TLC Book Tour: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane

Series: Forensic Instincts

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA (September 24, 2013)

It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.
College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.
Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey—a connection that grows closer and closer to her.
Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopath won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.

I think it's pretty comical that I was asked to review this because of my blog name, Red Headed Book Child, and the fact that the book is about a serial killer that preys on redheads. Why the heck not? I have heard so many good things about Andrea Kane. Marce over at Tea Time with Marce has raved about her and we tend to have pretty similar tastes.

I have to say this was a pretty decent read. It was pretty simplistic writing. Nothing overly in depth. Straight forward. It was fast paced enough to keep me going and I liked the whole idea of the Forensic Instincts Team. 

Andrea Kane's website describes the team as " an eclectic team of maverick investigators, each with different talents and personalities, all with one common bond—a blatant disregard for authority." I would have to agree with that. Whether they have psychic abilities or some other eclectic talent, I enjoyed that twist to the mystery. That is what stood out for me. I think fans of Paranormal romance even would like this.

There are two others in this series and I'm certainly curious about them. If I'm looking for a quick, easy read I may pick them up. Like I said, I enjoyed it but it wasn't anything that made me think too much! Maybe that's a good thing every now and again.

Thanks to Lisa for having me on this tour!

Author Website and Tour Information:

Visit her at www.AndreaKane.com

Monday, October 14th:  A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, October 15th:  Inside of a Dog

Wednesday, October 16th:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Thursday, October 17th:  Simply Stacie

Friday, October 18th:  Bibliotica

Monday, October 21st:  The Book Wheel

Monday, October 21st:  Shelf Pleasure – author guest post

Tuesday, October 22nd:  The Well Read Redhead

Wednesday, October 23rd:  Bewitched Bookworms

Thursday, October 24th:  Chaotic Compendiums

Friday, October 25th:  She Treads Softly

Monday, October 28th:  Literally Jen

Tuesday, October 29th:  Redheaded Book Child

Wednesday, October 30th:  Mental Foodie

Friday, November 1st:  Life, Love, & Books

Monday, November 4th:  The Daily Mayo

Monday, November 4th:  Joyfully Retired

Tuesday, November 5th:  Bookalicious Mama

Wednesday, November 6th:  Kritter’s Ramblings

Thursday, November 7th:  My Shelf Confessions

Friday, November 8th:  From the TBR Pile

Monday, November 11th:  Sarah’s Book Shelves

Tuesday, November 12th:  Reading Reality

Wednesday, November 13th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, November 14th:  A Bookish Way of Life

Friday, November 15th:  Booked on a Feeling

Monday, November 18th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Tuesday, November 19th:  My Bookshelf

Wednesday, November 20th:  Broken Teepee

Thursday, November 21st:  Fiction Addict

Monday, November 25th:  October Country

Tuesday, November 26th:  A Chick Who Reads

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Book Review: Night Film by Marisha Pessl

On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova—a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world.

The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more. (Goodreads)

I am just going to start by saying this book has the potential to be just as big as Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. It combines the gothic with the literary, with the suspense, with the mystery. It had it all...even a little romance, though not in the traditional sense.

I did not read the author's first novel though it received great acclaim. I must say I was impressed with her superb writing style. She wrapped me up. It was hard to put down. Events get a little wacky right after the middle of the book but overall, it was a page turner and put together quite well.

I liked that it included seemingly "real" newspaper articles, photos, blog posts, and police files. Having all that pop up throughout the book made it seem so realistic. I wasn't drawn towards any one character. They all had their own mystery to them and I was intrigued by them all. The director Cordova was haunting and intriguing and I was curious what all the hype was about. 

Overall, though it took me a bit to complete it was definitely worth reading. I highly recommend it. It's already been sent to my pal, Cheryl. :) 

This was one of the books I selected for the R.I.P Challenge from Stainless Steel Droppings. I am happy I completed it in time! It definitely combines most of the genres listed for this challenge, combing a lot of gothic with a lot of mystery.

Author Website:
Marisha Pessl

Challenge:
R.I.P Challenge

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

New Season of Blogger Night at the Ordway: Miss Saigon

A tragedy of passion and beauty—based on Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly—Miss Saigon is set during the Vietnam War. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg (Les Misérables) created another absolute masterpiece in Miss Saigon. Like Les Mis, Miss Saigon presents an array of inspiring music and lyrics which appeal to all our senses and emotions.

Miss Saigon follows the love story between a young girl, Kim, and an American GI, Chris. Years after leaving Vietnam, Chris discovers his war bride Kim is still alive and is now raising his son. He returns to Saigon to find her, but with the Viet Cong closing in on the city and other ties at home binding him, Chris is forced to make some challenging decisions before leaving Vietnam again.

Purchase tickets here. Runs October 8-13

This show has been on my radar for years. Several of my friends and family members have seen it and have raved about it.

I took my theater buddy, Kim, with me again for the kick off to a new season of Blogger Nights at the Ordway. She is a teacher and has a degree in history so it was fascinating to get her take on the historical side of this show.

I know about Vietnam about as much as a learned in school. I know a bit from my dad who was in the army. That's about it. Overall, the show was intense. Big dramatic songs, lots of chaotic scenes, noisy helicopter sound affects, powerful video of children of war. That was captured well. 

I, however, did not feel the love story. It was sudden and intense from the first moment and I just could not get into them as a couple who longed to be together. I think the power of the story was also lost due to it being an opera. Every word was sung and with that, there was no ebb and flow of feelings. It was intense all the time! And that got to be tiring.

The "comic relief" numbers sung by the Engineer were okay but too long and didn't seem to fit with the story. I was not impressed with the actor who played Chris. His voice was a bit too forced and overly dramatic. As the show progressed he got better but the first number was too much.

I really liked the actress who played Kim. She had an amazing voice and had the delivery that conveyed the necessary roller coaster of emotions she was feeling. I appreciated it.

It was really worth seeing and I think the more theater I have the opportunity to see, the more I learn about the differences in how a story is really told.

I recommend Miss Saigon. Don't let some of my negative comments influence you. I was also blowing my nose a lot from a bad cold and coughing up a storm. It demands to be seen. The history was interesting. The idea of it all was worth creating. 

And the ending...well, the ending is a tear jerker. 

Happy Viewing and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

TLC Book Tour: The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Guest Review)

You've heard from her before. My book loving friend Cheryl gives her take on the latest award winning book by Louise Erdrich.

From the website http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Round-House-Louise-Erdrich/?isbn=9780062065247?AA=books_SearchBooks_2905

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

Written with undeniable urgency, and illuminating the harsh realities of contemporary life in a community where Ojibwe and white live uneasily together, The Round House is a brilliant and entertaining novel, a masterpiece of literary fiction. Louise Erdrich embraces tragedy, the comic, a spirit world very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in our own world today.

Cheryl’s Review

Louise Erdrich has long on my list of authors to read, but The Round House is the first of her novels I read.

The book description says the characters as “all-too-human.” Erdrich develops the characters in a way that one can identify with nearly all of them in some way. She beautifully captures the emotional depth of the characters and their relationships wtih each other. Joe, the main character, struggles with wanting to remain a free-spirited child while longing to be an adult; his father is trying to help his wife recover from her trauma and find her justice while trying to raise a boy; and his mother grapples with the memories of her trauma and knowing she and her life will never be the same.

Joe’s devotion to his mother and wanting to know, and understand, all the details of what happened is the center of the story. This incident, whether he is fully aware or not, feeds into and marks changes his relationships with his parents, relatives, and friends. He wants to go back to the way things were but knows that is impossible. The setting of 1988 adds many layers to the characters and their relationships. Erdrich interweaves how women and Native Americans are treated and viewed in society, and how those complications affected the characters’ development and the story’s outcome.

The Round Housemakes me want to read more of Erdrich’s books. Her realistic story and characters are easy to read but accurately depicts the complex situation of living on a reservation in a larger society with different rules and perspectives. At its heart, it is a coming of age story of a boy becoming a man and how the world is changing around him.

Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, September 24th: Lavish Bookshelf

Wednesday, September 25th: she treads softly

Thurssday, September 26th: The Lost Entwife

Monsday, September 30th: Book-alicious Mama

Tuesday, October 1st: Bound by Words

Wednesday, October 2nd: Booksie’s Blog

Thursday, October 3rd: Books Speak Volumes

Monday, October 7th: red headed book child

Tuesday, October 8th: The Blog of Lit Wits

Wednesday, October 9th: Lit and Life

Thursday, October 10th: Book Addict Katie

Monday, October 14th: Dolce Bellezza

Tuesday, October 15th: guiltless reading

Wednesday, October 17th: Lectus

Monday, October 21st: Becca’s Byline

Tuesday, October 22nd: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World

Thursday, October 23rd: Turn the Page

Thursday, October 24th: Book Snob

Author Info:

Louise Erdrich doesn't have a website but here's her official Facebook page

Thanks again Cheryl for stopping by!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Audio Review: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls and her family live deep in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Their log cabin is surrounded by miles of trees, and their closest neighbors are bears, wolves, and panthers. Daily chores keep Laura and her sister Mary busy, but they still find time to go exploring with their dog, Jack. (Goodreads)

Narrated by Cherry Jones

I am a country girl who grew up in a small farm town in southern Minnesota. Little House On the Prairie was a big deal for me as a girl. My family and I watched the show religiously. I read all the books. I visited the sites. I stood in the hole in Walnut Grove where the little house once was.

I got the idea to listen to these from the patrons at the library I work at. So many families were checking these out and listening to them together. I loved that! And when I discovered they were narrated by the amazing Cherry Jones, I knew I had to listen.

Cherry Jones has the perfect blend of wonder, naivete, and sweetness to portray Half Pint. I really felt transported to that little cabin in the woods; eating frozen snow with maple syrup and listening to Pa play the fiddle. I think it's important to experience Little House on every scale. Print, Audio and  TV all are so different but still all very worthwhile and enjoyable.

Highly recommended. Already started Book 2.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

TLC Book Tour: Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon (Guest Reviewer)

I picked this one for my husband who is a musician and a major music lover. I thought this would be right up his alley. He is my Guest Reviewer this time around. 

Enjoy!

As the summer of 2004 draws to a close, Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe are still hanging in there—longtime friends, bandmates, and co-regents of Brokeland Records, a kingdom of used vinyl located in the borderlands of Berkeley and Oakland. Their wives, Gwen Shanks and Aviva Roth-Jaffe, are the Berkeley Birth Partners, two semi-legendary midwives who have welcomed more than a thousand newly minted citizens into the dented utopia at whose heart—half tavern, half temple—stands Brokeland.

When ex-NFL quarterback Gibson Goode, the fifth-richest black man in America, announces plans to build his latest Dogpile megastore on a nearby stretch of Telegraph Avenue, Nat and Archy fear it means certain doom for their vulnerable little enterprise. Meanwhile, Aviva and Gwen also find themselves caught up in a battle for their professional existence, one that tests the limits of their friendship. Adding another layer of complication to the couples' already tangled lives is the surprise appearance of Titus Joyner, the teenage son Archy has never acknowledged and the love of fifteen-year-old Julius Jaffe's life.

An intimate epic, a NorCal Middlemarch set to the funky beat of classic vinyl soul-jazz and pulsing with a virtuosic, pyrotechnical style all its own,Telegraph Avenue is the great American novel we've been waiting for. Generous, imaginative, funny, moving, thrilling, humane, and triumphant. (Goodreads)


Sean's review:

Having read the Amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I was somewhat familiar with Chabon's wordy and colorful prose; when I heard Telegraph Avenue is about 'An independent record store facing the future' my interests had been piqued. Like 'Kavalier' all of the characters are heavily flawed, and have a Vonnegut-esque interdependence on their respective relevance as a plot device. While I do appreciate Chabon's verbose and plentiful use of metaphor and allegory, it does almost detract from the plot itself. I was expecting a story about an indy record shop, and it was, but so heavily mired in developing character and plot devices that it becomes the stream-of-consciousness typical of 'Kavalier', or indeed Kurt Vonnegut. A fun read, but has as much to do with running a record shop as 'Kavalier' is about coming up with the "superman" comic book series.
Author's Info:
website and Facebook page.

Full Blog Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, September 10th: Lavish Bookshelf

Wednesday, September 11th: Turn the Page

Tuesday, September 17th: guiltless reading

Monday, September 23rd: red headed book child

Tuesday, September 24th: missris

Wednesday, September 25th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Thursday, September 26th: A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, September 30th: What She Read …

Tuesday, October 1st: The House of the Seven Tails

Wednesday, October 2nd: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Thursday, October 3rd: From L.A. to LA

Thursday, October 3rd: Amused By Books

Monday, October 7th: The Lost Entwife

Tuesday, October 8th: Nite Lite

Wednesday, October 9th: Too Fond 

Thursday, October 10th: 50 Books Project

TBD: Seaside Book Corner

Thanks Sean for reviewing and thanks to Trish for letting us be on the tour!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child