Since the flight to Ireland is about six hours long I packed some books to read. And then given the rainy weather and the rental house so close to Kinsale I bought some more books while we were over there. And of course there was the flight home... Here are my thoughts on what I read:
Never Let You Go by Erin Healy
Back cover: Losing everything has Lexi clinging to her daughter. Hell is determined to loosen her grip.
It’s been seven years since disaster struck her family. Lexi Solomon has held it all together since then—just barely. But now Lexi is losing it. The husband who deserted her is back in town, wanting to see their daughter Molly. Her sister’s shameless murderer is up for parole. An unsavory old friend is demanding payment for debts Lexi knows nothing about and can’t begin to meet. And something else is going on—something Lexi feels but can’t explain. A dangerous shift is taking place between this reality and the next. Forces beyond her imagination are vying for control.
A rare novel that will satisfy a wide range of readers, Never Let You Go explores the high-stakes decisions played out in the thin spaces between heaven and earth. As the enemy’s grip tightens around Lexi, she will have to decide what’s truly worth holding on to.
Thoughts: I really like Ms. Healy's solo novel. I also like the books she co-authored with Ted Dekker. They both have a way of spinning a story that makes you stop and think, but they don't pound you over the head. Sometimes rare with today's authors. I'll be getting more of Erin Healy's books.
Deceit by Brandilynn Collins
Back cover: Sometimes the truth hides where no one expects to find it.
Joanne Weeks knows Baxter Jackson killed Linda—his second wife and Joanne’s best friend—six years ago. But Baxter, a church elder and beloved member of the town, walks the streets a free man. The police tell Joanne to leave well enough alone, but she is determined to bring him down. Using her skills as a professional skip tracer, she sets out to locate the only person who may be able to put Baxter behind bars. Melissa Harkoff was a traumatized sixteen-year-old foster child in the Jackson household when Linda disappeared. At the time Melissa claimed to know nothing of Linda's whereabouts—but was she lying?
In relentless style, Deceit careens between Joanne's pursuit of the truth— which puts her own life in danger—and the events of six years' past, when Melissa came to live with the Jacksons. What really happened in that household? Beneath the veneer of perfection lies a story of shakeable faith, choices, and the lure of deceit.
Thoughts: I have quite a few Brandilyn Collins books in my bookcase. I like her style of suspense. I like that sometimes I can figure out who the killer is and sometimes that it is a complete surprise. This one I was surprised. :)
Headhunters by Jo Nesbo
Back cover: Headhunters introduces us to the charming villain Roger Brown, a man who seems to have it all: he is Norway’s most successful headhunter, married to the beautiful gallery owner Diana, owns a magnificent house – and is living larger than he should. Meanwhile, he is playing at the dangerous game of art theft. At a gallery opening, his wife introduces him to the Dutchman Clas Greve. Not only is Greve the perfect candidate for the CEO position of the GPS company Pathfinder that Roger Brown is recruiting for; he is also in possession of ”The Calydonian Boar Hunt” by Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most sought-after paintings in modern art history. Roger sees his chance to become financially independent, and starts planning his biggest hit ever. But soon, he runs into trouble – and it’s not financial problems that are threatening to knock him over this time… The winding, explosive plot takes us from society’s financial and industrial elite to an underworld of contract killers and swindlers, offering Nesbo’s variations on the most spectacular murders, car chases and escapes that the genre has to offer on the way.
Thoughts: I knew when I picked it up and decided to buy it that reading books by authors from other countries could be quite different than the US books I'm used to reading. I can see why they made it into a movie: it's full of the stuff that Hollywood loves - sex, murder, thieves, no real good guys. Yeah, I was disappointed.
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Back cover: The thorns taught him a lesson in blood...
"Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse."
Once a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg's bleak past has set him beyond fear of any man, living or dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.
Thoughts: I am drawn to fantasy books, especially where the heroes/heroines run around with swords. I also like my heroes/heroines to have flaws and not be boringly perfect. I'm not even sure I like Jorg, but I like that his world is our possible future (at least in Mr. Lawrence's mind) after the Third World War. I am definitely interested to read the rest of this trilogy and see more of what Jorg finds to use that was left by the Builders.
His poetry is pretty good too!
My Glass Heart by Karen Gillece
Back cover: One evening, during a dinner party she is hosting, Helen Glass slips unannounced from her home. She becomes the victim of a shocking act of violence, cheating death literally by a heartbeat. Months on, although physically healed, doubts linger between Helen and her husband William over the events that led to that momentous act. What drove Helen from her home that night? And what is the dark truth behind her relationship to her attacker? Into their lives steps Reuben, a once-celebrated playwright hungry for his next great work. Instantly drawn to the couple, he deftly immerses himself in their individual stories of obsession and deceit. As the trial of her attacker gets underway and her marriage begins to crumble under the strain, Helen finds herself leaning heavily on her new friend. But just as glass is not always transparent, friendship is not always what it seems..."My Glass Heart" is a dramatic story of love, obsession and a still-beating heart.
Thoughts: I was so disappointed in this book. I don't think I would have been so disappointed (or even have bought it) if the back cover was more accurate. The story is more about Reuben, who gets a whole two sentences in the back cover paragraph, than it is about Helen. I kept thinking while I was reading, "When do we get to Helen's story." Her story is there, just buried under Reuben's. Yeah, won't be reading any more of Ms. Gillece's books.
Ultimate Weapon by Chris Ryan
Back cover: Three people. Three stories. And a dangerous struggle for survival in a country ravaged by war.
Nick Scott fought in the SAS during the first Gulf War. Captured and tortured, he was left a broken man. His daughter Sarah Scott is a beautiful young scientist who has cracked one of the scientific secrets of the age. Now, she has vanished.
Her lover Jed Bradley is one of the SAS’s toughest young agents, dropped behind enemy lines in the build-up to the Iraq War to find the truth about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. Caught in the midst of a global power play, Nick and Jed must fight their way through a war-ravaged Iraq as the regime of Saddam Hussein collapses around them.
It is a desperate race to find the woman they both love . . . and to unlock the secret of the Ultimate Weapon.
Thoughts: I like this book. It's full of action and suspense. Some "adult situations" which didn't really seem necessary for the plot, but still, not a bad read. I might read some more of his books in the future.
