Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica: A Review

I first heard of Mary Kubica's books when I had finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and was looking for similar fiction.  Kubica's books came recommended and I picked up The Good Girl and fell in love with Kubica's thrillers.  I was so excited when I heard that she would be writing another book and got my hands on it as soon as I could.  I was not disappointed!

Clara is mother to Maisie and Felix, a four-day old infant, and wife to Nick, a dentist at an upscale dental office that is bleeding money.  Nick takes Maisie to dance class one day to give Clara time to rest and take care of Felix but he ends up in an accident that leaves him fatally injured while Maisie is virtually unharmed and seems to be unaware of what happened.  Clara is understandably heartbroken and believes that there may have been foul play when Maisie starts to have nightmares and flashbacks involving a man in a black car.  Not getting the attention she would like from the police, Clara decides to investigate Nick's death on her own. 

This thriller has everything!  There are twists and turn and the ending is not one that many readers would be able to predict.  I certainly didn't!  Clara, at one time or another, seems to accuse everyone she knows and some that she doesn't.  Nick was such an interesting character.  I felt myself not able to decide who he really was and neither did Clara.  Clara comes off as a bit unhinged but it is understandable given the circumstances.  There was definitely slow-building suspense but there was also enough to keep one's attention throughout.  The writing made it very easy to read quickly.  I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys psychological thrillers or mysteries and anyone that is looking for a great summer book to read.  I have already had great conversations about Every Last Lie and can't wait for Kubica's new book!

Watch a trailer of the book here:

My rating:
★★★★★

More books like this one:
Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind. 


I do not track activity of visitors beyond that which blogger already does.  If you click on an outside link, those websites may track your activity but I do not actively share any information with third-party websites.

My Last Lament by James William Brown

Young Aliki is a witness to her own father's execution at the hands of the Nazis and lives the rest of her childhood with a local woman and her son, Takis.  When the woman hides a Jewish woman and her son, Stelios, Aliki and Takis are exposed to the world of puppetry by Stelios.  The Nazis that occupy the Greek village learn of the Jews in the basement and they kill the women and the children must fend for themselves.  The children earn money by performing puppet shows for a country that is trying to heal itself after the devastation of World War II and the fall of the Nazis.

I usually like historical novels about World War II and the holocaust but this book just didn't do it for me.  I enjoyed the first third of the book but after the Germans left Greece, the story wasn't as interesting.  I think the story would have been better if the story was centered around Stelios and his mother hiding in the basement of Aliki's home but after that point, there was too much going on and it became a very slow read.  The puppetry seemed to take center stage when it was a less important topic of the book.  The characters were very developed and there was a great representation of mental illness in Takis but they couldn't make up for the lack of a great story.  I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in more about the aftereffects of World War II and doesn't mind that there is a lot of unimportant fluff. 

My rating:
★★☆☆☆

Books like this one:
The Woman in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
The Patriots by Sana Krasikov
June by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

I Hate Everyone, Except You by Clinton Kelly: A Review

Clinton Kelly's memoir I Hate Everyone, Except You had me laughing from the very first page to the very last!  I have to confess that I am not an avid viewer of What Not to Wear so I was able to approach this book as it was presented, without any pretenses.  I am so happy that this book found me!  His writing reminded me of reading a book by David Sedaris, another one of my favorite comedy writers.  Kelly can be a bit snarky when he wants to be but he is surprisingly kind to those he writes about.  His observations on life and society are insightful and relate-able.  I really enjoyed this book and I think anyone who enjoys funny, essay-style memoirs will enjoy this book.  It was a wonderful, light read to pick me up on a rainy day.    

Watch a video about Action Park, the amusement park that Kelly describes in his book:

My rating:
★★★★☆

Books like this one:
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
Sleepless Nights and Kisses For Breakfast: Reflections on Fatherhood by Matteo Bussola

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind. 


I do not track activity of visitors beyond that which blogger already does.  If you click on an outside link, those websites may track your activity but I do not actively share any information with third-party websites.

The Standard Grand by Jay Baron Nicorvo: A Review

Bellum has gone AWOL and left her husband and home in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  She is already suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from her past deployments and can't stomach the idea of another one.  She follows an older veteran that has set up a camp for homeless veterans called The Standard Grande.  Milt inherited The Standard Grande, an old resort in the Catskills, from his father-in-law and uses it to help veterans become more self-sufficient and acclimate to coming home from a war environment.  Milt is under water on the venture, though, and is being aggressively pursued by a company that wants to use the land for what they say is a golf resort.  The veterans aren't so sure that is the real purpose, though.

This book just didn't hit the spot for me.  Most of the story dragged.  I didn't find it humorous and the mystery wasn't enough to keep my attention.  I actually had to leave this book several times and come back to it while reading other books in order to finish it.  There were some questions that I had throughout the book but the book ended without ever answering those questions, ruining any chance of any mystery with a climactic ending.  The writing is strange and very choppy.  I did enjoy Bellum's character and Bellum's story about her childhood and marriage made me understand why she did certain things later.  Most of the characters were very interesting but I think I enjoyed their back stories more than I enjoyed the story about The Standard Grande and IRJ's reasons for wanting to buy it.  This book did have some information about PTSD but I think I would have enjoyed the story more if it had focused on those aspects.  Overall, I just didn't like this book.  I think it would be good for someone that enjoys military banter and doesn't mind when a mystery is not solved at the end of a novel.  It just wasn't my cup of tea, though.   

Watch a video about how EMDR works for victims of PTSD and other types of trauma:

    

My rating:
★★☆☆☆

Reviews for books like this one:
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline
Windy City Blues by Renee Rosen

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer: A Review

Darcy and Boyz divorced due to his infidelity but they were never really compatible to begin with.  Boyz was a uber-successful real estate agent and Darcy is a bookish librarian.  After her divorce and the death of the grandmother who raised her, Darcy moves into her grandmother's old home on Nantucket and begins a peaceful life there as a children's librarian.  She has a new love interest, Nash, and a great group of friends.  The community is smaller during the off-season but now it is summer and the crowds have come to enjoy the great weather.  One of her neighbors happens to be Boyz and the woman he cheated on Darcy with and the other is an older woman with a handsome grandson that might be competition for Nash.

After reading the emotionally charged Human Acts by Han Kang, I wanted something a little lighter to read.  Secrets in Summer did just that.  What a great beach book!  I loved the descriptions of Nantucket and found myself envying the characters for their breezy island lifestyle.  The characters were very interesting.  I love that Darcy is a librarian and enjoys her life with books so much.  If I had one criticism of her it would be that she was a little bit too willing to sacrifice her own wants and needs for those of other people, especially those of the men in her life.  That being said, she was still a wonderful character.  Mimi was vivacious and so funny!  She uses the wisdom that she has gleaned from her older age to help the younger women realize what is really important in life.  I enjoyed the friendship between Darcy, Susan, Mimi and Willow more than I enjoyed the back and forth between Darcy and Boyz but the story itself was very interesting and kept me reading.  This is a great book when you want to read something that is not taxing and won't make you think too much.  It is just enjoyable and fun to read and felt to right for the summer.

My rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews for books like this one:
The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor
Secrets of Southern Girls by Hayley Harrigan
The Mothers by Brit Bennett

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in order to review it but that did not have an effect on my review of the book.  This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind.

Human Acts by Han Kang: A Review

A while back, I read Han Kang's book The Vegetarian and was impressed with the unique style and story.  If I'm being honest, I enjoyed The Vegetarian a bit more than Human Acts but I think that Human Acts is a more important work.  The book centers around the shooting and death of middle-school student Dong-ho.  The young boy was shot by the military and his body was disposed of in an unmarked, mass grave.  The book follows Dong-ho, his family, friends and acquaintances and discusses the political turmoil that occurred in South Korea in 1980.  The description of the aftermath of the events puts the reader in the middle of the events.  The book was hard to read but not because of the writing or translation but because of the subject matter.  I think this is an important book for readers to experience because it teaches us about the horrors of political extremism and the military state.

My rating:
★★★★☆

Reviews of books like this one:
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Everything Belongs To Us by Yoojin Grace Wuertz

This book is currently available and can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Read more reviews on this book on Goodreads.

This is my honest opinion of this book.  I am a participant in the Amazon Affiliates program.  By clicking on the Amazon link and purchasing this product, I receive a small fee.  I am not associated with Goodreads or Barnes and Noble in any way and the links provided are available strictly for your convenience and not to imply a relationship of any kind. 


I do not track activity of visitors beyond that which blogger already does.  If you click on an outside link, those websites may track your activity but I do not actively share any information with third-party websites.