Book Nook Club: Reviewed by Courtney

Showing posts with label Reviewed by Courtney. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Reviewed by Courtney. Show all posts

July 29, 2009

B as in Beauty by Alberto Ferreras

I was pleasantly surprised by B as in Beauty by Alberto Ferreras. The book is about a woman named Beauty who is not happy with her body because according to social standards she is considered overweight. Her lack of self-esteem follows into her career past as well as she continues to work in a position she is not happy with. Beauty gets introduced to a new type of job - not an escort, but more of a companionship type of job. This new job gives her a new positive outlook on life.

I loved Beauty's wit and I could completely understand where she was coming from. Ferreras really captured the mind of an overweight woman. I would read a line of the book and think, wow, that's so true or that just described my life. I can't believe a guy wrote this book! It's so nice when you truly connect with a character in the book.

What I liked the most about this is that the author didn't make Beauty conform to the world's standard of being ultra thin. Instead he made Beauty like herself for who she was and how to love her body. It's a lesson I think a lot of us need to learn.

Giveaway:
We have 5 copies of B as in Beauty to giveaway to a reader in the US/Canadian area. To enter for a chance to win a copy of this great book just leave a comment on this post before August 6, 2009.

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April 10, 2009

The Deuteronomy Project by Richard B. Couser

The Deuteronomy Project by Richard B. Couser follows two men as they study the book of Deuteronomy together. The main character Chris, is a lawyer and family man, who feels a lack of purpose in his life and the Bible studies he has been using are boring him. He is looking for a deeper meaning in the Word of God. Enter Hal. Hal is a retired pastor who mentors Chris in the study of Deuteronomy.

The book itself is excellent. The information given is wonderful. It is a Bible study in fiction form. I actually learned a lot. The characters are interesting. It fascinating to read how events in their lives help to create a better understanding of verses. Even though the book is fiction, it felt real.

My only complaint about The Deuteronomy Project is that it is slow moving and long. It is just over 500 pages and includes approximately 50 pages of Bible study questions to follow along with.

Overall very happy with the book and would recommend it to others.

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February 1, 2009

Quills and Promies by Amber Miller

Quills and Promises by Amber Miller is such a lovely book. It is easy to fall in love with the main character, Elanna, who befriends a major, Madison Scott, in the war. The two correspond by mail for years as the war rages on.

Elanna is a young girl who is very curious about the French and Indian War and does everything she can to find out the current happenings. Her curiousness eventually leads her to a writer at the local newspaper that questions the integrity of Major Scott. Elanna must decide who to trust, Major Scott who she has only met twice but has corresponded with for years, or the newspaper writer, who has first hand knowledge of the war.

The book is a quick read and very clean. No bad language, no sexual situations - just a nice romance. All of the characters are very easy to love and I really wanted to know what would happen next. I really liked Elanna. She is very independent, always thinks before she acts, prays for guidance in her life, and accepts the consequences of her actions. She is the kind of girl I hope my daughter grows up to be.

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January 30, 2009

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

I've always loved reading a good sci-fi/thriller book and when I got this book from the Early Reviewers group at LibraryThing, I thought it would be great and was greatly anticipating reading Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland.

Let me start by saying that if you don't like sci-fi, vampire, end of the world stuff, you won't like this book.

Any Given Doomsday is about a woman named Elizabeth Phoenix whose job it is to save the world from doomsday at the hands of vampires and demons.

While this book was not as great as I was anticipating, it wasn't bad either. The major problem I had with this book is the importance it puts on sex. (Yes, there is sex with vampires and demons and shapeshifters, oh my!) I think the book could have done without so much sex.

I liked the fast pace of the book and of course all the sci-fi elements but I didn't really fall in love with any of the characters. The book doesn't go in the background of Elizabeth much so you never really know why she is doing the things she does. I would have liked to have read more background on the characters.

While this book wasn't one of my favorite, it did leave me wanting more and when the next book in the series comes out I'm sure I'll read it.

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December 17, 2008

Dangerous Heart by Tracey Bateman

Dangerous Heart by Tracey Bateman is actually the third book in a series titled Westward Hearts. The other two books are Defiant Heart and Distant Heart and each book can be read independtly from the other. I picked this book up because I have read other books by Tracey Batmen and enjoyed them.

Dangerous Hear follows a girl named Ginger, a daughter of an outlaw, as she tires to extract revenge for her brother's death but, of course, she ends up falling in love with the man she believes responsible.

I found the book to be pretty predictable, but that did make it to be an easy book to read. My only real complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed. One moment Ginger and Grant are fighting and the next they are engaged to be married. I would have liked to have read some romance and courting scenes. While this is not my favorite book by this author, it was worth the read.

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October 27, 2008

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival: John 3:16 by Nancy Moser

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED ***

It's that time again! Time for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival hosted by Bloggy Giveaways. For those new to the Book Nook Club, we are a small group of avid readers who write reviews on the books we read, good and bad. We also have a monthly book discussion. At the next book discussion in November we will be discussing the book Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck. If you like to read I encourage you to subscribe to our blog. If you would like to join us as a reviewer just email us at thereaderscircle@gmail.com

Now for the giveaway!

I have a copy of the book John 3:16 by Nancy Moser to giveaway.

This book wasn't what I thought it would be, but was great anyways. Based on the front and back covers I was expecting a story about a man who displayed the sign John 3:16 in the stands of a football games and the way it affected people who saw it. While a sign does get shown at a football game and peoples lives are changed, it just didn't happen the way I thought it was going too.

The book kept me wondering what was going to happen next and how the characters were going to find their way to Jesus. It was interesting to see how all the characters ended up somehow knowing each other at the end of the book while reading about their lives separately.

I like how the book stressed the importance of prayer, living your life as God would want you to, and how to trust God with everything in your life. Overall I immensly enjoyed this book.

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment on this post by October 31, 2008. A winner will be drawn on November 1, 2008. For extra chances to win just subscribe to our blog or add our button to your site. If you do any of the extra chances please let us know in a separate comments. Thanks and good luck!

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October 15, 2008

October Book Discussion: The Mystery of Breathing by Perri Klass

For the month of October I chose the book The Mystery of Breathing by Perri Klass for our book discussion. I chose this book for two reasons. My husband is a pediatric resident and at the time I chose the book was working in the NICU and because my son spent sometime in the NICU when he was first born. When I read that the main character was a neonatal physician I got excited and knew it was a book I would have to read.

A recap of the book for those who have not read it yet:

An impassioned and gifted neonatal physician, Dr. Maggie Claymore fights for the lives of her newborn patients with a fierceness that has gained her the devotion of worried parents and sometimes the ire of her colleagues. Maggie is just shy of forty, and her career is on the rise: she is on the verge of receiving a coveted promotion at a prestigious Boston research hospital. That is, until an anonymous hate campaign calls her credentials and her ethics into question, threatening to destroy her professional reputation. Suspicion and doubt begin to shade all of her relationships, from her professional connections to her own blissful marriage. Worst of all, the rumors surrounding her begin to shake her deepest sense of who she is.

Questions:

Were you able to connect with Maggie?
Did knowing about Maggie's childhood change the perspective you had of her?
What did you think of the way the author revealed who the behind the hate campaign?
Maggie discribes the hospital environment as a "man's world", do you agree? Not?
Do you think that effected the effort in finding the person responsible for the hate campaign?

I tried to contact the author to ask her some questions but my email was returned as spam and none of the links on her website work.

I'm anxious to hear what you all thought and will post my opinions in the comments section a little later.

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October 6, 2008

Book Giveaway: When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall is the third book in the Sisters of the Quilt series. When The Soul Mends follows a young girl, who has left Amish faith and community, as she now returns to the community where she grew up to help her sister.

I felt a little lost at the beginning of the book since I had not read the first two books in the series but once I understood some of the background of the characters I began to really enjoy this story and when the last chapter came I was sad it ended.

I don’t know how true to life the lifestyle of the Amish is in her book but it was an eyeopener and I was surprised to find myself wanting to know to more about the community.

I am going to be keeping an eye out for the first two books in this series and if I find them, I will definitely be reading them.

From Amazon:

After receiving a desperate and confusing call from her sister, Hannah Lapp reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community of her Pennsylvania childhood.

Having fled in disgrace more than two years earlier, she finally has settled into a satisfying role in the Englischer world. She also has found love and a new family with the wealthy Martin Palmer and the children she is helping him raise. But almost immediately after her arrival in Owl’s Perch, the disapproval of those who ostracized her, including her headstrong father, reopens old wounds.

As Hannah is thrown together with former fiancé Paul Waddell to work for her sister Sarah’s mental health, hidden truths surface about events during Hannah’s absence, and she faces an agonizing decision. Will she choose the Englischer world and the man who restored her hope, or will she heed the call to return to the Plain Life–and perhaps to her first love?

Giveaway! I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post before October 10, 2008 if you would like to be entered. For extra entries you can subscribe to our RSS feed and/or add our button to your site.

Congratulations to Stephanie who won the book Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson.

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September 20, 2008

Book Giveaway: Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson is about a 15 year old boy who happens to be an alien hunter. After witnessing his parents death at the age 3, Daniel sets out to kill the dangerous aliens on Earth.

This is a fun, quick moving book and reminded me a lot of the Men in Black movies. I love reading sci-fi, thrillers, and mysteries and this book fell in all of three categories. I loved the characters, even the evil aliens. Patterson does a great job with his description of the aliens and other planets. I could picture them all clearly in my minds.

From the book's website:

The greatest superpower of all isn’t to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells — the greatest power is the power to create. Daniel has that power. Daniel’s secret abilities — like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to recreate himself in any shape he chooses — have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn’t have a normal life. He is the protector of the earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond what anyone could imagine. From the day that his parents were brutally murdered in front of his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to hunt down their assassin. Finally, with the help of The List bequeathed to him in his parents’ dying breath, he has located the killer. Now, on his own, he vows to take on his father’s mission–and to have vengeance in the process.

The book is not as dark as it sounds but it is gruesome at points. I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, thrillers, and/or mysteries.

I have a copy of this book to giveaway to one reader. To enter please just leave a comment on this post by September 26, 2008. If you would like extra entries to this giveaway you can subscribe to our blog or add our button to your site.

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September 16, 2008

Isolation by Travis Thrasher

Isolation by Travis Thrasher is a supernatural thriller but I must give you a warning - it contains devil possession and sexual situations (BAD sexual situations).

The book follows a missionary family on furlow who leaves a city in North Carolina and moves into a remote house in the mountains. Stephanie, the wife, is seeing and hearing things and having horrible nightmare. Jim, her husband, even finds her sleepwalking with knives in her hands.

From the book:

When a missionary family moves into a secluded mansion in the mountains of North Carolina, they think they are escaping their nightmares. But when a snowstorm hits and they are trapped inside their new home, their worst fears become reality. As they fight to stay alive, they will be tested in ways they never imagined. Can their love for one another and their faith in God save them from the dangers lurking here?

When I read the book was about a missionary family I was really excited to get a chance to read it but it was not quite what I expected. I really enjoy thrillers but did not care too much for this book and I’m not sure why. Something just did not click with me and this book. The writing was good and I liked the characters, especially the son, who never loses his faith in God even though his parents have. If this sounds like a book you would like I am giving a copy away at my blog.

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July 8, 2008

Stolen Moments by B.J. Daniels

Stolen Moments by B.J. Daniels is about a senator's daughter, Levi, who gets kidnapped because she happens to look like another woman who is dead. Of course in true Harlequin romance, Levi and her kidnapper, Seth, end up falling in love.

This book is very fast pasted and lot happens in a short period of time with very little foul language.

From the back cover:

"Some men have sex appeal. Seth Gantry has it in spades. With ebony hair and bottomless eyes, Seth was the kind of man Olivia "Levi" McCord's father warned her about - and the last man on earth she'd ever fall for. Especially when the sinewy cowboy kidnapped her.

Seth claimed to be her bodyguard and that he needed to take her to a safe house. But when the Montana mountain cabin blew up, he became all that stood between Levi and an untimely death. Running for their lives and with no one to trust, Levi was at the mercy of the sexiest man she'd met. Suddenly she wasn't certain whether the real danger came from the killer on her trail...or the virile cowboy who'd vowed to keep her alive."

If you like romance novels that are heavy on the romance, then you would like this book.

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June 19, 2008

House of Dark Shadows & Watcher in the Woods

House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods are books one and two in the Dreamhouse King series by Robert Liparulo.

In first book of the series, House of Dark Shadows, the reader follows the King family as they moved to a small town and buy a house in the middle of the woods. Soon after moving in they family, especially the two sons Xander and David, began to notice weird things. The house seems to change size and sounds come from the wrong directions. Then one night a man suddenly appears in the house and scares the family. When the family decides to check the house out they discover a hallway that leads to different worlds. Next thing the King family knows the man is back and kidnaps the mother and takes off to the different worlds.

The second book, Watcher in the Woods, deals with the family trying to find the mother while not getting killed themselves. While trying to come up with a plan and figure out the house and different worlds, the family deals with problems in the town and find that someone has been watching the house and them from the woods. The second book ends in a cliffhanger and I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the third book in the series.

I really enjoy thrillers and mysteries and enjoyed this book immensely. What I like the best was that there was no foul language or sexual situations. There is some blood and violence, but not a lot and not very descriptive. This book is geared more to teens but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries.

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June 7, 2008

Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist

Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist is a feel good, heart warming tale of a woman, Essie, in her 30's who hasn't yet married, is running her father's oil business, and even rides a bike. Did I mention the book is set in 1898 when these things were frowned upon?

This book was just a nice simple read. No foul language, no sex, nothing R-rated. Just a simple love story. It was so easy to fall in love with the characters, Essie and Tony. I would recommend this book for a nice, quick, read. If anyone would like a copy, let me know and I will send my copy to you.

From Amazon:

Essie Spreckelmeyer is somewhat of a legend in her hometown of Corsicana, Texas. As the founder of the Corsicana Velocipede Club and running her father's oil business, Essie's outrageous costumes for bike riding, as well as her often eccentric behavior no longer surprised the townspeople. After a disastrous affair of the heart, Essie had long lost her dream of a husband and babies and embraced Christ and spinsterhood instead.

Tony Morgan was the second son of the Morgan Oil company baron. Upon his father's death, Tony was disinherited and ordered to leave his family home by his older step-brother who was left everything. Tony took his mother's maiden name of Bryant, shaved mustache and beard, and traveled to Corsicana to find a job at Spreckelmeyer's - Sullivan oil company. Starting at the bottom, he knew if given a chance he could work his way up the ladder and restore both his name and eventually his fortune. Only one thing stood in his way - Essie Spreckelmeyer who seemed to have taken an instant dislike to the handsome drifter. The lines were drawn, the sparks were flying, and the battle of wills was on!

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April 22, 2008

Book Review: The Simple Truth

The Simple Truth by David Baldacci actually surprised me. When I started this book I was very doubtful I would make it the end, especially with the book being about 500 pages long, but by the 5th chapter I was hooked.

This book is a legal thriller about a man, Rufus, imprisoned by the Army but has no memory of the alleged crime he committed. When Rufus receives a seemly innocent letter from the Army, all of his memories come back and he realizes he was framed! In Rufus's attempt to get his freedom back, he ends escaping from prison, getting help and more problems from Judges and clerks of the Supreme Court and has one attorney willing to help him.

I especially liked John Fiske's character who has his own demons to conquer while helping Rufus.

From Amazon:

Baldacci offers glimpses into the arcane politics of the high court, where Justice Elizabeth Knight wages war with the manipulative Chief Justice Harold Ramsay. And while Harms struggles to keep out of harm's way and the justices duke it out, Supreme Court law clerk Sara Evans toils with ex-cop John Fiske to discover the import of Harms's appeal (and, simultaneously, to uncover the murderer of Mike Fiske, John's law clerk-brother and the original holder of the appeal). Their interest in the document apparently draws the attention of the same deadly conspirators who manipulated Harms over two decades earlier. While the armed mayhem sometimes rises to the point of excess, Baldacci's novel continues to offer new surprises until the final pages.

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March 30, 2008

Book Review: 90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper is a true story about the time he was in a car accident, died, went to heaven, and then returned to life on earth. I am always suspect with stories about near death experiences but had heard great reviews about this book. I was actually really excited to get to read it after my grandmother told me how great it was. Unfortunately, in the end, I was disappointed.

Based on the title, I expected the entire book to be about Don Piper's account of his time in heaven. Rather, only one chapter was dedicated to his time in heaven and the rest of the book deals with Don Piper's recovery after the auto accident.

While it was an inspiring story, hearing how Don Piper overcame his injuries and depression, I felt a lot of the information was just repeated in each chapter, just a little differently.

Description of the book:

As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He hears beautiful music and feels true peace. Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference is led to pray for Don even though he knows the man is dead. Piper miraculously comes back to life and the bliss of heaven is replaced by a long and painful recovery. For years Piper kept his heavenly experience to himself. Finally, however, friends and family convinced him to share his remarkable story.

I know a lot of people really enjoyed this book and were inspired by it, but I wasn't one of them.

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March 4, 2008

Book Review: The Last Cowgirl

The Last Cowgirl by Jana Richman is about a woman named Dickie, who at age 52 is still trying to find where she belongs. After the death of her brother, Dickie must return to the ranch that her father moved the family to as kids. This novel is set in present time with flashbacks to Dickie's childhood.

Jana Richman does a great job in describing the way of life of a cowboy/rancher and the beauty of the land. She really dives into the culture of this small cow town of Clayton, Ohio leaving you to believe you have really been there.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. I found the characters to be believable and the situations to be ones many face regardless if living in the city or country.

Here is an excerpt:

I was seven my father decided to be a cowboy. My summer attire went from sunsuits to Keds to snap-button shirts and boots faster than my sister, Annie, could pick up jacks, and Annie held our neighborhood's title of Queen of Jacks....I pinpoint that event as the rock that dropped into the puddle of our family and splattered us Sinfields out of a collective life of ordinariness into five separate pieces scrambling for a soft place to land. But Annie says Dad's cowboy dreams had been sizzling an popping for years before that, sort of like a cheap aluminum coffeepot left on the stove long after the liquid had boiled away.

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February 9, 2008

Book Review: Deception Point

Deception Point is written by the same author of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown. I really enjoyed this book. The original storyline, the political intrigue (it's set in the time frame of a presidential election), and the characters.

Rachel Sexton is a intelligence analyst and the daughter of a senator running for President. The current President enlists her help in authenticating a new find by NASA, which will change the entire world.

Rachel travels to Arctic to investigate this new find. What she ends up finding though is nothing she could have ever imagined. It's a deception of the highest powers. Rachel goes on any extraordinary adventure including running from a team of assassins and falling in love. I don't want to give too much away.

One thing I liked about the story is that it is very fast paced. Everything happens in the span of 1 day, except for the very end, which happens on the next morning.

I would highly recommend this book if you like adventure and learning new things. In the author's notes, Dan Brown writes that the governmental agencies and technologies he writes about really do exist.

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February 1, 2008

Book Review: Act of God

Act of God by Susan Sloan deals with some hot topics: abortion, a woman in what is considered a man's job, politics, justice, and terrorism. This book is about a man, Corey, who is arrested for the bombing of an abortion clinic and the attorney who defends him. The story follows the bombing, investigation, arrest, and trial. A majority of the book is set in the courtroom.

This book is not what I thought it would be. I found it listed under Christian Fiction, and while it speaks a small about about religion, it is minimal and seems to only bring out the extremist groups that rely on religion for a reason of violence and not the love and grace of God.

Even though I did not like the author's style of writing I must admit she keep me wondering about Corey's guilt or innocence until the very end. You don't find out the truth until the last two paragraphs of the book.

Unless you really enjoy reading courtroom books, I wouldn't recommend it. It is a slow story and the book is nearly 600 pages long. I found a lot of the chapters to be very boring and unnecessary. Susan Sloan has one other book out titled Guilt by Association and I have to wonder if it the same way.

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January 29, 2008

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

I can not put into words how much I enjoyed this book. Audry Niffenegger did a great job in bringing her characters to life. I laughed with them, got mad with them, and cried with them. It was a roller coaster of emotions. At 536 pages, I found that I could not put the book the down and had it read in no time at all.

As book title suggests, the book the about a man named Henry who involuntarily travelers through time and his wife Clare. This is a story of their life. The ups and downs and everything in between. These characters are so real. They are not put on a pedestal and can do no wrong. They are regular people who are struggling to make a life together like so many of us.

People Magazine was quoted as saying "As Clare and Henry take turns telling the story, revealing the dept of their bond despite everything, a sci-fi premise becomes a powerfully original love story." That is something else I love about this book. It is original. I have never read anything like it before. I highly recommend The Time Traveler's Wife.

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January 24, 2008

Book Review: Mary Mary

Mary Mary is one of my favorite books by James Patterson.

This book is another thriller suspense novel about the life of FBI Agent Alex Cross. If you unfamiliar with James Patterson's characters, Morgan Freeman played this character in the 1997 hit movie, Kiss The Girls, which is based on James Patterson's book.

At 413 pages this book is full of suspense and surprises. The end totally caught me off guard! That in my opinion is what makes a suspense/thriller book great.

From the back cover (since it describes the book better than I could):

Somebody is murdering Hollywood's A-list. Her calling card: "You've got mail." On a family vacation, FBI agent Alex Cross is asked to investigate the shooting of a top actress...and an e-mail sent to the Los Angeles Times with shocking details abut the murder, signed Mary Smith. More killings and more e-mails follow, and Mary Smith is getting better every time. To hunt down this merciless killer of Tinseltown's elite, Cross must navigate a world where the stars sip San Pellegrino at the Ivy as hopefuls hover around studio gates with 8 X 10 glossies. And when the case catapults into blockbuster proportions, Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern - before Mary sends one more chilling update.

What I liked about this book was that there were a lot of chapters from the killer's POV and it never gives away who the killer is until the very end.

I would definitely recommend this book by James Patterson.

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