Books Read, 2017

1.     The World Beneath (Joe Tesla #1) - Rebecca Cantrell

2.     A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

3.     Norwegian by Night - Derek B. Miller

4.     Deep Blue - Alan Judd

5.     Below the Belt (Stone Barrington #40) - Stuart Woods

6.     The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto - Mitch Albom

7.     The Man From Berlin (Gregor Reinhardt #1) - Luke McCallin

8.     One Man’s Flag (Jack McColl #2) - David Downing

9.     The Traitor’s Wife - Allison Pataki

10. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk - Kathleen Rooney

11. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jami Ford

12. Fast and Loose (Stone Barrington #41)  - Stuart Woods

13. We Never Asked for Wings - Vanessa Diffenbaugh

14. Prussian Blue (Bernie Gunther, #12) - Kerr, Philip

15. Golden Prey (Lucas Davenport #27) - John Sandford

16. Nighthawk (NUMA Files, #14) - Clive Cussler

17. The Tea Planter's Wife- Dinah Jefferies

18. Indecent Exposure (Stone Barrington #42) - Stuart Woods

19. Nutshell - Ian McEwan

20.  House of Spies (Gabriel Allon #17) - Daniel Silva

21. Barely Legal (Herbie Fisher #1)  - Stuart Woods

22. Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

23. The Late Show - Michael Connelly (Renée Ballard, #1)

24. The Martian Ambassador - Alan K. Baker

25. Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders (unfinished)

26. The Cuban Affair - Nelson DeMille

27. The Extra - A.B. Yehoshua

28. Commonwealth - Ann Patchett

29. Enchanted Islands - Allison Amend

30. The Romanov Ransom - Clive Cussler

31. Everyone Brave is Forgiven - Chris Cleave

32. Waking Lions - Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

33. Quick and Dirty - Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington #43)

34. Secrets of a Charmed Life - Susan Meissner

 

Favorites were A Gentleman In Moscow and Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book club book that I wanted to love. The story was interesting and engaging but I was somewhat unconvinced. A bit far fetched and stretched. Characters were interesting and seemed full and rich but I had a little trouble buying the story.
What I did like was seeing the lives of children who were removed from their homes. The image of London devoid of children gave to me another dimension to the blitz. Thanks Susan, as I write this review I'm going to add a star for what I learned about the blitz from a new angle.
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Quick & Dirty by Stuart Woods
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stuart Woods always pleases me. His stories are fast paced and inventive. The characters are a mixture of old favorites and new faces. The plot is intricate, fanciful and fun. I love this guy. He might be my favorite author.

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Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another book club book. Hard to read, uncomfortable story. I guess it takes me out of my comfort zone and exposes several human frailties that we may all have and not know how to deal with. What if we were faced with a life changing event and choose to lie and cheat to stay out of trouble.
Honesty may or may not be the easy way out and the punishment might be extreme. Quite a powerful examination of ethics from an odd point of view.

Hated reading it but I'm glad that I did. The book club discussion was stimulating and cast a whole new light on the book. That's what a discussion is for, right?

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Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wanted to love this book. Its my kind of story and it is set in a time I like to read about. In the end I fell in love with it but the courtship was a little long. Don't take the story lightly, its about war and the things it does to those who live through it. Its clear that the Blitz was war and the people of London were among the soldiers and they suffered beyond our imagination. This is the backdrop for an unlikely look at Britain and British society before and during the war and a complicated love story.
I found the writing beautiful and the characters, for the most part, rich and complex. The conflicts are remarkably clear but often unstated. I guess the author considers us smart enough to figure things out. The resolutions are also complex and leave one to think about what it must have been like during those harrowing three years. I also wonder how people managed to put their lives back in place.... but they did.




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The Romanov Ransom by Clive Cussler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clive Cussler is consistently fun to read. Not sure I was ever surprised with this plot but the action is non-stop and covers the globe. The story is somewhat formulaic in that the same characters and essentially the same plot line continues from book to book. This series might have run its course for me. With so many books to read I might look to other series.

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Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just loved it. It seems to be a book with a bit of everything. A remarkable story told beautifully by a master writer. Ms. Amend grabs you and pulls you into an unlikely and unbelievable story. In some ways it reminds us that people make the story and interesting people make interesting stories. A few characters that are fully developed and completely believable. Should be because they are based on real people. Weirdest WWII story I've read but also gave a fascinating look at how people really behave.

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Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another book club selection that I loved. The story is beautiful and well crafted. No spoilers here but she is a magnificent writer with wonderful imagination and a real understanding of people and their problems.
Her characters are so real I feel like I actually know them. As in real life, some people are deep and challenging to know and others are thin, transparent and easily disregarded. So are the characters in this wonderfully conceived book. I highly recommend it.

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The Extra by A.B. Yehoshua
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting book. When I read a book that is a translation I often wonder if some of the magic of the writing is from the translator or the author. Either way Yehoshua weaves an enticing and engrossing story of a complex person with an equally complex family and past. The past, present and music are woven into a great book.
One should read it without spoilers. For those who have traveled to Israel, you might see familiar places through new eyes. This is in the end a book about people and the forces that shape who they are and who they become.


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The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, this is the definition of a page turner. I must say that having taken a trip to Cuba of the sort that is depicted in the book made it come alive for me. He describes it beautifully. That was the hotel we stayed in and some of the excursions that our group took.
All in all, a great story well told. This is an example of great writing. I laughed out loud and the twists and turns often left me wondering what might happen next. I was often wrong. I mean this guy can tell a story. Can't wait for "Mac" to come back in another story.

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The Martian Ambassador by Alan K. Baker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That was an odd book, but good. Interesting premise in the late 1800's the human race and the Martians make contact. The world is just slightly different than our history and makes for a fascinating story told in an old style that is charming and quite honestly, engrossing. The adventure is a bit far fetched but still fun to read and the book has a wonderful allusion to climate science. If we ruin this world, do we have one to go to? That is the dilemma faced by one group in this story.

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The Late Show by Michael Connelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, this is a great story, well written and edge of your seat scary at times. I love Renee, Michael Connelly's new character. She is smart, very smart, a little conflicted and just as real as anyone can imagine. No spoilers here but this is a great read. The story is complex and takes some interesting turns. I enjoyed it, could not put it down. Michael, you've got a new fan.

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