Clever Nickname

Women returns tale with a twist

Revisado: 10-18-22

This novel was my first book by Minka Kent, although I am also reading The Silent Women concurrently. I have to say that I am very excited to read her entire backlog.

Merit is pregnant with her second baby. She already has a beautiful young daughter and a good marriage. From a distance, she leads a reasonably lovely life. That is until her husband's presumed dead first wife shows up late at night, testing the strength of her marriage. Lydia went missing a long time ago and was held captive for years. And now she has come back to reclaim what is hers.

The story is told through the alternating perspectives of Lydia and Merit. I read a lot of suspense novels, so I more or less guessed some of the twists. It's a plodding walk to the eventual reveals (frustratingly so at times). However, this is a super fun read that instantly engages. I enjoyed my front-row seat as these ladies manipulated each other and their husbands as chaos ensued. I was impressed by Ms. Kent's deft plotting and framing of the novel's twists.

I listened to the audio version of this book. I love listening to an audiobook when there are shifting perspectives! It adds to the story by setting each narrator apart. Each narrator was great and added life to the material.

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Layered Mystery

Revisado: 10-02-22

Clare and Marisa are twins. They have an older sister, Britt. Their mom died when they were young, and Clare was murdered when the girls were teens. Thirteen years later, Marisa is still haunted by the past. The murder remains unsolved, and the lead detective will be retiring soon; it feels like if Marisa can't find answers soon, she may never get them. Worse, Marisa recently survived a car accident, and she can't place the time before the accident. Are secrets from the past threatening her life and sobriety today? She's ready to tell the truth about the night Marisa died, but who can she trust when everyone is lying? And can she uncover her memories in time to stop a killer?

I'm on a twin streak, having just finished up another entertaining thriller where the twin in question is evil. That's not the case in this novel, Clare is almost angelic, but there is still some family toxicity to mire through. The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters (Marisa, Britt, Britt's high school boyfriend, Marisa and Clare's high school best friend, etc.). There may be too many perspectives for some, but I enjoyed reading multiple sides of the mystery. There are even some very effective and creepy second-person narrative passages that I think Mary Burton rendered effectively. This book was my first by Ms. Burton, but it won't be my last.

I listened to this audiobook, and I have to say, I thought the narration was excellent. Especially Marisa--the narrator was able to infuse personality into the read.

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Scandalous!

Revisado: 09-29-22

When I chose this novel, I was looking for something instantly engaging. I also wanted to enjoy listening to it. Sarah Bonner's The Perfect Twin fits the bill on both requirements. This audiobook contains multiple narrators, but I am happy to say the casting is perfect.

Megan decides to confront her awful twin about a bizarre extra-marital affair, and it goes the absolute worst way imaginable. It's so hard to reveal any more of the plot without spoilers. This novel was action-packed from the start. It's filled with scheming narcissists deceiving and seducing each other. At first, I thought it was pretty straightforward, but there were some twists that even I did not see coming. This book stretches the imagination in parts, but it is fun and fast-paced.

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Really Enjoyed

Revisado: 06-28-22

Huge fan, so may have hit differently for me. Not a typical memoir and very little behind the scenes on some of my favorite shows. Still waiting on the tell all....However a good reminder to push yourself, trust yourself and be confident. It's obviously well written and full of advice. Read through it in a couple of hours.

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Interesting for Fans

Revisado: 03-11-22

Love Grey's, so something to do while I can't watch. Nothing crazy new but well compiled and entertaining.

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Really Enjoyed

Revisado: 08-06-18

This suspense novel starts in the thick of the action. Ella is on a train and bored with her reading material, so she eavesdrops on a much more interesting conversation. Over the course of the trip, Ella listens as two teenage girls meet two men (recently paroled from prison?) and the group makes plans to meet up later. Uh oh.

This leads to an internal debate... How does Ella react? Should Ella react? What would you do? The fallout from her reaction is life altering and ultimately puts her in the sights of a killer. That is the first few pages, and the story manages to stay this engaging through the last page. It is a who-done-it that genuinely keeps you guessing with reveals chapter after chapter.

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Captivating Retelling

Revisado: 04-22-13

I haven’t written a book review in awhile but felt compelled to write this one. I enjoyed Mary Beth Keane’s the Walking People and once I heard the subject matter for this book, I was sold. A historic trial? A medical mystery? I couldn’t have picked a novel I more wanted to read.

I hope that is not a spoiler to note that Mary Mallon was the first well known ‘healthy’ carrier of Typhoid Fever. She was asymptomatic and since little was known about how sickness spread, it was hard for people to recognize the health risk she posed. She was a cook and though out breaks of Typhoid seemed to follow her wherever she was employed; she refused to believe she could be the source of the fever. Even after she was confronted with the possibility that she was spreading the fever. She refused to cooperate. She continued to cook until she was arrested and deatined. She wasn’t released for two years and only after agreeing not to cook. Despite all this, she cooks again. Changes her name and continues to cook until she is recaptured.

Enter Keane to deliver an entirely unexpected novelization of her life. The tendency to sort of side with Mary and vilify her treatment and compare it with others (non-working class males who may have received much better treatment) and conclude Mary was treated unfairly. Or try and convince readers that Mary’s recklessness led to unnecessary deaths even after the danger she posed to others was explained to her. Keane does something else. She seems to take both sides-- rallying a little for Mary and then highlighting her unsafe obstinacy. So the reader is both frustrated with and sympathetic towards, Mary.
Keane once again plays with time beginning somewhere in the middle of Mary’s story and then hopping all around throughout her life similar to her The Walking People narrative. Maybe more successfully this time, but I am still unsure why authors belabor this technique when a simple straightforward arc would serve.

What is known about Mary seems to all be spot on, but Keane adds a lot too. For instance additional deaths, a fabricated alcoholic live in lover, and a backstory are all provided. I’m torn too to what this all adds. A historical novelization works best for me when it holds as closely to the truth as possible. However these additive also provide period detail to further set Mary’s drama.

I am beginning to realize it sounds as if I am conflicted about the book which I am not. I highly recommend it for any historical fiction fans. Mary’s story horrified me, disgusted me, and baffled me in turns. I was genuinely engaged in Mary’s story from the very first through the last page.

And though the narrator slips in and out of an Irish accent inexplicably, she otherwise does a good job.

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Overwrought Drama

Revisado: 03-19-13

While under her mother's supervision, three year old Emma disappears. Two years later Emma is still gone. Her Mother, Megan, hasn't been able to recover. She spends her time putting together "stranger danger" seminars for schools and organizing supervision for children who walk home. She also mistakes other little girls for Emma. Her husband, Peter, shames Megan for "seeing" Emma in other children. He wants Megan to focus on the present and their two other children. The novel quickly shifts and then alternates to the story of an elderly couple struggles to raise their granddaughter, Emme amongst the grandmother's declining health.

I am afraid I am in the minority on this one. I thought this book was only OK. I was expecting more of a mystery. Any mystery Holmes had, she gives away pretty quickly on in the story. There isn't really a plot other than waiting for the characters to uncover the "secret" that the reader already guessed. Holmes replaces suspense with repeated heart wrenching scenes illustrating the damage that Emma's kidnapping has afflicted on Megan's family. The story of a kidnapped child is pretty relatable for any parent, so the dozens of scenes underscoring the repercussions of this tragedy are unnecessary. I felt beat over the head with sad scenes. The marital tension seemed contrived and never fully fleshed out. A typical argument:

Peter: You need to move on from Emma's kidnapping!
Megan: I will never give up on Emma! (bursts into tears).

Ok, maybe that's a facile transcription of an argument. But they had multiple arguments to this effect and that's how they began to feel. I wanted to say: Megan, honey, if your husband's idea of being supportive is to encourage you to move past your daughter's tragic kidnapping while flirting with his attractive business partner, you may want to move past your marriage. I mean it's only been two years. But do try and acknowledge your other kids, just once and a while. He has a small point there.

Another thing that bothered me was several sub-plots that never went anywhere. I kept reading hoping they would go somewhere, but they didn't. I now see that maybe they will be picked up in the author's companion novella or the sequel. Inexplicably, I am tempted to purchase both of these? Maybe I am still hoping to uncover the novel I intended to read. AS of today, I have not purchased either.

Another note: I got a deal on the audio version via Whisphersync. The narrator baby talks Emma's lines. While I have no problem with a narrator who performs characters, I have never heard an adult do a good rendition of a small child's voice. This is a pet peeve of mine, and is so grating, if Emma had more lines, I would not have been able to listen to the audio version.

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Good Story, Should have READ it

Revisado: 01-10-13

Story and premise is imaginative and definitely held my interest. Consider purchasing a paper or ebook. However, I found myself wincing at the over acted narration. The narrator feels the need to use a different voice for every character however the narrator can't do other voices, so they come off like bad impressions. A lone southern accent in an massive underground bunker hundreds of years in the future? A weasel like voice for the villain? It's too much. The pacing and enunciation are off. Bizarre giggles sporadically and then she breaks into baby talk into Part 4. It's not just distracting, it’s awful. I will be avoiding Minnie Goode in the future.

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One of my all time favorite listens

Revisado: 11-22-12

Rebecca is one of the few books that is worth the second (and third) listen. As good today as the first time I read it. Anna Massey brings new depth to this classic moody mystery. Plan to listen to again when I need to escape into an evocative novel.

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