Category: Fiction (Page 19 of 19)

The Skin Collector by Jeffrey Deaver

August 19, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Lincoln Rhyme’s 11th outing is about the same as the previous ones; the forensic genius is irascible and impatient, Amelia Sachs is tortured by claustrophobia and is still driving on the sidewalks of New York City, and there is a sicko murdering innocent people. The plot suggests that there is a link between aforementioned sicko and the Bone Collector, except this guy murders his victims by tattooing them and then injecting them with poison during the finishing touches.

I did learn more about tattooing, and I also learned not to go into the basement, no matter what was happening. I also came to the realization that if I never read the phrase “walk the grid” again, it would be too soon.

Subplots are many here: undercover cops at a funeral, (the deceased is Rhyme’s nemesis The Watchman) Amelia struggling with the odd behavior of her “foster” daughter Pam, a view into the Skin Collector’s family. I felt that the book dragged a great deal in spots and at times I had to force myself to keep going. Honestly, I felt that Billy Haven was a boring character.

Yes, there are the obligatory Deaver twists and turns in the plot, and then it doubles back on itself….but after I read the last page I felt nothing. Well, maybe some excitement that the ordeal was finally over and I could read something else.

I’d recommend this for hardcore Deaver fans only.

The Fever by Megan Abbott

August 12, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Once again Megan Abbott has written a dark, sensuous novel that captures perfectly the heart and soul of the teenage girl, complete with drama, love, pain, and subterfuge. Her prose is exquisite, putting words to simple things and making you see those things differently; such as the description of how the main character wishes she could be alone with her friend the way they used to be: “Ever since the first week of school freshman year, it had been hard to find Gabby alone–at least at school, where girls hung from her like tassels.”

Anguished and picture perfect girls populate an average high school where things become frantic after one student has a seizure in class. More and more girls follow suit, while rumors fly and friends stay up all night texting and eyeing everyone with suspicion.

Abbott is the master of teenage angst, deeper and much more twisty than many realize. No one in the town knows where this strange illness is coming from, and I was not able to see the end coming a mile away, as you can with some mysteries. Yes, the quality of the plot is as wonderful as the writing. I cannot imagine how it must be to grow up in a world where everything is recorded instantly on a cellphone and uploaded to the Internet before the event is even finished; yet this is the pull of the story. Who can be trusted? Are these videos helping or hurting? Is everything really what it seems to be?

I devoured this book in two days, wishing alternatively that I was a teenager again, and then being glad that I wasn’t. If you liked Abbott’s previous novel Dare Me, you will love this one as well. Let me know what you think! You can get a copy here.

Guilt By Association by Marcia Clark

August 5, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is number one in a series about fictitious Los Angeles DA Rachel Knight, who bends the law just a bit to help solve crimes. The cast of regulars wasn’t too hard to keep up with, and their personalities were different enough that I didn’t get them confused. That is a win. Second, the plot held my interest (her colleague is found violently dead under dubious circumstances) and it was mostly plausible. Her cop friends take her along to question suspects, and she uses HER contacts in the Justice Building to find short cuts and get inside information.

Her residence is in a high priced hotel, and there are a lot of scenes where she and her cronies are getting room service, boozing up at the hotel bar, and living luxuriously. This woman does NOT cook at home. In fact, I was annoyed at a plot point that had her car vandalized and her subsequent bemoaning the lack of funds to repair it. I actually said out loud to my Nook “Maybe if you didn’t go to fancy restaurants so much you could save some cash! Nuke a frozen dinner for god’s sake!”

Sumptuous dining aside, this debut novel had minimal courtroom drama, lots of sleazy and colorful characters, and was written smoothly, with wisecracks and pathos alike. Author Marcia Clark was the lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson trial and knows the inside scoop. Think John Grisham, but less down-homey and more fast action. I’m curious to see which characters reappear in book #2. As of this writing there are four Rachel Knight books, and editions marked 1.5, 1.6, and 2.5. Number 4 was published this year, and I hope to get to it in a timely fashion. I’m really excited to find another series with a lead character I want to follow, a la John Sandford and Lee Child. No smarmy girl protagonist here; Knight is a strong woman. This one is a “gimme” for sure.

Women Of The Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

July 22, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

A few months ago I had read one of Tsukiyama’s books, and thought it was pretty good. I then immediately put the rest of her works on my Goodreads list. The other day the library informed me that this was available for me to pick up.

I made it to page 103 before deciding to throw it back.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s written well and I’m sure it’s a lovely book. However, it just didn’t move fast enough for me. To me, it was like Muzak, soothing, pleasant, but nothing ever really happens.

The story is about young girls as silk workers in China in 1926, and according to the blurb, they eventually strike due to poor working conditions. The book, at least up to page 103, describes the girls and their former life, interspersed with their life at the factory. I grew weary of the constant pages of nothing happening, except eating, and wishing they were back home, and jumping back and forth between characters. It also seemed to me that their names were all alike and I could not remember who was who, and so I began to not care about which character was talking.

That was the beginning of the end. I have too many other books in the bullpen to waste any more time. There are more Tsukiyama books planned; I just hope the subject matter is more exciting.

The Reading Lessons by Carole Lanham

July 15, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 1 Comment

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, Carole!

The first few pages were rather disjointed and I almost put the book away unread. I was THISCLOSE to doing it…but something made me keep going.

Boy, am I glad I did! The writing is sly, at times heartfelt, sometimes maudlin, and there are many hidden gems along the way. The plot is fairly simple: boy meets girl, boy becomes gently obsessed with girl, girl is evil and strings him along. At times I wanted to shake Hadley and say “Forget her! She’s a jerk!” but of course, he didn’t listen to anyone else, so my advice would be falling on deaf ears.

Follow Hadley along as he grows older and tries to forget his obsession, with results you won’t see coming. When I think of how I almost missed this little golden story it made me think to give more books another chance.
I would definitely read more by this author. These characters will stay with me a long time.