Open and Shut

Open and Shut
by  David Rosenfelt

Series:  Andy Carpenter #1
Genre:  Mystery, Crime, Humor
Publisher: Listen & Live on
03 April 2008
Reading with my ears:  Unabridged
06 hours 50 minutes
Narrator:   Grover Gardner

Whether duelling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defence attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But Andy prefers the company of his best friend, Tara, to the people he encounters in the courtroom. Tara, a golden retriever, is clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. However, just as it seems Andy has everything figured out, his dad, New Jersey's legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed . . . and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons-and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good.

My thoughts:
What a fun read!  Someone in my Facebook bookclub read one of the books later in this series and was telling us about this lawyer and his lovely golden retriever, Tara.  (I love dogs so how could I resist taking a look!)  I have a problem with not starting a series at the beginning, so I went in search of where it all started, way back in 2003 - with the audiobook published in 2008 - a lifetime ago.  But it has not aged at all, I felt as if it could have been written yesterday.  

Andy is not your usual buttoned-down lawyer.  In the beginning of the book, he seemed too fond of dishonest (in my opinion) theatrics in the court room.  I was doubting my choice but after a few chapters this disappeared and he got more serious about defending his client which I appreciated much more.  

All in all, Andy has a good heart, even taking payment in watermelons when defending a client :)

After the fiasco of my previous read, I needed something light and fluffy and that is exactly what I got. It left me with a huge smile on my face.  

The narrator was great with a soothing voice not interfering with the story at all.  I enjoyed this one and would recommend if for a fluffy read.

{Audiobook}Review: Mr Mercedes

Mr Mercedes
by Stephen King
 
Genre: Crime fiction
Date Read:  13 June 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator:  Will Patton   
Unabridged audio - Length: 14 hours 21 minutes

A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular - the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes.

The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he's preparing to kill again. Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.

My thoughts:
Mr Mercedes is the journey of Bill Hodges, a police detective, with nothing to live for after his retirement from the force.   He puts away his father’s gun (and thoughts of using it) as he begins to tract the one crazy killer he was never able to catch. 

Brady Hartfield is very sick.  It is scary to think that he lives in real life too.  People blending nicely into society but with grandiose thoughts of being famous as the greatest killer. 

I loved how King revealed only little bits of the support characters at a time.  We never really got to know the the other characters in the book, just enough to give us glimpses into the reasons for Brady’s psychosis. 

One of these characters is Freddy, Brady’s younger brother.  He is only mentioned a few times in this book but I felt such empathy for him.  A poor little lost soul, born into a family that ultimately killed him.  Freddy was always slow and suffered brain damage during his short life which made caring for him a huge burden on the family.  I understand the frustrations that the family must have felt but poor little Freddy did not deserve his life.  Thankfully he would not have understood all that went on.

If you are looking for a scary horror by the great master, then you will be disappointed.  Mr Mercedes is only scary in the way that an insane person can be scary.   And Brady is scary . . .
This is instead a great detective story, defining the phrase “cat and mouse games”. 

Will Patton once again showed why he is such a beloved narrator.  He did an excellent job and the story flowed beautifully from scene to scene.  He is a true professional.  Love him!

{Movie}Review: The Tall Man

The Tall Man (2012)
Starring:  Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, William B Davis

This film is about a legend that has been started by the town folk of Cold Rock. Since the children in the town have been going missing, people have said it's an entity known as 'The Tall Man' who has been taking them. Julia Denning ('Jessica Biel' ) is the local nurse whose husband died years earlier. She is soon personally involved as her child is taken. She tries to track down where the child is taken, but finds that there's more to what's happening than she knew. The towns-folk start to turn on her and the truth comes out. But there's still more to the story--who is 'The Tall Man'? And what is the truth behind the disappearances?

My thoughts:
This movie started out very slowly.  Everything was so bleak.  What a sad life the citizens of Cold Rock had fallen into.  Since the mine closed down, life has been pretty bad for everyone in town. Stores are closing down or abandoned.  Everything (and everyone) is run down, dirty or broken. Money is tight or non-existent.
Julia, a trained nurse, has stayed on even after her husband, the beloved town doctor, has gone. She is trying to keep the town going. But children are going missing. More and more rumors are circulating about "the tall man", the one everyone believes are stealing the children.
One of the best aspects of this movie is that it will take you completely by surprise with it’s plot twists.  So no spoilers from me!  This is a movie that you have to go in blind.  And when all is revealed at the end, you will want to start a debate with your friends about the ethics of it all.
  

{Audiobook} Review: Joyland

Joyland
by Stephen King



Genre: Crime mystery; Fantasy
Date Read: 01 February 2014
Reading with my ears
Narrator: Micheal Kelly
Unabridged Length:
07 hours; 31 minutes 

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

My thoughts:
Stephen King books are a curiosity these days.  You just never know what you are going to get.  I am sure that he has already touched every genre there is (including time travel!) and this time we get a type of cozy crime mystery with tones of fantasy.  

In comparison with some of his epic novels, this one is a shorty (almost a novella) but I am not sure if it packed the punch we were hoping for.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this novel and it kept my attention but it did not have the wow-factor that I was hoping for.  

We meet Devin at a juncture in his life.  He has taken a summer job at a carnival with history in a neighboring town.  Here he comes to know and love this fellow carnies and some of them will stay with him for the rest of his life.  There is a murder mystery connected to one of the rides and it has become a ghostly legend.  The story follows Devin's journey into adulthood while trying to uncover the strangeness of Joyland.  I think this was more about the journey of the characters than a serious murder mystery. 

I cannot really say more because I might give some of the uniqueness away, so let's just say that this is a quietly flowing river that will fill a few lazy hours in your vacation.  If you have nothing against audiobooks, I would recommend that version.  The narrator, Micheal Kelly, has a beautiful raspy voice that complements the story beautifully.  He definitely added to the story.

{Audiobook} Review: The Partner

The Partner
by John Grisham

Genre: Legal Thriller, Crime Mystery
Source: my own copy
Date Read: 16 January 2014
Narrator: Frank Muller
Length: 11 hours 31 minutes 

They watched Danilo Silva for days before they finally grabbed him. He was living alone, a quiet life on a shady street in Brazil; a simple life in a modest home, certainly not one of luxury. Certainly no evidence of the fortune they thought he had stolen. He was much thinner and his face had been altered. He spoke a different language, and spoke it very well.But Danilo had a past with many chapters. Four years earlier he had been Patrick Lanigan, a young partner in a prominent Biloxi law firm. He had a pretty wife, a new daughter, and a bright future. Then one cold winter night Patrick was trapped in a burning car and died a horrible death. When he was buried his casket held nothing more than his ashes.From a short distance away, Patrick watched his own burial. Then he fled. Six weeks later, a fortune was stolen from his ex-law firm's offshore account. And Patrick fled some more.But they found him.

My thoughts:
I have never read a John Grisham book before. I have always known that he is much loved for his legal thrillers and movies but have always assumed that it would be just to complicated for me to enjoy. Wow, was I wrong! I loved this book! It was very cleverly constructed up to the very unexpected (and sad?) ending.

The story starts when Patrick is caught and tortured. We already know what he did. We know that he faked his own death and stole millions of dollars. But as we get into the story, the facts are revealed and it becomes clear that we might have to change our mind. “Was he so wrong?”.

I just loved how every move is revealed and how we slowly become part of the solution. And isn't it fun when the bad guys get their reward in the end. And there are lots of cheers in this story – from the corrupt lawyers and insurance company to Patrick's very unlikeable trophy wife.

While searching the web to learn more about the narrator, Frank Muller, I found that he died in 2008 from multiple injuries after his motorcycle accident a few years prior. His website promises a few more hours in his company as he has also narrated some other books that is in my TBR list. This will be a pleasure as I enjoy his calm voice slowly revealing the details of a story. 

Audiobook Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

The Cuckoo's Calling 

by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) 
 
Series: Cormoran Strike #1 
Publication date: 18 April 2013 
Genre: Murder Mystery Detective Novel 
Source: gift 
Date Read: 20 August 2013 
Narrator: Robert Glenister 
Length: 15 hours 53 minutes 

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

A war veteran, wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike's life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model's complex world, the darker things get - and the closer he gets to terrible danger . . .

A gripping, elegant mystery steeped in the atmosphere of London - from the hushed streets of Mayfair, to the backstreet pubs of the East End, to the bustle of Soho - The Cuckoo's Calling is a remarkable debut. Introducing Cormoran Strike, it is a classic crime novel unlike any other book you will read this year.

My thoughts: 
This was really a great surprise for me. I am not a Harry Potter fan and the first adult novel by JK Rowling (Casual Vacancy) did not blow me away although I felt compelled to finish it.

I was not sure if I should be giving it another shot, maybe JK Rowling just wasn't for me.  But I love detective novels, so I decided to give it another go.  And The Cuckoo's Calling hit the right spot at the right moment. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery.

 
Our hero detective is Cormoran Strike Together with titbits from his temporary secretary, he tries to solve all the conflicting leads in this twisting murder mystery when he is hired by the victim's brother to find out the truth about her death.

Cormoran has all the usual hangups that we have come to expect from our favorite detectives but this just makes him seem more human and easy to like. He is a disabled military veteran and I hope to see a lot more of him (and his secretary) in future. The ending gave us an inclining that this might be the first of a series . . . 

I enjoyed this detective murder mystery and would recommend it for a nice and relaxing holiday read.  I look forward to future cases in Cormoran Stike's career.

Audiobook Review: Killing Floor

 
Killing Floor 

by Lee Child 

Series: Jack Reacher #1 
Genre: Crime Fiction 
Source: my own audio copy 
Narrator: Dick Hill 
Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins 
Original Publication Date of book: 
17 March 1997 

Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher stops in Margrave Georgia for less than a half-hour to check out a decades-old needless murder, and is arrested for murder. Ten days to stop the villains, or die. Working for the US Treasury, Joe left Jack clues, starting with this too-shiny Southern town, where a senile barber gets $1,000/week without customers. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:
I have never looked at the Jack Reacher series before. I tried to watch the movie starring Tom Cruise and could not finish it (my husband fell asleep). I don't know if it was the story or just casting . . . it just did not work for me. 

Then while reading some of the comments on my Goodreads Audiobook Group, everyone was agreeing what a great narrator, Dick Hill is. I was looking for something to add to my daily commute audio, so I listened to the audio sample available on audible and fell in love with his narration from the start. His calm voice just epitomized what I think Jack Reacher should be. Cool, calm and collected. 

The story is a simple crime thriller although there are some surprises that caught me off guard (don't worry, no spoilers). I enjoyed the way the story flowed and how Jack handled some of the difficult situations – luckily he does not have to worry about rules and procedures . . . and just imagine this 6'5” man with mascara all over his face so he could hide in the dark bushes. The other motorists probably thought it was a crazy woman giggling by herself in the car. 

All in all, I really enjoyed everything about this experience. The story was good and the narration excellent. The only negative I can think of is that at times I got irritated with the sentences all ending in “right” . . . but as you progress in the book, your mind starts blanking out the word for you :)

Audiobook Review: A B C D is for . . . Kinsey Millhone PI

My thoughts:
Kinsey Millhone is a private detective with a good heart.  Unfortunately she will never be rich as her clients have a tendency to turn up dead.  

The ABC murder books are light crime fiction with a female lead character that is hard not to like.  She is a twice divorced tough cookie that finds it hard to let go even when her minds tell her it is a bad idea.  

The stories are set in the 1980's  -  all before cellphones and the internet became part of our lives.  

This is definitely not going to win any literally acclaim but it is very enjoyable (maybe just because of that fact).  Sometimes you just want to loose yourself in the story without too much thought about anything else.

W is for Wasted was published this year, so I have a few letters to go yet.