Book Recommendation – Paranoia

Every once in a while I need to bump a book on my “To be read” list up. This happens for various reasons. Sometimes the audiobook becomes available sooner than expected. Other times it is because I really have waited to read the book. This one – well, it was the book my wife got me for my birthday. It was Paranoia from James Patterson and James O. Born.

My wife had been out shopping and saw the title and cover. She read the back of the book and thought it might be something I’d enjoy, so she picked it up for me.

I was a bit worried about reading it because I found out that this is actually the 17th book featuring the character of Michael Bennett. There have been a lot of “series” that I stopped reading because the books were often half recaps of previous books and half new story. I didn’t know what to expect. My hope was that it would read well as a stand alone story. Thankfully, it did.

Thinking back on it now, I can see where some of the things that were briefly mentioned might be familiar to readers of the series. As a new reader, I took those things as something used to further the story.

Here is the Goodreads Synopsis:

NYPD Detective Michael Bennett will stop at nothing to protect family: his wife, his kids—and his fellow officers—in the latest psychological thriller from bestselling author James Patterson.

At every death scene, Bennett says a prayer over the victim. But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops.
“I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.”
Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he’s chasing a killer who feeds on isolation… and paranoia.

The synopsis doesn’t really say much. So I will expand just a bit, which may make it more intriguing to you.

Deaths tied to drugs and gangs are commonplace in New York City. They are nothing out of the ordinary. Strange and multiple deaths of retired police officers, however, raise a red flag. As the deaths pile up, it becomes clear that the dead police officers and the dead drug/gang members have something in common – an interest case from the past.

When Bennett is approached by Inspector Cantor to “look into the matter,” he does so. The more he investigates, the more complex and odd the case becomes.

The book was actually quite good. I had my suspicions about characters who may or may not be involved in the murders throughout the first half of the book. My pick changed a bit throughout the story, but I was able to figure it out. The fact that I did, didn’t make the rest of the story a bad read.

Will I go out and pick up another Michael Bennett book? Maybe. It was good, but it wasn’t necessarily a character that I was like, “I gotta read more about that guy!”

3 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation – Small Things Like These

This book kept coming up in blogs I read and as a recommendation on Goodreads. I was in between books and saw that this was a relatively short audiobook, so I read it. Small Things Like These is book that makes you think.

It felt more like a short story or novella to me, and when it ended, I wanted to know more. The Goodreads Synopsis is short (so is the book, so I guess it makes sense). Here it is:

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

I felt that there was a great message in the story, but it probably could have been delivered in a shorter story. Don’t let that steer you away from it, because the “extra” stuff gives you a broader sense of the characters and makes the story’s message hit a bit harder.

The book ends quickly. I almost felt like maybe the audio book wasn’t completely done. I felt like further chapters were missing. That isn’t the case and the ending leaves you wondering what happened afterward. It’s a bit open ended in a way that you can sort or imagine what happened next.

While searching for information on the book, I found out that it has already been made into a film last year. The movie seems to follow the book, however, it ends a little different than the book. Hollywood tends to take creative license with books turned into movies.

At any rate, if you are looking for a quick read, this may be for you. The audiobook was about 2 hours.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation – Looking For Calvin and Hobbes

Growing up I was a huge fan of the Sunday comics. There were quite a few that I read daily, one of which was Calvin and Hobbes. This book was suggested to me by a friend who knew I liked the strip.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the title, but it became clear after I started reading. Before I go on, here is the Goodreads Synopsis:

For ten years, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world’s most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life.

In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, Nevin Martell sets out on a very personal odyssey to understand the life and career of the intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. Martell talks to a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson’s closest friends and professional colleagues, and along the way reflects upon the nature of his own fandom and on the extraordinary legacy that Watterson left behind.

This is as close as we’re ever likely to get to one of America’s most ingenious and intriguing figures – and it’s the fascinating story of an intrepid author’s search for him, too.

Before I started reading, I saw some of the reviews. Honestly, they were quite divided. People either loved or hated the book. The fact that there was such polarization only made me want to dive right in.

Bill Watterson would ultimately win any game of hide and seek. He is extremely private. He never wanted the fame and public persona that came with writing the strip. He also never wanted merchandising money from his characters, which is why there is no official Hobbes doll (though that was pitched). He drew the strip because he loved drawing it. That’s all.

Martell speaks with friends, fellow cartoonists, and fans as he tries to give us a peak into the mystery life of Watterson. He is upfront at the beginning of the book and tells you what is to follow. So people who felt that there would be this magical interview with him in the book are only hating on it because it was not what they expected.

I found the book to be an interesting look at the artist, and the strip. It was interesting to hear of the evolution of it. It was also interesting to follow Watterson in the pre-Calvin days to see how he eventually came to write about Calvin.

There were a couple of slow parts, but all in all I enjoyed it. It made me want to go back and read some of those great old strips. If you are a Calvin and Hobbes fan, you will probably enjoy this.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation: Challenger

It was 39 years ago today. The world watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded live on television. There were no survivors, but there were plenty of questions raised afterwards.

I read Challenger by Adam Higginbotham at the end of November. Knowing the anniversary was coming up, I waited to post this recommendation.

This book was eye opening on so many levels. I suppose it is always easier to look back and see the red flags after knowing the outcome. It’s like all the missed signs and cues that led to the Pearl Harbor attack. They were right there, but they were blown off or not taken seriously.

In order to understand the Challenger disaster, you have to start a few years before. Higginbotham does just that. He lays all the groundwork and presents all the info to help you see just how preventable this disaster was. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

The definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster based on new archival research and in-depth reporting.

On January 28, 1986, just seventy-three seconds into flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of a crew including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Like 9/11 or JFK’s assassination, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in 20th-century history—yet the details of what took place that day, and why, have largely been forgotten. Until now.

Based on extensive archival records and meticulous, original reporting, Challenger follows a handful of central protagonists—including each of the seven members of the doomed crew—through the years leading up to the accident, a detailed account of the tragedy itself, and into the investigation that followed. It’s a tale of optimism and promise undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and ultimately kept from the public.

Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program, the lives of men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster as well as the designers, engineers, and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first shuttle into space.

I was totally fascinated by this book. At times, it could feel a bit too scientific for me. However, to walk alongside the engineers, the astronauts, and the people involved helped to grasp it all. What were they feeling? How something so big, be overlooked? Were the lives of the astronauts worth gambling with? How did the decision makers even begin to cope with the outcome of their actions?

This was truly a thorough and fantastic work on the events that led up to the Challenger tragedy.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation – The Lake of Lost Girls

My phone dinged one night at about 1:30am. Usually I put it on silent, but that night I hadn’t. I picked up my phone and read the text from my wife.

“OMG! You have GOT to read this one!” It came with a screen shot of the cover. That is what led to my reading this book. She was right! It was SO good!

This is the first book I have read by Katherine Greene. Turns out that Katherine Greene is just the pen name of bestselling authors A. Meredith Walters and Claire C. Riley. I am unfamiliar with them, but I will explore their work a bit more both separately and collectively (as Greene) thanks to this book.

Before I get into my thoughts, let me give you the Goodreads synopsis:

Told in alternating timelines, The Lake of Lost Girls is a haunting novel that will thrill fans of All Good People Here and We Are All the Same in the Dark.

Using suspenseful podcast clips to weave a twisty tale of a missing student and her sister who is desperate for answers, The Lake of Lost Girls is perfect for fans of I Have Some Questions for You.

It’s 1998, and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina. But freshman Jessica Fadley, once a bright and responsible student, is going through her own struggles. Just as her life seems to be careening dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears.

Twenty-four years later, Jessica’s sister Lindsey is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart-topping true crime podcast, Ten Seconds to Vanish, that focuses on the cold cases, to guide her own investigation. Soon, interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of the long-missing women begin turning up at a local lake, which leads Lindsey down a disturbing road of discovery.

In the present, one sister seeks to untangle a complicated web of lies.
In the past, the other descends ever deeper into a darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate.

This propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and the culture of true crime.

My wife’s challenge to me was that I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. For the most part, she was right. The ending was quite the surprise. I wasn’t too far off on who I thought was responsible, but the way it all came together – I never saw it coming.

I have come to really enjoy books that have the alternating time lines. I enjoy how they shed light on each other and eventually all come together.

Like any other mystery, there was a red herring or two to throw you off the trail. The one was kind of obvious, but that only made me read more carefully. It didn’t matter, though, as the story was so good that the obvious clues weren’t so obvious.

I gave this book 4 stars, but for one reason only. I have read other books with a “podcast” element to it. Those did it really well. The podcast in this book could have been eliminated and worked. The hosts of the podcast were just annoying. It was almost like listening to two junior high girls talking.

Do the podcast segments offer things to move the plot? I suppose, but it could have been done much better in my opinion. To me, it could have been done by having the main character give a recap of what she heard on the podcast without ever having to have the hosts show up. Thankfully, the podcast portions of the book are usually short.

I really enjoyed this book. If you figure out the ending, I’d love to hear what led you to the answer. It’s easy to look back afterward and say, “Oh. That’s why (Insert clue I missed here)!” Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Four our of five stars!

Book Recommendation – Miss Benson’s Beetle

There are currently 275 books on my “Want to read” list on Goodreads. Because I do most of my “reading” in the car, I look for audio books. Not all of them are available in that format. There are quite a few that I may just have to go to the library and get the physical copy.

As I get close to finishing a book, I begin to scroll my list and look for the next read. As I do this, I try to remember my friends who have read it and rated it. I also try to remember if a book was highly praised in a Facebook reading group.

Miss Benson’s Beetle really is something that I don’t think I would have picked up for myself. However, I kept hearing what a great story it was. The reviews I read were mostly good and so I gave it a shot. Even though the book take place after World War II, it came on a lot of Historical Fiction lists.

Before I offer my thoughts, let’s look at the Goodreads Synopsis:

It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II. Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point. She decides to abandon her job and small existence to set out on an expedition. The expedition is to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession. That obsession is an insect that may or may not exist–the golden beetle of New Caledonia.

When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her. The woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. Together, however, these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations. It also delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.

All in all, I truly enjoyed the book. The adventure is full of surprises, shady characters and secrets. There are moments of suspense and moments that make your eyes well up. It was better than I had expected. I mean, it’s a woman looking for a beetle. I didn’t expect much.

My only issue with the book was that I hoped for more at the end. Without giving away anything, I will just say that I wanted to know a bit more of what happened after their trip. It wasn’t a bad ending, I just felt there may have been a loose end or two to tie up. Do they find what they are looking for? Do they find the elusive beetle? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Book Recommendation – A Talent For Murder

According to my Goodreads “Year in Books,” I read 60 books last year. I was a bit overzealous when I said I wanted to read 100.

Among those 60 were The Kind Worth Killing and The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson. They feature Lily Kintner and Henry Kimball. Two friends who become friends in a very odd way. No spoilers here. In June of 2024, he released A Talent For Murder. This is the third book to feature Henry and Lily.

It recently became available on the Libby or Hoopla app from my library. It is a book that you can easily read as a stand alone if you had to. Any reference as to what happened in the first two books, is brief and not rehashed. I have stopped many books in a series because the spend half the book retelling the previous book.

This book had plenty of suspense and I really enjoyed it. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

A newlywed librarian begins to suspect the man she married might be a murderer—in this spectacularly twisty and deviously clever novel by Peter Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders.

Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her job as an archival librarian, constantly surrounded by thought-provoking ideas and the books she loved. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured divorcee with a job that took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.

A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.

Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . . but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.

Swanson is one of those writers that is creative and throws many surprises at you. I am already excited to see his next offering.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Recommendation: A Christmas Carol Murder

This year I read quite a few Christmas themed stories in December. One of them came up in a generic search on the Hoopla app. The author, Heather Redmond, was new to me. I’m a fan, as you know, of A Christmas Carol. So a murder mystery entitled A Christmas Carol Murder peaked my interest.

What I was unaware of at the time was that this is the third book in a series. I have to admit, the concept of this series is an interesting one. Each of the five books is part of “A Dickens of a Crime” series and feature – Charles Dickens.

The series takes place in 1835-1836 and follows a young Charles Dickens as a journalist for the Evening Chronicle. In the series, Charles and his fiancé, Kate, are amateur detectives who set out to solve crimes. Each of the book’s titles are a play on a Dickens classic. They are:

A Tale of Two Murders (A Tale of Two Cities)
Grave Expectations (Great Expectations)
A Christmas Carol Murder (A Christmas Carol)
The Pickwick Murders (The Pickwick Papers)
A Twist of Murder (Oliver Twist)

The characters in A Christmas Carol Murder all (purposely, I’m guessing) have names similar to characters in A Christmas Carol. Emmanuel Screws sounds a lot like Ebenezer Scrooge, while Jacob Harley (his partner) sounds like Jacob Marley. I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine the other books follow this same pattern.

Anyway, let me give you the Goodreads synopsis, in case you want to read it now or next Christmas.

The latest novel from Heather Redmond’s acclaimed mystery series finds young Charles Dickens suspecting a miser of pushing his partner out a window, but his fiancée Kate Hogarth takes a more charitable view of the old man’s innocence . . .

London, December 1835: Charles and Kate are out with friends and family for a chilly night of caroling and good cheer. But their blood truly runs cold when their singing is interrupted by a body plummeting from an upper window of a house. They soon learn the dead man at their feet, his neck strangely wrapped in chains, is Jacob Harley, the business partner of the resident of the house, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house, one Emmanuel Screws.

Ever the journalist, Charles dedicates himself to discovering who’s behind the diabolical defenestration. But before he can investigate further, Harley’s corpse is stolen. Following that, Charles is visited in his quarters by what appears to be Harley’s ghost—or is it merely Charles’s overwrought imagination? He continues to suspect Emmanuel, the same penurious penny pincher who denied his father a loan years ago, but Kate insists the old man is too weak to heave a body out a window. Their mutual affection and admiration can accommodate a difference of opinion, but matters are complicated by the unexpected arrival of an infant orphan. Charles must find the child a home while solving a murder, to ensure that the next one in chains is the guilty party . . .

Again, I thought this was a neat idea. It is fun to imagine that these characters and bits of the mystery itself might just influence Dickens. Perhaps influence him enough to use them in his Christmas Carol story.

The story was a fun read. I’m not sure that I will get the others in the series, but who knows. I’m not that familiar with the other Dickens books. I don’t know that I would get all the “tie ins” in them. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t, however. I’m sure that any Dickens fan will love the series and appreciate it more than me.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book Recommendation – Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

After waiting quite a while, today’s recommendation finally became available last week. Benjamin Stevenson’s “Holiday Special” is a short mystery featuring his character Ernest Cunningham.

I read the first book in this series, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone a while back. I loved the honesty of the narrator. He is always sure to give the reader all the clues needed to solve the mystery. I loved it.

The follow-up, Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, was just as good. So when I saw that there was a short mystery being released before the next novel, I had to read it.

I was glad it became available before Christmas, and while it is a theme, it is a book that can be read outside of the holiday season, too. That being said, here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Benjamin Stevenson returns with a Christmas addition to his bestselling, Ernest Cunningham mysteries. Unwrap all the Christmas staples: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe.

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I’d hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.

So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection.

THE MAGICIAN

THE ASSISTANT

THE EXECUTIVE

THE HYPNOTIST

THE IDENTICAL TWIN

THE COUNSELLOR

THE TECH

My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there. A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens. And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it’s Christmas.

If I can see through the illusions, I know I can solve it.

After all, a good murder is just like a magic trick, isn’t it?

This was a book I read in two days. It was really good. I had many guesses throughout and changed my mind on who I thought did it a few times.

I love the writing, the insights and hints given by the narrator, and the characters in general. I found it to be a satisfying mystery worth the read.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book Recommendation – The Christmas Guest

Now that it is officially the Christmas season, I’d like to offer up a holiday read for you. If you are looking for a quick holiday mystery to read, let me offer up one to you. I stumbled on author Peter Swanson when “Eight Perfect Murders” came up as a suggestion on Goodreads. That led me to read a few of this other books (The Kind Worth Killing, The Kind Worth Saving, Nine Lives, etc…).

When I saw that he had a Christmas book, I added it to my “to read” list. It’s been on there since just after Christmas last year. Since all the decorations are up, I thought this would be a good book to read by the lights of the tree.

The book is a novella. It is something that I read in one sitting. It wasn’t as good as some of his other stuff, but there was still a big twist in there which helped boost my rating of the book.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

An American art student in London is invited to join a classmate for the holidays at Starvewood Hall, her family’s Cotswold manor house. But behind the holly and pine boughs, secrets are about to unravel, revealing this seemingly charming English village’s grim history.

Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma’s aloof and handsome brother.

But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she’d ever imagined?

Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later.

The book was a nice read while I waited for the one I had on hold. It wasn’t like some of his other books, but the twist caught me off guard. Once that happens, the rest of the story all falls into place.

I would have given the book 3.5 stars, but the twist brought it up to 4 stars for me.