Farrar
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey was the book selection for my Charlotte book club. Even though I can no longer attend, I am trying to keep up on the reading. I figure it's a good way to ensure I'm still reading for fun during grad school.
I had not read one of Tey's mysteries before, so I am glad I had this opportunity. Tey wrote most of her novels after WWII, so there is something sweet and innocent about her mysteries compared to today's gore and psychotic crime tales.
Brat Farrar is a young man who is convinced to impersonate the presumed dead Patrick Ashby in order to gain access to his estate. His plans are complicated by Patrick's twin brother as well as his confused and curious sisters and Aunt.
It wasn't hard to figure out the mystery, but it didn't take away from the reading of the novel.
I had not read one of Tey's mysteries before, so I am glad I had this opportunity. Tey wrote most of her novels after WWII, so there is something sweet and innocent about her mysteries compared to today's gore and psychotic crime tales.
Brat Farrar is a young man who is convinced to impersonate the presumed dead Patrick Ashby in order to gain access to his estate. His plans are complicated by Patrick's twin brother as well as his confused and curious sisters and Aunt.
It wasn't hard to figure out the mystery, but it didn't take away from the reading of the novel.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Assorted Mystery Novels
Maybe it was the Stieg Larsson novels or the business of life and relatively mundane projects at work, but I've been consuming mystery novels voraciously as of late.
I started with Benjamin Black's Christine Falls. Black is the pseudonym for John Banville the Booker Prize winning author, so I had high hopes for his mysteries. But Christine Falls felt less like a mystery and more like delving into a strange family history to answer "why". Never are you on the edge of your seat - always a requirement for my favorite mysteries.
After taking Dead Ringer by Lisa Scottoline from my parent's house, I've read another of her mysteries (Lady Killer) and have two more on the shelf. Scottoline's characters are sassy, strong women which makes for fun reading. The first two I read featured Benny Rosato and the associates at her young law firm. It looks like Scottoline took the characters in different directions through four or five books and recently revisited those characters, so there could be more ahead.
Greg Iles' Dead Sleep is our June book club book. It's our departure from our usual literary fiction, but Iles is a great mystery writer and leaves you guessing along the way. Dead Sleep starts with Jordan Glass, a world-renowned photojournalist, happens on an exhibit of a series of paintings known as "The Sleeping Women," she is stunned to discover that one of the models--a nude who, like the other women in the paintings, looks dead rather than asleep--is her twin sister, Jane, who disappeared from her New Orleans home more than a year ago. Jordan becomes involved in the case with the FBI and is even used to lure the killer putting her life in danger.
I started with Benjamin Black's Christine Falls. Black is the pseudonym for John Banville the Booker Prize winning author, so I had high hopes for his mysteries. But Christine Falls felt less like a mystery and more like delving into a strange family history to answer "why". Never are you on the edge of your seat - always a requirement for my favorite mysteries.
After taking Dead Ringer by Lisa Scottoline from my parent's house, I've read another of her mysteries (Lady Killer) and have two more on the shelf. Scottoline's characters are sassy, strong women which makes for fun reading. The first two I read featured Benny Rosato and the associates at her young law firm. It looks like Scottoline took the characters in different directions through four or five books and recently revisited those characters, so there could be more ahead.
Greg Iles' Dead Sleep is our June book club book. It's our departure from our usual literary fiction, but Iles is a great mystery writer and leaves you guessing along the way. Dead Sleep starts with Jordan Glass, a world-renowned photojournalist, happens on an exhibit of a series of paintings known as "The Sleeping Women," she is stunned to discover that one of the models--a nude who, like the other women in the paintings, looks dead rather than asleep--is her twin sister, Jane, who disappeared from her New Orleans home more than a year ago. Jordan becomes involved in the case with the FBI and is even used to lure the killer putting her life in danger.
Steig Larsson Novels
I've become a Stieg Larsson fan in the past few months. I had read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last year and while I enjoyed it, the Swedish politics and economic details were a bit hard to slog through.
However, I liked it enough that when The Girl who Played with Fire came out in paperback I picked it up. I have to say, it was my favorite of the three books (yes, I'm giving it away - I've read the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest). Played with Fire has the quickest pace and the best plot and you learn answers to many of the questions about Lisbeth Salander you had from the first book.
Ending with a cliff hanger seemed so unfair, but it ensured that I was ready to buy the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest as soon as it came out - in hardcover - at the end of May.
Like the first novel, the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest contains a lot of details on Swedish politics and the legal system, yet it's easier to get through as you are pulled along to find out the fate of Salander and Blomkvist.
What makes the novels even more interesting is the after life of Larsson who died before they were published and without a will. Now the only question that remains is, will a fourth novel ever be published.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?scp=1&sq=stieg%20larsson&st=cse
However, I liked it enough that when The Girl who Played with Fire came out in paperback I picked it up. I have to say, it was my favorite of the three books (yes, I'm giving it away - I've read the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest). Played with Fire has the quickest pace and the best plot and you learn answers to many of the questions about Lisbeth Salander you had from the first book.
Ending with a cliff hanger seemed so unfair, but it ensured that I was ready to buy the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest as soon as it came out - in hardcover - at the end of May.
Like the first novel, the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest contains a lot of details on Swedish politics and the legal system, yet it's easier to get through as you are pulled along to find out the fate of Salander and Blomkvist.
What makes the novels even more interesting is the after life of Larsson who died before they were published and without a will. Now the only question that remains is, will a fourth novel ever be published.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?scp=1&sq=stieg%20larsson&st=cse
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson finally came out in paperback and I bought it and quickly consumed it. The second novel in a series of three, was much better than the first one. It moved quickly, was much more suspenseful and intriguing.
You quickly find yourself siding and routing for Lisbeth Salander, even though all evidence suggests that she has murdered two innocent people and one not-so-innocent man. It ends with a cliff-hanger and the hardcover comes out in the US at the end of next month. How tempted am I to pre-order it from Amazon? VERY.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Beekeeper's Apprentice and Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
January was mystery month. It felt like all I wanted to read were mysteries, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I picked up the first of the Laurie Kings Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes book and think I'm hooked. The Beekeeper's Apprentice introduces us to Mary Russell, an orphaned teenager living with her Aunt and how she comes to meet a retired Sherlock Holmes. The pair end up great friends and eventual partners in solving crimes. Now I'm curious to learn how their relationship develops.
I also read the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by C. Alan Bradley and recommended by Nancy Pearl (of Booklust fame). This was the first mystery adventure for pre-teen Flavia du Luce, a British Nancy Drew who makes lots of missteps making her sweet and endearing.
I picked up the first of the Laurie Kings Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes book and think I'm hooked. The Beekeeper's Apprentice introduces us to Mary Russell, an orphaned teenager living with her Aunt and how she comes to meet a retired Sherlock Holmes. The pair end up great friends and eventual partners in solving crimes. Now I'm curious to learn how their relationship develops.
I also read the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by C. Alan Bradley and recommended by Nancy Pearl (of Booklust fame). This was the first mystery adventure for pre-teen Flavia du Luce, a British Nancy Drew who makes lots of missteps making her sweet and endearing.
Friday, October 02, 2009
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson had been on my reading list for a while, but I finally had a chance to read it after borrowing it from a friend.
The book was a little slow getting started, but once it did, it was a great read and a great mystery. The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo includes a decades old murder mystery, family drama, illegal financial dealings and a love story. It also pairs up ladies man Mikael Blomkvist with tatooed punk Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist and Salander are a great pair and I'm anxious to read the next mystery featuring the two of them, The Girl Who Played with Fire.
The book was a little slow getting started, but once it did, it was a great read and a great mystery. The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo includes a decades old murder mystery, family drama, illegal financial dealings and a love story. It also pairs up ladies man Mikael Blomkvist with tatooed punk Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist and Salander are a great pair and I'm anxious to read the next mystery featuring the two of them, The Girl Who Played with Fire.
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