Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Sep 29

#23: The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion)

by kennithfreeman

23492671._SR1200,630_I returned to My Library Shelf project and read The Rosie Effect, the sequel to The Rosie Project. While I really enjoyed the first novel, The Rosie Effect left something to be desired. In the sequel, Rosie and Don are married and living in New York City. When Rosie finds herself pregnant, she begins to doubt if Don will be a suitable father given his “uniqueness” due to his obsessive personality. Don finds himself fighting for his future child as well as his marriage.

The Rosie Effect is littered with humorous scenes as Don attempts to learn what fatherhood is all about. However, the novel simply feels like a re-telling of the original novel and loses much of its charm in the process. I’m glad that I was reading the novel while I was extremely busy and was simply looking for something to read that would not require much brain power; The Rosie Effect fit the bill, but it’s not something I would recommend to my book-loving friends.

fiction My Library Shelf

Leave a comment »
Sep 20

#22: 14th Deadly Sin (James Patterson)

by kennithfreeman

I am getting closer and closer to being current with the Women’s Murder Club series and I am looking forward to settling into a slower pace of reading these Patterson novels. Having said that, I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed 14th Deadly Sin. In this installment, Lindsey and the SFPD are plagued by a string of robberies and murders that are being committed by a band of masked bandits wearing police windbreakers. Who can be trusted if police officers are now committing crimes against the citizens of San Francisco?

Yuki leaves the District Attorney’s Office in order to work for a not-for-profit firm that defends the poor who are being treated unjustly. Her first case pits her against her former boss as she sues the city in a wrongful death suit. A young African-American boy was arrested when he was found fleeing the scene of a massacre in a drug factory. Although circumstantial evidence pointed to his guilt, during the sixteen hour interrogation, the youth maintained his innocence and provided viable alibis. When promised his freedom if he would only confess to the crime, this intellectually-challenged boy confessed — and then found himself locked in a jail cell awaiting his trial. The trial never came — the boy was murdered while in custody. Yuki’s case hinges on the wrongful arrest and interrogation. Could this case possibly be connected to the Windbreaker Bandits?

Joe finds himself without a job, so he begins to unofficially investigate a string of stabbings that have occurred for the past 5 years on Claire’s birthday. As he pieces together what seems to be a connection, Joe quickly finds himself moving deeper into a realm of darkness and danger.

As you can see, 14th Deadly Sin keeps the reader turning pages in order to stay on top of the interwoven story line. The novel ends with a threat to Lindsey and her family that should influence the plot line of the 15th novel in the series.

fiction Series

Leave a comment »
Sep 10

#21: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore (Matthew Sullivan)

by kennithfreeman

My latest novel took me to a used bookstore that is a home-away-from-home for its quirky employees and eccentric patrons. The book’s opening scene features Joey, one of Bright Ideas’ most regular customers, dangling from a noose. His body has been discovered by Lydia, the lovable and loyal bookseller. As Lydia lower Joey’s body from the rafters, she discovers a photograph in Joey’s pocket. Is this a clue to the reason for Joey’s suicide? No….it actually raises more questions because the picture was taken at Lydia’s 10th birthday party — and was one of the last times she saw her friend Carol before she was tragically killed. Why does Joey have this picture? He and Lydia first met a few years ago…..long after her birthday celebration.

Lydia’s story is not without complication as well. As a young girl, Lydia was having a sleep over at Carol’s home on the night that their world would be turned upside down. While playing in a blanket tent in the living room, Carol and Lydia witnessed a stranger enter the house with a hammer in his hand. As the girls heard the sounds of Carol’s parents being murdered, Carol raced to aid them and lost her life in the process. Lydia found a hiding place under the kitchen sink and escaped the Hammerman’s violent rampage. The criminal’s identity has remained a mystery ever since the murderous night and has crippled Lydia in the process.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore weaves together the two mysteries of Joey’s tragic suicide and the Hammerman mystery into one story effortlessly. It is an exciting read that will keep the audience glued to its pages until the final revelation is made in the closing chapter. Thankfully, the violent scenes were not explicitly graphic and a welcome change of pace for my reading adventure.

fiction mystery

Leave a comment »
Sep 3

#20: Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)

by kennithfreeman

Cutting for Stone can only be described as a lush novel filled with rich language and mesmerizing characters. Narrated by Marion Stone, the twin brother of Shiva, the story follows Marion and Shiva’s relationship from its earliest beginnings in Ethiopia to its conclusion on the East Coast of the United States. Together, the twins experience many ups and downs as they struggle with issues related to love and personal identity while dealing with their own feelings of abandonment.

Marion and Shiva are the children of Thomas Stone, a renown surgeon, and Sister Mary Joseph Praise. The two boys were conjoined twins — connected by a stem from their heads — and were quickly separated after birth as their mother died in delivery. In his grief, Thomas Stone abandons his newborn children and the boys are raised by friends of their mother. The lives that began with desertion and loss are destined to have a painful existences.

As the novel reaches its climax, a series of coincidences lead to the boys separation…..as well as Marion’s reunion with figures from his past……and ultimately with his entire family. As the reader looks back on pivotal plot points, they seem inevitable in the course of events. However, the appearances of these plot twists are surprising and shocking, yet entirely believable. 

Cutting for Stone is not a novel that was read quickly. Instead, I found myself getting lost in the rhythm of Verghese’s language and lounging in the beautiful settings he described. Although much of the novel is set on the plains of Africa, the story does not feel “foreign” at all. Instead, it is a universal story of family, love, and loss. Cutting for Stone is definitely a novel not to be missed!

fiction

Leave a comment »
Blog at WordPress.com.