Review: The Steel Kiss

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the most deliciously twisty story I’ve read in quite some time.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are back trying to solve the case of “The People’s Guardian,” who writes to newspapers after his crimes denouncing commercialism and the people he calls the “Shoppers.” (You will love why he gave them that name! It’s actually a big “Ah ha!” moment.)

The first crime involves a death on an escalator. We also see what he does with ovens -- microwave and conventional – cars, and even a baby monitor.

We also get the story of Sachs’ old boyfriend ex-cop Nick Carelli, who has been released from prison and asks for Amelia’s help in clearing his name. Also, Officer Ron Pulaski is going undercover – and off the clock – trying to prove that the reason Rhyme quit working for the police department wasn’t what it seemed. His quitting, though, led to his meeting Juliette Archer who he has made his intern and who brings a new aspect to the Rhyme/Sachs series.

This book is so fast-paced and exhilarating you might wonder if you had an extra shot of caffeine before you picked it up. You won’t be able to read or turn the pages fast enough.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in preparation for an interview with the author.


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Review: The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Because of all the hype, I expected this book to blow me away. It didn’t, but I did like it a lot.
There is a murder, and I don’t know if I was supposed to figure out so quickly who did it but even knowing (or thinking I knew) didn’t diminish my enjoyment.

Rachel – who is “The Girl on the Train” – is the primary narrator and she is a total mess. She’s an alcoholic who lost her husband and job and is about to lose the place where she’s currently living. She also tends to lose memories when she drinks. This becomes an even bigger problem when Megan is murdered. Rachel thinks she might have witnessed something that could help solve the crime, but the memories she does have come back very slowly.

The murdered woman – Megan – is one of the other narrators. The other – Anna – is Rachel’s ex-husband’s current wife and Megan’s neighbor. All three of them are unreliable, by the way.

While Rachel rides the train from suburbia to London every morning she passes by the backs of the house where she used to live with her husband, where he still lives with Anna and their baby: as well as the home of Megan and her husband, Scott. Because Rachel doesn’t actually know Megan and Scott she makes up names – and Jess and Jason – and stories for them, making them the perfect couple. Later, through Megan’s telling of her story, and through Rachel’s new “friendship” with Scott, we learn that isn’t even close to being true.

Anna’s story is basically talking about how Rachel seems to be stalking her and Tom (the husband) and their baby, Evie. She also talks about Rachel’s drinking and how she has let herself go since she and Tom got married. Several times, when she thinks Rachel may be trying to get Tom back, she says something along the lines of “Why would he go back to that when he has this?”

As I said, I figured out fairly early in the story who killed Megan, but there are several fun and twisting twists on the way to the conclusion.

Although it’s not what I expected but it’s a good rainy weekend read, and actually a very good character study about alcoholics and the effects they have on just about everyone around them.


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Off the Grid By C.J. Box

Off the Grid is the best Joe Pickett story yet.

How can you not like a story where nothing less than the future of the country as we know it – and possibly the world – is at stake? Oh, and there’s an 800-pound grizzly bear, too.

Joe and his buddy Nate Romanowski don’t even realize they are both in Wyoming’s Red Desert until their missions start to overlap, but when they do finally get together their camaraderie is magic, as usual.

I wish I could tell you more of the story, but I don’t want to give away anything because the discovery is a big part of the fun – and scariness – of this book.

Something I like about the Joe Pickett books is that the characters age in “real time.” You know how, in some series’, a character is 5-years-old in the first book and, 20 years later, she’s only in junior high school? Annoying when I think about it. But the Pickett stories aren’t like that. And if you thought Sheridan was an interesting teenager, wait until you see what the 22-year-old gets herself into.

One character I hope Box brings back is the newspaper editor. Not because I like him, but because I really, really dislike him. He’s not a fan of libraries for goodness sake!

And, there’s the cliffhanger. I’m ready for the next one already!

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#Bonas Payne Talks About New Book, 'Crash!,' Importance of Thinking About History

A new book by St. Bonaventure University history professor Phillip Payne, Ph.D., frames the story of the 1929 stock market crash within the booming New Era economy of the 1920s and the bust of the Great Depression.

“Crash! How the Economic Boom and Bust of the 1920s Worked” was released by Johns Hopkins University Press in December.

The book by Payne, chair of the Department of History, discusses the topic of speculation in economics, specifically explaining the 1929 stock market crash.

Payne said the idea for the book originated when he was talking to an editor at an American History Association meeting about the launch of a new series called “How Things Worked.” The meeting was shortly after the stock market crash in 2008, and Payne said his students were shocked so he talked about it in his classes.

The book is intended for an undergraduate audience and aims to make complicated stories understandable, according to Payne.

“A lot of effort went into making this book accessible, a book you can pick up and read without a deep knowledge of economics or politics,” Payne said.

Kevin Sidoran, a senior biochemistry major, is in Payne’s “United States History since 1865” class this semester.

“Dr. Payne is a storyteller,” Sidoran said. “He is able to segue almost any discussion or side comment, however irrelevant, to what we are covering in lecture, and he always pulls in little tidbits of background info to make the larger ideas more tangible and coherent.”

Payne said he noticed many students are not interested in the topic of speculation in stock market crashes, but that it has real impact on their lives.

In the 19th century, bankers were just about the only ones following the stock market, according to Payne, but now the stock market is increasingly part of the economy.

Payne said he tells young people they need to think about history, especially in the turbulence of the modern economy, where people move from job to job.

A major takeaway from the book, according to Payne, is that to get to that level of speculation, to get to where the economy gets blown up, people have to forget it happened before and convince themselves the current time is different.

“In 1929, they convinced themselves the stock market was a money making machine and it was never going to crash,” Payne said. “In 2008 they convinced themselves of this again.”

Payne said we are still dealing with many of the issues discussed in his book in the current presidential election, such as fallout from the 2008 crash and transitions taking place in the economy with technology and globalization.

In addition to Payne’s interest in economic history, his areas of research include Warren G. Harding and exploring how popular culture is shaped by politics and vice versa. He is the author of “Dead Last: The Public Memory of Warren G. Harding’s Scandalous Legacy,” released by Ohio University Press in 2009.

Learn more about Payne and the history department via the blog bonashistorydept.blogspot.com.

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The Good Girl By Mary Kubica

Before I start the actual review, I’d like to say I think it’s about time every good, psychological thriller stop being compared to “Gone Girl.”

With that said, I really liked this book and was blown away by the ending, which answered – perfectly – one gnawing question I had starting about halfway through the book.

The story is told in present day, and in flashbacks, by Eve Dennett, mother of 25-year-old kidnap victim Mia Dennett; Gabe Hoffman, the detective assigned to the case; and Colin Thatcher, the kidnapper. Throughout the book we get various perspectives on the lives of the narrators, as well as Mia, her sister Grace, their father Judge Dennett, and Colin’s mother.

As you get closer to the end you might wonder, as I did, how the author was going to wrap everything up in just the few pages that are left. She manages to do it in a way that I didn’t see coming until the last few pages.

After I read the book I quite a few bad reviews from people who absolutely hated this book. I don’t understand that at all. I was totally immersed in the story and find myself making up stories about what happened to the characters after the end of the book.

I am looking forward to reading Mary Kubica’s next two books.

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Out of the Blues By Trudy Nan Boyce

Do you like D.D. Warren, Amelia Sachs and Stephanie Plum? Then you’re sure to like Sarah Alt, better known to her colleagues in the Atlanta Police Department as “Salt.”

Trudy Nan Boyce has created a truly original female detective who is tough on the job, but extremely vulnerable – and a bit damaged – and totally likable.

Boyce, a veteran police officer herself, delves into all the juicy details of the crimes Salt is investigating during the first days after her promotion to detective in the homicide unit, and her description of the different neighborhoods and settings in and around Atlanta is stellar.

Just as Salt is getting settled in as a homicide detective, she’s put on a case that had been considered an accidental overdose by a blues singer. Now they have evidence that it may have been murder.

As Salt gets closer to the truth, she also learns that this crime could be tied to others. The supporting characters are just as interesting and well-drawn as Salt. You’ll love Rosie the receptionist, but I won’t say why. Sergeant – “Don’t call me ‘Sarge’”—Huff is quirky and funny. And Wonder, Salt’s dog, is so cute!

After you read “Out of the Blues,” I’m sure you’ll put Trudy Nan Boyce on your must-read list, too.

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