The Sinner (Book #3) by Tess Gerritsen

Synopsis :

Within the walls of a cloistered convent, a scene of unspeakable carnage is discovered. On the snow lie two nuns, one dead, one critically injured - victims of a seemingly motiveless, brutally savage attack.

Medical examiner Maura Isles' autopsy of the murder victim yields a shocking surprise, but the case takes a disturbing twist. The body of another woman has been found. And someone has gone to a lot trouble to remove her face, hands and feet.

As long buried secrets are revealed so Dr Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, find themselves part of an investigation that leads to an awful, dawning realisation of the killer's identity.

I bought this book here and I brought to it with me to our holiday here although I was initially supposed to bring other titles, I changed my mind at the last minuter as The Sinner seems to be more appealing.

Indeed, while it wasn't really as good the the first book that I read, it was good nevertheless.  Because I have been watching the series adaptation entitled Rizzoli and Isles, the characters are all very familiar to me and such it was very easy to get right into the story.

The character focus in this title was more on Maura Isles.  As I understand it, it's the third title in the series and the earlier two titles were focus more on Rizzoli.

Overall, the story was quite thrilling and enjoyable as fillers of time during the downtime of my holiday.

When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley

Synopsis :

A widow and mother of six, Miranda Hanford leads a quiet, private life.  When the pastor of her close-knit church announces his plans to move the entire congregation to another state, Miranda jumps at the opportunity to dissolve ties with Mason Chandler and his controlling method of ruling his flock.  But then Mason threatens to unearth secrets from his past, and Miranda feels trapped, terrified she'll be unable to protect her children.

College professor Jack Hanford is more than surprised when he gets a call from his estranged sister-in-law's oldest son, Timonty, informing him that Miranda has taken a serious fall and he has been named legal guardian of his children while she recovers.  Quickly charmed by Miranda's children, Jack brings some much-needed life into the sheltered household.  But his constant challenging of the family's conservative lifestyle makes the recovering mother uneasy and defensive - despite Jack's unnerving appeal.

As Jack tries to make sense of the mysterious Miranda and the secrets she holds so tightly, Mason's pressure on her increases.  with her emotions stirring and freedom calling, can Miranda find a way to unshackle her family without losing everything?

I started this book expecting it to be very spiritual but surprisingly it wasn't so.  It was more a bout a woman's courage and love for her family but also at the same time trying to break free from the threats of the secrets of her past.

It's a very pleasant read and Miranda's children were very adorable although the focus was more on the eldest son Timothy and the character of the rest were not really developed as it's not really their story but more of the mum.

Jack was initially the brother in law of Miranda being her husband's half brother but he develops to being a friend to her and as the story it, there's more potential there.

It's a sweet and encouraging story.

Ape House by Sara Gruen

Synopsis :

Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena are no ordinary apes. These bonobos, like others of their species, are capable of reason and carrying on deep relationships - but unlike most bonobos, they also know American Sign Language.

Isabel Duncan, a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab, doesn’t understand people, but animals she gets - especially the bonobos. Isabel feels more comfortable in their world than she’s ever felt among humans... until she meets John Thigpen, a very married reporter who braves the ever-present animal rights protesters outside the lab to see what’s really going on inside.

When an explosion rocks the lab, severely injuring Isabel and “liberating” the apes, John’s human interest piece turns into the story of a lifetime, one he’ll risk his career and his marriage to follow. Then a reality TV show featuring the missing apes debuts under mysterious circumstances, and it immediately becomes the biggest - and unlikeliest - phenomenon in the history of modern media. Millions of fans are glued to their screens watching the apes order greasy take-out, have generous amounts of sex, and sign for Isabel to come get them. Now, to save her family of apes from this parody of human life, Isabel must connect with her own kind, including John; a green-haired vegan; and a retired porn star with her own agenda.

I was initially rather confused and rather uncertain on what I would expect from this title.  However, I love the cover of the book and the feel of it and against all instinct, I decided to gave Ape House a try.

It wasn't a bad book.  Not difficult to read at all. Rather entertaining at times but rather annoying at times too.

It's a strange experience reading a book on ape and I am still feeling pretty undecided if I actually enjoy it.  I must have cos I read it cover to cover and it took me less than a week so at least the captivating power in there.

Isabel Duncan is character you can grow quite fond of. I grew quite fond of her.  John Thigpen is another character that I quite like too but to be honest, I was actually rather sorry for him.  Perhaps it was that sympathy towards him and Isabel and all that they lost within a short time and their determination to pick themselves up that made me cheer them on.

Ya, I have decided after writing that last sentence that I rather like Ape House.

Holiday Read

We will be off in a week or so for a family holiday.  After our holiday in the Land of The Rising Sun last year, we decided to go local this year and to coincide our holidays with a convention that we are attending.

As I do my packing for the clothes and other stuff for the trip, I pack also for what I am going to read on the trip.

I have not decided yet and most probably will wait till the last minute to decide. For now, it's a choice between I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella or Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford.  Whichever title I decide on, it would be something that I have to stick with for about two weeks as I only want to bring along one title.

I am extremely keen on I've Got Your Number but I am not sure if it'll last two weeks as I ran read Sophie Kinsella's title quite fast

Breaking the Rules might last me two weeks but what if I am tired of it after a while as I didn't have good experience with what Barbara has to offer from the last few books that I read.

Decisions...decisions....

Books Second Time Around - Hills Shopping Mall Kuching

IF you are a residence of Kuching and you love to read, you would have known that Hills Shopping Mall has been hosting a book fair in the months of November and Decembers for the past two years.

This year, it's no different.  The 'Books Second Time Around' Fair started on Saturday, 14 November and will run till around 21 Decemeber 2015.

Readers will have a great selection of books at rather good prices to choose from. The only thing is that these books are second hand books as in they have been bought and read and used to belong to a public or private libraries in the United States.  However, some of the books can be so crazily new that you would not believe that they are second hand books.

I was there on the second day of the fair and managed to bring home a few books only as I wasn't in the mood to really purchase any.  Out of the 6 titles that I bought, five were for the princess and I only bought one for myself.

 Say hello to The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen, author of one of my favourite fiction characters, Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles.  I first read them in Vanish and have been wanting to read her again since.

So, what are you waiting for? If you love the read and have not been to the book fair, do make your way there and let me know if you bought any interesting titles.

 

Yesterdays Stardust by Becky Melby

 Synopsis :

Two Stories—Decades Apart—Converge on a Secret

With an award-winning series to her name, journalist Dani Gallagher is anxious to find her next big scoop. . .she just doesn’t expect it to come from the past. But while searching for answers connected to her latest story, Dani discovers a tattered journal in an alley near Bracciano, an Italian restaurant run by Nicky Fiorini. The diary, written in the Roaring Twenties by a young girl caught in a web of organized crime, mentions Nicky’s restaurant, and despite an explosive first meeting, Dani persuades Nicky to help her uncover what happened to the girl—and what her story has to do with their present. 

Nicky is frustrated. No matter what he says, he can’t seem to convince Dani that she’s treading on thin ice. Her zeal to make a difference for others is leading her into some precarious situations—and just might get her hurt. 

Attraction soon ignites, but in the struggle to reveal the truth, will Dani and Nicky miss the real story while clinging to secrets of their own,

Another wonderful story by Becky Melby from her Lost Sanctuary Series.  Book 1 was called Tomorrow's Sun which I read a few year back.  (Note : I actually read this a few years back too but just never got the review published).

Anyway Becky is very good at infusing past and present that is based in the same location into her story which she did for Tomorow's Sun and which she does here too in Yesterdays' Stardust.

The story wasn't very exciting but decent enough for me to enjoy and if you like contemporary and clean type of novels, this would be for you.
 

Cover Her Face by P.D. James

Synopsis :

Sally Jupp seemed the ideal girl to help Mrs Maxie run a large house and look after her invalid husband.  She was pretty, docile and grateful, or so it seemed, until murder shattered the tranquility of her new home.

A puzzling, disturbing killing that brought Chief Detective Inspector Adam Dalgleish to the quiet village in search of the murderer.

Cover Her Face is P. D. James's electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.

I can safely say that if you enjoy readying Agatha Christie, chances are you would quite enjoy some of what P.D. James offered.  This title was written in 1962 and was the first of may titles wrote by P.D. James until her death last year at the grand age of 94 years old.

What can I say except that it was an honour to read the first case of Chief Detective Inspector Adam Dalgleish.  There are millions of readers out there who have been thrilled by P.D. James and I am thrilled (pun intended) to be one of the many.

Back to Cover Her Face,  it was captivating, right to the very end.