Tag: Thriller

PLEASE JOIN US, by Catherine McKenzie

A book cover with a woman's face and the words PLEASE JOIN US
~ Kristie ~ Leave a comment

Nicole Mueller is a lawyer in a high-powered law firm, but after years of success, she’s struggling. She’s been put on watch after (in the partners’ opinion) she’s had a lackluster year, her relationship with her husband Dan is tense, and she’s not even sure where she’ll call home when Dan’s and her stake in the family apartment is in question. To say she’s on edge is an understatement. When she receives an invitation from a women’s networking group (Panthera Leo), she thinks it might be the answer to all her problems.

If a thriller can be judged by how engaged you are while reading it, then PLEASE JOIN US is top-notch. The opening chapter grabbed me, and the book didn’t let go until the final page. The book starts with an SOS that Nicole receives from a friend and fellow Panthera Leo member, and there isn’t a slow moment in the narrative after that. Despite moving from present to the past and back again through much of the book, the plot is easy to follow, and I didn’t feel any of the confusion I often have when trying to keep up with where and when I am in a book that uses that device.

I’ve read a lot of Catherine McKenzie’s books, and the thing I like best about her writing is that I never stop wondering where the story is leading until the end. Her plots twist and turn, and just when I think I have everything figured out, I find that I’ve miscalculated yet again. I’m not sure what method she uses for plotting and keeping track of her characters and their motives, but she could probably teach a master class in it.

Lest you think that the plot and pacing are the only stars of PLEASE JOIN US, know that the characters in it are also terrific. While Nicole is the most fully formed of the people you meet—of course—even those on the periphery become full figures, and their relationships seem real in a way that is often missing in the genre. The relationship between Nicole and Dan is really well drawn—something I found particularly impressive considering the fast pace of the novel.

McKenzie is an author whose books I order the moment I hear there will be a new one, and nothing about PLEASE JOIN US changed my mind on that. I’m already looking forward to her next one.

SIX WEEKS TO LIVE, by Catherine McKenzie

~ Kristie ~ Leave a comment

Jennifer Barnes has six weeks to live–that part of this new book from Catherine McKenzie is given away in the title–but is it because it’s one of those things that just happens and we need to shake our fists at fate, or has someone close to her decided that they would be better off without her around?

McKenzie has written another terrific family drama-mystery-psychological thriller that will keep some readers guessing the outcome until the very end. What the author does very well in SIX WEEKS TO LIVE (as she does in all of her books) is gather the broken pieces and parts that come from a life of family and friendships and turn them into a well-plotted story that leaves the reader invested in the characters and the outcome–and allows most to see a bit of themselves in at least one of those characters.

SIX WEEKS TO LIVE is told in alternating voices as Jennifer and her three daughters give their perspectives on what happens over the course of Jennifer’s final six weeks. The excellent writing and clear chapter titles helped me stay on track with whose voice I was hearing, and even without the heads-up at the beginning of each chapter, the distinct personalities of the Barnes women shine through and a reader won’t doubt whose version of the story they’re reading.

With its short chapters and constant surprises, SIX WEEKS TO LIVE is a book that is hard to put down. I spent a lot of time saying “just one more chapter” to myself as I breezed through the book on some nights when I should have gone to sleep early. The title releases at the beginning of May, so I suggest you pre-order it and give it to the mystery-loving mom on your shopping list for Mother’s Day. I can guarantee that I’ll be doing that.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Past Tense, by Lee Child

~ Kristie ~ 2 Comments

Past Tense.jpg

I’ve been a fan of Jack Reacher for years. My parents introduced me to him about when book three came out, and I devoured the books in the series as quickly as Lee Child could write them–as did Mom and Dad. I soon introduced my oldest son to Jack … my son was a high school student who wanted to be a US Marine (and has since become one), and he was immediately enthralled. How many authors can have that impact on teens, parents, and grandparents?!

Then Jack and I lost touch for a while, though I thought of him fondly, and probably more often than one should think about a fictional character. When I saw NetGalley was offering up a copy of Lee Child’s soon-to-be-released book, I had to ask for a copy, and I was rewarded with an ebook of PAST TENSE.

If you read Lee Child’s books, you know what to expect. Jack Reacher is wandering through a town, and something keeps him there. The story lines are built on the details surrounding whatever it is that forces his stay in the town in which he finds himself, and Reacher is always Awesome (with a capital A). PAST TENSE follows the formula, and in this instance, Reacher is investigating something is pretty personal: his father’s past. Of course it’s not as simple as hitting the public library, sitting at a computer, going on Ancestry.com, and finding out that everything is exactly as it seems. Nope. This is Jack Reacher, so there are mysteries. And secrets. And fist fights. And there’s another part of the story in which a couple of nice Canadian twenty-somethings are being kept captive in a motel for nefarious purposes. What there *isn’t* is Jack Reacher ending up in bed with miscellaneous female character; that surprised me, but it was actually a relief.

All in all, PAST TENSE is exactly what one expects from of a Lee Child/Jack Reacher book. Reacher is Reacher through and through. The mysteries surrounding his dad and the Canadian captives are intriguing. The action scenes are written really well, and although the slower paced moments made me roll my eyes a bit, I knew there would be some mayhem with just a turn of the page. PAST TENSE isn’t my favorite of the Jack Reacher books, but it does its job and the last half of the book ended up being as entertaining as I had hoped.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.