Shutter Island is off the coast of Massachusetts, housing an asylum for the criminally insane. As a nasty summer storm brews up, U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule cross over to the island to search for an escaped inmate. But Teddy knows that things are not as they seem on Shutter Island. Ho-lee crap. Continue Reading…
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: Book Review
I have my review of World Without End by Ken Follett written and ready to post. I refer so much to The Pillars of the Earth that I should probably post that review first. Here it is. To be very simplistic, The Pillars of the Earth is about building a cathedral in the twelfth century Continue Reading…
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson: Book Review
Fisherman and WWII veteran Carl Meine is found dead and tangled up in his fishing net one morning. At first glance it appears to be an accident, but the sheriff looks a little closer and starts to wonder. He soon arrests another fisherman, Kabuo Miyamoto, for murder. Against the backdrop of the murder trial, Guterson Continue Reading…
Lamb by Christopher Moore: Book Review
There are roughly 30 years of Jesus’s life that are unaccounted for. Oh, there’s the one story about him teaching in the temple when he was 12, but other than that, he was born and then he started his ministry around the age of 30. Christopher Moore has fun imagining what exactly Jesus–or Joshua, as Continue Reading…
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory: Book Review
The Boleyn Inheritance is the story of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife; Jane Boleyn, her lady-in-waiting and Anne Boleyn’s former sister-in-law; and Katherine Howard, a beautiful young maid-in-waiting. By now, Henry is a hugely fat, sick, stinking, paranoid tyrant. These three women try their best to keep him happy and stay safe. I Continue Reading…
Under the Dome by Stephen King: Book Review
A giant dome suddenly appears over the town of Chester’s Mill, Maine one beautiful October day, and the townspeople are left to their own devices. That’s a lame synopsis, but I don’t want to give anything more away. What would you do if you were cut off from the rest of the world? Perhaps more Continue Reading…
Madapple by Christina Meldrum: Book Review
Aslaug has lived an isolated life with her mother in the woods of Maine. A disturbing story is revealed in alternating chapters. One set of chapters reveals the course of Aslaug’s life in the summer of 2003. The other reveals Aslaug on trial in 2007, for a crime that isn’t even revealed until very late Continue Reading…
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King: Book Review
“I should have thought it obvious,” I said impatiently, though even at that age I was aware that such things were not obvious to the majority of people. “I see paint on your pocket-handkerchief, and traces on your fingers where you wiped it away. The only reason to mark bees that I can think of Continue Reading…
The Bright Forever by Lee Martin: Book Review
On a beautiful July evening, nine-year-old Katie Mackey disappears on her way to the library. And our hearts break. I just don’t know where to start. It’s hard not to compare this to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, but there’s a huge difference. As I remember it, The Lovely Bones dealt with the family’s grieving Continue Reading…
Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review
Weezie Foley is back and better than ever. She’s trying her best to win Savannah’s historic district decorating contest, but the couple across the street are throwing tons of money into their efforts. To add to her troubles, her boyfriend Daniel always becomes decidedly Grinch-like at Christmas, and she just can’t get him into the Continue Reading…
Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White: Book Review
4 Stars. You should see my copy of this book. One of my co-workers, who, for various reasons, has only recently seen how much I read, saw all the neon post-it flags sticking out of the side of my book and asked me what on earth I was doing. I blushed and tried to explain how the people in Bailey White’s humorous little […]