The snow has finally blanketed the Northeast and said hello. Pile ups, fishtailing, shovels and snowplows were all familiar sights yesterday, as the snow seemed to never end in Connecticut. But being snowed in isn't all bad... there's always a good book to pass the time with. I did that with The Dogs of Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron. It was my reading groups Christmas read that I was finishing up before we got together this week. Ever need just a "feel good" book? Write this one down, because it was just that! Look for my review next week, but suffice it to say it was a winner!
Do you like to read "Holiday Themed" books?
AND, this week I found three books that will hopefully knock our socks off! First, is a book by Chris Bohjalian, who wrote the hit, The Guest Room. Next up should be one of the most anticipated books of the year by Paula Hawkins, who gave us The Girl on The Train! And finally, a new author, whose debut novel is a psychological suspense thriller that has just been translated from the German, and sounds like a winner! What do all these novels have in common? They all are about missing women...
In The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian, a mother who sleepwalks disappears during the night and is feared dead, In Into The Water by Paula Hawkins, a mother goes missing and is found dead in the river, and in The Missing by Caroline Eriksson, a father and daughter go missing during an outing on the lake. (okay, a stretch here about the story being about a missing woman, but the young daughter counts in my book!) Here's the full descriptions from the publishers...
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian... A spine-tingling novel of lies, loss, and buried desire—the mesmerizing story of a wife and mother who vanishes from her bed late one night. When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing, her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. Once, she merely destroyed the hydrangeas in front of her Vermont home. More terrifying was the night her older daughter, Lianna, pulled her back from the precipice of the Gale River bridge. The morning of Annalee's disappearance, a search party combs the nearby woods. Annalee's husband, Warren, flies home from a business trip. Lianna is questioned by a young, hazel-eyed detective. And her little sister, Paige, takes to swimming the Gale to look for clues. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective, continues to call, continues to stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin, but she must ask herself: Why does the detective know so much about her mother? Why did Annalee leave her bed only when her father was away? And if she really died while sleepwalking, where was the body?
Into The Water by Paula Hawkins... A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother's sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she'd never return. With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers around the world in her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present. Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.
The Missing by Caroline Eriksson... An ordinary outing takes Greta, Alex, and four-year-old Smilla across Sweden’s mythical Lake Malice to a tiny, isolated island. While father and daughter tramp into the trees, Greta stays behind in the boat, lulled into a reverie by the misty, moody lake…only later to discover that the two haven’t returned. Her frantic search proves futile. They’ve disappeared without a trace. Greta struggles to understand their eerie vanishing. She desperately needs to call Alex, to be reassured that Smilla is safe, or contact the police. But now her cell phone is missing too. Back at her cottage, she finds it hidden away under the bedsheets. Had she done that? Or had someone else been in the cottage? But who, and why? As Greta struggles to put the pieces together, she fears that her past has come back to torment her, or she’s finally lost her grip on reality… In this dark psychological thrill ride—with more twists than a labyrinth and more breathless moments than a roller coaster—Greta must confront what she’s always kept hidden if she has any hope of untangling the truth.
Weekly Wrap-up...
Mailbox Monday... I received some great books in the mail by Greg Iles, Patricia Cornwell, Benjamin Ludwig, Joshilyn Jackson, and Beatriz Williams! Check them out and see what you should be adding to YOUR TBR list! Tuesday we said farewell to Watership Down author, Richard Adams, who passed away at the age of 96. Are you familiar with the wonderful story of Hazel and Fiver? If not, you need be!
Thursday I reviewed: I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Yrse Siguroardottir. OMG, what a great read! If you like crime fiction or ghost stories, PICK THIS BOOK UP NOW! Click on the link to read all about it!
First Lines Friday... When I open a book for the first time, I like to read a little to see if I like the style of writing. First Lines Friday give you the first lines of a book to see if those lines hook you. This friday I highlighted, The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn. Click on the link to read them!
Saturday I shared the 2017 Chick with Books Bingo Card! It's a fun way to keep track of and find new books! I created a Bingo card for my reading group and they loved it! Check it out and play along! Last year I almost filled the whole card, this year I am determined to finish it!
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It was a full week this past week! What books did you enjoy this week? Next week will bring more reading and next Sunday, I'll share what books I found at my Indie Bookstore that piqued my interest! Hope you found something interesting here today! Happy reading... Suzanne
6 comments:
I am happy about a new reading year. I hope to read a little more close to the bone, the books I really want to read. That's a good goal, I think.
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I loved The Sleepwalker and I have bookmarked Into the Water.
The Missing was confusing and disappointing, so I stopped, set it aside. Thought to myself: maybe later.
Enjoy your books, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Hi Deb,
I feel like this is a year I'll be reading more of those books that really speak to me. That's one reason I stepped back from reading challenges, so I wouldn't feel the need to read a certain "type" of book. And that's what I find so much fun when I go to my local Indie bookstore-- I find books that I really want to read!
Hi Laurel,
Good to know about The Missing. Sometimes we aren't in "the mood" for a certain book and change our minds when we revisit it. I hope that it works better for you next time, but confusing may not change. That's why I love reading our blogs, because we have so many great recommendations AND "don't bothers".
I do like an occasional holiday themed book. I didn't read too many this past year but in 2015 at holiday time I did have some good ones. :) Into The Water looks interesting, I didn't love Girl on the Train but I liked it enough that I'll probably try her new one.
It's been snowy and slippery roads here too- hope you have a great week without too much snow!
I am looking forward to Into The Water.
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