Lock Every Door by Riley Sager... A Review

 Lock Every Door, but it won't matter... And that's all I am going to say about Riley Sager's book, Lock Every Door, besides if you need some thrill in your reading, start turning the pages on this one. 

My Mom and I have always loved mysteries and thrillers. Often times for her birthday or Christmas, I'll buy her a stack of books. I try to find authors we haven't read before so that we can find some fresh reading. That's how I happened upon Riley Sager. After reading thru the plot blurbs, I found his books all have that eerie plot element that screams "read me if you dare and find out what happens next". This was one of the books in the latest stack I gave Mom and on a recent visit down South, she brought it with her so I could read it. OMG, I spent a whole week at the Bartholomew with Jules Larsen and couldn't stop reading! 

In Lock Every Door, Jules answers a mysterious newspaper ad for a job as an apartment sitter at the very exclusive Bartholomew, where the rich and some famous live very secluded and secretive lives. The money for 3 months of apartment sitting seems too good to be true, but perfect because she just so happens to be broke and without a place to call her own. But Jules soon starts to feel that things aren't quite right at the Bartholomew... and when one of the apartment sitters she makes friends with goes missing, life at the Bartholomew takes on a frightening twist. 

I really enjoyed this book! I literally could not put it down when I got about 1/3 of the way into it. I have a warning though... DO NOT READ any of the cover "blurbs"... you know, the great things that writers and reviewers say about the book so that you'll read it and are printed in quotes on the front and back covers. Two of those blurbs almost gives away the game. Those blurbs made me suspicious about what was going on and could have ruined the story. I can't say any more...

Want to read a good thriller... read Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. Published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2019. 

Memoir Monday... Can We Talk About It?

Code Talker, The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII by Chester New...

His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength—both physical and mental—to excel as a marine.

During World War II, the Japanese had managed to crack every code the United States used. But when the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits to develop and implement a secret military language, they created the only unbroken code in modern warfare—and helped assure victory for the United States over Japan in the South Pacific.

I have always been fascinated by the WWII Code Talkers. It's such an amazing part of history and an important one. Imagine the dedication these young men had to fight for their country, the country that pretty much turned its back on the Indians and their culture, forcing them off their land. 

"On August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines of the 1st Marine Division hit the beaches of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the Florida islands in the first land offensive against Japan. Of the 11,000 Marines who landed, 15 were Navajo Code Talkers. This was to be their inaugural test in battle—three months after they’d been initially sworn in at Fort Wingate, New Mexico on May 4, 1942. In those three months, the code talkers went through basic training, underwent extensive instruction in radio operation and message transmittal, and developed and memorized a code that not even other native Navajo speakers could decipher."

Navajo Code Talkers Day was established by President Ronald Reagan on August 14, 1982. In 2014, Arizona passed legislation declaring every August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Arizona. And every year around this time, there is a special Ham Radio Event commemorating the history of the Navajo Code Talkers. I had the privilege to talk to a relative of one of the Code Talkers on my ham radio last August. It was an honor and such an interesting conversation. I look forward to reading Code Talker by Chester Nez, published by Dutton Caliber, a boutique imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, in 2011. 

Find Her by Lisa Gardner... A Review

When the book you're reading starts out ... “When you first wake up in a dark wooden box, you’ll tell yourself this isn't happening.” you KNOW you're in for a incredible ride, especially when it's Lisa Gardner driving! 

The gist of the story is that Flora Danes is abducted while partying at a local bar. She wakes up in something like a garage, naked, with her hands bound tightly. She immediately springs into action, evaluating her situation and trying to find something that will help her get away. Let's just say we find out shortly that this wasn't the first time Flora had been abducted. Flora had been kidnapped 5 years earlier during spring break in Florida. Waking up then and finding herself in a pine box was just the start of her 472 days of unspeakable horrors, but she did survive... only to be abducted 5 years later? But something happened to Flora... she's not the carefree farm girl from Maine any longer... something darker is behind those eyes. The story alternates between Flora the Spring break kidnap victim and the ordeal as told through her voice, and the present day Flora, who has dedicated her life to learning to survive, so that she will never be a victim again... or so we think that's the reason. And how does she keep getting herself into these "situations"? Coincidence? Bad luck? Survivor turned vigilante... maybe? Add to the mix an FBI victims advocate, a great female detective, and race to the finish line and you have one heart pounding read. 

Find Her by Lisa Garnder is a gripping, edge-of-your seat psychological suspense/thriller that will have you turning those pages as fast as you can, long into the night. The story is filled with twists & turns that seamlessly fit together. The characters are so human, so real. Hearing Flora tell us about being kidnapped and living in that pine box is haunting. I love the way the story alternates, it gives us insight into what makes Flora tick, and it also gives us hints as what's to follow. 

I loved this book! It left me guessing until the very end! It was a thrilling ride and worth every moment I was reading! I don't rate too many 5 stars, but this book is definitely a 5 star read!

If you love psychological thrillers you need to read this! If you like police procedurals, this is a great one! Available Feb. 9, 2016!

*I received a copy of the eGalley from the publishers, for my honest review. Thank you!

The Sunday Salon and I'm Thrilled to Meet You… OR 3 New Mysteries,Thrillers & Suspense You'll Need to Leave the Lights on For

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....

That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book.

The weather is getting colder, and winter is definitely settling in in Connecticut. I'm not one to venture outside for winter activities, my winter activities are hot cocoa, winter soups and curling up with a BOOK! Mysteries use to be my normal reading, but I've branched out to a lot of different genres since starting the blog. But in the next month or so, there are some great books coming out from some favorite mystery/thrill writers that are making me grab the "who dun-it's" once again. Let's to fall into some great NEW mysteries or better yet, thrillers from some great authors! First, Tami Hoag is coming out with a new mystery/thriller this coming tuesday, January 13th!  It's called Cold Cold Heart and Danielle at Dutton wanted to know if I'd like a review copy. What did I say? YES of course! I started reading this as soon as I got it and I was hooked! The prologue had me on the edge of my seat. Tami Hoag is always a great read. I'll be reviewing this in the next week, so stay tuned. In the meantime,  here is the description from the publisher…

Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag…
Dana Nolan was a promising young TV reporter until a notorious serial killer tried to add her to his list of victims.  Nearly a year has passed since surviving her ordeal, but the physical, emotional, and psychological scars run deep.  Struggling with the torment of post-traumatic stress syndrome, plagued by flashbacks and nightmares as dark as the heart of a killer, Dana returns to her hometown in an attempt to begin to put her life back together.  But home doesn’t provide the comfort she expects.

Dana’s harrowing story and her return to small town life has rekindled police and media interest in the unsolved case of her childhood best friend, Casey Grant, who disappeared without a trace the summer after their graduation from high school.  Terrified of truths long-buried, Dana reluctantly begins to look back at her past.  Viewed through the dark filter of PTSD, old friends and loved ones become suspects and enemies.  Questioning everything she knows, refusing to be defined by the traumas of her past and struggling against excruciating odds, Dana seeks out a truth that may prove too terrible to be believed…

Another favorite Mystery/Thriller/Suspense author of mine is Tess Gerritsen. I use to read just her Rizzoli and Isles novels, but then got hooked on her medical thrillers. Here's a post I did last January on Tess's medical thrillers. But, at the end of this past December, Tess Gerritsen came out with a new Rizzoli and Isles novel called Die Again. This sounds heart pounding to me! Definitely on my wish list now! Here's what the description is for Die Again…

Die Again by Tess Gerritsen…
Detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are back—and they’re going into the wild to find a killer. Die Again is the latest heart-pounding thriller in Tess Gerritsen’s New York Times bestselling series, the inspiration behind TNT’s hit show Rizzoli & Isles.

When Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are summoned to a crime scene, they find a killing worthy of the most ferocious beast—right down to the claw marks on the corpse. But only the most sinister human hands could have left renowned big-game hunter and taxidermist Leon Gott gruesomely displayed like the once-proud animals whose heads adorn his walls. Did Gott unwittingly awaken a predator more dangerous than any he’s ever hunted?

Maura fears that this isn’t the killer’s first slaughter, and that it won’t be the last. After linking the crime to a series of unsolved homicides in wilderness areas across the country, she wonders if the answers might actually be found in a remote corner of Africa.

Six years earlier, a group of tourists on safari fell prey to a killer in their midst. Marooned deep in the bush of Botswana, with no means of communication and nothing but a rifle-toting guide for protection, the terrified tourists desperately hoped for rescue before their worst instincts—or the wild animals prowling in the shadows—could tear them apart. But the deadliest predator was already among them, and within a week, he walked away with the blood of all but one of them on his hands.

Now this killer has chosen Boston as his new hunting ground, and Rizzoli and Isles must find a way to lure him out of the shadows and into a cage. Even if it means dangling the bait no hunter can resist: the one victim who got away.

Finally, Lisa Gardner is also coming out with a new thriller February 3rd called Crash & Burn. I haven't read a lot of her books, but what I have I have really enjoyed. Crash & Burn sounds like it will be a great read. I like the whole "gaslight" kind of feel to it.

Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner…

My name is Nicky Frank. Except, most likely, it isn’t. 

Nicole Frank shouldn’t have been able to survive the car accident, much less crawl up the steep ravine. Not in the dark, not in the rain, not with her injuries. But one thought allows her to defy the odds and flag down help: Vero. 

I’m looking for a little girl. I have to save her. Except, most likely, she doesn’t exist.

Sergeant Wyatt Foster is frustrated when even the search dogs can’t find any trace of the mysterious missing child. Until Nicky’s husband, Thomas, arrives with a host of shattering revelations: Nicole Frank suffers from a rare brain injury and the police shouldn’t trust anything she says. 

My husband claims he’ll do anything to save me. Except, most likely, he can’t. 

Who is Nicky Frank, and what happened the night her car sailed off the road? Was it a random accident or something more sinister given the woman’s lack of family and no close friends? The deeper Wyatt digs, the more concerned he becomes. Because it turns out, in the past few months, Nicky has suffered from more than one close accident. . . . In fact, it would appear someone very much wants her dead.

This is my life. Except, most likely, it’s not. Now watch me crash and burn.

So, are you a mystery/thriller/suspense reader? Have any favorites from the ladies here today?! And, what other favorite suspense writers do you read?!

*P.S. My reading group is going to read The Girl on The Train by Pamela Hawkins. I mentioned it in my first Sunday post of the year under Best New Books. It's gotten a lot of great press and it's a murder mystery thriller, that I just started and I am totally hooked already. The writing is very clever, but more about that in my review to come soon. In any case, The Girl on The Train would also be a great mystery to put on your TBR list!
  Weekly Recap…
On Monday, I shared my review of At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. I really enjoyed it! Historical fiction, WWII, forbidden love, the Loch Ness Monster... If you have not read it yet, READ IT! Here's MY REVIEW.

On Wednesday, it was a tiny book of short stories I reviewed called The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Vol. 1 by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They are like bits of Haiku, but are really 1 or 2 line stories submitted from people all over the world, some of which are collected in these wonderful little books. I reviewed volume 1, but there are 3 volumes so far. Really enjoyed reading these. Here's MY REVIEW.

Thursday, I was part of the Not Without My Father Release Day Blitz.  Written by Andra Watkins, it's about her 444 walk along the Natchez Trace. You can read all about the book from my THURSDAY POST.

On Saturday I shared my review of Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton. It's suppose to be the next Hunger Games. It's the start of an epic fantasy that book 1, Seeker, lays down a great foundation for future books. I really enjoyed Seeker, which was told alternately by the three main characters. Here's my REVIEW.

What's on your reading plate these days? Hope you found something to munch on here! And in the meantime…

Happy reading… Suzanne

Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron... A Review

The Legacy of Dewey The Small Town Library Cat...

A few weeks ago on Memoir Monday I shared a book about Dewey, the little kitten that someone threw away in a book deposit on one of the coldest days of the year in a small mid western town in Iowa. (Here's the LINK for the review if you missed it!) That book, Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron was read by millions of animal lovers, and if you read it you know how touching the story was. Vicki toured the country to promote her book about Dewey, and in the course of that book tour, people shared their own stories with Vicki, the stories about the cats that they had shared their lives with... Vicki has taken some of those stories and added some new Dewey stories to bring us another wonderful testament to how the love of animals can make our lives better in her new book, Dewey's Nine Lives. Here's the blurb from the publisher...

"Dewey's Nine Lives is compromised of nine inspiring, funny and heartwarming stories about cats told from the perspective of "Dewey's Mom", librarian Vicki Myron. The amazing felines in this book include Dewey, of course, whose further never-before-told adventures and amazing legacy are chronicled, but several others whom Vicki found out about when their owners reached out to her. Vicki learned, through extensive interviews and story sharing, what made these cats special, and how they fit into Dewey's community of perseverance and love. From a divorced mother in Alaska who saved a drowning kitten on Christmas Eve to a post-traumatic-stress disorder-suffering veteran whose heart was opened by his long relationship with a rescued cat, these Dewey-style stories will inspire reades to laugh, cry, and, most important, believe in the magic of animals to touch individual lives."

In the same wonderful way Vicki shared her story of Dewey in her first book, animal lovers, and cat lovers in particular, will enjoy reading Dewey's Nine Lives. I know I did! Her writing style is easy going and relaxing. These are heartfelt stories that will have you hugging your furry friend. And like the people that shared their stories with Vicki along the way, the story of Dewey made me think of and be thankful for the special furry babies I've shared my life with.

There is also a I Believe in "Dewey's Magic" story contest, where you can submit a letter to Vicki telling her about a cat that has inspired you. The winner of the contest will have their story told in the paperback version of Dewey's Nine Lives. You can find all the details about the contest and how to enter at Penguin Books. The book will be available from your local bookstores starting Oct. 12th!

*I want to thank Dutton Publishing for sending along a review copy! Thank you!