Where All the Dead Lie by J.T. Ellison

Where All the Dead Lie by J.T. Ellison


400 pages


Mystery/Thriller


September 2011







This is another netGalley book!  Here's the blurb:

"The shot to the head didn’t kill Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson. But it will crack her psyche and take her to the very edge.


In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor’s thoughts and speech. Effectively mute, there’s no telling if her voice will ever come back. Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts—of the past, of friendships and trusts lost...of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night.


When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish Highlands to recuperate, her fiancé can’t refuse her excitement, no matter his distrust of the man. At first, Memphis’s drafty and singularly romantic castle seems the perfect place for healing. But shortly the house itself surrounds her like a menacing presence. As Taylor’s sense of isolation and vulnerability grows, so, too, does her grip on reality.


PTSD. PiLlS. GhOStS. GRuDGES.


Someone or something is coming after Taylor. But is she being haunted by the dead…or hunted by the living? "

This is the seventh book in the Taylor Jackson series.  I was fine reading it as a stand alone novel, but it does reveal the ending of the last book so some people may want to read the series in order.

I'm three for three with netGalley books.  I loved this one as well.  It was another book that kept me reading late into the night.  There is a nice ghost story element to the book that adds to the suspense and tension.  I finished it during a road trip to Gettysburg, PA so I was probably in the mood to go along with the ghostly elements of the story!

I loved Taylor and her relationship with Sam, her best friend.  It's rare that friendships between women seem real, fractured, and repairable in books.  This one felt like all three to me!  I was a little less interested in Taylor's relationship with Baldwin - maybe the author assumed I knew a little more about him than I did.  That would be my only criticism of the book (and it's a minor one!)

There is a great villain, but I don't want to give it away.  I did see it coming, but enjoyed watching the author unfold the story anyway.

Again, another 5 star read!  I may need to go back and read the first six books to see how these characters got to where they are!

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen


400 pages


Mystery/Thriller


August 2011








This is another review copy I got from netGalley.  Here is the blurb from their site:

"The Keeper of Lost Causes, the first installment of Adler-Olsen's Department Q series, features the deeply flawed chief detective Carl MØrck, who used to be a good homicide detective-one of Copenhagen's best. Then a bullet almost took his life. Two of his colleagues weren't so lucky, and Carl, who didn't draw his weapon, blames himself.



So a promotion is the last thing Carl expects.


But it all becomes clear when he sees his new office in the basement. Carl's been selected to run Department Q, a new special investigations division that turns out to be a department of one. With a stack of Copenhagen's coldest cases to keep him company, Carl's been put out to pasture. So he's as surprised as anyone when a case actually captures his interest. A missing politician vanished without a trace five years earlier. The world assumes she's dead. His colleagues snicker about the time he's wasting. But Carl may have the last laugh, and redeem himself in the process.


Because she isn't dead . . . yet."

This is the first in a series that, apparently, is already popular in Denmark and is being translated for the U.S. audience.  It is fabulous.  I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and read all three books.  I thought this book was even better.  Carl is a great character, and the author has given him both a personal and professional back story.  The other main character, Merete Lynggaard, is equally fascinating.  Her back story is also well-developed.  She has an adult disabled brother and is a highly-placed political official.

The book alternates between present day Carl and past/present day Merete.  As readers, we are lead to a point where their two stories converge, and this is one of those books I kept reading late at night because of the building tension.

The author also creates a second hand man for Carl.  Assad also has a back story, which is mysterious throughout the book.  He is clearly not a maintenance worker, but someone with an investigative or violent past.  We are only given glimpses of Assad's true nature, and it seems that the author has laid groundwork for some fascinating revelations in future books in the series.

This book does not disappoint.  The author deftly builds the story from both Carl and Merete's points of view.  I didn't guess the twist, because there is one, until it was unveiled to Merete.  Then, I couldn't stop reading until I was sure Carl had figured it out too.  5 stars for a great ride!  I can't wait to read more in the series.

Ashfall by Mike Mullen

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

472 pages

Young Adult Fiction

October 2011


This is the first galley I've gotten from netGalley.  Here's the blurb from the website:


"Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying super volcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite.And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.


For Alex, being alone for the weekend means freedom from his parents and the chance to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then Yellowstone erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek, searching for his family and finding help in Darla, his travel partner. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster."

This synopsis doesn't do the book justice.  It is the first of a planned trilogy which, I think, is going to be a huge hit with middle school students.  It should appeal to everyone who loved The Hunger Games.  The novel starts with a bang, literally, and Alex, the main character, is immediately in the middle of chaos and destruction.  He is not your average hero-type character, and he seems annoyingly immature.  By the end of the novel, he is a complex and interesting character because of what he goes through in the story.

As Alex travels from Idaho to find his parents, he is met with a lawless, post-apocalyptic society trying to cope with the aftermaths of the volcanic eruption.  He is alternately met with acts of selfless kindness and violent cruelty.  You never know, as a reader, what's going to happen next.

There are two quotes I really liked from Alex.  At the beginning of the story he says, "Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is a terrifying torture."  Nearer the end, he says, " ... the volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity.  No, we'd given that up on our own."  To me, Alex displays incredible growth of character to take the situation beyond his own needs to see how it impacted everyone.  Wow.

Darla, his female travelling partner, is an interesting character.  Alex meets her about 1/3 of the way through the book, when he is at his lowest and needs to be nursed back to health.  She is an intriguing character who also grows and changes in the story.

I don't want to give away too much more but, just a warning, there is violence in the story as well as a rape scene - it is not very vivid, but it is there, and talk of sexual activity with condom use.

This is probably one of the best YA books I've read since The Book Thief.  I am looking forward to the second novel!  I can enthusiastically give it 5 stars!

The Mystery of the Blue Ring by Patricia Reilly Giff

This is an ebook I received from netGallery.  It is the first in a series of children's mystery novels by Patricia Reilly Giff.  Ebooks for young readers is always a hard recommendation for me because I've had trouble finding ones I like where the book can stand alone without illustrations.  Some ereaders, my Kindle included, don't do a great job with illustrations.

This is a children's ebook I can enthusiastically recommend for younger readers.  I'm sure my second grade class would be extremely comfortable with its reading level.  This is the first in a series.  I love to recommend series books to kids because it helps them become more fluent readers as they read through familiar characters and settings.  It also solves the "I don't know what to read!" debate.

It's a cute mystery about a missing ring that Dawn and her sidekick, Jason, solve.  I enjoyed the silly descriptions of their disguises, and the other children in the class.

I'd give it 5 stars for being an easy to reader ebook for kids!

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende

This is the newest book by my favorite author, Isabel Allende. I'm also counting this one for the In The Pub challenge. You can probably already tell that I am going to love this one, and, though I don't want to give my review away, you're probably right. This book is a non-fiction memoir that is a follow-up to Paula. which is one of my all time favorite books. In this one, Allende updates her dead daughter, Paula, on the events in her family since her death. Allende's family is a clan that consists of her children, their families, her husband's children, their families, friends, and an assortment of people that they have "picked up" along the way. Allende's definition of family, or clan, reminds me of a hanging in my own home which reads that "Friends are the family one finds along the way."

STRENGTHS OF THE SUM OF OUR DAYS: There are many! I love the way Allende describes her family and friends. She creates very vivid word pictures which is amazing because she writes in Spanish and is translated into English. I also loved hearing the stories behind a number of her novels, including her novel on Zorro and my second favorite, The Infinite Plan. In this book, Allende's memories take on the strength of a well-written novel with the way she is able to turn events into stories and plots. It was quite touching to read her reflections on her grandchildren, and her unabashed love and protection of them. That is why a health crisis for her granddaughter is so wrenching in the book, especially with its allusions to Paula's fate. Luckily, all is well in this book.

I also enjoyed the relationship between Allende and her second husband, Willie, because she portrays it in a realistic light. There are times when they disagree and fight which makes it feel like Allende is being emotionally honest with her readers. That's probably the chief strength of this book - Allende's unflinching ability to be honest about her life and the emotional components of it.

WEAKNESSES OF THE SUM OF OUR DAYS: I really want to say nothing - that it is a perfect book just as it is. However, I would have liked to know more about her husband, Willie. He seems to have an interesting viewpoint that wasn't always explored in the book because it was, obviously, told from her point of view.

Overall, I'd give this one five stars. It is probably one of my favorites of the year so far. It also came at a really good time for me because Allende talked about her reaction to Paula's death and the need to move beyond the pain which was a message I needed to hear. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you thought. If you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and add it to your TBR pile.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

This is another one I read for the A to Z Challenge. I read about it in a number of blogs and it has been on my TBR pile for awhile. It doesn't qualify for the In The Pub challenge because, even though it is a recently published book, it is classified as a young adult novel.

The books follows Holling Hoodhood through his seventh grade school year in 1967. Holling lives in a small town where everyone is either Catholic or Jewish. Being a Presbyterian, Holling is not dismissed from school early each Wednesday, much to the dismay of his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Through the Wednesday afternoons of the school year, Holling learns to read Shakespeare, wrangles missing rats, and learns to run for the school's track team. He also learns about himself, his family, and his own humanity in the process.

STRENGTHS OF THE WEDNESDAY WARS: Schmidt created a school, and set of characters, that beg for teachers to read them to their upper elementary school classes. There are parts of the story that are laugh out loud funny, like when the class rats escape and how they are finally found. Schmidt also does a good job of capturing the era with the conflict between Holling's father and sister as well as the military deployment of Mrs. Baker's husband. By making the main character a boy, this is a book that both boys and girls can relate to. I also liked the ending of the book where Holling was, finally, able to stand up for himself and what he wanted. I think that's a great lesson for young people. The last page of the story really highlights Holling's growth and his humanity without being too sentimental. Schmidt did an excellent job of creating a character that young people will enjoy.

WEAKNESSES OF THE WEDNESDAY WARS: I really enjoyed this one so it's hard for me to find any problems with it. The only thing I can say is that it assumes some knowledge of the political events of the era which, unfortunately, may be lacking in the book's target audience. As adults, we assume they know about Vietnam, but they may have never gotten that far in their history classes.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this one. In fact, I'm giving it 5 stars (only the third book I've given all five stars to this year!) It is a funny yet poignant look at the problems of growing up. This would be a great gift to the young person in your life. I would use it to open up a discussion of following your own path and what that really means. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you thought.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I read this one for the A to Z Challenge on the advice of numerous bloggers. It is the story of Henry and his wife, Claire. The book chronicles their life together from the time Henry met Claire when he was an adult, and she was a child. It turns out that Henry has a genetic mutation which allows him to travel through time. So he is able to meet Claire when she's a child, but he's already an adult. As their life together progresses, the reader follows Henry's erratic moves through his life. In some instances, Henry even meets various versions of himself.

STRENGTHS OF THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE: I loved everything about this book. Henry and Claire's love story is quite touching and believable, despite Henry's travels though time. The book starts as Claire declares that her job is to wait. She does spend much of the book waiting for Henry to return from a different time or waiting for him to show up at an appointed time. However, I didn't find myself feeling sorry for her because she lived a full life with friends and her art, making paper and paper sculptures. I found the ending to be both sad and glorious. Instead of being sappy, I felt like these two people were truly destined to be together.

Niffenegger's humor was apparent as Henry always appeared in his travels naked and had to beg, borrow, or steal clothes and money to get by in his new time. Henry was a wonderful character. Even though it's obvious that he has a problem with alcohol, and possibly drugs, he maintains high moral standards. He doesn't reveal what he knows of the future to friends, except for the occassional stock tip, and will not consummate his relationship with Claire until she is 18.

The author also created a wonderful world of supporting characters. I especially enjoyed some of the trampy women in Henry's life during a time period before he was married to Claire. His best friend, Gomez, and his wife were nice touch points in the story. It was a bit hard to believe that they knew about the time travel and accepted it, but it was nice to see the true friendship between the characters.

WEAKNESSES OF THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE: I really liked the book, but it was not told in a linear fashion since we followed Henry's shifts through time. This might bother some people, but it was essential to the story.

Overall, this is also a five star book for me. I could read this one over and over and probably see things I'd missed the first time through. I highly recommend it and look forward to hearing what other people thought of it.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book came very highly recommended from many of my fellow bloggers, and I read it for the A to Z Challenge. Right away, I want to say WOW - everyone was right. This is an excellent book. It is definitely a 5 star book in my rating system this year. I said I'd reserve 5 stars for books that blew me away, and this one did it.

For those of you who don't know, this book is set in a small town in Nazi Germany during World War II and tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a German teenage girl, as told by Death. Death is the narrator and a major character in the book. It is also the story of the people who live in her street and in her small town. Yes, it is a Holocaust story but not in the same way as many of the books I've read.

In the past, I've had the good fortune to teach Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank to groups of young people. This book needs to join that literature group for young adults. It is the first book I've read where I truly understood the terrors faced by the German population at the time. I've always thought how could anyone let such horrendous things happen, but Zusak showed me a different view of humanity - the humanity of the average German who truly had no choice.


STRENGTHS OF THE BOOK THIEF: There are so many. First, I think Zusak has created one of the all-time great characters/narrators in Death. I know that sounds funny, but Death, in this story, is human, humane, compassionate, and a bit humorous. At the end of the book, Death says, "I am haunted by humans." In some ways, I think Death is haunted by humanity - both the good and the bad parts. When Death does take children in the story, his compassion and gentleness moved me to tears.

Another strength is how Zusak created the characters of Liesel and her foster father, Hans. The depth of their relationship is clear, but so is their humanity. At one point in the book, they shelter a Jewish man in their basement. I don't want to give away anything in the book, but Death does say that all people die. I was quite taken with Death's descriptions of both Liesel and Han's souls. That also brought me to tears.

Zusak was also able to tie all the pieces together, and the book didn't feel like over 500 pages. Everything happened for a reason which helped move the plot along elsewhere in the book. Each of the book thieving incidents by Liesel were turning points in the plot. I actually reread the first twenty pages of the book after I finished it because Death alludes to a lot of these points right at the start of the story.

WEAKNESSES OF THE BOOK THIEF: My first instinct is to say NONE, but, after a discussion of the book with my husband, I did realize one thing about it. It required that the reader had some basic knowledge of the rise of Hitler in Germany, the horrors of the concentration camps, and the way war was fought in World War II with bombers etc. It didn't even occur to me since I always assume that this is knowledge that all educated people possess. However, my husband reminded me that there are schools were the Holocaust is not discussed and where American and World History courses never get to World War II. I hope teachers find this book and use it to inform students.




Overall, what can I say. WOW and again WOW. I don't keep many books - I pass them along for others to read. This is going to be one of the few that I put my name in because I want my daughter to read it when she's old enough. I've read many blogger's reviews of this one, but please feel free to leave me links to your reviews. I want to reread them now that I've read the book.