Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

 Ever since I can remember I've read more than one book at a time. A few years ago, a co-worker asked me how I can do that and keep the stories straight. I asked him a question in return: How can you watch six or seven  TV shows and keep them all straight? Same concept.  With that said, strangely enough, in all the decades I have had more than one book going at a time I have never had two characters with the same name at the same time. Now I do. Two Roses. But it's still not hard to keep the stories straight. Reviews to come soon, I think. Both books are really good so far.

  This book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Abby Mullen is a police negotiator and a survivor of a cult (think Waco), who now keeps tabs on other cults in her area in case she ever has to deal with them. When the son (Nathan) of another survivor (Eden) is kidnapped she doesn't know what to do so she calls Abby, who she hadn't spoken with since they were children. Abby then gets the ball rolling in helping to find Nathan and eventually learns his kidnapping may be cult-related. The story is mostly told from Abby's point of view but that alternates with the kidnapper's as well as Nathan's. The kidnapper is obsessed with Nathan's older sister Gabrielle, who is a social media influencer and believes her Instagram posts are meant just for him. As the story progresses, we also learn more and more about Abby's life in the cult and how it ended. What I found especially interesting is the explanations of how and why people get into cults. A lot ...

Now that you've got Melanie on your mind, did you know her new book "The Girls is the Picture" comes out in January? Check it out on Goodreads . The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin (Goodreads Author) 4.04 · Rating Details · 24 Ratings · 13 Reviews An intimate portrait of the close friendship and powerful creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female superstars: Frances Marion and Mary Pickford. An enchanting new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife. Hollywood, 1914. Frances Marion, a young writer desperate for a break, meets “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford, already making a name for herself both on and off the screen with her golden curls and lively spirit. Together, these two women will take the movie business by storm. Read more at Goodreads .