"Alex" by Pierre Lemaitre - Favorite Read For September (Updated)

In Alex by Pierre Lemaitre, a woman is kidnapped but that just touches the surface in this captivating novel.  It is filled with twists and turns that I never saw coming which caused me to really enjoy this book a lot!  I can certainly see why it won a CWA International Dagger Award for the Best Crime Novel of 2013!  I highly recommend this one if you want a good thriller.  It's my favorite read for September!  Read and enjoy!  
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)  

Alex by Pierre Lemaitre is a dark crime novel that is also a psychological thriller which takes place in Paris is all about revenge.  Although the serial killer is revealed early on, the police take a long time drawing a connection between the victims.  They appear to be random killings, but all gruesome in the same way.   Alex, the main character is a complicated person to say the least.  My favorite part was when the rats were crawling all over the crate Alex was trapped in!  The author did an excellent job in evoking a wide range of feelings toward Alex.  This novel is certainly a page turner and one that is so creepy that I couldn’t help thinking about even when I wasn’t reading it.   I highly recommend this to anyone who likes murder mysteries and police investigation novels. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Building Your Mate's Self-Esteem" by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

Building Your Mate’s Self Esteem by Dennis and Barbara Rainey is for both husbands and wives and provides some practical suggestions based on scripture for building self-esteem in your mate with familiar quotes tossed in. At the end of each chapter is a suggested thought provoking activity to do that helps you put into practice the principles given in the chapter.

There is a lot more “meat” in this book than I thought there would be and several things really stood out to me such as (1) accepting our mates unconditionally as God’s gift to us; (2) be generous with heartfelt praise; (3) encourage mate to develop close friendship with same gender and find another couple you and your spouse can become friends with; (4) seek to do specific things that please your mate; (5) encourage mate’s positive talk about himself and encourage him to avoid even thinking negative thoughts.

This book served as a good reminder to me on how to be good wife. It’s easy to let day-to-day responsibilities take over in a marriage to the extent romance and fun is neglected. Married couples should still act as though they are competing for their mate or familiarity can lead to boredom that can cause a marriage to fall apart should one of the couple choose to search elsewhere for something better. I recommend this book to any couple!
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Enon" by Paul Harding Plods Along

Enon by Paul Harding deals with a man following the tragic death of his daughter, an only child.  It also goes back in time when he was a young boy.  Some of the stories he tells and was involved in got my attention.  Some did not.  There is not much action so it kind of plods along.  
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Midnight" by Kevin Egan (How Long Can You Hide a Death?)

When a judge dies on New Year's Eve, Tom and Carol fear they might lose their jobs so come up with a plan to keep the judge's death quiet.  But for how long?  Soon they find themselves in more trouble than just that!

I liked this book more than I thought I would.  It kept me entertained and the ending part was really good!  You should read it.
(Gerard's review, 4.5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays: Four for You

Gerard's:

I was walking in the woods when Kate died. I'd asked her the day before if she wanted to pack a lunch and go to the Enon River to hike around and feed the birds and maybe rent a canoe.

From page 3 of Enon by Paul Harding. 

They set about executing the plan they had hashed out during the afternoon and then rehashed during the drive. Carol pulled the bedcovers down while Tom unrolled the rug and dragged the judge into the bedroom.

From page 72 of Midnight--How Long Can You Hide a Death? by Kevin Egan.

Karen's:

Earlier this evening a medium-sized rat, trying to scrabble over the others, fell through the slats and landed on her back. Nauseated by the physical contact, she let out a scream--there was a brief uncertainty among the other rats, but the disturbance didn't last long.

From page 97 of Alex by Pierre Lemaitre.(click link to see our reviews--both read this one)

When we sift His apparent activity through the standard of who He is, the fog begins to clear. Basing our faith on who God is rather than what He appears to be doing is crucial to our spiritual health.

From page 120 of David--Seeking a Heart Like His by Beth Moore.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Happy Reading!