A Rapid Review
Publisher: Ballantine | August 2015 | 354 pages
Rating: 4½ stars
Shocking, intense, and utterly original, Black-Eyed Susans is a dazzling psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving past and present in a searing tale of a young woman whose harrowing memories remain in a field of flowers—as a killer makes a chilling return to his garden.
In 1995, young Tessa is dumped in a field and left for dead by a serial killer. Twenty years later she has healed but worries that her memories may have been false and sent the wrong man to death row for the crime.
Tessa’s story is told in a unique style. The first part of the book unfolds in alternating points of view between young Tessie shortly after her rescue in 1995, and Tessa today, now a young single mom. The second part alternates between Tessie’s testimony at the trial in 1995, and Tessa in the present using a countdown of days to the execution. The third parts brings the unexpected conclusion.
The story was well-researched and detailed with lots of cutting edge forensics reminiscent of an episode of CSI. The author also brought up some important points about the death penalty and demonstrated that our justice system can be fallible despite good intentions.
I enjoyed this psychological thriller with its unreliable but compelling narrator; a page turner that kept me wondering on the outcome until the very end.
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Source: Review copy provided by LibraryThing and the publisher.
© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
New Arrivals
Just one new book last week and one I am very much looking forward to reading. Look at all those lovely birds on the cover! I’m pretty sure I can relate to a character that is obsessed with birds.
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church from Algonquin Books.
For Meridian Wallace–and many other smart, driven women of the 1940s–being ambitious meant being an outlier. Ever since she was a young girl, Meridian had been obsessed with birds, and she was determined to get her PhD, become an ornithologist, and make her mother’s sacrifices to send her to college pay off. But she didn’t expect to fall in love with her brilliant physics professor, Alden Whetstone. When he’s recruited to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to take part in a mysterious wartime project, she reluctantly defers her own plans and joins him.
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© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
It was a quiet but cold weekend here in Chicago. The big blizzard stayed to the south and missed us this time, but I can sympathize with those in its path as I’ve been there before.
A few new audio downloads last week . . .
New Arrivals
From Random House Audio
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
Wrenching family secrets, forbidden love, and heartbreaking loss housed within the grand gothic manor of Black Rabbit Hall.
The Doll’s House by M J Arlidge
Ruby wakes up in a strange room. Her captor calmly explains that no one is looking for her. No one wants her. Except him.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
A spell-binding, unforgettable portrait of one woman’s metamorphosis following a single, life-altering choice.
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© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath
A Rapid Review
Publisher: Crown Books | Random House Audio | Non-Fiction
Format: 8 hours | 288 pages Rating: 4 stars
Audio Listening Level: Easy | Pub Date: Oct 2015
In this New York Times bestselling investigation, Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America’s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared.
Just the thought of no power for more than a few days gives me nightmares. Sure, we can handle a couple of days with no electricity, but according to this book, only one in ten of us would survive a year under those conditions. So how likely is it that this could happen? It depends on whom you believe.
Ted Koppel thoroughly researched the likelihood of an attack on our power grid and how it could be carried out, and his findings are troubling. There are multiple ways to take down a huge section of the North American grid, which is interconnected. Our government sees it as an unlikely scenario, and if it did happen it would be localized.
Some of this reminds me of Y2K where none of the doomsday predictions happened. But were they prevented because of the huge drive to correct deficiencies in the computer code? I think so. And while there is some scary stuff here, I feel it’s better for the public to know about our vulnerabilities than to stick our heads in the sand. The bad guys already know – we aren’t giving away any secrets.
A worthwhile read and an excellent choice to listen to.
Audio production:
While I do have a copy of the book, I spent more than half my time listening to the audio book. Ted Koppel did the narration and he didn’t disappoint. With perfect pacing and emphasis, he conveyed a needed sense of urgency.
[Audio Sample available on PRH website.]
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Source: Review copy provided by Random House Audio.
© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Nothing new in the mailbox last week. It’s been tough to say no, but I’m trying to catch up on some of the books I really want to read and several I committed to review. I did, however, download a few audiobooks . . .
New Arrivals
From Random House Audio
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
A simple hospital visit becomes a portal to the most tender relationship of all—the one between mother and daughter.
Shaker by Scott Frank
The tale of a hit man mistaken for a hero whose sudden, unwanted fame makes him a target for the surprising number of people who want him dead.
Eleanor by Jason Gurley
Eleanor and Esmerelda are identical twins with a secret language all their own, inseparable until a terrible accident claims Esme’s life.
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© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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A Rapid Review
Publisher: Blackstone Audio | July 2015
Format: Audio Download | 9 hours | Rating: 4 stars
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Jim Harrison is a test pilot in the United States Air Force, one of the exalted few. He spends his days cheating death in the skies above the Mojave Desert and his nights at his friend Pancho’s bar, often with his wife, Grace. She and Harrison are secretly desperate for a child-and when, against all odds, Grace learns that she is pregnant, the two are overcome with joy.
But when his family is faced with a sudden and inexplicable tragedy, Harrison’s instincts as a father and a pilot are put to test. As a pilot, he feels compelled to lead them through it-and as a father, he fears that he has fallen short.
This was a little different than what I expected. I thought I would get a fast-paced thrill-ride centering around the space program and astronauts, or maybe the excitement of Apollo 13, but rather than an adventure based on the pilots, the newly emerging space program, and the race to the moon, the novel uses the space program as a backdrop to the powerful story of test pilot Jim’s friends and family, and a realistic look at life.
As a youngster I can remember eagerly following the space program and found the inclusion of real life pilots and astronauts such as Chuck Yeager, Jim Lovell, John Glenn, and Gus Grissom, an enjoyable addition to Jim’s story. But even for those who are not interested in the history of the space race – yes, there is detail on the subject – the interesting, well-developed characters plus a nostalgic ride back to more innocent, hopeful times, make this a book worth experiencing.
Interesting note: The background information on the space program is so well-researched and the story felt so authentic that I didn’t realize the book wasn’t written by an American. The author is British.
Audio production:
Narrated by Donald Corren. Good pacing and a smooth voice make this a pleasant listen. Experienced listeners will have not trouble engaging and following the story.
[Audio Sample on Downpour.]
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
© 2016 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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