Lynn's List (March 31, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Paralysed with Fear by Gareth Williams
• The Obama Presidency and the Politics of Change by John Dumbrell and Edward Ashbee
• Jefferson's Pillow by Roger Wilkins
• Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted by Scott Turow, Leslie S. Klinger, Laura Caldwell and Barry Scheck
• The New Criminal Justice Thinking by Sharon Dolovich and Alexandra Natapoff
• The Poverty of Slavery by Robert E. Wright
• Captured by the Indians: 15 Firsthand Accounts, 1750-1870 by Frederick Drimmer
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• Living My Life, Vol. 1 by Emma Goldman
• The Iron Heel by Jack London
• Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate
• Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall, Edwidge Danticat, and Mary Helen Washington
• A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
• The Kennedy Imperative by Leon Berger
• The Kennedy Momentum by Leon Berger
• The Kennedy Revelation by Leon Berger
• Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J. D. Robb
• The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor
• The Color Of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, And Crime In America by Miriam Delone, Cassia Spohn, and Samuel Walker
• Chris Matthews Complete Library E-book Box Set: Tip and the Gipper, Jack Kennedy, Hardball, Kennedy & Nixon, Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think, and American by Chris Matthews
• Watergate: The Hidden History by Lamar Waldron

Review: Turning Angel (Penn Cage #2) by Greg Isles

Title: Turning Angel (Penn Cage #2)
Author: Greg Iles
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: December 27, 2005
Edition: Kindle (672 pages)
Categories:

• Fiction
• Crime
• Mystery
• Thriller

Turning Angel by Greg Iles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Turning Angel" is the next book in the Penn Cage Series, following "The Quiet Game". Penn's childhood friend, Dr. Drew Elliott, is accused of murdering a young girl after having a sexual relationship with her. Dr. Elliott asks Penn to defend him. Penn soon learns that everyone involved has secrets they do not wish to share, and he is left to put the pieces of the puzzle together without getting killed in the process.

Greg Iles is once again a master at weaving together a complex plot with all sorts of entanglements that kept me continually interested in reading more to find out how it would all play out. I also enjoyed the book because it represents a microcosm of small town life, and begs the question--how well do you ever really know anyone?

Lynn's List (March 24, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• The Girl in the Picture by Alexandra Monir
• Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance by Lawrence Sutin, Jack Sutin, and Rochelle Sutin
• Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
• Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by Helene Cooper
• The Eyewitness by Nancy C Weeks
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
• The Cutaway: A Thriller by Christina Kovac
• Man Overboard: An Ali Reynolds Novel by J. A. Jance
• A Simple Favor: A Novel by Darcey Bell
• Mississippi Blood: A Novel by Greg Iles
• The Vow: The True Events That Inspired the Movie by Kim Carpenter, Krickitt Carpenter and Dana Wilkerson
• His Favorite Wife: Trapped in Polygamy by Susan Schmidt
• On Thin Ice by Debra Lee Brown
• What It Takes by Kathryn Ascher
• On the Line by Kathryn Ascher
• Into the Light by Kathryn Ascher
• The White Lie by Andrea Gillies
• The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer
• Jane Doe January: My Twenty-Year Search for Truth and Justice by Emily Winslow
• Her Every Fear: A Novel by Peter Swanson
• By Order of the President (Presidential Agent #1) by W.E.B. Griffin
• Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
• The Killing of Karen Silkwood by Richard Rashke
• Useful Enemies by Richard Rashke
• Magic: A Novel by Danielle Steel
• Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
• Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea
• Flawless by Joshua Spanogle
• The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine by Ben Ehrenreich
• The Ring by Danielle Steel
• Assessing George W. Bush’s Legacy by Philip John Davies
• Beyond Slavery by Bernadette J. Brooten
• Eleanor Roosevelt and Adlai Stevenson by Richard Henry
• The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin
• Celine: A novel by Peter Heller
• Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough
• Choker by Frederick Ramsay

Review: Exodus by Leon Uris

Title: Exodus
Author: Leon Uris
Publisher: Open Road Media
Publication Date: September 27, 2011 (first published January 1, 1958)
Edition: eBook (608 pages)
Categories:

• Fiction
• Culture
• Historical Fiction
• Israel
• War

Literary Awards: National Jewish Book Award for Fiction (1959)

#1 New York Times bestseller for nineteen months.

Academy Award–winning film.

Exodus by Leon Uris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Exodus, by Leon Uris, chronicles the events leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. It is a detailed account, blending historical fact together with real and fictional characters to create a most readable and interesting chronology.

One of the things that I so appreciated, as I read this book, is how much I learned about the history of the Jewish people and all that they have endured. That is definitely made clear in both the Old and New Testaments, but, somehow, seeing it played out in this book, made it seem much more real to me, and it provided a perspective in terms of world events I had not experienced before.

In my opinion, this work is a true masterpiece of historical research combined with great writing skill. The human factor is the thread that binds it together. This book is not a glorification of the ultimate triumph of a people. It is deep, sad, true life, and brilliantly written. It is also a testament to the sinfulness and goodness in the nature of man.

Review: A Woman of Substance (Harte Family Saga Book 1 ) by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Title: A Woman of Substance (Harte Family Saga Book 1 )
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Edition: eBook
Categories:

• Fiction
• Historical Fiction

A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A five star rating cannot even begin to express the quality and beauty of, "A Woman of Substance", the first book in the Emma Harte Series. It is simply superb.

Emma Harte is a young woman determined to become a woman of substance. She conquers poverty, unwed motherhood and lack of formal education to become one of the wealthiest women in the world. Though she is a fictional character, she comes to life in an unforgettable way through the words of the extraordinarily gifted Barbara Taylor Bradford.

I first read this book shortly after its publication in 1979, and I have reread it several time since then. It, and the other six books in the Emma Harte Series are special to me as well, not only because of their content, but because they remind me of how much my mom loved them. So, it is like coming home and spending time with Mom once again.

I recommend this book, and the others in the Series, to anyone who likes to read family sagas and/or books featuring strong and capable women.

Lynn's List (March 17, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Whistling In the Dark by Lesley Kagen
• Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
• Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael V. Hayden
• Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea by Frank Delaney
• The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by James Wight
• In the Shadow of the Banyan: A Novel by Vaddey Ratner
• On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles
• Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior by Arthur Herman
• The Dollhouse: A Novel by Fiona Davis
• The Red Record by Ida B. Wells
• Summer in the South: A Novel by Cathy Holton
• The Long Dry by Cynan Jones
• Kramer vs. Kramer by Avery Corman
• The Long Surrender by Burke Davis
• Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power by Thomas Thompson
• Celebrity: A Novel by Thomas Thompson
• Richie: A Father, His Son, and the Ul timate American Tragedy by Thomas Thompson
• Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel by Zora Neale Hurston
• Freedom Summer: A Brief History with Documents by Leslie Burl Mclemore, John Dittmer, and Jeff Kolnick
• God Speed the Night by Jerome Ross and Dorothy Salisbury Davis
• The Evening of the Good Samaritan by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
• Shock Wave by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
• 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos by Jennet Conant
• They Fought Alone by John Keats
• Wrongful Convictions and the DNA Revolution by Daniel S. Medwed
• The Rules Do Not Apply: A Memoir by Ariel Levy
• Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper
• One of the Boys: A Novel by Daniel Magariel
• Her Secret: The Amish of Hart County by Shelley Shepard Gray
• Inequality in the 21st Century: A Reader by Jasmine Hill and David B. Grusky
• The Shadows We Know by Heart by Jennifer Park
• The Fall of Lisa Bellow: A Novel by Susan Perabo
• The Heartbeats of Wing Jones by Katherine Webber
• The Forgotten Girls by Owen Laukkanen
• The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
• The Art of Discarding: How to Get Rid of Clutter and Find Joy by Nagisa Tatsumi
• Devil Storm by Theresa Nelson
• The Hotel by Sonny Kleinfield
• Sophie by J. P. Barnaby
• The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats by William Geroux
• The Kept Woman: A Novel by Karin Slaughter
• A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer
• The God of Small Things: A Novel by Arundhati Roy
• The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy by Peter Temin

Review: The Danger by Dick Francis

Title: The Danger
Author: Dick Francis
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2010
Edition: eBook (304 pages)

Categories:

• Fiction
• Crime Fiction
• Mystery
• Romance

The Danger by Dick Francis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Andrew Douglas is called upon to rescue a young woman who has been kidnapped. Thus begins a series of events that move swiftly, and keep on giving thrill after thrill.

THE DANGER is my first Dick Francis read, and I've been missing out all these years. I only wish Andrew Douglas was a character in more than this book. He is so likeable and interesting. Mr. Francis crafts words and sentences together so beautifully. I absolutely loved this book. I don't think there is anything quite like a Dick Francis read. Can't wait to read more of his books.

Review: Duplicity (Julia Gooden Mystery, #2) by Jane Haseldine

Title: Duplicity (Julia Gooden Mystery, #2)
Author: Jane Haseldine
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Expected Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Edition: (Hardcover 352 pages)

Categories:

• Fiction
• Mystery
• Suspense

Series: Julia Gooden Mystery

1. The Last Time She Saw Him
2. Duplicity

Duplicity by Jane Haseldine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Once again, Jane Haseldine has crafted a great read. I was looking forward to seeing what Julia Gooden was up to next, and this adventure was every bit as riveting as the first one.

Like most women today, Julia is juggling her job as a newspaper crime reporter, wife and mother. Her husband, David, and Assistant District Attorney, is about to prosecute an accused criminal, Nick Rossi. Julia is covering the trial. Things quickly spiral out of control, and, suddenly, their lives are in danger, and staying alive becomes almost like a game of chess.

The plot is well thought out, filled with surprises, and I was involved in the story from the very beginning. Very much looking forward to Julia's next adventure.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Lynn's List (March 10, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the Holocaust by Evgeny Finkel
• Atonement: A Novel by Ian Mcewan
• Black Dogs: A Novel by Ian Mcewan
• Unwanted Sex: The Culture Of Intimidation And The Failure Of Law by Stephen J. Schulhofer
• A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison
• Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long
• LOST HOURS by Lorena Franco
• Intrusion (Under the Skin #1) by Charlotte Stein
• Big House on the Prairie: Rise of the Rural Ghetto and Prison Proliferation by John M. Eason
• Always by your side by Emese Mayhew and Edward Hendriks
• A Better Man: A Sunshine Creek Vineyard Novel by Candis Terry
• Perfect for You: A Sunshine Creek Vineyard Novel by Candis Terry
• The Hunter by John Lescroart
• Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz
• Dawn in Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz
• A Place Apart by Paula Fox
• Western Wind by Paula Fox
• The Village by the Sea by Paula Fox
• Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Dana
• Witness to the Revolution: Radicals, Resisters, Vets, Hippies, and the Year America Lost Its Mind and Found Its Soul by Clara Bingham
• Jeff Shaara: Three Novels of World War II by Jeff Shaara
• Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito
• The Roanoke Girls: A Novel by Amy Engel
• Ill Will: A Novel by Dan Chaon
• Dangerous Games: A Novel by Danielle Steel
• The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
• A Climate of Fear by Fred Vargas
• Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front by Mary Jennings Hegar
• Close Enough to Touch: A Novel by Colleen Oakley
• Year of No Clutter: A Memoir by Eve Schaub
• Row for Freedom by Julia Immonen
• Prevail by Richard Pankhurst and Jeff Pearce
• The Abomination by Jonathan Holt
• The Secret Life of Bacon Tait, a White Slave Trader Married to a Free Woman of Color by Hank Trent
• If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story by George Wilson
• Running Around (and Such) by Linda Byler
• When Strawberries Bloom: A Novel Based On True Experiences From An Amish Writer! by Linda Byler
• Big Decisions by Linda Byler
• Wildfire: A Novel by Mary Pauline Lowry
• Blue Gemini: A Thriller by Mike Jenne
• A Tale of Two Citizens: A Novel by Elyce Wakerman
• From Holocaust to Harvard: A Story of Escape, Forgiveness, and Freedom by John Stoessinger
• The Boy Who Talked to Dogs: A Memoir by Martin Mckenna
• 90 Minutes at Entebbe: The Full Inside Story of the Spectacular Israeli Counterterrorism Strike and the Daring Rescue of 103 Hostages by Uri Dan and William Stevenson
• The Lost Girls: A Novel by Heather Young
• Listen for the Singing by Jean Little
• The Secret Rescue by Cate Lineberry
• New Jersey's Lindbergh Kidnapping and Trial by Mark W. Falzini and James Davidson
• Disappearance at Devil's Rock: A Novel by Paul Tremblay
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Review: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

Title: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
Author: Michael Finkel
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Edition: (Hardcover 224 pages)
Categories:

• Nonfiction
• Adventure
• Biography
• Environment
• Nature

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Christopher Knight was twenty years old when he chose to leave his vehicle parked on an isolated dirt road and disappear into the Maine woods--where he lived for the next twenty-seven years. The author chronicles Mr. Knight's life and time in the woods, as well as what happens after he is forced, due to the legal system, to return to society.

I found this book fascinating on so many levels. Choices that people make and the "why" of those choices has always interested me. Nonconformity also interests me, as does the psychology of life.

I think the author did a commendable job bringing this story to life, considering he did not have much personal material to work from, (journals/diaries). It was an interesting read--one which I shall reflect on more with the passage of time.

Review: The Girl Before: A Novel by Jp Delaney

Title: The Girl Before: A Novel
Author: Jp Delaney
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: January 24, 2017
Edition Hardcover (320 pages)

Categories:

• Fiction
• Mystery
• Mystery Thriller
• Psychological Thriller
• Suspense
• Thriller

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Emma and Jane are both looking for new places to live after experiencing personal tragedy. They both respond, at different times, to a real estate listing for the same house. The owner has an exacting application process and high expectations for each tenant. The two women are accepted, and from then on, Jane's life is inexorably intertwined with Emma's.

This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read. Never certain what might happen next, I wanted to continue reading. I had many surprises as I read. That is one of the things that made THE GIRL BEFORE so interesting. And the ending too, is surprising. Part of this book has to do with minimalist living, and that is a subject that also interests me.

Review: The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

Title: The Mountain Between Us
Author: Charles Martin
Publisher: Broadway Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2014
Edition: Hardcover (326 pages)

Categories:

• Fiction
• Adventure
• Contemporary
• Christian Fiction
• Romance
• Survival

Literary Awards:

• Florida Book Award for Popular Fiction - Bronze (2010)

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Two strangers, Ashley Knox and Dr. Ben Payne, take a charter flight from the Salt Lake City airport in the hope of avoiding a winter storm that is causing flight cancellations--only to have the flight crash in the vast wilderness of the Wyoming mountains. Both Ashley and Ben are put to the test in enumerable ways--first to survive and get off the mountain, and second, to deal with their complicated emotional issues.

I enjoyed this read a great deal. The adventure and survival elements of this book kept me reading to find out the fate of Ashley and Ben, and both main characters were well developed and interesting.

Lynn's List (March 3, 2017)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964 by William Manchester
• Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law by James Q. Whitman
• Sayonara: A Novel by Steve Berry and James A. Michener
• The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
• American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood by Marc Eliot
• I Am Regina by Sally M. Keehn
• Moon Shot by Jay Barbree, Deke Slayton, Neil Armstrong , Howard Benedict and Alan Shepard
• Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr
• The Promise by Robyn Carr
• Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America by Amy Goodman, David Goodman and Denis Moynihan
• True North by Liora Blake
• Unbound: A Story of Snow and Self-Discovery by Steph Jagger
• When Lightning Strikes by Darragha Foster
• Dealing with Annie by Jill Shalvis
• When God's Children Suffer by Horatius Bonar and Ewrin W. Lutzer
• The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson by Philosophical Library
• The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln by Philosophical Library
• The Wisdom of FDR by Philosophical Library
• The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt by Philosophical Library
• Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops
• More Than a Marriage by Amy Lillard
• Searching for Grace Kelly by Michael Callahan
• Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
• The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Jennifer Ashley
• Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides
• The Letter Writer: A novel by Dan Fesperman
• Promises to Keep: A Novel by Jane Green
• A Clean Kill by Ted Wood

Review: The Quiet Game (Penn Cage #1) by Greg Iles

Title: The Quiet Game (Penn Cage #1)
Author: Greg Iles
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: February 27, 2014
Edition: paperback (640 pages)

Categories:

• Fiction
• Crime Fiction
• Legal Thriller
• Mystery
• Suspense

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Penn Cage returns to his hometown, Natchez, Mississippi, after the death of his wife. He wants to help his daughter, Annie, heal and be surrounded by the love of family. He suddenly finds himself embroiled in a battle to right a wrong done, years ago, to his father.

This is the first book in the Penn Cage Series. I read a later book in the Series, first, and it made me want to return to the beginning. This book, like the first one I read, is superb in every way--character development, content, writing style, plot, and overall style. I can't wait to read the entire Series, with the latest book to be published later this month.