Self Incrimination by Randy Singer

 

Synopsis :

When Murder Is the Only Option…

Tara Bannister's abusive stepfather finally pushed her too far. To save herself she had to kill him. Or did she? As Tara's self-defense claim crumbles, attorney Leslie Conners must overcome more than first trial jitters to mount a credible defense. Leslie must save Tara’s life...against her client’s will.

Can a Lawyer Save a Client from Herself?

Defense attorneys expect to catch their clients lying. It’s part of the game. But nothing in law school prepared Leslie for this. Tara’s confession doesn’t add up, and the reason may be more shocking than the crime itself.

In the midst of this taxing case, Leslie’s wedding plans to law partner Brad Carson are interrupted by devastating news: she suffers from a dangerous rare heart condition. Does she dare tell Brad? Before the final gavel falls, Leslie must confront the truth about herself and her mysterious client, or the darkness of the past will swallow them both.

This is what I say :

This title took me two months to complete.  I really hope I would be much quicker in my reading in weeks and months to come.  Two months is just too long.

Self Incrimination is not too bad a title.  It wasn't really that fantastic but was ok.  There's a Christian message in the book which would be it's saving grace.

I have another title by Randy Singer so I will be checking it out soon. I just hope it won't take me two months to read that title.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

 

Synopsis :

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?

This is What I say :

I thought I have read this title before but it turns out I have not.  For me, whatever it may be, titles on children who went missing are very difficult to read.  This was no different.

Then She Was Gone was very sad in its on way.  There were a couple of twist as well.  At the end, there were loopholes in the plot but having said all that, it was a readable title.

I guess one of the factor is the interest to know what happened to Ellie and what happened to her was very unfortunate and very sad.  

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

 

Synopsis :

Oliver Stone is the most wanted man in America.

No, not the maverick filmmaker Oliver Stone but the covert agent whose real name is John Carr. Men in the highest circles of power want him dead, and quickly, because he knows too many of their deepest secrets.

On the other hand, the members of the secretive Camel Club not only want Stone alive, but they are willing to risk their own lives to save their leader and friend. Get ready for a David Baldacci thriller with relentless intensity, a perfect follow-up to his acclaimed "Stone Cold" - Camel Club #3.

We begin with Oliver Stone taking drastic action to deal with individuals who have imposed injustices on him in his past life. He soon resorts to necessary flight and lands accidently in Divine, Virginia with a new young friend, Danny Riker. It's a strange place, fraught with secrets, criminal activities, and so much danger for Stone.

This is what I say :

I only read two books last month.  Both books are by David Baldacci. I have just started on the following title in the universe of Oliver Stone aka John Carr.

I still have a title by another author that I am half way through.  I am very slow in my reading nowadays. Better slow than totally not reading at all I guess.

Divine Justice is the forth title in the universe of stories that features characters from what is know as the Camel Club.  One of the characters died in the previous titles. The author kept certain characters from previous titles in this one and that makes it more interesting. 

I read this immediately after reading Stone Cold and yes, Divine Justice is a very captivating thriller.  Perhaps the coincidence is a bit too unrealistic but this is fiction anyway.

The next title which I think is the final title in this universe is entitled Hell's Corner and I can't wait to read it.

Stone Cold by David Baldacci

 

Synopsis :

The #1 bestselling author of "The Collectors" and "The Camel Club" returns with STONE COLD, number 3 in the series. It's an unforgettable novel of revenge, conspiracy, and murder that brings the band of unlikely heroes face-to-face with their greatest threat.

Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington D.C., the club has won some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies-including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering some of the hidden, secret work of the government.

Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled more than forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises.

One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match.

As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw. It leads to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. When buried secrets are at last violently resurrected, the members of the Camel Club left standing will be changed forever. With unrelenting pacing, stunning reversals, and two of the most compelling characters in modern fiction, STONE COLD is Baldacci at his breathtaking best.

This is what I say :

Stone Cold is the third book in the series of titles that features the same group of characters.  The stories are all stand alone but they are all very good.

Like the previous two titles, I enjoyed Stone Cold tremendously.  The characters are enchanting and the plot and story line and flow are just right.  There are actually two unrelated plot in the book but I think the plot fits each other quite well.  The story with Annabelle ended quite suddenly and rather abruptly and she is kinda lost in the Oliver Stone story and became rather insignificant at the end.  

Anyway, all in all Stone Cold is a great read.  I am looking forward to the forth title Divine Justice which I have in my collection and which I shall be reading super soon.

Happy Tiger New Year 2022

 

To those celebrating, I wish you

HAPPY TIGER NEW YEAR

May your roar be greeted with success, prosperity and good health this year

新年快乐

First Travel for 2022

 

Early next month, I will be going for my first travel for the year. 

Like many others, travel was grounded for  more than two years and the last time I flew anywhere was in Dec 2019 and it wasn't even for a holiday.  I actually did a day trip to submit my research report in the capital city. After that, as you know it, the whole world went on lockdown.

I wont say much about next week's travel other than it's another important delivery but will take me a few days to get it done.

What I want to share is what I will bring along with me for this trip.  As always, I must bring along something to read. Whether I really read it or not,  that's another story.

As in my previous posting, I re-organise my bookshelf and have put together all the books that I wanted to read. As such, it was rather easy to walk up to the shelf and select a copy.  This is what I selected.  I hope I get to read it the few days I am there.

Don't know why I decided on this title. I just did.  

In the meantime, today is a rather special day....be happy. 

Both images (above and below) taken from web. Credit to the creator

Showcasing my bookshelves

 

I thought I show you guys my newly arranged bookshelves.  They might not look the same a few weeks or months down the road as I put in new books and take out old ones to read.

I am actually trying to downsize my collection so while re-organising them, at the same time, I tried to only keep what I really want to keep.

I do not acutally arrange them in any order but I try to keep those in series together.  for the odd ones what are not a series of a few titles, I try to keep those in similar sizes together.

I actually have a few shelves but let's just focus on one for now as like I say I am trying to downsize so the aim is to just end up with one shelf.  It seems like it's a rather difficult thing to do but I think I can do it.

And yes, the books are all in doubles. This is a very good wooden shelf so the wood do not sag and are able to take the weight of the books.

This is one of the 'inside' layer and these are my favourite chic lite collection.  Really love all these titles.

And these are my Chicken Soup collection.  I actually wanted to add on to these  but I kinda force myself to stop.

So, that's it. Part of my shelves. You can see some of what I collected but not all. Nothing fantastic actually. Perhaps I will do a more thorough sharing next round.