"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. 

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

"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)

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

"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)

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

"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)

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

"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)     

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