Review: Mistress by James Patterson

Mistress by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Benjamin Casper has been asked by a friend of his to put some surveillance cameras up in her apartment. Shortly after he leaves her building a body is thrown from her balcony. Everyone says it's his friend, Diana and that she committed suicide, but Ben is not convinced. Trying to figure out what is really going on with Diana and what she was up to is not going to be easy. Will Ben be able to find the answers before he loses his own life? Set in the heart of our Nation's Capital, Ben fights for his life to find out the truth about Diana.

This book was just okay for me. It held my attention, but I didn't find myself dying to read it during my down time. At some parts of the book, it felt like a dog chasing its tail.

Ben believes that Diana is his friend. When he attends her funeral back in her home of Wisconsin, he's not so sure. No one knows who he is and they sure as hell don't know who Diana is, at least who she really is, but does Ben. On the quest to find out if his friend is really dead, he will lose more friends along the way. Too many people end up dead and the reason is all really kind of crazy.

This was not one of my favorite James Patterson books.  I know this review is short, but there wasn't must to go on without giving away the book.  If you like James Patterson then you should read this book, if not, then I would say find another.  So many books, so little time.

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Review: Look for Me by Lisa Gardner

Look for Me by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DD Warren is trying to find out who has killed the Baez family. Mother, Justine; her boyfriend, Charlie; her youngest daughter, Lola; and her only son, Manny. But there is another child, Roxanna, as well as two dogs, Rosie and Blaze. Where are they? Did Roxanna do this to her family? If so, why? But Roxy was the protector of the family. Her mom is a recovering alcoholic and when she was drinking Roxy made sure her siblings ate and made it to school. When the state took the kids away from Justine for a year, this role for Roxy became more prominent. After that year, the girls were never the same. Did something happen during their year in foster care that could have warranted this kind of violence? Will DD be able to find the person or people responsible for this before more people are killed? Will her new CI, Flora Dane prove to be helpful or detrimental to this case?

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I made the request from NetGalley for this book, I was intrigued by the description and didn't know that this was the 9th book in the series. I don't think that I needed to read the entire series to get into this book, but I'm sure the background on some of the characters would have been helpful. So, I'm definitely going to go back now and read the rest of the series.

Can you imagine coming home and finding your whole family dead? Your younger sister clutching your brother in order to protect him from a crazy killer? How do you come back from that? Over the course of a few days Detective DD Warren is trying to find out who could do such a thing to this family. With the help of confidential informant, Flora Dane, will they be able to find the killer as well as find Roxana before it's too late. Who would want to hurt these people? What did they do? So many questions and the answers can't come fast enough, until they all do come crashing into one another in one fell swoop.

I can't wait to read more books in this series.

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Review: Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison

Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

On the outside, Ethan and Sutton Montclair seem like the perfect couple. They are both writers and are crazy about each other. But they have secrets in their past that will soon surface. Sutton has disappeared and told her husband she didn't want to be found. Her friends are convinced, that Ethan has done something to hurt her, but the police are not convinced. When bodies turn up and secrets are revealed, will Ethan be able to maintain his innocence?

I gave this book 4.5 stars(why won't GR let us to halves). This was quite a thrilling story that kept me on the edge of my seat. But I figured out early on who the culprit was although I didn't see all the twists and turns that were coming along with it.

Ethan Montclair was the more famous of the two, but Sutton didn't mind that at all. They had agreed when they got married, that their lives were too busy and complicated for a child so they wouldn't have them, but when Ethan switches out her birth control pills and Sutton gets pregnant anyway, at first she hates him, but when their son is born, all of that changes. Not too long after though, he dies and their whole world comes crashing down. Ethan can no longer write and he spends his time bothering Sutton while she tries to. They have a few altercations and then Sutton decides she can't take it anymore and leaves. Or does she? Has she really just picked up and left without a trace? Not taking any of her belongings with her? Or has Ethan done something to her as her friends suspect? You have to read the book to find out.


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Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Roy and Celestial have been married for almost two years when their relationship takes a hit no one could ever anticipate. As they are in rural Louisiana visiting Roy's family, he is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Sentenced to twelve years in a Louisiana prison, the time they have spent married will be much shorter than the time they are about to spend apart. Will they both be able to survive the predicament they are in? With Celestial in Atlanta trying to continue to live her life and Roy in Louisiana, writing letters back and forth and having sporadic visits, will their marriage survive?

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. One of the best books I have read so far this year. This has also been selected as an Oprah Book Club Selection.

Can you imagine what you would do if one night you and your husband were asleep in a hotel bed, enjoying some time away from home visiting family. When all of a sudden, your door is ripped open and you both are snatched out of bed. Your husband is being charged for a crime he couldn't have committed. An earlier act of kindness, now turned into something it is not. Then he is tried for the crime and convicted and has to spend twelve years behind bars. How will your marriage survive this? Are you going to pick up the life you have built in one state to move to another and be closer to him, even though you can only see him once a week? Will you continue to live your life and make that journey? Or will you leave him to his own devices in jail, there is nothing more you can do for him and the wait is just too much to bear? What would you do?

Celestial, has not had an easy life. On the outside, her life looks pretty incredible, with parents who had made something for themselves and live in a wealthy part of Atlanta. Roy, though he didn't come from much, had graduated from college and proven himself in the professional world. This is the type of couple you always would think, nothing like this could happen to them. But things like this happen every day. Hundreds of men and women are in prison now for crimes they did not commit.

A heart breaking and compelling story about love, marriage, and life and how we all try our best to survive it one day at a time.

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Review: Still Me by Jojo Moyes

Still Me by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Louisa Clark is headed to New York City to start a new job. Life in England is not going the way she had hoped, so across the pond she goes. She will be the personal assistant to Agnes Gopnik. Agnes is the new wife of Mr. Gopnik. So far Agnes's life being married has not been easy having to deal with all of the former Mrs. Gopnik's friends. Agnes looks to Louisa as a friend and a relief in her life. Louisa is trying to adjust to her new life as well. With her boyfriend in England and her this new life in New York, will Louisa be able to survive this new situation she has put herself in?

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

For me, this by far is the best book in the series. I'm not sure if it is because it was set in the United States or for another reason, but this one captivated me and I enjoyed it more than other books in the series.

After the death of Will Traynor and spending a few years close enough to home, Louisa has finally decided to take a big leap and go for her dreams. When she lands in New York, things seem to be going fairly well for her, but as Louisa life goes, things take a dramatic turn and she has to find a way to adjust to her new way of life. She goes on many adventures and discovers many new things about life, but also about herself in the process.

The Gopnik family is not quite what Louisa is expecting when she first arrives in New York. The job she signed up for and the one she tries to execute aren't quite the same, but she always does her best. When she is unexpected released from her duties, she has to scramble to find out what will happen next. An unlikely opportunity presents itself and Louisa finds joy in this new position, a joy she had never experienced before.

If you haven't read the series, I think it is important to start with book one. You have to go on the journey with Louisa. I don't know if her story will continue after this book, but it will be interesting to know what happens next. This book made the series as a whole more enjoyable for me.


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