Christine's Book Corner

Summary:  Summary from Goodreads For readers of Deborah Harkness's  A Discovery of Witches ,  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Lace Reader  Brunonia Barry returns to Salem with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder. When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem's chief of police, John Rafferty, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem's most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed "The Goddess Murders," in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft. But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was t...

The spiders won't let you get away in Dead Spider , a mystery novel written by Victoria Houston where we return to Loon Lake and the mysteries that surround the residents. Summary: It's a happy day in June during the Youth Fishing Tournament on Loon Lake and everyone in the town is here for the annual event.  Everyone is enjoying themselves that none hear a gunshot go off on the grounds.  As the night goes on and people begin to leave, it is discovered that the richest man in the state has been shot by a single bullet to the head and is now dead.  Among this news, Doc's oldest granddaughter is caught in the middle of a drug ring and the seniors at a local center are robbed.  Are all of these  events connected to bring sadness to Loon Lake? Review: This was the first book I read in the series and I wasn't familiar with the tone or of Houston's writing.  I had high expectations from when I started the book and Houston didn't disappoint. As soon ...

Beware of the bosses in The Cartel 7: Illuminati: Roundtable of the Bosses,  a crime fiction novel by Ashley and Jaquavis Coleman where the Diamonds are back at it again with a life of crime. Summary: Carter Diamond is in exile in order to protect his family, but his wife is in jail and he has no idea what happened to his son, or his brother's child during his time away.  Now that he has found a group of people that will help him, he wonders if he will be alone forever.  Will Carter find his family before it's too late?  My Review: I'll admit, this is the first of the series I read, so maybe that's why it was hard for me to get through, but I did.  The beginning of the book was hard for me and Coleman really should've clarified it which child was who, Mo and C.J.  I had to go back and forth to try and figure it out, which I don't like to do when reading.  I want to get right into it and continue reading.  Coleman did a wonderf...

It's not a childhood you want to visit in The Childhood of Jesus,  a contemporary fiction novel by J.M. Coetzee about a lost child who is placed with a strange man in a country they know nothing about. Summary: David is a young boy who is separated from his mother while on a boat to a new world for them.  With him is a letter that was to be read by whoever found him in hopes of finding his mother when they landed.  Sadly, the note is lost during the chaos of the trip and David is left with Simon, an older gentleman who takes it upon himself to take care of the boy until his real mother could be found.  When the two land, they are given new names and new birthdays to go along with their new lives.  Non one knows of who they really are.  David has no memory of his mother, but Simon says he'll know who she is when he sees her.  Does Simon's idea of knowing David's mother by sight for out for the two strangers? Review: This is a first for me...

You don't want to be stuck as the 18th woman in Woman No. 17,  a contemporary fiction novel written by Edan Lepucki about a single mother living in the Hollywood Hills. Summary: Lady Daniels lives in the Hollywood Hills with her teenage son and young toddler son and has decided to take a break from her husband for no other reason than a disagreement they had a few years back. At the same time she is too be writing her memoir about her mute son Seth and she realizes she cannot get that done if she doesn't have help with her toddler.  That is when she finds S, a recent college graduate looking for a job as a nanny.  When she meets S, an artist, she thinks she is the perfect person to be a nanny and take care of her child while she tries desperately to get her book finished.  As the months go by, Lady and S become closer to the point where they're almost best friends.  But deep down, S is hiding her own secrets.  What is going on in S's mind as she snea...

Fight for the one you love in The Hardest Fight , a romance novel by Amy Vastine where the characters fight for the one they truly love. Summary: Lucy Everhart isn't about to let anyone take away the women's shelter that she runs.  Not on her watch.  When Dylan Hunt walks into her office proposing the offer to buy shelter, he is the last person Lucy ever expected to see.  He is not the man she knew 5 years ago, the man who let her go when she broke up with him.  This Dylan is a different man and she refuses to give into his offer.  She will fight all she can to keep her shelter, while Dylan is determined to fight and win Lucy's love once again. Review: What I liked:   Vastine gets the reader engaged into the story immediately.  We are introduced to Lucy and see she is a strong-willed person.  You know right away this is going to be a problem in the story as we see she uses that character trait to fight for the opposition of the stor...

Get lost in the many lives of Greta in The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells,  a Science Fiction by Andrew Sean Greer where one woman lives three different lives in three different eras. It's 1985 and Greta Wells just lived through the death of her twin brother, Felix, due to AIDS, the epidemic of the time.  Depression from her brother's death and breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Greta finds herself getting treatment from a psychiatrist.  The side effects of the treatment are strange and Greta soon finds herself living in 1918, 1941, and present day of the book, 1985.  In each era, she is living how she would had she been alive during that time.  In each time that Greta travels to, she finds each event paralleling to each other, experiencing losses each time.  As the ending of her treatments come near, Greta must choose which period to stay in.  Does she really want to return to 1985, the only time when her brother is gone for good? What I ...