Waking the Dead

Heather Graham

In the case of Ghosts in the Mind by Henry Sebastian Hubert, that's more than just an expression. This painting is reputed to come to life—and to bring death. The artist was a friend of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, joining them in Switzerland during 1816, "the year without a summer." That was when they all explored themes of horror and depravity in their art….

Now, almost two hundred years later, the painting appears in New Orleans. Wherever it goes, death seems to follow.

Danielle Cafferty and Michael Quinn, occasional partners in solving crime, are quickly drawn into the case. They begin to make connections between that summer in Switzerland and this spring in Louisiana. Danni, the owner of an eccentric antiques shop, and Quinn, a private detective, have discovered that they have separate but complementary talents when it comes to investigating unusual situations.

Trying to blend their personal relationship with the professional lives they've stumbled into, they learn how much they need each other. Especially as they confront this work of art—and evil. The people in the portrait might be dead, but something seems to wake them and free them to commit bloody crimes. Cafferty and Quinn must discover what that is. And they have to destroy it—before it destroys them (from Netgalley)

My Thoughts

Strange murders are happening in New Orleans, and Danielle Cafferty and Michael Quinn hook up to try to solve them. Could the murders be related to a piece of artwork titled The Case of Ghosts in the Mind by Henry Sebastian Hubert? The painting was done in 1816 when the artist was spending time with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley.

I love Heather Graham’s story telling. She always comes up with unique ideas for the premise of her tales. The book has some quirky characters who work with Danielle and Michael to solve the unusual murders. There were some good spooky moments and it was a lot of fun to read.

My thanks to Harlequin, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Gemini

A Novel

Carol Cassella

Dr. Charlotte Reese works in the intensive care unit of Seattle’s Beacon Hospital, tending to patients with the most life-threatening illnesses and injuries. Her job is to battle death—to monitor erratic heartbeats, worry over low oxygen levels, defend against infection and demise.

One night a Jane Doe is transferred to her care from a rural hospital on the Olympic Peninsula. This unidentified patient remains unconscious, the victim of a hit and run. As Charlotte and her team struggle to stabilize her, the police search for the driver who fled the scene.

Days pass, Jane’s condition worsens, and her identity remains a mystery. As Charlotte finds herself making increasingly complicated medical decisions that will tie her forever to Jane’s fate, her usual professional distance evaporates. She’s plagued by questions: Who is Jane Doe? Why will no one claim her? Who should decide her fate if she doesn’t regain consciousness—and when?

Perhaps most troubling, Charlotte wonders if a life locked in a coma is a life worth living.

Enlisting the help of her boyfriend, Eric, a science journalist, Charlotte impulsively sets out to uncover Jane Doe’s past. But the closer they get to the truth, the more their relationship is put to the test. It is only when they open their hearts to their own feelings toward each other—and toward life itself—that Charlotte and Eric will unlock Jane Doe’s shocking secret, and prepare themselves for a miracle.

Filled with intricate medical detail and set in the breathtaking Pacific Northwest, Gemini is a riveting and heartbreaking novel of moral com­plexity and emotional depth. (from Netgalley)

My Thoughts

This is the story of Charlotte, Eric, Raney and Bo. We meet Dr. Charlotte Reese as she accepts responsibility of a Jane Doe who was the victim of a possible hit-and-run. The patient’s injuries are serious and life threatening. Charlotte has been in a relationship with Eric for several years. For some reason she can’t figure out, they seem stuck in one place and can’t seem to move their relationship forward.

When we first meet Raney and Bo, they are very young teenagers, both somewhat misfits, and they form a very close bond. The basis of Gemini is Charlotte trying to find out what happened to her Jane Doe. We follow then Raney’s life from early teen through early middle age. At first I kept wondering - how will these characters connect? But oh, how they do.

This book is ultimately a love story, but the trip we take to get to the end is filled with heartache and sadness. The author moves the story quietly along as Charlotte works to be a voice for her patient until hopefully she can be identified and family can be found.

It did not take long for me to get caught up in this mesmerizing story. The author’s writing is descriptive and magical. She really digs deep into the psyche of her characters and I couldn’t help but become attached to both Charlotte and Raney. Ms Cassella is a MD, and she writes the medical pieces of this story in clear, understandable laymen’s terms. Honestly, I thought this story was beautiful.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read yhis in exchange for an unbiased review.

Safe With Me

Amy Hatvany

The screech of tires brought Hannah Scott’s world as she knew it to a devastating end. A year after she signed the papers to donate her daughter’s organs, Hannah is still reeling with grief when she unexpectedly stumbles into the life of the Bell family, whose fifteen-year-old daughter, Maddie, survived only because Hannah’s daughter had died. Mesmerized by this fragile connection to her own daughter and afraid to reveal who she actually is, Hannah develops a surprising friendship with Maddie’s mother, Olivia.

The Bells, however, have problems of their own. Once on the verge of leaving her wealthy but abusive husband, Olivia now finds herself bound to him in the wake of the transplant that saved their daughter’s life. Meanwhile, Maddie, tired of the limits her poor health puts upon her and fearful of her father’s increasing rage, regularly escapes into the one place where she can be anyone she wants: the Internet. But when she is finally healthy enough to return to school, the real world proves to be just as complicated as the isolated bubble she had been so eager to escape.

A masterful narrative shaped by nuanced characters whose delicate bonds are on a collision course with the truth, Safe with Me is a riveting triumph. (from Netgalley)

My Thoughts

This story is told in three voices. Hannah, a single Mom who loses her daughter Emily due to a tragic accident and ultimately decides to donate her organs. She is trying to come to terms with her loss and move her life forward. Maddie, the recipient of Emily’s liver. She has been sick for so long that she struggles with trying to live her new life as someone with good health. And finally, Olivia, Maddie’s Mom who is trapped in an abusive marriage. She wants to find a way to leave her husband, but circumstances keep this from happening.

I thought each of these characters were portrayed very realistically. I liked the way the author slowly brought these three women together. The story line really builds the suspense. There were no easy answers for any of the three, and towards the end I was worried for all of them. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read.

Many thanks to Atria, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Red Rising

Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”

“I live for you,” I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. (from Netgalley)

My Thoughts

Darrow is from Mars, where he works underground. All his life he has been told his job is to prepare the surface of Mars to become habitable. When he learns he has been deceived and at the same suffers the loss of a loved one, he becomes entangled in a plan to overthrow the powerful and entitled.

WOW! Did I ever get caught up in this story. This is book one of a trilogy, and it is loaded with political maneuvering and betrayal. Darrow learns the hard way that not everyone plays by the rules and that it is often not what you know, but who you know. I liked watching Darrow grow into his role and learn leadership skills. At the end, we are left wondering if these skills will help in in the next step in his attempt to free his people back home. I can’t wait for the next book!

My thanks to Random House Publishing - Del Rey, via Netgalley, for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.