Book review: A Kind of Hush by JoDee Neathery

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal but love leaves a memory no one can steal.” - A Kind of Hush

Wow was all I could say when I finished this unique book. 

Griff, the elder son of the Mackie family dies. Three years later, the mother dies in a freak accident that almost kills the father and the daughter. The only one left is Gabe - the seven-year-old baby brother. How do you cope with grief? Gabe shows the way. Summer, the mother is three months pregnant when she dies. Just when you think, this book is going to be about how a family copes with grief when a family member dies, the police investigate the accidental death of Summer, a social worker who helps sexual assault victims, especially children. This changes the genre to a mystery novel. While the suspect is at large, the reader is left to wonder - who did it and why? 

Zigzagging from Buffalo, New York where Summer dies to Big Bend, Texas, the author holds you mesmerized and there is never a dull moment. Most often in a mystery, the narrative is forced but this one just flows, filled with insight. While there are twists and turns throughout the story which makes the reader anxious at times for the children, it is balanced by humor. I couldn't stop grinning when I read "Einstein’s special theory of relativity is easier to grasp than a teenage girl."  The line on sexual assault was particularly insightful when one of the sexual assault victims says at Summer's funeral, "She told us our bodies were crime scenes …  just like those surrounded by yellow tape …  holding key pieces of evidence of a crime committed and she would find the truth. Mrs. Mackie said that truth would heal our internal wounds, the scars would be symbols of a fight won as we move the blame elsewhere. She gave us all a reason to believe our lives were just beginning ... not ending"

The story is about life in general and how small things can prejudice our views of people. It also shows how cops make mistakes and how they are humane too through her characters, Conner and Warren. When you buy the book, have markers handy as you will end up highlighting multiple lines in the book.

The writing style is interesting as the author mixes history of USA without interrupting the narrative.  It is crisp and a page turner. It is both utterly heartbreaking and uplifting, giving us hope.

A Kind of Hush is a book one has to definitely read in our lifetime. 

You can buy it here   Amazon

Where David Threw Stones - book review

 

Where David Threw Stones
by
Elyse Hoffman
Genre : Mixture of Historical fiction, Fantasy and Mystery.

"Sweet kids raised on poison grow into twisted bastards" - Where David Threw Stones


When I picked up the book to read, I thought the novel would be something about a boy named David and the German Goliath - Hitler and Nazis and how they were brought down in WW2. The author Elyse Hoffman proved me wrong as the story begins in 1968 when a kid named David Saidel blames himself for his parents' death even though they are killed by neo-nazis in Munich. The child is sent to Brennenbach to live with his maternal grandfather. David becomes the child who refuses to smile and then you are introduced to fantasy and history as the town reverts back to Hitler's Germany of 1943 at the stroke of midnight and  stays that way before changing over to 1968 during the day.

David is warned not to step out during midnight but he does anyway one day when he loses his grandfather's dog Mozart. What he faces during the hours is part of the mystery and what a mystery it is. So does David learn about himself and does the curse on Brennenbach ever end? Read the book to find out.

The writing style is crisp, the pace is fast and the book is a page turner. This is a fascinating mix of historical fiction, fantasy and mystery, meshed together and told in a riveting, heart wrenching and unique style which I never thought was possible. The author manages to zip through genres with the ease of a magician while keeping the reader glued to the pages.

As I read it, two things struck me about this book. It is very relevant for the world today where hate as an ideology is being spread against some "other" and there is a generation growing up only knowing hate and frankly it scares me as it is becoming the new normal. The second is for the forgotten genocides in other parts of the world like the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka in 2009 when over 300,000 people were killed in a week using cluster bombs and other banned weapons provided by 21 countries which either directly or indirectly participated with the Sri Lankan Army in the genocide irrespective of their ideologies - both sides of the Cold War bloc. Even today people in Lanka are yet to reconcile and the simmering hatred is still justified in the name of a falsified history and superiority provided by militant Buddhist monks and Sinhalese majority that is taught to children and the people stay silent because they fear speaking up or speaking out.

Everyone should read this book - doesn't matter if you are from the west or east, north, south, majority or minority in any part of the world. I hope this book changes the way you think about your own race, religion, language, identity and about "others" and helps you speak up and speak out. Never forget where and to whom you are born is just an accident of birth.

Buy the book on Amazon

Book review - A cozy, delightful read

A Writer's Deadly Epilogue
by Cynthia Raye
Genre : Cozy Mystery


Molly Simmons is a child prodigy who cannot find a job despite graduating from a top college. So she works for a tabloid magazine writing stories she absolutely hates. Then an author she knows gets murdered. He is the husband of her childhood friend who now works in a TV soap opera. While she quits her job as she is unable to write a scandalous story about the death of her friend's husband, her friend gets arrested. Now Simmons puts her investigative skills to work and ends up ruling the top three suspects. So who shot her friend's husband?

 It is not often authors write about writers and authors as their main characters in a novella.That too especially about the state of journalists and freelance writers are brought out in a very realistic way.In this the protagonist and victim are journalist and an author respectively.

Raye tells a story which is enjoyable page turner. The writing is crisp and the story flows easily making it a very enjoyable read. The characters are totally believable and the story is fast paced and you can probably read it one sitting. 

 

Since the author is giving it away, you might want to download her book from her website by clicking on the link below.

 Get your FREE copy here

 

One Arranged Murder - book review

 

One Arranged Murder
by Chetan Bhagat
Genre: Mystery/Crime


Saurabh and Prerna are engaged to be married. Both families are happy. Everything seems to be ending in a "happily ever after" but suddenly Prerna Malholtra falls from the terrace and dies. Saurabh and his childhood friend Keshav are cyber security experts and run a detective agency on the side. They are unable to accept Prerna was dizzy and her death was an accident. The more they dig into the Malhotra clan, the secrets they uncover makes them determined that Prerna's death was no accident but a murder. But who is the killer and what is the motive?

Read the book to find out. The writing is fast paced in the beginning and the author kind of slows down to a trot and then picks up pace in the end. Too many points of view. The one arranged murder seems too messy like an arranged marriage - too many characters, too many flashbacks, too many back stories.


If you have time to while away like I did waiting for Cyclone Nivar to pass, this would be a good read. Otherwise, it is not worth it.


You can buy it here