David

In posing the question “What will you do with the time you have left?”, TJ Klune gives us another funny and heartwarming story about life, loss, grief and tea.
I laughed, I cried....I appreciated life just a little bit more.
But not tea..it's like warm water with yard clippings...I'm more of a coffee kinda guy.

Turns out “Tom Lake” isn't a person, but a place. Was I the only one who initially thought that?

The story is about a woman reminiscing with her grown daughters about her past experiences in summer stock theater and her romance with a fellow actor who went on to become a famous movie star. The plot moves slowly, with the narrative switching back and forth between the past and present.

Not exactly a page-turner, but a sweet and nostalgic tale.

Definitely read this book before you read The Hunter otherwise you will already know the answer to this story's central mystery and a revelation about a particular character will be spoiled.
In other words, don't do what I did!
Despite that, this story, in the words of Trey Reddy, was simply “Grand”.

I just finished reading my first book by Tana French, and I loved it! Even though it's the second book in the “Cal Hooper” series, I had no trouble following the story. It takes place in a small, peaceful village in Ireland, and the way French writes really draws you in. The murder mystery is exciting, and the characters are all really interesting. A great read!

Another page-turner from Simone St. James that did not disappoint.
Someone is killing hitchhikers along a road called Atticus Line.
A newlywed couple passing through town, with baggage of their own, are drawn into the mystery.
While I'm not sure I loved the reveal, I was definitely entertained!

Just a fantastic story populated with wonderful characters (Nurse Ratched!...although not THAT Nurse Ratched) set in what feels like a not too distant future where machines run the world and humans don't.
A story about the meaning of family and the love that binds us all.
My first book by TJ Klune...but definitely not my last!

While it starts off as a mystery when a skeleton is found in a well in 1972, we quickly flash back to the 1930's in a small town in Pennsylvania. There, in the poor section of town called Chicken Hill, immigrant Jews and African Americans live side by side and work together to hatch an escape plan when a young black boy is unjustly sent away to a reformatory.
Beautifully told story with an array of diverse and interesting characters that beautifully unfolds into a compelling narrative.

If you are looking for a story that will scare you and make you laugh, look no further than this entertaining debut novel from Carissa Orlando.
Margaret has been living in a haunted house for 4 years now and every September is when things get really crazy. Her nonchalant and dry comments towards her “pranksters” and their hijinx is the highlight of this story for me. But if all that weren't enough, her daughter is coming back into town to look for her father (an abusive alcoholic) who has gone missing.

While the title made me think this just covers a particular period in Chaplin's life, it also includes pivotal moments starting with his poverty stricken beginnings to that Christmas Day in 1977 when he left us. But this book does go into greater detail about the conservative led witch hunts of the 40s and 50s and the impact it had on Charlie, both creatively and personally.
Blacklisted actor Paul Robeson summed it up best in a letter he wrote to Charlie: “...fascists everywhere hated you for your anti-Nazi film, The Great Dictator. Well, Hitler and his gang are gone, but Chaplin and his art lives on! And your name will be honored –yes, here in America, too –long after McCarthy and his kind are buried in oblivion.”. Indeed.

I really enjoyed her previous books but this one just wasn't for me.
Started off strong and then it felt like a hodgepodge of genres, stories within stories, time jumps and plot twists that just didn't do it for me.
Just left me confused and annoyed.
Next!

If you think a book about right-wing fascism in the USA in the 1930's-40's is going to be a boring read...think again. In the lead up to WWII, Rachel Maddow highlights the Nazi propaganda campaign that took place right here in America. Along the way we meet the far-right US citizens and politicians who colluded with the Nazis with the aim of overthrowing the US government and the brave individuals who did everything they could to stop them.

At one point, one of these right-wing Senators refers to the seditionists on trial as “political prisoners”.

Good thing nothing like that can happen today, right?

An important and fascinating read.

Inspired by the death of her great Uncle at the Dozier School for Boys back in the 1930s in Marianna, Florida, Tananarive Due delivers a gripping and harrowing tale of survival in the face of extreme adversity and cruelty.

Set in the 1950's, this is a propulsive page turner that combines engrossing drama and the supernatural while shedding light on the system of dehumanization that, as evidenced by our current prison system, sadly exists to this very day.

Highly recommend!

I almost gave up on this book during the first few chapters because the story seemed so preposterous.
Glad I stuck with it though as this book gave me some serious whiplash with it's various plot twists.
All is not what it seems!

This marks my final book for 2023. It was a crazy year so I didn't come close to finishing by Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge. Only 36 of 60 books or 60%.
I'll try to do better next year. Probably lower the challenge to 50!

Happy New Year everyone!

A very compelling and meta look at the publishing industry, race and identity from the perspective of a struggling author. An author who is accused of stealing the work of her late friend. Towards the end, the tone of the book shifts in a way I was not expecting.
If you like books about books, this is definitely one for you.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

With her job on hold and word from her brother that “Mom seems off”, Samantha Montogomery decides to pay mom a visit to see what exactly is going on.

This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and while this is a horror story, the horror is offset by the wisecracking Samantha and her wry personality which I truly enjoyed. While it does get a bit silly at times, it was an engrossing and imaginative tale.

Could not put this down! Very unsettling psychological horror about a family who takes in their dying matriarch. The ending, which I will not spoil, wasn't what I wanted nor what I expected...and that's a GOOD thing!
This book really resonated with me as my mother moved in with us a few months ago.
And she brought a pretty stone with her.

Okay, this is the 4th book by S.A. Cosby I've read and he does not disappoint.
He has become a “must buy” author for me.
This time around a former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff must track down a serial killer that lives in their midst.
I love Cosby's “take no BS” protagonists who, like in his previous books, usually has to battle with the local racist Neanderthals. In this day and age, those confrontations are very cathartic and satisfying.
A gritty, violent and propulsive page turner!

Who would have thought a 640 page book about evil apples would be this entertaining? Well, it was!
At first I thought this seems a tad corny, but then Wendig quickly pulls you into the lives of various characters in this small rural town. He weaves in history, folklore and the supernatural. Its gruesome and gory at times, but never dull.
Coincidentally, I got a shipment of Harry & David apples in the midst of reading this book. I never eat apples. But somehow I was compelled to do so. They were delicious. I need MORE!!!!

If you are looking for a spooky short story collection for the Halloween season, look no further.
Writer/Director Jordan Peele has collected 19 short stories from black authors you might already know and some you don't.
While some stories are better than others, you'll definitely be entertained...and a little creeped out.
I mean, the book cover alone!

Some standouts for me:
Reckless Eyballing
The Rider
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree
Dark Home
An American Fable

Happy Halloween!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

There is a lot going on in this book which at times made the story feel convoluted, but never dull.

With a past and present story structure, this tale examines mother-daughter relationships, sibling relationships, toxic relationships, friendships, a missing black girl, ghosts and a creepy haunted house.
And trauma. Lots of trauma.

I told you it was a lot.

If you are looking for a Stephen King novel that does not have a supernatural element to it...this would be a good pick.
Random people are disappearing and King's beloved investigator Holly Gibney is back on the case.
While the time jumps were a bit confusing at times and the ending was a tad unsatisfying, this was a compelling (and slightly stomach churning) read.

Really enjoyed this little novella narrated by a lovable yet hungry mountain lion who is forced out of his home in the hills of L.A....or as he calls it “ellay”.
Funny and whimsical observations about the people he encounters that will make you smile and perhaps shed a tear or two.

I almost read this before a recent flight but decided against it...glad I did!

T.J. Newman wastes no time in this high octane thriller and follow up to “Falling”, about a commercial airliner that ditches in the Pacific Ocean.

You'll want to finish this page turner in one sitting.

“On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry had been a farmer. On Wednesday, she became a fugitive.”

Adelaide Henry sets out to escape her past in rural Montana in 1915. But she's not traveling alone.

Victor LaValle has written another page turner with this Lovecraftian female driven tale that grabs you from page one and doesn't let go.

REBECCA meets THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER in this twisty whodunnit from Riley Sager. Just when you think you've figured it all out, Sager hits you with another WTF plot twist.
While some of those twists gave me some pause, this is still a highly enjoyable read!