Novels Now

I have long been a fan of Jodi Picoult. Most I have loved, like My Sister’s Keeper and Plain Truth. One I hated, The Tenth Circle. But on a whole, I’m totally enamored with her work. So…..when I saw a new book by Picoult on the shelf, I figured it would make a great addition to my reading list for “The Pub Challenge”.

Shay Bourne is the first man on New Hampshire’s Death Row for over 69 years. He was convicted 11 years ago of killing a police officer and his 7 year old step-daughter. A jury of his peers found him guilty and sentenced him to die by lethal injection. But now that the execution has been set and Shay has been moved to the I-Tier, “miracles” seem to be following him around. A dead bird is “resurrected”, a dying AIDS patient’s disease seems to disappear, and a tiny piece of gum seems to be stretched to feed all the inmates of the block. Now, people are lining up outside the prison to see the “Death Row Messiah”.

June Nealon knows better than anyone about Shay Bourne. It was her husband and daughter that were killed. She holds an amazing amount of hate towards Shay. But will she be able to get past all that hate to accept a gift from him that could save her OTHER daughter, Claire?

Maggie Bloom is an ACLU attorney that would like nothing better than to do away with the Death Penalty altogether. But in her quest to shed light on this issue, she takes Shay’s case about HOW he is going to be executed. As much as she would like to have Shay’s case reopened for fear that an innocent man will die, she has to follow her heart and the things Shay is asking her to do.

Father Michael has been called in from St. Katherine’s Church to be a spiritual advisor for Shay Bourne. But is Father Michael as interested in saving Shay’s soul as he is his own? Because before Father Michael was a priest, he was a college student that sat on the jury that sent Shay to Death Row.

One of the things I love about Picoult’s writing is her amazing ability to see all sides of a situation. In this book, she writes from numerous perspectives, so you can see what many of the characters are feeling. And as with all of her previous books, she tackles tough issues. In this one, namely the death penalty. And if she had just stuck with one, it probably would have been a 5 Star review. But instead, she hit on some other topics that kind of muddied the point of view. Reminiscent of The Green Mile with “miracles” performed by an inmate, she also choose to touch on religion, which is another subject all together. Bringing in topics like the Gnostic gospels, while interesting, took away from the main storyline a little.

Don’t get me wrong. I still loved the book. And I still cried in the end, as I usually do when I read a Picoult. But I had figured out the “Twist” long before it was actually revealed. And unlike a lot of Picoult’s books, this actually left me with questions to ponder, even after the book was finished. No clear cut ending for this one. Still, it was a page-turner and I’m glad I read it. I’d love to hear your opinions, if you read this one yourself!!

4/5

For about 2 years, I was a very prolific reader of “Chick Lit”. My favorites were always the Brit Chick Lit. Although Marian Keyes is from Ireland, I have always lumped her in this category. That being said, I have never actually READ a book by Marian Keyes. I’ve always meant to, but it just never happened. Maybe that is why I was so surprised when I read This Charming Man (576 pgs, William Morrow). A special thanks to Michael Barrs from William Morrow for sending this one my way! I’m using this one for another check on my Pub 08 Challenge list.

The worst day of my life. When the first wave of shock released me from a fiendish grip, I couldn’t help but notice that Paddy hadn’t called me. Ominous. I was his girlfriend, the media was going wild that he was getting married to another woman, and he hadn’t called me. Bad sign.

This story is told in alternating chapters by the women in the life of Paddy de Courcy, the head of the New Ireland political part. Smart, handsome and debonair, Paddy de Courcy has charmed the entire country of Ireland….and quite a few women to boot. From each woman’s perspective, we can see how knowing Paddy has shaped their lives.

Lola is a stylist with an amazing fashion sense and purple hair. Excuse me. That would be molichino hair. She considered herself Paddy’s girlfriend, even though there were very few times he actually took her out in public. After the news broke, Lola spent a week stalking Paddy trying to get answers. The best he could do was that his fiancee was going to be the perfect politician’s wife…something Lola would never be. With her business taking a series nose-dive because of her obsession with Paddy, she decided to take a break and stay at a friend’s cabin in a little remote village across the country from Dublin.

Grace is a reporter for The Spokesman. She is tough, breezy and full of spunk. And she knew Paddy when she was younger. The worked together in a bar right out of high school. And just when Grace had decided to make her move, Paddy met her twin sister, Marnie. Marnie was as opposite from Grace as could be: she is tiny, fragile and super-emotive, in a Sylvia Plath sort of way. Paddy and Marnie dated for a long time, before he broke her heart and moved on. Today Marnie is married and has 2 beautiful daughters, lives in a beautiful house, and has the perfect life. But she’s hiding a horrible secret that could ruin everything.

Alicia is the fiance in question. Not a beauty, like most of Paddy’s women, Alicia is a widow that is definitely the conservative, dependable type to be a politician’s wife.

As I stated earlier, when I started this book I expected a light, breezy book that would cute and funny. While there certainly were some cute parts (mostly all from Lola…..Tranny Night is utterly hilarious!), this book hits on some extremely serious and complex topics, such as domestic violence and alcoholism. I loved the way the book was laid out, with each character’s own voice telling how the suave Paddy de Courcy changed her life. (although I have to admit, Lola’s chapters slightly annoyed me. As much as I loved her character, he “voice” was written in almost a short-hand sort of way. Made it a bit difficult to read sometimes.)

I’m always a fan of a strong female heroine, which is the reason both Grace and Lola appealed to me so much. Marnie played the victim too well, and it bothered me on some level. But her growth through the book was definitely the most dramatic. Paddy himself is only written through the eyes of the women, and Keyes has done an excellent job of taking him, making him this fantastic man, then peeling back the layers to see what is really inside.

There is so much more to this book, but I’d hate to give anything away. So, I’ll leave you with this: although this certainly isn’t a book for everyone, it was an exceptionally good tale of love, friendship, family, and heartbreak. And I am extremely glad I read it!!

4.5/5

“He’s going to kill you. Right here in the middle of this snow-covered, God-forsaken valley, he’s going to kill you! Fight, Wendy, Fight!”

And so our story starts off with a bang! In the sparsely populated area of the Bitterroot Mountains in Pinewood County, Montana, a serial killer is on the loose. 4 bodies of missing woman have been found tied naked to trees and left to freeze to death in the bitter winter snow, with a star carved into the tree over their heads and letters added to a cryptic note with each added victim. Not one of them have a thing in common, and none are from the area. All have been victims of car “accidents”, that have left them injured but cared for, at least until they found themselves tethered to a tree. But the accidents were forced by a gunshot to a tire, not a random accident. And the killer is meticulous in efforts to create the perfect crimes.

For Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Piscoli, this case has turned into a nightmare. With each additional body, the population of Pine County is getting more and more paranoid, and the pressure to crack this case is getting to be unbearable. Alvarez is a straight-laced, newcomer to the area, and she keeps herself and her past sheltered from everyone. Piscoli is a single-mother of teens that flys by the seat of her pants and is heading for trouble by seeing the latest drifter in town.

When Jillian Rivers receives a package in the mail with pictures of a man that looks a lot like her husband that supposedly died in an accident 10 years before, she initially freaks out. When Aaron died, he left her in a bad way. Apparently he had bilked a lot of people of their life savings in a pyramid scheme, and people were pointing fingers at Jillian. Postmarked Mizzouli, Montana, home of her ex-husband Mason, the letter was cryptic. Jillian immediately sets out for Montana and a showdown with Mason, only to be involved in a car “accident” along the way. When she wakes up, she is in the cabin of loner Zane MacGregor and she is terrified for her life. Having read about the serial killings, she has no idea if she is in danger or if she is being “saved” from a fate almost worse than death.

Left to Die is a first-rate thriller, that is action-packed from page one. There are a lot of characters in this book, and lot of different story lines. One would think that might muddy the waters, so to speak. But Jackson makes it work. Is Jillian the victim of the “Star-Crossed” Killer, or is her accident the work of a copycat, since she seemed to be specifically targeted?? Is Zane MacGregor a good guy, or the killer himself? And what about the secrets that both Alvarez and Piscoli keeping? How do they relate to the killer and/or killers?

My one major complaint about this book is that it is basically a segway for Book number 2. Now, I’m usually all about the series. But this book is so completely open-ended that I was a bit perturbed. I expected a little more to be tied up by the time I closed the book. And it wasn’t. I almost feel like I was suckered into having to read another book (or two). But that doesn’t mean I was disappointed in the content. The storyline was a real page-turner, and I found myself mesmerized by the incredible detail of the terrain and the killer’s methodology. Lisa Jackson is a talented author that will leave you wanting more. I guess I just have to wait until NEXT August to get some answers.

4/5