Heart-shaped box

Hill, J. (2007). Heart-shaped box. New York: Harper.

Annotation: Retired rock star Judas Coyne collects macabre memorabilia, but the ghost he purchased online is more that he bargained for.

Summary: Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre so when his personal assistant finds a haunted suit on an online auction he quickly puts in a bid. When the suit arrives in a heart-shaped box Jude finds that the suit truly is haunted and this is no friendly ghost. This ghost is the father of a groupie who lived with Jude for a few months and who he nicknamed Florida, after her home state. Florida suffered from depression and killed herself shortly after he sent her packing. Craddock McDermott is out for revenge and plans to kill anyone associated with Jude and finally Jude himself. Jude and Georgia, his current groupie girlfriend, set out for McDermott's living daughters house to rid themselves of his ghost and end up finding out that Florida killed herself because of the sexual abuse McDermott inflicted on her. With Florida's help Georgia and Jude survive, but not before suffering some major losses.

Review: The horror cliches in this book abound. There's a rocker into macabre, the hot groupies with impersonal nicknames, a black-eyed specter, the dogs that are familiars and can sense and hurt the dead, car with the radio that keeps turning on, and the Ouija board. The writing is unimpressive, but fans of the genre will appreciate it for what it is.

Possible recommendations: Clive Barker, Stephen King

Rating:2Q, 2P

Vixen 03

Cussler, C. (1978). Vixen 03. New York: Viking Press.


Annotation: A mysterious 1954 plane crash leads an American salvage operations expert to South Africa where some of the plane's contents have fallen into terrorist hands.



Summary: Dirk Pitt is a man who doesn't shy away from adventure. While on vacation with his girlfriend at her family's Colorado cabin Dirk discovers some interesting looking plane parts and decides to investigate them. He finds out that they came from a plane that crashed in 1954 and was never found. As a salvage expert he has the knowledge and resources necessary to find the plane and when he does is surprised to find that it contains a body that was not part of the original crew. He locates the admiral who ordered the secret flight in 1954 finds out that the plane was carrying 16 battleship shells containing a virus strain that's so deadly that just five ounces would kill 98% of life in Manhattan if dropped over the city. Eight of the 36 shells are missing and Dirk discovers that two of them have been sold to a South African terrorist group who plan to overthrow the white government. It's up to Pitt thwart their plan to unleash the deadly virus on Washington and to see to it that all the shells are destroyed.



Review: If not for the fact that this book was written in the 70s I would have sworn that Dirk Pitt character was modeled after "The Most Interesting Man in the World." He has Congresswoman Loren Smith head over heels for him, is able to find a missing ship that the Navy and Coast Guard couldn't find during their four month long investigation, and the terrorist? Only Pitt can stop them! All of this makes it a fast paced and fun read loaded with action and adventure. This is the fifth book in the series and I had read that it wasn't necessary to read them in order. This book definitely can stand alone, but I think I would have understood some of the characters better if I'd read them in order.



Possible Recommendations: Books by Dale Brown, W.E.B. Griffin, David Balducci, James Patterson. There are 21 "Dirk Pitt" adventures.



Rating:3P, 4Q

In the heart of the canyon

Hyde, E. (2009). In the heart of the canyon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.


Annotation: A group of fifteen embark on a trip through the Grand Canyon where navigating the rapids and surviving the elements aren't the only life changing events experienced.

Summary: Twelve adventurers- comprised of a family of four, a septuagenarian couple on their 125th rafting trip, a single guy looking to hook up, a mother and her very overweight daughter, a Harvard professor, and an overeager history buff and his wife- have all, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, signed on to a twelve day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. The three experienced guides, led by JT, not only have to keep them safe on the water, but also keep the group functioning as a whole. When an injured dog is found, JT makes the decision to let the dog travel with them until they reach their next outpost, causing tension and possible unsafe situations for the group. Add to this an elderly rafter who is often confused and disoriented, his wife whose injury just won't heal, and a very large teenage girl who is experiencing stomach pains and this trip is going to take an unusual turn.

Review: Readers who like to get to know their characters will enjoy this book. The use of both first and third person gives the reader a multi-dimensional look, providing depth to the characters and scenery. Amy's journal entry added a third viewpoint. All of these things combined made me feel like I was along on the trip rather than simply experiencing it. However, I questioned the likelihood that Amy would have been allowed on the journey in spite of a lifejacket that barely fit her and the affect her weight might have on the balance of the raft as well as JT's decision to keep the dog despite the danger it might present to the passengers and the journey. Once I accepted those situations I found myself immersed in this novel.

Possible recommendations:

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow 

by Maria Coffey,  

Rock Dance by Jack Ballard Jr., Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Rating: 4Q, 4P

Zombiestan

Dhar, M. (2011). Zombiestan. New York: Severed Press.

Annotation: Taliban Zombies are infecting humans at an exponential rate and survivors must find a way to protect themselves and destroy the zombies.

Summary: Navy SEALs are on the alert in Afghanistan, seeking to eliminate Osama bin Laden's next in commands to prevent them from continuing their Jihad. While staking out an encampment they spot their targets and fire, unaware that the tent they are standing near contain a virus created from nuclear and biological weapons, which they'd planned to release on Western targets. When the tent explodes, the humans in the area are infected and become undead the next night. They retain the imprint of the Taliban and tie black turbans on their heads and moan, "Jihhaaad" as they attack their victims. The virus has spread quickly and overseas as soldiers who were unaware that they were infected are put on planes and sent to other locations. The zombies quickly begin evolving, sharing a collective consciousness and begin to work together to infect more people every night. A Navy SEAL, a teenage boy, an eldery professor who writes best selling romance novels under a pseudonym, and a young girl and her brother find each other and must figure out how to survive. When three year old Abhi is bit by a zombie and instead of dying survives with no effects the group realizes that he must have some sort of antibody to the virus and that if they can keep him safe and get him to a lab the human race just might have a chance of surviving.

Review: I don't have a lot of experience with zombie fiction, but this one seems different than most in the genre. I liked that the zombies were not just mindless, well- zombies, but that as time went on they learned and were able to work as a group, even sharing a collective consciousness. This made them much more formidable opponents, not that your garden variety of zombies are formidable enough! The romance between characters was realistic given the circumstances and all of the other characters were well fleshed out kept me interested. As with any zombie fiction you have to suspend belief, but the situations were convincing and I kept thinking "what if this happened?" while reading. There are some grammatical errors which make it apparent that this self-published book for Kindle was written by someone who is a non native speaker of English, but not so many as to detract from the readability of this book. Dhar is an author to watch out for.

Possible recommendations: Max Brooks

Rating: 2Q, 4P

Water for Elephants

Gruen, S. (2004). Water for elephants. Chapel HIll: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Annotation: Ninety-three year old Jacob Jankowski relives his years working as as a circus veterinarian during the Great Depression.

Summary: Jacob Jankowski has lived a good life. Now he's parked in a nursing home, always living by someone else's rules, waiting to die. The monotony of routine is disturbed by the arrival of a Circus tent within view of the home's windows which has Jacob reliving his his past, beginning with his final days as a student at Cornell University and including the months when he was employed as a circus veterinarian with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob is unaware of the social structure of the Circus and manages to cross social lines, often upsetting others and drawing attention to himself. He is initially embraced by the head trainer, August and his wife Marlena, but August is a cruel and mentally ill man who is suspicious of Jacob's relationship with Marlena. Eventually many things go wrong with the circus, ending in some of the men releasing the animals. In the ensuing stampede an elephant that August was particularly cruel to drives a stake through August's head killing him. In the final chapters we find that Jacob has left the nursing home unattended to visit the circus and ends up convincing them to take him on the road to sell tickets.

Review: I loved this book! It's exploration of life in during the Great Depression was fascinating. Gruen's use of chapters which alternate between the past and the present worked well and created a sense of mystery. They allowed you to see that Jacob survived, but kept me guessing who it was that Jacob was protecting and wondering if the wife that he mourns would turn out to be Marlena. The entire story is bittersweet, with Jacob struggling to maintain his humanity and morality in the face of the brutality of circus life. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Possible recommendations: The aerialist by Richard Schmitt, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Rating:5Q, 5P

Austenland

Hale, S. (2007). Austenland. New York: Bloomsbury.

Annotation: Jane, obsessed with Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Pembrook Park, an exclusive resort catering to Austen-crazed women.

Summary: Jane Hayes is a single 30-something year-old New Yorker who is obsessed with the Colin Firth version of Mr. Darby. Her wealthy great aunt discovers this secret when she finds Jane's copy of the movie hidden in a houseplant and upon her passing, bequeaths a three week trip to Pembrook Park, an exclusive resort where women spend their days re-enacting life in early nineteenth-century England. Jane excels at getting into character, but is never able to fully suspend her belief (are the others here actors?) and she also finds that life in that time period could be, well just plain boring. Things become more lively when she hooks up with Martin, a gardener at the estate, but then he dumps her. Can Jane find love anywhere?

Review: This was a fun book, but it's definitely not for all who enjoy the chick-lit genre. To be able to understand this book, the reader has to have read Jane Austen. They don't necessarily have to enjoy her works, but without that background this book loses a lot. I liked seeing Jane evolve. She started out this woman who sabotaged every relationship (really, even potential relationships) by viewing them through the lens of Austen's world. When she gets to Pembrook Park she's able to see the falseness of it all and doesn't really experience it for what it's supposed to be, instead diverting her attention to Martin. Only when he breaks up with her does she fully immerse herself in character. Only then is she able to break free from Mr. Darby's hold and become a different person. This book isn't for everyone, but those who pick it up will be in for a treat.

Sequel: Midnight in Austenland

Rating: 4Q, 2P

Nearly departed in Deadwood

Charles, A. (2011). Nearly Departed in Deadwood. Coravallis Press: Albany.


Annotation: Single mom Violet Parker is determined to find the person who is abducting young girls in Deadwood.

Summary: Violet Parker's life is in chaos. If she doesn't sell a house by the end of the month she'll lose her job as a real estate agent and one of her co-workers is doing his best to make sure that happens. And worse than that, young girls who resemble her daughter are being abducted and Violet is determined to figure out who is responsible for these disappearances before she find her own daughter missing. Add to this a seemingly haunted house, a new resident looking to purchase a home of his own but has bizarre reactions upon entering some houses, and a secret admirer sending her cryptic notes. Violet's life seems to be spiraling out of control. Will she manage to keep her job, catch the bad guy, and find love all before she ends up dead?

Review: I really liked this book. Violet is a likeable and believable character. She's tells it like it is, struggles with the things most women struggle with, has a great BFF, and has a sense of humor. There is a paranormal element to the books, but this is not like most paranormal romance mysteries. The way Charles weaves the paranormal into the book makes you wonder if in the end there will be logical and normal reason for the happenings. The ending clearly shows that there are not. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.


Series: Deadwood Mystery


Possible recommends: Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series



Rating:3Q, 4P

Unfinished Business

Roberts, N. (1992). Unfinished business. New York: Silhouette Intimate Moments.


Annotation: Acclaimed concert pianist Vanessa Sexton returns to her small hometown and finds her feelings for her high school sweetheart resurfacing.

Summary: After the death of her demanding father, who was also her manager, concert pianist Vanessa Sexton takes a hiatus from the stage to return to her hometown. After 12 years of constant touring Vanessa now  has many things to contend with- her mom turning her back on her, Brady breaking her heart before she left, her career options and health issues.

Review: This is a typical Nora Roberts novel and fans of the genre will enjoy this book. The relationship between Vanessa and her mother was realistic and I enjoyed seeing it grow from one of pain to one of love. Dr. Brady Tucker is a man that many women would swoon over. A satisfying if predictable read.

Possible recommends: Other Nora Roberts titles, Jude Deveraux, Catherine Coulter, Linda Howard, Maeve Binchy

Rating: 2Q 4P