It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week.
My comments are not meant to be recaps of the story lines as I include a link to Goodreads for their synopsis of the book. I am merely stating how I felt about the book without giving any spoilers.
2012 Recap and 2013 Recap
FINISHED THIS WEEK:
I couldn't like Serena, the main character, she is shallow and passive. She falls in love with every man she meets.
I did enjoy the descriptions of London in the early 70s.
As always, I love Mc Ewan's writing.
Dana Cabot cannot remember the kind of person she was before May 29th, the day she became angry at God, at her workaholic attorney husband, and herself. The day her seven-year-old daughter. Bailey, disappeared. As the months wear on without a trace of her adorable but troubled child, Dana can't help blaming her husband's controversial defense of an accused abuser for playing a role in the abduction--and it shows in the strain on their marriage. But then a shocking event offers a clue to what really happened to Bailey--and Dana's unwitting part in it. Haunted by the unthinkable consequences of revealing everything she knows. Dana must decide whether to keep the truth to herself--or risk losing the rest of her family. Suspenseful, searing, and evocative, this beautifully written novel offers poignant insights into the meaning of honesty--in marriage, in friendship, and in justice.
This was a quick read that totally drew me into the intimate details of the Cabot's marriage, I felt like an eavesdropper as the author so accurately described the details of couples' arguments.
The abduction itself is solved relatively easily by the reader and is not an integral part of the story.
Her friendship with a female priest is an interesting sub-plot.
The descriptions of Florence brought back memories of a beautiful city.
STARTED THIS WEEK:
122 fantastic stories from Britain's best crime writers For ten years the Mammoth Best British Crime series has been publishing an annual volume of the most outstanding crime and mystery short fiction published in the UK. Over 400 stories by the very best writers in the field have been published. Contributors have included, among many others, Mark Billingham, Liza Cody, Roger Jon Ellory, Reginald Hill, Peter James, Simon Kernick, Alexander McCall Smith, Val McDermid, John Mortimer, Anne Perry, Ian Rankin, Derek Raymond and Andrew Taylor. On several occasions, stories published in "The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime" have won some of the most prestigious awards in the field, including the Crime Writers Association Short Story Dagger, The Mystery Writers of America Edgar award and the Anthony award, while countless others have featured on the respective shortlists. This truly bumper collection of over 120 stories, an omnibus edition of Volumes 7, 8 and 9, showcases as ever the impressive breadth of crime writing, from cosy tales of detection to noir mayhem and psychological suspense and terror. There are puzzles to solve, nagging questions about the nature of the society in which we live, but, above all, there is an abundance of first-class entertainment. Over 1600 pages of outstanding crime fiction by: Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Ian Ayris, Ray Banks, Robert Barnard, Colin Bateman, Mark Billingham, Nigel Bird, Tony Black, Stephen Booth, Paul D. Brazill, Simon Brett, Gerard Brennan, Christopher Brookmyre, Alison Bruce, Ken Bruen, Declan Burke, Col Bury, Tom Cain, Ann Cleeves, Liza Cody, Natasha Cooper, Bernie Crosthwaite, Judith Cutler, Colin Dexter, Martin Edwards, Matthew J. Elliott, Kate Ellis, R. J. Ellory, Chris Ewan, Christopher Fowler, Simon R. Green, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Allan Guthrie, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, Mick Herron, David Hewson, Reginald Hill, Matt Hilton, Kate Horsley, Peter James, Paul Johnston, L. Kennedy, Bill Kirton, John Lawton, Simon Levack, Michael Z. Lewin, Toby Litt, Peter Lovesey, Phil Lovesey, Stuart MacBride, Adrian Magson, Barry Maitland, Alexander McCall Smith, Keith McCarthy, Val McDermid, Brian McGilloway, Denise Mina, Steve Mosby, Edward Marston, Amy Myers, Barbara Nadel, Stuart Neville, Christine Poulson, Ian Rankin, Sarah Rayne, Peter Robinson, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Roz Southey, Sally Spedding, Jay Stringer, Andrew Taylor, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, L. C. Tyler, Simon Kernick, Nick Quantrill, Sheila Quigley, Louise Welsh, Marc Werner and Kevin Wignall.
I did enjoy the descriptions of London in the early 70s.
As always, I love Mc Ewan's writing.
Dana Cabot cannot remember the kind of person she was before May 29th, the day she became angry at God, at her workaholic attorney husband, and herself. The day her seven-year-old daughter. Bailey, disappeared. As the months wear on without a trace of her adorable but troubled child, Dana can't help blaming her husband's controversial defense of an accused abuser for playing a role in the abduction--and it shows in the strain on their marriage. But then a shocking event offers a clue to what really happened to Bailey--and Dana's unwitting part in it. Haunted by the unthinkable consequences of revealing everything she knows. Dana must decide whether to keep the truth to herself--or risk losing the rest of her family. Suspenseful, searing, and evocative, this beautifully written novel offers poignant insights into the meaning of honesty--in marriage, in friendship, and in justice.
This was a quick read that totally drew me into the intimate details of the Cabot's marriage, I felt like an eavesdropper as the author so accurately described the details of couples' arguments.
The abduction itself is solved relatively easily by the reader and is not an integral part of the story.
Her friendship with a female priest is an interesting sub-plot.
The descriptions of Florence brought back memories of a beautiful city.
STARTED THIS WEEK:
122 fantastic stories from Britain's best crime writers For ten years the Mammoth Best British Crime series has been publishing an annual volume of the most outstanding crime and mystery short fiction published in the UK. Over 400 stories by the very best writers in the field have been published. Contributors have included, among many others, Mark Billingham, Liza Cody, Roger Jon Ellory, Reginald Hill, Peter James, Simon Kernick, Alexander McCall Smith, Val McDermid, John Mortimer, Anne Perry, Ian Rankin, Derek Raymond and Andrew Taylor. On several occasions, stories published in "The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime" have won some of the most prestigious awards in the field, including the Crime Writers Association Short Story Dagger, The Mystery Writers of America Edgar award and the Anthony award, while countless others have featured on the respective shortlists. This truly bumper collection of over 120 stories, an omnibus edition of Volumes 7, 8 and 9, showcases as ever the impressive breadth of crime writing, from cosy tales of detection to noir mayhem and psychological suspense and terror. There are puzzles to solve, nagging questions about the nature of the society in which we live, but, above all, there is an abundance of first-class entertainment. Over 1600 pages of outstanding crime fiction by: Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Ian Ayris, Ray Banks, Robert Barnard, Colin Bateman, Mark Billingham, Nigel Bird, Tony Black, Stephen Booth, Paul D. Brazill, Simon Brett, Gerard Brennan, Christopher Brookmyre, Alison Bruce, Ken Bruen, Declan Burke, Col Bury, Tom Cain, Ann Cleeves, Liza Cody, Natasha Cooper, Bernie Crosthwaite, Judith Cutler, Colin Dexter, Martin Edwards, Matthew J. Elliott, Kate Ellis, R. J. Ellory, Chris Ewan, Christopher Fowler, Simon R. Green, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Allan Guthrie, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, Mick Herron, David Hewson, Reginald Hill, Matt Hilton, Kate Horsley, Peter James, Paul Johnston, L. Kennedy, Bill Kirton, John Lawton, Simon Levack, Michael Z. Lewin, Toby Litt, Peter Lovesey, Phil Lovesey, Stuart MacBride, Adrian Magson, Barry Maitland, Alexander McCall Smith, Keith McCarthy, Val McDermid, Brian McGilloway, Denise Mina, Steve Mosby, Edward Marston, Amy Myers, Barbara Nadel, Stuart Neville, Christine Poulson, Ian Rankin, Sarah Rayne, Peter Robinson, Nicholas Royle, Zoe Sharp, Roz Southey, Sally Spedding, Jay Stringer, Andrew Taylor, Marilyn Todd, Peter Turnbull, L. C. Tyler, Simon Kernick, Nick Quantrill, Sheila Quigley, Louise Welsh, Marc Werner and Kevin Wignall.
These both sound so good. I've just started Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins which is set on the coast of Italy circa 1960's; lovely so far.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog! It seems you have some very nice books here, enjoy the omnibus, it sounds good!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, and kind regards,
I hate when you don't like a character; it makes it so hard to finish the book. I'm reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer.
ReplyDelete