Judgement in Death

Book 43 in my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 16 - 21

Judgement in Death by J.D. Robb

Book 11 of the In Death series

Summary (via Goodreads)

In an uptown strip joint, a cop is found bludgeoned to death. The weapon's a baseball bat. The motive's a mystery. It's a case of serious overkill that pushes Eve Dallas straight into overdrive. Her investigation uncovers a private club that's more than a hot spot. Purgatory's a last chance for atonement where everyone is judged. Where your ultimate fate depends on your most intimate sins. And where one cop's hidden secrets are about to plunge innocent souls into vice-ridden damnation...

My Opinion

This one didn't move as fast for me.  The clue crumbs were dropping a little slower than usual and I was losing interest.

Not every book in the series will be a winner so I'm ready to move past this one and on to the next.

Quote from the Book

Normally I would list a few quotes here that I've jotted down as I read but this is one of the rare times that I finished the book with zero notations, other than a negative one.  Dallas, worried she'd messed up a business deal for Roarke, asked him, "Did I queer this Green Space deal for you?"  What a horrible phrase, especially for a book set in the future. 

Every Fifteen Minutes

Book 42 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 14 - 16

Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

Summary (via the book jacket)

Dr. Eric Parrish, a brilliant and caring psychiatrist who is chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital, has been unknowingly targeted by a sociopath. Eric already has his hands full: He has recently separated from his wife and is trying his best to be a single dad to his seven-year-old daughter, Hannah. Plus, his practice faces a new challenge in the form of a troubled teenage boy who harbors an obsessive crush on a girl.

Because of secrets that the boy divulges in his therapy sessions, Eric grows concerned for the girl's safety and finds himself embroiled in the dilemma that every psychiatrist dreads - the Tarasoff issue; that is, whether to report a potentially dangerous patient to the authorities.

Just as Eric reaches his decision, the unimaginable happens, and the game is on. The clock begins ticking, and the most worthy adversary Eric has ever encountered is about to make sure things go from bad to worse. Eric finds himself plunged into a professional and personal maelstrom at the hands of a sociopath bent on destroying his practice, his family, and his life. 

Can Eric match wits with a sociopath? How can he defend himself against an enemy he doesn't know? Can you ever win a game you don't even know you're playing?

My Opinion

I have a confession...I almost had to stop reading because it was triggering my anxiety.  To get some relief, I gave in about halfway through and skipped to the end to find out the resolution.  Once I knew that, I was able to go back and read the rest of the book to find out how they got there.

I liked Eric, both as a psychiatrist and as a realistic character but as I mentioned above, his anxiety and personal life agitated me so much I had to take breaks while reading.  And before knowing anything, I made a complete snap judgement that someone with the name Max Jakubowski would be sullen and worrisome; it just had that kind of connotation for me.

For my own curiosity, I researched the Hare test and there are a few people in my life I would be very interested in giving it to (although do I really want to know if someone is a psychopath?  Maybe not.).

A Few Quotes from the Book

"I role-play every day in real life, so I'm very good at gaming.

 I'm always a step ahead, maybe two.

 I plan everything. I set everyone in motion, and when the moment comes, I strike.

 I always win in the end.

 They never see me coming.

 Know why?

 Because I'm already there."

"Eric could feel a lecture coming on. He'd observed that doctors in hospitals tended to become their specialty. He'd become more cerebral as a psychiatrist, but Laurie had morphed into an emergency room doctor to the max. She went right for the wound, exposed it, and flushed it out, no matter how much it hurt."

" "So you're standing here, like, you're going to save me?"

  "No, I'm standing here as a placeholder. Do you know what that means?"

  "No."

  "It means I'm holding your place, until you are ready to stand for yourself. You don't need me to save you. I can help you, and you can save yourself...That's my job, to get you over the times when you believe there aren't any alternatives, to help you through the time you don't have any hope. To make you know that you can be happy again, and that you will be." "

The Secrets of Midwives

Book 41 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read on July 14

The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth

Summary (via the book jacket)

Neva Bradley, a third-generation midwife, is determined to keep the details surrounding her own pregnancy - including the identity of the baby's father - hidden from her family and coworkers for as long as possible. Her mother, Grace, finds it unbearable to let this secret rest. The more Grace prods, the tighter Neva holds to her story, and the more the lifelong differences between private, quiet Neva and open, gregarious Grace strain their relationship. For Floss, Neva's grandmother and a retired midwife, Neva's situation thrust her back sixty years in time to a secret that eerily mirrors her granddaughter's - one which, if revealed, will have life-changing consequences for them all. As Neva's pregnancy progresses and speculation makes it harder and harder to conceal the truth, Floss wonders if hiding her own truth is ultimately more harmful than telling it. Will these women reveal their secrets and deal with the inevitable consequences? Or are some secrets best kept hidden?

My Opinion

I read this book in one sitting.  It reminds me of a Hallmark movie because you just have that feeling that it's not going to get too out of hand and everything will resolve and be okay by the end.

I have a low tolerance for stories where I'm waiting for the characters to catch up or things could be resolved earlier if they would just TALK to each other.  But even though I guessed the secrets pretty early on, I didn't mind because it became about how the characters struggled with their choices and the weight of those secrets.

The characters acted pretty realistically.  I REALLY couldn't handle Grace in the beginning (at first I was concerned the soapbox she was on about home births vs. hospitals would be a theme of the book but it turns out to just be her character and it fits her) but she grew on me.  The ending was melodramatic and I spent way too much time trying to figure something out math-wise before deciding to just go with it, but it was a good resolution for the story. 

Overall, a fine way to spend a few hours but not something that will stick with me. 

A Few Quotes from the Book

"It was all starting to close in on me. And I got the feeling it was only a matter of time before my secret came out."

"I was right, I realized. When I reassured mothers that it didn't matter how the baby came out, I was right. Right now, I didn't care if this baby had been beamed down from outer space. The special moment had happened. She was mine. And I was hers."

"When something is forced upon you, you have no choice but to deal with it. The uncertainty - the not knowing - was much worse."

Witness in Death

Book 40 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 9 - 13

Witness in Death by J.D. Robb

Book 10 of the In Death series

Summary (via the book jacket)

Opening night at New York's New Globe Theater turns from stage scene to crime scene when the leading man is stabbed to death right on center stage. Now Eve Dallas has a high-profile celebrity homicide on her hands. Not only is she lead detective, she's also a witness - and when the press discovers that her husband owns the theater, there's more media spotlight than either can handle. The only way out is to move fast. Question everyone and everything...and in the meantime, try to tell the difference between the truth - and really good acting...

My Opinion

I've said it before but after reading this, I may have a new favorite in the series.  It was a change of pace from past cases because even though this is set in the future with advanced technology, the crimes and methods of solving them would be plausible today.

I love the way Eve and Roarke's relationship is developing.  They have a great dynamic and the love scenes as well as their characters are deepening because of it.  It's almost like a tv series; the plot/mystery of each book is important but watching the development of the characters (not just Eve and Roarke but those around them as well) brings me back as well.  I think Summerset is underused and hope he shows up more in future books.

I always read books in order but it's necessary in this series to get the full experience.  These books have become a reliable source of an enjoyable few hours and I look forward to continuing.

Quote from the Book

"There was always an audience for murder.

  Whether it took its form in horror or glee, in dark humor or quiet grief, mankind's fascination with the ultimate crime made it a ripe subject for exploration in fact and in fiction."

We All Looked Up

Book 39 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 7 - 9

We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Summary (via Goodreads)

Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels:
The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever. 

But then we all looked up and everything changed. 

They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we'd been, something that would last even after the end. 
Two months to really live.

My Opinion

Setting it in current time, with Obama as the president instead of a fictional character, added to the intriguing concept of this book.  This could actually happen.

Unfortunately, the execution didn't match the potential of the concept for me.  It was pretty heavy on the cliches as we ran through the intros; I felt like I was reading the screenplay of an 80's movie.  There was a death that felt unnecessary, and I didn't like the ending (no spoilers here). 

A Few Quotes from the Book

"People talked about their days being numbered, but really, everything was numbered. Every movie you watched was the last time you'd watch that movie, or the second-to-last time, or the third-to-last. Every kiss was one kiss closer to your last kiss.

  It was a truly terrifying lens through which to see the increasingly terrifying world."

"Well, a lot of people in the world have just started thinking that they don't have anything left to lose, and it's our job to protect you from them. I don't want to scare you, but history tells us that whenever there's panic, there's death. It's the way of the world."

Vanishing Girls

Book 38 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 3 - 7

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Summary (via the book jacket)

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before - before Dara kissed Parker, before Nick lost him as her best friend, before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred. Now the two sisters, who used to be so close, aren't speaking. In an instant, Nick lost everything and is determined to use the summer to get it all back.

But Dara has other plans. When she vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl has vanished too - nine-year-old Madeline Snow - and as Nick pursues her sister, she becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances may be linked.

My Opinion

The pages turned quickly, the author is great at building tension, and I was genuinely surprised by the ending which doesn't happen often in a YA novel.

Things that bothered me as I was reading were explained/resolved by the end - I can't say more about that due to spoilers.  But the ending had issues of its own - I can't say more about that due to spoilers.

Looking at the experience as a whole, this was a solid read that I was really into while reading but some issues make me say it was good, not great, after finishing and reflecting on it.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"That's the thing about Dara and me: we're both similar and worlds apart. Like the sun and the moon, or a starfish and a star: related, sure, but at the same time totally and completely different. And Dara's always doing the one shining."

"Don't ask me how I know. I just do. If you don't understand that, I guess you've never had a sister."

Unabrow

Book 37 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from July 2 - 6

Unabrow: Misadventures of a Late Bloomer by Una LaMarche

Summary (via the book jacket)

As a girl, Una LaMarche was as smart as she was awkward. She was blessed with a precocious intellect, a love of all things pop culture, and eyebrows bushier than Frida Kahlo's. Adversity made her stronger...and funnier. In Unabrow, Una shares the cringe-inducing lessons she's learned from a life as a late bloomer, including the seven deadly sins of DIY bangs, how not to make your own jorts, and how to handle pregnancy, plucking, and the rites of passage during which your own body is your worst enemy.

My Opinion

This is one of those books that I have to rate solely on my personal reaction to it.  You either connect with it or you don't.  I absolutely did.  Some of the essays fell a little flat for me (a word of caution - the story in the introduction isn't an indication of the rest of the book, thankfully) but for the enjoyment the ones I loved gave me, I rated it 5 stars.  

Books about awkward experiences seem to be the new thing and what made this stand out for me is that she was able to find a balance between the outlandish and the deep while still maintaining the funny.  Here's how the layout of the book went in my head..."Hey, here's my crazy side!  Are you still around?  Okay, now let's get serious".  

I'm sure it had a lot to do with the fact that we are around the same age so I understood and related to all her culture references, mainly early to mid 90's stuff.  I also liked that she was able to talk about the frustrations of marriage and parenting while still keeping the underlying tone that she actually likes her husband and son.  

Some examples: describing an emotional state as "umbrella Britney", or puberty as when "your body has up and Scooby Doo'd you, pulling off its kindly mask to reveal a villainous wretch", or when she adds "By way of a disclaimer, I'm not wearing what would pass in most circles for pants as I type this advice, so you might want to consider that TMI nugget your official grain of salt".  

So yes, I loved it but again and as always, this is a highly subjective rating so I'm not recommending everyone run out and buy it.  To be perfectly honest, the disclaimer I mentioned above also applies to this review...probably another reason I enjoyed the book.  Anyone who hates pants is a-ok with me.  But if the quotes sound good, give this quick read a shot; you won't be disappointed. 

A Few Quotes from the Book

"Given that my first crush was a mythical creature hybrid of Garrison Keillor and Ted Danson, you won't be surprised to learn that I was a late bloomer."

"I still didn't get invited to parties and spent my senior year infatuated with a classmate who would later turn out to be gay. Anna, meanwhile, began an intense phone relationship with an older guy based on his belief that she was someone else. It was pretty much par for our course."

"If you ever find yourself being treated in a hospital staffed only by ethereally beautiful doctors and nurses who have questionable medical ethics and obvious sexual chemistry with each other, rip out your IV and crawl to the nearest free clinic, because chances are four hundred percent that at some point in the near future, a large aircraft / special needs school bus / cruise ship carrying both explosives and zoo animals will crash into the waiting room, killing you but sparing the bi-curious anesthesiologist with a pending international adoption."

"Sleep is to the rest of your life what sex was to your twenties: you talk about it much more than you do it, and your roommates present a considerable obstacle."