Girl in the Dark by Marion Pauw FIC Pau

 

Ms. Pauw is Dutch and she won an award that is given annually for the best Dutch crime novel.  This award is called the Golden Noose Award!  That should assure you that this is a good book.

Iris had a good job as a lawyer and was a confident woman.  Then she got pregnant and her world changed.  She loves her son, Aaron, but he is a challenge with his behavior and outbursts.  Her confidence has been eroded since she became a single mother. Because of Aaron she had to look for a part-time job.  It seemed a miracle that she finally got an offer working three days a week. Iris' mother, Agatha, has never been a warm fuzzy mother but she gets along well with Aaron and watches him sometimes.  When Aaron is at Agatha's he is always calmed down by watching the large salt-water aquarium.

Iris has never understood why Agatha has this aquarium.  But that aquarium actually leads Iris to an astonishing discovery.  She has an older brother named Ray.  Soon Iris begins to search for this deep dark secret.  And what a secret it is!  A great book.  I read it in a day because I wanted to know what happened!

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A Surgeon's War: My Year in Vietnam by Dr Henry Ward Trueblood 921 Tru

I wouldn't have looked twice at the picture on the back of this book because he didn't look familiar.  If I had seen the wedding picture that is inside the book I would immediately have recognized the guy.  I grew up a block from his family home, his dad was my Doctor, my mom worked in his office and our families were friends.  So I loved the parts where he wrote about Indianola and his parents.

I grew up during the Vietnam era and every night I would see the coffins being returned.  In college I remember watching the draft numbers being drawn.  I didn't have any close friends who served there but I have had friends who married Vietnam vets and they all said the same thing - their spouses didn't want to talk about it.   I think I understand that a lot better now.  It blows my mind when I think of how one year of someone's life can have such a negative impact emotionally and psychologically that it never goes away.

This book was a good reminder of what happened to so many of those young men and the brave surgeons who did their jobs in horrible and dangerous conditions.

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Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman MYS Kel

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Lieutenant Milo Sturgis are back with a new mystery.  It began years ago when Alex was called in to do an evaluation of Ovid, a five-year-old.  A colleague of Alex's was treating the mother, Zelda.  Zelda is a bit unbalanced and since she is starring in a TV show that was getting ready to film a second season her studio was sparing no expense to make sure everything gets resolved.

Years later Zelda is no longer a star - in fact she is living on the streets.  After a psychotic episode she is committed.  The original Doctor has passed away and because Alex's name was mentioned in the files he is contacted.  Alex is very concerned because he can't find out any information about Ovid.  Soon after Zelda is released her body is discovered in an up-scale neighborhood.  And now Milo becomes a part of the story.

It is a typical Alex Delaware novel.  Lots of mystery trying to find out who killed Zelda and more importantly where is Ovid.  As always it is very entertaining.

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The Widow by Fiona Barton FIC Bar

Ms. Barton has been a very successful journalist but this is her first novel - and it is really good!

It is told in the voices of various characters.  There is the Widow - Jean Taylor.  Her husband was arrested and tried for the kidnapping of Bella, a two year old.  Because of some missteps by the police he was found not guilty.  But he had already endured two years of harassment by the press and the police before the verdict was given.  And people still felt he was guilty and life was not easy for the two of them.  There is the Reporter, Kate.  She is very good at her job.  Soon after Jean's husband dies she manages to talk her way into Jean's house and in a matter of minutes has made tea and is having a heart-to-heart talk with Jean. She will continue to follow the story long after the verdict.  There is the Detective, Bob Sparkes.  He is obsessed with the case.  After the verdict he is told to stay away from the case - but of course he can't.  There is the Mother, Dawn.  People blame her too.  After all she let her two year old play out in the garden by herself.  Even though she says it was just for a short time (and that is doubtful) it was long enough for someone to take Bella.

The characters are great (if not easy to like) and though the truth was revealed eventually, the journey to get there was more fascinating than the reveal.  A great read!

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Two If by Sea by Jacquelyn Mitchard FIC Mit

I always enjoy Mitchard's books.  Frank Mercy, an ex-cop, has been living in Australia with Natalie who is the love of his life and who is carrying their son.  It is Christmas time and things are wonderful.  They have gathered together with Natalie's family to celebrate.  Everyone has turned in for the night except for Frank and Brian, one of Natalie's brothers.  They enjoy a drink and then Frank goes in search of higher ground in order to get a better cell signal so that he can call his family back in the Midwest in anticipation of seeing them soon because he and Natalie have decided to move back to Frank's home.

The phone call had just begun when the tsunami struck.  In a matter of seconds Frank lost everyone.  But he has no time to grieve just then because people need help and he begins to do what he can.  He is trying to save a woman and two children from a van that is about to be swept away.  The older of the two boys is begging Frank to save his brother first because "he is important". He does save the young boy but watched helplessly as the other two souls were swept away.

For reasons unknown to Frank he is so drawn to the boy (and the boy to him) that he ends up skirting the law to take Ian (a name he assigned to the boy since Ian wouldn't talk) back to his family farm using forged papers.

Frank soon becomes aware that he has to keep Ian from some really bad people.  Not your run-of-the-mill story and it was terrific.

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Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf FIC Gud

Sarah Quinlan has been married to Jack for decades.  They are happily married with two daughters who are adults.  Sarah knows that Jack's parents died in a car accident and that he was raised by an aunt and uncle.  Although they are in phone contact, Jack has always avoided going back to the small town of Penny Gate.  But when they receive a call that his Aunt Julia is in critical condition after a fall down the stairs.

It doesn't take long after their arrival that Sarah begins to find out that what Jack has told her all these years was not the truth.  There were a lot of dark, scary secrets hiding in his past.  When Aunt Julia dies they are shocked to find out that she was murdered.  But who was the guilty party and why would anyone want this sweet old lady to die?  There were so many suspects that I couldn't figure it out.  A fast-paced book that was entertaining from the beginning to the end.

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Far From True by Linwood Barclay MYS Bar

This is the second book of the Promise Falls trilogy.  The first one is Broken Promise.  The third one will be coming out in November 2016.  I didn't realize that when I started reading this book.  All of a sudden things started sounding a bit familiar.  I knew this was a brand new book and I couldn't have already read it.  When I figured it out I really enjoyed it.  I would highly recommend reading the first one before you start on this one.

There are several stories going on inside this novel - some of them from the previous book.  The main new one is when P.I. Cal Weaver checked out a break-in.  The owners of the house have been killed in an explosion at a drive-in movie.  The man's daughter, Lucy, is going around the house trying to figure out what could have been taken - when Cal leans on a bookcase and it moves.  What is behind is a room that was obviously been used for adult entertainment.  There is equipment for making and playing dvd's - but no dvd's in sight.

A fast-paced book that I enjoyed a lot.  I hope by next fall I can still remember everything that happened before I dig into the final book.

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