"The Mystery Box" by Eva Pohler

The Mystery Box by Eva Pohler is a suspenseful read that slowly builds, beginning with Yvette, a bored housewife.  One day Yvette meets her strange and mysterious neighbor, Mona, who lives in the house behind her when Yvette delivers a UPS package to Mona that had Yvette's address on it.  Mona begins telling Yvette her incredible life story.  Day after day, Yvette agrees to come and hear more.  Mona confides that she fell in love with a professor who had connections with the Taliban and had kept her prisoner.   Yvette is shocked when she finally realizes why Mona is telling her all this--it's not just because she is lonely.

I thought this was interesting right from the start but Yvette choosing to stay behind to hear more of Mona's story rather than join her family for a vacation didn't seem very realistic.  Yvette took her family for granted and I liked how once her life got shaken up, she yearned for things to go back to how they were before.  I didn't like Mona much at the beginning because she was engaged to a nice guy but cheated on him, falling for Ahmed Jaffar instead.  
(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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" by J. K. Rowling is Fantastic!

This is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series.  The main story is the Triwizard tournament in this one.  This book started out kind of slow for me--I did not really get into it until after the first 100 pages.  It is a long book though (734 pages) so with my wife's encouragement, I kept reading and am glad I did.  I did not think there was much interaction between the kids as I would have liked.  I was hoping for more Quidditch games.  However, the tournament was good, especially the last challenge!  What I really enjoyed was when HArry and Voldemort had a battle.  That was like "WOW"!  I could hardly turn the pages fast enough!  That more than saved the book for me--on to Number 5!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)  

Karen's review 10/14/15, 5 stars:
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in this series which kept me turning pages. It is full of mystery, excitement, adventure, humor and suspense! The beginning is kind of light with Harry getting to attend the World Quidditch match with the Weasleys and Fred and George Weasley have a bigger role in this book. They add a bit of fun to the story! Hermione was even getting on my nerves with her campaign to free the house elves. I really was surprised Ron took so long to ask her to the dance. Harry is chosen by the Goblet of Fire to enter the champion inter-school competition in spite of his age. Someone secretly entered his name but why? Talk about unexpected twists and turns? This book has them! How is that reporter getting her information and how is Hermione going to get her revenge? When Harry is entered into the interschool Triwizard Tournament, his friends help him prepare for the tasks. I did not guess who entered Harry’s name even after I learned why someone did it. Near the end when Harry was in major danger fighting for his life, I felt so sorry for him.

I loved this book and especially enjoyed the dog visit at the end! I was sad when Ron and Harry weren’t speaking but loved how the friendship between them and Hermione further developed in this book. Goblet of Fire made me laugh but also kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I highly recommend this series, the creativity and writing is amazing! It is very entertaining.


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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Behind Closed Doors" by B. A. Paris (The Perfect Marriage or the Perfect Lie?)

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris was a psychological thriller that was better than I expected.  I certainly felt sorry for Grace because of the monster she married.  He completely had her fooled to get at her sister, Millie who has Down Syndrome. 

I enjoyed this book and was eager to see how Grace was going to manage to get away from her husband, Jack and save her sister.   There are a lot of mind games going on in this book and liked that there was no graphic violence or sex scenes.  The only thing I didn't care for was the organization of the book because it jumped back and forth between the present and the past all the way through which I found annoying. 
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review 8/20/16, 5 stars:
In Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris, Grace is in the park with her sister, Millie.  Millie is a special needs person and Grace takes to caring for her after their parents reject her.  In the park one day, Jack befriends Millie and begins to romance Grace.  When Jack asks Grace to marry him, she knows better days are coming for her and Millie.

I found this thriller to be a real page turner.  The story goes back and forth in time but that only builds up the suspense.  As the author's first book, I say it is very well done!


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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"You Will Know Me" by Megan Abbott

In You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott, Katie and Eric Knox have a daughter, Devon, who is a gymnastics prodigy.  For Katie and Eric, they will do anything they can to make sure Devon can follow her dream.  However, when a death happens and rumors begin, will Katie be able to keep it all together?  I thought this book was pretty good.  The story was good enough with a surprise ending and the characters were very believable.
(Gerard's review, 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Tuesday Teasers

Gerard's:
"It's all over.  My life's over," Devon said, looking up at Katie, her hand shaking slightly as she pushed back a stray strand from her ponytail.

From page 33 of You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott.


'Do I detect a renewal of your fighting spirit?  I'm so glad.  To tell the truth, I've been getting quite bored.' 

From page 66 of Behind Close Doors by B. A. Paris.
Karen's:

Sometimes I told my boyfriends about her from the beginning, sometimes--if I liked them a lot--I said that I had a younger sister who was away at school but only mentioned that she had Down's syndrome a few weeks into the relationship.  Some, when I told them, didn't know what to say and didn't stay around long enough to say anything much at all.

From Page 21 of Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris.

 Yvette was twenty-four, teaching college composition, alone in the world until she met Devin a few months later.  She supposes she never had to grow a backbone, because she went from living in the start shadow of her mother's tyranny to the easy, pampered wife of a successful businessman--that is, until they had children and her life became a whirlwind, a spinning hamster wheel.  

From page 37 (Loc. 498) of The Mystery Box:  The Mystery Book Collection by Eva Pohler.  (reading on Kindle)

For two thousand years most people haven't quite been able to figure out the answer.  But the whole world is intrigued.

From page Loc. 104 of Jesus, an Obedient Son by Michael Phillips. (read on Kindle)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading. 
Happy Reading!