Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Publisher: Berkley, July 2014

Genre: Fiction

Pages: Paperback, 494 pages

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary (from goodreads.com):

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Review:

It's not often that you come across a chick lit book that is also a mystery/suspense novel... in fact, I can't actually say that I have ever read a book that combines those two elements and I FULLY believe that I would, almost exclusively, stick to the genre because it was fantastic.

One of the things that I found most enjoyable about Big Little Lies was that, while still holding an element of mystery and intrigue, it really felt like a light read. So many times, when you pick up a murder mystery, there is a heaviness with the story... lots of angst and sadness but with this story, I didn't really have that feeling. Now, that's not to say that there wasn't a certain part of you that sympathized with the characters because each of them had their own struggles and hardships that really would hit you in the gut and make you feel for them.

Following each of the three main characters, both the public and personal side of the story, was so interesting. I loved how it really brought to light the struggle that parents can go through to put on a brave face for others. As a mother of a young child, I don't know that I would have been able to be as brave as Jane... she was one kick-ass mom!! Each of the women in this story deal with such different life 'issues' and while that can sometimes get confusing and feel as if it's just too far-fetched, Liane Moriarty was able to weave each of the stories together so that, while vastly different, it didn't feel like you were burdened with too many details. All three of the main characters were extremely easy to relate to and I just enjoyed them all so very much (I can see why this is now a TV series on HBO!)

I feel like a broken record when I talk about how I love when an author leaves me guessing to the very last minute... but, once again, that happened! While you spend the entire story knowing that a murder has taken place, you don't find out (or for me, even guess) who the victim is/was or who did the deed (how it was done) until the end. I found myself gripping the pages as I was reading and wanting to skip ahead so I could just take a peek and see who it was... I didn't because BORE! The mystery was top-notch and I love how everything wrapped up very neatly in the end and left the story without any missing details.

Overall, a great read and I am now looking forward to watching the TV series as well as reading more from Liane Moriarty!

The Collector by Nora Roberts

The Collector by Nora Roberts

Publisher: Putnam Adult, April 2015

Genre: Fiction

Pages: eBook, 496 pages

Rating: 2/5 stars

Summary (from goodreads.com):

When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn’t capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarified circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . .

Review:

I've mentioned before that I absolutely love Nora Roberts books but, for some reason, this felt so much different from what I have come to expect.

First off, there really wasn't much of a mystery to the story and, anyone who has read Nora Roberts knows that kind of her thing. Now, The Collector did start off with a bang but within a couple of chapters, you know who has committed the crime, you know what the whole reason behind it is, so it really took away the 'who done it?' that I generally crave.

Secondly, it felt like there was an excess of dialogue or "fluff" that just seemed unnecessary. Again, there was less of a mystery to this book so a lot of time was spent on the romance between Lila and Ash... even that wasn't really that interesting. There are a lot of issues that I have with the overall development of their relationship, how it started, how intense Ashton was, all sorts of things... I just found it unhealthy.

As for the characters, I didn't really like any of them... other than Luke, he seemed kinda awesome and can make fresh muffins first thing in the morning - total win! Lila was overly annoying to me in that she just seemed a little to big for her britches... come on, no one challenged a murderer with a teacup poodle or a Swiss Army knife. NOPE!!

Overall, not my favourite Nora Roberts novel and, honestly, if it was my first, I would be a little turned off.

The Daughter by Jane Schmilt

Daughter by Jane Schmilt

Publisher: Penguin, March 2015

Genre: Fiction

Pages: eBooks, 352 pages

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

Jenny is a successful family doctor, the mother of three great teenagers, married to a celebrated neurosurgeon.

But when her youngest child, fifteen-year-old Naomi, doesn’t come home after her school play, Jenny’s seemingly ideal life begins to crumble. The authorities launch a nationwide search with no success. Naomi has vanished, and her family is broken.

As the months pass, the worst-case scenarios—kidnapping, murder—seem less plausible. The trail has gone cold. Yet for a desperate Jenny, the search has barely begun. More than a year after her daughter’s disappearance, she’s still digging for answers—and what she finds disturbs her. Everyone she’s trusted, everyone she thought she knew, has been keeping secrets, especially Naomi. Piecing together the traces her daughter left behind, Jenny discovers a very different Naomi from the girl she thought she’d raised.

Review:

What just happened? I love me a mystery novel but man, this one was so frustrating that I sit here, having just finished reading it, not knowing whether I enjoyed it or hated it.

Normally, I love stories written from multiple perspectives. 'Daughter' is written all from Jenny (the mom's) point of view, but over a fifteen month time gap. One part of the story is current day, or a year after the disappearance, and the other is at the time of the disappearance. I found that I totally enjoyed the part if the story taking place in the past but the current day narrative was very slow moving and almost seemed unnecessary at times. As the story progressed, that got better but overall, I found the story definitely dragged.

When it comes to the characters, for the most part, I enjoyed them all. I thought Ted was a piece of junk and wanted to punch Ed on multiple occasions, but for the flow of the story, I thought they were all very well written. I related most to Jenny but as a mom, I wouldn't really expect much different.The part of the story that just fell flat, to me anyways, was the ending. I still don't really feel like we know what happened the night Naomi disappeared and I don't feel like we know what the future holds. I want more detail and given that the book is closing in on 400 pages, I think we should have some ideas that answer these, very important, questions.

Overall, good but not great... I never like finish a book and feeling unsatisfied.

The Best of Enemies by Jen Lancaster

The Best of Enemies by Jen Lancaster

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, August 2015

Genre: Fiction

Pages: Hardcover, 320 pages

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

Jacqueline Jordan knows conflict. A fearless journalist, she’s spent the past decade embedded in the world’s hot spots, writing about the fall of nations and the rise of despots. But if you were to inquire about who topped Jack’s enemy list, she’d not hesitate to answer: Kitty Carricoe.

Kitty reigns supreme over the world of carpools and minivans. A SAHM, she spends her days caring for her dentist husband and three towheaded children, running the PTA, and hiding vegetables in deceptively delicious packed lunches.

Kitty and Jack haven’t a single thing in common—except for Sarabeth Chandler, their mutual bestie. Sarabeth and Jack can be tomboys with the best of them, while Sarabeth can get her girly-girl on with Kitty. In fact, the three of them were college friends until the notorious incident when Jack accidentally hooked up with Kitty’s boyfriend…

Yet both women drop everything and rush to Sarabeth’s side when they get the call that her fabulously wealthy husband has perished in a suspicious plane crash. To solve the mystery surrounding his death, Jack and Kitty must bury the hatchet and hit the road for a trip that just may bring them together—if it doesn’t kill them first.

Review:

This is my second time reading this book but I didn't have it marked as 'read' in my Goodreads so... GRRRR... and I didn't remember reading it but parts of it were super familiar.

I am sad to say that I didn't love this book. The characters were unlovable and overly annoying and the whole premise of the book was a little to 'out there' for me. Yes, it's fiction, but I still like a story that has a little bit of fact behind it. While I found the relationship of Jack and Kitty to be enjoyable and funny at times, their personalities were a little too much for me and once they kind of figure each other out and stop pretending, they turn into much nicer characters and I really wish that they had been written that way from the get-go.

Overall I think that this was a good book... not the usual Jen Lancaster funny that I have come to expect but it was enjoyable enough that I will continue to read her fictional stories.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, November 2016

Genre: Fiction, Mystery/Suspense

Pages: Paperback, 384 pages

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from chapters.indigo.ca):

Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her...

It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.

Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose...A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.

And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…

Review:

Well, I can now happily say that Clare Mackintosh is, in fact, a stellar storyteller. Hey, it happens... an author's debut novel is a brilliant one and then, well, the follow ups aren't up to par. However, after reading 'I Let You Go', I knew that as soon as Clare's next book, 'I See You', was released, I would be picking it up and man, am I ever glad that I did because it was just as good, if not better than her debut novel.

While you can classify both of Clare Mackintosh's novels along the same genre, suspense/mystery/thriller... 'I See You' had an extra spine-tingling factor to it in that you had no idea who was behind the crimes and the fact that there could be someone watching your every move is just super creepy. This was definitely an on the edge of your seat type of book and one that I could see many people enjoying in the fall, as things start to get a little dark and mysterious out.

As for the characters, I like both Kelly and Zoe and while they can be classified as 'unreliable narrators', I have come to realize that I quite like that and enjoy not really knowing what's going on. The fact that Zoe is so innocent and couldn't see anyone is her life as a prime suspect made me feel like everyone was. Kelly, being the toughen cop with a mysterious past, made for a very enjoyable, fly by the seat of your pants, character.

Overall, an amazing book and one that I will definitely be recommending to all my friends. Clare Mackintosh is up there with my favourite suspense author, Chevy Stevens, and I cannot wait for her next book to come out.