My Gone Girl Roller Coaster Ride

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I want to call it amazing but I have to come up with a different adjective since I'm team Nick. So I'll call it stunning, incredible, fascinating, and awesome. It was the roller coaster ride that I didn't want to end. It's one of those where you can't see what's around the corner. Are we going up or are we suddenly going to plummet and lose our lunch? Except for the end. You think you're pulling into the station. You know what's coming next. Then you are jarred to the right and go around for another ride. You are left stunned.

Amy... you are rooting for her in the beginning. Then you are rooting for her on and off even when you find out she's a complete psychopath. When she starts telling you about who she really is, you really want to like her. Her views on men, relationships, cheating and the people we are when we start dating versus the people we truly are, those views are what drew me in. The "cool girl" is the girl that doesn't force her boyfriend to do things he doesn't want to do and she loves everything he does and says. That was who Amy was when she and Nick dated and first got married. Then she didn't want to be "cool girl" anymore.

Nick... you want to hate him and accuse him of being a horrible person, in the beginning anyway. You know he's a liar right from the start. He tells you he is. You suspect he has something to do with the disappearance of Amy. Then you find out that he's a cheating bastard. Now you really hate him. But then you find out Amy has set him up for her murder. She has stolen money from him over the past year and has run away. Nick is left holding the bag. Once he breaks it off with his 23 year old piece of ass, you start to be on his side, at least that's when I started feeling better about him.

The amount of thought and planning that went into the plans that Amy laid out was mind blowing. How does Flynn think of these things? I always on the edge of my seat. One of my favorite things was being able to see how Amy's psychopathy evolved. It went from stalking accusations to rape to murder and then she's the murderer. Her mind games are like no other. The ruthlessness is jaw dropping. Every so often I was saying things out loud like "what?!" "no way!" "oh my god!" and at times I wanted to cover my eyes, but then I wouldn't be able to read. But they are both so incredibly messed up that they really belong together. And of course Amy gets the last word in every sense.

Read this book. I may have given you some spoilers, but you'll thank me when you finish. You won't see most of it coming. You won't believe the mind games one individual can play on so many. And then you won't believe it when you find yourself agreeing with the psychopath.

Enjoy! Read often!

In love with the Beauty Killer...

I love to fall in love with a new author. Chelsea Cain isn't actually a new author, she's just new to me. I'm halfway through the third book of the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series. I found myself wanting to talk about the series before I've finished it. It's awesome.

Heartsick is the first book of the series. We are introduced to Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell. I was wondering how this was going to be a series when the serial killer was already in prison. But because Cain is a superb writer with a twisted imagination... it was completely doable. Gretchen was called the Beauty Killer before she was caught. And she really wasn't caught, more like allowed herself to be caught. Archie is a detective on the task force that was put in place to find the Beauty Killer. Archie was also her last victim and number 200. It's the twisted relationship the two of them have that draws you in. Cain keeps you wondering what happened to Archie when he was taken by Gretchen and tortured nearly to death. I was kept on the hook by slowly getting details of the past as the book worked through the present case at hand. We also get to meet Susan Ward. She's a journalist who's been asked to tag along with Archie and tell his story as he's investigating cases of dead girls around Portland. I LOVE Susan. She's quirky, funny and full of unusual tidbits of information. As the books in the series progress I love her more and more. In book 3 I am finding myself laughing out loud at some of the thoughts and dialog attached to this character. Those are the three very important characters. Of course there are supporting characters, but these are really the main three. Gretchen was using Archie and Susan in a game. Gretchen loves to play games with people and she's damn good at it. I don't want to give too much away because I want you to read the book.

Sweetheart is the second book. The Beauty Killer is on the loose, and she's a threat to everyone, including Archie's family and Susan. And the way she breaks out is crazy! She's the absolute mastermind of games. Archie is suicidal and it's Gretchen that he wants. And when I say want I mean that in so many different ways. We start to learn even more about Archie's past and the real story behind his relationship with Gretchen. I'd like to say I saw it coming, but I didn't. It's another gripping tale of love, hate, betrayal, death, games and funny Susan moments. And a deal between Gretchen and Archie that will make you run for book #3 like I did.

Evil at Heart is the next book in the series. Like I said, I'm only halfway through this, but it's awesome. I have no idea who's guilty of what. Gretchen Lowell has a huge fan base. People love her. She's still on the run and bodies are showing up all over the place. Archie is in a psych hospital and Susan is... well.. being Susan. You'll know what that means when you read the series. Archie is no longer a detective because he's taken a leave. but he has to help find out what's going on with all of these dead bodies around Portland. No one wants to call it Gretchen's handy work, but there are some uncanny coincidences that make it hard not to think it's her. We start to learn even more about Archie's past even though you don't think there's anything else Cain can give us. It's simply brilliant!

I will follow up after I read a few more of the books. I can't imagine for one second where this is going. I love that. Check out this website: www.iheartgretchenlowell.net. I thought I was obsessed with these books before... then I went to the website.

Read often!

Private LA

Be warned.... spoilers!

I love all of James Patterson's series. I just do. I love following characters from book to book and seeing what happens to them on a personal level. Private is no different.

I love Jack. I want all good things for him. I love Justine. I know she just went through this really hard time, but just because you saw Jack with that woman... please don't give up. I know they belong together. I can feel that in the next book there will be some closure for me on this.

As most people do, I follow the tabloids. I like to know what's going on. Instead of using Brad and Anjelina, he uses Tom and Jennifer... but we get it. The famous people who show the world that they do great things. But these people don't do great things. I thought the idea was fabulous. Just because you say something doesn't mean that you mean it. AWESOME. It shines a light on the fact that celebrities don't necessarily do things out of the goodness of their hearts. And Private was there to throw it in there face and make them pay. Suck it!

This is so minor, but it bugged me that Patterson wrote about people hitting the dislike button on Facebook. I follow him on every social media possible and if he has any clue, then he knows there's no dislike button. Yet. I really hope for one in the near future.

Jack Morgan.... I love you. You are an honest person with values and morals. You are Alex Cross times 10 in sexy.

Please give me more of Justine! She is an amazing woman and I want her to be with Jack sooooo bad.

Bottom line... if you haven't started the Private series then do it now.

Whatever you did to make this amazing, Mark Sullivan, kudos to you!

Michael Connelly: Void Moon

If you enjoy a good crime thriller, I'm sure you've read a Harry Bosch or Mikey Haller. We know Matthew McConaughey as the Lincoln Lawyer and soon to be Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch. Those are great characters and it should be an honor to be chosen to portray them (in my opinion anyway). But what about the other books written by Connelly? What about the ones that are one-timers? The ones that don't belong in a series? Do you get caught up on the series and only focus on those leaving other great stories on the shelves unread? I realized that sometimes I do that! I've started picking up some of my favorite author's books that are not part of a series or are older (older than me) that I wouldn't normally pick up.

I was searching thought my state's digital library and decided on Void Moon by Michael Connelly. I was looking through the reading list of the Harry Bosch series (I admit it, I'm behind a bit) when I came across Void Moon. I decided to give it a go knowing that when the book was over, it was over. The connection I lost with this character was going to be gone as soon as I read the last page. She was not coming back. With a sigh I hit the borrow button, downloaded it to my phone and set off for a long walk to start the audio book. Keep in mind I have about three books going at any given time. I have a book by my bed (currently Servant of the Bones by Ann Rice), I have a Kindle book (currently Home For The Holidays by Jeaniene Frost) and then my audio book which is now Void Moon. Wait, I just realized at this very moment I have a fourth book, it's The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. That one is in my bag those goes back and forth to the car with me. You never know when you're going to need a book to read. I want to be prepared.

Anyway.... back to Void Moon. Even though Cassidy "Cassie" Black had driven off into the sunset to start her knew life, I'm okay with that. Let's start at the beginning. Cassie Black has been out of jail for just a short time when the novel starts. But it's not too long before she sucked back into her old life. The difference this time is that she just wants one bog score so she can take her daughter and run away and live happily ever after. Like that was going to happen! Cassie hooks up with her old pal Leo. Leo gets her a big job where they are going to strike it big. Cassie immediately sets out to get the job done. She hits some bumps along the way. Her other old pal Jersey tries to steal from her and let's just say he was a bit inappropriate as well. But this girl can kick some butt! With a kick to the groin and a gun to his head she's able to get the upper hand and tie up the dirt bag in the back of his own van, the one she uses for the job! What a dumbass this guy is. Anyway, there's a lot of suspense throughout, from the time she gets to Las Vegas to the time she's standing in the "mark's" room with $2.5M and a gun aimed at the man's head.... holy moly! But then Connelly cleverly cuts off Cassie story right at that point and brings in the next set of characters.

Now we've got the casino manager, Vincent, who gets a guy named Jack to find out what the hell happened to the money and why is the guy dead in the hotel room? You think you know everything. This is why I love mystery novels! Jack tracks Cassie to Los Angeles. Back up - he sees Jersey;s van outside the casino on cameras thus leading him to Jersey who gives up Cassie fairly quickly. Jack kills Jersey (duh! he's a bad guy!). Jack finds Leo but Leo won't give up the money or Cassie. Leo is dead. Jack finds Cassie's place. Unfortunately Cassie's parole officer is doing a home check and the poor fat woman is shot by Jack (don't worry, she doesn't die). Jack finds out about Cassie's daughter and kidnaps her. Now Cassie had given birth in prison and this child was adopted by a loving couple. The almost 6 year old girl has no idea who Cassie is, but Cassie had been planning to snatch her and run away with her. Jack gets there first and they all meet back in Vegas to exchange the money for the kid. Cassie is smarter than that. She knows that Jack won't ever let them out of it alive. She plays some tricks getting Vincent (the casino manager) involved. And then....

And then we have the what what? Holy moly! I didn't see that coming moment... Cassie never killed the "mark". In fact Vincent arranged the whole damn thing. There are so many parties involved that you just don't see this coming! But the other parties aren't really involved the way you think they are and so much of it Vincent made up. Cassie saves her daughter and starts driving back to Los Angeles. She now has a decision to make. Does she take the girl and the money she was able to salvage (over a million bucks) and blow out of the country? Nope. She delivers the girl back to her adoptive parents. She did the right thing. 

I would suggest picking up this book and giving it a read for yourself. I know I give a lot away, but there's a lot I didn't cover. So if you have a favorite author and you've been ignoring some of their other works, give them a try. You never know what you might find.

Enjoy! Read often!