Book Review: "Our Lady of the Prairie" by Thisbe Nissen

"So much of this life we spend holding ourselves together, when all we're really looking for is someone who might undo us completely."

Theater professor Phillipa Maakestad is finally settling into her life. Married for years to fellow theater professor Michael, they struggled for years with their daughter, Ginny, who suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. But now Ginny has finally stabilized, and is set to marry a young man she has known since childhood.

And then, much to Phillipa's surprise, while teaching a semester in Ohio, she falls madly in love with another man—Lucius, a history professor. When they finally succumb to their passions, their affair consumes her. She can only think about being with Lucius, which is problematic, considering she needs to return to Iowa for Ginny's wedding. But how can she pretend that everything is fine, everything is the same, when absolutely everything has changed?

"What I won't back down from is this: Lucius and I met and we were a twister. We tried to keep ourselves apart, but some forces are too great. Some forces are beyond control."

Phillipa confesses her affair to Michael just before her return home, but they vow to keep up appearances for Ginny's sake. That should be easy, right? Well, Phillipa wasn't counting on a wedding-day tornado, Michael's strange request for getting revenge for her unfaithfulness, and her continually disapproving, obstinate mother-in-law, whom Phillipa thinks might have been a Nazi. It's more than any one person can handle, much less one already dealing with an intense love for another man.

Our Lady of the Prairie is a slightly zany, poignant, and periodically frustrating look at one woman who decides the best way to deal with her midlife crisis is just to let everything around her implode, whether intentionally or accidentally. It's a story about being caught between the life you want and the life you're obligated to. It's also the story of how when we try so hard not to hurt anyone we often wind up hurting everyone, including ourselves.

Thisbe Nissen does a terrific job in painting a portrait of a woman who was so deliberate through so much of her life that when she finally throws a little caution to the wind, the results are disastrous. Phillipa has spent so much time taking care of her daughter, her husband, her mother-in-law, even her students, but she doesn't really know how to take care of herself, or even understand that she, too, is worthy of happiness of her own. She's not the most sympathetic character but you understand many of the choices she makes, and given what she has dealt with in her life, you may wonder if she's entitled.

Parts of this book had me laughing aloud, and parts had me tearing up. It's set in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election, when the country was divided in its feelings about George W. Bush, and Nissen captured that mood well.

There were, however, some threads of the story I just didn't understand the point of, particularly Phillipa's belief that her mother-in-law was a Nazi. Any time she interacted with Bernadette, the story lost its appeal, and there's an overly long section in which Phillipa imagines she's living Bernadette's life which almost made me stop reading the book. In the end, I didn't feel that Nissen even resolved this part of the story, so I definitely could have done without it.

I've never read anything Nissen has written, but I was utterly taken by her storytelling and her ear for dialogue. There's a lot to this book, but it's a fascinating, emotional, and often-humorous look at one woman's life in the midst of crisis after crisis (many which are self-inflicted), and you wonder just where Phillipa will end up. It's a little wacky, but it has a lot of heart.

NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves" by James Han Mattson

Social media has made it possible for us to connect with people from all phases of our lives, all over the world. Sadly, it has also made it easier for people to bully, ridicule, criticize, gossip, and humiliate. No matter how many connections we may have, are these true relationships? Will the people with whom we share photos, pithy sayings, humorous videos, and casual greetings actually be there to help us in our time of need?

These are questions James Han Mattson addresses in his immensely current, poignant new novel, The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves.

Ricky Graves was a teenager growing up in a small town in New Hampshire. He often felt disconnected from his peers, his older sister moved away to pursue her own life, and his mother was often emotionally distracted and vacant. He wondered whether he'd ever find someone to understand him and feel the same way he did. One night, tired of being embarrassed and ostracized by his peers, he kills himself and another classmate, and shoots another.

Five months after the incident, the town's residents are still reeling and searching for answers. Ricky's older sister Alyssa returns to town to confront her mother about Ricky's death, at the same time dealing with her own guilt about being so detached from Ricky for so long. But Alyssa has her own issues, her own demons to confront.

"But I suppose death does weird things to your memory, makes you think of the person in a way that's better than the person actually was."

This book shifts back and forth between the events leading up to the shooting and the aftermath, and is told in first-person accounts, emails, and chat-room transcripts. Ricky's story is pieced together by the perspectives of a number of people—Mark, the one survivor of the shooting, who is haunted by his guilt and his visions of Ricky's spirit; Corky, Alyssa's ex-boyfriend, who once was Ricky's camp counselor, and wonders whether he missed some of the signs of what might happen down the line; Claire, one of Ricky's classmates, who vacillates between her own guilt and her misplaced desire to avenge those who caused it; and Jeremy, who inadvertently became Ricky's confidante when they chatted online, but he had no idea how troubled Ricky was.

I can't say I enjoyed this book, but it was very affecting and thought-provoking. Sadly, what happened to Ricky and how he reacted has become all too common in today's world. Unfortunately, I found most of the characters pretty unlikable, and one plot thread in particular had me concerned Mattson was going to take the book from the poignant to the ridiculous. (Luckily, it didn't quite go there.) Some of the plot threads felt unresolved or too pat for me as well.

All too often I wonder about social media's affect on society and our interpersonal relationships, and I read far too much about those being bullied online. The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves will definitely get you thinking in the same regard, and make you wonder just how many kids are facing the same feelings Ricky did, hopefully without the same results.

Book Review: "Into the Black Nowhere" by Meg Gardiner

Meg Gardiner, Meg Gardiner, Meg Gardiner...you SLAY me! Reading UNSUB a month or two ago just blew me away, and here you are again, with another heart-pounding, completely riveting novel featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. What an amazing series this is turning out to be!!

In a little town called Solace, Texas, women are literally disappearing on Saturday nights. One moment they're there—on a concession line at a movie theater, in a mall parking lot, in their car stopped at a railroad crossing, even at home with their baby—and the next second, they're gone. There are no signs of struggle. Did these women go willingly?

Caitlin Hendrix, a rookie FBI agent recently assigned to the agency's Behavioral Analysis Unit, heads to Texas to help determine whether there's a serial killer preying on women in this town just outside Austin. When they find their first bodies, they discover a disturbing, gruesome sight—the women, both blonde, have been meticulously laid out in white, baby-doll nightgowns, with full makeup. Their wrists are slashed and they lay face up, almost like sleeping princesses, and their bodies are surrounded by Polaroid pictures of other victims yet to be found, posed in the same way.

As she and her colleagues try to make sense of just what kind of person would be the mastermind behind such a crime spree, the killer strikes again, outside of Solace, in order to throw the FBI off his trail. But with the help of a tip from a woman who has lived most of her life in fear, they find their man—a handsome, charismatic businessman who can gain a woman's trust in a split second, and isn't afraid to depend on a little subterfuge if necessary. He immediately identifies Caitlin's own demons, and tries to use them against her in an effort to disarm her.

The FBI finds themselves in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse once the killer uses his intellect and charm to make a fool of them. From Wyoming to Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest, Caitlin and her colleagues try to gain the upper hand on this man before he kills again—and try to figure out just how he's able to get the information and advantages he needs. It's a race that could prove deadly to more than his usual victims, and one which could put Caitlin's mental state at risk as well.

This book, much like the first in this series, had me from page 1 and left me breathless until the very end. Gardiner is so skilled at giving you just enough evidence but leaving you in the same place as the FBI, so you aren't frustrated by knowing more than the crime fighters do. There are some terrific action scenes in this book, worthy of the best thrillers, and Gardiner also pays close attention to character development.

In UNSUB, more attention was paid to Caitlin's relationship with ATF agent Sean Rawlins, and I like the interaction between the two of them. I missed that in this book, although clearly there are some plot points which I guess are setting up the third book in the series. (Plus, Gardiner makes Sean sound seriously sexy, so that's always a welcome distraction from the profiling work, lol!)

This is truly one of the best series I've read in some time, and I will breathlessly await the next book in the series, even though my wait will be a little longer than it was between books 1 and 2! Into the Black Nowhere is just excellent. You can't go wrong with these books!!

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Foolish Hearts" by Emma Mills

Every so often, after I've read a number of thrillers, crime novels, or even emotionally draining books in a row, I seek out what I like to call a "literary palate-cleanser," essentially a book which appears to be a little bit lighter in tone and one which won't have me eyeing my neighbors and delivery men, expecting a crime to break out.

The "palate-cleanser" term isn't meant to be a disparaging one—sometimes I'm just looking for a book that's funny and/or sweet, that won't send my psyche or my suspicious nature into overdrive.

Emma Mills' new book, Foolish Hearts, seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. And to be honest, when I saw the book was ranked #1 in Amazon's category of "Teen & Young Adult Theater Fiction," I thought, as a former theater kid, how can I miss? But this is so much more than a book about the theater—it's a book about friendship, family, telling yourself and others the truth, facing your fears, and realizing that people are so much more than they seem upon first (or even second or third) impression.

Claudia attends the exclusive Prospect-Landower School for Girls, mainly because her father is a teacher there. She's much more comfortable hanging out at home, playing video games with her best friend Zoe and her older brother, and living a life in which she doesn't have to interact too much with her much wealthier classmates, some of whom are obscenely rich, and some are private-island rich. Claudia isn't interested in stepping outside her comfort zone at all since her boyfriend broke up with her a few years back.

"In truth, we are rarely all on the same page. More often than not, they're all on one page, and I'm on a completely different one. It can't be helped most of the time. Society itself puts us on different pages. They drive Range Rovers and have celebrity deejays at their sweet sixteens. I had to scrape and scrounge and toast subs, and remake the subs that I toasted badly, just to buy a car."

But in an effort to try and be more involved in school for her senior year, she attends a luncheon party thrown by one of her classmates, and almost instantly gets herself into trouble, as she winds up inadvertently overhearing the breakup of the couple in her class, Iris and Paige.

"Together, [Iris] and Paige hold the titles of class president three years running (Iris), most popular girl in our grade (Paige), and cutest couple in our school (collectively). Thought 'cutest' isn't quite right. I don't think anyone who knows her would use the word cute to describe anything relating to Iris Huang...she's also ruthless and unforgiving and, some would say, ill-mannered and incredibly unpleasant."

When Iris realizes Claudia has been eavesdropping on such a traumatic moment, she threatens to destroy Claudia if she tells anyone what she heard. And when an assigned pairing for an assignment goes completely awry, their "punishment" is to audition or be in the crew for the school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although Iris gets a small part and Claudia gets to work on the costume crew, the two are thrown together more times than either can count, and Claudia starts to wear Iris down, at least a little, until Claudia realizes that Iris is uncharacteristically obsessed with a boy band that she enjoys, too.

As the two try and build something resembling a friendship, Claudia also keeps getting thrown together with Gideon Prewitt, the goofy, handsome star of the play. Gideon keeps sending Claudia signals that he'd like to get to know her better, and everyone, except Claudia, seems to understand this. But the more she starts thinking about Gideon that way, the more her fears keep tripping her up, so she keeps finding reasons to keep their relationship as fun and platonic as possible, because she can't imagine Gideon would reciprocate her feelings, or if he did, would she be discarded just as quickly?

Foolish Hearts is sweet and funny, full of flawed characters who won't tell anyone how they really feel, but it utterly warmed my heart. While high school is so much more complicated than it was back in the dark ages when I attended, Mills still evoked an incredible feeling of nostalgia for me, a longing for simpler times, when the biggest anxieties were doing well on exams and wondering whether someone liked you back.

The plot isn't necessarily surprising, but it is tremendously enjoyable. I liked the way Iris and Paige's relationship wasn't a source of drama or controversy, it was presented in a matter-of-fact way, simply as another plot point.

Foolish Hearts definitely fit the bill for what I was looking for in a read, and I'll be sure to read some of Mills' other books. If you enjoy YA fiction that doesn't necessarily come with any heavy drama or messages, give this a try.

Book Review: "The Night Trade" by Barry Eisler

"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster."

After introducing Seattle sex crimes detective Livia Lone in a sizzling, eponymous novel last year, Barry Eisler drops her into another sensational story of revenge and trying to put your demons to rest.

For most of her life, Livia has been haunted by the events of her childhood and teenage years, when she and her younger sister Nason were sold by their parents and forcibly taken to America, and horribly abused both by the men who trafficked them and then others. What they endured was beyond anything imaginable, and those incidents are what led Livia to pursue a career in law enforcement, particularly sex crimes, so she can right some of the wrongs she and Nason experienced.

When she is offered a position on a government task force combating sex trafficking in Thailand, she jumps at the chance to return home and exact revenge on the men who took her and her sister from the only life they had known. The government is trying to hunt down Rithisak Sorm, a notorious criminal kingpin and trafficker, whom Livia has learned was behind her own ordeal as well. It is an opportunity that seems almost too good to be true for her.

Returning to Thailand proves to be emotionally challenging, but she focuses on the overall objective of the mission. One night, when she has tracked Sorm to an exclusive nightclub in a Thai resort town, she discovers she's not the only one hunting Sorm. In the midst of a gunfight that goes spectacularly awry, Livia meets Dox, a former Marine sniper and mercenary-for-hire, who is consulting with U.S. intelligence to take Sorm down.

While the last thing Livia wants is a connection of any kind, she starts to realize that perhaps two hunters are better than one. And as reluctant as she is to open up to anyone, Dox's simple kindness and empathy helps her make him understand just how important meting out her own form of justice for Sorm truly is for her. He doesn't question her motives or her intent—he too understands that sometimes the only resort you have is killing someone.

But the deeper Livia and Dox dig into tracking Sorm down again, the more they realize they are up against forces more nefarious than they could have imagined. It seems that Sorm is a key component of a massive conspiracy which involves branches of U.S. intelligence, and not only do they want to keep Sorm alive, but they're willing to protect him no matter what the cost—and no matter how many people need to be harmed in the process.

The Night Trade is an action-packed yet emotional thrill ride by one of the best crime and thriller writers out there. Eisler's John Rain novels are among some of my absolute favorites, and now with two Livia Lone books under his belt, he proves he can write thrillers with equally kick-ass women as well. It was so terrific to see Dox (a character from the Rain novels) and Livia team up, so I hope a John Rain/Livia Lone pairing won't be far behind!

Livia is an absolutely electrifying protagonist, and while you worry that her demons may lead her too far down a path of retribution, the fine line she walks is so poignant and compelling. She reminds me a bit of Lisbeth Salander, in that they're equally badass and sadly, equally damaged, but still vulnerable.

Eisler's John Rain series is absolutely amazing, and so are his Livia Lone books. But there's a downside to his prolificness: the more he writes, the more impatient I get when I finish his latest book. Don't let these books, or these characters, pass you by!

NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Bad Girls with Perfect Faces" by Lynn Weingarten

Wild, a little campy, and totally addictive, I devoured Bad Girls with Perfect Faces in a matter of a few hours. What a great read for a lazy Sunday!

"Be careful when your feelings are too strong, when you love someone too much. A heart too full is like a bomb. One day it will explode."

Sasha and Xavier have been best friends for about a year. They seem to get each other perfectly, to speak a language unique only to them. When Xavier starts dating Ivy, Sasha doesn't get jealous or weird about it. She's there for Xavier when Ivy blows off their plans, and she calms his fears when he thinks Ivy might be cheating on him. And when they break up, and Xavier barely leaves his room for about a month, Sasha is there for him, trying to make him laugh, and helping him do anything but think about Ivy.

Lately, Sasha realizes her feelings for Xavier have changed. She needs to tell him how she feels, but she's afraid to jeopardize their friendship. She just can't keep it a secret anymore. Or maybe just a little longer.

Before Sasha gets her courage together, they run into Ivy at a club. She wants Xavier back. She promises it will be different this time, that she'll never hurt him again. But Sasha knows better. She doesn't want Xavier to hurt the way he did for the month he and Ivy were broken up, and of course, there are her own feelings to consider.

She needs to prove to Xavier once and for all that Ivy can't be trusted. She creates an online profile for a guy named Jake, and starts building a friendship with Ivy. She knows that Ivy won't be able to resist. But she has no idea what ripples she'll set off.

"Back then I couldn't have imagined what would happen later, how everything would twist around inside me. But that's the thing about life. No matter how smart you are, you'll just never be able to imagine any of what's coming for you, not until it's right there, standing on your throat."

There are a lot of plot twists to be had here, so I'm not going to say anything more. Suffice it to say, even when what happened was a campy and/or unrealistic, I was completely hooked, because I had to know what happened. The book is a little melodramatic, but it's a book about high school seniors, so weren't relationships cause for melodrama back then?

I have never read anything Lynn Weingarten has written, but I'm definitely a fan now. I found this book utterly irresistible and compulsively readable, and the characters fascinated me. It reminded me a little of Karen McManus' One of Us is Lying with its multiple narrators and the general mood of the book.

If you're looking for a book to keep your attention on a sleepless night or a lazy day, pick up Bad Girls with Perfect Faces. It's troubling but definitely a wild ride!!

Book Review: "Light it Up" by Nick Petrie

There's this feeling I get when I'm reading a series of books I like. It's like hanging out with old friends—it feels good to see them again and spend some time with them, and while the circumstances are always a little bit different, I know what to expect of them, and I like that.

Although Light it Up is only Nick Petrie's third book featuring awesomely badass drifter Peter Ash, I got that feeling when reading it. Peter is one cool, complicated character that I find totally fascinating—a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan whose PTSD manifests itself as claustrophobia that makes it difficult for him to be indoors or closed-in spaces for long periods of time. Peter is fiercely loyal, and that loyalty can demonstrate itself in dangerous ways, for those who choose to test it as well as for himself.

When Peter meets Henry Nygaard, despite the significant difference in their ages, there is an immediate kinship built on their shared veteran status (although vastly different wars), their strong work ethic, and their mutual belief that both may still be capable of redemption and happiness despite all they've done in their past. When their work rebuilding trails in the Pacific Northwest ends at the conclusion of a summer, they're ready to part ways, until Henry asks Peter for help, a clarion call Peter is unable to resist.

Henry's adult daughter runs a security company in Denver, a company he helped her set up, partially as a way of making amends for not knowing she existed until not too long ago. She told Henry that her husband, a former veteran himself, and his crew disappeared one day while making a run for one of the rapidly growing entrepreneurs in Colorado's cannabis business.

The money, the vehicle, the men—all have gone without a trace, and the police have no clue of their whereabouts. Henry's daughter needs a new crew to handle a money run for another businessman, and she needs this to succeed or all she has put together will collapse.

Henry recruits Peter and a few other vets to help with this run. When everything goes spectacularly wrong, Peter barely escapes with his life, and he realizes that they're up against a far more formidable foe than simple highway robbers. But what is there to be gained if the actual financial payoff isn't that high? How lucrative can the cannabis business really be, when so many in the state are growing and selling it these days?

In trying to figure out who is behind the attacks, Peter stumbles into a much deeper plot, being organized by those who will stop at nothing to get what they want. As he enlists some friends, including investigative reporter June Cassidy, with whom Peter dares to perhaps hope for a future, he realizes there is danger hidden within this seemingly mellow business, danger which could affect them all.

Petrie hits another home run with Light it Up. This is such a terrific series and Peter is an immensely fascinating character, someone far more complex than the troubled, musclebound Marine you think he is at first glance. This book gives you more of a glimpse into his mind and his heart, while not letting up for one second on the action. There are truly some scenes in this book that are tailor-made for the big screen, chases and fights and encounters that leave your heart racing.

I believe I've said in my reviews of Petrie's earlier books, The Drifter and Burning Bright, that I don't know why he isn't a star, and why Peter Ash isn't as well-known as Jack Reacher. (Lee Child even blurbs Petrie's books!) Read this one, or any of these books in the series, and maybe you'll agree with me—and then tell as many people as you can about them!

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!