Gideon's Corpse by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Authors: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Audiobook: Hachette Audio
Date of publication: January 2012


A top nuclear scientist goes mad and takes an innocent family hostage at gunpoint, killing one and causing a massive standoff.
A plume of radiation above New York City leads to a warehouse where, it seems, a powerful nuclear bomb was assembled just hours before.
Sifting through the evidence, authorities determine that the unthinkable is about to happen: in ten days, a major American city will be vaporized by a terrorist attack.
Ten days. And Gideon Crew, tracking the mysterious terrorist cell from the suburbs of New York to the mountains of New Mexico, learns the end may be something worse--far worse--than mere Armageddon. 

Gideon's Corpse is the second in the Gideon Crew series by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.  Autumn and I both reviewed the first one, Gideon's Sword, last year.   The second book in a series can always be iffy for me, especially if I really liked the first one.  While I didn't love Gideon's Corpse, I still thought it was an enjoyable book.

This one picks up right where the first one left off.  Gideon is asked to try to talk a former colleague out of a hostage situation.  When that goes badly, he finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plot with only 10 days to stop it.  The mystery of who is trying to start a war on American soil was pretty good.  With a couple of possibilities on the table, I wasn't truly sure who was behind it. There were also a few twists that I liked.  Gideon's Corpse also has some great action scenes that helped to build the tension.

Gideon is pretty much the same in this book.  He is still good looking, a great liar and master of disguise. The thing that appeals to me most about Gideon is that he isn't the perfect alpha male.  He just seems real and is a pretty nice guy.  He has flaws and messes up all the time.  He even has an unknown amount of time left to live.  The blockage in his brain could burst at any time.  What I would love to see is for him to find a girlfriend.  So far, his track record hasn't been that great.  One thing that did bother be about the book is that the "romance" in the book felt forced and probably could have been left out.

I listened to the audio and I enjoyed the narrator. As in the first book, this one ends with a clue as to the next of Gideon's adventures.  I look forward to seeing what trouble he can get into next!

Lethal By Sandra Brown

Author: Sandra Brown
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Audiobook: Hachette Audio
Date published: September 2011

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

Lethal is the latest offering from Sandra Brown.   This was a great book! The story had me riveted from the beginning.  Ms. Brown keeps you guessing throughout the entire book.  I wasn't sure who to trust and what to believe. The mystery was fast paced and well thought out. The twist in the reveal was such a surprise and I love that in a book, as you all know!  There are some humorous situations that help to break up the intensity of the story. The characters were so well written and likeable.  I liked Coburn the most.  He is a gruff, jaded and tells it like it is.  Honor is a great match for him and the perfect person to break through his rough exterior.  I loved reading his reactions to 4YO Emily.  That little girl could melt anyone's heart.  

I'm going to admit this book loses a star for me because of the ending. Other people thought that it was satisfying, but I felt totally cheated and left hanging.  I went through the entire adventure and I want my HEA.  Once you read it, you will understand what I mean.

The audio is narrated by Victor Slezak.  I have heard him on other audiobooks and have always enjoyed his performance.   Even thought I hated the ending, I definitely recommend this one.  Who knows? Maybe you will love it.

Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Authors: Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
Narrator: Henry Levya
Publisher: Hachette Book Group (September 2011)
Audio version by Hachette Audio

1200 years ago, during the Age of Chaos, life as people knew it was nearly annihilated by hatred, ambition, zealotry and war. From the aftermath of near destruction rose a message of hope through the establishment of a new order-one which elevated knowledge and control above the volatility of emotion and expression. No more would the world suffer the effects of malice, greed or passion. Strong, mitigating emotion exists only in historical memory...

After happening upon an ancient journal through strange circumstance, Rom's world is shattered. He learns that humanity long ago ceased to feel any emotion besides pain, that it exists today in a living death. In a terrible risk, Rom exposes himself to the vial of blood folded into the old leather of the journal. His change is fearful and fraught with mind-bending emotion. A once-pious observer of the Order's passionless statues, he is filled with uncontrollable impulses. He is filled with love.

He is undone, terrified, and alone in the dead world.

The problem with reading the first book in a series right when it comes out, instead of waiting for the entire series, is that you have to wait so long for the next book.  I have no patience when it come to this! I can't wait until the next book come out.  I want to know what happens next!  I really, really enjoyed this book.  Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee make a great team!  Forbidden takes you into a future where people are ruled by fear and no other emotion. Peace has been found through the Order, but at what price? Rom stumbles upon a secret that will change everything for him and the rest of the world.

Forbidden was a nice change of pace for me. Having read a few YA dystopian books in the past couple of weeks, I was growing a bit tired of the "teen saves the world" story line. It was nice to read about some adults for a change.  The characters in this book are very well fleshed out.  I felt like I got to know them fairly well.  I loved Rom and Avra.  That moment when they realize they have been in love for a very long time, yet just couldn't feel...it was priceless.

There was enough science mixed with mythology and fantasy to keep me interested throughout the book.  I don't want to say too much about the plot, because I think it would ruin it for you. I will tell you that there is a mix of some humor as well as a few heart wrenching scenes.  Heart wrenching enough to make me tear up as I listened to the audio at work.  I credit the excellent writring as well as the excellent narration by Henry Leyva for this.  I recognized Mr. Leyva's from another Ted Dekker book, The Priests' Graveyard, which I reviewed  a while back.

Forbidden is a wild ride, but so worth the trip!

-Kari

To Be Sung Underwater

by:  Tom McNeal
published by:  Little, Brown & Co.
publish date:  June 2, 2011

Judith Whitman always believed in the kind of love that "picks you up in Akron and sets you down in Rio." Long ago, she once experienced that love. Willy Blunt was a carpenter with a dry wit and a steadfast sense of honor. Marrying him seemed like a natural thing to promise.

But Willy Blunt was not a person you could pick up in Nebraska and transport to Stanford. When Judith left home, she didn't look back.

Twenty years later, Judith's marriage is hazy with secrets. In her hand is what may be the phone number for the man who believed she meant it when she said she loved him. If she called, what would he say?

I haven't read anything by Tom McNeal before, but from now on he will be on my list of authors to watch for.  I absolutely adored To Be Sung Underwater.  I had the audiobook going in my car and I couldn't wait to get in my car to hear more of this story.   The reader did an awesome job.

The story is told in alternating time periods.  It goes back and forth between teenage Judith and present day, married Judith.  In the beginning I didn't particularly car for the present day Judith, I only wanted to hear teenage Judy's story.  After awhile, I accepted you couldn't have one without the other.  Once Judith left for college, I didn't even want to know the teenager anymore.  I so despised her.   As you can tell my feelings for Judith were all over the place. 

The thing that remained constant was my affection for Willy.   He was a good man, but he just wasn't good enough.  He might have provided for Judith, but he would have tied her down.   I felt really bad for the woman who eventually became his wife, to always live in that shadow and know it.

This book has one of my new favorite passages:  "For you, I was a chapter--a good chapter, maybe, or even your favorite chapter, but still, just a chapter--and for me, you were the book."  It was heartwrenching!

Adrenaline

by:  Jeff Abbott
published by:  Grand Central Publishing
publish date:  July 1, 2011

Sam Capra—Brilliant CIA agent, loving husband, soon-to-be father—loses everything that matters to him in a horrifying moment in London. An unknown enemy has set him up as a traitor. However that enemy has targeted the wrong man. Escaping from the CIA, Sam goes on a desperate hunt for the killer who stole his family and to save his kidnapped wife and child. But the destruction of Sam's life was only step one in an extraordinary plot—and now Sam must become a new kind of hero.

This was one of my favorite audiobooks this year.  It was an excellent action thriller.  Adrenaline is the perfect title for this book because it was non-stop from page one. 

Kevin Collins was the narrator for this audiobook and he did a fantastic job.  He really captured all the intensity that this book was holding in.  I found myself driving slow everywhere I went so I could listen to this longer because I would be hanging on the edge of my seat.  There was never a good place to stop listening because it always sounded like it was on the verge of something explosive happening. 

The story was great.  It had some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting.  It was one of those books where I was talking back to it in disbelief.  I looks like this is the first in a series so I can't wait to read the next one!

Silver Girl

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Reagen Arthur Books


Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.


Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Kari's thoughts:

I had to take a few days to think about this one.  I have come to the conclusion that this one just OK for me. I will be giving it 2 stars on Goodreads.  I'm not sure I can totally pinpoint why I didn't care for it.  I think it came down to the characters.  None of them appealed to me.  I didn't like Meredith at all.  I didn't feel badly for her situation one bit. Nobody can be that blind for 30 years. I wasn't even really convinced that she had changed that much in the end.  I also didn't care for Constance.  She could have made more of an effort to get back with her daughter, but instead she chose to wallow in self pity.  To me, Toby was the most honest of the 3 of them. But, he was almost felt like an after thought.  Like there was a need for a romance for Meredith, so let's bring back the old boyfriend.  I didn't buy it.

The other problem I had with the book was the pacing.  All of the inner reflection and remembering the past slowed down the book for me.  It was too long and probably could have been cut down a bit.    Personally, I don't think you will be missing anything if you skip this one.  I haven't read anything else by this author, but Autumn tells me her earlier works are good.  I'll have to pick one of those up!

Autumn's Thoughts:

I'm somewhat torn on this one.  I don't think I disliked it as much as Kari.  However, I don't think I liked it as much as The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.  One of the things that I will say that I disliked about this one was all the references to designers, clothing, shoes, furniture, etc.  I guess that's supposed to appeal to the chick-lit readers, but it started to annoy me.  I don't know designers, I don't know what it looks like, especially things that are going to appeal to 50 year old billionaire women.

Overall, I think this book was supposed to be sort of like taking a look at all these "Bernie Madoff" type scandals from the wife's point of view.  Sometimes the family are just innocent bystanders.   I didn't totally hate Meredith, but I thought she was kinda being a baby at times.  There was such harping on how incredibly intelligent she was, but I felt like she was kind of lazy.  She could have done more to make something of herself, by herself.   I wanted to like Connie, but she started to aggravate me too.  If she wanted her daughter back, I would think that after two years you would get up off your ass and go visit her and apologize in person.   I really hope I'm raising my daughters to be tougher, more self-sufficient women than these two.

What I did like, and what I like about other works from Elin Hildebrand are all her descriptions of Nantucket and what a lovely place it is.  It always makes me want go buy a house on an island.

I also want to mention that we both listened to the audiobook.  I don't think either of us were thrilled with the narrators.  They weren't completely awful to the point you couldn't listen to it, but they weren't awesomely fantastic either.  However, I do want to thank Hachette Audio for providing the copy I listened to.

Audiobook Review and Giveaway: The Reversal by Michael Connelly

by:  Michael Connelly

published by:  Hachette Audio 

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change sides and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder.

After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

Just upon opening this audiobook I was impressed.  It contains 10 CDs of the audiobook.  1 MP3 disc of the book and another MP3 disc of a second book The Brass Verdict.  You're kinda getting 3 books in one.  I personally really like the MP3 discs for in the car.  My car stereo reads that kind of disc so I don't have to keep changing the disc.  It's very handy.

The reader for this audiobook, Peter Giles, initially grated on my nerves.  He was overly intense.  He kinda reminded me of the "Sunday Sunday Sunday" guy on a monster truck commercial.  I stuck with it though and I'm glad I did.  After awhile I got used to the reader's intensity and got into the story. 

I thought this was a very well written story.  I haven't read anything by this author before, but I definitely will in the future.   If you like legal procedurals this one was perfect.  It focused a lot on the particulars of the proceedings which was somewhat unique in legal dramas. 

Thanks to the awesome people at Hachette Audio I can giveaway 2 copies of this fantastic audiobook.  To enter the giveaway just leave a comment below with a valid email address.  If you would like an extra entry you can Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc. just leave a link to the share in a separate comment to let me know where you spread the word.   I'll randomly draw winners on December 14.  US addresses only and NO P.O. Boxes please!

The Island - audiobook

by:  Elin Hildebrand
published by:  Regan Arthur Books

Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance.


When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

I've never read anything by Elin Hildebrand before and I'm clearly missing out on something.  I won the audiobook of The Island recently.  I absolutely loved it.  I'd have to put this up there with the best books I've read this year.  I have The Castaways around here and it got move up near the top of the TBR Pile after reading this one. 

The story was great.  I loved it.  I loved all four of the women.  They were every woman in different ways and they all dealt with things that all women deal with at some point in their lives.  The island setting was perfect.  They were stuck with each other until their problems got resolved.  I loved the idea of Tuckernuck.  I want to go there, but apparently it's pretty hard to get there.

The audiobook reader, Denice Hicks, was awesome!  I loved the way she portrayed their emotions.  There were times I'd say "Oh Hank" or "Barrett!" to myself and she'd say it the same way.  I'll be on the lookout for more audiobooks read by her for sure.

The Postcard Killers: Review and Giveaway

By:  James Patterson and Liza Marklund (not her website, but the best I could find)

NYPD detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him—he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each café through the eyes of his daughter's killer.

Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders, other than a postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim.

Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter Dessie Larsson, who has just received a postcard in Stockholm—and they think they know where the next victims will be.

I received the audiobook from Hachette Audio for review.  I was very excited.  I like a good serial killer thriller.  This one did not disappoint! 

I thought the story was quite good.  The characters were pretty interesting and engaging.  I would find myself sitting in the car in the driveway waiting for the chapter to end before I went inside.  I think that's the sign of a good book!  (in audio form anyway!)

In terms of the audiobook, I thought it was very well done.  The readers, there were three of them in this case, were excellent.  I recognized one of the men, but I couldn't place him.  I think he might have read The Poe Shadow, I'll have to look that up.  The female reader was quite good I thought (loved her accent), but she made Dessie always sound exasperated.  My one tiny gripe were the few sound effects at the very end.  There was a car chase with full sound effects which isn't good when you're listening to that in the car.  Seriously!  And there was a gunshot that about gave me a heart attack.  Other than that, it was very good.

Thanks to the generous people at Hachette Audio, I have 2 copies of The Postcard Killers audiobook to giveaway!  Yay!! 

Since this will ship from the Hachette there are a few minor restrictions:  US Only, No P.O. Boxes, and only one winner per household (even from other blogs).  As this is shipping from Hachette, I can't make any guarantees about when it will get to you.

I'm going to make it easy...just leave a comment below before September 30.  If you want an extra entry, you can tweet about the contest.  Leave the link to the tweet in a separate comment.   Thanks and Good Luck!