Weekend READcap: The Works of Gillian Flynn

Who of you out there have read Gone Girl? Who had to pick it up the minute they heard of it? Who read it during a book club (or two)? Who read it in two days? I'm not asking if you liked it, I won't touch on the ending today, I'm just asking - who jumped on the bandwagon?

And of those who said yes to any of the above - who has read Gillian Flynn's earlier novels Dark Places and Sharp Objects?

Now that Gone Girl has met such success, Dark Places - a book written 3 years earlier - is being adapted into a movie. I find that sort of thing interesting.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I was a fan long before Gone Girl's popularity. Sadly, I hadn't heard of Gillian Flynn before her third book. I've since read all of her novels in reverse. All three books I read with a compulsive need to know more. All three books I read in 2 days.

While Gone Girl gets progressively darker, these other two books start dark and stay dark.

Where Amy Dunne had a healthy upbringing with loving, normal parents, these two ladies came from twisted homes. In most other atmospheres, I'd detest these self-deprecating protagonists. Here, amidst the other lunatic, malevolent characters, I'm left sympathizing with the broken narrator. Though, I do miss the grounded, control character like Nick Dunne's twin sister, Go, in Gone Girl. Everyone is crazy, everyone is flawed, and I just want someone I can run to for a moral breather.

One thing I really appreciated was that neither of these plots was cookie-cutter. Gillian Flynn took her stories into a world that I knew nothing about, which means I had no expectations for where the story could go. This, for me, is the key to keeping the book glued to my hands - If I think I have the plot figured out, I'll probably be a bit more sluggish to pick up the book first thing in the morning. Dark Places and Sharp Objects keep me guessing, wanting more answers.

The crazy characters make sure the story is more than whodunnit. Even more so, they're all central to whodunnit even if they initially seem like detours along the way. And these characters don't just say they're good a keeping secrets - they are good at keeping secrets.

I'm a fan of misdirection, always have been, but sometimes it gets exhausting. It's refreshing to take a break and delve into a Gillian Flynn book where the narrator doesn't fall for misdirection. Her heroes are cynical and thus see the holes in all of the red herring theories.

In regards to Dark Places, as well as Gone Girl, I preferred the work as a whole better than the actual ending. In Sharp Objects, I thought the ending really spoke to the work as a whole and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


What did you think of these two novels?

2014 Reading List: Part Three

Alright folks, my 2014 A-Z reading list is here...minus Q and U! If you have any suggestions, send them my way. Of course, the year is still young, so there may be some changes along the way. 

I finished reading Edge last night (very enjoyable) and I'm flying through Sharp Objects today (check out my Gillian Flynn Weekend READcap tomorrow).

A - American Gods by. Neil Gaiman
B - The Book of Lost Things: A Novel by John Connolly
C - The Circle by. Dave Eggers, Cress by. Marissa Mayer
D - To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie, A Dance with Dragons by. George R. R. Martin
✔ E - Edge by. Jeffery Deaver (Finished 1/4/14)
F - A Feast for Crows by. George R. R. Martin
G - The Grimm Legacy by. Polly Schulman
H - The Husband's Secret by. Liane Moriarty, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by. Douglas Adams
I - If You Were Here by. Alafair Burke, The Intercept by. Dick Wolf
J - Joyland by. Stephen King
K - The Kill Room by. Jeffery Deaver
L - Let the Right One In by. John Ajvide Lindqvist
M - Me Before You by. Jojo Moyes
N - Never Let Me Go by. Kazuo Ishiguro
O - One Last Thing Before I Go by. Jonathan Tropper, The October List by. Jeffery Deaver
P - A Place Of Execution by. Val McDermid
Q - ???
R - Ready Player One by. Ernest Cline
S - Sharp Objects by. Gillian Flynn
T - Tell the Wolves I'm Home by. Carol Rifka Brunt
U - ???
V - Visitation Street by. Ivy Pochoda
W - When She Woke by. Hillary Jordan
X - Xenocide by. Orson Scott Card
Y - You Are One of Them by. Elliott Holt
Z - Zone One by. Colston Whitehead



What's on your list?

2014 Reading List: Part Two

Welcome to the construction of my 2014 reading list. In part one, I talked about the books I didn't get to in 2013. Now, take a look at this year's release that I'm most excited about. Tomorrow, I'll present my 2014 A-Z reading list.

And as always, recommendations are welcome!



The Execution by. Dick Wolf
January 7, 2014



A book by the creator of Law & Order has to be good. I have yet to read The Intercept, so I'll add that to the list, too.

NYPD Detective Jeremy Fisk—introduced in Law & Order creator Dick Wolf’s New York Times bestselling debut The Intercept—must stop an assassin in the pay of a shadowy cartel in The Execution, a tense thriller that superbly blends suspense, politics, intrigue and high-flying action in the tradition of Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, and Robert Crais. (Harpercollins.com)












Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by. Marissa Mayer 
February 2014


I actually have yet to read book #2 of the Lunar Chronicles (Scarlet), but I really enjoyed the opener (Cinder) and look forward to reading more.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. (G00dreads)










To Dwell in Darkness by. Deborah Crombie 
March 2014

Have you gotten hooked on Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James yet? If not, add this to your list. And let me also suggest No Mark Upon Her. Also, check out Deborah Crombie's (and several other fantastic ladies) blogging on Jungle Red Writers.

In the tradition of Elizabeth George, Louise Penny, and P. D. James, New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie delivers a powerful tale of intrigue, betrayal, and lies that will plunge married London detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James into the unspeakable darkness that lies at the heart of murder.  (Amazon.com)









The Skin Collector by. Jeffrey Deaver 
May 2014

A new Lincoln Rhyme mystery - score!

A new type of serial killer is stalking the streets of New York – one more devious and disturbing than ever before. They call this butcher The Skin Collector: a tattooist with a chamber of torture hidden deep underground. But instead of using ink to create each masterpiece, the artist uses a lethal poison which will render targets dead before they can even entertain the prospect of escape . . . (Jefferydeaver.com)

The Fever by. Megan Abbott
June 2014



If you haven't already, you have to - have to - read Dare Me. Megan Abbott is an incredible writer with some very entertaining tweets.

The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hocky star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community. As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security.  (Goodreads)

2014 Reading List: Part One

Last spring, during my book club addiction, I joined the Goodreads Choice Award Book Club. It has been a great supplement to the traditional book club because the discussions are ongoing.

As part of that reading group, I created an A-Z reading list. Basically, you pick a title for every letter of the alphabet and try to get through all 26 books by the end of the year. I got close! And by close, I mean slightly more that halfway through...

So now I'm creating next year's A-Z reading list. Part one will be the books from last year's list that I didn't get to. Part two will be the 2014 new releases I'm most excited about. Part three will be the completed 2014 reading list.

Of course, I hope to read more than 26 books in 2014, so if you have any recommendations, send them on over!

Edge by. Jeffrey Deaver

I just started this book on Sunday, so it will officially be the first book I finish in 2014.

Jeffrey Deaver's been one of my favorite authors since high school. This story is the first time he uses first person POV.

The job of keeping the Kessler family alive falls to a man named Corte, a senior federal protection officer known as a "shepherd." Uncompromising, relentlessly devoted to protecting those in his care and a passionate board game aficionado, he applies brilliant gaming strategy to his work. For Corte, the reappearance of Loving--the man who, six years earlier, had tortured and killed someone close to him--is also an opportunity to avenge his friend's death. The assignment soon escalates into a fast-paced duel between Corte and Loving, a dangerous volley of wits and calculated risks. (Goodreads)








A Place of Execution by. Val McDermid

I met Val McDermid at The Center for Fiction during their Crime Fiction Academy Master Class. At the time, I read The Distanct Echo, which I really enjoyed. A Place of Execution is her first novel. I went on a spree several years back where I read the first novel of all the authors I enjoyed. This will continue the marathon.




A Greek tragedy in modern England, A Place of Execution is a taut psychological thriller that explores, exposes and explodes the border between reality and illusion in a multi-layered narrative that turns expectations on their head and reminds us that what we know is what we do not know. (Goodreads)








If You Were Here by. Alafair Burke

Last year, I saw Alfair Burke's Long Gone in the library and the cover shouted READ ME. I am a big fan of whoever does Alafair's cover art. The book was delightful. As for If You Were Here, I read the first three chapters during Alfair's Facebook promotion and now I'm excited to read the rest (Fun fact: Alfair Burke does a lot of fun book promotions on her website).

What would have been a short-lived metro story sends McKenna on a dangerous search for the missing woman, a twisting journey through New York City that will force her to unearth long-buried truths much closer to home-to her own husband, who seems to know much more about Susan than McKenna could have ever imagined... (Goodreads)

WEEEKEND REadCAP: We Need To Talk About Kevin

Welcome to the first ever 

WEEKEND REadCAP, 

where I'll be discussing the book(s) I read over the weekend.

#SpoilerAlert: Please note that this is more of a discussion than a review.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Goodreads Synosis:

"Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails."



We need to talk about film adaptations, as well as the power of point of view.

First I must say, this story is definitely easier to process while reading, rather than being presented this whole tale within 2 hours. 


The other major difference between the book and film is going from first person to third person. In the movie, I would think the omniscient point of view would force us to divide our sympathies, but rather we're really coerced into being infuriated by Franklin. From a viewer's standpoint, Kevin is an evil child and Franklin is too love-blinded to see it. 


There are some of these instances in the book. For example,  when Eva and Kevin are having a rivalry over a water gun, Franklin says to his son, "The movers peed their pants, but Mommer pooped the party." It's almost as if Kevin and Franklin are Eva's brothers rather than her son and husband.


But rather than being overloaded with these scenes in the novel, we instead see a bit more reason to point the finger at Eva. In first person, Eva wants to be prejudiced against Franklin's parenting, but she can't let us inside her head without letting pieces of her escape. It is these pieces that have me considering that Kevin may have been a better child if he had been raised by a different mother.

I say may because something like this is really hard to determine. You can't separate Kevin and Eva's stories. They are and always will be intertwined. Yes, Kevin has psychological issues, but Eva isn't helping them. Her disdain for her child and it's influence on her parenting comes into play before Kevin is ever conceived.


In the letter on December 8th, Eva says some very cold things about the prospect of motherhood. One line stood out to me in particular, "I would let parenthood influence our behavior; you would have parenthood dictate our behavior."

On Pg 72, she says, "Indeed, an honest list of all that I did not want to nurture, from the garden-variety moron to the grotesquely overweight, might run damningly to a second page." 

And in the December 9, 2000 letter she says, "He must of previously recognized that I had a life, in order to go about ruining it with such a sense of purpose." This quote is immediately followed by a confrontation with Kevin in which she tells him that his behavior is what turned her sour to motherhood. Do you believe her? From what she said in the previous chapter, do you think that she would have had a different outlook with a different child?

Similarly, shortly after Kevin's birth, the doctor tells her that she's suffering from post-natal depression, but what's to say it isn't pre-natal depression. How do we know that there wasn't a sense of dread that pre-existed Kevin and influenced his development.

Also, the first person has me wondering if these letters are Eva's way of taking blame/responsibility for her mental state during Kevin's childhood or is she using this as an excuse. She's definitely a complex character! 

Alright folks, who's read Kevin? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

WEEKEND REadCAP: The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full

The WEEKEND REadCAP 

is rather late this week on account of jury duty and a cold 

(I did not sneeze in the courtroom, which I consider triple chocolate brownie points).

Both The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full involve bodies buried in the backyard. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly bury their parents in the backyard, while in Three Graves Full, Jason buries one body out back, only to discover that two other bodies rest in his flower beds.

The Death of Bees

on  Goodreads            

Three Graves Full

on Goodreads

First let me ask, why bury someone in the flower beds? Dogs are likely to dig those limbs right up, which they do in both books. Despite the easy-to-find location, the flower bed seems to be the go-to place for burying bodies in fiction.

Second, let's discuss accomplices. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly share the secret of their parents' whereabouts. In Three Graves Full, Jason is the only one who knows about his hidden body. Would it be better to live in anguish alone, never having anyone to confide in, or to share the secret with someone, never knowing if they're going to spill the beans?

Lastly, I want to introduce a writing exercise. Imagine you character is caught in the middle of moving a dead body from the backyard, what would he say or do? Would he tell the truth, provide some elaborate excuse, run, cry? Once you've written this out. Try it with another one of your characters. How would this second character's reaction differ?

WEEKEND REadCAP: Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper

Welcome to the first ever 

WEEKEND REadCAP, 

where I'll be discussing the book(s) I read over the weekend.

#SpoilerAlert: Please note that this is more of a discussion than a review.

This week, we're discussing Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper.


"In this fable, the first man on earth to count the hours becomes Father Time. The inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time." (Via Goodreads) 

Introducing: Murder & Macchiatos Book Club

I joined three book clubs. 

I was just going to join one, but turns out I'm addicted to reading. 

I talk about writing a fair amount, I talk about TV/movies a bit, but I rarely talk about reading. So, I decided to share with you fine folks a bit of what I've been reading.

If you haven't read these books yet, you've probably heard of them (all my book clubs seem to focus around popular fiction). Here's your chance to have your say - Did you read it? Wishing you'd discussed it with a group of people? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

So as not to promote spoilers, those who has read it can join a virtual book club discussion at the

  Murder & Macchiatos Book Club.

I look forward to hearing from you!

THE DINNER by. Herman Koch

I read this book in 24 hours (sleep included), but I can't say on thing about it without the risk of ruining your reader experience. The Wall Street Journal described The Dinner as "The European Gone Girl." That's not to say, though, that this book is it's own monster. I recommend diving into this one without any floaties, but if you'd like to know a bit about the book, here's the Goodreads description.

Read the book? Join the discussion here.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by. Erin Morgenstern

The most fascinating thing is that this book was created during NaNoWriMo, especially since it didn't even start out being about a circus. While the resolution of this story wasn't completely satisfying for me, I enjoyed reading every word of this book. Ms. Morgenstern is adept at creating vivid imagery and weaving an elaborate plot.

Read the book? Join the discussion here.

Didn't read the book? Read the description here.