"Small Mercies" by Dennis Lehane

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane takes place the summer in Boston before black and white kids are bussed so they can go to school together.  A white girl goes missing and a black teen boy is killed by a train under mysterious circumstances.  This is a good book.  The main characters were developed very well!  (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 Last Pass" by Gary M. Pomerantz

The Last Pass by Gary M. Pomerantz is a true story describing the basketball career of Bob Cousy and his life off the court.  Bob Cousy was a fantastic point guard for the Boston Celtics.  The stuff he could do with a basketball is amazing!  He could dribble and pass like no one else!

The basketball part of this book was really good, but I enjoyed reading about his life off the court even more!  I laughed out loud while reading this one!  He is in his 90s now, what a remarkable story he has told!  This is my "book of the month" for December!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Teaser from page 28:  Seeing Cousy play against the Globetrotters that night, Kerner, owner of the NBA's Tri-Cities Blackhawks, was dazzled.  He decided that Cousy was the greatest college player he had ever seen.

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!

"The Unseen World" by Liz Moore

In The Unseen World by Liz Moore,  Ada is 12 years old and works with her dad and his associate in a lab.  Ada is very smart.  When her dad becomes forgetful and wanders off, Ada tries her best to take care of him.  Soon though, he needs more help than Ada alone can give.  Now she must go out in the world and deal with school and everyday things in life that she never had to deal with before.  She learns things that will question just about everything that Ada thought to be true!

I thought Ada was a great character and loved watching her grow up.  I got into this book early.  The story moved along okay and I always wanted to get back into it!  I also enjoyed this author's first book, Heft.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner--Who Is the Real Monster?

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner is a mystery told from multiple points of view about a wife and cat who turn up missing. She has a husband who works second shift and a 4-yr-old daughter who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. Both husband and wife had bad childhoods but love their daughter very much and want to give her a good family. The cops are clueless as to what happened to the wife but have lots of suspects.  The husband and wife are both good liars and very good at keeping secrets.

This book kept me guessing right to the unexpected ending but I felt really bad for the neighbor. It deals with family secrets, marriage issues, prejudice, computers and sexual abuse.  This book is an eye opener to the problems pedophiles face. The plot is similar to Gone Girl; however, I liked both the main characters in this and didn’t like either of the main characters in Gone Girl. This book doesn’t have near as much swearing as Gone Girl does either. I liked it!
 (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's Review, 5++ stars:
In The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner, a husband comes home and finds that his wife and cat are missing.  The rest of the house is normal and his young 4-yr.-old daughter is fine.  The police are on it and have plenty of suspects including the husband, but no body.  This is a real page turner!  The author keeps dropping tidbits that change the focus every so often to different possible suspects, but there's really no evidence.  I really enjoyed it a lot and was blown away by the ending!

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!

"Die Again" by Tess Gerritsen - Loved it!

Die Again by Tess Gerritsen finds Jane and Maura being summoned to a crime scene.  It looks like a killing by a large cat, but that cannot be, or can it?  Six years earlier, a group of tourists in Africa were killed except for one.  Now they need that one to bring the killer out in Boston.

This book is a real page turner with lots of action and a good ending.  I LOVED it!
(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. Happy Reading!

"Stronger" by Jeff Bauman with Bret Witter

Being a huge Boston fan, it is a "no brainer" that I was going to read Stronger by Jeff Bauman with Bret Witter.  I read it and loved it!  Jeff was one of only two people who lost both of their legs at the Boston Marathon last year when the bomb went off.  He was able to identify the bomber for the cops.  I especially liked the part that dealt with his recovery which proved what Jeff was made of--Boston Strong!  Thanks for telling your story, Jeff, and God bless you and Erin!
(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. Happy Reading!

"The Silent Girl" by Tess Gerritsen

The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen is a very good read. I think Rizzoli and Isles novels are always worth the read. This novel tells the story of a shooting in a Boston's Chinatown restaurant 19 years ago. The questions behind it are still left unanswered. Rat (a teen boy) and bear (his faithful dog) from Ice Cold are both in this book too.

I did not like this one as much as Ice Cold (audio book) but it is still good enough that I read it in three days. It's a real page turner!
(Gerard's review, rating 5+ stars)


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"Rizzoli & Isles: Last To Die" by Tess Gerritsen

Rizzoli & Isles: LAST TO DIE by Tess Gerritsen is a better than average story. In this thriller, three children are enrolled at Evensong Boarding School, where all the kids have had traumatic events in their young lives. Now they are in a safe haven, or are they not?

This book went along so so but the last 150 pages it really got good! There's a great twist at the end that made it hard to put down until I found out how it all turned out! It's well worth your time!
(Gerard's review, rating 5 stars)

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"The Inside Story of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins"

I love this book!

Full 60 to History--The Inside Story of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins is just awesome!! It details the 2010-2011 season in which "my" Bruins won the Stanley Cup. It is filled with lots of incredible photographs, including lots of action shots. I felt as though I was practically on the ice myself as I read this. The words by the management and the players are priceless! If you are a Bruins fan, you have to get this one! GO BRUINS!

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!

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"Faith" by Jennifer Haigh is a Must Read!

WOW! Double Wow!  Faith by Jennifer Haigh is good!  It is told by a sister who has two brothers.  One brother is a priest, accused of molesting a child.  I loved this book, especially enjoyed the family.  A loving family, this is not.  Brother vs. brother, sister vs. brother, husband vs. wife made for great reading.  The last 75 pages are some of the best pages you will read all year!  It was impossible to put down!  The ending is a shocker!  I highly recommend you put this on your TBR list--it's SO GOOD!
(Gerard's review)

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