Playing with Fire A Novel by Tess Gerritsen

Playing with Fire:
A Novel
by Tess Gerritsen

I have read everything in print by Tess Gerritsen, and this book was different in a very good way. While the main story is taking place, Gerritsen skillfully weaves a Holocaust story throughout using music as the point that holds both stories together.,

At first, I was disturbed with what was going on with the main character's daughter, but the book ended with such an interesting twist to resolve the issue that I was pleased I had continued on despite my initial misgivings.

The main character of the modern story is an accomplished violinist who discovers the music belonging to the main character of the Holocaust story. Both stories are emotional, and it seems as if both characters are "playing with fire." Each has incendiary moments, and the mystery of the story revolves around a waltz called "Incendio."

This book was lovely, moving, mysterious, and well plotted. The pacing was perfect, and I am planning to share it with my students tomorrow as we talk about The Book Thief, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Shades of Gray.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

Uneasy In New Orleans A Big Easy Mystery (Book #1) by Carol Carson

Uneasy In New Orleans: A Big Easy Mystery (Book #1) by Carol Carson

I have to admit, I love a cozy mystery. I especially like them with a bit of romance and cooking. However, this was not my favorite read. It had all of the elements to make it work: hunky police detective, plucky heroine working for a private investigator, and the requisite kooky family members.

The policeman and PI remind me of Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum, but in this book they are brothers. Our policeman, Jack, doesn't want our heroine Finn to work for his brother because it's dangerous. He is indeed proved right when pictures Finn has taken of a cheating husband come back to haunt all of them.

One of the things that bugged me was that no one ever really looked at the pictures. Tommy couldn't ID the man in the photos, even when he was attacked. Finn couldn't ID the carriage driver, and that was a plot element screaming out from far too early in the book. 

Another element that was not well developed was the ghost at the cooking school. He was almost a diversion, and certainly not helpful. He didn't appear to Finn until the book was almost half-way through. 

Although the book had no sex, (but plenty of accidents and murders), Finn was randomly kissing people, a stranger on a bus and Tommy, her boss. However, the reader is supposed to believe she likes Jack and that Jack actually likes her back. Their romance is so slow, it's not yet to the stove.

I did enjoy her aunt and younger sister. Those characters were well developed. The kidnapping, FBI's most wanted criminal who has a heart of gold was an odd element. Why she could wander around New Orleans and never be caught is only one of the inconsistencies. Certainly, she wouldn't be able to fly out of the country to escape... 

The mystery gets solved, despite pages and pages of cooking school, vet visits, and multiple trips to the hospital.

I think this book meanders and gets too far off track in places. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it, and normally, this would be my favorite type of book. I don't think I'll read the sequel.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A. L. Kennedy

Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse by A. L. Kennedy

The Fourth Doctor, with his hat and long striped scarf, arrives in Arbroath, 1978, without a companion. He immediately befriends Bryony who's working the desk at a Fetch's Golf Spa Hotel.

In true Doctor Who fashion, there's a serious alien infestation, one who feeds off of the emotions of those surrounding the area. On top of that, another alien has fallen in love with Bryony, and he and Bryony become the Doctor's companions for this adventure.

There's octopuses (or octopodes), a promise to become the jewel at the center of the universe, and jelly babies.

This will make a wonderful audio recording, and it is both true to the Fourth Doctor but will feel familiar to those who are NuWho fans.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher for an honest review.