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A down and out songwriter waits out winter in an old miner's shack. His days of glory are far behind leaving him with nothing but a half empty bottle and too many memories. A blind injured horse shows up suddenly during a storm giving Al an impossible choice - put the horse out of his misery or walk 30 miles in the storm to save him. We follow Al looking back on his life- all of the people he met, the people he loved and lost and the thousands of encounters turned into song lyrics for others. A truly broken soul with a golden heart as only Willy Vlautin can write. He breaks your heart and puts it back together with bubble gum and a bandaid. Willy Vlautin writes of the common man caught in uncommon situations and his many fans know what they are in for. They will not be disappointed. Wish we had the soundtrack of some of Al's songs to go with the story. 5 stars 
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A found Polaroid camera exposes much more than just instant grainy shots and instead the ghostly images haunt the person who uses it. A nightmare plane crash leads a couple of survivors away from much more than just the threat of freezing to death. A house that beckons the curious until you step inside and are lost forever. A woman finds a box of VHS tapes with a warning not to watch but of course, she does. These seemingly innocent objects become the most frightening as Darcy Coates proves in this collection of horror tales. These will appeal to the post GOOSEBUMPS generation of young adults and adults in their ability to scare but are not overly graphic. 3 1/2 stars  A teenage girl is found dead in a field and the town thinks the blame should land on the boyfriend, or maybe the creepy guy stalking her at work or maybe the gym teacher? All this drama in a small town where everyone knows your name but not necessarily all your secrets or do they? Solid mystery where everyone could be a suspect or protecting one with a stunning ending. Quick read perfect for a vacay unless you are traveling with your teenage daughter. Readers of books about families in crisis like DEFENDING JACOB will fly through this one. 4 stars  A widowed Countess keeps to herself deep in the Carpathian mountains using village girls to work at the castle. Strange rumors of torture and worse begin as those girls are not seen again. Boroka is one of those orphaned girls working at the castle but where she finds cruelty and violence from the women in charge of the staff, she finds only grace and compassion from the Countess. When the King decides he wants to silence the Countess and take her land those rumors and a handful of frightened servants is all it takes to bring her down. 1573 Romania is no different than the Salem witch hunts or Spanish Inquisition where powerful men use fear and intimidation to silence outspoken women. There is the hint of a Dracula horror story but really it is more a historical tale that will appeal to readers who don't like horror. 4 stars  Shiloh and Cary have been best friends forever but after high school went in opposite directions . Now 14 years later and Cary returns to Omaha for a friend's wedding and a reunion with Shiloh. Both are nervous and have led different lives with Cary a career naval officer and Shiloh recently divorced with two kids. They dance around each other's fears and attraction and soon fall into that easy sway leaving the reader (and the two of them) waiting for the potential big dip or drop onto the dance floor. Jumping from past to present we witness what makes their friendship so strong- both unique yet so familiar. My favorite is Shiloh's refreshingly candid daughter Junie. A slow dance instead of a frantic hip hop routine this is one romance to savor but you will race through. Readers of the author's fabulous young adult books and the great character studies of Ann Patchett will love this. 4 sweet summer romance stars.  1960 in a very remote mountain village in Calabria Italy a young American woman tries to do some good by opening a nursery school. As an outsider she is met with distrust and struggles with outdated ideas of early education, poor health standards and the difficulty of obtaining supplies. When a body is unearthed she is eager to help and befriends a couple of the local women who need answers. Red tape, stepping on local male toes and clearly getting involved in something she shouldn't may get her and her hopes for the nursery in deep trouble. Historical fiction with a side of mystery and muddy politics that will have fans of Lisa Scottoline's ETERNAL and LOYALTY and the author's first book completely immersed. 4 stars  A slight novel that shows us another side of the infamous Anne Boleyn who had a turn at Queen of England and wife to Henry VIII. Anne's ladies in waiting are sisters in more than their devotion to their queen. They are also powerful witches in a coven with Anne as their leader. When Anne becomes inconvenient and is beheaded the hunt is on to find out who in their inner circle betrayed her. A more truthful look at fierce women at the mercy of powerful men who use fear of witchcraft as a tool to remove them. A wonderful bridge between historical fiction and female driven fantasy that will appeal to readers of UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED by Sarah Galley. 4 stars  Off the Northern California coast a small community is decimated by something sinister that leaves the town quarantined and fighting for survival from something called "the deading". People begin to drift into a fugue state convulsing every few hours and the natural world is affected as well. The community is split between those that are accepting and those who are fighting it. Much of the book is spent on birdwatching with one young man sketching the birds he logs seemingly lost while his brother and mother are afflicted. While interesting I wasn't sure how it connected to the eco-horror going on around him and his family. The writing style is intense and reminds me of Stephen Graham Jones with a dose of Stephen King and scary science of Michael Crichton. 3 stars  Two boys go missing in the West Virginia forest only to reappear unharmed months later. Years go by and the boys are men. One is a struggling artist and the other finds missing girls and together they will help a woman find the sister who went missing in the same area as a child. A dark thriller with a monster hiding in the woods? NO! Instead this is a magical ode to all the cherished childhood classics a secret land where a gentle knight saves the princess while secretly being in love with the prince and where a benevolent queen happily rules a land where adults don't belong. Once again, Meg Shaffer brings us back to our favorite childhood hideaways - Narnia, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, Dorothy and her little dog finding their way in OZ. She cleverly uses whimsey and a bit of fairy dust to shake off the adult and bring out the hopeful child. This is the perfect book to find a hammock or treehouse and get lost in. 4 1/2 stars  A socially awkward botany ex professor lets the wrong person see her secret rooftop poison garden and ends up becoming a suspect in a murder investigation. Dr. Rose prefers her own company to that of most people especially after the death of her beloved father but when she spies on her new neighbor in trouble she takes an interest and opens up. When the woman is last seen being thrown into a car Eustascia gets tangled up in a much more poisonous situation. THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW Hitchcock overtones and a unique type of amateur detective like THE MAID come together in this clever mystery series that I hope we will see more of. The author shares her vast knowledge of poisonous plants in case you feel the need to eliminate someone or like me share an interest in the secrets of plants that have the ability to help and harm. 4 stars  |
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