"The Exiles" by Christina Baker Kline is Good Historical Fiction

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is historical fiction which I enjoy reading.  This novel takes place on a ship filled with women convicts headed to Australia in 1840.  I enjoyed this book.  The author does a very good job of character development.  It moved along at a good pace and held my interest throughout with a good ending.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"The Lost Boys" by Faye Kellerman was a Snoozer!

The Lost Boys by Faye Kellerman is one of the slowest, most boring and dissatisfying books I've ever read.  This is about several police investigations--(1) a 10 yr. old missing persons case, (2) a current missing person case involving Bertram, a man with Down Syndrome (3) a possible murder case related to Bertram.  As if three story lines aren't enough, there is also the drama with the detective's foster son's biological mom and dad, an assassin.  The primary story line is the cold case of three missing college boys who went camping together and never returned.  

First off, I kept dozing off while reading the first half of this book.  I felt like it kept leaving the main story to go down different rabbit trails.  The conversation seemed stilted between characters that seemed just blah to me.  I was ready to quit on this one but since I made it halfway and it started to pick up a bit, I decided to go ahead and finish.  That was a mistake because after continuing to plow on through, the ending was very unsatisfying.  Only one case was actually solved--the others just left you hanging.  Maybe it's just me, but I like a book that actually has an ending to it.  I would not recommend this one.  (Karen's review, 1 star)  

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"Drown Her Sorrows" by Melinda Leigh is Blah!

In Drown Her Sorrows by Melinda Leigh, Holly's body is found floating in the water for a few days.  Her car was found parked by a bridge.  Did she jump or was she murdered?  If murdered, by whom and why?  I was so bored with this book--it was just blah.  I never got into it and did not care much for the characters.  I generously give it 3 stars due to the surprise ending.  I suggest you skip this one. (Gerard's review)

  

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"The 20th Victim" by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

In The 20th Victim by James Patterson there are three shootings all at the same time.  Were the planned and if so, who is behind them and why?  Put your detective hat on for this one.  There is good action throughout this book, but I would have liked to seen more character development.  That being said, the story line is strong enough to carry it.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Babysitter--My Summers With a Serial Killer" by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan is a True Story

The Babysitter by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan is a true story!  The story is told by Liza and Tony.  Liza was a lonely girl brought up by her single parent mom.  Her mom was busy most of the time and got whoever she could to look after Liza.  A young boy named Tony was one of those babysitters and the other person who tells the story.  Liza liked Tony because he was nice to her.  However, there was another side to Tony that Liza didn't see.  

I enjoyed this book because it moved along and was interesting.  It was like a TV crime show on Lifetime. (Gerard's review, 5 stars) 

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"Before She Disappeared" by Lisa Gardner

In Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner, Frankie Elkin, a white middle-aged recovering alcoholic, makes it her personal mission to find missing persons that the police and media have given up on.  Her 15th missing person is a smart, teenage Haitian girl who goes missing in Mattapan, a rough neighborhood in Boston named Angelique.  Frankie supports herself by being a bartender.  

I liked this novel and was anxious to get back to it.  Frankie is a witty character and was very brave and determined.  Although I thought the story a bit hard to believe, it still was interesting to me.  I liked how she was able to win people over and most of the characters were very likable.  I thought adding the "attack" cat to this story was a nice touch.     (Karen's review, 4 stars) 

Gerard's review:

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner centers on a woman named Frankie who goes around trying to find missing persons that the police were unable to locate.  Frankie is a good character, but this book has little to no action in it!  I did enjoy the cat in this book though, but do not think the other characters were very well developed.  The ending was predictable too.  I was not very impressed with this one, thus I give it only 3 stars. 

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"The Witch's Heart" by Genevieve Gornichec (Author's first book)

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec centers on a witch left for dead and found by a man called Loki.  They fall in love and have three children; however, danger is coming.  Can this family survive?

I was lost in this world from page 1.  The author does a great job of building this adventure.  I really enjoyed the characters and the story that flowed along nicely.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Dangerous Women" by Hope Adams

Dangerous Women by Hope Adams is a historical fiction novel during 1841.  180 women are on a ship heading to start a new life in a new town.  They are small-time convicts.  One woman is stabbed with a knife and is near death.  Who did it and why?  That is the mystery.  This book lacked action in my opinion, but had a good ending and it was hard to figure who the murderer was.  The ending was good so pulled it up to 4 stars.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"A Minute to Midnight" by David Baldacci

In A Minute to Midnight, Atlee Pine works for the FBI.  She takes some time off and tries to find out who took and killed her sister years ago.  I liked the action in this book.  I also enjoyed playing detective to try to discover the killer.  Good stuff!  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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"Big Lies in a Small Town" by Diane Chamberlain

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is a fascinating story about a several artists--two during the depression (Anna and Jesse) and one in 2018 (Morgan Christopher).  Jesse Jameson Williams is a well-known black artist who likes helping young, struggling artists.  This is a story about mistakes and moving forward.  There are a lot of questions, the primary one being why Jesse would choose to insist that Morgan Christopher be the one to restore an old messed up mural painted by Anna Dale to be hung in his art museum by August 5, 2018, opening day.  Other questions include:  Why did Jesse have the mural? What happened to Anna Dale?  Will Morgan be able to finish the mural in time?  Why did it have to be done by August 5?  Questions are answered gradually in alternating chapters told by Anna and Morgan.  

I was drawn into this story right from the start and really got to liking the characters.  The book is sort of like reading a puzzle as the pieces begin to fall into place.  Issues addressed are racial relations, alcoholism, rape, and family secrets, friendship and recovering from past mistakes.  (Karen's review, 5 stars)     

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"Black Widows" by Cate Quinn is a murder mystery

Black Widows by Cate Quinn is a murder mystery.  Blake's dead.  His wife killed him.  The question is . . . which one? This novel is told by three women:  Rachel, Tina and Emily who were all wives of Blake.  I enjoyed this book.  It was fun playing a detective trying to figure out which wife killed Blake.  I liked all the wives.  I enjoyed the interaction among the women and liked the ending!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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