Book Review: "Starter Villain" by John Scalzi

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at this book and thought about reading it. The cover cracks me up every time, so I took the plunge.

This is a creative book that is wacky as hell. Charlie used to be a happily married business journalist. Now he’s a divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in his late father’s house, which his siblings would like to sell from under him. He dreams of taking over the neighborhood pub—if only he can get $3.4 million.

Then he learns that his Uncle Jake, whom he hasn’t seen since he was 5, has died. There are lots of people who are happy he’s dead (once they’re sure he’s not faking it). It turns out that Uncle Jake was a billionaire, but his fortune wasn’t entirely legitimate.

Charlie suddenly finds himself in charge of his uncle’s super-villain empire. Now, he’s the target of all of those who wanted Jake dead. Figuring out what to do isn’t easy, but he can’t just hide out in his uncle’s secret volcano lair, can he? Luckily he has intelligent cats who can type, unionized (and foul mouthed) dolphins, and a few dangerous masterminds on his side.

“A stupid villain threatens, Charlie. A smarter villain offers a service.”

The book started out fairly normal but it gets crazier and crazier as the plot unfolds. I’m always amazed at the creativity of writers who can think of wild stories like this. I enjoyed it—although at times I felt like it was trying too hard—and thought it was a great change of pace from the heavier books I usually read.

Book Review: "The Silent Watcher" by Victor Methos

The Silent Watcher was a really good read and my first Victor Methos book. Part crime novel, part courtroom drama, and a well-written meditation on how help from others can make a difference in our lives, I couldn’t put this down.

A recent law school graduate, Piper decides to take a job as a guardian ad litem (GAL), to ensure the most vulnerable victims of crimes are represented in court. When she was a child, a GAL helped her, so she has always wanted to do the same for others.

She is brought in to work with Sophie, a teenage girl who survived a deadly attack which killed her mother and brother. Sophie is traumatized and although she caught glimpses of the killer, she has to work through her grief and shock first before the possibility she could help identify them.

Piper partners with Lazarus, a world-weary detective who is determined to catch the killer, and will leave no stone unturned. After some shrewd investigative work, Lazarus discovers there is much to fear about this murderer, and they will need to travel down some dark paths to find him.

When they find the predator, Piper needs to protect Sophie from being traumatized in court, and they all need to make sure the man never is free again. But Piper’s work with Lazarus and an enigmatic judge puts her in the crossfire. Can she protect herself and Sophie?

The story has some creepy possibilities, but they’re not fully realized, thankfully. I really liked the main characters and believe that there’s so much more depth to be covered, so I’m excited that there will be a second book in this series.

This book will publish 12/1.

Book Review: "The Emperor and the Endless Palace" by Justinian Huang

“What if I told you that the feeling we call love is actually the feeling of metaphysical recognition, when your soul remembers someone from a previous life?”

Justinian Huang’s debut novel was my pick for our book club this month. A romantasy—which isn’t a genre I’ve read much of—that dealt with the idea of soulmates through time, it definitely provoked some interesting conversation.

The book alternates among three different narratives.

Dong Xian is a court clerk in the Endless Palace in the year 4 BCE. He wants to make something of himself, so when he is offered the chance to befriend and seduce the young emperor, he agrees. He does not count on the intrigue that surrounds him, or the one who wants to stop him.

In 1740, He Shican is an innkeeper who welcomes a handsome guest and his grandmother, who is very ill. Summoning his friend and former lover, a doctor, to help the guests, He doesn’t know what forces he is awakening.

In current-day Los Angeles, River, recently out of the closet, goes to a circuit party with a friend of his. There he meets Joey, a handsome man, whom he is immediately drawn to. Yet both have a feeling they know each other from somewhere, and River’s determination to find Joey again brings him up against a corrupt businessman.

This is a beautifully written book, although the few sex scenes were very odd for me, distracting me from the rest of the story. The ending was a bit abrupt and I don’t know if I made every connection between the three stories, but I was drawn in to the story.

Book Review: "The Best Lies" by David Ellis

I don’t know what it is about 2024, but some of my favorite thrillers have been all about lies: First Lie Wins, Listen for the Lie, and now, The Best Lies.

This book had my heart racing from the very first page. David Ellis’ last book, Look Closer, totally blew me away and was one of my favorite reads of 2022. While this was different in some ways, here, too, there were lots of twists and turns and I didn’t have any idea how it would all get resolved. But when I was finished with the book, I wanted to read it all again to see if I missed anything!

So much of what worked about this book for me was not knowing what to expect, so I’m going to be fairly vague about the plot. When the book starts, Leo, a criminal defense attorney from the Chicago area, is about to be arrested for murder. But as we see from the way the plot shifts back and forth through time, what brought Leo to this moment is much more than meets the eye initially.

The book is narrated from several characters’ perspectives, and it deals with a lot of themes. It also raises the question of whom you can trust, and if certain crimes can be overlooked if the motive behind them was pure.

David Ellis is a phenomenal storyteller. If anyone has read his backlist, please tell me which book to pick up next!

Many thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book will publish 7/23.

Book Review: "Nightwatching" by Tracy Sierra

Excuse me while my breathing gets back to normal! This was an intense, crazy thriller that didn’t really let up until it neared the end.

It’s the middle of a blizzard, and a woman is at home with her two young children. When her son awakens in the middle of the night, she gets him settled back into his bed. And then she hears a noise. Of course, it’s an old house and there’s a storm outside, so noises are inevitable. But as she stays hidden, she sees the face of a man appear at the top of the stairs.

“Reality can be more disorienting than dreams.”

She’s determined that she and her children will not be sitting ducks for this intruder. She wakes the kids and takes them into a secret crawl space, where she tries to calm them down and wait him out. But when she hears his voice, first trying to coax the children out of hiding, then threatening to destroy all of them, she realizes she knows who this man is, and what he wants she will never give him.

She tries to figure out a way to escape and get help, but can she leave her children alone in the house? And how far will she get in the blizzard?

I really wasn’t sure how this story would be resolved. I’ll admit I thought this could all be some sort of hallucination, or that there would be a twist I didn’t enjoy. But Tracy Sierra, in a tremendously self-assured debut, slowly lets things unfold and keeps you thinking.

Book Review: "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America" by Erik Larson

It may be nonfiction, but boy, it reads like a thriller.

How have I gone this long without reading this book? I’ve thought about it so many times and read other Erik Larson books, but for some reason, this has been one I’ve never picked up. I got it a few weeks ago when my colleagues and I did a book swap—one friend had the unenviable task of picking a book out for me. He hit this one out of the park!

The subtitle of this book is “Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.” It’s about the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and Larson tells the story of two men, Daniel Hudson Burnham, the famed architect behind the Fair, and Henry Holmes, a doctor and serial killer who used the Fair as a way to lure women to their deaths.

This was such a fascinating read, and I’ve heard that they’re finally adapting it into a movie with Keanu Reeves as a star. If you’ve never read this, give it a shot!!

Book Review: "Hellbent" by Gregg Hurwitz

When I finished Hellbent, the third book in Gregg Hurwitz's fantastic series featuring rogue government assassin Evan Smoak, I got to thinking. You literally could spend the entire year reading books in different series, between YA, mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, even romance. It certainly would make things easier in terms of figuring out what your next book to read should be!!

There really are some amazing series out there, and this one is no exception.

When Evan Smoak (not his real name) was young, a man rescued him from a troubled life and he trained Evan how to kill. He was part of a fully deniable black program buried deep inside the Department of Defense, becoming Orphan X, "an expendable assassin who went where the U.S. government would not and did what the U.S. government could not."

But eight years ago, Evan went rogue from the program and became the Nowhere Man, the last resort for a person in desperate trouble. No one knows who the Nowhere Man is, but they know if they call him, he will help rescue them from a seemingly helpless situation.

"Evan had simply stepped off the grid, keeping only the operational alias he'd earned in the shadow service, a name spoken in hushed tones in the back rooms of intel agencies the world over."

Jack Johns was the man who brought Evan into the program, and he was the man who helped Evan remain human despite the things he had to do, the things he saw. Essentially, Jack has been the only father Evan has known, and when Jack calls him out of the blue one night, they both know his time is running out. One of Evan's fellow Orphans, Charles Van Sciver, is now in charge of wiping out any traces of the former program, and he's hellbent on finding Evan to enact some deep-seated revenge, so he strikes at Jack in an effort to get to Evan. Jack sends Evan on one last mission, to rescue his last protegé before she falls into Van Sciver's clutches.

What Evan finds is not what he is expecting, and this recruit leaves him with his hands full. He's bound and determined to make those who hurt Jack pay, and he knows he must strike at Van Sciver and his cohorts—some of whom are lethal former Orphans themselves—before he becomes the next target. But he has no idea just how high up the command to wipe out the program—and him—comes from.

In the meantime, Evan must also balance his responsibility as the Nowhere Man, which leaves him with a complex and potentially dangerous mission, and he is forced to both confront the path his life has taken, and wonder if he's destined to spend the rest of his life alone. If so, is that what he deserves?

Hellbent is an excellent combination of kick-ass action, pulse-pounding suspense, and complex character development. The characters aren't one-dimensional, even the villains—you get to understand what has made them the way they are. The one thing I always have trouble keeping in mind when reading this series is that Evan seems so world-weary, so wise beyond his years, but he's only in his late 20s or early 30s at best.

While I would recommend reading this series from the start—and Orphan X is one heck of a start (see my review)—you could start with this book and not feel utterly disoriented. However, you'd definitely miss some of the nuances that make this series such a find.

We could all use a little Evan Smoak in our lives. I'm excited that the fourth book in the series is slated to be released in January—I'm finally back on track! Seriously, if you're a thriller fan and you've not dived into this series yet, take my advice. Do it.

Book Review: "A Place Called Winter" by Patrick Gale

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for making it available.

This was a lovely, beautifully written, poignant book, that reminded me a little bit of John Boyne's The Absolutist in its tone and subject matter, although the former left me more of an emotional wreck than this one did!

Growing up a child of privilege, Harry Cane was shy, ill-at-ease in social situations, and more than happy to blend into the scenery than be noticed. His financial situation left him able to live a life of leisure, and if he could interact with no one but his more gregarious younger brother, Jack. But when Jack meets an outspoken young woman, Harry comes along to meet her sister, and before he knew it, finds himself happily married to a woman whose social discomfort is similar to his own, and they are proud parents of a baby girl.

Despite some financial challenges, life is peaceful for Harry, and he is able to live the life he wants. But when he finds himself drawn into an unlikely affair, it changes him completely—and its discovery threatens to ruin his marriage, his comforts, and even his life. With nowhere else to turn, Harry decides to join the crush of people migrating to the Canadian wilderness in the hopes of settling a homestead there. Life is bleak, and the work is even harder, but he learns that he is far stronger than he ever thought, and can handle adversity better than he imagined.

Living in the harsh landscape brings him face-to-face with a menace both attractive and ruthlessly dangerous, and two relationships which will change his life in similar but different ways. Harry realizes that he is willing to fight for what he believes he deserves, and he is worthy of love. But he must face occasional isolation, harsh elements, the threat of war, even madness.

Patrick Gale is a terrific storyteller. This book captures perfectly the tone and feel of its time in history, its setting, and the conventions of the world in which his characters live. While at first Harry's passivity is a little frustrating, you watch him discover his inner strength and you find yourself rooting for him. A Place Called Winter is loosely based on a mystery within Gale's own family, and that makes what transpires in the book even more aggravating and upsetting.

While I found the book moved a little slower than I would have liked from time to time, and found the continued return of one of the book's villains to be a little improbably after a while, I really enjoyed this book, and found myself very emotionally invested in what happened to the characters. This is the second of Gale's books I've read and he again dazzled me with his writing—this is book of sensitivity, emotion, a little suspense, and a lot of heart.

Book Review: "The Grownup" by Gillian Flynn

This short story by Gillian Flynn had easily one of the best, most memorable opening lines I've ever read: "I didn't stop giving hand jobs because I wasn't good at it. I stopped giving hand jobs because I was the best at it."

Given that opening salvo, however, The Grownup isn't really raunchy, nor is it erotica or sex-focused. The 64-page story is narrated by a smart young woman who spent her formative years learning from her mother how to beg for money (mainly because her mother didn't want to have to work otherwise), and it wasn't long before she became better at it than her mother. In her adulthood she found a job at Spiritual Palms, which provided tarot readings, fortune telling, and other "spiritual" analysis—however, her job was more physical (hence the opening lines).

After suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome ("...when you give 23,546 hand jobs over a three-year period, carpal tunnel syndrome is a very real thing."), she becomes an aura reader. It's not long into this job before she meets Susan Burke, a well-to-do wife and mother who is in utter distress, convinced her house is evil and so is Miles, her 15-year-old stepson. In Susan, the narrator sees a ticket out of her current situation, as she believes she can mine Susan's crisis into a more upper-crust spiritual adviser-type position. But when she visits Susan's house, and meets Miles, it isn't long before she realizes she may be out of her league—there probably is evil in the house, but whether it's coming from Susan, Miles, or the house itself, she's not quite sure.

The Grownup hooked me completely from the very beginning. (How could it not, really?) It's funny, a little creepy, and full of surprises, all in just 64 pages. While it's billed as a ghost story, I don't quite agree—perhaps if Flynn had took the story a little further those elements would have presented themselves. I wasn't wild about the ending but it certainly has left me thinking.

I've been a fan of Gillian Flynn's since she published her first book. Reading The Grownup seems a little like a tease, so I hope a new novel is on its way. And in the meantime, I may need to read George R.R. Martin's Rogues anthology, which is the book Flynn originally wrote this story for. This was definitely a good, quick, fun read.

Book Review: "Finders Keepers" by Stephen King

I thought Stephen King and I were on a roll. 11/22/63 was one of the best books I read in 2011, and I enjoyed Revival and Mr. Mercedes as well. I really wanted to like Finders Keepers, the second book in a trilogy (along with Mr. Mercedes), but it left me underwhelmed.

Not that it didn't start with a tremendous amount of promise. The book begins in 1978, when young criminal Morris Bellamy decides to rob John Rothstein, a famous author in J.D. Salinger-esque reclusive mode, who wrote a trilogy of books featuring nonconformist hero Jimmy Gold. But Morris was offended that the trilogy ended with Jimmy selling out, so he decided that not only would he find out whether Rothstein had written anything else in his more than 20 years of literary silence, but in Annie Wilkes-like fashion, he also would confront the author about the direction in which he took his iconic character. The confrontation doesn't end well for Rothstein; Morris kills him and takes all of his hidden money and the hundreds of notebooks Rothstein has filled through the years. He has no time to savor this, however; he hides all of his spoils in a trunk and then promptly gets himself arrested again and imprisoned for 25 years.

Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers, who coincidentally is living in Morris' childhood home, stumbles upon the hidden trunk. The found money proves the answer to his family's financial troubles, and he is absolutely transfixed by the opportunity to read the unpublished fourth Jimmy Gold novel. But this is a Stephen King novel, so you know that upon Morris' release from prison, he is going to come looking for his hidden treasure, and he won't take lightly the fact that it's gone. It takes the return of the crime-detecting trio from Mr. Mercedes—Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson—to figure out what is happening and save Pete and his family before it's too late.

It's funny, but writing this plot synopsis makes me wonder what's wrong with me that I didn't enjoy this book more. Maybe it was Morris' character seemed a little rote to me, or maybe I never bought into Bill, Holly, and Jerome as a trio of crime fighters in the first place. I felt that once the trio came into the picture about halfway through the book, it lost a lot of its steam, because in order for the characters to get up to speed with what had been happening, the story had to essentially be retold to them. While there are some twists and turns, and King has definitely set the scene for the final novel in the trilogy in quite an intriguing fashion, I just felt that the whole thing took to long to unfold.

Other Goodreads friends have rated this highly, so if you're a King fan and you've been intrigued by this book, definitely give it a shot. I'll nurse my disappointment and still pick up his next book that isn't part of the trilogy, so we're all good.

Book Review: "Revival" by Stephen King

"This is how we bring about our own damnation, you know—by ignoring the voice that begs us to stop. To stop while there's still time."

Jamie Morton is a young boy growing up in a small town in Maine in the early 1960s when he meets the new, enigmatic preacher of the main church in town, the Reverend Charlie Jacobs. Charlie and his young wife, Patsy, create quite a stir among churchgoers—many of the boys and men are a bit infatuated with Patsy, and many of the girls and women feel the same about Charlie.

But while Charlie is interested in being the town's spiritual leader, he is also tremendously interested in electricity, and its power (no pun intended) to change lives, to heal. Charlie's burgeoning discoveries in this area are brought to Jamie's attention in an unusual way, and it creates an even stronger bond between the two. Yet when an unspeakable tragedy affects Charlie's life, it causes him to question his faith in a very public way, and he is forced to leave his job and the town.

Charlie is never far from Jamie's mind as he grows into adulthood. Hooked on the guitar at a young age, he becomes a musician, playing with various bands throughout the years but never quite hitting the big time. But after his family faces its own tragedies, the only way he can cope is through heroin. And when he is at rock bottom, he encounters his old friend Charlie, who, through unusual means, sets Jamie's life back on the right path. But this good deed comes with a very hefty price—and Jamie quickly learns that Charlie is far from the man he thought he was.

As Jamie tries to get his life together, he begins to uncover the truth about Charlie's experiments, and the effects on those he purportedly helped. But Charlie now demands more than Jamie's gratitude for all he had done on his behalf—he wants a partner in his final explorations. And these aren't just basic experiments.

Stephen King is back to his usual tricks in Revival, combining your basic everyday people with an evil streak at the dark end of the spectrum. I feel as if in recent years, King's storytelling has gotten even stronger, as he draws you into a story that is interesting on its own, and then makes you wonder exactly what's going to happen. I really liked Jamie's character, and found Charlie to be a complex addition to the pantheon of King villains.

I've read a great deal of King's books through the years, and I tend to enjoy those that deal more with the evils of everyday life than those which touch on the supernatural. This is a bit more of the former than the latter, although the ending, like many of King's books, tended to go a little awry for a time. But it's a really interesting read, one which King fans will truly enjoy.

Book Review: "Mr. Mercedes" by Stephen King

One of the things I love about Stephen King is his ability to create memorable villains and heroes. Even when a book isn't one of his best, the characters are often one of the things that sets his writing apart from other authors. Characters like Pennywise, Annie Wilkes, Jack Torrance, even Christine, remain seared in my memory years after I've read the books in which they've appeared. Mr. Mercedes, King's newest book, doesn't rank among some of his best, but I still found its protagonist, the villain, and some of the supporting characters pretty strong.

Early one morning, a large crowd of people gathers to line up for a job fair. Many of the people are desperate for work. And suddenly, without warning, a man drives a Mercedes into the groggy crowd, killing eight people (including an infant) and wounding nearly twenty more. The Mercedes was stolen from a wealthy woman, although she denies leaving her key in the car, and the perpetrator left no traces behind. It's as if he planned this crime perfectly and knew what he needed to do to escape detection.

Several months later, former detective Bill Hodges, feeling useless and depressed after retirement, gets a letter from the man purporting to be "Mr. Mercedes." He divulges facts only the killer could know, and although he vows that he isn't interested in committing another massacre, he does prey on Hodges' depression. However, the letter ultimately shakes Hodges out of his doldrums, vowing to catch one of the criminals he couldn't bring to justice before retirement, and ensuring he prevents another tragedy from occurring.

Hodges will have his work cut out for him. Not only does he need to keep his shadow investigation secret from his former partner and the police department, but "Mr. Mercedes" is far more twisted and intelligent than he realizes. And the criminal has plans for Hodges—and for a future scheme—and he will not be deterred by anyone. But what Mr. Mercedes doesn't realize is that Hodges, too, has some tricks up his sleeve, plus an unlikely pair of assistants to help save the day.

While I thought the plot of Mr. Mercedes was fairly formulaic, and not at the level of some of King's best books, I really thought the characters were vividly drawn. Even though they grew from stereotypes, I found each of them far more complex than initially expected, and that made the book more compelling for me to keep reading. King's use of language and metaphor is always spot-on, and I also liked how he threw in a few inside jokes about some of his more well-known books as well.

If you're a fan of Stephen King, this is a good book for beach or vacation reading (although it will make you think twice about going into a crowded place or waiting on a long line of people). It's not vintage King, but it's definitely entertaining.

Book Review: "Of Sea and Cloud" by Jon Keller

Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalleys in exchange for an unbiased review.

Nicolas Graves has known nothing more than the life of a lobsterman. Day in, day out, year after year, he has focused on hauling in lobsters, setting his traps, and worrying about the price per pound. This single-minded focus was for the benefit of his family, but while he and his son Bill were tremendously close, his relationship with his son Joshua (known as Jonah) was fraught with tension and misunderstanding from an early age.

When Nicolas is lost at sea, Bill and Jonah pick up their father's mantle as lobstermen. Both learned at their father's side, and while Jonah left to go to college, he returned to follow in his father's footsteps. Yet their father's death has left them at odds—the two sons don't share the same opinions on what to do next, and have different priorities, especially as the price of lobster plunges across the world.

Bill wants nothing more than to continue as his father would, while Jonah isn't sure that this way of life is the answer anymore. While Bill finds himself enmeshed in a romantic relationship with a girl he grew up with, Jonah is restless and wonders whether his father's death wasn't some kind of sign. Yet as the brothers struggle with each other, and Jonah must deal with his unresolved feelings about his relationship with his father.

But Bill and Jonah also find themselves at odds with an unexpected enemy—Osmond Raymond, their father's partner in the lobster pound business for years. Osmond is also the town preacher and a deeply vengeful and difficult man. Despite his years of loyalty and friendship with Nicolas, he is determined to take control of the business for the sake of his children and grandchildren—no matter what the cost to Bill and Jonah, and no matter what gets destroyed in the process.

Of Sea and Cloud is a powerful story of loyalty—to family, friends, and a way of life that gets harder and harder. It's a story of relationships, resentments, unspoken fears and hurts and arguments. It's also a story of fighting for what you believe in, no matter what the cost. It's a familiar story, but Jon Keller tells it quite adeptly.

Keller is an excellent writer, and this book has a very strong voice that makes you feel as if you're among the lobstermen, deeply enmeshed in their day-to-day struggles. While these characters may be similar to others you've seen in other books, Keller's storytelling ability still keeps them interesting and fresh, and makes you want to keep reading about them. The feeling of tension and of weariness are palpable in this book, and they really set the mood.

The life of lobstermen is one I can't really imagine, but Of Sea and Cloud gave me enough insight into their challenges that I was able to understand why they do what they do every day, and why they struggle in face of danger and economic challenges. This is an interesting, well-told book that resonates.

Book Review: "Far Far Away" by Tom McNeal

"It don't matter how young you are or how old you get or how brittle your bones are or how leaky your gray cells, you are still going to flat like a happy ending."

If you're a believer in happy endings, in fairy tales, enchanted spells, ghosts that have a purpose, and evil forests, than Tom McNeal's wonderfully magical Far Far Away is a book for you. But if you can't get your head around any of these concepts, this is probably not a book you'll enjoy.

In a land called (of all things) Never Better, Jeremy Johnson Johnson (that's his real name; it's not a typo) is a smart, sensitive boy who keeps to himself. You see, Jeremy hears voices—or, more accurately, one voice—the voice of Jacob Grimm, one half of the famed fairy tale-writing Brothers Grimm. For reasons neither of them can quite understand, Jacob is tasked with protecting Jeremy from the evils that lurk in this world.

But neither Jacob nor Jeremy consider beautiful, mischievous, and athletic Ginger Boultinghouse a threat, not even after she takes a bite of a cake so delicious it's supposedly enchanted with a spell, that causes you to fall in love with the first person on whom you cast your eyes after taking a bite. Naturally, Ginger sees Jeremy first, and finds herself inexplicably enchanted, even though she doesn't believe in such magic. And while Jacob isn't happy that Ginger's attentions are keeping Jeremy from his studies, or that she is somehow convincing him to sneak around late at night and play pranks on residents of their town, Jeremy enjoys the attention—until it brings him more trouble than he bargained for.

And that's just the start of Jeremy's problems. Because in addition to his fellow townspeople suddenly shunning him, there's a small problem of his father owing so much money on their small house that they're about to lose it to the bank. Plus his father hasn't left the house in years. Despite constant attention from a sheriff's deputy determined to find Jeremy and Ginger causing trouble, the kindly baker, Sten Blix, befriends the duo when no one else will.

Jacob is a helpful and trusted companion to Jeremy (although not always a welcome one). Yet as devoted as he is to protecting his charge, Jacob is helpless as an unexpected evil in the form of the dreaded Finder of Occasions takes control of Jeremy and Ginger. It is the toughest challenge the duo—and the ghost—have ever faced. Will the duo be able to outsmart their nemesis? Can a ghost who can only be heard by Jeremy actually help save him?

Far Far Away is a creative, magical, wonderful book. It's a little bit of an anachronism, in that it feels as if it is set in a place far away and a time long ago, yet there are cars and answering machines and credit cards, and Ginger in particular acts more like a modern teenager than anything else. It was a little hard to get into at first, but once I did, I quickly devoured the rest of the story. I found Ginger's manner of speaking a little grating at times, but I really loved everything else about this book.

Predictable? Sure. But that's the beauty of fairy tales: you know where the story will probably end up, but the journey is tremendously worthwhile. And the journey to Far Far Away is definitely worthwhile.