NOT TO BE MISSED (MAY 2015)

I like a Daviid Baldacci thriller once in a while. He's a blockbuster author and his newest, MEMORY MAN will stay with you long after the turn of the final page....reviewers say. Now he introduces an original, unique character, a man with a perfect memory....if I can remember, it's going on my TBR List.

Another new one, ORHAN'S INHERITANCE, a first novel by Aline Ohanesian is based on a powerful story told by her grandmother. The story was told only once to nine year old Ohanesian and never mentioned again to any family members. Years later it became the inspiration for this novel.

MEMORY MAN by David Baldacci (Thriller) Amos Decker returned from a stakeout one evening and entered a nightmare --- his wife, young daughter and brother-in-law had been murdered. His family destroyed, their killer's identity as mysterious as the motive behind the crime, and unable to forget a single detail from that horrible night, Decker finds his world collapsing around him. But over a year later, a man turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders. Decker must endure the memories he would much rather forget --- and may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Rev ORHAN'S INHERITANCE by Aline Ohanesian (Fiction) When Orhan’s brilliant and eccentric grandfather is found dead in a vat of dye, Orhan inherits his decades-old business. Kemal has left the family estate to a stranger thousands of miles away, an aging woman in a retirement home in Los Angeles. Intent on righting this injustice, Orhan boards a plane to LA. There he will unearth a powerful and unforgettable story. Check out www.bookreprter.com for more reviews.

QUICK PICKS (APRIL 2015)

Looking for something fresh and unusual to read? The suggestions below should fill that gap. You can never go wrong with a Joyce Carol Oates tome and her new one will debut in a few weeks...Are you in the mood for a serious crime thriller minus all the fluff or a bit of Science Fiction with all the trappings? Check out this list submitted by Book Page.

THE WHITES by Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt 

Sgt. Billy Graves of the NYPD pursues his “White” (that’s what Billy calls the one that got away), a triple murderer, in this outstanding contemporary crime thriller.

JACK OF SPADES by Joyce Carol Oates 

Andrew Rush, a critically and commercially successful mystery novelist has a dark secret: under a pseudonym he pens lurid, violent potboilers. He risks everything if his secret comes out in this exceptional tale of suspense.

CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly 

There are plenty of heart-pounding moments in Kelly’s debut, and an abundance of vividly imagined details bring post-apocalyptic New York City to searing life. But the biggest risk is not one that the characters take—it’s Kelly’s bold spotlighting of the bonds between women.

          AND FOR SOMETHING OFF THE BEATEN PATH......

BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Mary Norris A copy editor at The New Yorker, Norris got her first big break courtesy of a spelling mistake. As a rookie proofreader, she noticed a writer's inadvertent use of "flower" when he meant "flour," a catch that earned effusive praise from her boss. Since then, Norris has spent 30 years scrutinizing commas, distinguishing "that" from "which" and correcting the dreaded dangling participle. With her love of language on full display, the self-titled "Comma Queen" turns what could have been a tedious grammar manual into a witty and entertaining look at the rewards of expressing ourselves precisely. ORDER BOOKS DIRECTLY FROM THIS BLOG. CLICK ON THE AMAZON SEARCH BOX IN THE SIDEBAR.

PAPERBACK SPOTLIGHT (APRIL 2015)

Although I generally read e-books there are many readers that do not...so here's a paperback that's trendy and exciting...Throw it out when you're done or pass it on to a friend...Sounds like a good psychological thriller....or not.

THE DAUGHTER by Jane Shemilt

Jenny is a successful family doctor, the mother of three great teenagers, married to a celebrated neurosurgeon. But when her youngest child, 15-year-old Naomi, doesn’t come home after her school play, Jenny’s seemingly ideal life begins to crumble. The authorities launch a nationwide search with no success. Naomi has vanished, and her family is broken. As the months pass, the worst-case scenarios --- kidnapping, murder --- seem less plausible. The trail has gone cold. Yet for a desperate Jenny, the search has barely begun. More than a year after her daughter’s disappearance, she’s still digging for answers --- and what she finds disturbs her. Everyone she’s trusted, everyone she thought she knew, has been keeping secrets, especially Naomi. Piecing together the traces her daughter left behind, Jenny discovers a very different Naomi from the girl she thought she’d raised. (Bookreporter.com)

WHAT'S NEW? (April 2015)

Here's two more great reads debuting this month. If you liked WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, Sara Gruen's new novel will be a must read...Remember to click on the Amazon Search Box in the Sidebar to order immediately.

AT THE WATER’S EDGE by Sara Gruen (Historical Fiction) After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed --- by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster --- Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind.  THE HARDER THEY COME by T.C. Boyle (Psychological Suspense) On a vacation cruise to Central America with his wife, 70-year-old Sten Stensen unflinchingly kills a gun-wielding robber menacing a busload of senior tourists. The reluctant hero is relieved to return home to Fort Bragg, California, after the ordeal --- only to find that his delusional son, Adam, has spiraled out of control. As Adam's mental state fractures, he becomes increasingly schizophrenic, which leads him to shoot two people. On the run, he takes to the woods, spurring the biggest manhunt in California history.