"The Fifth Assassin" by Brad Meltzer

The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer is on the "Best Sellers" list for a reason--it is that good!  Someone is re-creating down to the last detail the four assassinations of the four presidents that were in office.  Now, there is going to be a fifth one.  The question is who is doing this and will the fifth attempt be successful?  It is hard to know the bad guys from the good guys in this one and the plot twists are eye popping!

At 654 pages (large print) this is no light read.  The book took four years to finish and it shows.  This one kept me turning pages and the ending is the best of all!  I loved it and recommend 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!

Tuesday Teasers: "Predator" and "The Fifth Assassin"

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.   

Karen's

The killer had access to this information, and he was somewhere here, hidden among her GrapeVyne friends. Krista clicked on Ella's Friends and saw a list with pictures of over eleven hundred people.

From page 20 of Predator by Terri Blackstock.

Gerard's

Almost on cue, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Looking down, President Wallace pulled it out just enough to read the newest text onscreen:
How's my funeral going? Dr. Stewart Palmiotti asked.

From page 5 of The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer.

Happy Reading!

"In Need of a Good Wife" by Kelly O'Connor McNees

Light and Entertaining

In Need of a Good Wife by Kelly O'Connor McNees is a post-civil war historical fiction novel about mail-order brides seeking a new start. When Clara sees an ad for wives needed in Nebraska, she sees it as a business opportunity and becomes matchmaker for women in Manhattan who want a new start and are willing to go to Nebraska. She contacts the mayor of the Nebraska town, Destination, and when the gentlemen seeking wives write, she tells the women about them and they correspond for months before their trip. The story focuses on Clara, Elsa, an older lady who was a laundress most of her life who never married and Rowena, the prettiest in town who is a broke widow with a father in an asylum in need of money to take care of him.

I loved this book because it is unpredictable and filled with interesting characters. Some of the marriages panned out nicely while others did not, but the plot thickens when Clara was unable to deliver what she promised and the gentlemen without brides want their money back and charge her with fraud! My favorite character was Elsa. This one has discussion questions in the back and would make for a good book club selection.

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!

Francona--The Red Sox Years - A Must Read For Sox Fans!

A must read for all Red Sox Fans!

Francona--The Red Sox Years by Terry Francona and Dan Shaughnessy is a really really good book about the years Francona managed the Red Sox.  It was so much fun going back over the two years that they won the world championships!  There is interesting inside stuff too on ownership, players and the things that go on that the average fan knows nothing about.  I have yelled a lot at Francona while watching the Red Sox games when he was manager; but after reading this book, I've gained respect for him.  I wish him luck with Cleveland this year except when they play the Sox.  This one is a must read for all Red Sox fans!
(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!

"Brain On Fire--My Month of Madness" by Susannah Cahalan GIVEAWAY (Updated)

Here's a non-fiction Must Read!

UPDATED 2/20/13:
Brain On Fire--My Month Of Madness by Susannah Cahalan is her true story about how a rare, mysterious disease almost took her life.  It is a contemporary medical thriller and very scary because it really happened!  It was only because her parents and boyfriend persevered at getting her the help she needed that she survived.  I felt sorry for her and her family as I read her account.  It's really scary that one of the best neurologists in the country just thought she was a drunk having withdrawal symptoms and never even heard of anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis which is what she was finally diagnosed with and treated for. 

This is a fascinating read and I was glad that this journalist recovered enough to write this book about her experience.  The key lesson is to get a second opinion!  I found it interesting for the most part but she lost me when she tried explaining the medical details of how the immune system actually attacks the brain.
(Karen's review, rating 4 stars)

Brain On Fire--My Month Of Madness by Susannah Cahalan is the true story of Susannah who started to have medical problems.  She was misdiagnosed so often that one day she woke up in a hospital and didn't know how she got there.  Wow, what a great read!  

This is a page turner for sure with lots of "wow" factors for me.  The biggest wow is that I got this one to review for free--it's a must read!  I highly recommend it.  I'm so glad you are all better now, Susannah.  Thanks for telling your story and God bless!

(Gerard's review, rating 5++ stars)

We received this book free to review but that did not affect our reviews in any way.  


If you would like this book and live in the USA, just be the first to say so in a comment on this post including your email address so we can contact you for your mailing address.

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!