How happy I am to receive an exciting book written by a new author! Tudor gave me a whole day of reliving my childhood through the lives of some young twelve-year olds. Then, in addition, I was able to view these same individuals thirty years later.

When a book starts with a murder and makes me hold my breath, I know I'm in for a wonderful diversion to an ordinary day. Through Eddie and his gang we learn about the bullies, the dramas and tragedies of their lives, the made-up games and the affluent families who also have their own problems. There was no way I could guess the ending to this creative thriller. As we learned from Eddie, questions we have in our childhood never actually give us satisfactory answers even when we become adults. We put them away and move on. Secrets are put on hold and a new part of our life begins. Who is the Chalkman? Can you discover his secrets before death catches up with you? Perfect characters, an involved storyline and a surprising ending. One of those books you'll reread many times.

I've read many of Barclay's suspense/thrillers and was excited when I received this copy of the second book in his Promise Falls series. Luckily I had read the first book, Broken Promise so I was familiar with the main characters. Again the main detectives/investigators are prime to this story. Again the storyline itself is unique and makes for a great page-turning novel. However, I found the abundance of characters Barclay introduces kept me slightly confused. Maybe that's good though. I definitely had to be remain alert so as to guess the real culprits in the mystery. Because I had read the previous novel, I found the flashbacks used for the "catch-ups" a little distracting. I would have rather seen this book as a stand-alone novel. Forget the previous happenings in book one. But I still enjoyed Barclay's writing style and his creative story. I'm a little prejudiced when it comes to the mystery/thriller genre, however. I'd read them 24-hours a day if I could! Barclay always provides me with an entertaining few hours.

Linwood Barclay always writes wonderful stories. This book, Broken Promises, was another one of his books with a great plot, intriguing characters and lots of surprises. The reader is introduced to a family where nothing is as it seems. Barclay keeps the reader guessing by jumping from character to character, introducing new problems and secrets, and making the reader puzzled as to exactly where the story is headed! Just when you get to an exciting part, someone disappears, you're included in part of a family secret, or there's a murder. Something for everybody! If you like mysteries and you don't know Linwood Barclay yet, here's your chance when this book appears on the shelf. Barclay is always worth a thrilling read.

Here's another great story from Sendker. After reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats I was hopeful that his newest book would be just as wonderful. I wasn't disappointed! What makes this book superb are the in-depth descriptions, the well-developed characters and the creative storyline. All of these important details helped me become part of the story too. In addition Sendker throws in the disappearance of an American couple's son and makes the story a page-turner. This book gives the reader an excellent view of China and Hong Kong. Because Paul is living alone trying to overcome the death of his own child, it is not surprising that he becomes involved with a woman he meets on the street who is distraught when her own son disappears. Paul's friend, Zhang a detective, provides us with a look at the more corrupt side of the government and local police. Sendker's writing allows all the pieces to come together in a story that is full of emotion and excitement. This is definitely a book you'll want to read.

This book drew me in like a magnet. The story is simple. A girl disappears and her family searches for her. But what Tim Johnston does with this story is what is amazing. His language and style has a mesmerizing feeling and hypnotizes the readers into the flow of the words. The reader has to work at the story to learn about the characters and get into their minds. Nothing is given away free in this book. The reader earns the right to love this novel - learning the mysteries and secrets. I really felt like I was there with each person, pushing on with them, not giving up. I could smell the pines, the sweat, the wilderness. I don't know how Johnston did it, but I read in his bio that he is a teacher of creative writing at U of Memphis, so he must be great at what he does. DESCENT shows his great ability. This is a book I'll read again when I'm not on a timeline. I want to hear the language a second time and love and hate the characters - their actions and words and the uniqueness of each page and character. This book left a lasting impression on me not because of the story, but because of the wonderful language experience. Don't miss this one!

When Rachel moves into a new town and high school, she is lucky to make friends with Clara, the most popular girl in the class. They promise to be friends forever. Years pass and Rachel has found her own place and career in Brighton. As a news reporter she is called to a press conference about a missing person. This is where the story opens up. The missing person is of course, Clara. The reader is immersed into the story and finds out that friends aren't always what they might be. The story is well-done with only a couple parts that are stretched a little too much to be believable. For example, when Rachel moves into the new town with her drunken mother, little do we know how this family relationship will later involve Clara. This was a little unbelievable. Rachel's personality is sometimes not as we might like it to be. If she is the famous news-reporter, how can she not see where the story is leading, especially with the secrets she knows. When her boyfriend is murdered, her apartment is broken into twice, and she is arrested for the possible murder of Clara, the story loses the strong thread it needs to be rated a 5. If these two girls are really life-long friends, why do they seem to be strangers? I liked trying to guess where the story would take me. I'm not quite sure I liked Rachel in the end. She states that in order to love Clara, she has to learn to hate her. Rachel is a real manipulator as we learn at the conclusion.

Here is a story in which you actually lose yourself and become one with the characters. As a reader, I floated around like the spirits Leonie dreamed about and needed to know the secrets kept by the the Leonie's father and her husband Junius. Megan Chance writes with detail and feeling and allows the reader to feel the cold of the storms and waters of the oyster beds. She has researched the time period with great precision and given her character, Leonie, the strength to fight for what she needs and wants as a woman.

This is one of those special books that tells a unique story through mystery and romance by an author who knows how to write and intrigue her readers. This will be one of my favorite books of 2012.

Dennis Lehane is a magician of history, bringing the past alive and allowing readers to relive prominent events. Live By Night focuses on the 1920s and 1930s, the rum runners, the gangsters, police and government corruption, and some wonderful characters. The main story deals with Joe Coughlin surviving through these roaring 20s. His toughness allows him to survive a horrible time in jail, but coming out to become one of the wealthiest heads of rum running from the Gulf states and up the Atlantic coast. Living in this era the competition was dangerous, devious, and all-around cutthroat. Joe's story makes this book a page-turner with this reader asking for more of the same type of story from Lehane. An excellent book sure to be a best seller.

This book will be one of my favorites for this year! Historically, it is around the mid-1800s and the U.S. has acquired Florida as a new territory. The Keys are being settled and New Orleans is at its social peak. Emily and Martin, recently married, move to Key West and then are assigned to man the lighthouse at the tip of the Keys on Wreckers' Cay. When Martin suddenly disappears, Emily and her children take on this difficult job of lighthouse keeper. The story is both intriguing and suspenseful when Andrew, an escaped slave, washes up on the island. Having to keep Andrew a secret since he is a runaway, becomes even harder when a romance develops with Emily. This story revolves around how women are looked upon during this period, racial tensions, and hurricane disasters. This memoir of Emily's life is one that will definitely leave an impression on the reader both because of the story and the research Brady completed.

Can you search forever, even into the next life, and ever find your true life story and your true love? Moving through the parallel stories of Sean and Michael who are living during different time periods yet looking for similar historical truths of their family is at first intriguing to the reader. But then the moving back and forth in time and learning how reincarnation can help your searches and trying to find the love of your life, loses the reader in more of a make-believe story. Some of the history of the bloody revolutions in Ireland make the story move along. But "coming back" into another body to continue the fight, the family search, the perfect love, destroys the continuity of the book. I liked the female characters for their strength and assuredness for the direction that they took. The women are always lecturing the males that "death don't matter so much. What matters if the next life." Second chances are what's important. A lot of this philosophy didn't make sense to this reader and made the story less believable. Because of the way the next life is stressed through reincarnation, religious beliefs become unbelievable themselves and these ideas might offend some readers. There is a paranormal flavor to the story which adds to the suspense and how this novel is concluded. Will love be found or lost in your next life? Kevin Fox has given the reader much to think about.

Eli Gottlieb's book, The Face Thief, is a book I had to read in one sitting! Once you meet the four major characters and how they interact, you're completely hooked. Margot, young and beautiful, strong and manipulative, gives Lawrence and John a real run for their lives and money. I loved and hated Margot for her clever and intuitive personality. The story is not long, but once you're near the end, Gottlieb puts a few twists into the story and turns the reader upside-down and inside-out!

This is a psychological/mind-boggling story that will stay with you for a long time. Learning to "read faces" is one thing, but reading people's minds is a whole other game entirely. Gottlieb has a winner!

In Laura Lippman's most recent novel, she introduces five children to the reader and follows their lives into adulthood. This might appear to be a fairly common theme, but Lippman throws in a "secret" that happened to these children and traces its affects and conflicts along into their adult lives. The pace of the story is slow, but the reader is constantly reminded that something in the story is "not quite right" and the need to finish the story is compelling. Through the lives of the parents and children, two generations of attitudes, customs, and mores are followed and the changes analyzed, accounting for the dangers that could/would happen to children in their youth. An adult will definitely see the connection with their own childhood and how times have changed from then to now. There will be many questions for discussions that will be brought forth from this book.

Sister, by Rosamund Lupton, is creatively and cleverly written using an internal monologue type of narrative to engage the reader. Beatrice, the older of the sisters tries to unravel the mystery behind the death of Tess, her younger sister. Beatrice says she knows Tess almost better than she does her own self and Tess would never have attempted to kill herself. There is little action in the story, but the reader is still drawn along through the scenes that are developed mentally as Beatrice unfolds the tale of Tess's artistic life at college. Even though the characters are not described in detail, Lupton allows the reader to make the characters come to life in their own mind. At one point, the reader eventually questions the sanity of both sisters! This is not the kind of thriller/mystery that is commonplace, graphic, or scary. The last fifty pages holds all the secrets and the reader is held in suspense until the book is finished. If you're looking for something a little different, Sister will be the book that is waiting for you.

In Boyd's first book Steve Vail, the bricklayer, was established as a real-life super hero. In Agent X, Steve again performs all the impossible spy and counter-conspiracy theory dances like he was born into the job. He's a little shy in the romance department, but that makes his character seem even more sincere and realistic. Steven Vail is again cornered in this book by the FBI, CIA, police, detectives and any one else who can't figure out a problem. Give it to Steve and he has the problem solved in no time. The reader is sent through a whirl-wind of government and terrorist plots which keeps the pages turning. The action is superb and the story line is one to keep you awake until the book is done. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time because you won't want to put this book down. Does he get the girl this time? Your turn to find out!

This was really my kind of book! I loved the unique characters and their problems while mixed along with the historical facts of London Tower itself. There was everything in this book I needed: romance, humor, mystery, empathy, slapstick, and even anger. Being an animal lover, the tales that were provided about the animals themselves, helped attach me to the story even more. If you're looking for something a little different to read, this book is a MUST!