The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Title: The Stranger You Seek

Author: Amanda Kyle Williams

Publisher: Random House

Rating: Three-and-a-half stars

"The papers have called me a monster. You’ve either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished."


A letter was sent to police, taunting them, mocking them to capture the serial killer who has brutally murdered three people, at least, as far as they know. Keye Street, a recovering alcoholic addict ex-FBI profiler was asked by her long-time friend Rauser to help him solve the case, but then the murder acknowledged her and contacted her. It's one thing to get involved in a case but it's another thing to have it get into your life. Was is someone she knew? Will it draw her back to her addiction?


I'm a huge fan of serial killer stories, I've watched Criminal Minds, I've read Hannibal the Cannibal series, and planning on getting my hands on Mr.Ripley's series. When I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it, the blurb offered the things that I liked in serial killer stories. The story was written in first-person POV which sometimes can be annoyed but the annoyance is quite limited in here. Even though Keye Street is a selfish arrogant with a tendency to push herself to the limit, she's a reliable narrator and a good observant so I could imagine the situation quite well. The killings were described in details, although not to the point of gory so it's quite safe. Even though the story isn't as depth in profiling serial killer as I would like it to be, it was good and believable. There are a lot of things I knew already either from Criminal Minds or my simple googling session after watching the series, but there are things I didn't know as well and it was fun to read. Well, not exactly fun but you know what I mean.

I think fan of darker mystery, serial killer cases, Criminal Minds might enjoy this book.


Lynossa

The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Title: Cryer's Cross

Author: Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children Publishing

Rating: 3 stars

A small and quiet town, Cryer's Cross, was shocked when a teenage girl went missing. The townfolks searched everywhere and couldn't find a clue, until they finally gave up and returned to their normal life. But Kendall, a teenage girl with OCD, couldn't ignore it and pretend it didn't affect it. Especially after her boyfriend, Nico, went missing as well. What happened in Cryer's Cross? Was the missing teens has anything to do with the newcomers? Or was it about old secret that was hidden for years?

I actually had high hopes on this book. I've read many reviews and it sounded very good. Perhaps that's the problem with too much exposure; you expect too much. It doesn't mean I think this book is bad; it was okay however I expect more from it. It suppose to scare me but I didn't feel that way at all.

One thing that keeps me reading is the main character, Kendall. It so fascinating for me to read the point of view of an OCD; it makes me knows more about OCD and how it affects people who have it. For those who like psychology element in a book, I think you might like this.

Lynossa

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Drowning in the Dark by Alisson Karras

Title: Drowning in the Dark

Author: Allison Karras

Publisher: You Come Too Publishing

Rating: 3 stars

Samantha Carver lives with her uncle's family after the death of her father. Although it felt hard for her to adjust, her cousin Terry, always made her feel comfortable. That's why when a girl in her school was killed and Terry was accused to be her murderer, Sam felt her little comfort was torn away, especially because she knew who the murder, or what. Zombie and ghost are new thing for the small seaside town in Oregon but not for Sam, and now she must do something to stop the invasion.

I would give higher rating if only the story was longer and more complex. However it was too short and left me feeling unsettle. Overall the plot was good and the mystery in it was quite interesting. The characters were okay; no one really special except Shane. I think he's the most interesting character in here; when he entered the story, I felt excited. Sam was okay but not special, I've read plenty character similar to her. She develop a little, especially in the way she welcomed her family into her heart, but other than that, nothing much. The action scenes were pretty good albeit a bit rushed especially after Sam gave herself to save Terry.

In short, this is a good story and has many opportunity to develop into better in the future. If you like horror but not a die-hard fan of it and looking for a short reading, this one is for you.

Lynossa

Drowning in the Dark by Alisson Karras

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Title: Shine

Author: Lauren Myracle

Publisher: Amulet Books

Rating: 4 stars

When sixteen-year-old Cat finds out that Patrick, her best friend, falls victim into a vicious hate crime, she decides to find out the culprit. Believes that the culprit is one of her townsfolk, Cat starts an investigation from Patrick's closest circle, including her own big brother. After years hiding inside her own shelf after one faithful incident when she was thirteenth-year-old, Cat braces herself not just to accept the possibility someone near him is capable of doing something so horrible, but also to overcome the shadow of her past that has been affecting the way she sees people and the world. 

Some of you probably know that I'm a fan of mystery. When I found this book on NetGalley, I thought: 'Hey, it seems interesting.' and it turns out it's more than interesting. Set in small southern town where most people are redneck and no one dares to say the world 'gay', Lauren Myracle weaves a mind-blowing story about friendship, minority and how to stand up for what you believe. 

The mystery element in this book isn't as much as I hoped for, toward the end I could guess who's the culprit while Cat still struggling to find out. But I still enjoyed this book, I like books with powerful message and this one is. In America where people claim to be the land of freedom and equality, you will still find towns like Black Creek. A town where you hardly can find black people; where the word gay is forbidden to speak off; when bad things happened to you, it might be because you 'asked' for it. 

The characters are interesting however not so special. Perhaps the most interesting is actually the victim himself; especially because all we know about him is from the eyes of his closest people. We know his past from Cat and along the way, together with Cat, we find out about his life after Cat cut all her friendship but never from himself.

I think this is one book that will not only entertain you but will also open your eyes about many things. If you haven't read it, go read it now!

Lynossa

Shine by Lauren Myracle

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Title: The Long Weekend

Author: Savita Kalhan

Publisher: Andersen Press

Rating: 4 stars 

Sam focused.
Gradually, he made out the words. Words he didn't particularly want to hear. Maybe that's why his ears weren't working properly. They knew he didn't want to hear what Lloyd was saying. But he heard the words, and once he'd heard them he couldn't get them out of his head.
'Isn't this your car we're riding in?'

Sam and his friend, Lloyd did one simple but fatal mistake when they got into a sparkling white Mercedes after school, each one thought the car belonged to the other's father. The car took them to a huge mansion filled with up-to-date gadget and games where they tried to fool themselves that it was a surprise party. Surprise indeed. Trapped in the middle of nowhere, chased by lunatic and armed with nothing but his own wit, Sam determined to get him and Lloyd out of there in one piece.

Written in simple prose, The Long Weekend plunged me into the scariest nightmare anyone could have. Only one stupid mistake led to series of terrifying experiences. I'm not really a fan of horror, but I like psychological books and I don't mind that kind of horror (I love Silence of the Lambs!). This one falls into that group, imo.There wasn't anything too graphic so it's quite suitable for teenagers. However the tension and the horror of being chased and the possibilities of what would happened if they were caught was almost unbearable. My eyes were glued to the pages and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Luckily this book was quite short, even more I read it on weekend so it only took awhile for me to savor it; but even so I still think about it for awhile after I read it. The message in this story is powerful and I love it.

Those who love good thriller and looking for a short reading - but still powerful - you should read this book. It was great!

Lynossa

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

Title: The Restorer (The Graveyard Queen 1)

Author: Amanda Stevens

Publisher: HarlequinTeen (MIRA Books)

Rating: 4 stars

Amelia Gray is a graveyard restorer, she also could see ghost though she pretends she couldn't. For years she followed her father's rules to keep her away from all those spirits until she was involved in a murder case that happened in Oak Grave, a cemetery she was restoring, and a haunted detective with a dark past.

At first I thought this was YA and quite heavy on the romance, until several people on twitter convinced me it wasn't, so I give it a shot. It's not that I don't like YA, it just that some YA promote supernatural while the truth it was romance with small portion of supernatural. But that's not the case with The Restorer. Since the first time we've been introduced to Amelia, we knew that she see ghost in daily basic. However she pretends she couldn't because if the death knew, they will cling onto her and made her life miserable. That's why she continue to follow the rules from her father, who also could see ghost, and probably even more than ghost.

It was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up the pace toward the middle. The mystery element in this book is great! I read it in the middle of the night and I felt chill in my bones, it was awesome. Not only the ghost element, which is quite scary, but also the murders and the secrecy element that attached to the whole thing. Relationship between Amelia and John Devlin, the police detective was quite obvious and it quite dominating Amelia's mind, but it didn't overshadow the murder mystery, as a matter of fact, it made it more interesting because somehow Devlin's ghosts and his past related to the mystery

Overall this is a great reading for you who like supernatural, mystery, and a bit of chill on your bones.

Lynossa

The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

Crime Fiction Alphabet: M is for Marple, Jane

"The young people think the old people are fools -- but the old people know the young people are fools."

This week letter on Crime Fiction Alphabet is M, check out the rest entries in Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise. She's the host of this event.

My entry for M is Miss Marple. Those of you who are fans of Agatha Christie must've known her. She's the spinster old lady who lived in St. Mary Mead, a village in outskirt London. She's consider as the 2nd most famous character made by Agatha Christie (of course we all know who's the first :D).

Miss Marple was described as small fragile-looking old lady who frequently seen knitting and considered as nosy.  At first people usually looked down on her, only regard her as 'nice old lady' but actually she's very perceptive about human nature. With her skill/talent in understanding human, she managed to solve criminal mysteries, and often triumph police.

There are mixed opinion about her, some people consider her not as detective, therefore didn't like the books that feature her; while some other enjoy reading how she solved mysteries around her. I agree her way of solving crime isn't the exact detective way; she use her knowledge about human not based on clues and evidences. For me, it depend on the case; she's not my favorite Christie's character but I enjoyed some of the books with her in it. My favorite Marple's is Murder at the Vicarage. I'm not sure why though, probably because of other characters in that book. Beside that, I also enjoyed Caribbean Mystery and Nemesis. What about you?

Lynossa

Crime Fiction Alphabet: M is for Marple, Jane

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: K is for Koontz

It's been awhile since the last time I participate in CFA, I feel ashamed of myself but there were - and are - so many things happened in my life and have taken quite amount of my time. For this week's entry, I present: Dean Koontz.
Dean Koontz was born on July 9, 1945. His first novel is Star Quest, which was published in 1968.Then in the 1970s, he begun to grow a publishing of suspense and horror fiction; some using his name, some using pseudonyms. His breakthrough novel was Whispers and this success was followed by his other books.

Because I haven't read his other books, I would prefer to discuss his writing on Odd Thomas. Below is the summary of Odd Thomas, the first on the series:

A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15.
Today is August 14.
In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

I borrowed this book from a friend, or should I say she suggested this book to me when she learned I like mystery/suspense/thriller. When I started to read it, I didn't expect myself to be captivated by the life of Odd Thomas. Unless several characters in Agatha Christie or Lisbeth in Larsson's trilogy, I rarely care that much into a mystery novels' character as much as I care about Odd. The way he reluctant but still doing it makes me like him so much. He's not the hero type nor anti-hero; in some way he's an average guy. I think Koontz manage to portrayed the regular small city guy perfectly who actually extraordinary without making him too standout among the crowd. He fits perfectly in his little town with all his quirkiness. Perhaps the ghost element will turn off some of the mystery lovers but not me. I'm okay with that (perhaps because I'm also a huge fan of fantasy) as long as it presented in somewhat logical way and keep me trying to what guess will happen next and who's the bad guy and how it will ended.

Lynossa

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: K is for Koontz

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: C is Conan Doyle

It's almost impossible not to discuss Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when we're talking about detective novels. His character, Sherlock Holmes continue to mesmerize fan of mystery novel up until today. I'm not a huge fan of Sherlock though I really admire Conan Doyle for creating an unique character and interesting stories.

Arthur Conan Doyle born on May 22, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1876, he studied medicine in University of Edinburgh,thus explain his extensive knowledge on medical term. While studying, Conan Doyle also began writing short stories; his first published story appeared in Chambers's Edinburgh Journal before he was 20.

He started to write Sherlock Holmes on his free time while opened a practice. His first work, A Study in Scarlet, featured the eccentric detective, Sherlock Holmes, released in 1887.
 Sherlock Holmes manage to capture the heart of mystery fans across England and the world, and thus made him famous. At some point, just like Agatha Christie felt annoyed with Hercule Poirot, Conan Doyle also felt the same about Sherlock, in his letter to his mother in 1891, he wrote: "I think of slaying Holmes ... and winding him up for good and all. He takes my mind from better things." and he did killed Sherlock in The Final Problem. But the crowd demanded him to bring Sherlock back and he was returning in The Hound of Baskervilles.

Not only continue to work in medic, Conan Doyle also an advocate of justice and investigated two closed cases by helping the falsely accused. The story of Conan Doyle and his 'client' was fictionalized in Julian Barnes novel, Arthur & George.

Many important people in his life passed away before him; his wife Louisa, his son Kingsley, his two brothers-in-law, and two nephews. These lead to depression and his interest toward spiritualism. His fascinated toward spiritualism lead to a disagreement with his friend, famous magician, Harry Houdini. Conan Doyle somehow believed that Houdini had surpassed the spiritual world while Houdini strictly said it's all merely a trick.

Conan Doyle dies at the age of 71, due to heart attack with his last words directed to his wife: "You are wonderful." Even though there were several controversies throughout his life, his fans continued to cherish his creation, especially Sherlock Holmes, even till today.

Lynossa

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: C is Conan Doyle

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: B for Bourne

B is for Jason Bourne. This is not a detective series, but falls into espionage series, even though Jason Bourne is actually not a spy but a special undercover agent, sort of. This series consist of many books but I will only preview the books that were written by the original author, Robert Ludlum.

The Bourne Identity


The Bourne Identity is the first book of this series. I don't normally like movie-cover book, but I love Matt Damon so I quite enjoy this cover. In this book, a nameless guy without memory was found drifting in open sea and saved by a fishermen boat. The brought him to a doctor where he finally manage to recover his health, but not his identity. Thus begun the search for his past.
The clue lead to Switzerland where he found out his name, Jason Bourne. But he also discover other things about himself, his capability in surviving and his uncanny skills in self-defense. This made him feeling unsure about who he was. With the help of a woman he kidnapped, he tried to unrevealed the mystery even though FBI and Carlos the Jackal were searching for him, wanting to see him dead.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011: B for Bourne

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow (ARC)

Title: The Diviner's Tale (ARC)

Author: Bradford Morrow

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publish Date: Jan 20, 2011

Rating: 2 

Her wavy hair was brushed neatly, elegantly, over he shoulders, as if she were going to a party. She was hanged with a rope about her neck, not swaying in any breeze, but as dead still as a plumb stone. Her face bore an unaccountably serene, unforgiving half-smile.

Walking a lonely forested valley on a spring morning in upstate New York, having been hired by a developer to dowse the land, Cassandra Brooks comes upon the shocking vision of a young girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities to the site, the body has vanished, leaving in question Cassandra’s credibility if not her sanity. The next day, on a return visit with the sheriff to have another look, a dazed, mute missing girl emerges from the woods, alive and the very picture of Cassandra’s hanged girl.

I wish I could give this a higher rate; the premise is good, the idea is interesting and there's a lot of things that can be explored. Basically it should've been better but it's not. The author spent too much pages describing about anything else rather than the main story. I practically knows everything about Cassandra's life, even those that unrelated to the story at all (such as flower!). While on the other hand, the 'hanged' girl only explained briefly in few pages and Cassandra showed no interest toward her at all. It makes her seems like a self-centered person.

The characters aren't interesting enough. Cassandra is gloomy and boring, the boys are angelic in impossible way for boys in their ages, the story pretty much focus on what's on Cassandra mind and her mind is bleak. The summary made me think that it will be an intense mystery but somehow the mystery was overshadowed with Cassandra constant contemplation about her past life. Even though she's an adult and has two sons, I keep thinking I read a mind of an insecure teenage girl who just too absorbed with her own problems.

This is supposed to be mystery book, with intense scenes and haunting events that lurked in my mind even after I'm done reading it. But it's not, the ending is predictable and I fall asleep in the middle of reading it.

Lynossa

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow (ARC)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 (1): And Then There Were None

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 starts now! This week's letter is: A

To celebrate the letter A and also to show my love to the Queen of Mystery herself, I dedicate the letter A to Agatha Christie's masterpiece: And Then There Were None.

This novel was first published in England on November 6, 1939 under the name Ten Little Nigger but changed to the current title due to derogatory meaning of Nigger, especially toward black community. 

The original version of Ten Little Niggers rhyme:
Ten little nigger boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine.
Nine little nigger boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were Eight.
Eight little nigger boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.
Seven little nigger boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.
Six little nigger boys playing with a hive; A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.
Five little nigger boys going in for law; One got into chancery and then there were Four.
Four little nigger boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.
Three little nigger boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.
Two little nigger boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One.
One little nigger boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were None…


Later on the N-word was changed into Indian. They - whoever they were - considered the N-word in here as offensive but not for the word 'Indian' although if this rhyme was considered as racist and mockery toward black community by portraying death of black children, thus the N-word was forbade, then the word 'Indian' should be viewed the same. With all due respect toward black people, apparently people in those days thought that it was forbidden to mock black people but it was okay to mock Indian, crocked logic. Perhaps this is due to my ignorance as I didn't live in US where I could witness the effect of using the N-word, but this is solemnly based on my view that everything should be treated similar. If the word nigger in this rhyme considered as offensive toward black people, then changing it to Indian means it's offensive toward Indian people.

In essential, I'm against any form of censorship toward book. Let the readers read the original version! Let them think and value it by themselves, let them understand the circumstances during the time those books were created so they could cherish and understand the progress we've achieved today. Instead of banning books or censoring it, discuss it! So we could see the book from different point of view and gain better understanding.

Lynossa

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 (1): And Then There Were None

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Title: The Lying Game

Author: Sara Shepard

Publisher: HarperTeen from HarperCollins

Rating: 4 Stars.

Sutton Mercer had everything every girl in her age wanted; good look, fame, money, and a handsome boyfriend. But one day she woke up and discovered that she was dead. She could barely remember a thing about her living life and how she died. And to her surprise, she discovered that she had a long-lost twin, Emma. Living a complete different life from Sutton, Emma moved from one foster home to another until she also found out about Sutton.
Disguised herself as Sutton, Emma tried to reveal the mystery of her sister's death. It wasn't an easy task to act as Sutton in front of her family and friends; but she has to do it for Sutton and herself. Because the killer is shadowing her every moves...

Great novel! I'm a fan of thriller and I really like this book. It's intense, mesmerizing, and well-written; a must-read for YA and thriller lovers. Sara Shepard - famously known as the author of Pretty Little Liars - manage to present thriller in high school situation in a neat way. Without too much blood, too much scream, and too much hide-and-seek chase in the dark, but still presenting the intensity of a thriller. The characters are interesting. As I continue my reading, I get to know more about Sutton's friends and sister, and also Sutton herself. But there are so many things still left in the dark which I couldn't helped but playing detective.
As most YA books, this story was presented in first person POV, from Sutton's eyes as she shadowing her twin sister. But we also able to see get insight thought of Emma, something that could gone wrong if it was done poorly, but fortunately it works in this story. The pace was a bit slow at the beginning but gradually picked up the speed from the moment Emma met Sutton's family. Together with Emma and Sutton, I gathered the clues and shards of Sutton's memories. I constantly guessed and wondered who was the culprit? Who killed Sutton and for what reason? I guess I have to wait for the answer till the second book Never Have I Ever comes out on August.
For a YA lovers who gets tired with love triangle, you'll embrace this book wholeheartedly, for thriller lovers who would like to read something less bloody than your usual reading list, you'll enjoy this.

Lynossa

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Title: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Author: Stieg Larsson

Publisher: Maclehose Press by Quercus (UK).

Rate: 4 stars.

This is the last part of the phenomenal Millenium Trilogy. For those who don’t want to be spoiled, I suggest you to read the first and second books first. I have the reviews in here and here.

Salander opened her eyes when she heard a scraping sound. It was as though someone was dragging something along the corridor. For a moment there was only silence, and she wondered if she were imagining things. Then she heard the same sound again, moving away. Her uneasiness grew.

Zalachenko was out there somewhere.

The Book begun right from the end of the second book where Lisbeth was lying on hospital bed with bullet in her brain following her first encounter with her evil father after so many years. Facing a possibility of being charged for murder attempt and locked in mental facility for the rest of her life, she must do something to prove her innocence; but with his father located in the same floor, can she even come out from the hospital alive?

Meanwhile Blomkvist out there doesn't stay idle. He persuaded his sister to be Lisbeth lawyer and actively approaches everyone who believes Lisbeth is innocent and deserves to be treated like normal citizen and to tackle The Section, the evil government agency that locked Lisbeth in mental facility when she was 12 year-old. Unlike most of US crime and conspiracy stories where government and security institution considered as demi-god and uses super-awesome jaw-dropping technology, Millenium series surprisingly very realistic and trust-able.

I consider this book as the best among three. We see huge development in Lisbeth character, how she finally able to accept people and trust them to help her. other characters also been given bigger roles than the first two books. One of the things I dislike it Figuerola presence in this book. [rant]Personally I think she has no use except to be the newest Blomkvist love interest; her role (outside completely head over heels with Blomkvist) can be easily filled by male. Perhaps Larsson didn't think Lisbeth-Blomkvist will work out anyway and there's no way Berger would left her husband for Blomkvist so he create another one. But surely it doesn't have to be a super hot and sexy secret agent. I mean you can't get more cliché than that [end of rant].There are other things that for me doesn't have to be exist in this book because those have no significant meaning to the main story, but perhaps Larsson had other ideas in his mind. I guess we'll never know :sob:

Lynossa

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Commitment: Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011

Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise is once again hosting the very popular Alphabet in Crime Fiction for 2011 and I as a (self-proclaimed) mystery novels fan will participate in the event. If you want to participate as well, here's the rules:

Each week, beginning Monday 10 January 2011, you write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.

You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week (a letter image will be supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish), and then link your post back to the page. You will have until the end of the week to complete your mission.

Check out Kerrie's blog, Mysteries in Paradise for more information.

 

Lynossa

Commitment: Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Title: The Girl who Played with Fire

Author: Stieg Larsson

Publisher: Vintage Crime, Division of Random House (US)

My rate: 3 stars.

This is the second part of Millenium Trilogy from Stieg Larsson. If you want to know my review on the first part, click here. If you haven't read the first part, I suggest to stay away from this review because it'll be spoiler. You have been warned >.>

So, we meet again with our heroine, Lisbeth Salander. After 'stealing' Wennerstrom's money and heartbroken, she decide to leave Sweden and travel around the world. She had her own adventure when she was in Granada; meanwhile Blomkvist - who keep trying to contact Salander - got involved with an investigation of sex-trafficking along with his colleagues in Millennium. When Salander return, she discovered that the investigation linked to her past. In the middle of investigation, brutal murders occurs and Salander was accused as the culprit. Blomkvist was trying to prove her innocence and captures the real culprit and got tangled in the whole mess.

Well, I gave this 3 stars, half star lower than the first book. The reason is simple, Lisbeth - although still awesome - not as different as she was in first book. She's gone soft and a bit girly - concern about her appearance. And the 1/3 first part of the book was basically useless, imo. Especially the part when Salander out of Sweden because it didn't linked with the main focus of the story. Either Larsson using it as a foundation for the 3rd book or he running out of idea what Salander should do why Blomkvist busy with Millennium and looking for her.

Personally I like the first book more than this one, the strong point on this book was that we get an information about Salander's dark past and why as an adult she still needs guardian.

Lynossa

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Adoration Of Jenna Fox

Title: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Author: Mary E. Peason
Pages: 266 pages
Publisher: Square Fish

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Review:

"I used to be Someone. Someone named Jenna Fox."

Jenna is considered to be the miracle baby, Angel of the family. Being the only daughter.
She is smart and pretty. Everyone would wish to be in her shoes. But deep inside her. She doesn't like her role in the family. She if forced to act like their perfect little daughter. Have to have high grades in class.


Until her accident. She woke up after a year of coma from an horrific accident that accured to her. Jenna wonders what happened.
Having no memories of past, herself, parent, friends, Everything. Though she remembers a bit of her unknown past.
She find it hard to believe her self proclaimed parents. And what they are saying. But it give her the feeling that there is more to their story that they are not telling her. And thats what she wants to know. No one ever told her about the day of accident. And being isolated by her parents made her even more eager to know what really happened that day. Through out the story Jenna is having trouble who to trusts. But as she doesn't have any memories. She doesn't have a choice but to believe and follow them.
Questions slowly forming, about her friends, life, past, about herself. And her body.

What really happened in the accident? what kind of accident? Who Am I really? Why cant i walk straight? Where is the scar in my chin? Why is my mom so scared? Why Am I isolated? I dont know.

Jenna eagerly wants to know her past.

The setting is set in the not so distant future.
Infact when you read this. You will come to different question about our modern technology today.
For example. Some scientist/doctor would do everything to prolong our life. But what? We have to pay for it millions if not billions. So what's use? We live to do pay for that? Having so many artificial made. What will happen to our natural things? Is it right to go agains't what nature wants? If you are given a chance to prolong life using technology will you?

The story focuses on her parents love for Jenna. Even though her condition was hopeless like 30/70 chances. Her parents are forced to make a decision in order to have their almost dead daughter back to them. Wanting to be their perfect daughter for them (even though she doesn't want to). So she is forced to live for their sake.

She only got 10 percent of her brain. At least thats the only part of her brain her father could get. And the rest is gone. She became shorter, flawless skin, in short prettier than before but shorter.

I was actually impressed in the fact here. That her father uploaded something is her brain. Like he just programmed her. She already know lessons to grade 1 to 12. Even though she's in her 10th grade. And i was like..."you can do that to a brain?" though it was explain. But im not going to spoil it for you guys.


The ending isn't something I was expecting. I wasn't satisfied. No. I mean..That's not the Ending I am looking for.

Kay-c

The Adoration Of Jenna Fox

The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Pages: 336 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 4.5/5

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Summary:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

Review:

This book did not fail to disappoint me. I have to admit, At first I wasn't really attractive to it. Until I have decided to buy it because I've been hearing good things about this book and might as well try it, so Ta-da!

Violet is a teenage girl blessed with her unique ability to sensed dead bodies. It started with just animal bodies until when she was 8 yrs old, Together with her dad. She found a body of girl in the woods just behind their house. Years passed and now a Junior high She again found a body in the lake and so it happens again. Bodies buried in random places where no one would think it is. This happens continuously and parents are getting worried and so does Violets. Worried and scared at the same time. Violet decided to track down the murder/kidnapper herself using her ability.

While I was reading the book. I don't know whether I should hold my breath or scream. As I've been reading fantasy books lately and searching for a book like this. And happy to have found one.

Violet is strong and smart girl. Having her problem with Jay. And together with Jay. She will find the killer.

Jay....OMG... I can picture that he's so hot. I can't help but dream that I hope i have the same "best friend and Childhood friend" Like him.

I dont know what to be excited about. Is it Violet tracking down the murderer or Jay.

I cant say enough. But this book is good!

Kay-c~

The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting