Victoria McQueen has a special ability. She can ride her bike across the 'Shorter Way Bridge' and arrive wherever she wants to be. As a kid, Vic uses this skill to retrieve lost objects. When Vic's mom misplaces a bracelet, for instance, the bridge takes Vic to a diner 40 miles away to retrieve it. And when Vic misplaces a photo, the bridge takes her to the school lockers where she left it. 🙂
Creepy Charles Manx also has a special ability.
He has a vintage Rolls Royce Wraith that takes him to a place called 'Christmasland' - a supernatural amusement park he's constructed out of his imagination. Manx uses the car, which has the license plate "Nos4a2" (Nosferatu) to abduct children and take them to Christmasland.
As the child is being driven to the park his/her life force is drained to sustain Manx and restore his youth. Thus, Christmasland is populated with decomposing ghoul children who delight in biting, tearing apart, and killing people - especially adults. 😲
Abducting children is a tricky business so Manx enlists an assistant named Bing, a somewhat dim-witted sociopath who once took a nail gun to his father's head.
Bing's job is to help subdue the kids and get rid of the parents. Because Bing uses a psychotropic gas for these tasks he's called the gas mask man.
By the time Vic becomes a teen she's all kinds of disturbed, with parents that don't get along and a talent she doesn't understand. So one day Vic goes out looking for trouble and finds it. Vic crosses the Shorter Way Bridge and happens upon Charles Manx - who's on his way to Christmasland with a child.
Vic tries to rescue the kid and fails, but she manages to escape from Manx...and is instrumental in putting him in prison. A decade later Manx dies in prison....BUT NOT REALLY! And his autopsied body disappears from the morgue. 😵
While Manx was locked up a lot went on in Vic's life. She became estranged from her parents; became an alcoholic; went to a mental hospital; had a son; etc. In any case, when Manx 'dies' and gets back on the street he kidnap's Vic's 10-year-old son Wayne.
Law enforcement officers don't believe Vic's story that Manx took the boy (Who would? Manx is dead after all.) So Vic herself becomes a suspect in Wayne's abduction and has to elude the FBI while trying to rescue her son. And the epic battle between good an evil is on. ☠ 👩
There are interesting secondary characters in the story including a librarian who gets supernatural messages using scrabble tiles; Wayne's father Lou - an amiable motorcycle-riding mechanic who'd do anything for his boy; and an FBI agent who has an inkling that's something odd is happening. The story has lots of creepy scenes including Bing torturing and killing his victims; Manx taking an increasingly delusional/deteriorating Wayne on the long drive to Christmasland; mysterious phone calls from dead children; and more. There's also plenty of action, with stabbings, hammerings, shootings, narrow escapes, etc. The book's finale is fittingly dramatic and bloody.
I enjoyed this well-written horror/thriller and recommend it to fans of the genre.
Rating: 4 stars
Formerly well-off Frances Wray and her mother are having a hard time in post-WWI London. Frances' brothers were lost in the war and her father died leaving a load of debt. To conserve money the Wrays had to let the help go. So 26-year-old Frances has to do all the household chores.....
.....while her mother - apparently unable or unwilling to do any cooking or cleaning - goes about her personal business.
Thus Frances is generally roughly dressed, tired, and sporting the rough, red hands of a charwoman. Not the life she had pictured for herself.
To help pay the bills the Wrays decide to rent part of their house to paying guests, Leonard and Lillian Barber. The Barbers are an upwardly mobile twenty-something couple that have little in common with the Wrays.
Leonard works for an insurance company while Lillian stays home lounging and decorating her rooms to resemble an exotic bazaar.
Though Frances is put off by brash, intrusive Leonard she starts to becomes friendly with the Barbers. On a night when there's been too much drinking this leads to an uncomfortable game of 'Snakes and Ladders' where a drunk Leonard enforces his own made-up rules. Frances is embarrassed and starts to sense some trouble in the Barber marriage.
Living in the same house, Frances and Lillian become friendly, with chats and walks and picnics. Eventually Lillian cuts and waves Frances' hair, updates her party gown, and takes her to a relative's birthday party.....
.....where there's drinking, dancing, and flirting.
Leonard also seems to like Frances, and hangs around to talk to her whenever he gets the chance. Proximity and attraction lead to a relationship that ultimately results in a terrible accident, a police investigation, and a trial.
The author is adept at depicting emotions and the characters feelings of love, desire, worry, anger, despair, and so on seem authentic and true to life. That said, I didn't especially like many of the characters. Frances seems pushy and a little selfish, Lillian appears a bit manipulative and obtuse, and Leonard comes across as a bully and a lech. I felt some sympathy for Mrs. Wray, who lost her sons and husband and is bewildered by her daughter.
And I was entertained by Lillian's large, boisterous family, who inject a needed touch of humor into the book.
To me the story was disturbing but this is a good book that's well-written and worth reading. Plus it contains subject matter that's good fodder for book clubs.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Josie Buhrman's father was shot and killed 13 years ago, and Warren Cave - the goth teenage boy next door - was convicted of the crime.
Afterwards, Josie's already troubled mother fell apart, and ran off to join a cult.
To top things off, Josie's rebellious twin sister, Lanie, betrayed her in a very hurtful way.
So at 18, Josie left a goodbye note for her beloved Aunt Amelia - with whom she'd been living - and left Elm Park, Illinois.
Josie backpacked and hitchhiked around the world, supported herself with low-paying food service jobs, and invented a fake history to tell new acquaintances.
After years of roaming Josie met Caleb, a handsome international aid worker from New Zealand. They fell in love and eventually settled in New York, where Josie got a good job in a bookstore. Josie never told Caleb the truth about her past, which is about to come back and bite her in the butt.
A reporter named Poppy Parnell is making a podcast about the murder of Josie's dad, Chuck Buhrman. Furthermore, Parnell is questioning Warren Cave's guilt and looking at possible alternative suspects.
The re-opening of the case generates a lot of interest among the general public, who proceed to talk and post comments about the case and everyone connected with it.
Josie is terribly anxious about Parnell's podcast, which reminds her of painful events. Additionally, the idea that Warren Cave might be innocent is anathema to her. After all, Josie's sister Lanie said she SAW Warren shoot her father. Who else could have committed the crime? Podcast groupies are ready with lots of suggestions, including Josie's mother, Warren's mother, Lanie, and others.
The podcast and the renewed publicity is apparently too much for Josie's mother, who commits suicide. As a result, Josie has to return to Elm Park, where she'll attend her mother's funeral, comfort her Aunt Amelia, and see her estranged sister Lanie.
Caleb thinks Josie's mother is long dead, so she tells him it's her aunt's funeral, and convinces him to stay behind in New York.
Being back in Elm Park is very stressful for Josie. She's still furious with her sister; her cousin Ellen, a fashionista, is critical of her appearance; the viewing and funeral are difficult; and Caleb shows up and learns that Josie is big liar.
Moreover, Poppy Parnell keeps trying to corner Josie, to get an interview for the podcast.
The story is told as a narrative interspersed with excerpts from the podcast, plus Tweets, Reddit threads, and comments from the public. This style works well for the book, and some of the 'messages' are very entertaining. (Sadly, it's a realistic portrayal of how insensitive people can be on social media.)
The basic plot - is Warren guilty? If not, who is? - is compelling. The main characters, though, are somewhat unsympathetic and/or unrealistic.
Josie, for one, is an irritating protagonist. She's whiny, overly emotional, and even after 10 years can't get past Lanie's 'betrayal' which - after all - wasn't that earth shattering. And Josie does some business with her hair - she has her luxuriant tresses chopped into a bad pixie cut and dyed.....then gets it fixed - which seems pointless. Also, in real life, men aren't as understanding or forgiving as Caleb.
As for Lanie, some of her obnoxious behavior as a teen - hanging with a bad crowd; using drugs; not showering; wearing dirty clothes; and so on - is understandable in the circumstances.
However, one of Lanie's actions is a serious crime, and there are no appropriate consequences. I wondered what her family was thinking!
In a way Poppy Parnell is the most authentic character in the book. She's irritating but behaves like a real journalist - chasing people for comments; saying outrageous things for publicity; not caring about the harm she's doing to the families; and so on.
By the end of the book the truth about Chuck Buhrman's death emerges, which some readers may suss out long before the characters do.
Overall, this is an okay book that shows how 'true crime' stories can devastate the families involved.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
Tatya Zaslavskaya - lanky, blonde. and attractive - is a sports massage therapist and one of the top players on her women's beach volleyball team in Miami, Florida.
She's also secretly smitten with her new teammate - tall, pretty, red-haired Kris Jayson, a former college rower who recently joined the volleyball squad.
Still, when Coach Lake asks Tatya who should be her partner at the upcoming volleyball tournament in San Diego, Tatya wants to be fair. Should she suggest Lucy - a long-time teammate and solid player, or Kris - a talented novice who's hungry for success. In the end Tatya cedes the choice to Coach Lake, who picks Kris.
When Kris injures her hamstring a couple of weeks before the tournament, Tatya is determined to help her heal. To aide Kris's recovery Tatya offers homemade meals and massage therapy.
These somewhat sensual interactions are thrilling for Tatya, though Kris - who's only dated boys in the past - seems to regard them solely as friendly overtures.
Tatya and Kris make it to San Diego, where they meet other attractive volleyball players - and nature takes it course. Meanwhile, all the women's teams are preparing for the tournament. The descriptions of the practices and games are exciting: serve, dip, bump, spike, occasionally fumble ....lose a point, score a point, etc. I was eager to see who would eventually win the championship.
In her zeal to win an important game Tatya does something she fears might alienate Kris. After overcoming this rough spot in their friendship Tatya confesses her attraction to her friend, which eventually brings the women closer.
In time, personal conversations lead to an exchange of confidences during which Kris discloses deep feelings of insecurity about her talent, abilities, and worth, and Tatya reveals profound grief over a former girlfriend. Can Tatya and Kris help each other heal and go forward?
An array of additional characters add interest to the story including several members of the Miami volleyball team, Tatya's roommate Brett, Kris's cat Itchy....
.....and Las Vegas volleyballer Dre - who engages in smoking sex with Tatya.
In fact there's plenty of red-hot sex in the story, which will appeal to fans of romance and erotica.
I enjoyed the scenes where Tatya prepared delicious dishes like ajiaco;
yucca fries;
couscous with vegetables;
jambalaya;
crab cakes;
chocolate mousse;
ice cream topped with cinnamon and figs, and more.
They made me wish I had a generous friend who was a good chef. :)
This is an engaging story about two women searching for happiness and fulfillment. I look forward to the second book in the series.
Rating: 4 stars
In this second book in the 'Inspector John Rebus' series, the Edinburgh police detective investigates a murder that has reverberations among the city's power elite. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
A young junkie named Ronnie McGrath is found dead in an Edinburgh squat - positioned like Christ on the cross - with candles beside him and what looks like satanic symbols on the wall.
Ronnie's girlfriend, Tracy, tells Detective Inspector John Rebus that Ronnie was distraught before he died, and repeatedly cried "hide, hide." At first it looks like Ronnie overdosed, but Rebus learns that Ronnie's dope was tainted with rat poison.
Because Rebus is involved in a drug case his boss, Superintendent Watson, invites the detective to lunch with a few Edinburgh bigwigs who are involved with an anti-drug campaign. Rebus seems to be of interest to these rich, successful men, who invite him to a classy party and give him an 'honorary membership' in a gambling club.
Meanwhile, Tracy reports that she's being followed, and Rebus notices that he's being followed as well. It's clear that someone is interested in Rebus's investigation, and he has to find out why.
To assist with his inquiries, Rebus reaches out to Sergeant Brian Holmes - the cop least likely to complain about Rebus's numerous demands.
It turns out that Ronnie was a threat to some people; Tracy knows more than she's telling; and Edinburgh's upper crust citizens have dark secrets. Some side plots in the story involve illegal dog fights, a gay character, and Rebus's ex-lover - Gillian Templer - who has a new radio DJ boyfriend. Rebus pines for Gillian and wants her back.
The book gets over-convoluted and some plot points don't make sense. Still, Rebus has good intuition and identifies the criminals in the end.
This is an early book in the Rebus series and he's kind of 'Rebus light.' That is - though he's demanding - Rebus isn't the difficult, pushy, irascible, alcoholic, boss-hating man he becomes in later books.
This is a pretty good story, recommended to mystery readers - especially Rebus fans.
Rating: 3 stars
