[review] The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell (2013)

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book, book review, crime, family, novel, romance, TLC book tours

The Death of Bees (2013)
by Lisa O’Donnell (Twitter.)
Publication Date: January 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Harper
Edition Read: Finished Hardcover, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa O’Donnell won the Orange Screenwriting Prize in 2000 for The Wedding Gift and, in the same year, was nominated for the Dennis Potter New Screenwriters Award. A native of Scotland, she is now a full-time writer and lives in Los Angeles with her two children. The Death of Bees is her first novel.

Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.

Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren’t telling. While life in Glasgow’s Hazlehurst housing estate isn’t grand, they do have each other. Besides, it’s only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.

Written with fierce sympathy and beautiful precision, told in alternating voices, The Death of Bees is an enchanting, grimly comic tale of three lost souls who, unable to answer for themselves, can answer only for each other.

My Thoughts:
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. Despite it’s twisted, morbid plotline of two sisters burying their parents in their backyard (and a dog that has an uncanny knack of digging up body parts from flowerbeds,) The Death of Bees filled me up with warmth and made me smile. Built with a unique cast of memorable characters, with their own fears and quirks, O’ Donnell crafts a brilliant tale about family ties. Sometimes real families aren’t formed by blood ties. Perhaps Marnie and Nelly are by far not the most innocent girls, but I still found myself cheering them on every one of those three hundred pages.

Characters:
I love multiple perspectives, and O’Donnell does it exceptionally well. We unravel the story with Marnie and Nelly (the two sisters) and Lennie (their 70 year old gay, misunderstood “sex offender” neighbor.) What usually happens in books with multiple perspectives is that the voices blend together and don’t sound like two different people. Perhaps because each character is so distinct from each other that there was never a problem differentiating between them. Marnie has a dark, rebellious edge, while Nelly autistic eloquence sounds like the Queen of England (with a bit of swearing). Nelly reminds me of Becky of Glee’s inner voice.

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[review] Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross (2011)

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book, book review, crime, family, mystery, novel, promotion, psychological, psychological thriller, suspense, thriller

Eyes Wide Open (2011)
by Andrew Gross (Twitter.)
Publication Date: May 29th 2012 (first published January 1st, 2011)
Publisher: Harper
Edition Read: Paperback

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Eyes Wide Open, The Blue Zone, The Dark Tide, Don’t Look Twice, and Reckless. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn.

Jay Erlich’s nephew has been found at the bottom of a cliff at Morrow Bay. It’s all just a tragic suicide, until secrets from the past begin to rear up again. Did a notorious killer, jailed for many decades, have his hand in this?Years ago, Jay Erlich’s older brother, Charlie, a wayward child of the sixties, set out for California, where he fell under the sway of a charismatic but deeply disturbed cultlike figure. Tragedy ensued and lives were destroyed, but as the decades passed, Charlie married and raised a family and lived a quiet, secluded life under the radar. Yet the demons that nearly destroyed him never completely disappeared.

Drawing on two real-life experiences from his own past, Gross has crafted a richly personal, yet utterly terrifying tale of two brothers, one successful, one wayward, trying to bridge the gap of what tore them apart.

My Thoughts:
Ugh. I picked up Eyes Wide Open because I was hoping for the same non-stop action, heart-pounding page-turner that was 15 Seconds, which I enjoyed this past summer. Unfortunately, Eyes Wide Open was not that book. The unoriginal plot not only was messy and extremely repetitive. Pace was frustratingly slow. The characters were not only unlikable, but confusing. The villains defied logic. And the police are useless. However, there were some wonderful suspenseful moments. I also applaud Gross for using his only experiences, but overall Eyes Wide Open was just your average suspense novel that I would hesitate to even call it a thriller.

When In Crisis, Just Claim You’re A Doctor
Or at least that’s how the protagonist, Jay Erlich, operates. “I’m a doctor.” seems to be his default automated message. He says it to emergency personal, cops, reporters, taxi drivers, everyone else he meets. I get it, you have a fancy medical degree, so what? What being a doctor has to do with solving crime is beyond me.

For some reason, all of Jay’s “guesses” turn out to be correct, or somehow turn into truths as the story progresses. The witnesses claim to be unsure of the suspect’s gender. Along the way, the suspicions are dropped, and everyone believes the suspect is a woman…because a doctor (who didn’t even speak to the witness) suspected it.

Also, Don’t Tell Your Family Anything
One of the most annoying parts of the novel is Jay’s numerous phone calls to his over-reacting wife. He’s only gone for a week, and she’s already freaking out. Gosh, woman! Calm down! It’s ONLY been a week. I thought at any point she would be filing for divorce. His I’m-not-going-to-tell-my-wife-anything-because-she-won’t-understand attitude doesn’t help matters either. What kind of marriage is this? I’m supposed to like this guy? Really?

[review] 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross (2012) + GIVEAWAY

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book, book review, crime, family, mystery, novel, promotion, psychological, psychological thriller, suspense, thriller, TLC book tours

15 Seconds (2012)
by Andrew Gross (Twitter.)
Publication Date: July 10th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow
Edition Read: Hardcover, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.
15 Seconds Reading Group Guide.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Eyes Wide Open, The Blue Zone, The Dark Tide, Don’t Look Twice, and Reckless. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn.

15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .

Henry Steadman is a successful Florida plastic surgeon on his way to deliver a keynote address at a conference when his world falls apart. Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed, and told he is under arrest. Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but after it subsides, and Henry is about to move on, the officer is suddenly killed in his car and there is only one suspect: the very person he was about to arrest not ten minutes before. Henry! When a second friend turns up dead, Henry realizes he’s being elaborately framed. But in a chilling twist, the stakes grow even darker, and he is unable to go to the police to clear his name.
-synopsis from Goodreads.

My Thoughts:
Andrew Gross threw me on a roller coaster with 15 Seconds, Harlan Coben was not kidding when he said it was a “stay-up-all-night thrill ride.” Every time I glanced to the page number, I was another 100 pages in. The suspense glued me to the book (Which I finished in one sitting) until the last page was turned. Gross just knows how to keep his readers excitedly guessing. However, despite how much I was enthralled with the story, there are times when I couldn’t suspend my disbelief.

Plot:
I was disappointed that I already guessed where the story was headed before the first hundred pages and how the characters were tied to each other (though I did expect a more complex plot.) It didn’t stop me from wanting to experience the story–but was a slight let-down when the plot wasn’t as brilliantly complex as I hoped. I really wanted a mind-blowing plot twist–but everything was resolved too easily before tension can be built.

Characters:
Henry: The stereotypical nice guy, rich plastic surgeon, and handsome. I pitied him since he gets himself in a mess by seemingly being at the wrong place at the wrong time–but then it turns out he was at the very right place at the right time. He also does hilariously stupid things like attempting to chase a murderer by going crazy on a highway…which only makes him more human. I like him, but I was frustrated at his LUCK: how a nationally wanted serial killer can walk into a prison is beyond me (even if he has a poorly made fake id.) I also thought he got off way too easily; he isn’t completely innocent and owed a few apologies.

[review] The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman (2011)

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adult, book, book review, crime, critique, fiction, humor, novel, psychological, psychology, therapy, thriller, voyeurism

The Visible Man (2011)
by Chuck Klosterman
Hardcover Edition
Publisher: Scribner
buy a copy via Amazon.
synopsis via Goodreads.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Therapist Victoria Vick is contacted by a cryptic, unlikable man who insists his situation is unique and unfathomable. As he slowly reveals himself, Vick becomes convinced that he suffers from a complex set of delusions: Y__, as she refers to him, claims to be a scientist who has stolen cloaking technology from an aborted government project in order to render himself nearly invisible. He says he uses this ability to observe random individuals within their daily lives, usually when they are alone and vulnerable. Interspersed with notes, correspondence, and transcriptions that catalog a relationship based on curiosity and fear, The Visible Man touches on all of Chuck Klosterman’s favorite themes—the consequence of culture, the influence of media, the complexity of voyeurism, and the existential contradiction of normalcy. Is this comedy, criticism, or horror? Not even Y__ seems to know for sure.

My Thoughts:
This was an intense read. The premise itself is compelling: an “invisible” man who goes around observing people. Yes, it sounds like he has some serious issues, but he is also the perfect anti-hero. Even if he is breaking into people’s houses, and messing with stranger’s minds, he is one intriguing guy–and he knows it well. If that’s not enough to keep you flipping those pages, I don’t know what will.

I picked up this book on a whim since I’ve read about half of Klosterman’s nonfiction book, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto a few years ago (it was a fascinating and humorous, read but I had to return it to the library and haven’t gotten back to it since.) Even in novel form, Klosterman still delivers his unique brand of wit and insight.

I Get Sold By Book Blurbs Too Easily

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ARC, authros, blurbs, book, book blurbs, books, crime, dystopian, endorsement, greedy pig, library, life, New Europe Books, proofs, Random House, thriller, writers

Danbo: The Cutest Box Ever

Recently, I found out that my neighborhood library has a FREE GALLERY/UNCORRECTED PROOF BOX! (If I wasn’t so lazy, I would look up the HTML to make it sparkle in rainbow glitter.) Basically that box is for ARCs/uncorrected proofs/galleys, however else people call those things, that is in bad ethics to sell but makes you feel hipster to own.  Being able to read a book months before its release date is tempting, especially when a book sounds so utterly amazing. Anyway, back to the magical galley box–there was only one boring-looking book when I first saw the box two weeks ago when I glanced into it, and I told myself “What in the world are you doing, Lilian? You have a bookcase full of books and ARCs…and books to review! Get your greedy little hands off that box and let other people take them.”  The first time, the book inside looked boring.  But I came across the box again today to find four books…and I took two: Timothy Halliman’s The Fear Artist (Soho Crime; July 2012) and Sandor Szathmari’s Voyage to Kazohinia (New Europe Books, distributed by Random House; July 2012).

I know by TBR pile is at skyscraper-level high and my bookcases stuffed to the point I fear taking a book out would mean I won’t be able to stuff it back in….BUT I couldn’t help myself, the book blurbs sounded SO AMAZING.  Now, I am very much aware that book blurbs are generally endorsements written by friends of the authors, and if the writer is lucky enough, it’s some famous author their publicist was able to refer.  This, topped off with the fact that there’s no way a reasonable marketer would allow a awful sounding blurb to be printed on the cover anyway makes book blurbs generally biased.

I know well that book blurbs are part of the marketing plan and to take them with a grain of salt, but HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TURN DOWN A BOOK WITH “ ‘As if Bradbury and Orwell had been mixed with fresh wild berries.‘ “-Miklós Vámos, author of The Book of Fathers” (from the back cover of Voyage to Kazohinia) DOWN?

I don’t know why I believe you, aside from the fact you look wiser than I.

I don’t even know why I am believing this Miklós Vámos dude.  I don’t know him. I haven’t met him.  I haven’t read any of his 33 books (granted, they are in Hungarian.)  I only know he has written 33 books because of the quick Wikipedia search I made five seconds ago upon writing this paragraph–just to make sure he wasn’t some person half the world knew about and I was the oddball. Yet I am letting this Hungarian stranger coerce me into picking the book up. What is this witchcraft called marketing?

What I do know is I love classic dystopian novels: Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Orwell’s 1984, and my favorite–Huxley’s Brave New World. And fresh wild berries. Okay, I haven’t actually eaten fresh wild berries, but my wild berries body lotion smells wonderful. So logically, a novel with all these wonderful things must be EPIC.

Then if that blurb wasn’t enough, I saw this: “‘ ‘However you interpret it, most certainly a literary masterpiece.’ – William Auld.”  How can I not have a “masterpiece” on my bookshelf? It’s like turning down a Van Gogh. I don’t know this William Auld guy either. But the other hand, if I find it any less that a masterpiece, I will be mad at him.

Oh yes, and Voyage to Kazohinia had a pretty cool cover, with a group of mindless people that kinda looked like Chinese, so maybe national pride had something to do with it too.  (At first glance, I thought the cover read “Voyage to Kazchina”).

Is it just me of does this look like a mindless mob of Asian children?

New Europe Books/Random House, you know how to sell your books. And I just might hate you for it.

[review] Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue (2011)

Tags

book, book review, child, children's narrative, crime, kidnapping, literature, novel, review

Room: A Novel (2011)
by Emma Donoghue
buy a copy via Amazon.
synopsis via Goodreads.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, “Room” is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

My Thoughts:
It was a struggle to finish, the tedium of the five-year old narrator along with the slow pace wrestled with my patience. It was one of those books that seemed like it was getting nowhere, and when it finally did, it only lasted three pages. The plot was interesting, but perhaps the lack of dimension amongst characters, or even the lack of “main” characters made it a bore. Though I suspect it might also be because the narrator is too young to develop, or adequately flesh out his observations. Basically the narrator asks a multitude of questions, and is befuddled throughout the book, with spasms of intelligence. Honestly, I want to smack the narrator for being a selfish brat on multiple occasions, but I am sure I the five-year old me probably would have been the same.

I don’t think I will be able to read a book narrated by a five-year old again. Though on the plus side, there are no difficult words whatsoever, and not much room for ambiguity.

Rating: B