Thanks for the Memories

by Cecelia Ahern

This was such an entertaining book, I really liked it. Like most of her novels, there's such a whimsical feel to them. This one is about Justin Hitchcock, a visitor to Ireland who for the attention of an attractive woman, donates blood and that one action changes his life forever. At around the same time, Joyce an unhappily married yet pregnant woman, runs down her stairs to the answer the phone and takes a spill, losing the baby and than needing a transfusion. Such begins Joyce's transformation from an ordinary smart woman to an extraordinary smart woman, thanks to Justin and his advanced art degree. The two, at the start of the book meet each other only briefly, and then through the rest of it, are just two ships passing in the night. Joyce is dismayed over the memories, that are not her own, running through her mind at the oddest times. Happy memories of a red headed woman and a young girl and outings with them. Memories quite painful at first because of the loss of her first child but than they start to help her through her grieving process. I loved Justin's brother and sister-in-law, they were really fun characters. Always a treat to read this author.

The Scarecrow

by Michael Connelly

This is the second book featuring the main character from "The Poet", Los Angeles Times reporter Jack McEvoy and it's every bit as good as all Michael Connelly novels. It begins with Jack getting laid off due to the rise of lower paid college graduates and than to his frustration having to train his own replacement. That very day he receives a phone call from an irate lady who believes his last story wrongly accused her son of murder. At first he dismisses her as just being biased in favor of her son until a key point in her complaint gets him interested in investigating. Soon his last two weeks are filled with another murder case like "The Poet" with its every danger and hopefully it's same reward since that last case bought him a house. The book also features the return of FBI agent Rachel Walling who comes and goes out of the Harry Bosch novels as well. This book has a scary villain since the age of computers leaves us vulnerable in ways like never before and this bad guy knows all and isn't afraid to exploit that knowledge to keep himself out of jail. This was a terrific book, I particularly enjoyed seeing the inside of the modern day newspaper business. Another winner for Michael Connelly.

Pursuit
by Karen Robards

Always an author I can't wait to read and I devour her novels quickly. This one was no exception, I like how her female characters are described, they aren't perfectly beautiful so right away I bond with them immediately, being average looking myself. Jessica Ford is a bright young lawyer at a prestigious Washington D.C. law firm, when one night the big boss calls and has her meet the First Lady at a bar, surprisingly unaccompanied by Secret Service. The night goes horribly wrong and soon the First Lady and a Secret Service agent who caught up with them is dead and Jessica is left with harsh injuries and soon on the run from unknown enemies. The book was a fast and a very enjoyable read, I liked both Jessica and the hero, Secret Service Agent Mark Ryan. Now the wait for her next novel continues...

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen in Audio Format

Now there is a new character to put on my favorite fictional people list, the novels hero, Jacob Jankowski. I loved the audio books inclusion of two voices portraying him, the young and older version. He is a wonderful character at any age but I especially loved the 90 (or 93) version, he can never remember his age as he grouses numerous times. He is cranky and troublesome and just an absolute wonderful protagonist in my opinion. The story begins in his nursing home when the circus comes to town. A retired lawyer suddenly seated at the same table gets Jacob's back up when he claims to the rapt ladies at their table that he used to carry "water for elephants". After Jacob calls the man a liar and gets ousted from the table soon he is telling us his own story that is centered around him and "The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth". And what a terrific story it is, not romanticised, if you're an animal lover parts will leave you cringing, but it is such a moving story. Jacob will be a character I think about again and again.

A Good and Happy Child

by Justin Evans in Audio Format

I was expecting a different story but still couldn't take it out of my CD player, I just had to know what happens to the main character, George Davies. At the start of the story we meet George as an adult, a new father who for reasons unknown to even him, cannot hold his newborn son. Soon the narrative changes to the journals his doctor encourages him to write. They chart his childhood as the only child of two academics, his trauma's begin when his father dies mysteriously on the other side of the world. George soon sees a figure, one who resembles himself but dirtier and unlike George, conscienceless and just a little bit evil. Soon George is convinced by the spirit that someone close to their family is responsible for his fathers death and he or the figure, we don't quite know which, acts accordingly. The person survives the car crash caused by his brakes being disabled; but soon he and others convince George that he is possessed by an evil spirit. Throughout the book all sorts of adults influence George, his mother, her new boyfriend, his godfather, his late father's best friend, even psychiatrists who eventually decide he needs involuntary commitment to a mental hospital. By the time everyone is done with him I'm amazed he doesn't just run off and live alone in a cave somewhere. The book is very engrossing the character of George is so well written I hated to leave him when the story was done, but like all books they must end.