The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen

The Keepsake  -4Stars

I admit it, I have a... problem, an addiction, for which there is no cure. I am attracted to novels of murder and serial killers the way a Frat boy is attracted to large breasts and beer. I love the science of it, the mystery of it. The dialog of catching a criminal in a lie. I can't help but be entertained. My attention is held from opening word to last punctuation and few do it better then Tess Gerritsen.

The story starts innocently enough with the CT scan of a mummy found in the basement of a run down museum. Madame X is perfectly preserved and the exam is gather information from under the wrappings without disturbing the mummy itself. Imagine the surprise of every one present when a modern bullet fragment is found in her femur! And thus starts a whirlwind hunt to find the killer before he strikes again.

There are so many delicious twists and turns in this book! I love when I'm not quite sure what will happen next, but my guesses are correct anyway. Is he who he says he is? Was he really where everyone says he was at the time? Its great, like a mini adrenalin rush! My only problem with the whole story is Maura Isles. A brilliant woman is hopelessly infatuated with a man she can never truly have. The fact that she continues to pine after him annoys me to the end of my patience! Blessedly, she has a minor role in this episode from the series.

Nothing ticks me off more then a woman who longs for a man and does everything to prove that she is his best match. If it wasn't for that junk, I would have given it Five stars. 

Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan

Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading 0 Stars

I was terribly disappointed in this. I expected it to be a book about a woman and her love of reading. Instead, I was given this load of crap that featured nothing but lengthy monolog on the Second Feminist Movement. Of course, I was unaware of there being more then just the one. You know, 1960's, people burning bras and draft cards. I'm not a feminist, just a girl who reads and works (preferably in that order). Being told that a woman enduring years of torment from a man is classified as an "extreme-adventure" really ticks me off! I swear, it was like reading the commentary of a Lifetime Special.

Sure there are many strong female rolls in fiction, I've featured many here in my blog. What I don't like is seeing a woman in an emotionally taxing roll in which she has to survive beating after beating, affair after affair and just accept it as the way the world works that she has to simply accept it. I've read countless books in which the female lead is strong, emotionally and physically. She takes care of herself and others, while maintaining her dignity.

Honestly, I'm surprised that I managed to read it at all without throwing it against the wall. I felt incredibly let down. She promised so much and delivered next to nothing.

The Muse Asylum by David Czuchlewski

The Muse Asylum --5 stars

I managed to receive this novel for free, hence why I read it. Who can pass up a free book? I wasn't disappointed and am eagerly awaiting the author's new novel.

We start with the lead character, Jake Burnett, a jaded reporter living in New York City. He gets this idea to hunt down his favourite author, Horace Jacob Little, who has never given an interview and is famous for being a recluse. No one have ever seen him, no one has ever taken his photograph. He has no identification of any kind, no DMV record, not even a traffic ticket. By all accounts, Horace Jacob Little does not exist. Yet his writing proves otherwise.

Jake is curious, as many scholars are, why in the middle of his career, Horace Jacob Little takes his writing onto a completely different plane. Our reporter wants to find out what happened and who his author really is. Enter an old class mate from college. Andrew Wallace had a break down trying to find that same answer by analyzing the story that marked the change in Little's work. Is the story just that, a story? Or maybe it is the truth behind everything...

For a first time author, David Czuchlewski has created a set of circumstances that pulls the reader into his world and isn't about to let them go. His narrative is haunting and amazing. A splendid mix of sanity and schizophrenia, we are pulled into a world where nothing is what it seems and everything is a dream. I'm sure that this story will be carried with me for some time. And I'm glad of it. Everyone needs a story that makes them question reality, makes them question everything simply because the book forces you to look at things in a way that you never thought possible.

Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

Alexandria Link 2stars

Action, adventure, kidnappings, killings, and a ticked off ex-wife! What more could you want? Not much, personally... until the author started to say that nothing in the Bible can be proved with history. Of course it can, several things can be, but that is not how Mr Berry wanted to write. He writes fiction, so allowances must be made, but not too many. Personally, I was rather offended and that is not an easy thing to do. I did try to read past his calling God a liar but I had such a hard time trying to ignore it, the core of the story, that it was best I not read further.

The premise is that the Link directly intersects with the nation of Israel,both modern and ancient. You see, the Bible is a lie and therefore voids any and all claims to land that the Israelites have. I'm not Jewish, but that was offensive. This is one of those rare books that I had to fight an urge to throw across the room. Usually, Mr Berry provides a grand reading experience with tons of twists and turns mixed with a healthy amount of mystery and gun fire. Not this time. I'm sorry but this is just not a good book and I was rather disappointed to have a two in a row that failed to live up to expectations.

The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen

The Sinner 3stars

One of the few books I've read on my Nook, The Sinner was a fast read. Jane Rizzoli is called to a convent to solve the murder of two nuns one bitter winter's morning. The crime is horrifying in its cruelty and barbarity. Both women's heads are bashed in within the walls of a building that should have been a sanctuary from the evils of the world, but evil will find a way in anyplace.

There are more twists and sex in this then a James Bond film. I think that is what ultimately took away from the story. I don't care who you're having a romp with, get to the story! Who is Jane Doe, what's the connection?! Who's the killer? In the end it was a good book that kept my attention even if I did have to fast forward through a few places.Usually I do enjoy Gerritsen's books, there have been a few duds along the way, but I expect that. I'm just not a fan of too much sex in a book, I understand the biology, I don't need a description. Just get to the crime solving please and thank you.

Waiter Rant: Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter

Waiter Rant 5 Stars

Anyone who has ever worked retail, or even with the public will know exactly what The Waiter is going through and what motivates his actions. Everyone has had at least one customer that has royally ticked us off and we all want to react to that person and destroy them in some way. Personally, I have always harboured the dream of throwing cold water in their face and make them shut up.

When his life gets turned up-side down, The Waiter takes the first job that comes along. You guessed it... waiting tables in a restaurant. He starts off in the worst place possible and gets fired rather quickly, mostly because he won't pay the manager for shifts. Eventually, he lands a job as head waiter in a high end restaurant, serving the rich and entitled of New York.

His escapades make us feel for him, understand him. He started off as a guy that didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up but now its become a career that he never wanted. We read as he gets irate customers to either calm down or get out, as he helps a couple enjoy a meal they probably can't afford but hey its Valentine's, and we see how he treats his coworkers and customers.

As a retailer, I could identify with the Waiter, I could understand why he does what he does. I can completely understand the frustration that he fights so hard to keep in check. I don't drink or smoke, so I can't walk away and take a bit of alcohol or nicotine to take the edge off. I applaud his taking his frustrations and making them into a blog and finally a book. Thanks, Waiter, for giving me a laugh.

Julie and Julie by Julie Powell

Julie and Julia -- 4 Stars

What do you do if you are about to turn thirty, have a boring job, a syndrome that makes having children difficult, and oh... did I mention you're turning THIRTY? How do you find a purpose in your life? What are you going to do?

If you're Julie Powell, you take down the recipe book you snatched from you mother and make the decision to cook every single thing in it, no matter what. Of course, the cook book is none other than Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. With over five hundred recipes, its a challenge in and of itself, but to say you're going to do this in a year? Yep, Julie is crazy, no doubt about it. She wanted to put some excitement, some meaning into her life and she cooked her way through a year to do it.

You might think that it would be boring to read about a woman cooking for a year. In reality, its a riot! No... its a catastrophe! Between trying to find beef bone with the marrow intact or getting the courage to cook a live lobster, its amazing the woman's apartment was still standing. Heck, I'm surprised her marriage lasted! There really are no words to describe what this book is. Its a biography, a self help, a cook book... kinda. Its such a wonderful mix that it defies definition, which I find completely endearing. Honestly, I love the chutzpah that Julie has, even in the face of aspic!

In the end, its not all about Julie Powell or Julia Child, its about finding the joy in life, grasping it with both hands and enjoying the wild ride... mistakes, disasters, and all.