Left to Die

Oh gosh, must be on a thriller kick!! I think it's time to change genres for the next book :-)

Left to Die written by Lisa Jackson was another page turner.

A serial killer is on the loose. Four bodies have been found in the woods around Grizzly, Montana. Brutally tortured and left to die in the freezing cold...naked!

Their only clues.....the women have all been killed the exact same way with only a few clues left by the killer, himself.

One being cryptic notes that supposedly make up a phrase of which will eventually give them the clue to his identity and a star carved in the trunk above their heads.

But, the clues come sporadically, not in order.

Will the detectives find the killer before all the clues and, worse yet, victims are found?
What makes this even more exciting is the introduction of a copy cat trying to kill and have the blame fall on the original killer. But, the killer doesn't follow the serial killer's exact MO and messes up on the clues left behind.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was at the end.......you have to get the next book to find out who the serial killer is......but you do find out who the copycat killer is. But, it's been ordered from my library....so hopefully, I should find out soon! Chosen to Die is the sequel.

I'll definitely read more by Lisa Jackson.....not only because I liked her style...she's a native OREGONIAN!!!

Sworn to Silence

Linda Castillo, another new to me author. While I enjoyed this book, I don't normally read thrillers but I wanted to read something outside the norm for me.

Basically, though, I checked it out because it had an Amish theme.

Synopsis (taken from FantasticFiction.com)

Kate Burkholder, who grew up in the Amish community of Painters Mill, Ohio, before leaving for the outside world and the study of law enforcement, has recently been appointed Chief of Police in her former hometown. Her knowledge of the Amish, their language and customs, makes her the perfect candidate. When a serial killer, whose spree sixteen years before was dubbed The Slaughterhouse Murders, returns with spectacular violence, Kate is determined to catch him. But she is also desperate to keep a secret from her past: the reason she fled the Amish world is that she was the young girl the killer attacked before disappearing - and she killed him in self defense. No one knows, except her Amish father and brother who helped bury the body. So who is behind the current murders? And what is the connection to Kate's past?

It does keep you going right to the end!!

Lots of books to share

Wow, It's been a busy summer and I am so behind in blogging my books. Actually, to tell ya the truth, I didn't keep really good track this summer :-(

But, I will attempt to get myself back up to speed with the books I feel were my best reads.

This was my first time reading anything by
Jennifer Erin Valent, "Fireflies in December". I will definitely be reading more by this author.

When Jessilyn Lassiter's best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a house fire, the Lassiter family take the girl in. The only trouble is, Gemma is black, the family is white and the year is 1932 and they live in a small Virginia town.

This author shows how one family endured the threats small and large of a prejudiced community while maintaining their moral integrity.

I give this book an A+

Face of Betrayal

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl

This book was recommended by Bill O'Reilly, on his nightly show. He interviewed Lis Wiehl, a Fox news commentator, and after listening to her talk about the book, I just had to get it from the library! She wrote this book along with April Henry, a mystery author.

Seventeen year old Katie Converse is a Senate page in D.C and is home for Christmas break visiting her parents in Portland, OR when she disappears while walking the family dog.

This case attracts the attention of three women, FBI agent Nicole Hedge, Federal Prosecutor, Allison Pierce and TV reporter Allison Shaw who make up their mind that they are determined to find Katie and bring her kidnapper to justice.

Only, things take on a whole new perspective when it's found out that Katie wasn't the picture of innocence that her parents portrayed her as. When it's found out that she had an affair with a Senator and the Senator's career could be in jeopardy if this hits the news, the plot thickens and it's a road of twists and turns till the ending.

Great book!!! Can't wait till her next one comes out in April of 2010 called "Hand of Fate".

Before Green Gables

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

What a FUN FUN read!!! If you have read the Green Gables series....and even if you haven't.....you have to go get this book and read it.

This is an authorized prequel to the popular series by L. M. Montgomery's classic series about the red-haired orphan knows as Anne of Green Gables!! (With an E)

Set in Nova Scotia, the author allows us to get to know Anne's parents and then follow her after she is orphaned at 3 months old by her school teacher parents.

We read as Anne ends up in a myriad of foster homes, through various circumstances and watch her build up hope, that finally she found a home, only to find that once again happiness is snatched away from her.

Until finally, she goes to an orphanage and then is adopted by the Cuthbert's.

FUN and interesting read!!!

Columbine

Columbine by David Cullen

Ten years after the Columbine tragedy, David Cullen offers his eyewitness testimony and research that went into his telling of this horrific event.

It does take some getting used to as he jumps back in forth in time, but he gives insight into the massacre and suicides and clarifies misconceptions that soon followed the tragedy.

He includes not only survivor interviews, writings from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold but also gleanings from police reports.

He documents his resources at the end of the book.

This book was a very interesting read, not only because it's a true event but because he offers so much information and insight into the two boys that performed this act and the survivors as well.

The Judges

The Judges by Elie Wiesel

I don't know what my problem was with this book. Yes, I did make myself finish it, but I also found myself skipping parts because it seemed the book skipped forward and back in time and it just didn't keep my interest. I really have to say, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I guess I still am a little confused about it all.

Please, someone read it and let me know what I missed out on....cause I don't think I would recommend it to anyone.

Here is what my library had to say about the book:

It's hardly surprising that Le Monde called this latest from Nobel Peace Prize winner Wiesel astonishing, though harrowing is another word that comes to mind. When a plane bound for New York from Tel Aviv makes an emergency landing, five passengers find refuge with a stranger who slowly compels them to reexamine their lives. Then he announces that the least worthy will die.