Tropical Delusions……

The Good Daughter – Karin Slaughter

Like many of the books that series writers branch out with, I initially passed this one up as it didn’t have my familiar, favorite characters in it. I should know better. I finally picked it up and of course, could not put it down. While the story was a bit different from what I’ve come to expect from Karin Slaughter, the storytelling was vintage Karin, and I found myself enthralled in Sam & Charlie’s story from start to finish.
Sam and Charlie are two young girls when tragedy strikes them unexpectedly one night in the form of the Culpepper brothers, coming to seek vengeance, presumably against their attorney father’s unpaid fees. The family is forever altered, leaving the sisters more strangers than anything, each dealing with their demons from that violent night in their own way. Many years later, another inexplicable tragedy occurs, with Charlie unexpectedly a witness, bringing the sisters back together to save their father, right a wrong, and to finally put their own demons to rest. It’s hard to say more than that without providing spoilers to the events of the book, but it’s vintage Slaughter, at her best, as always!!

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this, but I absolutely LOVE to read!! This undoubtedly stems from my childhood, where reading was an escape for me from a less than idyllic childhood. There’s nothing like a good story to suck you in and make you forget about all of your troubles and fears. It’s an escape mechanism that I continue to use to this day.

I started reading at the age of 4 with the series books that were so popular in my childhood days – The Bobbsey Twins initially, and as I grew into my pre-teen years I graduated to Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, Trixie Belden, and of course the Hardy Boys…

My love of reading just took off from there. I discovered Nora Roberts when I was 18, and then Sandra Brown and then James Patterson – I have a hefty list of authors now that I consider ‘must read’ and will purchase their books before they’re even available. Even now, I can’t even tell you the last time I watched television (or Netflix for that matter) but I just finished a great book this morning.

I highly recommend it – and ANY of her books for that matter!! And I wrote a review for Amazon!! That’s a new thing for me. I’ve tried it before, but sometimes have trouble articulating my thoughts on a book in a way that doesn’t give the whole plot away… So, should you stumble across this blog, and read my reviews, please give me feedback. I’m looking to gain some proficiency, in the hopes of becoming an advanced reader for some of my favorite authors and genres. While I’ll read pretty much anything, my purely selfish, me time includes typically mysteries and police procedurals. If I’ve had enough depravity for a while, I’ll move to action/family/romance type books, or fun, make you laugh out loud books, but I’m always drawn to a good mystery. I don’t have much desire to read biographies or other educational type books – likely because I read so much in an effort to stay current in my nursing career. However, I’m always looking for new authors and new suggestions!!

What do YOU like to read?

This topic has long been on my mind, and I’ve been meaning to write about childhood memories, experiences and such, and now seems as good a time as any. I received a text from my mom yesterday (I was at work, else it would have been a call) that my uncle had passed away while in hospice care after a lengthy battle with cancer. It was an expected death obviously, and my uncle by all appearances, has had a good life. He raised three beautiful, successful girls, has several grandchildren, and came from a prolific, tight-knit family. At least, we used to be…

So, after talking via text to Mom for a bit, I started thinking about my uncle and the last time I had seen him. And, I struggled to remember. It had to be at least six years ago, if not longer…

As a child growing up in New England, I felt as if my family was exceptionally close. My maternal grandparents were my rock. I, at the time, had a step-parent who was,(for reasons I still don’t understand), unkind and borderline abusive to me, and my grandparents were always there for me. I spent every weekend with them, and my life as I knew it, literally revolved around those weekends. I’d be excited and filled with anticipation on Fridays, knowing they were going to pick me up from school, and literally sick to my stomach on Sunday afternoons, knowing I had to return home. I traveled with them on summer vacations to Florida (even winter vacations when I was young and could be pulled out of school) and that is a very large part of why I live here now. But some of my fondest memories are of the holidays. The ENTIRE family got together at my grandparents house. Aunts, uncles, cousins, pets, extended family, family friends… you name it, we all were there. Even after my grandfather died, my grandmother remained the matriarch, keeping the family together, until she was no longer able to do so. And I guess that’s when everything changed.

Maybe it’s just that I grew up, or perhaps its this crazy world that we now live in, but it seems as if my family, once so close and loving, has been scattered to the ends of the earth. Some of my cousins, I haven’t seen since my grandmothers 80th birthday, almost 31 years ago. My newly lost uncle – I haven’t sen him or his family in 6+ years. I’ve never even met some of my cousins’ children… I rarely hear from any of my extended family either, with the exception of the occasional post on Facebook. (What would any of us do without that damn Facebook?) I am not blameless. I am fairly introverted and don’t reach out to many. If I don’t hear from you, I presume you don’t want to hear from me. Foolish, perhaps, but it’s how my mind works. Less than optimal experiences in my formative years I suppose. But my uncles death just got me to reminiscing and grieving not only for him, but for all of my family, both living and deceased, and the closeness we as an extended family all once had. And for the first time in a very long time, I am feeling bereft, and so lonely…

Why do we, as families, drift so far apart??

Do any of you love to read? I read voraciously and am always looking for a new title or series to read. In the course of my searching, I have stumbled across many new authors by subscribing to free and discounted book sites, which offer up new and upcoming authors books at discounted prices. In addition, you can also find well established authors as well, such as Nora Roberts, or Lee Child, for example. My favorite sites are BookBub, Bookperk, and Bargain Booksy. I am seldom disappointed with the books I find, and often find myself then purchasing the remainder of a set or series by these new authors.

One such example is the book I am reading now, by an author I’d never heard of, Kate Flora. (I should add as a side note that I love police procedurals and mystery books, although I’m not above a good romance or feel good story from time to time either!).

I picked up this book at a discounted price (a dollar or two) and within reading the first chapter, I knew that Kate was going to have a solid place on my readers shelf (well, a collection on my e-reader, but you get the idea). The story grabs you and sucks you in. When I’m finished I will write a formal review, but needless to say, I have already purchased the other 4 book in the series. If you like Lucas Davenport, Jack Reacher, and the like, you’ll very much enjoy Joe Burgess! Now I’m headed straight back to my book! Too warm to be outside today anyway!

I’m adding this MUCH later as I somehow got away from this blogging thing, but here is a review for Kate Flora…

Led Astray – Kate Flora

I received this book (electronic version) at a discounted price from Bookbub, it sounded like my kind of story (I LOVE police procedurals) and I thought for $1.99, I would give it a try. All I can say is WOW! I was not disappointed. I believe I was barely into Chapter 2 when I immediately went to Amazon and purchased the entire series (5 books to date).
Joe Burgess is a detective sergeant in Portland, ME, with a reputation for being “Portland’s meanest cop”, who responds to a ‘shots fired’ call and finds mayhem upon his arrival. One officer is dead, and another is gravely wounded, and no one is certain why war is being waged on the police. The ensuing story is mesmerizing as Joe and his team investigate the scene and the situation. As another commanding officer goes missing, Joe and his team struggle to find him, identify and catch the perpetrator and bring peace back to Portland.
The characters are memorable, realistic, believable and very enjoyable, with each character enmeshed in their own personal problems as well. The dialogue is true to form and had me laughing out loud at times, as the exhausted investigative crew bantered amongst themselves. If you enjoy Lucas Davenport (Sandford), Alex Cross (Patterson), JP Beaumont (Jance) & Jack Reacher (Child), then you will definitely want to add Joe Burgess to your bookshelves!!