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An American Harvest: How One Family Moved from Dirt-Poor Farming to A Better Life in the Early 1900s
Book
Green Writers Press is proud to announce the first book in our place-based history series, An...
Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies and Sundays by Lee Falk and Wilson Mccoy Volume Ten 1950: Volume Ten: The Complete Newspaper Dailies and Sundays by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy 1950
Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy
Book
THE PHANTOM the Complete Newspaper Dailies and Sundays by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy: Volume Ten...
What to Eat When You're Pregnant: Revised and Updated (Including the A-Z of What's Safe and What's Not)
Book
New 3rd (2016) edition of this bestselling title, now including the A-Z of what's safe and what's...
CQ
Concentrate Questions and Answers EU Law: Law Q&A Revision and Study Guide
Book
Concentrate Q&A EU Law offers unrivalled exam and coursework support for when you're aiming high....
Debating Darwin
Robert J. Richards and Michael Ruse
Book
Charles Darwin is easily the most famous scientist of the modern age, and his theory of evolution is...
2.5 Stars
I was intrigued with The Widow. From the beginning, the suspicion was so focused on Glen, I was curious to find out if the real suspect was, in fact, someone else entirely. I had my options: Mike Doonan, the mother herself, or even Jean. Even as the evidence piled up against Glen, I held a sliver of doubt, because I don't like to leave any possible scenario unexplored. For a good while, I seriously thought Dawn had been involved somehow - I was extremely relieved when I discovered she wasn't. Mike was a momentary thought but, even though I didn't believe his disability claim for even a moment, I didn't dwell on his involvement for long. It was quite easy to be biased, with all the evidence and the fact the police continued to zero in on Glen. When the scrapbooks of baby pictures were mentioned, I began to consider Jean might actually be a suspect. I mean, she's telling the story, so she could twist and change anything she wanted to; she was desperate enough for a child, I figured maybe she just blocked it all out or maybe her medication had resulted in some kind of split personality. However, it was difficult to keep up with the different perspectives. First there's Jean ("The Widow"), Kate ("The Reporter"), DI Sparkes ("The Detective"), and even Dawn ("The Mother"). There was even one chapter written from Glen's perspective. I also had a hard time keeping the timeline straight, because even during the present, Jeanie would look back on a memory - that was pretty confusing, even with the dates. To be honest, I skimmed through most of Kate's and Sparke's chapters, briefed over Dawn's, and looked for interesting pieces of information in Jean's. Had I known Glen was the kidnapper the whole time, I doubt I would have read this book in its entirety. Like I said, I was hoping the suspect was another character and that Fiona was deliberately misleading her readers. I was disappointed in the story as a whole, because the majority of it was slow going and kind of boring. It didn't feel fast paced or "edge of your seat" exciting.
I was intrigued with The Widow. From the beginning, the suspicion was so focused on Glen, I was curious to find out if the real suspect was, in fact, someone else entirely. I had my options: Mike Doonan, the mother herself, or even Jean. Even as the evidence piled up against Glen, I held a sliver of doubt, because I don't like to leave any possible scenario unexplored. For a good while, I seriously thought Dawn had been involved somehow - I was extremely relieved when I discovered she wasn't. Mike was a momentary thought but, even though I didn't believe his disability claim for even a moment, I didn't dwell on his involvement for long. It was quite easy to be biased, with all the evidence and the fact the police continued to zero in on Glen. When the scrapbooks of baby pictures were mentioned, I began to consider Jean might actually be a suspect. I mean, she's telling the story, so she could twist and change anything she wanted to; she was desperate enough for a child, I figured maybe she just blocked it all out or maybe her medication had resulted in some kind of split personality. However, it was difficult to keep up with the different perspectives. First there's Jean ("The Widow"), Kate ("The Reporter"), DI Sparkes ("The Detective"), and even Dawn ("The Mother"). There was even one chapter written from Glen's perspective. I also had a hard time keeping the timeline straight, because even during the present, Jeanie would look back on a memory - that was pretty confusing, even with the dates. To be honest, I skimmed through most of Kate's and Sparke's chapters, briefed over Dawn's, and looked for interesting pieces of information in Jean's. Had I known Glen was the kidnapper the whole time, I doubt I would have read this book in its entirety. Like I said, I was hoping the suspect was another character and that Fiona was deliberately misleading her readers. I was disappointed in the story as a whole, because the majority of it was slow going and kind of boring. It didn't feel fast paced or "edge of your seat" exciting.
Viz Annual: The Jester's Shoes 2018
Book
A Toe-Curling Stack of the Best Bits from Issues 242-251 Mankind's constant need to do better - to...
Language reference
Second Glance
7.6
Rate It
Book
When odd, supernatural events plague the town of Comtosook, a ghost hunter is hired by the developer...
ClareR (5779 KP) rated Beautiful Shining People in Books
Aug 5, 2023
“”Beautiful, shining kami in the sky. All different. All unique. Just like us”…After that, whenever we went camping, I would always tell my parents I couldn’t wait until nightfall so I could see the beautiful shining people in the sky.”
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this, but I quickly realised that I was loving what I was reading. I do like both speculative and science fiction, so I knew we’d be off to a good start.
This is so much more though. It’s about relationships, both with others and oneself. It’s about loneliness, feeling cut off from others and trying to make a connection.
Both John, a young American tech genius, and Neotnia, are loners. Neither of them want to be alone. John is trying to escape his past and his past self, and Neotnia wants to find her past. They’re both very caring, likeable characters, Neotnia in particular, especially in her interactions with the elderly residents of a home she volunteers at.
My particular favourite was the cafe owner and Neotnia’s guardian - Goeido. He has an interesting and sad past as a Sumo, and this is probably the reason why he is so protective towards Neotnia.
Some of the themes have their place in our society too. The rise of AI, tense relationships between superpowers, terrorist attacks, deep fakes, cyber attacks, fake news - all of these affect us today.
Tokyo as a setting was inspired. All of the AI and robots didn’t seem out of place. I mean, we expect them there, don’t we? Robots taking your order in a fast food restaurant and helping you with directions in the street seem not too far a reach of the imagination in Japan (you can probably tell I’ve never been there!).
The last chapter or so, was so powerful. It was sad and explained all of what had gone before. It was emotional, and the ending was perfect.
Many, many thanks to Orenda for sending me a copy as a part of their book club. I’m really glad I read it!
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this, but I quickly realised that I was loving what I was reading. I do like both speculative and science fiction, so I knew we’d be off to a good start.
This is so much more though. It’s about relationships, both with others and oneself. It’s about loneliness, feeling cut off from others and trying to make a connection.
Both John, a young American tech genius, and Neotnia, are loners. Neither of them want to be alone. John is trying to escape his past and his past self, and Neotnia wants to find her past. They’re both very caring, likeable characters, Neotnia in particular, especially in her interactions with the elderly residents of a home she volunteers at.
My particular favourite was the cafe owner and Neotnia’s guardian - Goeido. He has an interesting and sad past as a Sumo, and this is probably the reason why he is so protective towards Neotnia.
Some of the themes have their place in our society too. The rise of AI, tense relationships between superpowers, terrorist attacks, deep fakes, cyber attacks, fake news - all of these affect us today.
Tokyo as a setting was inspired. All of the AI and robots didn’t seem out of place. I mean, we expect them there, don’t we? Robots taking your order in a fast food restaurant and helping you with directions in the street seem not too far a reach of the imagination in Japan (you can probably tell I’ve never been there!).
The last chapter or so, was so powerful. It was sad and explained all of what had gone before. It was emotional, and the ending was perfect.
Many, many thanks to Orenda for sending me a copy as a part of their book club. I’m really glad I read it!
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Couple on Maple Drive in Books
Dec 11, 2021
Only my second foray into the world of audiobooks and, once again, I have not been disappointed.
From the off, you are drawn into a situation being told via a live Podcast from Christie's Crime Addicts; something awful has happened on Maple Drive but the "what" isn't clear. The story then presents the "whens" and "whys" leading up to the "situation" interspersed with more Podcasts. This does sound like it's going to be a tad confusing but let me reassure you, it most certainly isn't; it flows really well and makes perfect sense.
The characters are an interesting bunch but not so many that you become confused. Isla is, I admit, a little annoying and naïve; you want to shout and shake her and soothe and swaddle her in equal measure but considering what she has been through and what transpires, she can be forgiven and with friends like Nikki, you don't need enemies!
The story moves on at a good pace gradually ramping up the tension as it goes until the slightly unexpected ending; I say slightly as I had already guessed one of the twists but this was then turned on it's head when another came along ... I love it when that happens!
As this was an audiobook, I must mention the narrators which, I think, were excellent with the main narrator really drawing you in with her voice. I also enjoyed the Podcasts being narrated by different voices of the Christie's Crime Addicts team, I don't think they would have had such an impact on the story if they had been by the same narrator so a stroke of genius there I feel.
Overall, The Couple on Maple Drive is an intriguing story that I thoroughly enjoyed and certainly made my car journeys much more enjoyable so much so that I didn't want to stop the book when I come to the end of my travels and there were a few times when I sat there, parked up with the engine off for just one more chapter!
Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
From the off, you are drawn into a situation being told via a live Podcast from Christie's Crime Addicts; something awful has happened on Maple Drive but the "what" isn't clear. The story then presents the "whens" and "whys" leading up to the "situation" interspersed with more Podcasts. This does sound like it's going to be a tad confusing but let me reassure you, it most certainly isn't; it flows really well and makes perfect sense.
The characters are an interesting bunch but not so many that you become confused. Isla is, I admit, a little annoying and naïve; you want to shout and shake her and soothe and swaddle her in equal measure but considering what she has been through and what transpires, she can be forgiven and with friends like Nikki, you don't need enemies!
The story moves on at a good pace gradually ramping up the tension as it goes until the slightly unexpected ending; I say slightly as I had already guessed one of the twists but this was then turned on it's head when another came along ... I love it when that happens!
As this was an audiobook, I must mention the narrators which, I think, were excellent with the main narrator really drawing you in with her voice. I also enjoyed the Podcasts being narrated by different voices of the Christie's Crime Addicts team, I don't think they would have had such an impact on the story if they had been by the same narrator so a stroke of genius there I feel.
Overall, The Couple on Maple Drive is an intriguing story that I thoroughly enjoyed and certainly made my car journeys much more enjoyable so much so that I didn't want to stop the book when I come to the end of my travels and there were a few times when I sat there, parked up with the engine off for just one more chapter!
Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.