Mailbox Monday!

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. What books came into your home last week?

Minotaur Books, in their latest "Beast in a Jiffy" mailing, sent me two new ARC's, both from authors I've never read. The first book is by Paul Dorion. I know you're saying, "Paul who?" But don't worry, the fine folks at Minotaur know that none of us have heard of him, and remind us that before The King of Lies, none of us had heard of John Hart either! The other book is by Nancy Martin, in a brand new start of a fun new series.

The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron

Game Warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find a cryptic message on his answering machine from his father, Jack, who he hasn't heard from in two years. The next morning Mike gets a call from the police: a beloved local cop has been killed and his father is their prime suspect. Coming to terms with his haunted past and desperate for answers, Mike and a retired warden pilot journey deep into the Maine wilderness to clear his father's name and find out why Jack is on the run. But the only way for Mike to save his father is to find the real killer before the killer finds him.

Sounds like a good one, doesn't it?


Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin

Roxy Abruzzo, the grandniece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss, is trying to go straight--so she can focus on her architectural-salvage business that, for the most part, she runs on the up and up. But old habits die hard, and Roxy's sticky fingers set off a chain reaction of murder and mayhem...with Roxy right in the middle.


I love the title of this book, it looks like its got lots of potential to be my next "Stephanie Plum" type series. I love mysteries with a sense of humor!

Thanks again to Andrew at Minotaur Books for these great mailbox surprises!!

Check out other mailboxes HERE, maybe you'll find your next favorite book!

Review: The Spire by Richard North Patterson

In Richard North Patterson's book, The Spire, Mark Darrow grew up in small town Ohio, with an alcoholic and absent father and a mentally ill mother. Being blessed with intelligence and athletic ability, Mark was lucky to cross paths with Lionel Farr, a professor at the local college. This chance meeting gave Mark entry into a world he’d only dreamed of. With a scholarship to the college and the encouragement of his mentor, Mark became a brilliant student and a successful attorney.

Now Farr has come to Boston to ask his former student and protégé, for a favor. Caldwell College, Mark’s alma mater is in the midst of a financial scandal with charges of embezzlement that threaten to close the college. Farr asks Mark to return to the college as the president and help repair the damage. Mark accepts the offer and returns to his hometown.

Sixteen years before, late one night after celebrating his triumph as the star quarterback for Caldwell College, Mark discovered the strangled body of a young black coed, Angela Hall. Subsequently, his best friend, Steve Tillman was charged and convicted of Angela’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. Returning to Caldwell has brought all this back to Mark and he finds himself compelled to revisit the case, and in doing so finds that there are still many unanswered questions about the murder. When another murder happens, he realizes that Angela’s murderer is still at large and is feeling threatened by Mark’s inquiries.

I think I’ve been living under a rock, I’ve never read anything by Richard North Patterson before. And I know I’ll be looking for more books by him. Patterson’s way of plotting the storyline was excellent. I had an inkling about 2/3 of the way through the book on who the murderer really was, and even though I ended up being right, I really liked the way the author lead the protagonist to the moment of discovery. It was very subtle and I found myself thinking, “C’mon, Mark, pay attention…it’s *****” (I don’t want to give it away, hence the ****) And Mark did pay attention, it a carefully nuanced fashion, not so slowly as to make this reader yell at the book, “Mark…. you’re stupid…. focus Pinky, focus…”, but quietly, steadily and effectively. It was so effective, that even though I swore I knew “whodunit”, I still had niggling thoughts I might be wrong. And that’s a great writing ability, to pull in the reader, make us think we know what’s going on, and yet still keep us guessing until the very end.

The Spire by Richard North Patterson is a terrific read that I don’t hesitate to recommend.

My rating:

Jay Meets the Bibermans and the Vincati

Watch this one, it's not too long and completely worth the time!



Perhaps I've mentioned my favorite book this year in passing? No..you don't recall? Oh, well then, let me tell you about it. It's called Big Sid's Vincati: The Story of a Father, a Son, and the Motorcycle of a Lifetime by Matthew Biberman. Rather than re-run every thing I've said, you can read my review of this book here, read a bit about the big doin's that took me down to Jay Leno's gargage where I got to meet the author and his dad, Big Sid, here and okay, you can see a guest post by Matthew Biberman about his experience in coming to the left coast and hangin' out with Leno here. (What can I say? I've warned you all that I'm a terrible nag, and you really should listen to me and read this book!)

And I'm now adding to my personal list of people who love this book. 30 year old male lawyer, 52 year old housewife, mom and bookish blogger, 53 year old motorcycle guy, 75 year old female phone company retiree, 55 year old female CFO, 54 year old lawyer and motorcycle guy, 42 year old female lawyer and voracious reader and 59 year old comedian, car/motorcycle guy (and hugely successful tv guy.) (Yup...I'm talking about Leno here...he loved it too.) So what are you waiting for??

Here..I'll make it easy for you. All you've got to do is click here and tada!!

Friday Finds!

Thanks to MizB for hosting this fun Friday meme!


I was so excited this week to discover that one of my all time favorite authors, James Rollins has a brand spankin' new book coming out in December. This is on the heels of another new book that just came out in June! How does this writer do it?? I have his June book, The Doomsday Key on deck to read next and can't wait to get to it. The Doomsday Key is part of Rollin's Sigma series, and they're all great.

His newest book, the one coming out in December is called Altar of Eden.

From the novel's jacket notes:

From "New York Times"-bestselling author Rollins comes his first stand-alone novel in more than five years. "Altar of Eden" combines the author's trademark elements of science, history, and breakneck suspense in a streamlined narrative.

I can't seem to find much about this book yet, and I really don't care! Because I've gotta tell you, any James Rollins novel is bound to be terrific, and as much as I love his series, his "stand-alones" are even better. Amazonia, Deep Fathom, Subterranean, Ice Hunt and Excavation were all just great and I can't wait to read Altar of Eden!

For a really interesting little peak into the thoughts of James Rollins, take a gander at this video:



WoooHooo!! Can't wait to finally read The Doomsday Key and really can't wait for Altar of Eden...

*Doin' the Snoopy dance......I'm a happy happy reader.....more dancing......*grin...

And check out other Friday Finds here!

Winner!!!

This week's Super Scientific method of choosing the winner of Chelsea Cain's Evil at Heart, was, once more, actually...scientific! Of course that was because the in-house expert name-picker-out-of-the-oatmeal-box-person was already in bed, so science won out this week. (School is such a bummer, going to bed early, being responsible, doing homework....not for the kid, mind you, but for me, I'd much rather she stay up late and hang out with me. *Sigh...) Using Random.org, I plugged all the numbers in, hit the button and tada!!

The winner is....Kari of The Kari Annlysis. Kari's blog is just great and thanks to this giveaway and her entry in it, I discovered a new and wonderful blog. Give it a look-see and you'll know what I mean. Great blog, Kari! And happy reading!!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered, keep an eye out for my next giveaway. I'm vacillating between two books, maybe I'll flip a coin.

Wordless Wednesday in video time lapse

Station FireTime: Sunset at JPL Time Lapse #4 from Dan Finnerty on Vimeo.

From August 29th:

Time lapse video of the fire burning through the Arroyo Seco and making runs on to Starlight Mesa and JPL. Thats JPL in the bottom right of center. The top of the ridge above the lab is the antenna test range.

Wordless Wednesday--Fire Photo

Taken August 29 of JPL in Pasadena, CA showing fires above the Lab. (Click on the photo to enlarge it)

Review: Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter Morgan is back. After a picture book honeymoon in Paris, Dexter is back in Miami, and darned happy to be home. Blood spatter analyst for the Miami P.D. by day, sociopath serial killer (with a strict adherence to the rules and something almost resembling a conscience) by night, Dexter returns to work on the day that artfully posed corpses are found on a local beach. More bodies follow, along with quirky tourist bureau type video, all of which send ripples of panic through the tourist industry. Dearest Dexter and his “Dark Passenger” find their interest piqued, as Dexter’s sister, Debs, along with the entire Miami P.D. realizes there is another killer on the loose.

I dearly love Dexter. Oh, stop squirming; I know he’s a crazy, sociopathic serial killer. But he’s Dexter! And he really tries to follow the rules. And really, isn’t it just wonderful that he tries so hard? Here’s how Dexter explains it, in this exchange between Dexter and his sister Debs, who discovered his secret recently. You know..Debs…the cop…yeah, that complicates things a might bit.

(Quote taken from an uncorrected proof, and not checked against the finished copy)

I am as familiar with New Age philosophy and Dr. Phil as the next guy, but there comes a point where reality absolutely has to intrude, and it seemed to me that we had reached it. “All right Debs,” I said. “And what would you have done if you knew who I really was?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I still don’t know.”
“Well then,” I said.
“But I ought to do something.”
“Why?”
“Because you killed people, goddamn it!” She said.
I shrugged. “I can’t help it,” I said. “And they all really deserved it.”

That clears it up for all you squeamish types. Right? And they do, really deserve it, that is.

I’m a fan of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter books, but I’ve only seen a couple of the episodes on TV, at the beginning of the series. I don’t know why I never watched them again, the few I saw were pretty good, I just never got around to it. So I can’t say how the series compares to the show. I had a lot of misgivings about this particular book before I read it. I thought that there was a good chance the author, having found success in Hollywood would have begun to write screenplays instead of books. And when that happens, it seems like the books really suffer. No worries here though, this addition to the series is very good.

I really enjoy how Dexter seems more real in his “human disguise” than ever before, and we are often left to wonder, “Is Dexter still the complete monster he thinks he is?” Feelings of loyalty and even affection seem to pop up, which bemuses Dexter often as emotions he doesn’t recognize. His humor is as intact as ever and although some readers might find the frequent self-directed witticisms a bit much, I thought they added to the book. Although I did get some odd glances while sitting in my dentist's waiting room, reading a book with blood splattered cover art, and snickering out loud.

Dexter by Design is a funny, black-humored book, with some gruesome stuff thrown in. But, it's Dexter for heaven's sake, of course there has to be some "ewwww" in there somewhere. Once you get past the whole "serial killer as the hero of the story" part, the whole series is a lot of fun to read. But Dexter by Design stands out as the best so far.

Dexter by Design goes on sale today, Sept. 8th.

My rating:

Mailbox Monday!

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. What books came into your home last week?

Mistress of the Game by Tilly Bagshawe

The spellbinding sequel to Sidney Sheldon's Master of the Game. One of most glamorous and suspenseful tales ever told! It began with Jamie MacGregor, stealing diamonds in Africa. It continued with his daughter, the powerful Kate Blackwell who grew her father's company into a world wide conglomerate, Now the story passes to the next generation. Spanning the decades and picking--up exactly where Sidney Sheldon's bestselling Master of the Game finished, Mistress of the Game follows the Blackwell family as they, Love, and lose, scheme and murder through the 80's up until the present day.



Evidence of Murder by Lisa Black

Forensic investigator Theresa MacLean takes on the worst kind of murder case - one without clues - in this second novel in a hot new series from Lisa Black

Eight months ago, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean lost her fiancÉ in a bank robbery gone wrong, and she's had trouble concentrating on her work ever since. But now a particularly difficult case may just be what she needs to regain her focus by demanding all her skill, intelligence, and attention.

Jillian Perry has been found dead in the woods, leaving behind a husband of three weeks and a young daughter. The police can't determine how she died - her body shows no visible marks, and the autopsy reveals nothing suspicious - and the leading theory is that she purposely wandered into the forest and succumbed to the freezing weather. But something doesn't feel right to Theresa, and she can't let it go.

To complicate matters, a former boyfriend of Jillian's unexpectedly petitions for custody of the daughter. Obsessed with Jillian, he also suspects foul play in Jillian's death, and now he and Theresa believe Jillian's daughter may be in danger of meeting a similar fate. With a child's life at stake, Theresa must search for evidence of murder - evidence that doesn't seem to exist - before it's too late.

Thanks go out to Shawn Nicholls at Harper Collins books for breaking my drought!! It was nice to see something besides bills and junk mail in the mailbox this week.

Check out other mailboxes HERE, maybe you'll find your next favorite book!

Guest Post: Matthew Biberman on Jay Leno

It's time for my regular drum beating for my favorite book this year. If you're a new-ish reader, I'm talking about the wonderful book Big Sid's Vincati by Matthew Biberman. (You can see my review here, and also a bit of information about how Jay Leno and the Vincati became acquainted here.)

Jay Leno filmed the Vincati for his website and the video is going up tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 7th. Be sure to check it out, Leno's garage has the coolest site, where he talks about the bikes, cars, etc in his collection and usually culminates each episode with driving whatever he's talking about. I'm not much of a car or motorcycle person, but I have a huge appreciation for the beautiful old vehicles in his collection. And I can't wait to see his thoughts about Matt and Big Sid's hybrid motorcycle!

Matthew Biberman, being an author and Shakespearean professor is a much better writer than I'll ever be, so rather than go on and on, let's let Matt tell us about Jay Leno and the Vincati:

Countdown to the Vincati's Appearance on Leno's Garage
by Matthew Biberman

September 4, 2009

With promotion, everything comes down to the writer. Agents, editors, massive publishing houses, publicists—in this day and age, none of that really matters. Its you and your book, so if you believe, then at least once in your life, you got to go for broke.

The shot seems staged and yet it really wasn’t. The film crew had left and Leno had turned his attention to other tasks, principally loading up the Bugatti he was taking to show at the Pebble Beach councours, an event 350 miles north that started the following day. Yet somehow, one of my accomplices in Vincati crime realized there was still some unfinished business and succeeded in rounding us all up for this hastily taken group shot.

I don’t even know who took the picture, one of Leno’s garage crew, certainly, but was it John, or Bob, or Bernard?

And so who are you looking at? That’s Stephen standing by the front wheel. The owner of Restoration Werks in Chicago. I christened him the driver of the bus, in homage to Neil Cassidy, the famed Beat icon who served as Kerouac’s inspiration for On the Road, and who drove Kesey’s bus, Further, on its epic journey across America back at the start of the 60’s. And funny enough, Stephen is currently restoring another famous bus, the bus that served as house and workshop to Von Dutch, the American folk artist who popularized pin striping on hot rods.

Next to him stands the ever ebullient Jacqui Van Ham, the slash 5 girl, whose exploits on her 1972 BMW R75/5 in Europe have thrilled many motorcyclists. She hooked a ride on the Vincati express, wide eyed, and ready to chronicle this adventure. We will see what she cranks out.

Next to her stands my dad, Big Sid, looking pretty good—if drained and dazed from what just transpired.

And there in the middle, the man of the hour, Mr. Lantern Jaw himself. He has selected a pose and assumed it and yet something else radiates from him. Absent is the irony. He is not trying to sell you crap and he knows it. He's just had fun and somehow standing next to Big Sid means more to him than I will ever know.

I see now he has his front hand in his pocket. Stand offish? Perhaps. But everyone wants a piece of him and yet he has stood his ground better than most would in his position. There was no phalanx of lawyers surrounding him. There was no tech inspection or preliminary ride before he wacked the throttle open on the 101 and hit 90 on a bike built in a cinderblock garage in Kentucky by an old man who has forgotten too much and his son, an ink scribbler, who never quite learned all that much about motors.

And there I am, my face a crafted expression of triumph. Somehow, I had pulled it off—but what? I am still not sure. It was fun, though and totally irrational. And it may not help me sell one additional book. But at that moment, I didn’t care, and truth be told, I was thinking about reality tv and Shakespeare.

Just what would the Bard have made of the YOUTUBE phenomenon? I’ll tell you one thing: when Leno looked at me and quoted my book: “Matthew, you may not have written the great American novel” PAUSE, SHAKES BOOK, “But this is pretty good!” I felt like it was more real than reality TV, more real than reality, even.

Finally, on the end, my buddy Scott Van Houten. Shepard to the Vincati on its trip in the Van while I flew out with Sid. A fantastic drummer who told me, more than once, that if you want to make it big, you got to leave Louisville—you got to take it on the road and leave what you got on the floor, for the fans. Well, we did, hauling the Vincati all the way to waters of the Pacific Ocean.

And Leno’s hand stretched out to the viewer, a gesture that says . . . what? Go, little book, go.

NOTES

Look for the Vincati footage on jaylenosgarage.com starting this Monday.

For a better view of the snap go here:
Leno and the Vincati

Okay--y'all know I'm just gonna keep nagging you until you read this book, right??? What are you waiting for???? Go get the darned thing.....

Critter Cam--Cookie the Watermelon Monster

Cookie learned to jump through a hula hoop for watermelon. I suspect she'd jump through a flaming hula hoop if there was a piece of watermelon on the other side. She has no interest in dog biscuits, however, I suspect she'd walk a mile over broken glass for a chunk o' juicy goodness.

Yup...she's a little weird...

What about you? What weird stuff do your critters do that make you laugh? Feel free to post a link here, so we can all see your BFF's (Best Furry Friends)

Friday Finds!

Thanks to MizB for hosting this fun Friday meme!

Oh my gosh...I'm doing the Snoopy Happy Dance...lookie--lookie--see what I found??! Pirate Latitudes by...(yes, I mean it...) MICHAEL CRICHTON!!!! Whoopie!!!

From Wikipedia

According to Jonathan Burnham, a publisher of an imprint of HarperCollins, the book was written concurrently with Crichton's most recent novel, Next. The novel stars a pirate named Hunter who, together with the governor of Jamaica, plots to raid a Spanish galleon for its treasure. Burnham goes on to say that it is "thoroughly researched...packed through with great detail about navigation and how pirates operated, and links between the New World and the Caribbean and Spain.”[1]

The novel was discovered on one of Crichton's computers by his assistant after the author's death, along with another unfinished novel slated to be published in the fall of 2010.[1]

Synopsis: The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Devoid of London’s luxuries, Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate, life can end swiftly by dysentery—or dagger. But for a daring soul like Captain Edward Hunter, this wild outpost in the New World can also lead to great fortune, if he abides by the island’s code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.

Word in port is that the Spanish galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in nearby Matanceros. Heavily fortified, the impregnable Spanish harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of King Philip IV. With the Jamaican governor’s backing, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon and its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of Matanceros legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he makes it onto the island’s shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure.

With the help of his cunning band, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But the danger—and adventure—are only just beginning. . .

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to discover that Michael Crichton, one of the most brilliant writers from our time left us with a couple of books when he passed away.

Crichton died in November of 2008, leaving behind a body of work, thought and speeches that are simply unbelievable. His testimony before the U.S. Senate in 2005 arguing for independent verification of research used for public policy, was genius. (You can see the text of his testimony here.) And while you're on the website, you should read some of his speeches and essays. He was masterful, and I can't wait to read his final works.

Okay..I know..I'm gushing, but when I think back to novels that were almost prescient in their plotting, I think of Michael Crichton. If you're only familiar with the work through Hollywood's interpretation of them...please read his books. Hollywood, has, as usual, totally bolloxed them. In fact, read State of Fear, it's really pertinent to our time.

I came across this video on YouTube, a ten minute film of Crichton's "Unpopular Truth", where he discusses his reluctance to accept some of today's pop science conclusions. The last thirty seconds pretty much say it all!



He was a fascinating man, the world is a lesser place without him.

And check out other Friday Finds here!

Winner!!!

This week's Super Scientific method of choosing the winner of Hell's Gate by Stephen Frey, was actually...scientific! Of course that was because the in-house expert name-picker-out-of-the-oatmeal-box-person was already in bed, so science won out this week. Using Random.org, I plugged all the numbers in, hit the button and tada!!

The winner is....Kaye.....of Pudgy Penguin Perusals!! Kaye says she's a big fan of Frey's so I'm just tickled pink that she won this book. Happy reading Kaye!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered, and don't forget to take a look at my next giveaway--Chelsea Cain's newest..Evil at Heart!

Wordless Wednesday Fire Photos

All photos above from the Los Angeles Times website. ('Cause my momma didn't raise no fool and I'm not getting that close..) All were taken from the Acton, California end of the "Station" fire, which has, at this point, has burned over 140,000 acres, or almost 220 square miles. To put that into some perspective, the square miles of Boston, Manhattan, Seattle and San Francisco combined are roughly 208 square miles. Two firemen have died. At least 60 homes are gone. And that number is sure to go up, once people can get back into their neighborhoods. At this point, the fire has cost $13 million to fight. And now we're being told by fire investigators that the fire was "human caused". They're not saying yet if it was accidental or intentional. The investigator said the initial options were human caused or lightning and lightning has been ruled out. This kind of makes me a bit nauseous and it isn't just from the pervasive, unending smell of smoke.

The Acton end of the fire was about 8-10 miles from our house, but burning mostly in the other direction, and I don't think my neighborhood was ever in any danger. There's a general feeling of relief tempered with concern for the thousands who aren't so lucky in the valley. The air quality is just God awful. At least the Santa Ana winds haven't kicked up, its a little early in the year for that. Temperatures have dropped a bit, its in the high 90's instead of 107, and the fire is said to be 22% contained. (You know, whenever I see those figures, I always turn them around and think....hmm..you mean 78% out of control?? But's that negative Nancy thinking and 22% is a whole lot better than the 5% its been since Friday)

Sorry....I'm incapable of being wordless...just ask my family....

Giveaway!! Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain!

Just like I promised...yup, I'm parting with Chelsea Cain's brand new book, Evil at Heart. Okay, I'm not parting with my copy....I somehow received two ARC's of this novel, so I'm keeping mine and putting the extra book up for grabs. The book came out yesterday, Sept. 1, so when I say brand new...I mean it! You can read my review of the book here, and if it tickles your fancy and you're saying to yourself..."Self....I gotta get me that there book..." then you're in the right place!

From Fantastic Fiction

A college student is found dead, floating in a rowing boat on a lake, a gaping wound in his abdomen. The autopsy reveals that his spleen was removed while he was still alive. A media frenzy ensues, the press reaching the same conclusion as the local law enforcement: Gretchen Lowell, the 'Beauty Killer', still at large following her prison escape, is back and she's killing again. But Detective Archie Sheridan, on medical leave following his last run-in with Gretchen, isn't so sure. The more he discovers about the murders the more convinced he is that they could be the work of a copy-cat. Plus Archie has other things to worry about - his health is declining sharply and he is being stalked by a strange young man. At first Archie dismisses him as one of a disturbed group who are obsessed with Gretchen and romanticise Archie's ten-day ordeal with her. But as the young man's attentions begin to intensify, it becomes clear that this group will go to great lengths to feel close to the Beauty Killer...Archie, along with journalist Susan Ward, is desperate to find the truth behind this new spate of killings. But it is Gretchen who holds the answers and copy-cat or not, she still has one more victim in mind.

To enter this giveaway, please leave me a comment and include an email address or blog address so I can get hold of you when you win.

For an extra entry, blog, tweet or whatever about the giveaway, i.e. "spread the love for Gretchen" about the giveaway and leave a link to the post.

And for yet ANOTHER entry, follow my blog! And if you already do, well then, thank you bless your beautiful lil' heart, and just mention it to me in your comment!

How easy is that three chances to win!! Sorry, shipping is "killer" so US and Canada only please.

I'll throw all the entries in a hat and draw out the winners on Sept. 9..so *Announcers Voice....Enter Early..Tell Your Friends...and Good Luck!! *end Announcers Voice...

Review: The Promised World by Lisa Tucker

On a beautiful afternoon, while Professor Lila Cole is working in her office, writing a paper about Herman Melville, her beloved twin brother is sitting in the window of a building across from an elementary school with a rifle pointed at the school windows. While Lila works, Bobby, her twin dies. He sought this death; the police called it “suicide by cop”. The weapon he pointed at the school wasn’t even loaded. Now Lila is left to deal try to understand what drove her sensitive, loving and intelligent brother to this action. She finds that her twin, the person she always thought she was the closest to in the entire world, was separated from his wife, and had been charged with child endangerment.

She also discovers that Bobby, unbeknownst to her, had been in contact with their mother, the same woman that the twins had always claimed was dead. Lila has no memories of her younger years, Bobby had always been the one who kept the memories alive for her, and all she has left of her childhood is the stories Bobbie told her. As she delves further into her own past, in an effort to understand Bobby, she discovers her whole life is built on a fiction, and Bobby was the author of the story.

It’s very hard to sum up Lisa Tucker’s new novel, The Promised World. It’s a complex book, nuanced and empathetic. It’s a book that shows that every story can have more than one perspective, and that what we view through the prism of our own experiences, is often viewed much differently by others. What we think of as intimacy may really just be the veneer of intimacy; a thin hard shell that we use to protect ourselves from getting to close. What we think of as betrayal may be deeper and harsher than even we comprehended, or it may merely be the act of someone who loves us and wants to spare us. And mostly, that what we think is innocence, may really be ignorance. The novel shows us all that mistakes can be made, with the best of intentions, which are difficult and painful to rectify. But it also shows that these solutions, albeit painful, ultimately bring people closer together, and show us all what loyalty and love can do.

As usual Lisa Tucker didn’t disappoint me with this novel. As with The Song Reader, her characters are finely drawn, with multi-faceted personalities. Tucker is able to show us these complex characters in a very life-like way, not as plot driven people, but as real people. The antagonist in the story, Lila’s mother, is the quintessential “Mommy Dearest” and makes Joan Crawford’s mother look positively saint-like. Lila’s husband, Patrick, has almost as much emotional baggage as Lila, and they’re perfect for each other because they have so studiously ignore anything painful in their pasts for years. Bobby’s estranged wife, who starts out as a shallow, narrow-minded trashy type woman, is shown from all perspectives, and her behavior becomes more human and more easily understood and defined. In short, her characters are human, they’re you, and me, and people we know, and that is what makes the story work so well. The Promised World is a really lovely novel, one I’ll think about for quite some time.

My rating: