A mother and young son are exploring the zoo as they often do most late afternoons. Suddenly gunshots and screams fill the air and Joan turns into a tiger mom whose only thought is to protect her son. As they run into a more remote area of the zoo, four year old Lincoln thinks they are playing hide and seek but then the game turns into a run for their lives as gunmen roam the grounds taking out anything and anyone that moves. The story shows ordinary people put into an extraordinary situation and makes for one heck of a thrill ride. It starts off with a bang (pardon the pun) and never slows down for a second.
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What does it take to keep a marriage healthy? Alice and Jake are newlyweds when they are asked to join "the Pact", a social group that promotes and facilitates strong marriages. What's not to love about that? At first they believe that this will help strengthen their relationship but then things start to heat up. What once seems like a fun support group has turned into a scene from the Stepford Wives. Minor infractions like not answering your spouse's phone call right away is met with punishment while larger infractions are met with being whisked away for re-education. The pace moves in time with the escalating infractions and obstacles the couple face becoming more frantic with each page . Scary in its concept, subtle in execution this is one marriage therapy program you don't want to skip.
Janey is the CEO of a successful bridal gown company but she is (gasp!)human and caught on camera munching. Her best friend and business partner forces her to take a leave of absence and go slim down or don't come back. I was surprised that this take charge woman would crawl away in the dark and go along with this but secretly, Janey knew she was overdue for a change. Soon she is submerged in every wonky diet and exercise program out there. My favorite was the one-color diet where you only consume food that was the same color- (brown it is and all the brownies and chocolate I want). Half dressed yoga, screaming cyclists, shamans and one expensive retreat, Janey tries them all and meets some interesting crazy characters. This is the Carl Hiaasen of fitness fiction - and while you won't burn many calories giggling, you will be inspired to take better care of yourself. Smartly written with an underlying message of be who you are, this one is no sweat.
Frieda Klein, a psychotherapist, is once again stepping on toes when she agrees to talk to a young woman who was convicted of brutally slaying her mom, stepdad and little brother as a teen. Hannah is now incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital that feels like a maximum security prison for lunatics where she has been overly sedated and beaten due to her periods of violence and what others see as a threat. Frieda sees something else, a young woman who has withdrawn from life, and decides to look into reopening the case. As Frieda begins to pick away at the shoddy police work, and talks to the friends who walked away, the father that wants nothing to do with his crazy violent daughter and others who knew young Hannah, some things just don't sit right. As she digs deeper she may uncover some truths that others worked very hard to bury and don't want brought up. Tense and brutal in the true Nicci French style.
A once Amish police chief in a rural Pennsylvania town is faced with a dilemma. Her childhood friend has escaped from prison where he was convicted for killing his wife. Katie still knows the Amish ways and after talking with the family and the community, thinks there might be something to Joseph's story. Katie is caught in the crossfire between the "English" and the "Amish" and needs to solve this so her past won't haunt her. Starts out with a bang and finishes just as rough.
A woman in a rush to get home late one night takes a remote path and sees a woman in her car by the side of the road. She doesn't stop and the next day learns that the woman was murdered. Distraught over not stopping to help, she begins to misplace things, forget important dates and begins to fear the incessant phone calls and little things that are off at home. Is someone stalking her because of what she might know or what her husband fears is dementia. Suspenseful but it felt a bit predictable. Still, another solid thriller that will keep you reading until the end and then checking the locks.
Billie, Jonathan and Olive are the perfect family except when Billie goes off on a hiking trip and doesn't come back. No body is found, no note, no clue how or why she disappeared - only a husband and daughter who don't understand and can't move forward. Jonathan is in the process of writing a memoir about his love affair with his wife only he begins to find odd things that may suggest his wife had a secret life. Olive begins to get visions of her mom and won't believe that they may be connected to a head injury. Instead, feeling that her mom is still alive and wants to be found, Olive tries to keep her family from unraveling and her dad from filling Billie's place with another. When do the lies and secrets become too much to bear or the made up life to hard to live? Plays with your emotions and like "Gone Girl" you find yourself questioning who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
Review Allison Pataki took on the American Revolution and now she tackles the French Revolution . Young idealists and former members of the aristocracy are trying to find their way as citizens of the new republic and stay away from the killing machine that seems to slicing heads day and night. Jean Luc is a young attorney who has moved his family to Paris and must try to find his way in the courts who are eager to prosecute anyone with connections to the noblemen. Andre and his brother came from noble birth but have changed their name and now fight in the French army. Andre is in love with a young widow but they must hide that love as her possessive uncle has other plans for her. Each tries to defend what they feel is right and noble and each will be held accountable. For these two couples Liberty, Equality and Fraternity will mean much more if they can survive. The author brings this turbulent time into focus and the characters and their struggle feels real.
A final girl is the only survivor of a horrible incident. Think horror movie violence only to be saved doesn't mean you don't keep reliving it in nightmares. Quincy is trying to be a survivor but she is in an elite club and when one is dead only two remain. Sam, the other final girl, may offer Quincy redemption and hope or she may just make things worse. Quincy must learn to trust Sam or piece together what really happened that night at the cabin. Hang onto your flashlight and call in sick for work because you will be pulling an all-nighter.
Cooper is at a crossroads in her life. Her brother has committed suicide, she is trying to get her dad's praise and up until now, hasn't done much with her art degree. She doesn't really have a plan or a path to take. So she takes the road that ends at the South Pole. As a member of an artist-in-residence program Cooper is met with scorn from her fellow scientist heavy hut mates and basically just tries to adjust to a life with little privacy or warmth. Then a new kind of scientist arrives that knocks the place out of the atmosphere shaking up Cooper and the rest of the team. Goofy but it tackles real problems, snarky but serious and warm enough to defrost the most serious of readers, this is a delight and perfect for the heat of summer.
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