A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

The Unquiet Dead is both Ausma Zehanat Khan's debut novel and the first book in a series starring Sgt. Rachel Getty and Inspector Esa Khattak of Canada's Community Policing Section.  In this installment Getty is much more the star; the reader is privy to her thoughts, family drama, etc. and the story is largely told from her third person perspective.  While this story is both an engrossing and disturbing read that becomes a page turner, the characters and overarching story itself isn't one that will pull me back for the next installments. When a man named Christopher Drayton falls to his death from the bluffs by his house, Khattak is asked by a friend at the Department of Justice to ascertain whether or not the man's death was indeed an accident.  For Drayton is not who he says he is, and the first order of business in the investigation is to prove the man's true identity.  Drayton, a Serbian war criminal living in hiding in Canada under an assumed name, was a

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living is Louise Miller's debut novel.  A few weeks ago I was in need of a book to read, and I really wanted to read this one, but my library's copy was out.  So was the other book I really wanted to read so I had to borrow other books while I waited for this one to come in.  Sometimes I just want to read what I want to read when I want to read it, ya know?  And it's hard when that one book you want to read right now is not available.  #bookwormproblems When Olivia nearly burns down the Emerson Club (at which she is head chef) thanks to the traditional baked Alaska her married lover and president of the club insists upon for the club's anniversary celebration, she decides it's time for a change.  So she packs up her clothes and her dog and flees Boston in the middle of the night for rural Vermont without further notice.  She's heading for the comfort of her best friend but ends up finding a place to call home and people

While Eight Hundred Grapes is Laura Dave's fourth novel, this is the first novel by Dave that I've read.  I've had my eye on this novel ever since one of the libraries acquired it.  It's a quick read, but there are secret-y secrets that no one wants to talk about.  After nearly an entire book of everyone avoiding the issues that they don't want to talk about and watching those issues fester, well, it gets frustrating.  However, it is an engrossing read because you want to know how everything turns out for these people for whom the world is pretty much falling apart. Seven days before her wedding Georgia literally stumbles across the secret her fiance, Ben, has been keeping for months: the four and a half year old daughter that he found out (FIVE MONTHS PREVIOUSLY) he shares with his glamorous movie star ex.  So Georgia packs a suitcase, gets out of dodge, and drives home to her family's vineyard in northern California.  When she arrives she finds her family

Miss Shayne returns with another review for the blog! In this story, we get to view the world through the eyes of a troubled teen who cannot speak. Instead, he writes everything down. This is both his main form of communication and his hobby.  Because of his journaling, he is very introspective and observant. He also enjoys telling stories and spending time alone or stealing things from people in hotels. This is how our story begins. Once Parker meets Zelda in a hotel (after trying to steal from her), he is immediately drawn to her because her eyes convey what he calls “prefect sadness.” For someone who looks so young, how can this be? After a conversation with her, Parker discovers that Zelda is planning on jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge once she spends all of her money. She offers to spend it on Parker if he “treats her like a teenager.” Parker is tasked with devising typical teenager activities for Zelda, not because he wants her money, but because he needs to find out why