You Will Know Me

I really really got into this book, but it just lost steam towards the end and I hated the conclusion. But the suspense, intrigue, and heartache leading up to that point really did grip me. In a nutshell this is the story of a mother so wrapped up in her daughter Devon's gymnastic's career that she doesn't notice when things start to fall out of place. She and her husband have been their every step of the way for their exceptionally talented daughter and have been grooming her for the olympics along with their coach and other Belstars parents and teammates. Even Devon's little brother Drew is okay with always being overlooked consistently because he knows how important his sister's rise is. Everything starts to come apart when one of the coach's boyfriend is tragically killed in a hit and run. It begins to tear at the gymnastic community and then slowly starts unraveling the mother's tight knit family. It started off so solid, I was bummed that the end couldn't keep up. Some twists, turns, intrige, and a crappy ending.

The Lying Game

This author has gotten a lot of hype as thriller author with good twists (The Woman in Cabin 10) so I thought I would check her newest book out. While I wasn't head over in heels about it, the premise was good, the plot solid, and there were some good twists. While in boarding school Isa befriends three girls and they immediately become inseparable. Weekends are spent together, drinking, laughing, and playing the lying game. The goal is to say outrageous lies to people (strangers, peers, professors, etc.) and get them to believe you. Points are awarded on if they believe you, how tall the tale was, and if you could get one of the girls to crack and start laughing. The only rules are: stick to your story, never get caught, never lie to each other, and know when to stop lying. Their time at boarding school was cut short by a tragic accident (of which the reader won't find out until much later) and the girls haven't seen each other in well over a decade. However a chilling text from Kate (I need you) brings the four girls back together again. What they don't realize is that their biggest lie of all is going to come back and haunt them. For fans of suspense and plot twists.

Every Man a Menace

I've read lots of books about drugs, but this was the first that really went in depth and focused on the operation as a whole. Hoffman provides fascinating insight, back stories, insider knowledge, and twists and turns to make this a fascinating and dark read. 5 separate, yet related, short stories intertwine to put together the puzzle of a complex ecstasy smuggling operation that spans continents. Flawlessly executed and plotted this is a must read for crime fiction readers. This would also make an excellent movie adaptation.

The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness

Poundstone, Paula. The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness. 6 CDs. unabridged. High Bridge. 2017. ISBN 9781681684031. 

Comedian Paula Poundstone (NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, HBO and Bravo comedy specials) pursues the secrets of happiness with a series of over the top unscientific studies. Whether it's learning to dance, getting in shape, getting closer to nature, or binge watching movies, Poundstone dedicates herself to trying anything that promises happiness and recording the results. Peppered with hilarious asides, family squabbles, failures, cat litter, and hands on research; listeners will find themselves laughing along with the absurdity and hilariousness of Poundstone's search for human happiness. Expertly narrated by the comedian herself, it listens like a good stand up comedy and will garner Poundstone even more fans. For fans of comedic memoirs and zany scientific endeavors. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN

Infinite Ground

I have no idea what I just read. There is surrealism, madness, mystery, and adventure and the reader must decide what is real and what is not. A retired police inspector takes on a missing person case and decides that he must become Carlos in order to find him. When that doesn't work the inspector decides that Carlos must have escaped into the jungle and then goes deeper and deeper into his inner psyche and the jungle. It's beautiful and lush but hard to follow. Their are theories, what ifs, spiraling threads, and insanity. I could never discuss this or analyze it. It's far too off the war. For fans of surrealism and literary fiction.

Born to Run

Not exactly a groundbreaking memoir, but still filled with heart and ambition. I've never been a die hard Springsteen fan but this memoir gave me a new appreciation for all the hard work and dedication it took him to become the superstar he is. In this autobiography Bruce goes into detail about his childhood, rocky road to becoming a musician and then his eventual rise to fame. I did enjoy listening to his music while reading this and lots of his songs had new meanings when you learn about the back stories in them. A pretty decent biography, but it will be of most interest to the rabid Springsteen fans rather than the general public.

Come Sundown

This was my first and most likely last Nora Roberts book. I was not impressed and it was so formulaic that you could see the twist and the ending a mile away. Some might try to classify this as romantic suspense, but the suspense is so minimal I don't even want it included. It's nearly 500 pages of romantic fluff, cliches, cowboys, ranch life, independent women, kidnapping, and family secrets. It goes back and forth in time to show the disappearance of a girl in the early nineties, the mind of a deranged kidnapper and rapist, and the modern day life of the manager of a huge family ranch and resort. It's nothing to write home about.