#25 (2011)

Pure by Julianna Baggott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After the Apocalypse (here, quaintly termed THE DETONATIONS) society was divided into those inside THE DOME (the "Pures", the perfect ones, the "hope" for the future) and those outside (the wretches, the ailing, the magnificently disfigured)

Pressia and Partridge are two young people trying to escape their Fate...Partridge from inside THE DOME..where everything isn't as "perfect" as it seems..and Pressia from outside...where life is Hell no matter how hard one squints

Given that they both face the same Fate...conscription into the Military, where they will, literally, be turned into Super Soldiers or, failing that, be killed....Flight is the only option

When these two meet (and compare notes) an Apocalypse of another sort ensues..which makes for a great read

No spoilers here...just say that these young people have lived under a dark cloud of lies..regarding Family

This would be a great book for Book Club reads...if only to discuss the whole issue of "purity" as it concerns race and class....and Governmental control of the people...and lies, again

I think this is so much more than a YA title...and recommend it to anyone who favors Dystopian fiction...and doesn't mind being smacked in the face by fine writing...Ms Baggott did a grand job here..and i love her for it

4 Stars...well deserved

**This was a Net Galley**



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#22 (2011)

Ashes to Dust by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Thirty years after the volcanic eruption on Heimaey (the only populated island of Iceland's Westman Archipelago) the archeologists excavating the homes that had been buried in ash.....discovered three corpses and a discrete head, in the basement of a house belonging to one Markus Magnusson. Mr Magnusson enlists the help of his attorney, Thora Gudmundsdottir, whose lot in life seems to be the defense of eccentric clients. Markus, already a suspect in the death of a childhood friend, is also a master of the Tall Tale...and the one he spins is full of family secrets and/or outright lies..

Needless to say this story is complex..full of the aforementioned secrets and lies...fear of social stigma...sexual perversion and inadequacy...the whole boiling stew that makes for a good murder story. And it is that...with just enough of Thora's personal life thrown in to make the reader aware her life outside murder, mayhem and the Law...

However, I found the comparison to Steig Larsson's MILLENIUM TRILOGY a little off putting. I saw more of P D James' Adam Dalgliesh, and that series of police procedurals, visible here...Liz Salander is nowhere to be found in this book (though Thora's PA is a bit of a Goth Girl)....and the thrills are kept to a dull roar. Our Thora may no be glamourous, but she's a decent detective/lawyer

Recommended for mystery buffs and those who enjoy their ScandiCrime with more brains than brawn.

I haven't read any other of Ms Sigurdardottir's work, so I don't know how this book compares to her other titles

4 Stars

**This was a Net Galley**

#24 (2011)

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Isobel's life starts to unravel after her Mom marries a man she met Online....and continues after "the family" moves to Step Dad's "estate" on some godforskaen island off the coast of Washington state. Add a hunky, but Untouchable step brother..and you have the makings for some serious Teen Angst (with a side of Paranormal, after the dead step sister begins visiting, and raising questions about the deaths of her and her mother)

All of which would be unbearable, and probably unreadable...except for Isobel's edgy sarcasm and native Good Sense...and an honest fear of Mental Illness/Instability. Her natural father , the schizophrenic artist, is both a source of fear and regret...a heavy burden for any seventeen year old to bear..

That being said, I see this as a story, not so much of Isobel unraveling, as the fabric of her life being shredded by forces, and people, beyond her control..That she survives with her sense of humor intact can be chalked up to moxie...and her keen eye for people...who to trust..who to ignore.

The best Coming-of-Age stories don't preach...they let the character live their lives and work things out for themselves...mistakes and all. This is one of the best I've read in quite a while....I hope there are many Isobels out there.

3 Stars

****This was from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab****

#18

The Dressmaker: A Novel by Kate Alcott

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When Tess Collins walked away from a thankless housemaid job in Cherbourg...in 1912....and simultaneously found employment as a maid on the soon-to-be sailing Titanic ocean liner...little did she know that History would become a major part of her life

Given that the hearings, post "sinking", are a major part of this story, the actual trials are secondary to the social aspects....even the newly minted Suffragette Movement is given a back seat to the development of Tess' story, and character (such as it is)

Torn between two "lovers", neither of whose characters are particularly memorable...apprenticed to the wealthy, capricious and egocentric Lady Duff Gordon...couturiere to other wealthy people.....befriended by the sprited journalist, Pinky.....our Tess is on the way to becoming an American Girl...full of hopes, dreams, and ambition, never allowing opportunism to become a "fault"

Of all the characters in the book (and there are many..some who actually existed, like the Unsinkable Molly Brown ....entrepreneur extraordinaire) Pinky rang truest for me...because she had definite goals and aspirations..and opinions to which she gave some thought

Most of the story is window dressing for Tess, the budding Designer, the Dressmaker of the title...and her journey in the New World. I thought it was a pleasant read..the Romance angle was not overwrought, but neither was it all that romantic...the political aspects were toned down to "entertainment" scale...and Tess' relationship to Lady Duff Gordon reminded me of a recent novel/movie along the same lines. Sad to say I have read/seen neither..This is, after all, a "woman's book"....by it's nature it can't afford to be too "deep"

Which is not to say I didn't enjoy the story. I just wish it had had more meat on its bones and less description of the trappings of wealth and luxury, which in the end meant very little as the Titanic slowly sank into those ice cold waters

3stars




*****This was a Net Galley*****

#17

Budapest Noir by Vilmos Kondor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In 1930's Budapest, a young woman dressed as a prostitute, is found dead in an alley. In her purse is a Jewish prayer book

Budapest, in 1936, was no place for a Jew, or an inquisitive newspaper editor, as Zsigmund Gordon soon discovers, once he begins his own investigation of the "non crime"

A knowledge of Hungarian history isn't necessary, to understand the story herein, but it helps.....the narrative itself fills a lot of blanks...but the story itself is pretty basic. A coffee factor's daughter blows the cover of her "Aryan" family, by falling in love with a Rabbinical student...at a time when everyone, in Europe, was falling over to court the Nazis. Said daughter finds herself in the position of a Prostitute and "Artist's Model".....gets herself murdered...and Father does not know "best".

While not a Thriller in the James Ellroy mode....I see this more in Simenon's Inspector Maigret territory...more brains than brawn..though there is violence here..none of it gratuitous. Zsigmund Gordon is just a journalist...doing his job....risking life/limb/family.....It was the times, you know...

I liked this book for it's understated tone....it's "slow burn"...Recommended to those who like their Noir with a European, not Euro Trash, flavour.

4 STARS

*****this was a Net Galley*****

#16

Call Me Princess by Sara Blaedel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A young woman is brutally raped in her own home and Detective Inspector Louise Rick is given the case. Subsequent investigation reveals the fact that the young woman met her assailant at an online dating website.

The perils of Online Dating are the focus of this story. The ubiquity of the phenomenon and the supposed anonymity of the participants.

I found this to be a good mystery, story wise....but the entire tone of the book was a bit dry, and bloodless. Something I'll chalk up to it being a translation. I did not find it as compelling as Stieg Larsson's work...to which it's been compared. ScandiCrime has become one of the darlings in publishing, lately....and any work containing potential "thrills" seems to be fair game. a pity, that..since this book is pretty low key. The addition of glimpses into Rick"s rocky personal life was a good touch....lacking sentimentality, they, again, proved that high stress jobs wreck havoc on romance.

There were enough plot twists in the story to keep it moving...some good insights into the feeding frenzy of the "tabloid" publishing mentality....and the fact that every job situation has its pompous dead weight.

I did enjoy this book, and would like to read more of Ms Blaedel's work. Recommended, but don't expect heart-stopping thrills...Louise Rick is no Liz Salander...but she works hard and gets the job done.

(3 Stars)

#19

The Witch's Ladder by Dana Donovan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


If you're not already "into" Paranormal Lit....you might want to take a pass on this one..

Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys do Paranormal??? This clueless bunch of psychics could barely organize lunch...never mind the murder of one of their own...who embodies the "soul of all evil" (my quotes..not the author's)

The narrative bounces between snippets of "lectures" on all this paranormal....and trendy, Hip dialogue...a bit disconcerting. All of the stereotypes are here....as well as the funky fogs and spontaneous tornadoes/earthquakes/water spouts. There is grisly murder, complete with evisceration....."tribal" jealousy....a gambling jones....and a stalwart Policeman/convert.

I don't mean to make a complete hash of this book. It is not my genre-of-choice...but I was in the mood for "fluff" and I don't do romance...The plot was strong enough that it held my interest...but, I am a born skeptic. Things that "go bump in the night" probably do so for a very good reason...I like my Mysteries without the "hocus pocus". I will say, reading this book gave my Laugh muscles a workout!

Recommended to the already-converted...others, beware

(2 Stars)