Book Reviews
The President is Missing
By Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Published June 4, 2018
Reviewed by Lindsay Dunn
Summary:
President Bill Clinton and bestselling novelist James Patterson have written a spellbinding thriller, The President is Missing. As the novel opens, a threat looms. Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing… Set in real time, over the course of three days, The President is Missing is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen. The President is Missing is Bill Clinton and James Patternson’s totally authentic and spellbinding thriller.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars!
Review:
Initially, I thought this sounded like a pretty silly collaboration, but curiosity won over (especially when I needed to find a book to pass time during a long layover at an airport in North Carolina!). This book far surpassed my most generous expectations. I can honestly say it is one of the best “real world” thrillers I have ever read! It is well paced, with an intense plot, many unexpected twists and turns. It held my attention for the first page to the last. Strongly recommend!
Stalking Jack the Ripper
(Stalking Jack the Ripper #1)
By Kerri Maniscalco
Published September 20, 2016
Reviewed by Lindsay Dunn
Summary:
Presented by James Patterson’s new children’s imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion… Seventeen year old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s labratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, jer search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzeling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review:
There are not enough words to describe how much I love this book (the whole series, actually!!) It was not the sort of book I probably would have picked on my own, but I was asked to read it, and I am so glad that I did!! This book was fascinating, fun, and has so many twists and turns that it is nearly impossible to guess at how it’s going to end! The murder scenes (not the act of murdering, but the crime scenes after the fact) are described in extreme detail, but in a very clinical way, not a gory way. Still, not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy detective shows or books, it is well done. The characters are the best part of this book!! Audrey is an excellent heroine - intelligent, independent, and a complete forward thinking feminist. Her partner, Thomas is amazing as well! I thoroughly enjoyed this series and recommend all three books (with a 4th on the way!!)
Sequels: Hunting Prince Dracula (5 of 5 stars) and Escaping from Houdini (5 of 5 stars) and short story Becoming the Dark Prince (5 of 5 stars)
Murder on the Orient Express
By Agatha Christie
(Hercule Poirot #10)
Published 1933
Reviewed by Lindsay Dunn
Summary: WHat more can a mystery addict desire than a much-loathed murder victim found aboard the luxurious Orient Express with multiple stab wounds, thirteen likely suspects, an incomparably brilliant detective in Hercule Poirot, and the most ingenious crime ever conceived?
Rating 4.5 of 5 stars
Review:
Agatha Christie was, naturally, a genius. Murder on the Orient Express is an amazing detective thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. Hercule Poirot (with his epic mustaches) is one of my favorite detectives in all of literature. This book is well paced, with a plot that never stops surprising you. The ending was unexpected and amazing!! I recommend this to anyone!
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The Siren
By Kiera Cass
Published July 1, 2009
Reviewed by Lindsay Dunn
Summary: “You must never do anything that might expose our secret. This means that, in general, you cannot form close bonds with humans. You can speak to us, and you can always commune with the Ocean, but you are deadly to humans. You are, essentially, a weapon. I won’t lie to you, it can be a lonely existence, but once you are done, you get to live. All you have to give, for now, is obedience and time…” The same speech has been given hundreds of times to hundreds of beautiful girls who enter the sisterhood of sirens. Kahlen has lived by these rules for years now, patiently waiting for the life she can call her own. But when Akinli, a human, enters her world, she can’t bring herself to live by the rules anymore. Suddenly the life she’s been waiting for doesn’t seem nearly as important as the one she’s living now.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review: This is perhaps my favorite of all of Kiera Cass’s books! I loved it from start to finish. Such an interesting take on Sirens and the Ocean, plot twists that really kept me guessing, and the most beautiful and unexpected ending anyone could ask for. This book shows true love in a variety of forms - romantic love (and I will be honest - this couple is the best written couple I have read in a long time. They were so sweet!!!), sisterly love, motherly love, and true friendship. I would recommend this to anyone who loves fairy tales with a twist, to anyone who loves sweet romance stories, and to anyone who wants a quick, happy story.
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Heartless
By Marissa Meyer
Published November 8, 2016
Reviewed by Lindsay Dunn
Summary: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland - the infamous Queen of Hearts - she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and induriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans. In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Review: This book was an amazing read. The world was vivid and fun. Cath’s character was well developed. It almost immediately forgot that this was a villain's origin story, so I was totally into the story, the romance, the characters, and the conflict so much that I was absolutely shredded by some of the plot twists and especially the ending. I don’t know if I have ever cried harder in a book. I was so so so sad to watch Cath’s fall. It was heartbreaking. But, it served as a solid villain's backstory, and provided the moral ambiguity that I love feeling for villains. This was a great weekend read. Recommended to fairy tale fans, hopeless romantics, and someone who loves villain origin stories.
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