Posts Tagged ‘3.5+ Stars’
Saturday, January 21st, 2012
Cedardale Court Synopsis
 Cedardale Court is a neo-gothic murder mystery with enough fools and old flames to keep you happily mixed up for most of a long weekend. When Canner Connelly and his daughter, Chloe, move in with their Uncle Henry, and a simple drainage problem turns a normal Sunday morning into a slightly darker affair, it’s not easy to tell where everyone might end up, or if they’ll even make it at all. (Amazon)
BOOK REVIEW
Don’t judge this book by it’s title. It is no sleepy suburban drama. The sleepy face of this Cedardale Court backwater belies it’s writhing underbelly. This street is filled with people harbouring murderous intent and when they set out to do something, they don’t do it by halves.
In Cedardale Court debut author Nathan Lee Christensen has crafted a high-octane thriller starring the most unlikely of perpetrators and protagonists.
His inventive use of character stereotypes commonly badged as the least threatening and ineffectual within society, hammers home the old adage, ‘never trust the quiet ones’ to shocking effect. Daughter Chloe is also an endearingly precocious character that provides a humorous counterpoint to the story’s darker elements.
Although the prose is laboured in places, Christensen does develop an atmosphere of foreboding well and presents some stark and evocative imagery.
But those were arguments for someone else to hear. Somewhere else in the world, somebody was about to do something crazy, somebody who had taken too much for too long and were about to push back hard. That person was walking right up to the line and was hearing the voices of reason. The voices of kindness and compassion. The advocacy for the sanctity of life. Reason mixed in with the voices of doubt and fear. And, someone, somewhere else, was truly and fortunately starting to listen. But not here. Tonight, those voices were yawning and getting ready for bed.
Christensen is one of those brave authors that does not shy away from having characters he has spent time developing efficiently dispensed for the betterment of the tale.
The mind that developed the Cedardale Court plot is clearly a creative one. I look forward to seeing what other tales Christensen has to tell in the future.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: Cedardale Court (Amazon – Kindle); Cedardale Court (Barnes & Noble) ; Cedardale Court (Kobo ebooks)
Genre: Mystery, Drama, Action-Thriller, Crime-Detective
Author Information: Nathan Lee Christensen is a husband, father, and long lost Oregonian, currently living on a cliff overlooking the Pacific in the bay area. He says, ‘As a stay at home dad, this sort of thing (writing) is as good a way to rub shoulders with adults as any.’
- Nathan Lee Christensen’s blog or Facebook page.
Other reviews of Cedardale Court: Borough of Books ; The Owl Bookmark Blog, Cat’s Thoughts
* I received this ebook from the author for review purposes. My receiving this title at no cost did not impact my ability to express my honest opinions about it.
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Upside Down Inside Out Synopsis
Eva Kennedy is in a rut. After seven years of working at her uncle’s Dublin delicatessen, her artistic aspirations have slipped by the wayside and her latest relationship has fizzled. Whatever happened to the Eva who was going to be someone? Hoping to shake things up and find inspiration, Eva takes a break and ventures to Melbourne, Australia, to visit her old friend Lainey, who, for fun, gives her an exciting new identity. Eva is now exotic and adventurous and . . . not herself.
Joseph Wheeler is a successful London designer. Unfortunately his firm is thriving at such a high level that he doesn’t have time to actually design anymore. And his love life is non-existent.
In Australia on business, Joseph meets Eva, and the sparks fly-even as Eva is stuck pretending to be someone she’s not. Little does she know that Joseph has some secrets of his own. . . .
When what starts as a holiday fling quickly blossoms into something more, Joseph and Eva discover that romance can turn life upside down and inside out at the bottom of the world. (The Nile)
BOOK REVIEW
I was in the mood for chick lit when I picked this one from my library’s online audio catalogue.
The Irish female protagonist Eva, although initially very endearing (what Irish gal isn’t?), grated on me after while – slightly too much melodrama for my taste from an intelligent woman supposedly around my own age. The idea of literally pretending to be someone else also did not sit well with me. However, as the underlying premise of the story is the exploration of ‘what part we choose to play in life versus who we really are’, I do understand that being an obvious story element.
Audio narrator Melissa Eccleston’s voice was crisp and clear, a pleasure to listen to. But at over 10 hours, this audio book, or more pointedly the novel underlying it (480 pages), was longer than the story warranted.
Monica McInerney’s Upside Down Inside Out is super sweet and charming but not one for the impatient.
What I was pleasantly surprised at though is, unlike your run-of-the-mill chick lit, I actually found myself barracking for the male lead. Was that the author’s intention?
I thought Monica McInerney did a splendid, if not better job of developing Eva’s male counterpart Joseph. Joseph’s back story was grittier and had much more depth. His troubles seemed quite realistic to me compared to Eva’s often self-inflicted predicaments. Put simply, I associated with Joseph’s character much more than the intended protagonist.
McInerney’s beautiful and realistic descriptions of both Australia and Ireland added something special to this novel also.
Upside Down Inside Out is not for the impatient, but recommended for lovers of the Australian-Irish connection and those who like extra sugar with their chick lit.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3.5 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: Upside Down Inside Out (Audio – Booktopia); Upside Down Inside Out (The Nile – Australia); Upside Down Inside Out (Amazon)
Genre: Chick Lit, Romance, Humour, Audio
Author Information: Monica McInerney grew up in a family of seven children in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia, where her father was the railway stationmaster and her mother worked in the local library. Since then Monica has lived all around Australia (in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart) in Ireland (in County Meath and Dublin) and in London and also travelled widely.
She was a book publicist for ten years, working in Ireland and Australia and promoting authors such as Roald Dahl, Tim Winton, Edna O’Brien and Max Fatchen and events such as the Dublin International Writers’ Festival. Find out more about Monica and her publications at her official website.
- Watch the book trailer for McInerney’s latest release, Lola’s Secret
Other reviews of Upside Down Inside Out: The Independent ; The Australian Bookshelf ; Dear Author
Some of the other titles by Monica McInerney: Lola’s Secret, The Alphabet Sisters, Family Baggage, At Home With The Templetons, A Taste For It, All Together Now
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Red Dog Synopsis
Red Dog is a West Australian, a lovable friendly red kelpie who found widespread fame as a result of his habit of travelling all over Western Australia, hitching rides over thousands of miles, settling in places for months at a time and adopting new families before heading off again to the next destination and another family – sometimes returning to say hello years later.
While visiting Australia, Louis de Bernieres heard the legend of Red Dog and decided to do some research on this extraordinary story. After travelling to Western Australia and meeting countless people who’d known and loved Red Dog, Louis decided to spread Red Dog‘s fame a little further. (The Nile)
BOOK REVIEW
I will say right up front, do not pick up this title expecting a literary marvel. That is not what Red Dog is. Although Red Dog is based on a series of historical accounts of people’s interactions with a special dog that lived in Western Australian in the 1970s, one must remember that what Louis de Bernieres has shaped from that legend is a work of fiction.
In Red Dog Louis de Bernieres has told a charming tale that will appeal to young and old.
The writing is clear and non-taxing, yet the story remains compelling – what story about a clever dog isn’t? Despite the inevitable sad endings of all dog stories, the journey itself is life-affirming.
I listened to Red Dog in audio, narrated by David Field, and a more Aussie voice you could not ask for. This story is so colloquially ‘Aussie Outback’, it at times verges on kitsch. Although the characters within this novel embody the spirit and attitude that have made Australia the wonderful country it is today, I must stress to my international readers, we don’t all talk like that!
While Louis de Bernieres Red Dog will not win any literary awards, it is a great book for children or young adults. At just over 2 hours in audio, it would make a nice listen for that long family car trip.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: Red Dog (The Nile – Australia); Red Dog (Amazon); Red Dog (Audible)
Genre: Action-Adventure, Audio, Drama
Author Information: Louis de Bernières (born in London 1954) is a British novelist. (Wikipedia)
- Louis de Bernieres’ personal website
- How de Bernieres came to write Red Dog and how the movie came about, Sydney Morning Herald
- See the official Red Dog movie trailer
Other reviews of Red Dog: The Compulsive Reader ; Booksploring ; Berkelouw Books ; My Little Space
Other titles by Louis de Bernieres: Birds Without Wings , Notwithstanding , Captain Corelli’s Mandolin , A Partisan’s Daughter
Monday, November 21st, 2011
 SNAP The World Unfolds Synopsis
SNAP, a multinational celebrity TV show and magazine, is the holy grail for Maxie Gwenoch. When she snags the job as managing editor, she’s looking for fame, fortune and Jimmy Choos. What she finds is a media empire owned by Baron Kandesky and his family. A family of vampires. They’re European, urbane, wealthy and mesmerizing. And when she meets Jean-Louis, vampire and co-worker, she’s a goner.
The Kandesky vampire family rose in Hungary centuries ago. They gave up violence and killing to make a killing on the world’s commodities markets and with that beginning they built SNAP, an international celebrity multimedia empire. Now cultured… and having found food substitutes for killing… they’ve cornered the world market for celebrity and gossip journalism.
They haven’t fully left the past behind. Their Hungarian neighbors and rival vampire clan, the Huszars are starting to ramp up attacks, maybe looking to start a war to take over all the Kandeskys have built.
Maxie believes she’s found her ultimate career. She doesn’t realize that she’s found a family feud like none other, a centuries-old rivalry between vampire families, with her as the linchpin. Bells ring with Jean-Louis, but she doesn’t realize they’re alarm sirens until she learns that Jean-Louis is second in command of the Kandeskys…but by then it’s too late. (Amazon)
BOOK REVIEW
I am not normally one to read vampire novels. In fact the only other novel I have read with a vampire in it was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. But Michele Drier’s debut novel SNAP The World Unfolds is something quite different.
SNAP The World Unfolds is an original modern interpretation of a European vampire society that does not take itself too seriously. The main character Maxie Gwenoch is a feisty career woman. She is as independent as they come and accustomed to being in control. But when she steps into the Kandesky’s corporate empire she has left control far behind, whether she likes it or not…
SNAP The World Unfolds by Michele Drier is an entertaining light vampire romance set against the world of celebrity journalism.
What is particularly refreshing about this plot line is the Kandesky vampire family do not want Maxie for her blood, they want her for her brains and business acumen.
Michele Drier’s writing style is straight forward and easy to read, and the romance sweet and lingering rather than hot and heavy. Fun and escapist reading for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
“You look better than last night,” he began. “I hope you slept well.”
“I did. I had odd dreams but I’m recovered.” As he looked at me, I could see him beginning to glimmer.
“I’d thought when we went hunting in LA you were interested in me, but maybe I was wrong.”
“You mean with your line ‘I’ve waited years’?” I wanted to be snide then realized he really may have.
“I told you that it wasn’t really a line. Now you know the truth. It has been years.”
SNAP The World Unfolds finishes on a precipice, being the first book in the SNAP series featuring Maxie Gwenoch and the Kandesky’s. I am now eagerly awaiting the second instalment, SNAP New Talent, which will be released in Spring (US) 2012. I can see this series becoming my new secret non-literary indulgence.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: SNAP The World Unfolds (Amazon – Kindle)
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi-Fantasy, Action-Adventure
Author Information: Michele Drier has come to fiction later in life, having her first career in journalism and then managing not-for-profit agencies. She is a member of the Society of California Pioneers and Sisters in Crime.
Other reviews of SNAP The World Unfolds: Sarah Glenn
Other title by Michele Drier: Edited For Death
* I received a copy of this novel from the author for review purposes. My receiving this book for free in no way affected my ability to express my honest opinions about it.
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
 House of Sticks Synopsis
Bonnie has given up her life as a musician to become a stay-at-home mum. She tells herself she has no regrets, but sometimes the isolation and the relentless demands of three small children threaten to swamp the love between Bonnie and her partner, Pete.
Then an old mate of Pete’s arrives. Doug is eccentric and intrusive, and his unsettling presence disrupts Bonnie’s world further. Yet as the cracks really start to show in the life Bonnie and Pete have built together, it seems the dangers might also come from within.
House of Sticks is a revealing portrait of contemporary family life, its joys and compromises, and how quickly things can unravel. It’s about trying to stay connected in our disconnected society; a story of identity and community, loyalty and love. (Scribe)
BOOK REVIEW
In her debut novel House of Sticks Peggy Frew takes readers on the journey that is suburban life as seen through the eyes of protagonist Bonnie. Through this telescopic lens, Frew hones in on what at first would be considered mundane but in fact are integral moments in Bonnie’s evolution as a stay-at-home mother.
From moments that makes us laugh,
‘And now we’re going to read another book about pigs,’ said the librarian into her headset, her voice booming through the speakers. She leaned forward to pick up the book, and there was the muffled thumping of the mic hitting her chest.
‘What’s with the microphone?’ Mel whispered.
‘God knows.’ Bonnie put her chin in her hand and her fingers over her mouth. Don’t laugh.
The librarian held up the book to show the cover. ‘Can anyone guess what this book is called?’ The speakers crackled, and there was a faint whine of feedback.
‘Why is it so loud?’ whispered Mel.
Bonnie couldn’t answer. She was trying to hold it back, but the laugh was coming over her like something involuntary. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh. But it was like a sneeze, a building urge, tickling up between her ribs and towards her throat.
to the challenges of relationships and parenthood.
She shut her eyes. How unfair, that Pete could afford to be so casual when she was the one picking up the slack. The one trapped, politely listening, while Doug told his bullshit stories and Pete drifted off as if somehow exempt. Or popping up like some horrible ghoul to drag the kids away, spoil their fun, because she knew if she didn’t Doug would just sit around reading stories all morning instead of working. The one tiptoeing, feeling watched and judged. Feeling she had to explain or justify herself, her behaviour, her parenting – in her own house.
In House of Sticks Peggy Frew explores the fragility of the family ideal and the isolation one can feel in a crowded room.
Although the story itself is quite contained, psychological tension builds and sinister undercurrents keep the reader guessing. Are things as dire as they seem or is Bonnie her own worst enemy?
One certainly does not need to have experienced motherhood to gain from reading this story, but a female audience will feel a greater affinity to the lead character and her plight.
I identified with Frew’s keen observation of human behaviour and her prose has a real solidity and strength. I look forward to reading more from Peggy Frew in the future.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3.5 /5 ; The Writing 4 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: House of Sticks (Scribe) ; House of Sticks (Amazon – Kindle) ; House of Sticks (Kobo – epub) ; House of Sticks (TheNile)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Chick Lit
Author Information: Australian Peggy Frew’s debut novel, House of Sticks, won the 2010 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. Her story ‘Home Visit’ won The Age short story competition in 2008. She has been published in New Australian Stories 2, Kill Your Darlings, and Meanjin. Peggy is also a member of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Melbourne band Art of Fighting. (Scribe Publications)
Other reviews of House of Sticks: The Australian ; Fancy Goods ; Lip Mag
* I received a copy of this novel from Australian Small Publisher of the Year 2011, Scribe Publications for review purposes. My receiving this book for free in no way affected my ability to express my honest opinions about it.
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
 The Five Greatest Warriors Synopsis
IT BEGAN WITH SIX STONES
Jack West Jr and his loyal team are in desperate disarray: they’ve been separated, their mission is in tatters, and Jack was last seen plummeting down a fathomless abyss.
IT FINISHES HERE
After surviving his deadly fall, Jack must now race against his many enemies to locate and set in place the remaining pieces of The Machine before the coming Armageddon.
WHO ARE THE FIVE WARRIORS?
As the world teeters on the brink of destruction, he will learn of the Five Warriors, the individuals who throughout history have been most intimately connected to his quest.
OCEANS WILL RISE, CITIES WILL FALL
Scores will be settled, fathers will fight sons, brothers will battle brothers, and Jack and his friends will soon find out exactly what the end of the world looks like… (TheNile – Australia)
Book Review
Long time readers of my blog will know that Matthew Reilly’s novels are my guilty pleasure. Despite having quite a varied range of reading interests I more often than not gravitate to the more literary end of the spectrum, enjoying The Writing just as much as I enjoy The Story. Matthew Reilly’s books do not fit in the literature genre – they live in the ‘pure, unadulterated escapism’ bucket.
The Five Greatest Warriors, the finale of Matthew Reilly’s Jack West Jnr Series, is a fitting conclusion to a storyline that is well beyond belief but oh so much fun.
As always, the action sequences are fast and furious and our much loved characters able to take more punishment than crash test dummies and live to fight another day. In this finale, Reilly has managed to redeem himself somewhat from the trick he pulled on readers with his literal cliffhanger at the end of The Six Sacred Stones. He shares more reflections on the lives of his ragtag band of crusaders and introduces the The Five Greatest Warrior prophecy to tie up loose ends. A little warning for the devout though – he may have taken liberties with the re-writing of history a little too far for some tastes. 
Despite all the Matthew Reilly novels I have since read, my first taste, Ice Station, and the Shane Schofield ‘Scarecrow’ Series remains my favourite. And there is good news for fellow Scarecrow fans – Reilly has listened to popular opinion and returned to the original recipe, penning a new novel Scarecrow and The Army of Thieves due to be released in October 2011! I cannot wait.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: The Five Greatest Warriors (Amazon); The Five Greatest Warriors (Kobo Ebooks)
Genre: Action-Adventure, Thriller
Author Information: Check out Matthew Reilly’s website
- Reilly’s novel Hover Car Racer is being made into a 3D movie by Disney
Other Reviews of The Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly: The Compulsive Reader ; Mel’s Random Reviews ; The Mystery Reader ; My Favourite Books
Saturday, June 25th, 2011
Murder in Passy Synopsis
The village-like neighborhood of Passy, home to many of Paris’s wealthiest residents, is the last place one would expect a murder. But when Aimée Leduc’s godfather, Morbier, a police commissaire, asks her to check on his girlfriend at her home there, that’s exactly what Aimée finds. Xavierre, a haut bourgeois matron of Basque origin, is strangled in her garden while Aimée waits inside. Circumstantial evidence makes Morbier the prime suspect, and to vindicate him, Aimée must identify the real killer. Her investigation leads her to police corruption; the radical Basque terrorist group, ETA; and a kidnapped Spanish princess. (Fantastic Fiction)
Book Review
This was my first outing with Cara Black and her feisty protagonist Aimee Leduc. Based on the obvious success of this series, Murder in Passy being the 11th instalment, and the Parisian setting, I had high hopes.
Black’s charming descriptions of Paris steeped in history did not disappoint.
Rene turned onto a street canopied by trees. The next narrowed into a high-walled lane; no doubt it had been a cow path in the last century. It still amazed her how these enclaves existed, tucked away, the remnants of another world: the old villages of Auteuil and Passy, where once Roman vineyards had dotted the hills, thermal springs – celebrated for curative properties – had beckoned seventeenth-century Parisians, and where Balzac, penniless and in debt, had written while hiding from his creditors.
Protagonist Aimee Leduc is a strong-willed and very likeable female lead (with a wardrobe to be envious of) who just cannot seem to stay out of trouble. Her business partner Rene proves an interesting character also, but in my opinion was somewhat under-utilised by Black.
My other slight reservation with Murder in Passy was the number of characters Black introduced – I’ll admit I found it a little hard to keep track of who was who at times, what with all the different police forces involved and terrorists of different origins and motivations.
Although an enjoyable read I would have preferred to see the highly plot driven Murder in Passy in a movie format – a beautiful setting, a feisty and fashionable leading lady and lots of high octane action sequences.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: Murder in Passy, An Aimee Leduc Investigation (Amazon); Murder in Passy (The Nile – Australia); Murder in Passy (eBooks.com)
Genre: Mystery, Crime-Detective
Author Information:
- Cara Black’s Official Website: interview, map and photos of Paris and author biography.
- See listing of other books in Cara Black’s Aimee Leduc Investigations Series
- Watch Video: A stroll in Paris with the writer Cara Black. She shows where the actions of her detective heroine Aimée Leduc take place.
Other Reviews of Murder in Passy by Cara Black: Mysteries Etc ; Reviewing the Evidence ; Murder by Type
Monday, June 6th, 2011
 The Unremarkable Heart is a short story released by Karin Slaughter only in ebook format.
Book Review
Karin Slaughter’s The Unremarkable Heart is a short story with stark and dark subject matter, with moments of surprising compassion. It’s hard to talk about the plot without giving too much away. Suffice to say short stories really highlight an author’s talent and in this outing Karin Slaughter shows hers.
Reading this felt like walking a tightrope – the prose taut and tense.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3 / 5 ; The Writing 4 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: The Unremarkable Heart (Amazon – Kindle)
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Author Information: Karin Slaughter is an Amercian crime writer who published her first novel, Blindsighted in 2001.
- Check out Karin Slaughter’s full back catalogue including her upcoming full length novel, Fallen, that will be published on 21 June 2011.
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