Book Reviews - All

My February Mid-Month Wrap-Up

February 25, 2019 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is my mid-month wrap-up video in which I discuss all the books that I read in the first half of February.

Books mentioned in this video (Amazon Links):

1. The Binding by Bridget Collins (00:45): https://geni.us/Z9ir0mF
2. Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (02:34): https://geni.us/h7IT
3. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (05:20): https://geni.us/Ks5lKpT
4. Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza (07:34): https://geni.us/CBASt
5. Between the Lies by Michelle Adams (10:16): https://geni.us/kZPk
6. Vicious by V.E. Schwab (12:38): https://geni.us/qa7rdcF
7. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (16:00): https://geni.us/IE08Nac
8. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (19:15): https://geni.us/KxWIT

Review of The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

October 12, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is a book that I normally wouldn’t pick up as the political thriller isn’t usually a genre that I read. But when I learned that this was to be a collaboration between James Patterson and President Clinton, I figured I’d give it a go, especially since I’ve heard so many great things about it.

First off, I listened to this on Audible, and it was amazing! Dennis Quaid performed the voice of the president, and many other actors joined in to create a truly impressive and immersive collaboration. This was more like a radio play than the reading of a novel. I’m so glad I went with the Audible version.

A threat to the country

So The President is Missing revolves around the President of the United States, James Duncan, who is under attack by the Speaker of the House, Lester Rhodes. Rhodes and the House Committee are pushing for impeachment hearings because it has come to the country’s attention that President Duncan has had contact with a terrorist organization called the Sons of Jihad, and he refuses to divulge the contents of that communication.

As the story unfolds, we learn that it has come to the President’s attention that the Sons of Jihad is planning on releasing a devastating computer virus that will infect every computer, server, network and electronic device in America and in so doing, will ultimately destroy the infrastructure of the United States, most likely resulting in the deaths of a lot of people — possibly millions.

Going underground

In order to thwart the terrorist organization’s effort, the President must go underground for a brief time during which nobody is aware of his whereabouts. Hence the title, “The President is Missing.”

To add to the intrigue, we follow a professional hired assassin — a woman code-named Bach — who seems to be moving closer to the president through we’re not entirely sure whether he is her target.

But there’s a traitor in the house

To make the president’s task even more difficult, he figures out early on that one of his six closest team members — people in charge of departments that are essential to his investigation — is a traitor. This person learned early on about the deadly virus but opted to tell no one.

So in addition to figuring out how to stop the threat, the President has to go it alone because he doesn’t know which of his trusted advisors is the Benedict Arnold so he can’t trust any of them. In doing so, he cuts himself off from access to vital and indispensable resources that are normally available to him

A race against the clock

What follows is a mad race against the clock to figure out how to stop one of the most terrifying and debilitating cyber attacks the world has ever known, with the fate of the entire country at stake. From the moment the President goes off the grid and missing from the White House, the tension in the story is unrelenting. To add to the stress, the president also suffers from a rare, life-threatening blood disorder requiring medical care which could result in his death at any moment if left untreated.

Building intrigue

This was a fast-paced, tense and unsettling political thriller that kept me guessing until the surprising denouement at the end. The intrigue and excitement grow steadily throughout the story along with a perfectly balanced narrative and a complex, compelling plot. Short chapters push the dramatic story along quickly, and by the end, I couldn’t put it down . What made this story especially fun for me was never knowing what was real or who to trust.

Though horrifying at times

Though The President is Missing is exciting and gripping, it is also horrifying. The whole premise of the cyber attack as it was presented in this book struck terror in my heart. The story shows in chilling detail the fallout of such a cyber attack and all I can say is that I hope it never comes to pass. Otherwise, we’re all screwed!

Regardless of your political leanings, I could really see President Clinton’s influence in the story, especially when dealing with the cabinet members, describing the intricate workings of the high level department in the White House, dealing with high ranking officials, the President’s relationship with the secret service agents and those scenes in which President Duncan communicated with other world leaders. These details as presented by someone who actually has served as president added a richness and believability to the story.

Verdict

All in all, a stunning page-turner of a story involving murder, cyberterrorism, Russia, the Middle East, hackers, traitors, treason, assassins, espionage, the media, and a life-threatening illness. I loved this story and was sad to see it end.

Now there is a scene near the end of the book where President Duncan makes a major speech about the current state of the country and of the world, which felt that it could have come directly from the mouth of President Bill Clinton. Now depending on your politics, you may like or dislike this speech. I personally loved it, and it even sent a tear to my eye. This seemed to be the only real apparent partisan element in the story, however, and speech aside, I feel that this book is mostly non-partisan and is a story for anyone, regardless of political party affiliation — at least IMHO. Recommended!

Purchase The President is Missing at Amazon

Purchase The President is Missing at The Book Depository

Review of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

August 9, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I love me a book about bookstores and other bookish things, so I was happy when this little gem crossed my path. Judging by the bright, happy-looking cover, I guessed that this might be a cozy mystery with lovable characters and a gentle plot line. Well, there was nothing cozy about this book. It just goes to show you one indeed cannot judge a book by its cover.

DEATH AT THE BOOKSTORE

So this follows Lydia Smith who lives a quiet life with her handsome boyfriend with whom she’s been living for the past five years and is an employee at — you guessed it — The Bright Ideas Bookstore. There’s a group of eccentric, unemployed and lonely regulars who frequent the bookstore to read, nap, play chess and lose themselves amongst the shelves and whom the bookstore’s employees lovingly refer to as The BookFrogs. A couple of these Bookfrogs play a pivotal part in this story.

One night while Lydia is working her shift, Joey Molina, the youngest and more sensitive of the BookFrogs, hangs himself in the bookstore’s upper room. Lydia is the one who finds him and is devastated by Joey’s death, as Joey was one of Lydia’s favorite of the Bookfrogs.

THE END OF CALM

But Lydia’s quiet life becomes unglued when she discovers a picture in Joey’s pocket — a picture of her and her best friend Raj at her 10th birthday party — a picture nobody should have or even know about. Because you see, Lydia is on the run and has been ever since she was a child, now living her life using a fake name after having severed all her past connections. Throughout the majority of her childhood, she lived in isolation in the mountains with her father after a horrible event drove them to leave town. Now twenty years later, she has started a new life with a clean slate and has done her best to forget about the past. But the existence of this picture taunts her and is a harsh reminder that we cannot always escape our past.

Her life unravels even further when a reporter takes her picture at the suicide scene and, to Lydia’s utter horror, it ends up in the newspaper where anyone could see it. Anyone.

BOOK BEQUEATHAL

As it turns out Lydia was Joey’s favorite bookseller, and as such, he bequeathed his meager worldly possessions to her, mostly books that she herself had sold him.

But Joey had defaced every book in a strange, disconcerting way, cutting words and parts of words out of the page. Lydia eventually discovers that the books which Joey defaced was actually a puzzle and contained hidden coded messages meant especially for Lydia. As Lydia slowly deciphers Joey’s strange messages, the story begins to transform into somewhat of a darker and much more unsettling tale of a heinous unsolved murder as Lydia connects and links the contents of Joeys messages to her own troubled past.

A VIOLENT CHILDHOOD RESURFACES

As Lydia untangles the mystery of the defaced books and of Joey’s suicide, in so doing she unearths long-buried memories from her own violent childhood, namely those of The Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and she now finds herself reliving an experience that still chills her to the bone.

Her nerves are further frayed by several other events: First, there’s the reappearance Raj, her childhood friend who she hasn’t seen in twenty years; then a postcard from the police detective from the unsolved murder case; and finally there are the numerous telephone calls from her estranged father.

Now she can’t help but wonder whether Joey’s cryptic messages might help her to solve a crime that nobody else ever could and she takes it upon herself to find answers to the questions that have haunted her ever since she was little.

THE VERDICT

I ended up loving this imaginative literary mystery story because what bibliophile doesn’t love a book about books? In fact, most of the characters in the story were readers, so books were mentioned quite often in the story.

But this was actually quite a complex, incredibly well thought out and somewhat disturbing mystery — a tale of murder, suicide and coming to terms with one’s past. I loved how this suspenseful story unraveled ever so slowly, feeding us bits of information only a little at a time which kept me glued to the book as the puzzle pieces slowly came together.

So as such, this clever book had layers upon layers weaving in and out of both past and present events and really, kept guessing and engaged until the very end. And the characters were not only totally human and relatable, but they were quite multi-faceted with distinctive and well fleshed out personalities.

This was one of those novels where various seeming minor events and plot threads are tied back into the main storyline in extremely intriguing ways. And the ending was immensely satisfying.

All in all, I loved this book and gave it 5 stars.

You can check out Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of The Ghost of Buxton Manor by Jonathan Ferrara

August 8, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

100 Years of Boredom

The Ghost of Buxton Manor follows the ghost of 17-year-old Rupert Buxton who, for close to a century, has been tethered to his childhood home and living more or less a perpetual fog. He pretty much lingers in limbo, passing his time reading and desperately — and unsuccessfully — trying to remember his former life. You see, he has no idea how he died or why he’s stuck at Buxton Manor. Hell, he doesn’t even remember his family. At the beginning of the novel, you really got a feeling for the specter’s crippling loneliness.

Strange Visitors Arrive

But Rupert’s life — or should I say afterlife — is drastically about to change.

First, there is the unexpected visit by Dr. Wyman, a ghostly therapist who offers his services to Rupert, promising to help Rupert to remember his past. But Wyman isn’t Rupert’s only visitor. There is also the strange ghostly trio of Bloody Mary, the Weeping Bride, and the Headless Horseboy who show up on Rupert’s doorstep also claiming to want to help Rupert.

Buxton Manor Gets Sold…and There’s a Boy

The most significant change and challenge facing Rupert, however, is that Buxton Manor has been sold, marking the arrival of a new family moving into Rupert’s home: Caroline, George and their son, Aaron who I believe is around the same age as Rupert. Now Rupert feels an immediate and unexplainable connection to Aaron, and it seems that on some level, Aaron can sense Rupert as well.

Despite Dr. Wyman’s warnings to stay away, he’s unable to resist. Of course, Rupert eventually is able to reveal himself to Aaron, and the door to both of their worlds is blown wide open. Lots of angst, intrigue, and drama follow as Rupert begins to put together the pieces of his past and once they both discover Aaron’s essential role in that process. There’s a lot of talk of Rupert’s unfinished business, and it becomes clear pretty quickly that Aaron may be the key to that unfinished business

An Interesting Peter Pan Tie-In

What I found especially interesting about this story is that the characters are loosely based on actual historical figures, Rupert Buxton and Michael Davies (who is also a character in the book), and they were lovers, and both drowned together in 1921. Michael Davies, along with his brothers, he was the inspiration for J. M. Barrie’s characters Peter Pan, the Darling brothers, and the Lost Boys and the story of Peter Pan, in fact, plays a huge role in this book.

Verdict

This was a beautiful book that I absolutely loved, and I say this in all seriousness — I hated for it to end, I got so invested in these characters and cared about what happened to them. This book had ghosts, a necromancer, mystery, intrigue, lots of twists and turns, big surprises, murder and most of all, love.

You know, I read quite a few LGBT romances, but this was the best one that I’ve read in a long time. Though I found this a tender love story, it was a lot more, and it dealt with some very loaded issues such as grief, betrayal, regret and loss and the paralyzing emotional suffering that follows.

But without giving anything away, it’s also a story of hope and second chances. So though this novel does have a romantic lean to it, that is not the main point of the story. There was so much more to it than that. It was a fantastic story with endearing, carefully crafted characters and I loved Rupert and Aaron. They are both lovable, wholesome characters with strong, unique personalities and wonderful, tender chemistry between them.

It’s funny – I read this a couple of weeks ago, and it is still on my mind. I was totally mesmerized by The Ghost of Buxton Manor and continued to ruminate over the characters and story long after completing the story. Truly unforgettable. This book is just so, so, so….magical and it’s just the kind of story I adore — funny, heartfelt, ghostly and seriously freaking romantic. Plus there’s that whole soulmate thing going on.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe the author has written any other books. I do hope he does because he has a lovely talent from bringing a story and a story’s characters to life. Yeah, I gave this one 5 stars.

You can check out the book here on Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Snap by Belinda Bauer

August 7, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

“Sometimes you have to bend the rules to get your man.” John Marvel

This book is on the Man Booker long list so I thought I’d give it a go, especially since it created a bit of controversy, being, I believe, the first crime thriller to ever make the Man Book finalist.

How It All Begins

So picture it – 1998. It’s a blisteringly hot summer’s day Eileen Bright’s car breaks down on the highway leaving her and her three children stranded. Eileen decides to leave the car and go in search of an emergency telephone and instructs the children that they are to stay in the card.

After waiting and waiting and waiting, the children leave the vehicle in search of their mother. Finally, coming upon the emergency phone, they notice the receiver dangling loosely from the phone box. Soon thereafter, a car stops and a policeman approached the kids.

But Eileen Bright never returns, and several days later, her body was found off the road, stabbed to death, with an unusual looking bloodstained knife discovered nearby. The case was never solved.

Majorly Abandoned

But things get even worse for the kids when their father, unable to bear his grief any longer, “goes out for milk” and never returns, abandoning his children.

Fast forward three years to 2001. The children are living alone pretending that their father is still at home, so they don’t get taken into the social services system. The children mislead their neighbors into believing that Mr. Bright is often away for days at a time working.

So having to fend for themselves, Jack, who’s exceptionally resourceful, is taught the art of burglary and ends up being quite adept at breaking and entering, stealing food for family survival. He’s doing his best to provide for his siblings, but it’s not an easy life for any of them.

Jack starts to think more about his mother’s death, and he is filled with rage at the fact that his mother’s murderer was never caught. All he wants is justice for his mom. Then one night while cat burglarizing a house, he finds a clue, and Jack’s life begins to change.

Enter Catherine

Meanwhile across town, heavily pregnant Catherine wakes up to a noise in her house. Her husband Adam is out of town on business, so she is alone and a very scared. She calls down the stairs, threatening and shouting at the burglar who then flees.

When she returns to her bedroom, she finds a knife threatening note beside her bed that reads, “I could have killed you.” Strangely enough, instead of calling the police, she hides the knife and decides to do nothing.

Enter Goldilocks

We then get introduced to a third plot-line in which the police have over a hundred of unsolved burglaries on their books at the hands of a burglar, nicknamed “Goldilocks” because he only comes when the homeowners are away and not only does he steal, but he sleeps in their beds, eats their food, takes a bath and basically makes himself at home.

Bringing it all together

We then learn how these three storylines are related, though it takes a while for these plot threads in the book to converge. But when they do, the tension escalates as long-buried secrets come to light.

In my opinion, Jack’s character really made this story. Here we have a 14-year-old boy thrust into a parent role without the necessary resources that an adult has access to.

Thus, he has to come up with creative ways to support his siblings. His emotions as he struggled with the burden of putting food on the table and protecting his sisters all the while struggling with his anger and grief was heart-wrenching at times and made for an intense reading experience.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with his character and couldn’t help but root for him and hope that he somehow finds closure with his mom’s murder.

I also really admired the way that even though only a child himself, stepped up to the plate and did whatever he had to do to survive, even though most of it was outside of the law.

Lack of Twists and Turns

I enjoyed how the story was told from several different character’s perspectives, and it really worked in this story. But what I found interesting — especially in a crime thriller — was how the author doesn’t rely on twists and turns to keep the reader interested and move the story forward.

In fact, I figured out who the murderer was before even halfway through the book, and I figured that I was probably wrong and expected a huge twist. I wasn’t wrong, and there wasn’t a huge, shocking twist.

Not Really a “Whodunnit”

It then struck me later on that this story wasn’t about figuring out “who done it” but rather the actual mystery was about how Jack, along with the detectives, find a way to link the suspected killer to Eileen Bright’s murder and pull up enough proof for an arrest and conviction.

Not that’s not to say there weren’t surprises because there were a couple of surprising reveals along the way. There were just no major shockers or plot twists that we often see in this genre.

What especially struck me about this books was the vividness of place as well as the characters. I could feel the sweltering heat as the children walked along the highway in search of their mother. The author really had a knack for creating vibrant and evocative settings and realistic, passionate and memorable characters that leaped off the page.

Final Verdict

Snap was a clever and engaging story that I ended up loving. It’s a multi-layered, meticulously plotted tale filled with quirky, original characters and a gripping plot – and at the center of it all, is a family all by destroyed by the pain of one crushing, vicious act.

This story drew me in immediately and after I figured out that it was in fact, not a “whodunnit” story, relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

Snap was a strong character-driven story about senseless loss, grief, violence, courage, heartbreak, and betrayal, but also about hope, survival, kindness and the love of family.

Oh, and there was also the theme of snap decisions which ran throughout the story — and how such hastily made decisions can ultimately change the course of our entire lives in a single moment.

Though Snap was a slow-burner and wasn’t filled with one action-packed scene after another, it kept me turning the page, mainly because of the realistic and relatable characters, with tension building slowing and steadily throughout the story. Additionally, it painted a vivid portrait of how characters manage to cope even in the most nightmarish of situations.

Now would I say this is a prize-worthy story at the Man Booker Prize level? I don’t really think so. Though the story is engaging, well-structured and undoubtedly worthy of a read, I’ve read far more exciting and thrilling crime novels than this one. I’ll be curious to see if it makes the shortlist. But regardless, I’m glad I read Snap. It was an enjoyable, satisfying read and ended up giving it 4.5 stars.

You can check out Snap here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

August 7, 2018 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This classic psychological thriller was on my list for a while as I’ve heard people talk about it quite a bit recently. I think I saw the movie starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier years ago, but I don’t remember it at all.

I listened to the audiobook version of it, and it was fantastic! It was narrated by Anna Macey who was phenomenal! It felt as though the story were being told to me by an elegant 1940’s movie actress. I love Gothic stories like this one, and it really had a Hitchcockian feel to it, which is no surprise given that Hitchcock directed that film.

So the story begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine, a paid, personal companion to a wealthy, domineering woman (Mrs. Van Hopper), who is on holiday in Monte Carlo meets and is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter.  An alliance develops between the young lady and de Winter, which leads to a hasty marriage. The reader then learns along with the narrator of de Winters’ disturbing past and of his deceased wife, Rebecca.

It is only when they arrive at Mandalay, his massive country estate, that the new Mrs. de Winter realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives. The reminders of Rebecca are everywhere; there are her personalized notecards still in her desk, closets filled with elegant clothes, fur coats, monogrammed towels and robes with giant Rs in script. The girl becomes haunted by the accomplished, stunningly beautiful and elegant Rebecca and more and more convinces herself that de Winter married her on a whim and remains hopelessly in love with the perfect Rebecca. She then becomes consumed with finding out more about Rebecca.

In fact, give that, according to her, she is neither very pretty nor worldly-wise and is entirely out of her element, she’s terrified that Maxim will come to his senses and realize what a mistake he has made and leave her. She’s also overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer size of the house and given her inexperience, has no idea how to assume her role as Mrs. de Winter.

And then there’s the skeleton-faced housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, who reinforces the girl’s insecurities by continually pointing out the former Mrs. de Winter’s exceptional beauty and elegance, her social skills, her adeptness as managing the household and her legions of admirers and friends.

Mrs. Danvers, who was Rebecca’s personal maid, actually ends up being a phenomenal villain and ends up horribly betraying our Heroine. Shortly thereafter, the 2nd Mrs de Winter begins to find out more about Rebecca and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. And a new threat then emerges threatening to destroy her new life and everything she holds dear.

Rebecca was a delightful story with numerous twists, turns, and surprises. This ended up being an intriguing tale of deception, suspense, crime, secrets and a cast of thoroughly developed and unforgettable characters — all the elements of a true drama.

Although it was first published in 1938, this novel ages exquisitely and didn’t feel at all dated to me. I ended up loving it and gave it 5 stars.

You can check out Rebecca here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.