Review: The Perfect Nanny

This book is the definition of chilling. Slimani tells readers in the very first sentence exactly what the end of this story is going to be, but somehow manages to keep the suspense at both a slow burn and a fever pitch.

On the surface, this is the tale of a family who hires a nanny, Louise, when the mother goes back to work. They hire a nanny who their children love, who keeps their house clean and cooks meals their friends are envious of.

But all is not what it seems.

Slimani is masterful at ripping off the facade, of showing what it is that truly boils under the surface of a human being, especially one in a determined role of subservience. Louise is family, but she's not. She is loved, but she's not. Louise seems perfect, but she's not. Besides the chill of what you know is coming from sentence one, there is also the chill of the way the characters treat each other, the way humans can treat each other. And then there is a scene with a chicken carcass, and that's all I'm going to say about that so as not to spoil anything, but it just might be one of the eeriest, creepiest, most haunting things I've read in a long time.

This is a quick read, not just in length, but because this is a book that will not let you put it down.

Mini Review: The Man From the Train

In The Man From the Train, James (with research assistance from McCarthy James), tackles the unsolved ax murders that shook America in the early to mid 1900s. Using his statistician background, James analyzes the crimes to prove they were part of a series, committed by one man, and then tells you who that one man was.

This is an amazing, fascinating, gripping read (I read the last 300 pages in one sitting). James' previous true crime book, Popular Crime, is one of my all-time favorites. He has a really unique take on true crime because of his mathematics background-but don't worry if you aren't a math person (I am not in any way a math person), because James' doesn't throw formulas at you. He uses his skills to analyze data and present a solution that no one has come up with before. James' also has this fantastically wry writer's style, that will have you giggling at times, even in the middle of a true crime book.

I would definitely, 100% recommend this book. And I would also 100% recommend that while you're picking this book up, get James' Popular Crime.

Mini Review: Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds

Nora Blackbird comes from old money, but that money is essentially gone thanks to her parents' indiscretions. Now she works as a society columnist, attending parties and fundraisers with the still-rich. And she's also possibly dating a man who may be a mobster--at least, his family are. Add in the wife of an ex-boyfriend being found dead at the bottom of a pool, and Nora's life has gotten plenty complicated.

This is such a fun cozy mystery. Martin's storytelling reminds me some of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series, outlandish characters that work so well, a tough-as-nails heroine juggling love and stopping criminals, and a great sense of humor pervading the mystery. I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of this series.

One Goal: A Coach, A Team, And The Game That Brought A Divided Town Together

Full disclaimer first: The author of this book is my cousin. That said, I would have wanted to read this book regardless, and I would have loved it regardless. It's thought-provoking, uplifting, and inspiring, and a fascinating read.

One Goal tells the true story of a high school soccer team, where Somali refugees not only play alongside boys whose families can trace their Maine lineage back generations, but play as a band of brothers. They weather cruel words thrown at them by opposing teams' fans and by people who live in their own town, even by a mayor who asks that Somalis stop coming to "his town". Through all this, they are a team, who stick together, play together, and win together. They are led by Coach McGraw, who never gives up on them and loves them as his own, who inspires them to greater heights than they ever thought they could reach.

This is a book that is desperately needed today. In a time when there are so many divides between people, when there is once again a politician calling for refugees to stay away, we all need to be reminded that we are stronger together.

You will not be able to stop rooting for this high school team, and for the inspiring lesson they, and Bass, impart.

Review: Into the Thinnest of Air

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Title: Into the Thinnest of Air
Author: Simon R. Green
Publication Date: March 1, 2018
Genre: Paranormal/Supernatural/Mystery
Recommended If You Like: a healthy dose of the paranormal and supernatural with your mystery, locked room mysteries, creepy country inns, local legends

The Book:

When Ishmael Jones' partner Penny is invited to the private reopening of a infamous inn, they learn of the legend behind it, that the previous owner poisoned all his dinner guests while his wife and child disappeared. But when people in the present start disappearing, what began as a dinner among old friends turns into a frightening and possibly supernatural locked room mystery.

What I Liked:

This is a creepy book with a lot of suspense. I'm always a sucker for a locked room mystery, especially one tinged with a horror aspect, and this story definitely delivers on that end. The ending also packs quite a punch, and is not one I saw coming.

Anything I Didn't Like?

I have to admit, I almost put this book down within the first two pages, because the strangeness factor behind the main character, Ishmael, just seemed so, to put it bluntly, weird. I hadn't known what the premise behind him was (and won't say it here to avoid spoilers), which is a good thing, because I wouldn't have picked up the book otherwise. It's not a bad or nasty thing, it's just not at all what I expected when I picked up a mystery.

So...?

I'm definitely glad I kept going with this book, because it ended up being so full of suspense, and horror aspects, and mystery. And that ending was really well-done. Get past the premise of the main character and you're in for a clever mystery.

Why Turtles All the Way Down Means So Much to Me

There are times when you pick up a book at the exact time you need it. This was one of those times, and this was one of those books.

In John Green's Turtles All the Way Down, we meet Aza, a sixteen year old consumed by anxiety and obsessive compulsive thoughts, feeling forced by her own brain to focus on the bacteria that surround her and the bacteria she knows are inside her, an absolute all-consuming compulsion that compels her to reopen a cut on her fingerpad over and over to make sure it is clean and not infected.

When a billionaire goes missing, on the run because of shady things he's done with his money, Aza finds herself and her best friend drawn into the mystery, because of the reward, but also because of Aza's past connection with the fugitive's son, Davis. As Aza is drawn into the seemingly infinite and and completely overwhelming spirals of her own mind, she struggles to hold onto herself and the relationships she has formed.

Aza is so so painfully and amazingly real. Green has done a masterful and important thing by making her the first person narrator of her own story. I needed and need Aza, as I am sure so many readers did and do. I picked this book up not only because of glowing recommendations from people I care about, but also because I needed it. I am in the midst of my own work on my own anxiety disorder and depression, especially following the loss of my beloved dog, and while it is nowhere near where Aza finds herself, there is still so much in the book I could relate to, so much I needed to hear put into words. Green understands it so well because he's been there, and is still there, and this allows him to write with such honesty. He tells a story that needs to be told, because it makes all of us out there who can relate feel and know we are not alone. And that there is nothing to be ashamed of, no need to hide--a best-selling author has put out a best-selling book that tells our truth--and who we are is important, and valid, and makes us no less than anyone around us.

It is so rare to find a book that you keep nodding your head along to, that you feel every word in your heart, that resonates so strongly, and that makes you feel uplifted in your soul. This was one of those books for me. I recommend it with my whole heart, and with my spiraling, but beautiful, mind.

Review: Grit

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

This book is a bit of an enigma to me. Not much really happens, but yet it's interesting enough to keep me reading.

In Grit, we meet Darcy, who everyone in town loves to spread rumors about and call the "town slut". But she's fine hiding behind the gossip so she doesn't have to think about the truth-what happened to her cousin Nell, her missing best friend, and herself, on the Fourth of July. Then someone nominates Darcy for Bay Festival Princess, and she can't hide anymore.

This book moves around through Darcy's everyday life, raking berries during the summer to try to earn extra cash, spending time with her family, interacting with boys and friends. But while on the surface it seems like a story that is meandering around, knowing that there is so much simmering under the surface kept me turning pages. French drops lots of small, almost hidden, hints that add up to subtle foreshadowing about what is to come, and there's this overarching sense of depressing dread that makes this book so atmospheric.

I don't see myself rushing out to read more of French's work, simply because there are so many other books in this genre that are already demanding my attention. But if you are looking for a quick, highly atmospheric almost haunting read, with a slow build and some real emotional punches, this would be a good one to pick up.