Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. Running the Books by Avi Steinberg
3. Dead Man Walking by Helen Prejean
4. Eve Duncan series (first is Face of Deception)  by Iris Johansen
5. Don’t Cry  by Beverly Barton
6. Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
7. Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
8. It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
9. The Outsiders by SE Hinton
10. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger
2. Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler
3. The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux
4. The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children by Steven Vannoy
5. Don’t Cry by Beverly Barton
6. Crush on You by Christie Ridgway
7. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
8. Fragile by Lisa Unger
9. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
10. Devil’s Knot by Mara Leveritt

Killing Her Softly

Killing Her Softly by Beverly Barton

I’m a Beverly Barton fan, but this wasn’t my favorite.

Annabelle finds herself attracted to the man suspected of killing her cousin. Quinn is an attorney whose lovers are being murdered. And he has convenient black-outs. The chemistry between Annabelle and Quinn was lacking and neither character was particularly likeable. The suspense was decent, but I figured out what was happening very early on.  

Not horrible...but a bit blah.

As Good as Dead

As Good as Dead by Beverly Barton

Amazon Description:
“The victims are all found face-down in the murky waters of the creek that runs through Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee. They are naked, except for the black satin ribbon tied around their necks. And each murdered woman shares a single characteristic...they are all redheads. Socialite Reve Sorrell has come to Cherokee Pointe seeking answers about her family history and her shocking connection to wrong-side-of-the tracks Jazzy Talbot. With their stunning good looks and shining red hair, the two are mirror images of each other-twins abandoned at birth and raised in very different worlds. And whoever left them for dead on a cold night thirty years ago isn't about to let them uncover the truth now. As a serial killer leaves another chilling calling card in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Reye turns to Sheriff Jacob Butler to help her unravel the potentially deadly secrets of her past. But someone will do anything to stop her...someone who won't make the same mistake twice...someone more cunning than she knows...and closer than she ever could imagine”

My thoughts:

Barton has a keen talent for suspense. When I picked this up, I didn’t know it was the third installment of a series. Someday I’m going to be better about that…I hate jumping into the midst of a series without realizing it. And, in this case, Barton brings so many characters in, that if you haven’t read the previous two books, you find yourself confused about who is who.

I would have loved a little more romance (this is billed as a romantic suspense, after all.) The characters, Reve and Jacob, had good chemistry…but it was barely even tapped. Aside from that, I enjoyed the sub-plots and the mystery. She kept me guessing to the end.

Don't Cry

Don’t Cry by Beverly Barton

This is a good read for the thriller enthusiast. And, as a bonus, there is a small bit of romance built in :)

A serial killer is on the loose, as bodies turn up with long-dead baby skeletons in their arms. Relationships are built and relationships fall apart.

I enjoyed the twists in this one and plan to read more by Barton.