Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

I'm actually giving it a 3.5. I liked the book, just not as much as I wanted to. It centers around two women at the turn of the century who have each just lost their husbands, in different circumstances, as well as their infant sons, in similar circumstances. When Alice finds herself pregnant and alone in Chicago she tries to find her husband and ends up in New Orleans where, she is introduced to the wealthy Constance who is an emotional wreck after the loss of her husband. Dorthea, another strong female character, thinks Alice creating a gown for Constance to wear during Mardi Gras, as part of the first all-female krewe, is exactly what both women need. The mystery of the disappearances of the husbands keeps the story moving more than the Mardi Gras aspect, although some of the history was interesting. I would recommend the book with the caveat that it falls just short of being great. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

  When the 7-year-old soon-to-be nephew of TV show producer Laurie Moran goes missing the families and police (including Laurie's) father manage to come up with several reasons the little boy could have been kidnapped, and several suspects who could have done the deed. While pursuing one of the leads related to Laurie's father they uncover more than they ever expected, which may help clear the father's name in a case in which a convict has accused him of lying about a confession. The story includes many twists and turns, even after the kidnapper's identity is revealed. It's been a long time since I read a book that I just couldn't put down, and it sure felt good. Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke made such a good team on the Under Suspicion series. It's sad to think they can't work together anymore. But we still have Alafair.

  This is a quick read with interesting, likable and quirky characters in a fun setting. The main character, Lana Lewis, is funny and relatable. The mystery of the murder of a barista at a popular coffee shop kept me guessing right up until the killer was revealed. Grounds for Murder would be a good beach read. The next two books in the series will be going onto my to-read list.

  This book is as close to perfect as they come. I've been reading a lot of World War II-era fiction lately and Until We Meet is, by far, the best. The characters are so well-developed that I grew to love them all -- even with their faults and missteps. I felt their pain and joy and every other emotion right along with them. The suspenseful part of the story -- which goes through about 2/3 of the book -- kept me turning pages and hoping that it turned out the way I wanted it to. And, although I'm not a big romance fan, this one was intriguing as it was all through letters between a soldier and a girl he'd never met in person. The suspenseful part was that he was keeping some secrets from her that could change everything. When I tell you I cried almost all the way through the last 20 pages I am not going to tell you if they were happy or sad tears. Read it for yourself. You won't regret it. I ...

  I love when I think I have the mystery all figured out and then learn that I don't. Not only was I wrong about who the killer was, there were several twists that I did not see coming. The main character, Eve, is fairly likable. I'm chalking up the qualities I don't like to the trauma she suffered in the beginning of the book. I assume we'll be seeing her in future New Orleans books, but I don't want to say why because I'd be giving something away. Part of the reason I like the book so much is that one of the major themes is mental health and mental health treatment, and how far the medical community has advanced in the last several decades. Although it is still hard to believe some of the cruel and inhumane practices of the past were not all that far in the past. Absolute Fear is a thrilling page-turner from beginning to end with plenty of Oh-my-gosh moments.

  Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite authors so it pains me to say I didn't like this book and found it tedious and annoying at times. The story started out interesting ... as a family is driving home one of the family members is shot and killed and the rest of the family is put into the witness protection program. But then it gets boring with way too much about the mourning and how unfair the whole situation is. And let's not even get into the excruciating detail in which she describes everything from the house to putting away groceries. As I said, I like the author, so I'm not saying this to be mean, but she must have gotten paid for product placement. I don't remember so many brand names being mentioned unnecessarily in any book I've ever read. I found the first half of the book, simply, boring, but stuck with it because Scottoline has never disappointed me before. As the second half started I had high hopes but then it just got stupid. The twist...

 It was good but not as good as I wanted it to be. The characters were developed fairly well but the story dragged until the last couple of chapters when everything seemed rushed. The ending of the book was OK, although the reveal about the big mysteries left me unsatisfied.  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

  The '60s Diary is a coming of age story with a twist: 70-year-old Rose is reading the diary she started when she was 10-year-old Rosie. The story alternates between Rosie's diary entries and Rose's comments on them. Because, obviously, Rose knows what's coming next she also comments on that and occasionally wishes she could warn Rosie or give her advice on what's ahead for her. The story centers on Rosie and her boyfriend Bobby, who she met in grade school after he moved from California. It includes everything you would expect from a first-love story, and a little bit more, but the author tells it so beautifully it doesn't seem old or trite. Readers know very early on that Rosie and Bobby don't end up together, but we don't know why until a bit later. The events leading up to that “why” aren't explained until the last part of the book. We also learn about Rosie's mother, a stay-at-home mom who wanted to be a teacher, but married yo...

It took me a while to get into this book (I even set it aside for a couple of months) but once I got past the first 75 or so pages, I was hooked. Billy Summers is a gun-for-hire who only kills bad people who deserve to be killed, and has just been hired for what he decides will be his last job. The glaring foreshadowing lets us know that something will go wrong, but it is a Stephen King book so we already know it's not going to be all rainbows and roses. While Billy is waiting for his target to be extradited his cover is as an author working on a new book. As he's writing his life story he realizes that he actually is a good story-teller and may want to pursue it further. Also while he's waiting, he creates another persona in case he needs a backup plan after the hit. Spoiler alert: He does. Billy also develops relationships with the neighbors in both of his temporary homes as both of his aliases. As these relationships develop it's interesting to think about h...

  This wasn't my favorite Alex Cross book in the series, but I still liked it a lot. The first two-thirds were OK, but the last third was very exciting, although it read more like C.J. Box than James Patterson. (That's not a bad thing, by the way.) The elusive and mysterious M makes another appearance. Add to that the murders of government officials involved in a Mexican drug cartel, and Alex's wife in a dangerous situation in Paris, and you've got non-stop action from start to finish. One of the best parts of Fear No Evil, or any other Alex Cross book, is Alex's family. (Sampson and his daughter Willow have some touching moments as well.) It's been interesting watching Damon, Jannie and Ali grow and mature, albeit very slowly, over the last 29 years. (Unlike C.J. Box, whose Joe Pickett characters age with each book.) I hope Nana Mama stays "ninety-something" for years to come, though. As I've been writing this, I've been trying t...

  I started this book after seeing a suggestion on my library's Facebook page. All I knew about it was one of the characters is a librarian. After listening to it, I understand why the post couldn't divulge much more than that. The Good Sister has so many interesting twists and turns I wasn't even sure until the very end what the true story was about the events that transpired. That's a good thing. The story centers on a set of twins who are as different as night and day. Several events from their childhood are brought to light in flashbacks, although they "remember" the events quite differently. As adults, one of the sisters learns she can't get pregnant. The other decides she will carry a baby for her twin to repay her for everything she did for her when they were growing up. Some of the most poignant scenes involve the birth mother and how she feels about the baby. Even before I knew which wa...

  The story alternates between a young woman's current life as a struggling photographer and her past life as a born-in-captivity little girl and hostage, who escaped when she was 7-years-old. Marissa/Claire is just starting to get her together when a series of murders in Portland, Oregon, make her think the killer is trying to make it look as if she committed the crimes. The killer leaves her clues about the next murders and, at the scene, leaves reminders of her childhood. She gets access to the scenes because she is working as a part-time photographer with a local newspaper. Through her job, she meets a reporter who wants to mentor her, but that relationship runs into some problems. She is also telling her story to a writer who wants to release his book in conjunction with Marissa's captor's release from prison after 20 years. We meet Marissa's mother Rosemary, sister Lily and half-sister Janessa, who were also captives in Chet's basement, and learn what they...

  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 ...

  There's so little written about Italy during World War II. After reading so many stories -- especially from France -- I needed to learn more about what happened in Italy. (I know my grandmother would want that. I remember her telling me about leaving Italy when Mussolini was just starting to gain power. Tears welled in eyes when she talked about King Victor Emmanuel. "He was a good king," she said.) Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the true, but fictionalized, story of Pino Lella, a teenager from Milan who becomes a hero -- whether he wants to believe that or not. He helps Jews escape Italy and get to Switzerland and later becomes a spy for the Allies. He also meets Mussolini and his mistress several times, as well as some other well-known historical figures. He also deeply experiences love and loss, along with terror, anger, disgust and just about every other emotion you can imagine when thinking about Nazis and Fascists. The joy he feels at the end of the war -- and partying ...

  This reads more like a novel than a work of non-fiction and kept me turning the pages to see what exciting adventure Aline would be involved in next. Aline Griffith was a small-town girl who wanted to be part of war (WWII) effort, just like her brothers and other young men. She said she was just as patriotic as they were and didn't want to be relegated to the roles women had been forced to play. She was eventually recruited to be a spy in Spain for one of the pre-cursors to the CIA. There, she met famous bullfighters (and even got in the ring once herself), royalty, celebrities, famous designers and jewelers, and some people high up in the Nazi party. She became a valuable asset because she could fit in to all social situations and make her targets feel comfortable. But there was quite a bit of danger involved and she often thought people were following her or that her cover had been blown. One of the people she meets is Luis, with whom she has an on-and-off relationship for a co...

  This book popped up on Facebook as available at Audible so I thought I'd give it a try, as I like a good mystery as a bedtime story. I'm glad I did. The story starts with Major Heathcliff Lennox discovering a dead body on his doorstep and a piece of paper with a woman's name on it in his pocket. He's trying to figure out the mysteries involved in this as he goes to his uncle's home to celebrate Christmas. While there he learns his uncle is engaged to the woman whose name the dead man was carrying. Not long after that, she's killed. Lennox then tries to tie all of this together and solve the mysteries, and quickly, because he realizes all the evidence points to him. This was an enjoyable listen -- with lots of humor as well as mystery and suspense -- and I fell in love with Lennox. And his dog.

  Game Warden Joe Pickett is tasked with guiding social media mogul Steve-2 Price on an elk hunting trip in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. Little do they know, Steve-2 is being hunted even before the trip begins. Joe and Steve are left with no way to communicate with the world off the mountain, with no weapons, transportation, food, shelter, or anything they brought with them for the trip. As they are being tracked by the three men who believe Steve-2 has done their family wrong, they must also fight the weather, the terrain, and even a couple of wolverines.  While all of this is going on, Joe's friend (and his oldest daughter's boss) Nate Romanowski is trying to find out who is poaching falcons, and why.  Dark Sky will remind you of all the reasons you love Joe Pickett, and make you love him even more. I'll be interested to find out if the ending of the book is leading to a stand alone Nate Romanowski book. I'd love that. Interview with C.J. Box coming soon.

Every time I read a book about World War II I learned something new, and am reminded of the atrocities most of us born post-war cannot even fathom. The story is told from three points of view: Vera, a woman who must leave occupied France and decided to leave her daughter with her governess to keep her safe; Lucie, her daughter, who was four-years-old when her parents left; and Sasha, a Hollywood writer and director who enlists in the army the day Pearl Harbor is bombed, who has parent issues of his own, and connects with Vera. Most of the story is about Vera wondering if Lucie is alive and safe, and hoping she can be reunited with her someday, as well as the new life she is building for herself after escaping Europe. One of the things about World War II that I hadn't thought much about was the displaced children, some of whom were never reunited with their families. Whether they were Jewish or parents of Resistance fighters or any number of other reasons they had to be hidden and g...

The Sanatorium has everything a good psychological thriller needs and then some. At one point or another throughout most of the book I thought every one of the main characters -- except the police detective -- was the killer. The book is set in an old tuberculous sanatorium turned into a luxury hotel high in the Swiss Alps. Elin, the detective, and her boyfriend are there celebrating her brother's engagement when his fiancé disappears.. Because of a snowstorm, several guests and a number of staff members are trapped in the building, and no one can get to them, so Elin offers to work with the local police by phone to work the crime -- and others to follow. Besides jurisdictional issues -- Elin is from the UK -- there are emotional issues for her. She's been on leave from her department for about year because of something that happened in her last case. She also has issues with her brother and flashbacks about another brother who died years ago. I don't want to give away too ...

  Frankie Elkin is on a mission. Several, actually. She wants to find a missing teenager while staying sober and dealing with demons from her past. Lisa Gardner brings Frankie to life in "Before She Disappeared" and, despite her flaws -- or maybe because of them -- I couldn't help but fall in love with her. The main focus of the story is Frankie searching for Haitian immigrant Angelique Badeau who disappeared after school 11 months earlier. The police don't want her interfering, but she does manage to get close to one of the detectives who gives her more information that he knows he should. Angelique's family is skeptical at first, too, but they soon warm up to her, and start depending on her, especially when her brother discovers some clues to his sister's whereabouts. When Frankie connects another girl's disappearance to Angelique's an already confusing set of circumstances becomes even more confusing for the people trying to put all the pieces toget...