"Road of Bones" by Christopher Golden

In Road of Bones by Christopher Golden, Felix is fascinated by a road called "The Highway of Bones" 1,200 miles near the Arctic Circle.  It is known as being a massive graveyard of prisoners of the U.S.S.R. who worked on the highway where bodies were paved over.  It is said to be haunted by their ghosts.  Felix gets the ride of his life.  Do NOT read this book at night!  This one was hard to put down!  It's a really good ghost story!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Our Little Secret" by Roz Nay

Our Little Secret by Roz Nay is told by Angela who tells it very well!   A woman is missing and detective Novak thinks Angela knows where and what happened to her.  I thought this book was VERY well done.  This is the author's first book too!  It feels like you are right in the room listening to her tell the story.  The pacing is perfect.  This is not a long book and went fast, had trouble putting it down.  Give this a read, you will be glad you did!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 47:  So many perfect days are stored in my head.  Novak brings me back if I take too long, and I try to let him see the moment I've just relived.

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!

"BANG" by Barry Lyga

In Bang by Barry Lyga, Sebastian had a terrible incident when he was 4 years old. He has had to live with his actions from that day every day. Now he knows that there is a way to make it stop, and he has decided that it is time to do just that. I got into this book from page 1. The characters were well developed and very believable. It is a very quick read!
 (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Wonder" by Emma Donoghue is Based on a True Story

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue is based on a true story.  Remember that as your read this book!  Eleven-year-old Anna has not eaten for four months, yet she still lives!  Lib wright, an English nurse, has been sent to verify that this is true but she doubts it and is determined to get to the truth.

This book really drew me in.  The story line is very good and the characters are very believable.   Even though there is not a lot of action, I still kept turning pages.  The last part of this book is gripping and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to get o the stunning conclusion!
(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!

"Spark" by John Twelve Hawks -- Gripping and Strange!

Spark, by John Twelve Hawks is about a Jacob Underwood who suffers from Cotard's Syndrome - an actual condition that makes you believe you are dead even though you aren't.   He is a hired assassin who does his job very well since he has no feelings or concept of right or wrong.  Things do change though, and when that happens, this good book becomes great!  The good writing made me want to keep turning pages which led to a very good ending!
(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!

"Panic" by Lauren Oliver -- An Entertaining Y/A Read (Updated 4/4/14)

Panic by Lauren Oliver is good right from the start and keeps getting better as it progresses!  It’s about a tradition in a small town where any senior who wants to participate in the Panic challenge at the end of the school year pays $1 a day into the pot.  After graduation, the winner and two judges who made up the challenges split the pot.  The pot was $67,000 that Heather, Nat and Dodge were competing for.  Each of the main characters had a different motivation for participating.  Most all of the class participated, which I found unbelievable considering the challenges were illegal or life threatening.  (No way would I have participated, but it made for a good read though!  The ending was great!  

I loved the suspense each challenge created and it was fun trying to guess the winner.  I’d recommend this if you are looking for an entertaining YA read.  

(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Panic by Lauren Oliver is a Y/A novel that happens in a small town.  Every year after the school year ends, the graduating seniors who want to play a game called "Panic."  The winner gets a lot of money.  The book focuses on Heather and Dodge who each have their own reason for wanting to win.  The people in the story are very true to life. 

I loved this book because I got into it really fast and it was hard to put down.  
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
 
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"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!

"The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty is So Good! (Updated 9/13/13)

Just gets better and better as it goes along!

updated 9/13/13:
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty reminded me of a soap opera with so many characters.  Cecelia accidentally finds a sealed envelope addressed to her with clear instructions not to open it unless her husband is dead.   Of course, the wife cannot resist opening it, and can't believe what she is reading.  It puts her in a very awkward position and doesn't know what to do. 


I did not guess what the husband's secret was until I started reading the book and then I had an idea of what it might be. There is some bad language which I did not care for and the infidelity between Tess and her husband turned me off, but overall it was a very good plot and an interesting read.  I was puzzled though that it was around Good Friday and Easter when this took place, but the season was autumn.  Easter is in the spring!  I think this would make for a good book club read.
(Karen's review)

I found out the reason The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty is No. 5 on the New York Times best seller list--it is because this book is so good!  I finished it in two days.  

The beginning part of the book sets the stage and when the husband's secret is revealed in a letter marked not to open until he dies, his wife opens it anyway.  The novel really takes off as the tension builds about if the secret which has the potential to destroy lives will be revealed to the outside world or not.  

The characters in this book are believable and I loved how all the plot lines came together at the end.  And get this:  the epilogue is very good and ends the book just right!  Put this on your TBR list, you will be glad you did!  
(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!

"What Comes Next" by John Katzenbach

What Comes Next by John Katzenbach is an outstanding and remarkable book!  Jennifer wants to escape her mom and her small town by running away, but her plan is foiled when a man and woman kidnap her off the street.  Jennifer is now number four and the kidnappers set up a website people can watch while they torture her!  There was one witness to the kidnapping, an old professor who is near death and speaks to his dead family members. 

I liked reading Jennifer's thoughts while going through this experience and the people watching it online.  This is an outstanding read that was very hard to put down!  I couldn't help but think to myself, "Would I be watching this if it were real?"  Would you?  What comes next is you reading this gripping novel--you will love the powerful ending!
(Gerard's review)

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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"Boot Camp" by Todd Strasser

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser is a disturbing novel about Garrett, a boy sent to Harmony Lake camp for troubled teens, by his parents because he was out of control.  It is like a prison for teens, but they use physical and psychological abuse to get teens to become obedient.  Parents who send kids there paid $4,000 a month!  Teens are separated from their parents and the outside world for a minimum of six months.  In this book, Garrett really did not deserve to be there and befriended two others who didn’t deserve to be there either.  They escaped together but it did not end there.

I liked the ending, but won’t spoil it for you.  I found myself pulling for Garrett throughout the book and although this was fiction, it is based on real places that exist in the United States which is what disturbed me most.  No one should be treated this way!   The book was gripping, a page-turner that I was anxious to see how it would end.
 (Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"House of Reckoning" by John Saul

I liked House of Reckoning by John Saul because it was so strange and gripping. It made me want to keep reading to see what would happen and drew me in right from the start.  I immediately liked the main character, Sarah, a 14-yr. old who was plowed into by her drunk father on her way to the bar to bring him home and was put into foster care when her father was taken to prison for killing the man he fought with at the bar.  She was befriended by a boy at school who was an outcast because he hallucinated so was viewed as a nut case.  

That’s when spooky things began happening.  The ending was just so far out that I felt it pushed the book into the fantasy or science fiction category.  When the house actually became alive, it was even beyond creepy and eerie.  This isn’t the type of book I normally read but it made for a great change of pace.

(Karen's review 1/15/10)

 
Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?