Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover (available in mass market), 308 pages, 2006

Rating: 9/10

Reason for Reading: I read and loved two of Blunt’s previous novels, Forty Words for Sorrow and The Delicate Storm.

Synopsis: When Detective John Cardinal loses someone close to him, he refuses to believe it was suicide. The nasty, taunting notes he starts receiving in the mail have him convinced that the murder was committed by was someone he imprisoned, exacting their revenge on him in a way that would hurt the most. His colleagues look at him with pity, encouraging him to seek help to come to terms with reality – even Lisa Delorme, who is wrapped up in a child pornography case. But Cardinal is starting to wonder how the small town of Algonquin Bay can have so many suicides – and is determined to find out how many of them were actually murders.

Why you should read this book: If you enjoyed Blunt’s previous novels with Detective John Cardinal, By The Time You Read This will keep you on the hook without feeling repetitive. It’s not necessary to have read all of the previous Cardinal books (Forty Words for Sorrow, The Delicate Storm, and – one I missed – Blackfly Season) in order to follow along with the actual mystery, but since the death is so connected to Cardinal’s personal life, it helps. Blunt does an amazing job with plotting out a good mystery while integrating Cardinal’s personal life, which never feels like an afterthought the way it does with so many authors in this genre. If you like a good crime/detective story, you’ll be left guessing with this one as the normally level-headed Cardinal is swept up in all of his emotions and struggles to read people correctly. As the number of deaths in the northern Ontario community grow, the stakes keep rising until you’re holding your breath, hoping Cardinal can piece it together before a young woman with an already-tragic life doesn’t meet a miserable end. By The Time You Read This will get into your head and under your skin.

Why you should avoid this book: About two-thirds of the way into the book, you’ll think you know exactly what’s going on and wonder why there are so many pages left in the book. But keep going, you’re probably only partly right. The talk about child pornography and child abuse isn’t gratuitous, but any mention is too much for some people, so skip this book if you can’t handle it.

Opening paragraph:

Nothing bad could ever happen on Madonna Road. It curls around the western shore of a small lake just outside Algonquin Bay, Ontario, providing a pine-scented refuge for affluent families with young children, yuppies fond of canoes and kayaks, and an artful population of chipmunks chased by galumphing dogs. It’s the kind of spot – tranquil, shady and secluded – that promises an exemption from tragedy and sorrow.

Fabulous quotes:

Burke turned back to the man with the gun, almost a boy, really.
‘I’m going to ask you again. Would you hand that weapon over, please? Butt first.’
By way of reply the man shucked a shell into the chamber. Burke’s heart fell into his shoes.

Cardinal tried to keep his mind fixed in investigative mode and not react to the words inside the card.
What a terrific husband you must have been, it said. Same set-up as before, original message of the card covered up with a typed message. She preferred death to living with you. Think about it. She literally preferred to die. That should give you some idea of what you’re worth.

Also recommended: The Devil’s Teardrop by Jeffery Deaver; Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith; The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer.

Also by this author: Forty Words for Sorrow; The Delicate Storm; Blackfly Season; No Such Creature; Breaking Lorca; Crime Machine; Cold Eye.

Fun tidbit: Blunt co-wrote an episode of Law and Order with novelist Robert Nathan.

Would I read more by this author? Absolutely. I’m thrilled that Blunt wrote three novels while I wasn’t looking so I have plenty to catch up on.

© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2010

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Trade (available in mass market), 452 pages, 2008

Rating: 9/10

Reason for Reading: My mom started collecting Maeve Binchy novels; when it got to half a dozen I figured I better actually read one and see why.

Synopsis: Clara Casey agrees to work the new cardiac care clinic for one year to get things off the ground and soon finds herself surrounded by a lively bunch of nurses, doctors, patients – half of the town, it seems, all with their own set of adventures and longings. Clara is dealing with an ex-husband who wants a ‘favour,’ one tree-hugger daughter and another who thinks the world should fall at her feet and throw money at her. She looks with envy at Ania, a young Polish girl with incredible work ethic and wonders where she went wrong with her own family – but everyone has their secrets…

Why you should read this book: This ensemble cast of characters is sure to win you over as they face life’s ups and downs. As people date, divorce, work, and play, the cardiac clinic and its patients are there to remind us, in a light-handed way, of what’s important in life…and that realizing what is important can be a struggle. There are a core group of characters that we get to follow along with and get to know very well, but the minor characters we also hear snippets from all enrich the main story. You’ll finish the book feeling like you’ve met an entire town, and you’re right at home and ready to move in amongst everyone’s dreams and ambitions. There are plenty of real-life troubles packed into this book, but ultimately Heart and Soul makes for a great comfort read (the Irish charm helps). The good news is that if you get hooked, Binchy seems to be fond of characters crossing over between her novels – look for the catering twins in Scarlet Feather, for example.

Why you should avoid this book: Heart and Soul has a big cast of characters. Big. It seems everyone but the dog gets a chapter to tell their story. For the most part, it’s easy to read a paragraph (or page or two) and figure out where the characters fit into things, but if you’re looking for a straightforward, linear story, you’ll go a little crazy reading this book. I suspect I would not have enjoyed this book as much if I were still in my 20s – the broad age range of the characters might have made it a little hard to relate to some of them.

Opening paragraph:

Some projects take forever to get off the ground.
One of these was the disused storage depot that was owned by St Brigid’s Hospital. It was an unattractive cluster of warehouses around a yard. Once it had held supplies for the hospital but it was in an awkward place; new traffic regulations meant that it was a long and cumbersome journey through the Dublin streets to get from one place to the other.

Fabulous quotes:

‘Please, Clara…’
‘Go, Alan. Go now.’
‘You’re just locking yourself away. You’re still a fine-looking woman…’
‘Go while you’re still able to walk.’
Clara made a gesture with the chair as if she were going to use it as a weapon. He backed out of the door and was gone. She didn’t feel outraged or insulted. She didn’t even feel patronised any more. She felt empty and foolish and ashamed that she had spent any small moment hoping this worthless man would tire of his mistress and come home to her.

Declan’s face broke into a huge smile. She thought he was one of the nice doctors, she thought he was married. Ah, dear Lord, there might be hope for him still. At lunchtime he asked her out. Declan Carroll, who had never asked a girl out properly on a date because there was never enough money or time or confidence.
‘Would you like to come out and have dinner with me one night this week?’ It sounded quite a normal thing for a person to say, yet it echoed in his ears as if he were in some huge cavern.

Also recommended: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve; The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes; My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

Also by this author: Light a Penny Candle; The Lilac Bus; Echoes; Firefly Summer; Silver Wedding; Circle of Friends; The Copper Beech; The Glass Lake; Evening Class; Tara Road; Scarlet Feather; Quentins; Nights of Rain and Stars; Whitehorn Woods; Central Line; Victoria Line; Dublin 4; London Transports; Story Teller: Collection of Short Stories; Dublin People; Cross Lines; This Year Will be Different and Other Stories; Star Sullivan; The Builders; Deeply Regretted By; Aches and Pains; A Time to Dance; The Maeve Binchy Writer’s Club.

Author’s website: maevebinchy.com

Fun tidbit: Check out this video of Maeve Binchy explaining the premise of Heart and Soul and why she wanted to write about a heart care clinic.

Would I read more by this author? I’ll definitely read the other five or so books of hers that are kicking around. I definitely can see her being a yearly ‘comfort read.’

© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2010

Reviewed by L.D.Y.

Hardcover, 784 pages, 2010

Rating: 10/10

Reason for Reading: The Passage seems to be the it book for summer 2010.

Synopsis: Somewhere in the very near future, a virus is discovered that changes people – it ramps up their immune system and makes them stronger, and the United States Army sees an opportunity. The government starts conducting top-secret experiments that soon overwhelm them, and suddenly there are vampires – virals – taking over the world. One little girl, Amy, who was scheduled to be a test subject for the virus, may hold the key to survival, and one FBI agent is determined to keep her safe at all costs.

Why you should read this book: The Passage is the book version of a truly fantastic horror/thriller movie. It’s creepy and nerve-wracking, and you’ll never know quite what to expect. A lot of people are burnt out on vampires at the moment but The Passage is completely different from books like Twilight (phew). If anything, the vampires, or ‘virals,’ are more reminiscent of the fast-moving zombies of recent movies like 28 Days Later or I Am Legend – they’re not here for romance, they’re just out for blood. Cronin avoids sweeping clichés and allows his characters to be smart – they might make mistakes, but there are no ‘Don’t go in the basement, stupid!’ cringe-inducing moments that are the bread and butter of too many horror movies/books. I keep coming back to movies because Cronin deftly paints a picture with his scenes, capturing the familiar and the unfamiliar in a post-apocalyptic world, building up atmosphere; all while still moving along the plot. The book may be frightening, but don’t think the characters were ignored in favour of pure action – the characters have heart and will have you hoping and cheering for their survival. The story rumbles along, twisting and turning until it drops you off at the last page, dying for the next two books in the trilogy, but maybe a little happy to be able to come up for air. The Passage is smart, engrossing, and will have you sleeping with the lights on – maybe then the virals won’t get you…

Why you should avoid this book: Expect violence (hey, most of the world’s population got wiped out somehow), but not a lot of dwelling on the gory details. The book isn’t for everyone – it’s not exactly a tame read – but there are a lot of genres encompassed in this book that will make a lot of people happy, and The Passage definitely deserves to be a summer blockbuster.

Opening paragraph:

Before she became the Girl from Nowhere – the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years – she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy. Amy Harper Bellafonte.

Fabulous quotes:

She held her breath and unzipped the pouch. There she found the piece of notebook paper, folded up.
I’m sorry. Her name is Amy. She’s six years old.
Lacey looked at it for a long time. Not the words themselves, which were plain enough in their meaning. What she looked at was the space around the words, a whole page of nothing at all. Three tiny sentences were all this girl had in the world to explain who she was, just three sentences and the few little things in the bag. It was nearly the saddest thing Lacey Antoinette Kudoto had ever seen in her life, so sad she couldn’t even cry.

Richards could tell from the shouts and the shooting that the sticks were outside now.
He’d known what was happening to Sykes. Probably it would happen to him too, since Sykes had puked his goddamn infected blood all over him, but he doubted he’d live long enough for this to matter. Hey, Cole, he thought. Hey, Cole, you weasel, you little shit. Was this what you hand in mind? Is this your Pax Americana? Because there’s only one outcome I can see here.
There was just one thing Richards wanted now. A clean exit, with a good showing at the last.
The front entrance of the Chalet was all broken glass and bullet holes, the doors ripped half off their hinges, hanging kitty-corner. Three soldiers lay dead on the floor; it looked as if they’d been shot by friendly fire in the chaos. Maybe they’d actually shot one another on purpose, just to hustle things along.

Also recommended: The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro; Dracula by Bram Stoker; The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer; Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Also by this author: The Summer Guest; Mary and O’Neil.

Author’s website: enterthepassage.com. You can follow Cronin on Twitter here.

Fun tidbit: The Twelve, the second book in the trilogy is due 2012; the final book, The City of Mirrors is scheduled to be released in 2014.

Would I read more by this author? I will definitely see this trilogy through to the end.

© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2010

One lucky winner will win a set of the following five books:

Adam By Ted Dekker
The Island By Elin Hilderbrand
The Recessionistas By Alexandra Lebenthal
Rich Boy By Sharon Pomerantz
Backseat Saints By Joshilyn Jackson

To Enter
Simply email bookbrothel@gmail.com with ‘Beach Book Giveaway’ in the subject heading line. (I can’t accept entries via the comments here, so please email!)
In the body of the email, please let me know:
1. Your name
2. Your location (town and province/state is fine; I’ll contact the winner for his or her full address)
3. The answer to the following question:

Which of the above five authors also wrote a book called ‘Gods in Alabama‘?

The fine print
1. The contest is open between now and 11:59EST August 10, 2010. One entry per person, please!
2. The winner will be selected at random and contacted by email requesting their full mailing address. If there is no response by August 15, 2010, an alternate winner will be selected. The winners will be announced on the website in a (Lisa Y. of Toronto, Ontario) format to protect privacy.
3. This contest is only open to residents of Canada and the United States. Books cannot be shipped to P.O. boxes – sorry!
4. Personal information will only be used by The Book Brothel for the purpose of this contest and will not be sold or given away. See the privacy policy for more information.

Good luck and happy summer reading to everyone!

These are a few of my favourite shelves

I’ll just say it: I’ve missed all of you.

I’ve missed reviewing and book chat and the deep satisfaction that comes from making sure the right book winds up in the right person’s hands. Don’t worry; I have at least been reading. And I’ve got a diploma to hang on my wall in exchange for my year of silence on Book Brothel. But what’s in it for you?

How about this gorgeous re-design by Alexis Dicks and Dawn Wentzell? It features a photo by Joel Charlebois, who also took the cover photo for George Pelecanos’ The Way Home.

What about a contest in the next entry? I’m not above bribery.

And new reviews. Did I mention new reviews? Pull out your to-be-read list, because it’s going to get longer.

I would also like to welcome the aforementioned Dawn to Book Brothel. She is going to be hard at work on a bunch of technical/behind-the-scenes stuff and general revamping of the site, which means I get to focus on writing reviews instead of pulling out my hair with frustration. That means more content for you, fabulous reader. Welcome, Dawn!

The site will be undergoing further improvements in the coming months; please excuse any construction – we will do our best to keep it to a minimum.

Still not enough? You can (and should!) follow Book Brothel on Twitter for info on new reviews, contests, and general book chat. I love talking about what I’m reading, and I love getting recommendations on what I should read next.

Thank you to everyone for your patience (readers and publishers alike – book people are the best) over the past year. Now, let’s get down to what’s really important – finding and reading great books!

The Tease:

She was easily distracted. She had a photographer’s fascination with quality of light. An upside-down CD reflecting rainbows on the bedroom ceiling, a glass of red wine catching the light of a candle, the Empire State Building piercing white against the sky at night. She loved details, and the world, and inevitably became lost in both.

Available: June 2, 2009

The Tease:

‘So,’ said Gavin, looking back at her now. ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it to Toronto in the end. Bit of a cock-up I hear. Shouldn’t have let you on your own after all, should I?’
‘Er…’ She was a bit suspicious of the smile in his eyes. Was she really being told off? ‘It was just one of those things. A technical fault, you know?’
‘Mmm.’ He leaned down to undo the sneakers. ‘Feedback seems to have been okay, but time is too short for fuckups, Alex. You know that. We’re only a few weeks away from the launch now and I can’t afford for this not to go right. I’ll be lynched by the top brass if we mess up this range. They want it to be the blast of the decade. Now bugger off.’ She turned to go. ‘Oh, and Alex?’ She turned back. ‘Next time take a backup PC, okay?’

Available: April 29, 2009

We have two sets of winners for March’s giveaways – first up, the Women’s History Month Giveaway from Hachette Book Group! The correct answer to the question “Which of the above eight authors also wrote a book called Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress?” is Susan Gilman. The five lucky entrants that matched up to the numbers from a random generator are:

Nicole S. of Enderby, BC
Nely S. of Hialeah, FL
Jen W. of Oakville, ON
Karly K. of Carlsbad, CA
Emily O. of Tallahassee, FL

Congrats to the winners, who each won a prize pack of the following eight books:

My Little Red Book By Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
See Jane Lead By Lois Frankel
Galway Bay By Mary Kelly 
Mistress Bradstreet By Charlotte Gordon
Dream in Color By Linda Sánchez, Loretta Sánchez, Richard Buskin, Nancy Pelosi
Kiss Off By Mary Esselman , Elizabeth Vélez
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven By Susan Gilman
Put Your Dreams First By Thembisa S., Vanessa Williams

The other contest from Hachette Book Group was the ‘Spring Cleaning, Spring Forward’ contest! The correct answer to the question “Which of the above five authors also wrote a book called In My Wildest Dreams?” is Gail Blanke. The five lucky entrants that matched up to the numbers from a random generator are:

Ann B. of High Bridge, NJ
Phyllis S. of Forest Hills, NY
Tracey L. of Mission, BC
Shannon S. of Decatur, GA
Dina N. of Kennesaw, GA

Congrats to the winners, who each won a prize pack of the following five books:

Throw Out Fifty Things By Gail Blanke
No Matter What! By Lisa Nichols 
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home By Thelma Meyer
The Power to Change Today By Gregory Dickow
Work in Progress By Kristin Armstrong

A big thank you to everyone who entered the contests…stay tuned for more contests and reviews!

Five lucky winners will each win a set of the following eight books:

My Little Red Book By Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
See Jane Lead By Lois Frankel
Galway Bay By Mary Kelly 
Mistress Bradstreet By Charlotte Gordon
Dream in Color By Linda Sánchez, Loretta Sánchez, Richard Buskin, Nancy Pelosi
Kiss Off By Mary Esselman , Elizabeth Vélez
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven By Susan Gilman
Put Your Dreams First By Thembisa S., Vanessa Williams

To Enter
Simply email bookbrothel@gmail.com with ‘Women’s History Month’ in the subject heading line. (I can’t accept entries via the comments here, so please email!)
In the body of the email, please let me know:
1. Your name
2. Your location (town and province/state is fine; I’ll contact the winners for their full addresses)
3. The answer to the following question:

Which of the above eight authors also wrote a book called ‘Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress‘?

The fine print
1. The contest is open between now and 11:59EST March 31, 2009. One entry per person, please!
2. The five winners will be selected at random and contacted by email requesting their full mailing address. If there is no response by April 3, 2009, alternate winner(s) will be selected. The winners will be announced on the website in a (Lisa Y. of Toronto, Ontario) format to protect privacy.
3. This contest is only open to residents of Canada and the United States. Books cannot be shipped to P.O. boxes – sorry!
4. Personal information will only be used by The Book Brothel for the purpose of this contest and will not be sold or given away.

Good luck and happy Women’s History Month!

Five lucky winners will each win a set of the following five books:

Throw Out Fifty Things By Gail Blanke
No Matter What! By Lisa Nichols 
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home By Thelma Meyer
The Power to Change Today By Gregory Dickow
Work in Progress By Kristin Armstrong

To Enter
Simply email bookbrothel@gmail.com with ‘Spring Cleaning, Spring Forward’ in the subject heading line. (I can’t accept entries via the comments here, so please email!)
In the body of the email, please let me know:
1. Your name
2. Your location (town and province/state is fine; I’ll contact the winners for their full addresses)
3. The answer to the following question:

Which of the above five authors also wrote a book called ‘In My Wildest Dreams‘?

The fine print
1. The contest is open between now and 11:59EST March 31, 2009. One entry per person, please!
2. The five winners will be selected at random and contacted by email requesting their full mailing address. If there is no response by April 3, 2009, alternate winner(s) will be selected. The winners will be announced on the website in a (Lisa Y. of Toronto, Ontario) format to protect privacy.
3. This contest is only open to residents of Canada and the United States. Books cannot be shipped to P.O. boxes – sorry!
4. Personal information will only be used by The Book Brothel for the purpose of this contest and will not be sold or given away.

Best of luck to all!