Book: Different Seasons

 Book: Different Seasons

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 608

This is my 199th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

This gripping collection begins with "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", in which an unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge.  Next is "Apt Pupil" the inspiration for the film of the same name about top high school student Todd Bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older man in town.  In "The Body" four rambunctiou young boys plunge through the facade of a small town and coe face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality.  This novella became the movie Stand By Me.  Finally, a disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death in "The Breathing Method".

Stars: 4.5

Book: The Whispered Word

 Book: The Whispered Word

Author: Ellery Adams

Pages: 304

This is my 198th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Nora Pennington, owner of Miracle Books, believes that a well-chosen novel can bring healing and hope.  But she and the other members of the Secret, book, and Scone Society know that sometimes, practical help is needed too.  Such is the case with the reed-thin girl hiding in the fiction section of Nora's store, wearing a hospital ID and a patchwork of faded bruises.  She calls herself Abilene, and though Nora and her friends offer work, shelter, and a supportive ear, their guest isn't ready to divulge her secrets.  But when a customer is found dead in an assumed suicide, Nora uncovers a ocnnection that points to Abilene as either a suspect - or another target.  Summer's end has brought other new arrivals to Miracle Springs too.  Entrepreneur Griffin Kingsley opens Virtual Genie, a cyber business that unloads people's unwanted goods for cash.  With the town in an economic slump and folks hurting for money, Virtual Genie and its owner are both instantly popular.  A patient listener, Griffin dispenses candy to children and strong coffee to adults, and seems like a bona fide gentleman.  But Nora's not inclined to judge a book by its cover.  And when a second death hits town, Nora and her intrepid friends must help the new, greenhorn sheriff discern fact from fiction - and stop a killer intent on bringing another victims story to a close.

Stars: 4

Book: The Three Lives of Cate Kay

 Book: The Three Lives of Cate Kay

Author: Kate Fagan

Pages: 304

This is my 197th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Cate Kay knows how to craft a story.  As the creator of a bestselling book triogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she's one of the most successful authors of her generation.  The thing is, Cake Kay doesn't really exist.  She's never attended author events or granted any interviews.  Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.  As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda fantasized escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars.  But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future.  But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she'll be a whole person again.

Stars: 2.5

Book: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man

 Book: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man

Author: Jesse Sutanto

Pages: 336

This is my 196th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good.  For Vera that is.  She's surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tily, has a girlfriend!  All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray.  The very same Officer Gray that she has harassed while investigating the teahouse murder.  Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly bored.  Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance.  The young woman is looking for a missing friend.  Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tily and Selena's Vera finds a treasure trove:  Selena's brieftcase.  Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer - who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.  Online, Xander had it all:  a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer.  The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him.  Who is Xander Lin?  Nobody knows.  Every contact is a dead end.  Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.  Vera is determined to solve Xander's murder.  After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn't do for her future daughter-in-law.

Stars: 3

Book: Radium Girls

 Book: Radium Girls

Author: Kate Moore

Pages: 400

This is my 195th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community.  From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.  Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil midst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories.  The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night life industrious fireflies.  With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive - until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.  But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption.  And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find theselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.  

Very interesting story.  Unbelievable that the girls who worked in these dial factorise used to put the brushes in their mouths to make the painting percise.  Killed so many women.  Intersesting name drop in this book (besides the Curies'):  Dr. Ewing treated many of these women and Ewing's sacroma is what is named after him.  

Stars: 4

Book: End of Story

 Book: End of Story

Author: AJ Finn

Pages: 416

This is my 194th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

So writes Sebastian Trapp, reclusive mystery novelist, to his longtime correstpondent Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction.  With mere months to live, Trapp invites Nicky to his spectacular San Francisco mansion to help draft his life story - while living alongside his beautiful second wife, Diana: his wayward nephew, Freddy; and his protective daughter, Madeleine.  Soon Nicky finds herself caught in an irresistible case of real-life "detective-fever".  Twenty years earlier - on New Year's Eve 1999- Sebastian's first wife and teenage son vanished from different locations, never to be seen again.  Did the perfect crime writer commit the perfect crime?  And why has he emerged from seclusion, 2 decades later, to allow a stranger to dig into his past?  As Nicky attempts to weave together the strands of Sebastian's life, she becomes obsessed with discovering the truth - while Madeleine begins to question what her beloved father might actually know about that long ago night.  And when a corpse appears in the family's koi pond, both women are shocked to find that the past isn't gone - it's just waiting.

Stars: 2.5

Book: Broken Country

 Book: Broken Country

Author: Clair Leslie Hall

Pages: 320

This is my 193rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on ht epast staying buried.  But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives.  For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager - the man who broke her heart years ago.  Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.  As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences.  Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

Stars: 4.5