What the Lady Wants

ISBN-10: 155166951X
Publisher: Mira
Published: 1995
250pgs


From the blurb:

Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was not all it was cracked up to be. Cheating husbands, suspicious wives, unsuspecting mistresses -- case after case left him cynical and disillusioned. This was nothing like the world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames he'd envisioned . . . until she walked through the door.

Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body -- and a lethal family to go with it. There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse . . . and left him with a case of lust like he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae only interested in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle . . . or did the lady want to catch him?


It has been some time since I have read a romance novel. So the other day, I pulled out this book from my to-be-read pile because I have read a lot of good reviews about Jennifer Crusie's books.

So what made me pick up this book? Well, I love reading anything about private detectives. There is just something alluring about them, be it the heroes or the heroines. In this story, Mitch Peabody is engaged by the heroine, Mae Sullivan, to find out the death of her Uncle Armand and the mysterious disappearance of his diary.

After seeing nothing but numerous divorce cases, Matt is getting a little tired of his so-called job although it does not hurt he is doing so to win a bet. Just when he thought life is getting him to nowhere, Mae walks into his life (or into his office) and asked him to investigate a case. Mitch is intrigued by her at first glance, but that is because Mae is nothing like the women he met. Mae has the looks but most of all, she has a smart mouth. Mitch is not sure if he should be attracted or annoyed with her witty trait, but he is sure interested to find out more about her, besides the case that is.

What the Lady Wants is a fun read, after all Jennifer Crusie's books are known for their humour. The barb exchanges and the chemistry between Mitch and Mae are entertaining; however as much as I enjoyed this book, Mae's whiny attitude put me off at times. Still, her mob relatives are great supporting characters and they add some 'spice' to the story. I would recommend this book to any readers who wants a sheer escapism and a quick read.

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1. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good.
2. A beautiful scenic place is where I want to be.
3. How does one describe love?
4. My family keeps me on track.
5. Please don't stop reading.
6. My two daughters fills me with joy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on the TV shows, tomorrow my plans include having a family and friends' gathering at our place and Sunday, I want to spend time with my family!

The Handmaid's Tale

ISBN-10: 038549081X
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: April 1998
311 pgs

From the blurb:

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now....

Imagine if you are living in the near future, where women are ripped off from freedom and are no longer in control of their bodies, what would you think? Or better still, what would you do? This is exactly what happens in the Republic of Gilead, whereby women are being treated like breeding machines and their movements are strictly controlled. They are divided into different classes and each has her own role to play; e.g. the Wives held the highest 'rank' amongst all women as they are the wives of the Commanders, the Marthas are like housekeepers while the handmaids will do whatever the Commanders or their Wives ask them to do, but basically their role is to procreate and if they failed to do so in two years' time, they would be labelled as 'Unwoman' and/or to be sent to the Colonies.

In this story, it is about a woman called Offred. In a narrative tone, she tells her tale about her role being a handmaid and the kind of life she is living. Actually, Offred is not her real name. All handmaids' names begin with an 'Of' followed by their Commanders' names; this is to tell that they belong to a certain man (Commander) and they are nothing but objects.

Before this happens, Offred used to have her own life, her husband and a daughter. However, there is not much mention about her past life although the readers are given a glimpse of how the society has changed bit by bit and how these women's life took off a drastic turn as they are not allowed to read or write; even the basic stuff like money, bank accounts etc are being wiped off.

Margaret Atwood has crafted a frightening yet thought-provoking tale in The Handmaid's Tale. Though it is a fiction, what really terrifies me is that one never knows what elements in this story will become a reality in future, e.g. the nonentity of paper money, the massive role of surrogate mothers etc.

I could not say I like or dislike this story, but the author's prose, the premise and the characters are the main factors that allowed me to keep on reading. One of the things I quite enjoyed is the author did not really tell the story in a straightforwardly manner but let her readers guess and find out what happens as they read along. The only thing that disappoints me is the ending, because I would want to see it all nicely wrapped up. But maybe that is not so important, as I would like to think this book serves more like a reminder to us, telling us we should be grateful for what we have and to appreciate life and the people around you. This is a powerful book that I would not forget in a while.

Other blogs reviews:
Bold.Blue.Adventure
Book-a-Rama
Care's Online Bookclub
In Spring It Is The Dawn
Reading Reflections

Rebecca Reads
The Bluestocking Society
Things Mean A Lot
(Let me know if I have missed your review.)

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I would also like to thank Alice for passing this award to me. Alice's blog is one of the coolest blogs I ever know and I am very happy to call her my friend. Thank you so much for everything, Alice!

I am going to take the simplest way and pass this award to all my blog buddies (you know who you are!). Thank you for reading and for your friendship! You guys rock!

Living Dead Girl

ISBN-13: 9781416960591
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: September 2008
170pgs

From the blurb:

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends - her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

First of all, the protagonist's name is not Alice. Alice is just a name given by her captor, Ray. Ray gave her this name because there used to be another Alice before her; she was perfect in his eyes until she had decided to run away. Ray had no choice but to kill her.

The narrator (as known as the 'current' Alice) had been under Ray's captive since she was ten. She was abducted during a field trip when she was left on her own. She is fifteen now; and throughout these years she had been nothing but a 'good' girl to Ray. She knew there is no way of escaping and if she does, Ray will burn down her parents' house. Alice believes he is capable of doing so; thus she lives her life as if she is a living dead girl, for her heart is already numbed and long dead. Though she feels hopeless, she also knows that time is running out for her as she could not remain as Ray's little girl forever as the days passed, for one day Ray will go out and look for another girl to replace her role and everything will start again like a cycle.

Living Dead Girl is not an easy read, based on the plot but it haunts and intrigues you at the same time. Although there is nothing graphic about the abuse in this story, Elizabeth Scott manages to pull you into the story and make you feel as if you are entering into the narrator's mind and experience her pain and hopelessness. You would wish you could tear Ray into shreds, because that was how I felt throughout reading the book. I have great admiration in Elizabeth Scott's way of writing in putting the sentences simply but yet you could still feel the power (and the hopelessness) in them. Here are some of the examples:

"Once upon a time, that moment was when a little girl's world ended."

"Never grow up. Like something out of a story, maybe. Try saying it while a hot, heavy hand pinches, testing to make sure you're still child enough. Try saying it when you can't grow, when you're forever trapped where someone else wants you to be."

"I have been smashed and put back together so many times nothing works right. Nothing is where it should be, heavy thumping in my shoulder where my heart now beats."

I could not foresee the narrator's future until there is a turning towards the end. And this is where I saw some hope in her and got to know her real name.

Other blog reviews:
Becky's Book Reviews
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
(Let me know if I have missed your review.)

The Graveyard Book

ISBN-13: 9780747598848
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 2008
289pgs
Illustrated by Chris Riddell


From the blurb:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts.

There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard. But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

The graveyard is supposed to be a scary place, isn't it? But definitely not in Bod's (short for 'Nobody') opinion, for this is where his home is ever since he has been adopted by the Owenses - a couple who had wanted a child of their own and had been dead for a few hundred years.

Bod was only a toddler when he had first stumbled into their yards, with his parents and his elder sister being killed by a man called Jack. Bod is then given the Freedom of the Graveyard, where he could roam about the graveyard and is able to see the dead and the dark. Silas, who could always be counted upon to explain things no matter in the living or the dead world became his guardian. And then, there are the others like Mother Slaughter, Josiah Worthington, Miss Lupescu, the witty witch known as Liza Hempstock who was buried at the edge of the graveyard at Potter's field who are all friends and family to Bod.

Bod slowly grows up to be a young man under their care and guidance, but he wants to know the world of the living humans, and most of all he wants to find out the man who had killed his family and he is all ready to confront him (or whoever they are) when the day comes.

I just could not describe to you how much I enjoyed reading The Graveyard Book. I was so mesmerised by the plot (which I think is original) and the characters that I hated to see it end after I had turned to the last page. It brought a warm feeling to my heart, despite the graveyard setting and that most of the characters are dead. And I really, really love Neil Gaiman's idea of creating the living world as a dangerous one, because yes I think humans can be frightening and is capable of doing all kinds of horrid things, and sometimes what you think is scary is actually not what you think.

The other thing I loved is the ending; and I could not think of any other better ending than this is. The Graveyard Book is a wonderful fantasy and a bittersweet coming-of-age tale which fascinates not only to the young readers but to the adults as well. The illustrations by Chris Riddell are great too. I rarely re-read books, but I will read this book again if time and opportunity allow it.

Other blog reviews:

Bold.Blue.Adventure

Books & Other Thoughts

Hello, My Name Is Alice

Stainless Steel Droppings

The Bluestocking Society

Things Mean A Lot

(Let me know if I have missed your review.)

Out

ISBN-13: 9780099472285
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2004
520pp
Translated by Stephen Snyder


From the blurb:

In the Tokyo suburbs four women work the draining graveyard shift at a boxed-lunch factory. Burdened with chores and heavy debts and isolated from husbands and children, they all secretly dream of a way out of their dead-end lives.

A young mother among them finally cracks and strangles her philandering, gambling husband then confesses her crime to Masako, the closest of her colleagues. For reasons of her own, Masako agrees to assist her friend and seeks the help of the other co-workers to dismember and dispose of the body. The body parts are discovered, the police start asking questions, but the women have far more dangerous enemies - a yakuza-connected loan shark who discovers their secret, and a ruthless nightclub owner the police are convinced is guilty of the murder. He has lost everything as a result of their crime and he is out for revenge.

What would one do if he or she is being pushed beyond the limits? For housewife Yayoi Yamamoto's case, she murdered her husband, Kenji when she found out he has been spending all their savings in gamblings and on a hostess whom he fancied at a club. Masako Katori agrees to help her, partly because she felt her situation is very much like Yayoi's - having worked so hard and no one seems to appreciate them.

Masako is like a leader amongst the four; she takes the whole situation in stride and has everything all planned. She is also the most gutsy amongst them; perhaps that is due to the result of her working in a male-dominated office and she does not show her defeat easily, even though she is being asked to go in the end.

On the other hand, Yoshie and Kuniko are desperate to make ends meet so they agree to be accomplices since each needs money and Masako told them they will get a share once things have been settled.

Club owner, Mitsuyoshi Satake had a dark past but his heart is into his club business until a murder case ruined everything for him. Kenji fancied one of his hostesses but Satake thinks he is trouble, and someone witnessed them having a fight so that led him being a suspect.

Loan shark Jumonji is after Kuniko because she has several loan repayments to be settled with him but she made a deal with him in order to cancel her loans.

Then, like a domino effect things began to get out of hand as the four women sank deeper into various horrific consequences and could not seem to get out. Natsuo Kirino is an outstanding author; she had all the plots skillfully laid out as she took her readers into the four women's dark world, sharing their frustrations and pressures being Japanese housewives with not much position in the male-dominated society.

Out is not an easy read. It is dark, but yet it also leads one to think of the harsh reality of life and that money is often the culprit under all circumstances. I also had a hard time digesting the fact that what look like simple-minded housewives could resort to such horrific unimaginable crime. But then again, I sympathise with them in a way, because if the society (or their husbands) have treated them better and with some respect, I guess things might have worked out differently for them. I look forward to reading her other releases, Grotesque and Real World, both of them I have in my to-be-read pile.

Other blog reviews:
Bell Literary Reflections
Bookgirl's Nightstand
Estella's Revenge (Reviewed by Carl V)
In Spring It is the Dawn
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
(Let me know if I have missed your review.)

The Likeness

ISBN-13: 9780340924785
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2008
553pp

From the blurb:

Still traumatised by her brush with a psychopath, Detective Cassie Maddox transfers out of the Murder squad and starts a relationship with fellow detective Sam O'Neill. When he calls her to the scene of his new case, she is shocked to find that the murdered girl is her double. What's more, her ID shows she is Lexie Madison - the identity Cassie used, years ago, as an undercover detective.

With no leads, no suspects and no clues to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old boss spots the opportunity of a lifetime: send Cassie undercover in her place, to tempt the killer out of hiding to finish the job.

Plenty of murder cases turn into battles of wits, but this was different. My real opponent wasn't the murderer but the victim: perfectly matched against me in every way, too close to call . . .

The previous instalment, In the Woods had left a deep impression on me. Never mind if Rob Ryan, the protagonist's mysterious past is not really solved (I understand there is a controversy on this issue), for I think Tana French has her reason for doing so and this might be just one of her styles. Anyway, I enjoyed the story. When I knew there would be a sequel to it, I was overjoyed.

Although this story is about Detective Cassie Maddox working as an undercover, it actually revolves more on Lexie Madison's life being a graduate student and her close relationship with her other four friends. They live under the same roof and are co-owners of the old house which was left by one of their families. The latter further dictates how close they are.

However, Lexie has her own secrets and one minor mistake has led her to her own death. Cassie fits into Lexie's world perfectly; and she is determined to find out the killer for she is certain he or she lives amongst them but she is getting too emotionally involved, as you would read from the passage below that reflects her thoughts:

"When you're too close to people, when you spend too much time with them and love them too dearly, sometimes you can't see them."

I think this is one price to pay when an undercover is working way too deep into the case. Sometimes, they get too involved so much so that it muddles their minds and ruin their judgements if they are not being careful. But I think the scariest part is the sacrifices an undercover has to made whenever there is a call for it, e.g. doing drugs; not that Cassie is doing them that is.

I liked Cassie; she is one heck of an undercover. She has guts, and she is not really afraid of consequences. Reading about her relationship with Sam shows her vulnerable side, for there is a time she is tied between work and love and she has to make a choice.

The Likeness is a mesmerising page-turner. It is more than a whodunit story; it focuses more on humanity issues and then of course, the friendship 'Lexie' had with her mates.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best crime thrillers I read this year. I would highly recommend this author to anyone.

Other blog reviews:

Bookgirl's Nightstand

Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?

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How is everyone doing? I surely miss reading all your blogs! Also, thank YOU for the well wishes! For the past few days, I have been doing nothing but spending time with my baby, napping and catching up on my reading. Life could not get any better! Just imagine I will be doing these for 16 weeks, as this is the amended maternity leave (used to be 12 weeks) implemented by the government on 17 August this year. I hope I would not turn into a couch potato by then, haha.

My baby is doing well. She sleeps a lot during the daytime, and well night feeding is no joke! But I guess I will get used to it.

Also, I apologise if I do not get to visit your blog as much as usual, but I will try to whenever if I get the chance. Till next time!