Heart Shaped Box

Author:   Joe Hill

Publisher:  Harper Collins Publishers
Publish Date: 2010
Pages: 400
ISBN No.: 978-0-06-194489-5
Genre: Horror
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation:  For fun, retired heavy metal start Judas Coyne buys a haunted suit online but soon realizes he has taken on much more than he counted on and it is not fun.
Summary:
Aging death-metal rock legend Judas Coyne has collected everything macabre such as a cookbook for cannibals, a snuff film and a hangman's noose but nothing compares to his latest purchase, a haunted suit that he purchases online. The suit arrives in a black heart-shaped box.  After unwrapping the musty, haunted suit he soon realizes that the suit is inhabited by the ghost of its late owner, the very angry stepfather of an ex-groupie lover of Coyne's who committed suicide after he rejected her.  The ruthless ghost is there to kill Judas and anyone who tries to help him.  Wherever, Coyne goes so goes the old man,  He is watching every move Coyne makes waiting for the opportunity to strike with the razor blade dangling on a chain from his bony hand.
Evaluation: 
This is the first novel from Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. It is a complex plot and not for the faint of heart.  If you like characters such as Judas Coyne then this is your cup of tea. Personally, I did not care for or about any of the characters and as such did not like this book at all.  Maybe if the characters had a different persona it would have appealed to me but a aging death-metal rock legend does not do it for me.  Giving credit to Joe Hill, I must say that he has developed some pretty unusual characters and the tone and setting puts the reader right there but it is not where I want to be.
Why I Would Include It:  At first blush, this is not a book I would include.  If I was working in a library and depending on the patron I might suggest it but clearly it would have to be someone who indicated he or she liked this genre.  Although, I can think of other horror novels that are better.
Rating: 2

In the Heart of the Canyon

Author:  Elizabeth Hyde

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf
Publish Date: 2009
Pages: 336
ISBN No.: 978-0307263674
Genre: Adventure
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation:
Twelve people, all strangers, see their lives changing forever as they undertake a white-water rafting trip down the Colorado River into the Grand Canyon.
Summary:
JT Maroney, veteran river guide, is ready to take his 125th trip deep into the heart of the Grand Canyon where it is scorching hot and water levels are rising along the Colorado River. JT thinks he's seen it all before, but this trip will change him forever. For the next two weeks his twelve passengers, mostly strangers to one another and certainly to him, will paddle, swim and ride the rapids, sleep under the stars mesmerized by the beauty and the drama of the environment. As they learn more about each other, perhaps, more than ever wanted to know, and experience a life changing adventure. As the trip gets underway, relationships and loyalty develop, often between unlikely members of the group.  These connections will be evolving constantly in the most unusual ways.
Evaluation:
While this book is not one I would normally read for I do not have a background in adventure fiction it is a good adventure read.  This book is a well crafted novel and Hyde develops her complicated characters, dissecting their problems along the way.  It is a book about humanity and the angst that often accompanies it set in the majesty of the Grand Canyon and on the rapids of a potentially deadly river.
Why I Would Include It:
In all fairness to the author I would include this book for it is an interesting and exciting read.  Normally, not my cup of tea but then it offers a nice respite from what I usually read.
Rating: 3

The Eyre Affair
Author:  Jasper Fforde
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publish Date: 2001
Pages: 374
ISBN No.: 978-0-14-200180-6
Genre: Fantasy
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation:
The Eyre Affair tells the story of Thursday Next, a police officer in an alternate universe where literary works are held in far more powerful views than are in ours.
Summary:
It is 1985 in Britain and we learn that  time travel is business as usual, people are cloned as a matter of routine, pets are the dodos and literature is serious business. England is a virtual police state where everyone is emerged in fine literature of one sort or another.  Business to Thursday, Special Operative in literary detection,  is nothing other than ordinary even as someone is kidnapped from the pages of a Charlotte Brontel novel for she becomes the go to person to solve these sorts of crimes. But this time she faces the most challenging event of her career.
Evaluation: 
Unfortunately, I would not ordinarily read this book and therefore I do not think that I can evaluate it fairly. 
Why I Would Include It: 
I would not include it for it did not make sense to me.  It was confusing and was erratic.  It would seem there should be other fantasy books that would be better reads.  Furthermore, I think this book would only appeal to a particular reader i.e. fantasy and/or science fiction.
Rating: 1

The Lost Symbol
Author:  Dan Brown
Publisher:Anchor Books, a division of Random House
Publish Date: 2010
Pages: 639
ISBN No.: 978-1-4000-7914-8
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Sub Genre: Science Fiction
Reader’s Annotation:
A kidnapping, a severed hand, and a grotesquely tattooed man all add up to another Dan Brown thriller this time set in Washington, DC.
Summary: 
Robert Langdon arrives in Washington, DC  to give a lecture at the request of his old mentor, Peter Solomon, a longstanding Mason and noted philanthropist.  When he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for his lecture, he learns that Peter has been kidnapped and he finds his severed hand mounted on a wooden base, fingers pointing skyward to the Rotunda ceiling fresco of George Washington dressed in white robes ascending to heaven that has been left as a clue. Langdon investigates a plethora of other clues and there is an arch villain known as Mal'akh, a steroid-swollen, dreadfully tattooed, muscle-bodied madman, who is seeking the lost wisdom of the ages so he can rule the world. Joining Langdon in his search is Peter's younger sister, Kathleen, who has been conducting experiments in a secret museum and also offers a bit of a romantic interest. As Robert and Kathleen plunge headlong into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets the book in usual Brown fashion roars to an exciting conclusion.
Evaluation:  
The Lost Symbol keeps the reader interested and on the edge of their seat but it takes too long to reach the exciting conclusion after reading a whopping 639 pages.
Why I Would Include It:
Dan Brown has set this new thriller not in some far-off exotic locale, but right here in our nation's capitol which provides an exciting backdrop for those of us fascinated with Washington DC and its many landmarks.
Rating: 4

Murder in the Marais
Author:  Cara Black
Publisher: Soho Press
Publish Date: 1999
Pages:  354
ISBN No.: 978-1-56947-212-5
Genre:  Mystery/Crime
Sub Genre: Detective
Reader’s Annotation:
A standout first novel introduces the projected series of mysteries set in Paris in which we meet dauntless private investigator Aimee Leduc.
Summary:
In Cara Black's first installment in this series we are introduced to Aimee Leduc, a Parisian private investigator, who has always vowed to stick with what she loves and does best, computer investigation. Criminal cases  are not for her, especially since her father, the late police detective, was killed in the line of duty. It is 1993 and the French prime ministerial candidate is about to sign a treaty with Germany that will severely restrict immigrations, reminiscent of the Vichy laws.  Aimee is approached an elderly man, Soli Hect, to decipher a fifty-year-old encrypted photograph and place it in the hands of Lili Stein, a woman in his synagogue.  Upon arriving at the client's house in the Marais, the historic Jewish quarter of Paris, she finds the old woman strangled to death with a swastika carved on her forehead.with a top-secret decoding job on behalf of a woman in his synagogue, Aimee unwittingly takes on more than she was expecting. With the able assistance of her partner, Rene, a dwarf, with amazing computer hacking skills, Aimée sets out to solve this horrendous crime, but finds herself in an increasingly dangerous web of ancient secrets and buried war crime.
Evaluation:
When I discovered this series I thought what a find!  The reader can travel , exploring the sights and sounds of Paris and at the same time enjoy a good mystery.  Murder in the Marais is an excellent start to the series and sets the tone for the continuing saga of Aimee Leduc and her partner Rene. 
Why I Would Include It:
I would include this book and recommend the entire series for it is not only a great mystery read but gives the reader some insight into the different arrondisements in Paris.  This book is not a hard read but easy to get into and the characters are likable plus who could resist the backdrop of Paris. 
Rating: 4
Read Alikes:  A few in the Aimee Leduc series includes the following:
Murder in Belleville, Murder in the Sentier, Murder in the Bastille, and Murder in Clichy.

Sarah’s Key
Author:  Tatiana de Rosnay
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publish Date: 2007
Pages: 293
ISBN No.: 978-0-312-37084-8Genre:  Historical Fiction
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation:
A mesmerizing portrait of France under occupation and the  overwhelming
consequences of a little girl's best intentions.
Summary:

It is July 1942 in Paris and the French police during the Vel' d'Hiv roundup forcefully arrest a ten year-old Parisian girl, Sarah Staryzynski, and her Jewish parents along with thousands of other Jewish families, holding them outside of Paris prior to shippping them off to Auschwitz.  Thinking that she will be back within a few hours and in plenty of time, she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment for his safety.  Fast forward to May 2002 and in Paris the  impending 60th anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv is about to get underway when journalist, Julia Jarmond is asked to writer an article about this black day in France's past.  Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that link her to Sarah.  Julia finds herself drawn to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible time in the Vel' d'Hiv, to the camps and beyond.  As she probes into the past, she discovers a personal connection with this same  apartment formerly occupied by a family member.  She begins to re-evaluate her marriage and her life.
Evaluation:
I loved this book when I first read it a couple of years ago.  It was a real page turner for me and I could not have been happier when our Historical Fiction Group selected it for the book discussion.  As a student of history, I gravitate towards any book of a historical nature but especially this one as I have a personal connection with time in history and the Holocaust.
Why I Would Include It: 
This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in history and especially this period.  It is also an important book for there are those people who may have little knowledge of the Vel 'd'Hiv and its connection to the Holocaust.
Rating: 5

 Fall from Grace

Author:  Richard North Patterson

Publisher: Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: 2012
Pages: 278
ISBN No.: 978-1-4516-1705-4
Genre: Crime
Sub Genre: Legal Thriller
Reader’s Annotation:
The mysterious, violent death of a prominent New England patriarch exposes a nest of dark family secret.
Summary:
Adam Blaine arrives in Martha Vineyard's for the funeral of his estranged father, Ben Blaine, a famous and charismatic writer who has served as  patriarch of his clan.  The deceased has left behind a string of secret legal  and financial arrangements, not to mention an emotionally distraught widow and strangely aloof mistress, a beautiful television actress who once had a drug problem.  Ben had many mistresses during his 40 year marriage, however, at the time of his death, has left his 12 million dollar estate to his actress girlfriend. A one million dollar bequest was also given to Adam's old girlfriend, Jenny, an aspiring writer who lives on the Island. As soon as Adam arrives, he is thrust into the search for his father's killer. Using his training as a CIA operative, Blaine skillfully seeks to find the truth of his father's death, even if it means exposing one or more of his own family members as the killer and discovering secrets about himself that he was never supposed to know.  While there was no love between Adam and his father he finds himself sifting through the evidence to determine whether Ben Blaine's death was a fall from a cliff, an accident, suicide or murder. He must also find a way to help his disinherited mother and brother, while keeping one step ahead of the police, who are attempting to build a case against a family member. 
Evaluation:
In my opinion Richard North Patterson, a former trial lawyer, has written some terrific courtroom novels which I always enjoyed reading but then he veered away from the courtroom into war related genres which I did not care for and did not think were his forte.    His latter books became disappointing and unreadable. This book is an interesting psychological drama, however, it does not have any courtroom scenes, which is where Patterson as a writer stands out.
Why I Would Include It:
Any Richard North Patterson aficionado will enjoy this latest book and in general I think it would appeal to most mystery and crime readers and is not offensive to those who may want to avoid anything that is gory or bloody.
Rating: 5
Read Alikes:
Degree of Guilt by Richard North Patterson
Eyes of a Child by Richard North Patterson
In the Name of Honor by Richard North Paterson
The Litigators by John Grisham
The Firm by John Grisham