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Reviews by Darlene C. (Simpsonville, SC)

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Precious Thing
by Colette McBeth
Precious Thing by Colette McBeth (1/9/2014)
The book begin with an intensity that you can't believe she can maintain. Told in the first person, a newspaper reporter is thrust in front of the camera, unknowingly covering the story of her best friend's disappearance. And then her boyfriend is found dead after beingmore
Amy Falls Down
by Jincy Willett
Amy Falls Down (6/17/2013)
As I continued to read, I became more engrossed in the story. In a way it's similar to the movie "Being There" with Peter Sellers. A series of ridiculous events are misconstrued by others as brilliance! ....and no one is more surprised than the main character.

I don't thinkmore
Close My Eyes
by Sophie McKenzie
Close My Eyes by Sophie Mckenzie (4/30/2013)
I really enjoyed this book and any comparison to Gyllian Flynn's "Gone Girl" would be right on the money. The story line is different but the slow build, and the unpredictable twists and turns that get you hooked and unable to put the book down, are the same. Even if you'remore
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani (2/17/2013)
I found this book difficult to read. I think it was because the characters (of which there were many) were not fully developed enough for me to create a memorable mental image of them. Therefore I found myself flipping back and forth to find out who was who and how theymore
Bone River
by Megan Chance
Bone River by Megan Chance: (11/5/2012)
I know I'm in for a good read, when the first time I pick up the book I don't put it down until Chapter 6, the second time took me to 10, then 15, and today I finished it. Do I really need to say I really enjoyed it? Beautifully written, a bit historical, a bit mystery, amore
Three Weeks in December
by Audrey Schulman
Three Weeks in December (1/3/2012)
I enjoyed this book immensely! An original plot, produces two alternating tales, either of which would have made an excellent book in their own right. The two storylines make it a perfect book to compare/contrast in a book club discussion. Not a book I would have picked upmore
Before the Poison
by Peter Robinson
Enjoyable read! (12/4/2011)
I haven't read this author's Inspector Banks novels but they are not necessary to enjoy this book. The first couple of chapters were slow going because they dealt with the geography of the story. It wasn't a "couldn't put it down", but more like an "I can't wait to get backmore
The Kitchen Daughter: A Novel
by Jael McHenry
The Kitchen Daughter (3/22/2011)
Awesome! It arrived on Saturday, finished it on Tuesday...sneaking a read every chance I had. Loved the use of food as part of social relationships; hated (but true) the need to define what is "normal" and apply "labels" to people. For all ages, and found it to be a "unique"more
Snowdrops: A Novel
by A.D. Miller
Snow Drops by A.D. Miller (12/4/2010)
The back of the book calls it "an intense psychological drama that echoes the sophisticated entertainments of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Gorky Part". Not! I did not find it either "intense" nor did it have "drama". It did describe the blackmarket for anything that existsmore
Ten Minutes from Home: A Memoir
by Beth Greenfield
Ten Minutes from Home (4/20/2010)
Thank-you Beth for shining a light on a dark corner of our society. When a parent loses a child, they seem to receive an endless amount of support but who is there to support a child who loses a sibling and a best friend, and whose parents are immersed in their own grief.more
Heresy
by S.J. Parris
Thumbs up for "Heresy" by S.J. Parris (12/3/2009)
I really enjoyed the book and couldn't wait to get home everyday and read a bit more! This historical "whodunit" prompted me to investigate the real characters used, so I learnt a bit of history as well. I can see this becoming a very successful BBC series similar to "more
How Far Is the Ocean from Here: A Novel
by Amy Shearn
Keep reading...it's a good book! (6/22/2008)
Having put the concentrated effort of getting through the wordy paragraph long sentences at the beginning of the book, I was rewarded with an enjoyable read. Quirky? Definitely! Great storyline! Believable characters? Maybe not for some readers, but for me believable enoughmore
Someone Knows My Name: aka: The Book of Negroes
by Lawrence Hill
Book clubs take note! (11/14/2007)
After a few chapters, I expected to see a novel I had seen before, that of "Roots" by Alex Haley, but I was very wrong and was soon riveted to the life story of Aminata Diallo.

What made this book enjoyable was the unpredictability of the story line, the believablemore
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BookBrowse Book Club

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    The Bluest Eye
    by Toni Morrison
    The story of a black girl in America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others. First published 1970; won the 1993 Nobel Prize.

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