Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin

Author; Nina Laurin
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date of publication: June 2017

Olivia Shaw has been missing since last Tuesday. She was last seen outside the entrance of her elementary school in Hunts Point wearing a white spring jacket, blue jeans, and pink boots. I force myself to look at the face in the photo, into her slightly smudged features, and I can't bring myself to move. Olivia Shaw could be my mirror image, rewound to thirteen years ago. If you have any knowledge of Olivia Shaw's whereabouts or any relevant information, please contact... I've spent a long time peering into the faces of girls on missing posters, wondering which one replaced me in that basement. But they were never quite the right age, the right look, the right circumstances. Until Olivia Shaw, missing for one week tomorrow. Whoever stole me was never found. But since I was taken, there hasn't been another girl. And now there is.

I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up liking Girl Last Seen.  The story involves Laine who was kidnapped and escaped 13 years before.  Now, another little girl has gone missing and she bears a resemblance to Laine as a child.  Laine's life is not great, having never really been able to move past all that happened to her. She ends up getting involved in the hunt for the missing child.

I will admit that I almost DNF'd the book because the main character was extremely unlikable as well as unreliable in the beginning.  Sometimes it's hard to connect with a character like Laine.    However, as I got to know Laine, I found myself rooting for her.  Because, really, she never had a chance at a great life.  I didn't always agree with her decisions, but I could understand her motivation behind them. 

I am glad that I stuck with it. The book is definitely dark and not a "cozy" mystery.  There were a few scenes that made me uncomfortable, so readers should know that going into the book.  There were a few twists that surprised me. One is right toward the beginning.  It was definitely that twist that made me want to keep reading the book.  I highly recommend this debut novel.  I look forward to more from this author in the future.

Blog Tour: The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal

Author: Sheena Kamal

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of publication:July 2017

It begins with a phone call that Nora Watts has dreaded for fifteen years—since the day she gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Bonnie has vanished. The police consider her a chronic runaway and aren’t looking, leaving her desperate adoptive parents to reach out to her birth mother as a last hope.

A biracial product of the foster system, transient, homeless, scarred by a past filled with pain and violence, Nora knows intimately what happens to vulnerable girls on the streets. Caring despite herself, she sets out to find Bonnie with her only companion, her mutt Whisper, knowing she risks reopening wounds that have never really healed—and plunging into the darkness with little to protect her but her instincts and a freakish ability to detect truth from lies.

The search uncovers a puzzling conspiracy that leads Nora on a harrowing journey of deception and violence, from the gloomy rain-soaked streets of Vancouver, to the icy white mountains of the Canadian interior, to the beautiful and dangerous island where she will face her most terrifying demon. All to save a girl she wishes had never been born.

The Lost Ones is a  suspense novel about a women whose past comes back to haunt her. For the most part, I enjoyed the book.  It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end. I jsut didn't  love it as much as I would have hoped. 

Nora's character was interesting.  In fact, I would have to say that she was the best part of the book.  I actually really liked her even though she would probably be labeled unlikable by some readers.  I liked her honesty and her flaws.  It made her seem more real. I loved watching her work the case and her thought process.  I would have liked to see more of her amateur lie detection ability.  It was mentioned several times, but I never felt that I really got to see how it worked.  

The story was the part I ended up not loving.  I don't want to give away too much, but it was almost too unbelievable.  The reasons for the girl's disappearance was not one that I expected and I had a hard time buying into the reveal.  It was just a bit too convoluted and convenient to be real.

So while I didn't love the overall story, I did love the protagonist.  She was well written and one I want to get to know better.  I know this is a series I will want to continue in the future.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Sheena Kamal

Sheena Kamal holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness. Kamal has also worked as a crime and investigative journalism researcher for the film and television industry—academic knowledge and experience that inspired this debut novel. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Find out more about Kamal at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

 Tour Stops

Tuesday, July 25th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Wednesday, July 26th: G. Jacks Writes

Monday, July 31st: Tina Says…

Tuesday, August 1st: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Tuesday, August 1st: Always With a Book

Wednesday, August 2nd: The Book Diva’s Reads

Thursday, August 3rd: Ms. Nose in a Book

Friday, August 4th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Monday, August 7th: Readaholic Zone

Tuesday, August 8th: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, August 9th: Real Life Reading

Thursday, August 10th: A Bookish Way of Life

Friday, August 11th: Booked on a Feeling

TBD: StephTheBookworm

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

by:  Shari Lapena
published by:  Pamela Dorman Books
publish date:  August 23, 2016

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora, but one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents, but the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years. 

The Couple Next Door tells the story of Anne and Marco.  They've both been keeping secrets from each other.  The secret lives they've been living all start to unravel the night their baby disappears.  She was supposed to be sleeping quietly while Anne and Marco were at a dinner party at the townhouse next door.  While Anne was uncomfortable with the idea Marco convinced her it would be safe since their townhouses were connected.  But late into the evening Anne finds her baby gone.  The remainder of the story tells what exactly happened to the baby and how all of their dark secrets play into her disappearance.

This was a good mystery/thriller.  It was well written and well paced.  This one is a must read for all the psychological thriller readers out there.  There was a lot of buzz about this book during the summer, so there are probably a lot of people with this one on their Christmas wishlist.  It would be a good buy!

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser

by:  Travis Mulhauser
published by:  Ecco
publish date:  February 2, 2016

As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. For years, Percy has had to take care of herself and Mama—a woman who’s been unraveling for as long as her daughter can remember. Fearing Carletta is strung out on meth and won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin, deep in the woods of northern Michigan.

But when Percy arrives, there is no sign of Carletta. Searching the house, she finds Shelton and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion—and a crying baby girl left alone in a freezing room upstairs. From the moment the baby wraps a tiny hand around her finger, Percy knows she must save her—a split-second decision that commences a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals hell-bent on getting that baby back. 

Percy's mama is a junkie.  Percy has always had to look out for the both of them.  Now that the blizzard is coming and there's no sign of her mother, she has to go find her.  The first place she goes to look is her dealer's house.  She's not there, but she finds a baby crying and alone near a dog that's been dead for days.  So Percy takes the baby and heads out into the blizzard.  Of course, Shelton, the drug dealer has no idea who took the baby, but he sends his band of less than bright dealers out to find it.  Shelton is out in the storm high on laughing gas riding an ATV.  Percy is just trying to stay alive and get the baby to shelter.

I was a little skeptical about this book, but I ended up really liking it.  Percy was a great character.  The story was well written and well paced.  These stories about backwoods meth heads are always somewhat amusing to me for some reason.  I guess because I just don't get it.  This story was really funny at times and really sad at times.  If you liked Winter's Bone, you'd probably like this one.

The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Polos

by:  Rebecca Polos
published by:  Balzar + Bray
publish date:  January 26, 2016

All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It’s the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist, she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. 

Now Imogene is seventeen, and her father, a famous author of medical mysteries, has struck out in the middle of the night and hasn’t come back.  Neither Imogene’s stepmother nor the police know where he could’ve gone, but Imogene is convinced he’s looking for her mother. And she decides it’s up to her to put to use the skills she’s gleaned from a lifetime of reading her father’s books to track down a woman she’s only known in stories in order to find him and, perhaps, the answer to the question she’s carried with her for her entire life.

This was one of those random library picks that ended up being super good.  I always love a surprisingly good read.

Imogene doesn't know anything of her mother except for the few stories her father has told her over the years.  Now, her father has gone missing leaving her alone with her stepmother.  When she is dissatisfied with the lack of response by the police, she decides to embark upon her own search for her father.  After all, she knows him better than anyone else.  She thinks that he has gone looking for her mother and she has the clues to find her.  

This was a good YA mystery.  Imogene had to rely on people that she didn't want to and develop relationships that she didn't expect.  It was a very well written, very well laid out mystery book.   I'm really excited to find out about this new writer.  I can't wait to read more from Rebecca Podos in the future.

What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

by:  Gilly MacMillan
published by:  William Morrow
publish date:  December 1, 2015

Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.  

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

This book reminded me of so many real life kidnapping stories.  Initially, the entire country is captivated and there is a collective heartfelt reaction for the mother.  Everyone suffers with her.  Then, inevitably, everyone turns against her.  It seems like it always happens.  Why didn't she take better care?  Did she kill her child and this is all a cover up?  It seems easier to believe that than there are really bad people out there.

What She Knew is one of those books where everyone is questionable.  I'm usually pretty good at figuring these mysteries out, but this one had me guessing.  I didn't see the ending of this one coming.  

I definitely recommend this one!  Great job Gilly Macmillan on your debut novel!

Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin

by:  Lance Rubin
published by:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
publish date:  April 14, 2015

Denton Little’s Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die. For Denton, that’s in just two days—the day of his senior prom.
 
Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle—as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend’s hostile sister.  His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body.  And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton’s long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters. . . . Suddenly Denton’s life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.

I had been wanting to read this book for quite awhile.  I was so happy to finally get around to it.  I was thrilled that this book was quirky and funny and such a good story.

Denton lives in a world where everyone knows when they will die.  The story starts 2 days before his deathdate.  Denton wakes up with a terrible hangover in his best friend's sisters bed.  He doesn't remember anything that has happened and he has to get ready for his funeral.  In this world, you go to your funeral while you're still alive to enjoy it.  That's when things start to get crazy because a stranger shows up claiming to have known his long dead mother and telling him to avoid anyone from the government.  Denton only has the time left on his Deathwatch day to figure out what's going on.

Lance Rubin is a great writer.  I really enjoyed his writing style.  He had great humor without being overly rude.  I would definitely recommend this book.  I'm looking forward to more from this writer in the future.

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells

by:  Claire Kells
published by:  Dutton
publish date:  March 21, 2015

Nineteen-year-old Avery Delacorte loves the water.  Now a sophomore on her university’s nationally ranked team, she struggles under the weight of new expectations but life is otherwise pretty good. Perfect, really.

That all changes when Avery’s red-eye home for Thanksgiving makes a ditch landing in a mountain lake in the Colorado Rockies. She is one of only five survivors, which includes three little boys and Colin Shea, who happens to be her teammate. Colin is also the only person in Avery’s college life who challenged her to swim her own events, to be her own person. Instead she’s avoided him since the first day of freshman year. But now, faced with sub-zero temperatures, minimal supplies, and the dangers of a forbidding nowhere, Avery and Colin must rely on each other in ways they never could’ve imagined.

I'm a sucker for survivor stories.  Shipwreck, plane crash, whatever, I love them.  This one was really good.  Girl Underwater might be the best book I've read this year.   Way to knock it out the park on your first book Claire Kells!

Avery and Colin both come from the Boston area but they do not come from the same side of the tracks.  Avery comes from the affluent area and Colin comes from a working class neighborhood.  They both end up in California on the same swim team.  They're flying home for Thanksgiving when their plane crashes into a lake in the Rockies.  They both survive along with three little boys.   The story tells of their 5 days on the mountain and how they survive afterwards once they have to go back to their real lives.  It's told going back and forth between before, during and after the crash and how Avery and Colin's relationship develops.  

Would I recommend this book?  Yes!  Definitely!  To anyone!  I was so sad when this book was over.  I want to read another one just like it.  Anyone have any recommendations?

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

by:  Ruth Ware
published by:  Scout
publish date:  July 30, 2015

Someone's getting married. Someone's getting murdered.   Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back.  Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her?

But something goes wrong. Very wrong.

Some things can’t stay secret for ever.

This is one of the Must Read books of Summer.  I usually approach these books warily.  I'm almost always burned by them.  This one was actually very good in my opinion.

Nora, went through a bad breakup when she was 16 and now it's 10 years later.  She hasn't been in contact with most of the people she went to school with until she gets an invitation to a Hen Do, or bachelorette party for us Americans.  Out of curiosity, she decides to go, and it ends up being the worst decision she makes.  The bride is just as manipulative as Nora remembers her being.  The maid of honor is crazy.  The house they're staying at is creepy.  The situation snowballs downhill until Nora wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what has transpired.  Slowly, her memory of the events begins to unfold, but are they reliable?

This was an enjoyable book.  It was a little bit predictable at times, but overall it was a really good story and I was fully interested in the story from start to finish.  This was an excellent debut and I can't wait to read more by this author!

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

by:  Cristin Terrill
published by:  Disney Hyperion
publish date:  September 3, 2013

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.  Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

This book was one of my surprise favorites of the year.  Time travel usually isn't one of those topics I like to read about, there are too many things that can go wrong in the story, but this one was well written and I never noticed any glaring problems.

Marina and James have been best friends forever, but after a night of violence their lives are changed forever.  James, a super genius, will do anything to go back to change the events of that night. Em is Marina's future self and she is doing everything in her power to make sure James doesn't go down his path that will ultimately destroy them all.

This was a great YA sci-fi read.  I would highly recommend this debut from Cristin Terrill to any YA readers.  It had a lot of fast-paced action and adventure, plus a little romance and of course a love triangle.  I didn't realize this was going to be a series since this book seemed to have a clean ending, but the next book will be coming out some time next year. 

Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal

by:  Laura Lane McNeal
published by:  Pamela Dorman Books
publish date:  July 3, 2014

When Ibby Bell’s father dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1964, her mother unceremoniously deposits Ibby with her eccentric grandmother Fannie and throws in her father’s urn for good measure. Fannie’s New Orleans house is like no place Ibby has ever been—and Fannie, who has a tendency to end up in the local asylum—is like no one she has ever met. Fortunately, Fannie’s black cook, Queenie, and her smart-mouthed daughter, Dollbaby, take it upon themselves to initiate Ibby into the ways of the South, both its grand traditions and its darkest secrets.

When I read Dollbaby, I felt like Laura Lane McNeal had grown up watching all the same movies I did and reading all the same books I had.  Looking at her bio, she grew up in New Orleans and she looks to be roughly the same age as me, so it's likely to be true.  

When Liberty Bell's father suddenly dies, her mother drops her off at her grandmother's house in New Orleans.  They've been estranged from Fannie because she didn't think her son was good enough to marry Ibby's mother.  After her father's death, Ibby is thrust into a world she doesn't know with people she doesn't know, grieving her father and not understanding why her mother left her there.  Queenie and Dollbaby do their best to help Ibby adjust to her new surrounding.

The whole time I was reading this book I kept wondering why it was titled Dollbaby and not something else.  It didn't really feel like Dollbaby was the main character.  She was A main character, but not THE main character.  In the end, it made more sense, but I'm not going to give that away.  I thought this was a strong debut novel.  I'm always excited to read books from authors of my home state of Louisiana and Laura Lane McNeal did us proud!

The Bees by Laline Paull

by:  Laline Paull
published by:  Ecco
publish date:  May 6, 2014

Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees. With circumstances threatening the hive's survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw but her courage and strength are an asset. She is allowed to feed the newborns in the royal nursery and then to become a forager, flying alone and free to collect pollen. She also finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum, where she discovers mysteries about the hive that are both profound and ominous.

I found this book to be fairly disturbing.  Firstly, it made me really wary of bees in general.  They're supposed to be smart, what if they really are functioning on a level like in this book?  That would just freak me right out.  Secondly, the parallels that this book drew between the behavior of bees and the behaviors of human cults was eye opening.  Whether or not that was the intent, it definitely did that for me.

Flora is a brutish, ugly sanitation bee, but something is seen in her that sets her apart from her sanitation workers.  Not only can Flora talk, but she can also make nectar, so she is sent to work in the nursery.  Her size and strength eventually gets her a job collecting pollen.  This puts her in the outside world, learning of other hives and the dangers of predators and changing of seasons.  She also learns of the secrets of her own hive and how deadly they just might be for her.

The Bees was a bizarre look into the world of bees and perhaps our own human world.  I would recommend this book to readers that like a good conspiracy theory.  The Bees is an interesting debut from Laline Paull, I'm curious to see where she goes from here.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

by:  Mary Kubica
published by:  Harlequin Mira
publish date:  July 29, 2014

Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life. 

This book is going to be one of the big hyped books of the summer.  It's supposed to be the next Gone Girl and be a major psychological thriller.  That's what all the buzz about this book has been so far.  I'll grant that it was pretty good.  It wasn't Gillian Flynn good though, so all these critics and publicists need to stop hyping everyone in comparison to the big GF, because it ain't happenin'.  I read The Good Girl all the way through, thought it was well written and when I got to the big reveal I was still somewhat surprised.

The Good:  I liked the overall plot line.  It was an interesting story, however I didn't completely understand Mia's behavior.  The story is told in current and past tense.  Her current behavior doesn't really add up, even after the reveal, I didn't quite understand why she was acting the way that she was.  I like a story that makes me think.  I like the cover, the minimalism is quite nice.

Things I didn't like:  There's something about the cover that disturbs me, which contradicts what I last said, but there it is.  I like it, but it's also unsettling.  I understand things like Stockholm Syndrome exists, but it seems like in this case, it's something entirely different.  Without divulging any of the details of the book, it seems like Mia's problems would be a little different than Stockholm.  The motivations in this book seemed to be a bit murky at best.

This would be a great book for book groups, they could pick apart all these details and figure out these things.  I would definitely recommend it to the psychological thriller fans.  If you've read it, let me know what you think.

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

by:   Julie Murphy 
published by:  Harper Collins
publish date:  March 18, 2014

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, who she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that's as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her archnemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger). But just when Alice's scores are settled, she goes into remission.

The Fault in Our Stars is insanely popular right now.  I think a lot of fans may be looking for another book to read when they're done with it, and this book will fill that need.

When Alice gets diagnosed with leukemia, she doesn't think she has much time to live.  She is going to use her time getting revenge on everyone that has ever done her wrong.  She decides to manipulate her childhood friend Harvey into doing her dirty work, but doesn't realize how close they will get during the course of her illness. Then, much to everyone's, including Alice's, surprise she gets better.  So Alice will have to face everyone she has spent so much effort getting back at.  She will also have to come to terms with her feelings for Harvey in the real world.

Side Effects May Vary was a really powerful book.  At times I couldn't understand why Alice was so angry, why she couldn't just let go of all her hurt feelings.  On the other hand, I could sympathize with her crazy plans to want to right all the wrongs before she died.  I really liked the portrayal of the relationship between Alice and Harvey.  That might have been one of the most honest YA relationships I've ever seen written.

Great debut from Julie Murphy!  I would definitely recommend for the YA readers and fans of The Fault in Our Stars.

Joint Review: The Bird Box by Josh Malerman

by:  Josh Malerman
published by:  Ecco
publish date:  May 13, 2014

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.  Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?


I was really impressed with this first book by Josh Malerman.  This book had me hooked from beginning to end.   The tense atmosphere is what sold me on this one.  I think I was hanging on the edge of my seat the entire time.  The one thing I didn't like is the fact that there was no explanation as to what the creatures were.  Or if, indeed, there were any creatures to begin with.  At times, it seemed like it was a mass hysteria kind of event.  However, I suppose that gives the reader something to ponder over.  



Unlike Autumn, I was a little hesitant to like Bird Box at first.  I didn't understand why Malorie doesn't have names for her kids.  Calling them "Boy" and "girl" got to me.  But, as the story progressed, I found myself getting suck in more and more.  This book is definitely creepy and big on tension.  I liked how the story unfolded by waffling back and forth between the past and the present.  One thing about the book is that it really makes you think about eyesight and what it would be like to have to survive in the dark.  I'm not sure I would be that brave.  This is a great debut and one I highly recommend.  I think this author has a bright future and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us next!

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

by:   Laura McHugh
published by:  Spiegel and Grau
publish date:  March 11, 2014

The Dane family's roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, but that doesn't keep sixteen-year-old Lucy Dane from being treated like an outsider. Folks still whisper about her mother, a bewitching young stranger who inspired local myths when she vanished years ago. When one of Lucy's few friends, slow-minded Cheri, is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost girls-the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't protect. Everything changes when Lucy stumbles across Cheri's necklace in an abandoned trailer and finds herself drawn into a search for answers. 

Yesterday on my post about Wiley Cash's This Dark Road to Mercy I talked about books that blur the line between Adult Literature and YA.  This is another one of these books.  It'll be found in the Adult section of the bookstore, but the young age of the characters will make it accessible to YA readers.  Again, this is one of the books that I think will help YA readers transition in to Adult Literature without it being too scary. 

The Weight of Blood tells the story of the Dane family in a small Ozark town.  Sixteen year old Lucy Dane is just beginning to learn the dark side of her family history.  When her friend Cheri goes missing no one is very interested, but when her body shows up, it becomes the talk of the small town.  Lucy begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together and find out that Cheri's death may be closely related to her own mother's  disappearance 15 years earlier.  

I thought this was a great book.  It was a very well written first novel by Laura McHugh.  I'm excited to read more from her in the future.

What I Had Before I Had You by Sarah Cornwell

by:   Sarah Cornwell
published by:  Harper
publish date:  January 7, 2014

Olivia was only fifteen the summer she left her hometown of Ocean Vista. Two decades later, on a visit with her children, her nine-year-old son Daniel, recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, disappears. Olivia's search for him sparks tender and painful memories of her past--of her fiercely loving and secretive mother, Myla, an erratic and beautiful psychic, and the discovery of heartbreaking secrets that shattered her world.

What I Had tells Olivia's story in alternating view points of the past and the present.  Presently, she has returned to her childhood home of Ocean Vista after she ran away at age 15.  After a heartbreaking divorce, she's returning with her two children, the youngest one inheriting the terrible mental disorder that plagued Olivia and her mother.  Upon arriving in Ocean Vista, Daniel has a meltdown and runs away forcing Olivia to start reliving her childhood and seeing it with the understanding of living with bipolar disorder.

When I started this book, I really didn't know it was going to be about bipolar disorder, I thought it was going to be more of a generalized coming of age story.  However, I really liked the bipolar aspect of it.  I thought it was an interesting change of pace.  It seems like Asperger's and Autism are the afflictions of choice to write about these days.  I liked that the characters weren't necessarily villified or made to seem weak by their illness.

This is an adult story, but considering the age of Olivia throughout most of the book it might appeal to some of the New Adult readers.  Particularly some of those looking to branch into some more mature reading.  What I Had Before I Had You was fantastic debut from Sarah Cornwell.

Review & Giveaway: The Absence of Mercy by John Burley

Giveaway Details: Want to win a copy of Absence of Mercy?  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below. (US only)

Author: John Burley
Publisher: William Morrow
Date of publication: November 2013

Just west of the Ohio River, lies the peaceful town of Wintersville. Safe from the crime and congestion of city life, it is the perfect place to raise a family . . . or so they thought.

Life as the town medical examiner is relatively unhurried for Dr. Ben Stevenson. With only a smattering of cases here and there-car accident victims, death by natural causes-he has plenty of time to spend with his loving wife and two sons. That is until a teenager's body is discovered in the woods and Ben, as the only coroner in the area, is assigned to the case. But as the increasingly animalistic attacks continue, the case challenges Ben in ways he never suspects.

My thoughts:

I thought that The Absence of Mercy was a pretty good mystery.   The story flowed pretty easily and was well written.  The book is told through the points of view of Ben, his wife and the teens in the town.  There is a killer loose in the town and it has everyone scared.  It was interesting to see how the town reacted to the killings.  I thought Ben's reaction to the murders was the most interesting.  The way it almost paralyzed him at times and caused him to lose sleep.  Being the coroner and having a teenager, the murders must have really hit home.  

My only complaint was that I thought the way the murderer was discovered was a little too neat and tidy for me.  It was a little unbelievable.  I also would have liked a better epilogue.  I felt like it left some things open.  Despite that, I do recommend the book.  It's a great effort for a debut book!

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About the author:

John Burley attended medical school in Chicago and completed his emergency medicine residency

training at University of Maryland Medical Center/Shock Trauma in Baltimore. He currently serves as an emergency medicine physician in northern California, where he lives with his wife, daughter, Great Dane, and English Bulldog. This is his first novel.

Catch Up With the Author:  

Blog Tour: Lies You Wanted to Hear by James Whitfield Thompson

by:  James Whitfield Thompson
published by:  Source Landmark
publish date:  November 5, 2013

Alone in an empty house Lucy tries to imagine the lives of her two young children.  The day they left, she didn't know she would never see them again. Now she is tormented by the role she played in that heartbreaking loss. You can hardly see a glimpse of the woman she used to be. Back then she was a magnet for men like Matt, who loved her beyond reason, and Griffin, who wouldn't let go but always left her wanting more. But 20 years later, the little lies they told have come to haunt all three of them.

This was one of those books that I have a hard time with.  I like books that have a character that I can identify with in a positive way.  Characters that have some redeeming qualities.  I had a hard time finding any redeeming qualities in any of these characters.  Lucy was generally awful.  The relationship that she had with Griffin made me sick at times.  I wanted to strangle the woman and tell her to get a grip on her life and stand up for herself.  Matt, while initially seemed like a great guy and the more sympathetic character, eventually turns out to be more questionable towards the end.  I guess maybe that's what it's about.  How, in every relationship there's some selfishness on each partner's part and we can accept it and work with it or we don't.

Having said all that, it did read well.  There was nothing wrong with the writing.  Kudos to Mr. Thomson on that aspect of it.  I also want to give the author a high five for pursuing a dream and debuting his novel at 68.  Way to go!

About the Author:  James Whitfield Thomson was an early member of the late Andre Dubus’s writers’ workshop, along with Elizabeth Berg, George Packer and Dennis Lehane. He grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh, attended Harvard College on scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

A former U.S. Navy navigator in Vietnam, Thomson’s writing has appeared in Agni and The Ledge, and received a grant from the Massachusetts Council for the Arts. The author lives in Natick, Massachusetts, with his wife. This is his first novel.

Blog Tour Schedule:

November 1 - Peeking Between the Pages

November 4 - A Bookish Affair

November 5 - As I Turn the Pages

November 6 - Utah Mom's Life

November 7 – Mina’s Bookshelf

November 8 – Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

November 9 - A Novel Review

November 11 - From the TBR Pile

November 12 - Chick Lit Plus

November 13 - Rainy Day Ramblings

November 14 – I’d So Rather Be Reading

November 18 - Cheryl's Book Nook

November 19 - Allodoxophobia

November 20 - Bookhounds

November 21 - Rather Be Reading

November 22 - Cocktails and Books

November 25 - Chick Lit Central

November 26 – Linus’s Blanket