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Reviews by Susan R. (Julian, NC)

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Bitter River: A Bell Elkins Novel
by Julia Keller

Bitter River (7/22/2013)

I definitely enjoyed this book and found it very interesting, I especially enjoyed the mystery about the murder of the 16 year old girl but thought the book lost some of its steam with the terrorist plot. I live in a small town in the south where everyone is related and enjoyed the descriptions of the people in Ackers Gap, I plan to go back and read the first book in the series and then read this one again. I would recommend this book!

Her Last Breath: A Kate Burkholder Novel
by Linda Castillo

Great Amish Mystery (4/29/2013)

I have read all of the books in the Kate Burkholder series and enjoyed them all. I think that HER LAST BREATH was the best book yet! The story was interesting and the ending was a real surprise. As a former Amish person and now chief of police in the same town where she is now shunned by the Amish, she is a very conflicted character - which also makes her more real and interesting. Fantastic book!

The Last Girl: A Maeve Kerrigan Novel
by Jane Casey

Great British Mystery (4/14/2013)

I enjoyed this book, but think that I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous three books in the series. I have just ordered the first three books so that I can get some of my questions answered.
I enjoyed the main character of Maeve Kerrigan and thought that she was very well written. She had flaws and was very believable as a woman in what was traditionally a man's role. The central mystery to the novel was very interesting and I didn't know 'whodunit' until very near the end -- didn't have a suspicion! I would definitely recommend this book. You could read it as a stand alone but my opinion is that it should be read as part of the series.

Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani

Fantastic Debut Novel (2/9/2013)

Sahar Delejani has written a fantastic novel. It is gritty and emotional and hard to read due to the subject matter. At the same time it is uplifting and shows hope for a brighter future for Iran. The characters were well written and unforgettable -- I will be thinking about Neda, Omid and Sheida for a long time. They all managed to overcome the upheaval of their young lives and become protestors in a new wave of protests in their country. This is a novel that I will highly recommend.

A Land More Kind Than Home: A Novel
by Wiley Cash

Loss of Innocence (3/11/2012)

I feel that a book is good if I continue to think about the characters in it after I have finished reading. The characters in this book continue to come to mind over a week after finishing it. These characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them and wanted to find out what happened in their lives after the end of the book. Wiley Cash has written a wonderful first novel. The story line is crisp and not overdone and it is told in such a way that I read it in one day. I look forward to this new author's next book!

Folly Beach: A Lowcountry Tale
by Dorothea Benton Frank

Folly Beach - Past and Present (6/9/2011)

I have read every book that Dorothea Benton Frank has written and this is absolutely the best one yet. She does a fantastic job of presenting a story inside the story. The modern story is about Cate Cooper and the changes in her life that cause her to move back to Folly Beach. The other story is about Dorothy and DeBose Heyward who lived on Folly Beach during the 20s. The author manages to keep both stories interesting and ties them together well. Absolutely a great beach read and one that I would highly recommend

The Sweetness of Tears: A Novel
by Nafisa Haji

The Sweetness of Life (3/21/2011)

I was very close to giving up on this book for the first 50 pages but I continued reading because I had really enjoyed this author's first book (The Writing on my Forehead). I made a list of all of the characters as they appeared in the book so that could connect the families. Once I did that, I couldn't put the book down. I think that this author presents a unique view on the differences of the two cultures - but then lets us see that ultimately we all strive for the same things in our lives no matter where we are from. I highly recommend this book.

An Amish Christmas: A Novel
by Cynthia Keller

To be, rather than to seem (8/26/2010)

The Hobarts are a modern well to do family with all of the latest electronics living in Charlotte NC. Meg Hobart, the mom, questions some of the excesses of her kids lives but is totally enmeshed in their upwardly mobile lives. Due to unfortunate circumstances, their lives are changed dramatically. After spending some time with an Amish family and seeing what life is like without all their modern excesses, the entire family learns a lot of lessons. I thought that the book was very interesting and was a good reminder of what is really important in everyone's lives. Meg learns that it is more important to 'be' real rather than to seem to be something that she is not. I would highly recommend this book!

The Hand that First Held Mine: A Novel
by Maggie O'Farrell

The Hand that First Held Mine (3/5/2010)

I thought that the book started slowly and I had a hard time getting involved in the characters. After about 50 pages, I started to really enjoy it. Once I got to that point, the characters became very real to me and I enjoyed getting to know them. I laughed and I cried while reading this book. The part of the story when Lexie knows that she is leaving her son forever and how much she fights to stay brought tears to my eyes. Overall I would say that this is one my top five books read in 2010 and I will highly recommend it to others. I am going to go back and read other books by this author.

The Lotus Eaters: A Novel
by Tatjana Soli

Collateral Damage (1/5/2010)

This novel by first time author Tatjana Soli was a haunting depiction of the war in Vietnam from several different fronts. We saw the view of the US military, the view of the Vietnamese civilians and the views of the war photographers who were frequently caught in the middle. The main character, Helen Adams, grows in her understanding of the war through out the novel. She starts out as not being sure why she is there or what she is doing and ends up a stronger woman. It was a fantastic book and one that I couldn't put down once I started reading it.

Serena: A Novel
by Ron Rash

GOOD vs EVIL (9/6/2009)

This is the classic story of good vs evil. On the evil side is Serena - she wants to control the environment and nature. She has no remorse for cutting down trees and totally destroying the environment and the people of the NC mountains. Rachel is the good - she understands the land and is in harmony with the environment and can live off the land. One quote from the book sums it all up "Everything in the world has its natural place and if you take something out or put something in that ought not to be out or in, everything gets lopsided and out of sorts."

It was a book that I couldn't put down and I think that this would be a very good book club choice.

Sweeping Up Glass
by Carolyn Wall

Fantastic Read (8/10/2009)

During the first few pages of this book, I kept putting it down - I didn't think that I could read it. However, once I learned all of the major characters, I got totally engrossed in it. I didn't want to read it too fast and miss anything. The book is fantastic and would be a great book club reading project....there are so many areas of the book that could be discussed in a group. The book presented a true picture of life in the south during the Depression...but it was more than just a picture of the South. It was a mystery and a deep look into Olivia's life and thoughts. It wasn't a page turner like many mysteries - instead it was a slow immersion into Olivia's thoughts and daily life. It was a fantastic book and I really enjoyed it.

Burnt Shadows: A Novel
by Kamila Shamsie

Burnt Shadows (5/2/2009)

The beginning of this book was confusing -- I would have preferred to get to know the characters better before the horror of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. However, I kept reading and found the book to be really good. The scope of the book was huge - Japan, India, Pakistan, the US but overall the theme of family unity tied together all of the various pieces and characters of the novel. I would highly recommend this book....and if you get bogged down at the beginning - keep reading -- it is WELL worth it!

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