3Rs's reading history
Regina's Closet: Finding My Grandmother's Secret Journal
by Diana M. Raab
Finished on January 31st 2008
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Double Cross (Alex Cross)
by
Finished on December 18th 2007
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Patterson has a unique gift for making you feel all the joys and pains experienced by Cross, who is one of the best protagonists of the suspense thriller genre. Reuniting fans with beloved, as well as, despised characters, while continuing to press the boundaries, Patterson shines brighter than ever in this hard hitting double header! Self-imposed retirement, a gorgeous new girlfriend and a quiet romantic camping trip, what could possibly go wrong? Well, when Alex Cross is around the answer is an unequivocal–anything and everything! Hot romance is quickly cooled when Bree is ordered to return to DC after the very public murder of famed author Tess Olsen. Dubbed the Audience Killer, for his propensity for attention, this psychopath seems to have no fear of being discovered, growing more brazen and arrogant with each successive murder. He thrives on the media attention his dastardly deeds afford him and relishes in the panic his murderous acts create. In the midst of the carnage and chaos, Cross receives a disturbing call informing him Kyle Craig had escaped from the maximum security prison in Colorado, where he had been housed for the past four years. Prior to his incarceration, Craig had been a respected FBI colleague and a genius in his own right. Craig was patient, resourceful and vicious, a formidable adversary now methodically making his way through the list of those he deemed responsible for his imprisonment. Of course, Alex Cross was at the top of his list. Two murderers, one seeking fame, the other bent on revenge, yet they shared a common goal…the elimination of Detective Alex Cross. In this particularly well delivered novel, Patterson weaves an intricate, multi-layered plot, that moves seamlessly between opposing forces, while hurdling toward an unavoidable showdown. There are no twig-like stereotypes or bland settings, as Patterson showcases his unparalleled ability to create three dimensional characters that are diabolical, yet very real and disturbingly interesting. With his omniscient voice, taut narrative and vivid detail, the reader is immersed in this carefully crafted, highly imaginative world, from the very first page. One of the most popular literary characters of the century, Alex Cross is a hard hitting, tough as nails detective, with an almost sixth sense ability to get inside a killer’s mind. But it his personal struggles, as a son, father and lover that continue to bring the character off the page and into the heart of the reader. Chock full of action, short, crisp chapters and a few teasers thrown in to wet your appetite for the next installment - Double Cross is a double shot of Patterson at his thrilling best!
Bedtime Stories
by Barbara Worton
Finished on December 15th 2007
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The new release from author Barbara Worton is a delicious mix of miniature stories, poems and incidental thoughts for you to ponder. “BedTime Stories: The short, long and tall tales of a sleepwriter” cannot be labeled or placed neatly into a box and that is the beauty of it. Sleep is an elusive treasure for millions of people and had been for Babara Worton for years. In the forward she admits counting sheep only led to thinking about bills and ‘now I lay me’ was simply too scary. With a love of books and writing, she had never been able to carve time out of a busy day to write, so she combined the need for restorative sleep and the desire to write, dubbing herself formally a “sleepwriter.” Beginning with the first word or sentence that enters her mind, she writes, three pages, unedited and uncorrected. At the conclusion of the the third page she is ready to drift off into a state of sweet slumber. From rubber ducks to the city dump, Worton’s subjects are as pitch perfect as only love, loss, success and failure can engender. How many of us have searched for hidden messages in alphabet soup? Or missed a loved one so much it hurt? In one particularly touching story, entitled “Merc i,” she reveals the heart ache associated with losing a loved one and the very real desire to feel they are still with you in some way. At the end of the book, Barbara includes “How to Become A Sleepwriter,” which provides the basic framework for aspiring sleepwriters. She also invites readers to take the sleepwriting challenge and share your progress with her and the Great Little Books team. In addition to earning some much needed zzz’s your sleep story could be selected for publication in a future edition of BedTime Stories. Barbara Worton is a born storyteller. Sometimes provocative, sometimes hilarious, but always honest, the stories are mini flights of fictional fancy crafted around the ordinary objects present in our daily lives. Uninhibited, richly textured and beaming with a quiet brilliance that touches the soul, BedTime Stories gives you permission to set your imagination free and encourages you to find meaning in the mundane. I recommend this Great Little Book to everyone! This is a perfect stocking stuffer or birthday gift for the book lover in your life. Refreshing, chock-full of personality and written with an awe inspiring clarity of spirit that is thoroughly entertaining, you will read and re-read these stories, as this is one of those rare books that is meant to be savored, slowly and often. Adorable, amusing and thought provoking, sleepstories are as addictive as chocolate –I anxiously await the next delicious edition.
The Society of S: A Novel
by Susan Hubbard
Finished on December 3rd 2007
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Intellectually provocative and absolutely addictive, Susan Hubbard’s The Society of S is an intelligent work of fiction that entertains and stimulates the senses! A modern thriller that brilliantly combines an ingenious and intricately layered plot with a haunting portrait of a young girl faced with the realization that everything she knows about her family is a well fabricated lie. A beautiful, Victorian mansion, in the heart of Saratoga Spings, New York is home to Ariella Montero and her over-protective, eccentric father. Ariella had been content living in semi-seclusion until she was exposed to life outside the mansion by the housekeeper. As Arie’s friendship with the housekeeper’s daughter grows, so also do the questions about her life and her place in it. The deeper she delves into her family history she discovers everything she held as truth to be lies. Her father was a vampire, her mother, a mortal…what did this mean? Disappearing after Arie was born, her mother had taken the answers she so desperately needed with her and now Arie had to find her. We follow the young Arie as she journeys throughout the south trying to put this new information about the Society of S into perspective within the confines of her own life. These are not typical vampires, they are seamlessly integrated into mainstream life, day walkers, that are as comfortable with vitamin tonics as the historic counterparts were with sinking fangs into flesh. While twisting the plot into great knots of emotional complexity, Hubbard has crafted a perfect mix of fascinating detail and provocative dilemma. The lyrical voice utilized throughout adds an exceptional quality to this beautifully written, coming of age story that goes inside the questions that have plagued humanity since the dawn of the world. Hubbard explores these with a refreshing eye for detail and patiently allows the character to fulfill her destiny without rushing the story, nor dragging it out with unnecessary wording. Gorgeous settings immerse the reader in a three dimensional environment, populated by believable, well rounded characters that are filled with the emotion and passion that makes mythology so enticing. The indefinable quality within Hubbard’s writing that gives it that extra special zing is simply the fluidity with which the characters interact and how easily the reader becomes a part of their world. Ariella’s pursuit of knowledge captures the imagination on a basic human level and takes us on a riveting journey that remains in the heart and mind of the reader long after the book has been closed. Happy Reading! This is a wonderful book, don’t miss it! Undoubtedly Hubbard’s name will be added to the must read lists of vampire/mythology fans world wide. And with the characters and the Society of S story being shaped with just enough mystery remaining in the clues to allow for an exciting sequel, literary fiction lovers have much to look forward too from this author’s talented pen.
Die, My Love: A True Story of Revenge, Murder, and Two Texas Sisters
by Kathryn Casey
Finished on November 25th 2007
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Fans of psychology and true crime will thoroughly enjoy this book. Die My Love tells the story of how one woman’s obsession would lead to murder and the destruction of an entire family. There’s no time to catch your breath in this latest true-crime page turner from Kathryn Casey. With her unique voice style, the author paints a vivid portrait of Piper Rountree…petite, beautiful, attorney and murderer? Although those closest to the family were painfully aware of Piper’s irrational, eradicate behavior, only her sister Tina truly understood the darkness that had enveloped her every thought. Using her sister’s identification for plane tickets and hotel reservations, Piper flew from Texas to Virginia, where she gunned down her estranged husband in the driveway of his home, as their three children slept in their beds mere yards away. Despite the sister’s best efforts to concoct an air tight alibi and dispose of evidence, it was just a matter of time before justice came calling. Extensive research takes the reader behind the well manicured facade that had been painstakingly constructed to protect the all important image Piper cultivated. With lyrical prose, Casey skillfully traces the Jablin-Rountree story - from their early days to Piper’s strange, irrational behavior, to the series of events that would lead to the destruction of an already flawed marriage. Weaving a complex narrative of a family who, lived in a beautiful home, surrounded by friends and family but lingered in the shadow of dysfunction, Casey reassembles their shattered lives in the years and months before Fred’s death, intimately describing what led this petite, educated, Texas lawyer to murder her ex-husband and the father of her children. Filled with the most complete case facts available, Die My Love offers an unparalleled look at one of the most captivating murder cases in recent years told by one of the most prolific crime writers of our time! I recommend this book to all who enjoy true crime novels, as well as, thriller and mystery lovers! I anxiously await Kathryn Casey’s next novel!
The First Commandment: A Thriller
by Brad Thor
Finished on November 15th 2007
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Takedown raised the bar for political-thrillers, left readers in a state of shock and had critics wondering if Thor could possibly write another novel of equal quality. Well, he satisfied readers beyond their wildest dreams and silenced the critics with “The First Commandment.” The foreword is comprised of a single sentence: “Do not wish ill for the enemy, plan it.” With less than ten words the author set the tone, constructed the stage and prepared the audience for an adrenaline infused novel, fully loaded with international intrigue, brilliant prose and thought provoking scenarios so real they could easily be reported on the six o’clock news. Homeland Security agent, Scot Harvath is a born leader, selfless, strong, dedicated and intelligent– willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friends, family and country…not necessarily in that order. With his extensive resources, both in and outside the government, elite special forces training and having saved the country and the president, on more than one occasion, he is the embodiment of a modern-day patriot. So, it is only natural when his family and friends begin being systematically targeted, the assaults mimicking the biblical plagues, that Harvath turns to those in power for assistance. Refusing to be dismissed by a third party, Harvath meets with the President face to face, demanding an explanation. Within a few minutes it becomes clear the only answers he will be privy to, are those he discovers on his own, he is officially out of the loop.Why would the best counter-terrorism agent be ordered to stand down? Harvath found himself in an unfamiliar role, that of spectator and he felt helpless. Now, sitting by his girlfriend Tracy’s bed, he was truly helpless…unable to rescue her from the coma that held her captive. He knew what he had to do and understood the ramifications of his actions.By disobeying a direct executive order from President Rutledge, Harvath, is not only being hunted by one of the most dangerous men on earth, he’s been catapulted into the cross-hairs of the very government he vowed to protect. It doesn’t take long for the former Navy Seal to unearth a secret so disturbing, that questions and scenarios which had once been unthinkable, were now plausible. Six months ago, America’s “First Commandment” was broken, when the President, persuaded by his advisers that the use of isotope technology gave them the ability to track the men, authorized the release of five, high value Guantanamo detainees. Lulled into a false sense of security, the government was ill-prepared and caught off guard, again. The First Commandment is a brilliantly woven web of excitement, in which Brad Thor leaves no terrorist stone unturned, capturing the reader with a single sentence, he delivers his most electrifying and realistically frightening novel to date. Thor’s pen is firing on all cylinders and I eagerly anticipate his next novel.
If Truth Be Told
by Lynda Fitzgerald
Finished on November 9th 2007
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Lynda Fitzgerald invites fiction readers to step into the life of a young girl and grow as she grows. The author delivers such compelling dialogue the reader feels the emotion with the same depth and conviction as the characters--, love and hate, disappointment and elation, it's all here, in vivid, alluring detail. If Truth Be Told is the perfect modern day mix of Cinderella and 10 Things I Hate About You. At the tender and impressionable age of 14, Christie O'Kelly attends her uncle's wedding and meets the man of her dreams, Todd. Having endured a life devoid of love, support and kindness with her wicked sisters and uncaring mother, Christie finds solace and sanctuary in her Uncle Jack's home. His new wife Carly is everything her own family was not and so, not surprisingly she spends a great deal of time with them. Trading her teddy bear for the comfort of Todd's love, she is devastated when a letter arrives announcing he has married. When her uncle falls ill, Todd returns home to help care for him, forcing Christie to deal with her anger, frustration and broken heart face to face. Now divorced and convinced he made the biggest mistake of his life, he tries to win Christie back, but is met with the stern rebuff of a deeply wounded heart. What follows is a realistic look beyond the surface fluff, into the very soul of the characters as they must overcome their own misgivings, find a way to forgive and move forward with their lives. Chock-full of wit, overflowing with attitude and heart, If Truth Be Told, breathes new life into the coming of age - first love stories that have touched so many readers over the years. Fitzgerald's unique style, three dimensional characters and true-to-life scenarios take the reader on a memorable journey that covers a wide spectrum of emotions--from innocent first love, to jaded heart-break, to self-discovery and forgiveness and ultimately to accept the shortcomings of others, as well as, yourself. There are so many unexpected twists throughout this novel that bring the reader deeper into the lives and hearts of the characters you can't help but feel each and every ounce of the emotion that obviously flowed so freely from Fitzgerald's pen. It's almost impossible to place a category or label on this story, except to simply say "exceptional!" I recommend "If Truth Be Told" to anyone that enjoys reading! Happy Reading! -RJ 3Rs
The Gospel According to Sydney Welles: A Novel
by Susi Rajah
Finished on November 5th 2007
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Sidney Welles is assigned the Catholic Church image overhaul campaign and sets out to give the church a face lift of sorts…what ensues is a hilarious stumble through questions of faith, love and self discovery. Susi Rajah’s solo debut has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that contemporary literature or Chic Lit can be thought provoking and outrageously funny without requiring the reader to check their common sense and intellect at the door. Sydney Welles was one of those career women that seemed to have everything figured out and running smoothly. However, that which works so well on paper does not always translate into reality quite so seamlessly. Dumped by her boyfriend for a shapelier blond, she throws herself into work. Assigned, by her alcoholic boss, to the all important Catholic Church image overhaul campaign, it’s up to Sidney to find a way to put the church back into the good graces of the people. She begins sending emails to god, simple questions, comments and personal observations and rants. In one particularly poignant communication she tells ‘god’ she prefers he not respond, because these days folks that claim to speak with him aren’t exactly Solomon or David. Part saint, part sinner, wholly engrossing, this book will have you laughing, while nodding your head in agreement. The no-nonsensical dialogue style brings the reader right into the heart and soul of theological, religious debates, as well as, the hypocrisy within our society through this hilarious, entertaining read. The blurbs on the dust cover are appealing appetizers, that give the reader an indication of the delicious entree just waiting to be devoured. Brilliantly conceived, uniquely written and conveyed with depth and conviction, Rajah’s quick wit and subtle criticisms, combined with no holds barred emails to the Big Guy himself, demonstrate her uniquely evocative way of crafting an intelligent feast that is truly satisfying! This is one of those novels you will want to pass around to friends and family! I recommend this novel to all fiction readers, ladies and gentlemen alike! If you enjoy a fun read that seems to melt the hours from the clock and never insults your intelligence, The Gospel According To Sidney Wells delivers! Happy Reading! - RJ Note: This would be a wonderfully fun romantic comedy movie - provided the right folks were cast to play the roles! I would love to see it on the big screen!
Written in Blood
by Diane Fanning
Finished on October 27th 2007
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Not once, during either of two frantic calls to Durham 9-11 did Michael Peterson mention the blood...and there was a lot of blood. During the early morning hours of December 9th, as Kathleen lay dying on the stairs, police and rescue personnel rush to the home on Cedar Street. Connecting the complex sequence of dots that convinced a jury of his peers that Michael Peterson was indeed guilty of murder would have been the easy part, because the evidence had been painstakingly detailed during the five month trial. But, Diane Fanning takes the reader behind the carefully orchestrated performance in the court room and delivers the journey through the raw, unfiltered eyes of those who lived it. Detailing the crime scene, police procedure, the autopsy and the trial I fully expected, however, this book is chock-full of extras. Intimate conversations between Kathleen and her beloved sister, details concerning the exhumation and autopsy of Elizabeth Ratliff, the suspicious death of George Ratliff and much more. There's also eight pages of photographs that give the reader a glimpse of the Peterson's before, during and the aftermath is punctuated with a single photo of Kathleen's headstone. During the trial, the defense displayed an air of arrogance both in and outside the courtroom. And much to the chagrin of Peterson's few remaining supporters, the author pulls no punches describing the showboating behavior of David Rudolf and Thomas Maher, the mysterious discovery of the missing blowpoke and the effect these antics had on the grieving families. Superb, unflinching, emotionally gritty at times, Written in Blood is a stinging, in your face novel that paints a haunting picture of the madness that often lurks behind the gates of the nicest communities or in the home right next door. And reminds us all that the monster hiding in the shadows is easily recognized in hindsight...but, that's too late! Although the last chapter of this story will be written by the North Carolina Supreme Court, Written In Blood is as complete a history of the Peterson saga as could possibly be written. If you enjoy reading a true crime novel that goes behind the scenes and beyond the glare of the cameras, Written In Blood does not disappoint! Happy Reading! -RJ
Coomacka Island: Lenox Lizard and the Kukumacka Duppy
by Don P. Hooper
Finished on October 19th 2007
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The first book was good, the second even better - and now the third demonstrates the author's growth, the illustrators creativity and the duo pushing the boundaries and taking more risks...Bravo! The wildly popular, children's Coomacka Island series returns with the third installment, entitled Lenox Lizard and the Kukumacka Duppy. Building on the success of the previous books, the creative team of Don Hooper and Darnel Degand continue to craft culturally diverse tales that are truly pleasure to read. The story opens with Lenox, the confident captain of the Fighting Peenywallies making his way to the stadium for some much needed extra practice. Enroute, he runs into his friends, Jamila and Amani on their way to Macka Street to buy some mangos. Even though Lenox loves mangos, he continues on to the stadium, determined to lead his team to their first victory in over a hundred years. Arriving at the stadium Lenox is shocked to see the Stoney Hill Scorpions on the field. Sulubu the Scorpions leader tries to intimidate and then to frighten the smaller lizard, by telling him the legend of the Kukumacka Duppy. Lenox has to make a choice, give into his fear and let his team down or confront his fears and do his best to lead the team to victory. Combine Afro-Caribbean folklore, Haitian Creole and Swahili, blend it to lyrical perfection, then add the unique island flavor that is Coomacka and the result is an educationially sound, morally uplifting, down right fun children's book that is a delightful read. Filled with emotion and eye-catching color, the detailed illustrations are visually stimulating and wholly engrossing. With each new installment the stories grow in depth, length and dimension leaving children and parents alike anxiously anticipating the next island adventure. Don Hooper and Darnel Degand have delivered a fun book, exposing children to various cultures and laced with positive moral messeges. With the fun facts, definitions and questions included at the end, these little books pack powerful lessons. I highly recommend the Coomacka Series to anyone that has young children. Happy Reading! RJ
