If You Were Here
by Alafair Burke
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: June 4, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 384 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5
From the back cover:
Chasing a hot story, magazine journalist McKenna Wright uncovers information that sends her back to the past, to the disappearance of a close friend — a classmate of her husband’s at West Point — who vanished without a trace a decade ago.
McKenna always believed the truth went deeper than the police investigation ever reached. To find answers, the former prosecutor turned reporter embarks on a twisting search that leads across New York City and into dark secrets buried dangerously close to home.
My Thoughts:
In this fast paced mystery/thriller Alafair Burke has created a complex, intriguing plot with multiple story lines and a cast of interesting characters. There were a lot of plot twists and the reader is sent careening in different directions more than a few times. Yes, the story line was complex but never so much that I couldn’t follow along although one of the plot twists was a little unbelievable and seemed to come out of nowhere — but looking back, there was a small hint and I didn’t catch it.
Our protagonist, McKenna Wright, is a strong but not always endearing character. In her obsessive quest to find the truth about what happened to her friend she can be a little too aggressive and often jumps to conclusions leading to bad decisions. This impatience caused her to lose her position as a prosecutor with the District Attorney’s Office and now she has been fired from the magazine. She is far from perfect, which only makes her more interesting.
Most of the story is told from McKenna’s point of view in short, action filled chapters. The back story is relayed in bits and pieces through a series of short flashbacks. As McKenna keeps digging for information, the suspense builds, the focus of her suspicions shift, and we don’t know who to trust. I thought I had the bad guy/gal figured out a few times only to be wrong as new information is uncovered. Eventually all the story lines come together but the reader is kept guessing until the end.
Overall an engaging mystery with a lot of plot twists that kept me wondering as I raced to the conclusion.
Giveaway Information
The giveaway is open to those 18 years of age or older with a mailing address in the US or Canada. To enter, leave a comment on or before June 30, 2013. For an extra entry tweet or blog the giveaway and leave the link in your comment. I will draw a random winner who will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.
[Giveaway has ended]
Winner: JJT
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Source: Review copy provided by TLC Tours
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The June host is Bellezza @ Dolce Bellezza
Summer is here, my favorite time of the year. I spend as much time as I can outdoors so this week I took my books outside for a photo shoot by the garden. Here’s what arrived at my house last week:
Print Books:
The Widow Waltz by Sally Koslow from Viking.
The Widow Waltz explores in a profound way the bonds between mothers and daughters, belligerent siblings, skittish lovers, and bitter rivals as they discover the power of forgiveness, and healing, all while asking, “What is family, really?”
The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd from Picador
A mesmerizing debut novel about a young woman, haunted by loss, who rediscovers passion and possibility when she’s drawn into the tangled lives of her neighbors.
Audiobooks:
All from Penguin Audio:
Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1) by Richelle Mead
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans.
Zero Hour (NUMA Files #11) by Clive Cussler, Graham Brown
It is called zero point energy, and it really exists—a state of energy contained in all matter everywhere, and thus all but unlimited. Nobody has ever found a way to tap into it, however—until one scientist discovers a way.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Lincoln’s Sparrow is one of the more elusive birds of North America. They have a large range but are difficult to find and secretive in nature preferring the cover of dense shrubs.
Last month I was fortunate to stumble across one along a trail in the forest preserve. I was searching for migrating warblers when I spotted this little guy in a shrub along the DuPage River. A quick pause between the branches was the best opportunity I had to get a shot of him and then he was gone.
I wasn’t able to get an unobscured photo of the entire bird. They resemble the Song Sparrow but without the large spot on the breast. Also, the Lincoln’s has fine streaking on a buffy colored upper breast while the Song has coarser streaking on a whitish breast. I did get a shot of the front of the bird, and you can clearly see the color and the streaking, but being a shy bird, he stuck his head behind a leaf and looks a little silly.
(Click thumbnail for a larger view.)
Long Distance Migrant
The Lincoln’s Sparrows are long distance migrants making the journey north and south each year. They breed mostly in the boreal regions of Canada and winter in the southern US and Mexico. They don’t have a year-round range.
I only get a couple of weeks to see them as they pass through the Chicago area. This is a bird that most people will never see unless they go out searching for it. This is not a sparrow that will come to your backyard feeder.
Interesting Facts:
It’s such a secretive little bird that not much about is known about it. I was able to dig up one interesting note:
• John James Audubon found this species in 1833 while on an expedition in Nova Scotia and named it after his travel companion Thomas Lincoln.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
Narrated by Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
Genre: Suspense / Mystery
Publisher: Random House Audio
Publish Date: May 25, 2012
Format: Audio, 19 hours | 11 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
My Thoughts:
This was a hot read last year and a book that landed on many people’s favorite book list. I finally got around to reading it because my book club chose it as their June read. Did it live up to all the hype? Yes and No. Mostly yes.
The story was easy to get lost in. It was well-written and tightly plotted, a riveting psychological thriller. The story was told by Amy and Nick in alternating narrative. Nick begins in the present with Amy’s disappearance while Amy starts further back in time, giving us a view of her dysfunctional childhood. Eventually the timelines converge and we get a somewhat clearer idea of what is going on, or so we believe.
I’m assuming many of you know the plot or have already read the book. This is a difficult book to discuss in any detail without giving up spoilers so I’ll try to be vague. While I enjoy a story that’s complex with multiple shifts in direction, I also like a few valid clues so I can attempt to figure out what is actually happening. I was doing fine for the first half of the story, but then things began to take some very weird turns and I felt the author was manipulating the reader a little too much. Unless Amy (and the reader) had a crystal ball, there was no way she could have foreseen and planned so well for a couple of situations.
Most of the characters were unlikable; not just Nick and Amy, but also her parents and many of the people we meet along the way. Often when I can’t relate to at least one main character I can’t engage in the story and eventually give up on the book. That didn’t happen this time. These people were so despicable it made for a compelling read and I had to find out what was going to happen next.
One of the ways I judge how much I liked a book is by how long it took me to listen to it. This one was about 19 hours long and it only took me a few days. The audio production was easy to listen to. It was performed with two narrators, one for each point of view. Having two distinct voices made it much easier to follow than having one person alternate between a male and female voice (a pet peeve of mine).
Now about that ending. I didn’t particularly like it but it didn’t surprise me. Most of the book club didn’t like the ending either but everyone liked the book to varying degrees. We also agreed that Amy was a sociopath and Nick was co-dependent, and that they deserved each other.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: This butterfly was sitting perfectly still on a gravel path near a woodland trail.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
At the Midpoint
I’m listening to the audiobook and am a little ahead of schedule in the Under The Dome readalong. Once I start a Stephen King novel it’s difficult to put it down!
My intention was to listen to a few chapters here and there plus listen to some of my non-fiction audio books at the same time. I can listen to more than one book if the genres are different. But I keep going back Under the Dome.
Spoiler-free Thoughts
This is classic Stephen King horror. Yeah, I like a creepy book. I read my first King novel way back in the 70s, one of his early books, Salem’s Lot. Vampires. Then sometime around Gerald’s Game, which I hated, I started drifting away and only read the occasional King novel. Then I read 11/22/63 and remembered how good a story he can tell. And then Natalie started The Stephen King Project, and I got sucked right back in.
So far, I’m loving Under the Dome and probably will finish before the July 27 end date. Then I plan on watching the television mini-series.
A few brief thoughts:
Characters: A whole town full of them. Good and bad. One of the things I love about a King novel is his character development. He doesn’t just tell you about a character, he gives you a story about a character. Then you get invested in them. But don’t get too attached to anyone. They could disappear at any moment. The bodies begin piling up right away. Will anyone make it out of The Dome alive?
The Family Pet: If you’ve read King before you know something evil might happen to the beloved pet. It’s keeping me on edge.
Audio Production: Listenable but not as good as it could have been. Narrator Raul Esparza reads with a nice pace and enough emotion but in the dialog the accents seem off. What does a Maine accent sound like? I’m not sure, but I know this isn’t it. Especially evil Big Jim, who sounds like he’s from the south but is supposed to be born and raised in Maine. I’m not trying to scare anyone off from the audio. It’s a good compromise if you don’t have time for the print book but still want to be part of the readalong.
The Readalong Details
The readalong runs from May 25 through July 27 and is hosted by Natalie at Coffee and a Book Chick. There is still time to participate. I know, it’s a huge book and everyone is so busy in the summer that there’s no time, but there’s always the audiobook.
Are you a Stephen King fan?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The June host is Bellezza @ Dolce Bellezza
Here’s what arrived at my house last week, one print and one audiobook:
For review from TLC Tours:
Late Lights
by Kara Weiss
After spending his teens in juvenile detention, Monty is released to find he has nowhere to turn except back to the friends of his youth. But neither BJ nor Erin know how to have him in their lives anymore. As kids, BJ and Monty shared the anguish of being forgotten children, playing basketball and wandering the streets, but BJ has since aged out of her tomboy persona and into a sexually-confused woman in an adult body she doesn’t understand, particularly when Monty is the first guy to view her as a woman. Although Erin Broder never gave up on her friendship with Monty, she doesn’t know where he fits into her upward-bound life… more.
For review from Harper Audio:
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow
by Rita Leganski
Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. But he was listening, placing sound inside quiet and gaining his bearings. By the time he turns five, he can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He also hears the voice of his dead father, William Arrow, mysteriously murdered by a man known only as the Wanderer. Exploring family relics, he opens doors to the past and finds the key to a web of secrets that both hold his family together, and threaten to tear them apart.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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