The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz (Jane Hawk #2)

Synopsis:

"No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this."

These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun—just before she takes her own life, and many others', in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better.

In the wake of her husband's inexplicable suicide—and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals—Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But these ruthless people bent on hijacking America's future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue—and become the nation's most wanted fugitive—in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough.

Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them.

It’s official. I’m addicted to this series. I thought it may have just been a fluke with the first book – The Silent Corner. But, nope. This one fully hooked me in as well. I had to put it out of sight and ignore it while trying to get work done or I would have just picked it back up and finished it all immediately.

This was a good follow up novel to The Silent Corner. Jane Hawk is still on the run, but she’s getting closer to the top of the mystery she seeks to solve.

There were so many new characters introduced in this book, but it was done really well I thought. As you get deeper into the book, there are just layers upon layers added to the story and it all builds up to another totally unbearable ending. But, if you read my last review, you know that the end was only unbearable because of how anxiety-provoking it is.

I find myself rooting so hard for the good guys in these two books that when any of them are in danger, I want to just physically close the book and ignore it and hope that if I don’t read any further it just means that they’re okay.

I have a lot of favorite protagonists and they all seem to be badass women, but Jane Hawk is definitely near the top of that list as well. I’m glad that I have the third book on hand so I don’t have to wait to start it. I don’t think I could handle waiting.

There’s something about the plot of these novels that is just so twisted and believably unbelievable that makes them so addicting and so hard to put down. It’s hard, in a way, to imagine a world that it outlined by Koontz in these books. But, at the same time, it’s not all that hard to imagine. It’s a whirlwind.

Also – the meaning behind The Whispering Room is absolutely wild. But, that’s all I will say.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes suspense/mystery novels.

5/5 Stars

Memorable Quotes: “Every human being was a mystery, each mind a maze of passages and secret rooms. No one ever really knew anyone or what they might be capable of doing.”

“The trouble with the what-if game was that once you began to play it, you couldn’t just quit whenever you wanted. From one what-if grew another.”

“Controlled paranoia was a survival mechanism. Unrelieved paranoia was a greased chute into madness.”

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Cautionary Tales for the New Millennium by Eric Nielsson & Illustrated by Jay Munro

This book is a collection of very, very short stories. 

They are riddled with humor and express tales of all types. From an angry swearing TV evangelist to a crazy, city-wide power outage that inconveniences everyone.

The cute illustrations at the beginning give you a sense of what is to come in the story.

They may make you smile or laugh out loud. They are creative and light-hearted.

They are filled with irony which will make you chuckle at the end of every story. The amount of advanced technology and uses of the technology will also make you laugh.

If you have a little free time one day, I would suggest picking it up as it does not take long at all to get through.

I believe there is something for everyone in here. They are relatable and funny all at the same time.

5/5 short and fun. Would be a good read on a commute or on a nice morning with a cup of coffee or tea.  

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Facebook Jeanie by Addison Westlake

Facebook Jeanie described in one phrase would be: A breath of fresh air.

It has humor (and a lot of it!), it has romance, and it is also a bit touching at times.

When Clara has a chance to go back in time to college and try to mend things with her then-boyfriend (instead of staring at his pictures everyday on facebook!) she jumps right at the chance.

Have you ever wondered how your life would be different if you could go back and change something?

Clara gets to figure out!

This book allows you to explore those thoughts without it actually happening to you. She goes through some pretty hilarious scenarios from living I a huge house while having an affair with a crazy man wearing a thong and dancing to Im Sexy and I Know It, to being a hippy with a limp leg and snake jewelry.

I found myself laughing out loud MANY times while reading this book.

I mean… cat turban, anyone?!

5/5 stars. It was hilarious, it was sweet, and just an all-around complete book. 

Click to Purchase!

While you're at it, check out Addison's other book Christmas in Wine Country

Permanance by Nick Wisseman

Book Six:

Imagine being stranded on an island. You don’t know where you are or why you are there besides the fact that there was a war. One of your comrades is severely injured an mute. You don’t know if he will recover.

You all have to try to get along so surviving is easier.  All you have is a journal to document your thoughts. Will anyone read it? Will those be your last words ever documented? Or will you be rescued?

That is the journey that this story takes you on.

I liked how we got to see everyone’s perspective of their stay on the island through the journal. That made this story more interesting.

4/5 stars. The characters were well developed, but I didn’t really care what happened to them. I didn’t find them likable. 

To purchase, click here

Casting Stones by Laurencia Hoffman

Casting Stones seems like your average story of a dysfunctional family with a bit of a romantic twist thrown in. That is, until you realize there are werewolves involved! Usually, books involving werewolves, vampires, and other creatures are not my reading material of choice. So I figured that my opinion on this book would be a good one to have.

Avery Stone is a cast out from most of his family except his parents and his brother Chance. He never really had a stable relationship with his lover, Simone. His life was a mess, but no one took the time to get to know him. When clans of werewolves started getting murdered, everything got worse. His family blamed him, but little did they know, they were completely wrong and onto the wrong person.

What I really liked about how Hoffman told this story is that the fact that the family is made up of werewolves is not the main story line. It is sort of a subtle detail, except when they transform of course. It is sort of a new way of writing these types of stories. I haven’t read many things in this fashion before. I really liked that.

Another thing I liked about this book was the characters. Okay, I didn’t like all of the characters. But, I liked how they were developed. They all had separate story lines tied into the main story, Avery Stone being the main character. The interesting thing about the character development is that this book is relatively short – under 100 pages on the Nook version. So, the fact that she was able to develop the characters in this short of a story, while actually have the story progress is something that some well-known authors can’t even do with 300+ pages.

So for me, this book fully earns 5/5 stars. It was a really great read.

A Boy Named Ray by Marissa Marchan

A Boy Named ray is a story about Ray, of course, and his parents Theo and Mary.

The beginning of the story is a perfect set up for tone and flow of the story. It sheds background light on Theo and Mary’s lives together and apart. From the start, I thought that the story would be one filled with sadness. Once the story picked up however, it took on a different tone. It became happy.

After many years of wanting; Theo and Mary are blessed with a son. What they don’t know at first is that Ray is a gifted child. They were afraid that because they are disfigured, that their child would be as well. But, that wasn’t the case. Instead, he was an angel. A true gift from God. 

A Boy Named Ray teaches you to never judge someone by how they appear on the outside. They could be the most disturbing looking person, but have the kindest heart and be the most loyal person you will know. This ideal is often lost in our world and people are judged based upon their appearance every day.

This story also teaches us that we should really value our family.  They are the ones who will help you and guide you through the rough times in life. You have to accept that they may not always be perfect. But they love you and want you to be happy. Life is complicated. But, if you can set issues aside, your family will be there for you the majority of the time.

A Boy Named Ray was a very nice story, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t expect to finish it in one day – even though it’s pretty short, but I did.

There was one thing that was wrong throughout the story and that was the tense of some of the words. Some words were in the past tense where it made no sense for them to be. I would just suggest a quick read-through and fix of those words. It isn’t too big of a deal, but it was just one thing that bothered me while reading.

4/5 stars for me. The tense needs to be looked at. 

Fluke by Bart Hopkins and David Elliott

Fluke is a story about a man named Adam Fluke. He’s just an average pizza delivery man in his 20’s. He falls in love with a woman named Sara. It is a fun loving romantic story…. Until everything goes wrong.

Adam and Sara must travel back to Sara’s hometown to revisit her past and sort find the truth surrounding issues that were haunting them both. When the conclusion is what they were hoping it wouldn’t be, their relationship is in danger.

I feel like this novel was very well written. It started off as a fun, easy-going read. But, as you get further into it, it becomes more tense and issues start arising. I feel like the authors did a wonderful job with character development – something that isn’t always very easy to do.

They touch on some very rough topics that unfortunately many people have experienced throughout their lives, and they handled the writing of it very well.

I really enjoyed this book; to the point where I would probably read it a second time. The characters were all great, the story was very well written, and I really enjoyed the comedy side of it mixed in with the rough topics.

It was an easy read, and well worth it.

5/5 Stars   

Click here to purchase the book: http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-ebook/dp/B007Y4XDZE
To hear more from the authors click here:  www.barthopkins.com        

                                  

Read ahead for spoilers

The Ark by Kenneth Newman

As per the title, one is able to assume that this novel is about God along with Noah and the ark – which is correct. But, in this novel, Newman puts a modern spin on the whole story. Usually with religious novels, they are either hit or miss. I was a bit interested and also a bit nervous to start this book because of that. I must say, The Ark is a hit!

I thought it would take me awhile to get through this, honestly. But, it hasn’t at all. From the first page, there hasn’t been a dull moment. It is full of action.

There is the classic theme of Good vs. Evil. God vs Satan. The Humans vs The Giants. They are present throughout the whole novel.

In The Ark, Noah is cast aside by many members of the community and also his own family for his beliefs. They think he is crazy for believing so much in God and trusting Him to guide him through life. When God appears before him telling him that the world is going to end, and tells Noah that he needs to build an ark to keep him and the animals safe, everything takes a turn for the worse. The family starts falling apart, and a huge target is put onto Noah and The House of Seth from the outsiders.

Then at the end – my favorite, there is a huge twist! I never saw it coming which made me super excited.

Overall, The Ark is an easy, fun read. I, myself, am a Christian so it was especially entertaining for me to read. The chapters were short, so it makes the book seem not as long. And Newman never leaves you with a dull moment.

It is a great modernized retelling of Noah and The Ark, and I would recommend anyone who has some interest in the Bible and God to pick it up. Even non-believers could be entertained. Very well written.

5/5 Stars from me!

To purchase this novel visit 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ark-ken-newman/1111560066
or
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ark-ebook/dp/B008BTYF62
it is available for ebook and paperback!

Read ahead for spoilers

Angel by Sebastian Michael

Angel is a story about Damion - the most beautiful boy in the world. He could get anything he wanted. He could get anyone he wanted. On paper, his life seemed ideal. Who wouldn’t have people showing them adoration all of the time. But, to Damion, this wasn’t always a blessing, and when it comes to what he wants, the end result may surprise you.

“But beauty is the cruelest gift the gods bestow. With it, you are everything to everyone, even if you are nothing to yourself”

Alright now I have a few things to say, I will state the cons first since the last part of a review is usually what people remember.

The story was really good, but the writing style had it running a bit dry at time. The beginning was very slow; it took me awhile to get through. I can’t pin point the exact reason. It could have been the length of the chapters, or just the writing.

It felt like the ending was written FIRST. This is not a writing style I am opposed to - if it doesn’t make the beginning run slow because the main events have already been written. I see why the first part was as long as it was; the tone was just very… sophisticated… I guess I could say. Nothing wrong with that, but for me it’s hard to read at times.

Now for the reasons you must read this.

As I stated before, the story is great. It points out that beauty is not always a blessing, which I feel the world needs to recognize more.

The last half of the book moved very quickly. There were many exciting events that made reading it seem like a breeze.

THE ENDING. The ending. The ending. Reading the rest of the book was so worth it just to see how it ended up. It really doesn’t disappoint.

3/5 Stars for me only for the slow beginning.

To read more about Sebastian Visit his site at www.sebastianmichael.com
or visit the books page at http://www.optimistcreations.com/angel.html

Read ahead for spoilers

My Disjointed Life by Martin Reed

My Disjointed Life is about a young man experiencing his first semester of college. He was never a popular kid, more of a brainiac. He enjoys science and is going into engineering.

Jeep is socially awkward and doesn’t fit in well in social situations. He usually says what’s on his mind – most of the time without meaning to. He also has an inner voice that speaks to him, usually putting him down for being an “idiot”. It brought a lot of humor to the novel which I loved.

As he makes his way through his first semester of college, he has many up and down times involving friends, enemies, girls, family, and extracurricular activities.

The relationships he has with his friends, acquaintances, and significant others are all different in special ways. I will not go into detail on that because it is more fun to read and experience it first hand. 

“Maybe the reason I get stepped on so much by people is because I let them.”

I think all readers can find a little of themselves in Jeep. He is a kind-hearted, yet extremely horny, young adult trying to make sense of life. Things don’t always come easy for him, though.

“The reasons are simple enough, but the truth always comes layered with complexity and consequence.”

Martin Reed did an excellent job writing this novel. It is witty, realistic, and explicit at times, but overall funny and a good, light-hearted read. It was divided up into segments by time. I have never read another book like that, it made it much easier to get through the chapters, because of course I am not a fan of long chapters. So, having that technique as a way to break up the text made it very easy for me to get through.

I found myself actually not wanting to finish the book, because I enjoyed it so much.

I included a few of my favorite quotes from the text in the review above as well.

4/5 Stars! A little slow at some points, but was a very fun read that I enjoyed a lot. 


To hear for from Martin, check out his blog! You wont regret it!
http://pendrum.wordpress.com/

Read ahead for spoilers

The Quickie by James Patterson

Ever since I saw this book on the shelf, I had been interested in reading it. I kept putting it off and putting it off to buy other Alex Cross series novels instead. Finally I convinced myself to just buy it. It has taken me awhile to get through it. That doesn’t mean the novel is bad. I will get into that in a minute.

It starts off with Lauren, and NYPD detective finding her husband doing shady things behind her back. She decides to get revenge, and in the process witnesses a murder that changes her life forever.

She sacrifices her career, friendships, and her own relationship trying to figure out how to make things right. But will that ever work out for her?

This novel is fast paced and it will keep you turning the pages.

For me, I couldn’t really decide if there was a “good guy” in the novel. I wasn’t really rooting for anyone in the end. It made it harder to get through because I felt no connection to any of the characters. So the experience will be different for everyone. I think that is one good thing about this novel. Everyone will see it differently.

3/5 stars. As I said, I couldn’t relate to the characters. It was well written, and it did make me want to see what ultimately happened in the end.

And the ending was one that I enjoyed

Read Ahead for Spoilers:

11th Hour by James Patterson

Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club are back in the latest installment – The 11^th Hour.

Lindsay is pregnant and having trouble in her marriage. That won’t be the last of her problems.

When a major movie star is on the suspect list of a gruesome case of serial killing, nothing will be easy.

Lindsay and her girls will go over the evidence time and time again.

Even when it all points towards one person, the outcome cam come as quite the surprise.

I have loved the Women’s Murder Club series from the very first book and this one surely did not disappoint. I have been waiting for it for about a year, and I was very pleased. I had missed reading about all of these characters.

5/5 Very well written, nice twist at the end 

Read Ahead for Spoilers:

Cat & Mouse by James Patterson

Gary Soneji is back.

He is lurking in the darkness. Spying on his prey. Waiting for the correct moment to make his move.

But, will someone else steal his spotlight?

Now introducing: Mr. Smith

Mr. Smith is a crime fighter over in Europe. But there is a darker side to Smith that emerges as the novel goes on.

Will Cross be able to stop Soneji? Will he finally put an end to the madman who has terrorized his life for years?

This is the most fast-paced Alex Cross novel that I have read so far. It kept me turning the page over and over until I was finally finished. I was hooked from the very first page.

With Cross’s life in danger, you will find out who lives, and who dies!

5/5 Stars. Wonderful thriller. Kept me hooked from cover to cover. Definitely recommend it!

Read Ahead for spoilers!

Midnight Club by James Patterson

I'm going to start by saying it took me about a month maybe a bit longer to get through this one. It wasn't longer, about the same length. It just took me way too long. 
The novel is about Organized crime and the NYPD trying to fight it. What they don't realize is how they are always one step behind the top mob bosses and business men involved in these mob and drug wars. 
The main character is John Stefanovich. He meets a writer Sarah McGinnis, and they start talking about the "Midnight Club" and how to go about catching and prosecuting them. 
Through all of this, they form a close bond and eventually a relationship. 
Stefanovich is confined to a wheel chair after being shot. He lost his wife and his partner of many years. 
It takes you through some of his struggles of being a cop. 


One thing I  noticed while reading through this one is, I didn't really care about any of the characters. 
Thats a risk writers have to take with stand-alone novels. Most of Patterson's books come in series so it is easier to get attached to the characters. 
But with this one, I had no connection which ultimately made it more difficult to get through. 


Overall 
3/5 
The ending of the novel picked up and kept me engaged, but the road there was bumpy!

Beach Road by James Patterson

This novel is about Tom Dunleavy and Kate Costello fighting the case of Dante Halleyville. They both know he is innocent, and he has a bunch of supporters from around the country. Dante was on his way to becoming a NBA player when he was falsely accused of four murders. 


In this book Patterson brings up the issue of race and corrupt city officials. 
The whole time, I found myself rooting for Dante and siding with Tom and Kate the whole time. All of the characters were likable. 
When I first started the book, I thought it was pretty slow and not as exciting as his other novels, and as quick as I came to that conclusion, I realized I was already over halfway through it. 
It is a novel that keeps you hanging on even though you aren't exactly sure why. 


And then there is the end. 


Guilty vs. Non Guilty. 


Who do you think is the criminal? Well, you will just have to wait until the end of the book. Make sure you are sitting down for this one. 
It blew me away, and I can usually figure out the endings of books. 
Ill insert one of the reviews from the back of the novel here

"Gripping... Races toward a conclusion so shocking that even longtime Patterson devotees won't see it coming." - Booklist

Once I read that review, I knew I had to give it a shot. i didnt understand how it could be so shocking. 


Then I realized that Patterson had pulled more tricks out of his sleeve. 


A Must Read!


4.5/5 Stars for me. Slow start, but it will keep you going right up to the last page. 


I'm not even going to add spoilers to this one. It's too good of an ending.