New York To Dallas by JD Robb

           New York To Dallas by JD Robb is my latest dip into the futuristic police procedural world populated by Lt. Eve Dallas, her husband, friends, coworkers and, as always, crazy killers. 

          If a quick count of volumes on my bookshelf is correct, there are over thirty editions in the In Death series by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts).  I’ve read them all, including the short stories, and am still completely enthralled.  

          In this tale, one of Eve’s first arrests as a rookie, a violent pedophile, escapes prison.  He is bent on revenge against Eve personally.  He gets her attention in New York and then quickly moves on to Dallas, the city that gave Eve her name.  While there, Eve, the Dallas PD and the FBI race to find the killer and his accomplice before they can inflict any more harm.  And, Eve discovers yet another piece to her clouded background. 

          This is a fast paced thrill ride, a kaleidoscope of emotions, a swirling storm of events that come to a boil in a Dallas hotel penthouse as Galahad, Eve’s bicolor-eyed cat, hisses out a warning just in time. 

          I give this one 9.5 – practically perfect, just like Disney’s Mary Poppins!

Sweet Sister

          Hello, my sister.  It’s been one year since I said goodbye to you for the last time.  I still miss you every day.  I miss you so badly it hurts.  Don’t get me wrong; the pain has gotten better over the last three hundred sixty-five days.  At first it even hurt to breathe.  The simple acts of inhaling and exhaling rubbed against the raw wound that tore open somewhere inside me as I watched you labor for your last breaths.  I hated it.  I hated it! I HATED IT!! I hated watching you die. But there was no way I was going to let you spend your last moments alone. I was greedy for every precious second with you. As I realized you weren’t going to take another breath, my heart shattered. Its slivers impaled every organ and muscle even as I was swamped with waves of relief because your suffering had come to an end. For days afterward my jaws ached with the effort of holding back the agonized screams that were viciously trying to batter their way out of me.  But I held it together until the control became second nature. 

          Most of the time breathing doesn’t hurt now; only when I am with someone who is missing you.  Maybe I’ve gone round the bend, but when I’m alone you’re always somewhere inside my head. So I don’t miss you quite as much.  You’re always with me in a way.  Sometimes, though, I want your physical presence with a desperation that borders on panic.  That’s when I realize the terrible wound inside me is still there, even if the edges have calloused over; that’s when breathing becomes agony and the tears cannot be held back. 

          The night you died, I wondered, as I wonder sometimes now, how I am supposed to deal with everything without you.  You were the one who knew everybody.  You were the one who liked organizing people and parties.  You were the one with the boundless energy and good cheer.  At first it felt like everyone was looking to me to be those things in your absence.  Fortunately, everybody figured out pretty quick that those things are not me.  I don’t feel so pressured now to keep the happy chatter going and keep the troops entertained. I still try, but I don’t beat myself up so much when I cannot maintain the pace you set. 

          The family still gets together on a regular basis.  Not every week any more, but once a month or so. I think we all learned how important it is to make memories while we can.  And, I think it has become a little easier for all of us to bear you absence when we are together.  The first couple of times I didn’t think we were going to make it through, but we held on by our fingernails and managed.  Each time has gotten a little easier.  And, while you are always a part of our gatherings, I no longer expect you to bop into the room, sprawl on the couch and dominate the conversation. It’s become normal for you not to be there in person.  In a way that makes me sad. But I also think that is progress and something to be proud of.  We are adjusting to our new reality without you. 

          Boy, reality sucks.

          Love you, Baby Sister.

Retribution by Sherilyn Kenyon

          Retribution is the first book of Sherilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series that I’ve read.  It is not, however, the first book in the series.  I must say, she does a pretty good job of creating a stand-alone story in the midst of an ongoing saga. 

          There are lots of different types of creatures from lots of different areas of folklore – vampires, demons, shape shifters, a Greek goddess, a Celtic warrior,several North American Indians, and others I don’t even recognize. And, having read a number of reviews since finishing the book, I have learned there are even more sorts of creatures/characters in the rest of the series. 

          Another thing I learned from reading reviews of this book by readers of the rest of the  series is that this may not the best example of Sherilyn Kenyon’s work.  If that is the case, the rest of the series must be pretty spectacular. 

          I’d recommend Retribution to readers of fantasy.  If you are not adept at suspension of disbelief, this one is not for you.  But those of you who can immerse yourselves comfortably in other worlds should enjoy this one.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

          State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was a very, very slow moving book.  It wasn’t until the last 50 pages or so of the 353 pages that I was really drawn into the story.  It is probably twice as long as it really needs to be.

          The story revolves around research being done in the Amazon backed by a pharmaceutical company.  While I am not a huge fan of medical thrillers, nor of tales of those who trek beyond civilization, (My idea of roughing it is staying someplace without room service.) the concepts of a potential fertility drug that would allow post-menopausal women to become pregnant as well as an inoculation against malaria are interesting.  It is ultimately the characters and their various deceptions that are the backbone of the story.  

          The part I liked best was the way the end of the story curved around to end where it began.  A child taken for dead is returned to its parents, a parent taken for dead is returned to his children. That was well done. The tale feels finished despite leaving lots of loose ends.

          I’d only rate this one a 6.  While I agree it is a pretty good book – it made the bestseller list, for heaven’s sake – the topic and setting were not to my taste and the pace was too slow keep my interest up. 

         

Smokin' Seventeen (again) by Janet Evanovich

          I’ve finished listening to Smokin’ Seventeen.  It was the jolly romp I expected.  Some of the antics that Stephanie and Lula got themselves into were laugh-out-loud funny.  Some of the situations were quite comedic. And I will never look at chickens quite the same again.

          However, overall I was just a little disappointed.  The story was a bit formulaic and no sooner did it become apparent there were multiple deaths to be solved, I determined who the killer must have been.  It was a little like the red shirted crew member on Star Trek.  The unknown actor in the big scene is gonna bite it. 

          The other thing that I discovered, or perhaps rediscovered, is that Stephanie having sex with Ranger is not nearly as titillating as Stephanie not having sex with Ranger.  It was just a tad anticlimactic – for me, not for Stephanie…

          So, while I recommend this one, it will not go on my list of favorites, not even Evanovich favorites.  But it is still quite entertaining and worth the read.

 Silver Girl:

          And as a side note, I’ve run into a book that I had to reject after the requisite three chapters: Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand.  Its premise was based on fictionalizing the Madoff scandal.  The main character being the wife of the bad guy trying to cope with life after the Ponzi scheme collapsed.  I could not get into it, and while I felt badly for the woman, I wasn’t even remotely interested in hearing the rest of the story. 

Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

         Next up in my list of audio books is Smokin’ Seventeen, the new Stephanie Plum novel.  I love the Stephanie Plum stories.  I enjoy Stephanie, her parents, her coworkers, and her ongoing car issues.  I am amused by her on-and-off again love affair with Joe Morelli, the cop, as well as her ravening lust for Ranger, the security expert/bounty hunter.  And, if I had to choose a favorite character, it would be a tough choice.  Grandma Mazur and Lula are both just hysterical. 

          Lula is Stephanie’s bounty hunting sidekick and friend with an unending appetite for fried chicken and her own unique and slightly scary sense of fashion.  Not to mention a strong belief in being armed.  The ridiculous situations she finds herself in and her responses to them leave me rolling in the aisles. 

          Grandma Mazur is old, feisty, says and does exactly as she pleases and, like Lula, believes in being armed.  When I grow up I want to be just like her.  She totally cracks me up. 

          I started listening to this one a couple of nights ago as part of the bedtime unwind/relax routine.  Boy, was that a mistake.  Twenty minutes into the story, I was belly laughing, falling out of my chair, rolling on the floor, nearly peeing my pants as I listened.  While I was neither relaxed nor unwound at the end of an hour, I was exhausted from all the hilarity. 

          I certainly hope the rest of the book stands up to the early scenes and the previous books in the series.  In the mean time, I think I’ll reserve listening to the daylight hours and find something quieter to listen to at bedtime!

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

          I finished listening to Kill Me If You Can last night.  It’s another good one.  James Patterson and company put out fun, easy reads.  And, as usual there was a point when I thought to myself, ”I didn’t see that coming”.  Thing is, I think I might have this time. 

          Why am I not sure? Well, I listened to the first half of this book as part of my bedtime ritual.  I tend to struggle with sleeping at night.  (I do fine during the daylight hours, who knows why...)  However, since the rest of the world, including my husband, are daytime people, I do my best to adjust.  One of the things I do convince my brain and body to shut down is lay back in the recliner in my jammies in the dark and listen to audiobooks at low volume for a bit before going to bed.  There are occasions on which I doze off during the story.  I assumed that was what happened when the main character appeared in a place during a rather chaotic scene and I couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten there.  Nor could I find the passage in the story that explained his arrival.  It was a bit vexing, but not vital to the flow of the story.  So I accepted that I’d missed something minor and moved on. 

          But then the twist came.  My first thought was indeed, “I didn’t see that coming”.  However, my second thought was, “Well that certainly explains how he got into the middle of that earlier scene.”  In a way, I was pleased that I’d noticed the earlier disconnect that foreshadowed the twist.  But I was also a bit disappointed that the twist had been telegraphed.  Oh, well, I guess I’m not easy to please. 

          That particular twist – it was one of several in the story- was rather delightful and turned a very average story into one that was much more interesting. 

          As usual with James Patterson, I’d recommend this book, especially if you are looking for something lighter and more fun to read.  I don’t know that I’d read it again, but I’m very glad I read it the first time!

Catching Up

          Several months ago, when I began this blogging adventure, I started requesting the current bestselling fiction titles from my local library system.  I have fairly consistently checked the list in the New York Times once a week and added any titles I had not yet read to the library holds.  Well, in the last several weeks, my requests have started rolling in like an avalanche.  I’ve waited four and five months for some of these titles, and, of course, I seem to be waiting shorter amounts of time for things requested more recently.  The result of this is that I have been spending every spare moment reading as fast as I can to keep the library fines to a minimum! 

          All this reading has been wonderful, but I’ve been doing it to the exclusion of any writing.  I find that I miss it.  The thought runs through my little brain at odd moments – in the shower or sitting at a stop light – “I’ve really got to get back to writing.”  My head feels more organized when I write.  (If you’ve read any of my prior posts, you can only wonder at how disorganized my brain usually is!)  And so, here I sit at the desk in the dining room wondering what on earth I should write about today. 

          I took another armload of books back to the library this morning, and only brought one new one home; although, I did download an audiobook off the library website this morning too.  The stack on the “reading material table” in the living room is down to a manageable stack – five “hand” books and one audiobook on MP3 that I’ll load onto my Ipod later this week.  I also have four audiobooks on the Ipod that I haven’t listened to yet. 

          Since my husband and I haven’t been going in to work on our investment property every day (it’s complete and on the market), I spend less time with the ear buds in listening.  I tend to forget to put them in when I’m doing “normal” work around the house and yard in which I live.  I’ll try to remember to do that more often.  The more time I spend reading and listening, the more stuff I’ll have to blog about. 

          I’m currently reading A Dance With Dragons by George R R Martin.  It is book five of seven of his Song of Ice and Fire saga.  I read the first book back in 1998 or 1999 and have been waiting impatiently for each subsequent release.  When I read the first book, A Game of Thrones, the tale was to be a trilogy.  An author’s note in the third book, A Storm of Swords, explained that the story was a bit too long for just three books and had become four. Apparently, four was not quite enough, either.  And at last count the saga was to encompass seven books.  At this time, only five have been published, so only time will tell if seven will be enough.  These are huge books, so it may be a while before I finish this one. 

          I am currently listening to Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp.  It is keeping my interest well, unlike some others I’ve tried to listen to recently.  I’ll likely write about it in more detail soon. 

          I also just finished The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritson.  It was one of those returned this morning to the library, and I’ve got to tell you about it.  It has been a few years since I sat up all night to finish a book because it was too good to put down.  I liked it a lot.  It really grabbed my fancy and ran. While it did not make me cry, it did make me laugh out loud and made my heart race and the hair on my arms stand up at times. It is a Rizzoli and Isles story, and I noticed as I read that I could “hear” the voices of Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander from the TV show in the dialog.  It was kind of freaky, but fun.  I’d recommend this book.  I may even read it again some time!

Now You See Her, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

            I recently finished listening to the audio book version of Now You See Her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.  It was a pretty good read, filled with suspense and plot twists.  I’d give it an 8, although I doubt I’ll read it again. 

          It begins in Key West with a group of college students on spring break.  You can’t pick a much better setting than that.  Through a series of unfortunate choices the main character finds herself facing drunk driving, car theft and vehicular manslaughter charges.  She is “saved” however by a young police officer who chooses not to arrest her, but instead helps her cover up the crime.  She ends up married to him. 

          After a couple of years of blissful marriage in paradise, our poor, naïve heroine discovers her husband is a really bad guy who kills people who cross him.  She also discovers she is pregnant, a situation her husband is not going to be happy about. She decides the only way out for her and her child is to fake her own death, and start a new life far from Florida. 

          She lays her plans carefully, intending to make it look like she has become the next victim of a serial killer who has been plaguing south Florida for some time – the Jump Killer.  While making her escape, however, she runs into the killer himself; a friendly fellow with a British accent and a Jack Russell terrier. As bad as that luck is, she luckily manages to escape his clutches, and, makes her way out of the Keys and into a new life.           

          She gives birth to a daughter, finds a job, goes to law school and becomes a successful lawyer in New York using the new identity she created. 

It is now 17 years later.

          Her law firm requests that she help a group of lawyers with a pro bono innocence project designed to ensure that inmates on death row are truly guilty of their crimes.   The case she ends up with is that of the Jump Killer on death row in Florida.  One look at the case files tells her that the wrong man has been convicted – the convict is black, the man she escaped from is white. 

          While terrified that her whole new existence will blow apart, she cannot in good conscience allow an innocent man to die just to keep her secret.  So she goes to Florida determined to find justice for the man.  I

In doing that, she is recognized by her husband.  And the chase is on. 

With the help of the innocent man’s lawyer, she finds a way to clear the death row inmate’s name without blowing her own cover. But she ends up telling the other lawyer her whole story to gain his help in keeping her alive, and bringing her husband to justice. 

The story ends well with everyone living happily ever after. 

I enjoyed listening to this one.  There were a couple of spots where I had to stop and think “I didn’t see that one coming” as the twists occur.  There was one point where the innocent man’s execution is drawing uncomfortably close and I feared it would proceed.  I couldn’t listen to another description of an innocent person being executed in error like I had in John Grisham’s The Confession.  I almost turned it off there, but I stuck with it, and was rewarded with a stay of execution. 

         

Death Penalty Dilemma

John Grisham was apparently successful in his desire to bring attention to the death penalty –at least in my case. After finishing The Confession, I must admit I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit. And, I find myself torn. Part of me thinks that the death penalty is cruel and arrogant and leaves no room for human error. Another part of me has a problem with caging people like animals and having my tax dollars spent on room, board and recreation for individuals who are unsafe to society. Is there some sort of compromise? Is there a rational, humane answer to this dilemma?

My gut reaction to the idea of state run executions is that killing is wrong. In the ten basic rules for civilized living this is stated clearly – Thou shalt not kill. Seems pretty simple. On the other hand, my gut reaction to evil is that it must be eradicated. Not tolerated or condoned, not shut away in some sort of Pandora’s Box; it must be destroyed. And there is little doubt in my mind that there are evil people out there. Whether the result of nature or nurture, some people are twisted and cruel and do not belong in society. The safest and, in a way, kindest thing that can be done for these folks is to execute them. We don’t hesitate to put down a rabid animal, and evil people have a kind of rabies of the soul. Is it really wrong to put them out of their misery? And ours?

The problem here is to diagnose the evil. Who can do this? Humans cannot know the souls of others. How does one tell the difference between a sickness of the soul and a sickness of the psyche? And how does the act of levying judgment on another person affect the one doing the judging. This seems like a very dangerous thing for the psyche and soul of the judge. And, if passing judgment can have an adverse effect on one, how much more adverse the effects of carrying out the execution. It seems to me that allowing for the death penalty perpetuates the evil it is meant to eradicate.

However, does keeping evil doers as indefinite wards of the state solve the problem? I think not. The evil still exists and has the opportunity to perpetuate itself, both among the incarcerated community and, more frighteningly, among the warders. In addition, there is the heavy burden placed upon the rest of society for their keep. From my point of view, we all lose this way too.

I don’t have a good solution for this dilemma. I’ve never encountered anyone else who does either.

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts
I’m reading Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts. As I may have mentioned before, Nora is my favorite author. Thus far I have enjoyed all her books, including this one.

This one involves a group of folks who fight forest fires. And, they don’t just hike up blazing mountainsides; they actually parachute into the middle of the conflagrations out of perfectly good airplanes. I had a little trouble getting into the story at first due to this. I can’t really imagine wanting to be a firefighter of any sort, and there’s no chance at all I’d go skydiving unless the only other choice was certain death. But the story moved beyond those concepts and the characters came to life and I was sucked in as always.

I finished the book a little while ago and ran it back to the library because I know there are a lot of folks waiting to read it after me.

I got to watch, not only the main characters fall in love, but the heroine’s father as well. That was kind of cool. It was great when Daddy explained what being in love was like using fire metaphors. I enjoyed the comparisons.

There was also the accompanying murder mystery to be solved. I was a bit disappointed since I guessed (correctly) who the culprit was going to be almost as soon as he appeared in the story line. I guess I really shouldn’t complain. I’ve never believed that Nora Roberts didn’t write to a formula. It is one of the things I like. I know going in what to expect, and she always delivers. But normally, it is tougher to figure out who the bad guy is. Perhaps because it took a little longer for me to become emotionally invested in people who jump out of fully functional planes into raging infernos, I saw through the veil more easily.

While this is not my all-time favorite of Nora Robert’s novels, it is still a great read and I recommend it to anyone.

The Confession by John Grisham

I’ve just finished listening to The Confession by John Grisham on audiobook. If you’ve ever listened to a book, you are probably aware that at the end of the reading there is a recitation of credits that nearly always starts with “We hope you have enjoyed this recording of…”I usually turn book off before I reach this point, but today I was painting the porch while listening and was standing on a ladder with a paint cup in one hand and a brush in the other, so I wasn’t really in a position to turn this one off right away.

That sentence, “We hope you have enjoyed this recording of The Confession by John Grisham…”got me to thinking. Had I, in fact, enjoyed the story? While it engendered many reactions from me, enjoyment would probably not make the list. This book saddened me, horrified me, frightened me, angered me and disgusted me. It also made me hope that I could be as honest, gallant, brave and principled as some of the characters. It kept me up late several nights as I listened impatiently to hear whether righteousness and justice had prevailed.

A high school cheerleader in Texas disappears without a trace. Through teenage pique and shoddy police work, an innocent young black man is sent to death row. Now, years later, on the eve of the execution, in another part of the country, a parolee comes to visit a minister and confesses to the murder of the cheerleader.

The minister is now faced with the moral imperative to attempt to stop the execution. But how? The real murderer refuses to assist in any way, including admitting where the body is buried. The innocent convict’s lawyer thinks the minister is just one of the whack jobs that come out of the wood work on the cusp of an execution, and is not taking him seriously. Which way should he turn now?

The minister ultimately does the right, albeit illegal, thing, convincing the real killer to break parole in Kansas and accompany him to Texas to confess and stop the execution. He convinces the defense lawyer that he cannot only produce the real killer, but lead authorities to the body of the cheerleader which had heretofore not been found. But due to circumstances beyond his control and the callous disregard for life and justice of members of the state judicial system, the execution proceeds. He is too late.

Eventually, all is put right – with two exceptions. The innocent man executed for a crime he did not commit, while exonerated, is still dead. And for all the committees and commissions and special legislative sessions, nothing about the death penalty process that went so horrible astray changed.

I did not “enjoy” The Confession by John Grisham. But I think it is worth reading. It made me think. And the author did a very good job at pointing out that right does not equal legal and legal does not equal right.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

A woman, in the midst of foreclosure, is accused of murdering an executive of the bank that has called in her mortgage. Set in California in the midst of the recent real estate crash, a former criminal defense attorney turned civil attorney specializing in foreclosures, moves back into his comfort zone defending his client who proclaims her innocence in no uncertain terms.

The trial takes up the majority of the book with both the prosecution and defense pulling fast ones and taxing the patience of the judge. The defense manages to poke enough holes in the prosecution’s case to raise reasonable doubt. And, the defendant is acquitted by the jury in a matter of minutes.

And then the fun begins. It is rare for me to be totally taken by surprise by the final twist in a tale. It is even more unusual for me to be completely delighted by the outcome of that twist. Michael Connelly managed to do both. I felt a physical jolt of surprise that left my fingertips tingling as I read, and laughed out loud as the plot wound its way to the end.

I highly recommend this one – it’s a 10. Pick it up and enjoy!

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

I’m reading Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts. As I may have mentioned before, Nora is my favorite author. Thus far I have enjoyed all her books, including this one.

This one involves a group of folks who fight forest fires. And, they don’t just hike up blazing mountainsides; they actually parachute into the middle of the conflagrations out of perfectly good airplanes. I had a little trouble getting into the story at first due to this. I can’t really imagine wanting to be a firefighter of any sort, and there’s no chance at all I’d go skydiving unless the only other choice was certain death. But the story moved beyond those concepts and the characters came to life and I was sucked in as always.

I finished the book a little while ago and ran it back to the library because I know there are a lot of folks waiting to read it after me.

I got to watch, not only the main characters fall in love, but the heroine’s father as well. That was kind of cool. It was great when Daddy explained what being in love was like using fire metaphors. I enjoyed the comparisons.

There was also the accompanying murder mystery to be solved. I was a bit disappointed since I guessed (correctly) who the culprit was going to be almost as soon as he appeared in the story line. I guess I really shouldn’t complain. I’ve never believed that Nora Roberts didn’t write to a formula. It is one of the things I like. I know going in what to expect, and she always delivers. But normally, it is tougher to figure out who the bad guy is. Perhaps because it took a little longer for me to become emotionally invested in people who jump out of fully functional planes into raging infernos, I saw through the veil more easily.

While this is not my all-time favorite of Nora Robert’s novels, it is still a great read and I recommend it to anyone.

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

I just finished reading The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. I assume it is going to be made into a movie soon since it was published in 1992, and recently appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.

It is a well done version of the classic who-done-it genre, and the first of a series of novels featuring Detective Harry Bosch. The clues and police process move forward logically, with the twists mounting as the story moves along. And the final twist, while not a total surprise, is very good.

The best part of the whole book, however, is the first page. The opening scene is described without any visual cues. Connelly uses only sound and touch and smell. But I could “see” the scene in crisp, bold detail. It was fascinating and wonderful. Only rarely do I find a book whose opening line sucks me in and delights me. This one did it.

Superb work, Michael Connelly.

The Devil Colony by James Rollins

I’m listening to the audiobook version of this novel, and am about two thirds of the way through. It’s an historical treasure hunt novel of the same genre as National Treasure. The Devil Colony, like National Treasure, is primarily American in scene and character. It contains references to Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, and John Smith, writer of the Book of Mormon. Most of the main characters are of American Indian origin and most of the action to this point has taken place on American soil. Although there have been a couple of trips to Asia and Scandinavia just to spice things up.

Some of the violence has been excessive in my opinion, but there is no doubt who the good guys and the bad guys are. You gotta love moral clarity.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the story thus far. The characters are vivid enough that the huge cast is easy to keep straight. The steps in the hunt follow each other logically. I can’t wait to find out how it ends!

I’ll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark

I wasn’t a big fan of MHG, although I know she is very successful and has a huge following. It has been quite some time since I last read one of her novels. On my personal scale, I’d give I’ll Walk Alone a 6.

It was a quick, entertaining “beach read”. The characters just did not resonate with me, feeling rather two dimensional. However, the plot was pretty good. And, MHG made the very excellent point that even the smallest bit of seemingly insignificant info, when combined with others like it, can reveal a bigger picture. In crime solving, nothing is insignificant. She also made the point that in order to keep your case at the forefront of police attention, you must personally remain involved.

I liked that, as the action quickened and rushed toward its climax, the chapters became shorter. This device really helped me feel the increase in tension and focus. It gave the impression that the story was heading for a violent implosion. The truth was finally revealed, the true culprits discovered and the child rescued just in the nick of time.

I’m not sure why this was titled I’ll Walk Alone, though. No one in this story did walk alone. They all had networks of some type. Perhaps I’m missing something obvious, but the title is the thing that has caused me to pause and think most often while reading the book.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I just finished listening to the audiobook version of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and I just gotta say WOW. I totally understand why this is a top ten best seller. I give it a 10. I will reread it; I may even fork over cash money for a copy to add to my personal library (high praise from me, indeed).

This is a story about a lot of things, love at first sight, the indignity of becoming elderly, finding friends in the oddest places, the struggles of a nation slogging its way out of the Great Depression, man’s inhumanity to man (and animals), and the satisfyingly karmic concept of what comes around goes around. But mostly it’s about a guy who ran off and joined the circus and found a life.

If you’ve read my earlier post on what I like to read, you’ll recognize what I have to say here. Since I was listening to a recording, I drove my husband a bit nuts with my verbal responses to the story. I laughed out loud. I “yessssed” and “aaawwwed” and gasped. Fortunately, he was not around for the part where I had to stop what I was doing because I was sobbing too hard to continue. The story was told vividly, the characters felt real to me. And while no one in the story gets to live happily ever after, some of them get to live contentedly to a ripe old age.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Second entry

I finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett today. I understand why it is a best seller. I give it an 8. This is a bit surprising as The Help is Ms. Stockett’s first published novel. It usually takes a few books for an author to get this good.

The story takes place at the beginning of the civil rights movement. A white woman with aspirations of becoming a journalist, and the unlikely name of Skeeter, begins chronicling the lives of thirteen black maids in Jackson, Mississippi.

Getting the maids to share the stories of their lives and interactions with the white families for whom they work is not an easy job. At that time in Mississippi, a black person could be jailed, maimed or killed simply for using the wrong rest room.

These maids sharing stories - good, bad and indifferent – about white employers is a sure way for them to lose their current job and ensure they will never be hired for another. Vindictive white employers could not only fire a maid and refuse a reference, but also arrange for spouses and children of those maids to lose their jobs or have their families evicted from their homes. The only recourse was through a white run police and court system that was completely stacked against them.

Telling their stories was an enormous risk. But this was the dawn of a new age, and with assurances that all names and places would be disguised, this small group told their tales to Skeeter. While the writing was being done, the relationship between Skeeter and her two main “informants”, Aibelene and Missy, moves from stiff, uncomfortable and suspicious to actual friendships. While these friendships are forming, the tension is building. If anyone discovers what they are doing, things will not go well for any of the women – black or white.

Skeeter eventually gets a publisher in New York to agree to publish the book. There is great rejoicing and greater fear. As the stories are read by the people about whom they are written, recognition starts to dawn. There are consequences for having broken the unwritten rules of the South. Most, but surprisingly, not all the consequences are bad ones.
The story ends with Skeeter being offered a job in New York. Her new friends encourage her to go, though she is hesitant to leave them there to bear the consequences of the book without her. And life goes on.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I began reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and had to pause immediately. At the end of the first paragraph I thought “Good heavens, this is written in Southern Black patois.” Shortly thereafter the scene shifted to a group of rich women, playing bridge, and complaining about having to share the guest bathroom with the black maid. One of them believed every home should have a separate bathroom for Negroes. It would improve general hygiene for black and white both as well as increasing the value of the property. I was rolling my eyes more than I have since I was a teenager!

I have a resistance to anything written in dialect whether it’s Cockney, Southern Black or snooty rich filled-with-foreign-phrases. I also have a problem tolerating intolerance in others. Strikes one and two for The Help. However, I also have a personal rule, developed before I was a teenager: I will not give up on a book before reading three full chapters.

I was waiting for the lady from the carpet store to come measure rooms for the carpet we’re buying. I had about 20 minutes to wait, and decided to plow through as much of the “required” three chapters as possible in that time. Once again, I am glad I developed the rule. By the time the carpet lady arrived, I was hooked. I’m only about a third of the way through, but can say I find the story so far compelling and well told. I can’t wait to find out how things turn out.