Book Review: "The Only One Left" by Riley Sager

At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother's happy life
"It wasn't me," Lenora said
But she's the only one not dead

In 1929, the state of Maine was shocked by the brutal murder of three-fourths of the wealthy Hope family: the powerful patriarch, his wife, and their older daughter, Virginia. The police suspected the sole survivor, 17-year-old Lenora, who was found covered in blood, but they were never able to prove it.

While the crimes fascinated the public, Lenora never left her family’s mansion again. As she grew older, she suffered a series of strokes which left her almost completely paralyzed and unable to speak. She can only move one hand, with which she can tap out yes or no answers to questions, as well as type.

In 1983, Kit is a home-health worker who is hired to care for Leona. She is troubled by what she thinks are footsteps in Leona’s room late at night, even though that can’t be possible. Then one day Leona asks to use the typewriter and offers to tell Kit everything.

As Leona slowly types out the events leading up to the murders, Kit realizes there’s much more to the story than she ever thought. But as other shocking discoveries are made, Kit can’t be sure whether Leona is telling the truth and she is innocent, or whether Kit is being manipulated by a master.

Riley Sager’s books are hit or miss for me. I probably wouldn’t have read this if it wasn’t the selection for our book club. It was an entertaining read, although I thought the pacing was slow until the end, when Sager dropped a million twists nearly simultaneously.

Book Review: "Teen Killers in Love" by Lily Sparks

Even assassins-in-training can fall in love.

How about the title of this book and the cover? When Kate Rock Book Tours invited me on the tour for this book, I jumped at the chance, even though I never read the first book in the series, Teen Killers Club, and this is a bit out of my comfort zone. But what a fun one this was!!

In the world this book takes place in, teens who are convicted of murder are sent to a secret program that trains them to become assassins. But when a few of them realize that the government is tracking them, they plot to escape. Yet it’s not as easy as that sounds, as some of those sent to hunt them down are people they once called friends.

The main focus of this book are Erik and Signal. Signal was sent to the camp even though she didn’t commit murder, so Erik is determined to help her prove her innocence. But when they become internet sensations, there’s nowhere to hide.

Meanwhile, as the attraction between Erik and Signal grows, Signal has to decide whether to trust her heart or the questions in her head. Love on the lam is never an easy thing!!

I thought this was a fun and action-packed YA thriller. I definitely want to go back and read the first book in the series. Definitely a great change of pace!!

Book Review: "Thirteen" by Steve Cavanagh

I don't know about you, but I can't resist a thriller with the tagline, "The serial killer isn't on trial: HE'S ON THE JURY!"

Eddie Flynn used to be a conman, but he rehabilitated himself and is now a criminal defense attorney. Through the years his work has put him and those he loves at risk, so he's been debating changing career paths. But then he gets approached to serve as second chair on what is shaping up to be the case of the century: reality television star Bobby Solomon is accused of brutally murdering his actress wife and his chief of security.

Bobby and his wife were on the cusp of major movie stardom. The evidence against him is overwhelming, but he vehemently insists he is innocent. His renowned attorney maintains that the NYPD is trying to frame Bobby for these murders. He believes Eddie can help prove Bobby's innocence by raising doubts about the police's behavior.

Everyone knows this is going to be a tough case, but they don't have any idea what their biggest obstacle is. Joshua Kane is a cold-blooded killer who has actually killed to get himself seated on the jury. He's going to ensure that Bobby is convicted and he won't let anything—or anyone—stop him. As events begin to occur which convince Eddie that there is something truly dangerous happening, he has to figure out how to reveal the real killer without falling prey first. And that won't be easy.

Thirteen had a really cool concept and it featured a pretty ruthless killer. Kane is creepy, easily one of the most memorable villains I've seen in a while. Obviously there's a lot of suspension of disbelief required for this book to work, but it's fortunate that no criminal has thought of the methods Kane used to get on the jury. (Or at least not that we've heard of.)

This is the first book of Steve Cavanagh's I've read, although this is the fourth in his series featuring Eddie Flynn. It definitely can be read as a stand-alone, although now I'm interested in reading his earlier books, because I really like Eddie Flynn's character in particular. Cavanagh definitely threw in lots of twists and turns, some which surprised me and some which I saw coming.

All in all, this was a pretty addicting read.

Book Review: "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Wow. Mind totally blown by this one.

In a future world, mortality, war, illness, hunger have all been eradicated. Injuries are quickly healed by the body's own (amped-up) healing properties. Even aging is something you can counter—when you're tired of being your age, you can "turn" yourself into someone younger—over and over and over again.

The only way to control the population is through gleaning—killings of seemingly random people—and they are carried out by scythes, individuals commanded to commit these gleanings. Scythes are revered and feared within society, and while each scythe has their own methods of choosing whom to glean and how, they follow a strict code of behavior and have specific quotas as to the number of people they are to glean each year. It is a necessary evil, and death is no longer feared or worried about.

"The ending of human life used to be in the hands of nature. But we stole it. Now we have a monopoly on death. We are its sole distributor."

After each has an encounter with a scythe, teenagers Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to one of the area's most respected scythes, Honorable Scythe Faraday. This is a role neither wants, for although their families will get immunity from gleaning for as long as they live if they are chosen to become scythes, their lives will be relatively solitary and austere, for they must spend most of their days gleaning or preparing to glean. Who would seek out such a life?

As Citra and Rowan learn from Scythe Faraday, they realize the nobility of the role, the conflicted emotions with which many scythes approach their responsibilities, and the physical, mental, and intellectual skills needed to become a good scythe. While the two are drawn to each other, they know that only one of them will become a scythe at the end of the year, and that competition confuses and motivates them. At the same time, they are forbidden from romantic entanglements with each other, so they channel their feelings into their preparation.

But the world of scythedom is in the midst of its own upheaval, and suddenly Rowan and Citra are pitted against each other, being trained by different scythes. Citra becomes apprentice to Scythe Curie, one of the most famous of the early scythes, while Rowan is an apprentice to Scythe Goddard, one of the bold new scythes, who believes more in his celebrity and presence, and challenges the customs of the traditional scythes. It is Goddard who sets a challenge in motion: whichever apprentice is chosen to become a full-fledged scythe will automatically be expected to glean the other.

This is an utterly fascinating, thought-provoking, exceptionally written book that I could not get enough of. Scythe is a compelling meditation on a world without mortality, and how those tasked with culling the population live their lives and approach those they choose to glean. It's a study in conscience, in guilt, in friendship, and in finding nobility in such a disturbing task.

I have never read any of Neal Shusterman's books, but I'll definitely be reading the second book in this series soon (I'm trying to be patient and not devour it immediately) as well as more of his work. He created such a fascinating world I wanted to know more about (I've not made any mention of the Thunderhead, which is the benevolent ruling entity in the world, and that's intriguing in and of itself), not to mention tremendously complex and distinct characters I couldn't get enough of.

I know that YA isn't a genre for everyone, and this book might sound a little out there for some, but this is really a fantastic book. It's better written than many YA books, and it actually makes you think, and invests you in the plot. Give this one a shot.