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The Litigators
The Litigators
John Grisham | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I first started reading this book, I was disappointed that there wasn't a gripping story in the first chapter. I'm used to that with Grisham novels.

David Zinc a thirty something attorney at a big law firm in Chicago has just lost it. He has thrown away a secure job at a lucrative firm. After a day of drinking, he finds himself at the law firm of Finley & Figg. A firm with two lawyers, Oscar Finley and Wally Figg, who are ambulance chasers. When David jumps into action during an accident in front of the firm, he makes a decision he probably should have made when he was sober. The next morning he becomes the third associate at Finley & Figg and the only one never to be in a court room. David had spent much of his time shuffling papers at his other firm and was anxious to get in on the action.

David comes to the firm just as Wally stumbles upon a tort case involving a drug company. According to Wally, they are all going to get rich and Finley and Figg will become a respectable law firm. Much to the chagrin of Oscar andd David, this drug case seems to be more than they can handle. David is trying to make a name for himself as well, by helping out a friend and her housekeeper. Her grandson had been hospitalized for months for what the doctors assumed was lead poisoning.

Which case will help the firm? Which attorney will bring it down? How will David hold up in court?

The book overall was good. The ending is pretty predictable with a couple of surprise twists in the middle. If you are a John Grisham fan, you will enjoy this book. It's not one of my favorite's of his, but still enjoyable.
  
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ClareR (5950 KP) rated My Name is Monster in Books

Jul 30, 2020 (Updated Jul 30, 2020)  
My Name is Monster
My Name is Monster
Katie Hale | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
My Name is Monster is a book that really took me by surprise. It’s far more thoughtful and gentle than a lot of other post-apocalyptic books that I’ve read before. I kept expecting something terrible to happen - but it becomes apparent that the terrible thing has already happened.

After a series of wars, both sides have unleashed a sickness that has wiped out the population, and the survivors of that have died of starvation. Monster is a survivor. She had sheltered in the Arctic Seed Vault where she had been working. When she emerges, she is alone. She takes a boat and makes for the Scottish coast. When she washes up on a beach, shipwrecked, she walks towards the only place she really wants to see - home.

She starts to build a solitary life, resigned to living alone. And then one day she finds a child. She names her Monster, and renames herself Mother.

This is a story that made me think about the role of society, and what happens to an individual when there IS no society. It also showed what it means to be a mother: that it isn’t always the ones who give birth who are the mothers. Often it can be the things that a person DOES that makes them a mother. It also shows that one doesn’t have to have lots of possessions to be content. Contentment can be achieved through work or relationships.

There was a point quite early on, where I wondered whether this was the book for me, but I’m glad that I kept on reading. It’s the little things in this book that are actually the big things: the actions of an individual and love.

This was a really enjoyable, satisfying read. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
  
The Newcomer
The Newcomer
Mary Kay Andrews | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A fairly cute but rather unbelievable romance/mystery
When Letty Carnahan finds her sister Tanya dead, she knows she has to flee. Tanya warned her about this--if anything happened to her, Letty was to take Tanya's four-year-old daughter, Maya, and run. Letty has no idea where to go, but Tanya's left behind one clue: a magazine article with a motel circled. She and Maya arrive at the Murmuring Surf, a little motel in Florida, exhausted. Letty is convinced that Tanya's ex--Maya's father--a rich businessman is after them. But at "the Surf," the owner, Ava DeCurtis, takes a liking to Maya (and Letty). Despite the No Vacancy sign, she lets Letty and Maya stay in a tiny efficiency. But the rest of the hotel regulars regard Letty and Maya--the newcomers--with suspicion, as does Ava's son, local cop Joe DeCurtis. Joe is pretty convinced Letty is a fugitive and maybe even a murderer. As Letty tries to settle in and heal with Maya, she attempts to unravel exactly what happened to Tanya: and the more she finds out, the more it leads back to the Surf.

"Nobody could be trusted. Not after everything that had happened."

This is a cute, serviceable mystery-romance combo, albeit a slightly preposterous and unbelievable one. Letty flees Tanya's murder scene successfully, a wanted criminal, recognized by no one except Joe, an upstanding, rule-abiding cop who doesn't turn her in. And when the FBI enters the tale, their actions seem highly unreasonable, but... I guess we are supposed to believe anything in the name of love?

As for this love, it's complete insta-love and honestly, at times, a little cringe-worthy. Joe falls for Letty basically on sight and is rather pushy in trying to convince her to be in a relationship. (Hey this is crazy, we just met, I'm not turning you in, let's move in together... umm ok?) It was all a bit much.

Now, the old folks staying at the motel were a total trip. I could completely buy their crazy. And I loved Ava, who was a sweet, overly-trusting, but tough and brave mom, who just wanted to take care of everyone. (I didn't believe that Maya, who had endured great trauma, just sweetly sat and colored for hours each day while Letty worked--I'd like to meet that four-year-old!) The motel setting was spot on, and I desperately wanted to be at the beach while reading the entire book.

Overall, this one held my attention and I couldn't help but root for Letty (and Maya), but it probably won't stick with me. Joe often rubbed me the wrong way and some of the plot points had me rolling my eyes. Still, a cute summery read. 3 stars.
  
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The Treatment
The Treatment
C. L. Taylor | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
6
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com

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&#x1f31f;&#x1f31f;&#x1f31f;Stars
The Treatment By C.L. Taylor was a decent enough read that I really quite enjoyed.
I also took into account when reading, that this was aimed at a much younger audience than myself, so I have been slightly lenient in my rating as I feel there were things I noticed that would probably go over the heads of this books intended demographic.
I would say this is a read my twelve and thirteen-year-old boys would really enjoy, Myself being a mum in my forties, well let's just say I enjoyed this, while not overtaxing my brain overmuch.
So The Treatment is about sixteen-year-old Drew Finch and her actions when her younger brother Mason gets expelled from yet another school and sent to Norton House, a residential reform academy.
so After being followed by the mysterious Dr Cobey and receiving a strange message about the treatment, her brother is receiving while residing at Norton House. Drew decides to investigate herself by getting herself admitted as a pupil.
So as I said this was an enjoyable read that does what it says on the tin.
There were no great surprises here, This was more, the underdog saves the day type of tale.
Drew herself, well I felt a bit sorry for her bullied by her ex-best friend (which there was no real explanation for)
Does one thing wrong and then gets shipped off to a reform academy, I know she needs to be for the story to work but jeez, her mum, hardly mother of the year actions are they.
Drew herself seems to be quite a resilient girl with a bit of a kick-ass attitude, more so maybe than I would expect from someone who's been bullied so relentlessly.
But anyway she seems a very likeable pragmatic type of girl.
She teams up inside Norton with her roommate Mouse and the two try to coordinate an escape while steering clear of there other roomy Jude.
Jude is every mean girl cliche you can think off, horrid just for the sake of it. Shes even worse when Lacey, Drew's arch nemesis turns up like a bad penny and the two join forces to torment Drew.
I did find both Jude and Lacey to be slightly one dimensional in their behaviour.
So anyway to cut a long story short Drew strives to save the day, while rescuing her friends and brother along the way.
This is done in true kick-butt style with only the one extra unsurprising twist along the way.
So the wrap up of "The Treatment" I felt was a little bit rushed, I would have liked to have seen things eked out and explored in a little more depth.
But besides that, this is a great addition to the Young Adult/teen genre-leaning more heavily towards the Teen age group.
So I would definitely recommend this to the younger generation, It is a fun action packed clean read, that is well written and is sure to catch imaginations.
thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an Arc of "The Treatment" By C.L. Taylor this is my own honest unbiased opinion.

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Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/