Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

S.J. Watson's debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep, may be one of the most talked about thrillers of the year. When Dennis Lehane is quoted as saying, "It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished the last page," you know it's going to be a memorable story. It's a riveting, page-turner. And, the narrator is in as much suspense as the reader is.

Each morning, Christine Lucas wakes up with no memory. She can't remember her past, or even yesterday. She doesn't recognize herself in the mirror. She doesn't recognize the man in bed beside her. And, that man has to tell her every day he's her husband, Ben; they've been married for over twenty years; and she had an accident, ended up in a coma, and lost her memory. At forty-seven, Christine is an amnesiac. At one point, she has a painful recognition. "I do not know myself, I thought. I recognize neither my body nor my past."

Along with what her husband tells her, Christine's only clues as to her life are in the journal she just starting keeping, writing her daily activities and memories in it every night before she goes to sleep. Her husband doesn't know she's seeing Dr. Edward Nash, but he encourages her to keep a journal, hide it, and each day he calls her to remind her to read her journal. Each day, Christine relives her few memories all over again. But what about the note at the top of page one? It says, "Don't Trust Ben."

This is a powerful book, the story of a woman's search for her own identity and past. What do we know of our own life if we have no memories? It's hard to put down this book, not knowing what memories Christine will face the next day, or, if she'll even remember anything. It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of an unreliable narrator.

I admit, I found the ending a little abrupt, wrapping up the book in a neat little package. It's one of the pet peeves some of us discussed earlier this week. Even so, this is a powerful debut. I suspect S.J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep may be on many award nomination lists for 2011 publications. Rights have already been sold in more than thirty countries. Movie rights went to Ridley Scott. And, this week, it's on the New York Times extended Bestseller List. And, despite the weak ending, it's going to be hard to top this book for suspense.

The website for the book is www.beforeigotosleep.com

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. HarperCollins. ©2011. ISBN 9780062060556 (hardcover), 368p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - I received my copy in order to participate in a book tour for TLC Book Tours

Love You More by Lisa Gardner

Maybe I don't read thrillers much because once I start one, I can't put it down. I read Lisa Gardner's Love You More in one day, staying up late to finish it. That's the definition of page-turner, since I'm pretty religious about getting to bed on time.

Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren of the Boston Police Department returns in Gardner's latest, a book that once again puts Warren and the reader into a situation that isn't what it seems. Warren is having a difficult morning, can't keep food down, and isn't quite ready to tell her boyfriend, Alex. They've been dating for six months, and have been careful not to define their relationship. D.D. isn't always comfortable in long-term relationships. And, the crime scene she's called to doesn't help matters.

Tessa Leoni, a rookie trooper with the Massachusetts State Police, called the police herself. Although her union rep and her lawyer are on the scene, the case is turned over to Boston and D.D. Tessa's husband, Brian, is dead in the kitchen, shot three times in the chest with Tessa's gun. And, Tessa's six-year-old daughter, Sophie, is missing. It appears that Tessa finally had enough of her abusive husband. But, how does the missing child play into this scenario?

D.D. has a hard time dealing with a cop who won't cooperate in the investigation. Tessa won't talk about abuse, and only seems concerned about her child. Warren's state of mind makes her wonder what kind of mother stays with an abusive man. What kind of cop ends up killing a husband, instead of leaving the situation?

Lisa Gardner always leads readers down interesting paths. She tells the story from two viewpoints. Tessa Leoni, as a suspect, tells her story from first person. But, the reader also follows D.D. Warren's investigation. It's a combination that doesn't always work for me. I prefer not to be in the mind of a killer, and many thrillers take readers there. But, once again, Lisa Gardner proves she's a master at manipulating characters, the plot, and the reader, to take us into unexpected territory. I did figure out the problem half-way through the book, but I went back to read the opening three times in the course of the book. Love You More is gripping, suspenseful, and it won't disappoint.

Lisa Gardner's website is www.lisagardner.com

Love You More by Lisa Gardner. Random House, ©2011. ISBN 9780553807257 (hardcover), 368p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Snare by Deborah J. Ledford

I don't read mysteries or thrillers for the frantic pace. I read for character and plot, which is why I don't read many thrillers.  But Deborah J. Ledfords' Snare offers a depth of character, and an eerie feeling of atmosphere that isn't always present in thrillers.  It's tense, but, at the same time she allows the story to develop at a natural pace, without forcing the suspense. The book deserves its nomination for this year's Hillerman Sky Award.

From page one, we're drawn into the tragedy of young Katina Salvo's life as she listens to her mother's last fight with her abusive father.  And, even at twenty-three, fifteen years later, she's fleeing from her past.  It's no wonder the successful Native American singer/songwriter has never appeared in public.  But, that's about to change, and her first concert will be in North Carolina, where Deputy Steven Hawk is charged with keeping her safe.  It's too bad neither Hawk nor Katina know all the reasons someone might want her dead.

Despite all precautions, Katrina and Hawk are caught in a trap the night of the concert. When Hawk is seriously injured, something prevents a greater tragedy, a presence they both sense. While Hawk has to recover physically, Katrina has to recover emotionally from the events of that night.  She turns to her past, her aunt's home on the Taos Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico for answers, and Hawk accompanies her, not knowing if he's looking for her father or a man from the reservation who comes and goes like a ghost.  But, both of them sense that answers will only be found there.

Ledford's novel is so much more impressive than so many thrillers, with its depth of character.  Hawk is fully developed as a black deputy, very much aware of some feelings against him in North Carolina.  At the same time, his strong family ties gives him a grounding, a safety net in life that Katina lacks.  It's Katina's story that slowly unfolds in the course of the story as the true tragedy of her life is told.  Ledford even tells the parallel story of Katrina's father, an ex-con who only learns of his daughter's success after he's out of prison.

The story has an atmosphere of impending doom that hangs over the entire book. Some of that comes from the use of nature and symbols.  Ledford shows a great respect for spiritual beliefs of Katina's people and Hawk's. Those beliefs are essential to the story, beliefs in spirits and their roles after death, beliefs in the messages sent by the birds and nature. The beauty of the two settings, North Carolina and the Taos Pueblo Reservation, are in stark contrast to the dark atmosphere hanging over Katina's life.

With its atmosphere and strong characters, Snare is a gripping story of a woman trapped by her past, and the past of her dead mother. It's also the story of a lawman who chose his profession to make a difference in his community. For once, he has to leave his life, to help a young woman survive, and find her own community.

Deborah J. Ledford's website is www.DeborahJLedford.com

Snare by Deborah J. Ledford. Second Wind Publishing,  ©2010. ISBN 9781935171577 (paperback), 325p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The author gave me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Torn Apart by Shane Gericke

Tess Gerritsen recently said that women like books about serial killers with women as victims.  So, why aren't Shane Gericke's books more popular than they are?  Women should be buying tons of his books, and Torn Apart should be at the top of the list.

The third book about Naperville Illinois detective Emily Thompson is nerve-wracking.  If you can turn the pages fast enough, you can try to keep up with a plot that involves narcotics drivers, kidnapped children, sexual slavery, a Mexican drug cartel, a missing police officer all converging on two points, the Wisconsin woods during deer hunting season, and Naperville.  And, I didn't mention that Emily, who has been the target of two serial killers, is receiving "gifts" and notes from a third.

I can't even say this book started slowly.  It's a violent book from page one.  If you don't want to read books that tell part of the story from the villains point of view, you'll stop immediately when you find a teenager screaming in the back of a van with four brutal men.  Gericke hits the reader with scene after scene of violence before giving the police a little down town, allowing Emily time with her best friend, Annie Bates, SWAT team captain, and her lover, Marty, before he leaves for a hunting trip.  But, even as Marty leaves, the reader knows those hunters will somehow run into the men in the van.  Drug money is leaving its trail up and down the interstate, tearing apart families, communities, and the police force.

Torn Apart will leave you gasping for breath.  It's action-packed and suspenseful, and doesn't give the reader or Emily Thompson a break until the very end.  And, if you can guess the serial killer's identity, you're quicker than I am.  Once again, Shane Gericke has written a stunning thriller, with enough action for any reader.

Shane Gericke's website is http://www.shanegericke.com/.

Torn Apart by Shane Gericke.  Kensington, ©2010.  ISBN 9780786020393 (paperback), 320p.

*****

FTC Full Disclosure - The author sent me a copy of the book, in hopes I would review it.

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner

Last week, Lisa Gardner's The Neighbor was named Best Hardcover Novel of 2009 by the International Thriller Writers. Her new Detective D.D. Warren novel, Live to Tell, was released today. I see no reason why this disturbing book shouldn't be named the best hardcover thriller of 2010.

Gardner skillfully ties together the story of three women. It's a hot August night in Boston when Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren is called away from a date to the scene of a terrible mass homicide. An entire family has been slaughtered, with the father, the suspect, rushed to the hospital as a gunshot victim. Self-inflicted, since it appears he killed his entire family? Or, is there something more involved here?

Danielle Burton is a nurse, devoted to her patients in a Boston Pediatric Clinic where she works with mentally and emotionally disturbed children in a locked ward. She knows the trauma in a child's life. She still bears the scars of a family tragedy twenty-five years earlier.

And, then there's Victoria Oliver. She's a devoted mother, determined to protect her troubled son, even if it means giving up the life she's known.

The stories of these three women converge on a path that can only lead to tragedy. And, it will take all of D.D. Warren's skills as the leader of an investigative team to find a killer before more families are destroyed.

Live to Tell is a gripping, disturbing book in which Gardner delves into the world of children who are psychotic. It's hard to avert your eyes from the tragedies portrayed in the pages of Gardner's latest book. Lisa Gardner builds the suspense to an almost unbearable level, before shocking the reader with an unexpected twist. She manipulates the characters and the reader just as beautifully in Live to Tell as she did with The Neighbor. Best thriller of 2010, anyone?

Lisa Gardner's website is www.lisagardner.com

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner. Bantam Books, ©2010. ISBN 9780553807240 (hardcover), 388p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Gardner's publicist sent me Live to Tell, knowing Gardner was appearing at the library.

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen

Tess Gerritsen just stepped into our territory out here in the western U.S. with her latest Rizzoli & Isles thriller, Ice Cold. It's set in Wyoming, and deals with a cult, a subject we're all too familiar with in the west. Ice Cold is even more chilling because of the familiarity of the subject. Then, Gerritsen takes it one stop closer, and makes it personal, as Dr. Maura Isles becomes a victim.

Maura wasn't happy with her personal life when she attended a medical conference in Wyoming. So, it didn't take her long to agree to follow up the conference with a short vacation with an old college classmate and his friends. That impulsive trip into the mountains ended in tragedy when a snowstorm and an accident left them stranded in a deserted town. Why would food be left on the tables, cars in the garages? Although the isolated town of Kingdom Come provided shelter, it didn't provide comfort to the travelers. And, when an accident severely injures one of the group, and Maura's friend doesn't return when he goes for help, it's up to Maura to seek assistance, braving Wyoming's winter.

Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli didn't take the first hint of Maura's disappearance seriously. But, follow-up conversations and a trip to Wyoming lead to the announcement that Maura's body was found, burned beyond recognition. A grieving Jane is shocked at a second announcement that takes her back to Wyoming, into an investigation into the secrets behind Kingdom Come.

That summary won't spoil Ice Cold, since I don't want to ruin the book. There's nothing more revealing than the book jacket of the book relates. This latest Rizzoli & Isles thriller does exactly what a bestselling thriller should, makes the reader turn pages rapidly, worried about one character, hoping for a positive resolution. But, is there ever a positive resolution when cults and murder are involved? Ice Cold is the kind of intense, riveting story readers have grown to expect from Tess Gerritsen.

Note: TNT's new series, Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles premiers tonight. Here's a clip about the show, http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision/?oid=56565&eref=sharethisUrl

And, Tess Gerritsen will be my guest blogger this Thursday, discussing libraries.

Tess Gerritsen's website is www.TessGerritsen.com

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen. Ballantine Books, ©2010. ISBN 9780345515483 (hardcover), 314p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Gerritsen's publicist send me the book in conjunction with her guest blog.