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Thursday, September 30, 2021

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni, and The Sea Of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman - R.I.P. Reading

I'm back with more R.I.P. Reading thoughts.  I've been delighted to fall down the 'rabbit hole' of read/listens for September.  And I've completed 11 books.  My 'reading mojo' seems to be back and it's been quite a treat.  All the books I'll talk about today are by authors that I've very much enjoyed in the past.  That being said, I'm not sure a couple of these are their 'most loved' works - for me anyway.  Let me tell you about them.

Apples Never Fall is the latest by Liane Moriarty, a very popular author.  I'm always excited to see a new book by this Australian writer.  However, I don't think this one will be my favorite.  I remember years ago reading The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies, loving both of them.  Later books have been not as favored by me.  Apples Never Fall - I'm afraid it falls in the 'I liked it OK but didn't love it' category.  This story is about a family, the Delaney's, who all play tennis.  There are the parents, Stan and Joy, and four grown children, Amy, Logan, Troy and Brooke.  The parents were tennis coaches and ran a noted tennis academy.  Everyone in the family plays well, just not well enough to be world famous.  The kids grew up and all moved away from the sport.  The parents have sold their business and are now trying to adjust to retirement.  One night, a young woman, Savannah, knocks on their door and says she needs help - her boyfriend has attacked her.  Stan and Joy take her in and offer their support and help for a time.  Then Joy goes missing.  No one knows where she is.  Savannah also can't be found.  The police get involved and the Delaney siblings don't know what to think.  Secrets abound with all the family members.  Lots and lots of arguing, talking, hiding things and endless back and forth.  I wanted to shake all the characters and tell them to grow up.  It sort of felt like everyone was in middle school.  As I said, liked it well enough, but won't be a favorite.  Has anyone else read this?  Reactions?

Next, I moved on to the latest book in a favorite crime series, Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite books.  The title is In Her Tracks and it's the 8th book (I've read them all).  Tracy Crosswhite is a police detective with the Seattle PD.  She's been on an extended leave after having a baby and spending some time in her hometown of Cedar Grove.  After returning to work, she's told that she's being assigned away from her regular team in the Violent Crimes Division and will be working on cold cases.  Tracy and her boss do not get along well and haven't since they were at the police academy many years ago.  She's taken aback with this new assignment, but it turns out that this is right where her skills and determination are needed.  She starts looking into the case of a missing child from 5 years ago and then gets drawn into a current case of a young woman jogging, also going missing.  I've really liked this series and recommend it.  I've talked about previous books here on the blog.  If you want to try it, I'd start with the first book, My Sister's Grave, which tells of Tracy's background and why she became a cop.  I'll be watching for #9 in the series, coming out next summer.

Lastly, I just finished Carol Goodman's book entitled The Sea Of Lost Girls.  I've read several books by this author and liked all of them a lot.  She's a good pick for this season as her books are usually set in the woods or at an old school or in the fall or winter - a bunch of Gothic themes.  This particular book does includes shades of The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and also maidens lost at sea.  Tess works at a well-known prep school and lives with her husband, also a teacher, and her 17-year-old son, Rudy.  The school had been a place where 'wayward' girls were sent before it became a co-ed academy and there's a lot of history here.  Not all of it good.  Rudy texts his mother late one night for help and Tess goes to get him.  He's wet and shivering and there's blood on his shirt.  Later, his girlfriend, Lila, is found dead.  What is going on and how far will Tess go to protect her son and what she thinks might have happened?  As I said, lots of themes that relate to legends and literature.  I liked the story, but Tess about drove me crazy with her 'nutty' thinking and her way of 'helping' those she 'loves'.  She wanted to protect her son, but her way of doing so involved way too much lying for my liking.  I will continue to read this author's books and I have several more on her list to try.  This particular one was just not my favorite.  Ah well.  

I'm now reading The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James.  Will be discussing this one with a 'new-to-me' book group here at my library.  Can't wait!  Have you read any of these books I've mentioned?  I'd love to know your reaction to them.  Do tell!         

39 comments:

  1. I"m happy you are reading again! It must feel so good, so normal!

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    1. It does indeed feel normal and good. I feel like I'm coming back to myself after a long time. ;-)

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  2. I liked The Sun Down Motel, but then I like most of St. James' novels. And Dugoni is an author on my TBR list I hope to read soon.

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    1. Lark, I'm about at the halfway point of The Sun Down Motel and I'm liking it. Properly spooky for October!

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  3. I somehow totally missed that Liane Moriarty had a new book coming out. Even though I haven't been wowed by her last couple books, I'm sure I'll still read this one at some point!

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    1. Yes, Angela, you should try the new Moriarty book. Your reaction might be different than mine. By the way, just saw your news on your blog about getting close to having a new family member! I didn't know you were pregnant. Congratulations! Very exciting!!

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  4. I really liked The Husband's Secret, but tried one other book by Liane Moriarty that didn't satisfy, so I haven't kept up with her. I've liked several of Goodman's books!

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    1. Yes, your experience has been much the same as mine, Jenclair. I'll continue reading her books and have decided to see what else my library has of Goodman's books. Those are great for this time of year.

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  5. I liked What Alice Forgot and The Husband's Secret but haven't read on in her later books. That said, I watched Nine Perfect Strangers. Liked it but it wasn't what I'd expected.

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    1. Ha! Mary, you made me laugh about Nine Perfect Strangers. I'm not planning on watching it, but I will admit that when i read that one I was skeptical that I'd even finish it. I did though and liked it better as I made it closer to the end. Still, it was not as good as earlier books - for me anyway.

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  6. I haven't read any of these though the Moriarty is on my TBR. I've only read Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers but I enjoyed them both though Nine Perfect Strangers was absolutely bonkers.

    Thanks so much for your comment on my Sunday Post. Your support and prayers mean so much. I have some nerve pain and migraines and I've found that weighted blankets have helped and they've definitely helped me sleep. I've gotten several off Amazon for way cheaper then I've seen in stores that have held up really well if you want to try them without the big investment.

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    1. Katherine, first of all, I'm so glad to provide support and prayers. In this tough world, we all need that. Thanks for the extra info about the weighted blankets. I've wondered about them and how they work. Oh, and I agree about Nine Perfect Strangers. Bonkers indeed! Ha!

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  7. Kay that's awesome that your reading mojo is back. Last month was a bit slow for me but I'm hoping that changes this year. I've not read any of these but have read books by Liane Moriarty and Carol Goodman - both have written some great books. I still need to discover Robert Dugoni. Hope you are having a wonderful start of the month!

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    1. Thanks, Iliana! Yes, do think about trying Robert Dugoni. I really like that series.

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  8. Kay, I LOVED The Sundown Motel and the author has a new book coming soon as well. I haven't started Apples Never Fall but most readers seem a bit disappointed. Carol Goodman's latest book and the one you mentioned in this post did not work well for me; I liked her earlier books better. Hope October goes well for you.

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    1. Diane, glad you liked The Sun Down Motel too. I finished it yesterday and am very curious what others will think about it in this new-to-me book group. I liked it a lot, but from what I've seen, this group doesn't read much fiction and certainly not fiction like this. Ha!

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  9. I am so glad you reading mojo if back! It's too bad The Sea of Lost Girls wasn't better for you. It's one I hope to read someday. I hope you are enjoying Sun Down Motel.

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    1. Thanks, Wendy! Yes, I did enjoy The Sun Down Motel. I'm looking forward to discussing it with a book group.

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  10. It certainly does sound like your reading mojo is back, Kay. Hooray! The only Moriarty book I've read was Big Little Lies and I enjoyed it so much. The Husband's Secret is on my kindle and I'd like to read What Alice Forgot, too. From the reviews I've read, readers seem to be split on her new book.

    Haven't read any of the other books or authors. Hope you enjoy your new library book club. I'm still waiting to hear when the group I was going to here will start up again. Suspect it will be sometime this fall.

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    1. JoAnn, I hope your book club can get back into the swing of things at some point. I was amazed how very much I missed book groups. We did virtual, but it wasn't the same for me. I bet you'd like the Husband's Secret.

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  11. I add my voice to yours in recommending Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series.

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    1. And if Cathy recommends it, people should listen! LOL

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  12. The Tracy Crosswhite has long been on my want to read list! So glad the reading has been going well!!

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    1. Thanks, Nise'! I think you'd like the Crosswhite series.

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  13. Glad to hear your reading mojo has returned! I tried a couple of Moriarty's books but only enjoyed "What Alice Forgot," so I'm not sure her new release is for me. However, I may have to give Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series a try.

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    1. Les, I think you might like the Tracy Crosswhite series. Set in Washington, it's near you and certain settings might be familiar.

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  14. I am so glad you are back to reading and writing posts about books.

    I would like to try something by Liane Moriarty. Maybe I will try The Husband's Secret sometime,

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    1. Tracy, I would definitely start your Moriarty reading with either The Husband's Secret or Big Little Lies. Those are more of the 'domestic thriller' type books, FYI.

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  15. I'm currently reading Apples Never Fall and I'm at the part where Joy went missing. I'm curious about the family and Savannah was such an intriguing character. Can't wait to find out more!

    I enjoyed The Sea of Last Girls. I've seen that Carol Goodman has a new book out (The Stranger Behind You) and I'm hoping to get ahold of the library copy. Have you read it?

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    1. Melody, I'll watch for what you think about Apples Never Fall. As to Carol Goodman's books, I have The Stranger Behind You on hold at the library. Plan to pick it up tomorrow.

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  16. All look good! It's funny, I saw some others complaining about not being able to read like they normally do, just in a funk etc. I am hoping to get back to reading like I like to also.

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    1. Gayle, I've been so glad that my reading has gotten back to normal. Seemed like it took forever!

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  17. Apples was ok. I did not like the characters and I got irritated at the tacked on ending.

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    1. Ti, I think your reaction was about the same as mine. LOL

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  18. You have really made a lot of progress in R.I.P. And you make me wish I could happily read these sorts of stories.

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    1. Deb, I think you and I both know that what books we like is so very individual to each of us. I think that's why I loved 'reader advisory' so much when working at the library. So much fun to find a book that 'speaks' to a reader.

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  19. Rita, I think you'll like the new Dugoni book. It had been a while since I read one, but I fell right into the story.

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  20. Bummer that you didn't love APPLES NEVER FALL. I adored it. It's different than Moriarty's others, but also similar. It was a fun reading experience for me. I also liked THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS and THE SUN-DOWN MOTEL.

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    1. OK, Susan, it's fine that we occasionally go different directions in our 'love' of a book. Ha! No, I'm glad you liked Apples Never Fall and The Sea of Lost Girls. I did attend a fun discussion of The Sun Down Motel the other day. That one was a little spooky for some of the group members, but they liked it well enough. Me, I liked it a lot!

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!