It only took one review to convince me. Michele from Reader's Respite told me I had to read it. She wasn't taking no for an answer. So I went out and bought the book that day. Soon after, Kathy from Bermudaonion told me I had to read it. She said that it would be a good selection for the read-a-thon because it was a one-sitting kind of deal.
So I did. In the middle of a day of flu symptoms, football, running kids around, and a little bit of read-a-thon, I read the entire thing. This almost never happens. I am easily distracted, so unless I am sitting captive on an airplane without a dirty house, needy cats and hungry children begging for my attention, I don't read books in one day.
If you could bottle what this book has, I think it might be illegal it is so good.
Synopsis, sort of: The book starts out on Chapter 31. Bobby Flopkowski is homeless, living in a tent, a recovering drug addict, and begging for food at the back door of restaurants. He has hit rock bottom. But it always wasn't this way, he tells us. He starts at the beginning with Chapter 1 and tells us about his successful career as an L.A. pediatrician, a big house, a beautiful wife and new baby. He slowly fills in the blanks, and tells us how he went from having everything to having nothing.
Sad and intriguing how life can turn on a dime. There are tragic events, and a mystery that isn't so mysterious to the reader. Only mid-way through Bobby's tale of woe, you get a sense something isn't. quite. right. You can't put a finger on it; it is just a feeling.
Then Mr. Cleverman Rotter catches you with your guard down and pulls the rug out from under you, and you are left laying there all scared and wondering what just happened. It is actually a cheap trick, but one that messes with your head anyway.
My thoughts: My thoughts were pulled out from under me at the same time the rug was. I don't know. Just read it. You won't be disappointed. Just put aside a few hours to spend reading this one, and you too can feel like an idiot grasping for words that won't quite do.
5 out of 5 stars
Probably about 6 months ago, I read a review on Ravens that inspired me to order the audiobook and load it onto my iPod. When I was recently browsing through my audio selections, looking for something that would work for the RIP Challenge, I saw this and had forgotten all about it. I had no clue what it was about, and for some reason thought it was YA (it is NOT by the way). I went into it blind, which is always kind of fun.
If I had to put this story in a category, it would be a psychological thriller, but is not your garden variety thriller by any means. Let me explain.
Synopsis: The Boatrights are just a notch above Georgia white trash. They are seriously strapped for cash, Momma is an alcoholic and plays the Lottery every week, Dad is a dried up holy roller, and their two kids are lost in the middle. Tara, their oldest college-age daughter, dreams of getting the hell out, and finds her only solace in her spunky Grandmother. Then one day, their dreams all come true - they win the $318 million jackpot.
Shaw and Romeo - old friends, toxic relationship, dead-end jobs - are heading to Florida for vacation when they learn about the jackpot winners at a local gas station. Shaw decides this is their chance to make it big, and holds the Boatwrights hostage by threatening their lives unless they share their winnings. The two young men immerse themselves in the small town, claiming to be long lost friends of the Boatwrights, claiming to be children of God, making emotional connections and inspiring awe and religious fervor. It is the ultimate con. Only one old, bumbling police officer doesn't buy the story, but can he rise above his nickname "Deputy Dawg" and do something about it?
While the con is occurring, strange emotional transformations begin to take place within the hearts of the players. Tara hates Shaw for what he is doing, so why does she get excited when she thinks about him? Romeo just wants to be a loyal friend to Shaw, but can he really kill these people if called upon to do so? Is Shaw really the sociopath that he seems to be? Is the $315 million a blessing or a curse? It all climaxes in a violent, unpredictable ending that leaves you feeling a little bit dizzy.
My thoughts: This is one complicated little yarn. Characterization in spades - these people are big and loud and flawed. Narration occurs throughout the book in a variety of voices, including Tara, her parents, Shaw, Romeo, the deputy, and other townspeople. This allows the reader to get down deep into the minds and psyche of some messed up folks. You begin to empathize with the bad guys, question the good guys, and multiple times I wondered where the heck this was all going, except south. As the story progresses, the pace accelerates, the heart beats faster, then BAM. It's over.
I was left with a very strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Did I like it? I THINK so. I sure thought about it a long time. But the book presses your nose in alot of bitterness, greed, self-absorption, jealousy, fear...dark stuff. And despite a definitive end, I didn't get a sense there was going to be much sunshine in the lives of the affected for any time in the near future. As a reader, can you live with that?
A word about the audio production: Phenomenal. There was a female narrator assuming all of the female characters, as well as a male narrator for the men. The female, Maggi-Meg Reed (The Time Traveler's Wife, Prayers For Sale, Home), was deliciously southern and trashy. The male, Robert Petkoff (Beat the Reaper, Room, So Cold the River), was young and clipped and cold. Both are seasoned veterans in the audiobook world, and it showed.
4 out of 5 stars
There are only a few things in life you can take for granted. Death, taxes, the sublime beauty of red wine, and great Tana French novels. At this point, I am asking myself if I would be capable of writing a negative review for Ms. French's work. I don't think so. I have fallen under her spell, so consider yourself warned.
French has an interesting way of structuring her "series". In her first novel "In the Woods", the story is narrated by Rob Ryan, a police detective, with his partner Cassie Maddox playing a strong supporting role. In French's second novel "The Likeness", Cassie is at the center of the action. In "Faithful Place", French's latest, the story revolves around Frank Mackey, Cassie's toughened boss in undercover. Funny, Frank never even really registered on my radar in "The Likeness", so I wasn't all that intrigued by a story about him. Reviews were mixed. I proceeded with caution. Like I had anything to worry about. Mind the drool puddles and you meander through my review.
Synopsis:
Frank Mackey has had a rough life, living on the wrong side of the tracks in a blue collar neighborhood in Dublin. He and his four siblings grew up quickly and harshly under the roof of an angry mother and an abusive and alcoholic father, and all dreamed of "getting out". When Frank was 18, he had made plans to run away to London with his high school sweetheart Rosie, but when she failed to show up for their late-night rendezvous, Frank left and never came back. Although he assumed he had been dumped, he never heard what had become of Rosie, her absence overshadowing every facet of his life ever since.
His past comes 'a-calling twenty years later when Rosie's suitcase, filled with her clothes and two train tickets to London, is found hidden in an abandoned apartment in his old neighborhood. He gets sucked back into the mess of his family's dysfunctional mind games, and memories of a his first love and carefree youth when anything was possible. But this isn't just a stroll down memory lane...the underlying darkness present twenty years ago is alive and well today, and reawakens to finish an unsettled score.
My thoughts: I almost hated to use the words "dysfunctional" and "family" in this review, because I am sick to death of reading about it. Nothing, however, is ever passe in the hands of Tana French. She takes a mystery/thriller and makes it fresh and different. She has a keen gift of characterization that is so intense, that her people become your people, and suddenly that age-old, tired family crap feels very very personal.
I like to think of French's stories as having an undertow. You are just out there splashing around, unaware of the turbulence and danger present underwater. Before you know it, it has dragged you under and you never know what hit you. "Faithful Place" is very similar to her first two books in that there is alot of childhood baggage and reflection on buried issues, occurring at the same time as present-day trouble. Thereby creating a mystery thriller with a significant edge over the competition. The emotions and relationships are complex, and sometimes are not resolved by the end of the story. I give French credit for fighting the urge to fall into line with the unmemorable mystery thriller masses.
Frank Mackey was an interesting protagonist. Feisty, a little bit of a rebel, angry, holds a grudge, and far from perfect, he is also wears his emotions on his sleeve and wants to be a better person. I found his efforts at being a good father and protecting his daughter very sweet and kind of attractive. I really liked him (REALLY) despite all his frailties. It could be considered a little bit of a crush. And even though I know how French structures her series, I cast a gooey-eyed glance toward the future and hope I see Frank again.
The mystery was not all that difficult to figure out, and this is probably the biggest flaw in the story. But maybe that wasn't the point. This story was more about damaged youth, with the inevitable "reveal" being more heart-breaking than shocking. This was my least favorite of French's three novels, but please know that I am still very deep in the "love" range of the spectrum.
About the audio production: Simon Vance, someone is threatening your spot on the narrator pedestal, and that is Tim Gerard Reynolds. It does not appear that Tim has had much experience with audiobook narration, but I pray that is going to change. That Irish accent, his effortless emotion...it seemed like French's words were his own. I could have listened to him forever.
4.5 out of 5 stars
In a typical cloak and dagger drama, the ultimate coupe for a police officer is to capture a confession on tape in an interrogation or on an undercover wire. Haha! Now you've got the bad guys right where you want them. Off they go to prison, and justice is served. End of story. The average person would believe this to be a critical and effective part of our justice system. Once you read "Innocent Until Interrogated" however, you'll never quite be able to forget the chilling truth.
On August 10, 1991, a cook walked into a Buddhist temple outside of Tuscon AZ where she worked and discovered all nine of its monks slain, with gunshot wounds to the head. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office launched one of their biggest manhunts in history. Despite their discovery of the actual murder weapon (which was forgotten for a period of time in evidence storage somewhere) they chose to focus all of their efforts on the ramblings of a mentally disturbed man looking for some attention. Spewing names of his friends and neighbors as accomplices, he admitted to the crime, with the story getting bigger and more inconsistent as time passed. Four of the named men were taken into custody and interrogated under extreme duress, and despite their protestations of innocence, were eventually bullied into confessing. Although no hard evidence was ever collected to substantiate their guilt, and some of their confessions were recanted after a good night's sleep, they were incarcerated for over a year.
Let's turn back to that murder weapon now. Months after the apprehension of the "Tuscon Four", ballistics tests showed that the forgotten rifle already in the Sheriff's Office possession was one of the guns used in the slayings, and pointed towards two teenage boys. These boys were also brought in for questioning, and were similarly beaten down and stressed into a confession. One of them, in wrangling a plea bargain to escape the death penalty, also confesses to killing a young woman after the Buddhist slayings. A murder that had since been incorrectly pinned on an unstable war veteran.
I'll let all that information sink in for a minute.
What we have here is a big. hot. mess.
Sorry to put you through all that detail, but the case was incredibly complicated. And to understand all the ways legal rights were ignored, all the tragedies that occurred as a result of this fiasco, and all the collateral damage left in the wake, I felt like I needed to go there.
It seems inconceivable that innocent men would admit to murder, but under the right circumstances (police officers with the tunnel vision to solve the murder at any price, the application of extreme duress, and the mental instability, low self-esteem and low education of a suspect) a person will confess to anything in order to be left alone. I almost could not get through the section where these four men were being interrogated. It was PAINFUL. It was brain-numbing, repetitive, brutal, and shocking.
It begs the question - how often this situation does occur each year? This was only one example! In "Innocent Until Interrogated", after you have read what I would consider a thorough accounting of the evidence and testimonies, you have a pretty good idea of who did the shooting, and who went along for the ride. But because of the gross mishandling of the case, the truth is hidden behind plea bargains, egos, politics, and red tape.
And truth wasn't the only casualty. The Tuscon Four had their lives and reputations literally ruined, and lost over a year in prison. They were all eventually compensated for their troubles, but I suspect they will never be quite the same. And what about the poor young woman that was murdered after the Buddhist slayings, and the man incorrectly arrested for that crime? These events never would have occurred had proper procedure had been followed. For those who believe in the system like me, it is enough to make you sick.
The writing itself felt a bit dry at times. True crime details can be tedious, and it takes a deft hand to make it flow for the layperson. In fact, it took me about three days to read 30 pages, but once I was able to sit down and concentrate, I moved through the book fairly quickly. Crunch through the facts, though, and you will find yourself more than a little unsettled at how easily an innocent person can find themselves on the wrong side of the law. It reminded me of my recent reading of "Monster of Florence", and I wanted to add Arizona to my list of places to try not to screw up or be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thanks to Holly Schaffer at the University of Arizona Press, I have one copy of "Innocent Until Interrogated" to give away. Simply indicate if you are interested in the comments with an e-mail address, and I will choose a random winner on October 8th. I'd also like to thank Jen @ Devourer of Books, who chose my name for the giveaway of this book, and Holly for sending it to me!
3.5 out of 5 stars
To start this review, I'll play the game my son loves to play. What if...you had visions of future events, knowing that you were supposed to stop them from happening? You could see the long-term effect of the event, and how it impacted the world as we know it. Would you try to step in and change fate?
What if...you had the unique gift of being able to move objects. You could prevent someone from jumping to their death, prevent someone from being shot, or just move that box of truffles within arm's reach so you didn't have to get up. Would you use that power to step in and change fate?
Heavy questions, these. Ones that I'm not sure I could answer. If you've watched enough movies and read enough books, you just know that messing with fate is dangerous.
The two characters in the book Coffee and Fate can't avoid these questions though. An elderly white widower (Bud) and a young black college girl (Val) have these "powers". Bud has a vision involving Val, and intervenes before she takes one small action that could ruin the rest of her life (and possibly change the course of humanity). Wayward, misunderstood souls, they forge an immediate and strong friendship. Together they face a number of mind-screwing choices that have impacts on their own lives and the lives of others. And yes, these two do love a good cuppa, hence the title.
I'm not sure if I can adequately summarize my thoughts on this novel, I have such mixed emotions. How could a book with just a little over a hundred pages render ME speechless? Anyway, a few words come to mind, so let me try that. Intriguing. Page-turning. Controversial. Outlandish. Sick. Creepy. Theological.
The prose flowed and was very easy to read. The characters were likable, and the unlikely friendship was...sweet. For awhile. Then it started to creep me out just a little bit. Then it creeped me out alot. I admired Erbacher's lack of predictability and convention (it is always good when I find myself screaming "WHAT?" at the top of my lungs). And he certainly made me sit and ponder the implications of fate. But can I say with a high degree of assurance that you would like it? No - there are landmines in there that could blow your leg off, or at least alienate you. If you make it through the mine field without losing a limb, you may just laugh nervously and say "Wow, that was different. Kind of a rush. I'm glad I did that. I think."
This book is not for everyone, but if you are looking for something a little off the beaten path, and can allow believability to slide for a few hours, you need to read this book.
I would like to thank the author for sending me a copy of his book.
4 out of 5 stars 
Tana French is a goddess. Not just any goddess, but the Goddess of Mystery. That fact became clear to me early in my audio experience with The Likeness, which redefined the meaning of the clever mystery, deep characterization, and living a story. Never mind that I read The Likeness out of order. Normally that would annoy me, but French writes her sequels so that you can easily pick up any of her three novels without worrying you missed out on something. This is what it is all about people...a mystery that sets your mind afire.
Twelve year-old Adam Ryan and his two best friends wander out in the woods near their neighborhood to play, but only Adam comes back, catatonic and covered in blood. The other two children are never found, and Adam has never remembered what happened. Twenty years later, Adam has changed his name to Rob, and has become a police officer. With the assistance of Cassie Maddox (our protagonist from The Likeness), Rob is assigned to a case involving a twelve-year-old girl murdered in the same woods from his youth. Who would wish harm on the innocent ballet prodigy, and does it have any connection to the disappearance of Ryan's friends?
I can give you some assurances when it comes to French's stories. They are seriously multi-dimensional. Like every proper mystery, this one has a tragic murder surrounded by suspicious characters. There are the archaeologists that discovered the dead girl within their dig. There is the girl's family who are all slightly "off". A stranger in a track suit seen lurking around the neighborhood. The politicians who want to build a highway through the woods and are willing to destroy (kill?) anyone who gets in their way. All have a complicated story, all have dirty secrets.
But you are getting a whole lot more for your literary dollar here. French also deftly builds the delightful relationship between Ryan and Maddox. The chemistry was incredible...two people who knew each other's demons, sparred like brother and sister, and finished each other's sentences. I can't recall too many other duos that clicked into place quite as well as these two. Of course, my dirty-minded friends, we can guess exactly what path all of this is going to travel.
Another facet of the story is Ryan's debilitating journey into the past. As he pokes around in the shadows of his mind, looking at evidence two decades old, and having chilling flashbacks, the trauma of his youth threatens to destroy him and his career. In so many ways, French's characters are in the woods. It is a perfect analogy.
This mystery is riveting from the beginning to the end. My mind never once strayed, the pacing was spot on, I did not want it to end. I've read many reviews that have been less than favorable about the ending of the book, however. (My mom and a friend of mine share this attitude.) If you want a neat resolution, with answers to every question, you will not find it here. The answers you do receive may be unsettling. I have no issue with this. Life is messy, and when I read a mystery that ignores this fact, and wraps it all up like a Scooby Doo installment, I get testy.
Instead, I turned the last page of this book wanting more. So I turned to the audio of Faithful Place. Stay tuned for more drooling.
5 out of 5 stars
Recently, I loaned my review of "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon to Trisha at Eclectic/Eccentric as a filler while she was on vacation. I giggled when she titled the post "Carlos and Sandy Sitting in a Tree". Well, yeah, who wouldn't want to sit in a tree and kiss the man who birthed the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, the evil Fumero, creates tangible atmosphere at the wave of his pen, and who writes and performs the music on his audio books?
So in keeping with my love affair with Zafon, my heart went pitter-pat when I saw that he was launching a new YA book called The Prince of Mist early this summer. I got it on audio, squeaked a little bit more when I saw the narrator was the dreamy Jonathan Davis (narrator for Shadow of the Wind) and decided it would be a good story to listen to with the kids.
The premise has Zafon written all over it. A boy on the edge of adulthood, Max, moves to the seaside with his family to escape the effects of WWII. He and his older sister Alicia befriend a local boy, and the three of them dip their toe into adulthood while exploring decades-old secrets that surround the town. A clock that moves backwards. A cat with a bad attitude. An overgrown garden full of menacing statues that seem to move when you turn your head. A lighthouse. A sunken ship. And a legend of a sinister character by the name of Doctor Cain who appears in the form of a demented clown, and makes deals that you can't refuse but come at a high price.Yeah, right? I can almost hear what you are thinking. I think Zafon had his checklist of all spooky things in life EVER, and with this story, crossed them all off in the process of writing it. This story should have worked, but to an adult listener, it just didn't. To me, it seemed like a caricature, like a scary story I would make up off-the-cuff around the campfire to creep out my kids. It seemed contrived.
The plot also seemed very underdeveloped. I know it is Young Adult, but that is no excuse in my mind. There were traces of the writer that created Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, but I was left wishing there had been more substance. Only after we'd finished the audio did I find out that this was actually Zafon's FIRST novel, and has been re-released by a new publisher. Obviously Zafon's writing has come a long way.
A word about the audio production. I have mentioned before that Jonathan Davis is a fine narrator, and he was up to par with The Prince of Mist. He displayed none of his acumen at accents, but he was still very easy on the ears. The audio had an enormous amount of sound effects...the crashing sea, a film projector, eerie music. There were sounds accompanying the narration at least half the time, maybe more. I found this to be distracting. The kids LOVED it.
In fact, the kids loved everything about this book. They would probably be very upset if they read this review. The story does contain some kissing, and someone does die, but at 10 and 12, my kids didn't find anything disturbing. Just deliciously spooky. There seems to be a small opening for a sequel at the end. The kids and I agreed this story would be better left alone.
My rating: 3 out of 5
My kids' rating: 4.5 out of 5
Let's talk about literary crushes for a minute, shall we? Don't deny it. Everybody has one. There is the Edward/Jacob crowd. There is the Jamie from Outlander crowd. There is the Mr. Darcy crowd. I would like to share with you one of mine - Jack Reacher. Imagine trying to duplicate him in real life:
Wanted: Hard-bodied anti-hero, 6'5", 250 pounds, 50" chest. Can defeat crowds of evil-doers with nothing more than his bare hands. Champions the underdog, crushes the oppressor with single-minded tenacity. Strongly appealing to women. Ex-military. Wealthy, but owns no material assets. Roams the country looking for a cause. Scarred physically and maybe a little mentally. Speaks multiple languages. Admired by Stephen King.
So I guess it shouldn't surprise you when I say that in all 14 of Lee Child's novels, the main attraction isn't necessarily the conflict, but Jack Reacher himself. I could sum up each and every one of the installments of "manfiction" by saying that Reacher finds bad guys (usually having something to do with the military) who are after money and power. Bad guys are usually bothering a good guy (or gal), and Reacher comes to their aid. Some people get thrown under the bus. Reacher usually scores romantically. And he always kicks ass.
So here we are with our man Jack, in the middle of nowhere, snowbound, after a bus accident. Something, as usual, is rotten in Denmark, or in this case Bolton South Dakota, and the local law enforcement needs some help from The Man. There are drugs, an old grandmotherly witness, a threat of a prison riot, and a Mexican war lord. But time is ticking down from 61 hours down to zero, and we have a sneaking suspicion that when the clock runs out, things are not going to end well.
In unraveling Bolton's secrets, Reacher tries to gain assistance from his old 110th Special Unit in Virginia and has a little phone flirtation with a mysterious female that has his old job. It is in this voice that Reacher may have met his match.
Everything feels just a little bit different this time around. Reacher seems to be slightly out of sorts, and probably for the first time in his life, he's being beaten at his own game. Reacher begins to doubt himself, which scares me. Even his sexual exploits are all verbal and not physical. Combine all of that with this constant, unwavering countdown, and I thought my nerves were going to explode. And for the first time ever in the series, Mr. Child, damn him and his evil little heart, decides to leave us flapping in the wind. Is Reacher freaking dead or alive? (Well, there is book number 15 coming out in October, so I am hoping for the best. But still.)
Up until this latest installment, you absolutely DO NOT have to read these books in order. Sure, there is an episode where you learn about how and why Reacher left the military. You get insight on his parents and his brother. But these are not critical pieces of information. I am a psycho when it comes to reading things in order, so trust me on this one. Which one should you read first? Pick one. You won't be disappointed.
Dick Hill is the amazing narrator for the series. His short. clipped. sentences. and hardened voice is and will forever be Jack's first person narrative. If a decision was ever made to find a new narrator, I would have heart failure. I'm curious if I could listen to Dick Hill narrate anything else...
4.5 out of 5 stars
I am a disgruntled challenge participant. I want to read what I want, but feel compelled to keep hacking at my current outstanding challenges. I need another challenge like a hole in the head...but really, guys, it's the RIP Challenge (Readers Imbibing Peril) hosted by Carl. I participated last year, and it was such fun. When I looked at books that I've already read and reviewed in September, I figured I already have Peril the First in the bag (for you Peril newbies, I have to read four mysteries/thrillers/gothics/supernaturals from September 1 to October 31). So here is what I am going to offer to the challenge:
Already read
61 Hours - Lee ChildThe Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz ZafonIn the Woods - Tana FrenchCoffee and Fate - R.J. ErbacherA Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick
In Process or on the bedside table
Faithful Place - Tana FrenchInnocent Until Interrogated - Gary StuartThe Strain - Guillermo del ToroThe City and the City - China MeivilleBeautiful Lies - Lisa Unger
There is nothing like a little murder, a few ghosts and a big spooky house to get you in the mood for Halloween. Come on and join the fun!
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