Turns out "Tom Lake" isn't a person, but a place. Was I the only one who initially thought that?

The story is about a woman reminiscing with her grown daughters about her past experiences in summer stock theater and her romance with a fellow actor who went on to become a famous movie star. The plot moves slowly, with the narrative switching back and forth between the past and present.

Not exactly a page-turner, but a sweet and nostalgic tale.

Definitely read this book before you read The Hunter otherwise you will already know the answer to this story's central mystery and a revelation about a particular character will be spoiled.
In other words, don't do what I did!
Despite that, this story, in the words of Trey Reddy, was simply "Grand".

I just finished reading my first book by Tana French, and I loved it! Even though it's the second book in the "Cal Hooper" series, I had no trouble following the story. It takes place in a small, peaceful village in Ireland, and the way French writes really draws you in. The murder mystery is exciting, and the characters are all really interesting. A great read!

Another page-turner from Simone St. James that did not disappoint.
Someone is killing hitchhikers along a road called Atticus Line.
A newlywed couple passing through town, with baggage of their own, are drawn into the mystery.

While I‘m not sure I loved the reveal, I was definitely entertained!

Just a fantastic story populated with wonderful characters (Nurse Ratched!…although not THAT Nurse Ratched) set in what feels like a not too distant future where machines run the world and humans don‘t.
A story about the meaning of family and the love that binds us all.
My first book by TJ Klune…but definitely not my last!

While it starts off as a mystery when a skeleton is found in a well in 1972, we flash back to the 1930's in a small town in PA.. There, in the poor section of town, immigrant Jews & African Americans live side by side & work together to hatch an escape plan when a young black boy is unjustly sent away to a reformatory.
Beautifully told story with an array of diverse and interesting characters that beautifully unfolds into a compelling narrative.

If you are looking for a story that will scare you and make you laugh,look no further!
Margaret has been living in a haunted house for 4 years now and every September is when things get really crazy. Her nonchalant and dry comments towards her "pranksters" and their hijinx is the highlight of this story for me. But if all that weren't enough, her daughter is coming back into town to look for her father (an abusive alcoholic) who has gone missing.

Blacklisted actor Paul Robeson summed it up best in a letter he wrote to Charlie: "...fascists everywhere hated you for your anti-Nazi film, The Great Dictator. Well, Hitler and his gang are gone, but Chaplin and his art lives on! And your name will be honored --yes, here in America, too --long after McCarthy and his kind are buried in oblivion.".

Indeed.

I just can't.
I've checked this out twice from the library, once because I ran out of time and the second time to pick up where I left off.
I made it 58% through and if I've come this far and STILL don't care, I think that's a sign.
I don't know who is who.
I don't understand their relationships.
And I'm bored.
And I didn't find it particularly scary either.
Basta!

I really enjoyed her previous books but this one just wasn't for me.
Started off strong and then it felt like a hodgepodge of genres, stories within stories, time jumps and plot twists that just didn't do it for me.
Just left me confused and annoyed.
Next!

Think a book about American right-wing fascism is going to be boring…think again. Rachel Maddow highlights the Nazi propaganda campaign that took place right here in America. Along the way we meet the far-right US citizens and politicians who colluded with the Nazis with the aim of overthrowing the US government and the brave individuals who did everything they could to stop them.

Good thing nothing like that can happen today, right?

Inspired by the death of her great Uncle at the Dozier School for Boys back in the 1930s, Tananarive Due delivers a gripping and harrowing tale of survival in the face of extreme adversity and cruelty.

Set in the 1950‘s, this is a propulsive page turner that combines engrossing drama and the supernatural while shedding light on the system of dehumanization that, as evidenced by our current prison system, sadly exists to this very day.

I almost gave up on this book during the first few chapters because the story seemed so preposterous.
Glad I stuck with it though as this book gave me some serious whiplash with its various plot twists.
All is not what it seems!

My final book for 2023. Only completed 60% of my Goodreads 2023 Reading Challenge. ‘Twas a crazy year!

Happy New Year everyone!

A very compelling and meta look at the publishing industry, race and identity from the perspective of a struggling author. An author who is accused of stealing the work of her late friend. Towards the end, the tone of the book shifts in a way I was not expecting.
If you like books about books, this is definitely one for you.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

With her job on hold and word from her brother that "Mom seems off", Samantha Montogomery decides to pay mom a visit to see what exactly is going on.

This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and while this is a horror story, the horror is offset by the wisecracking Samantha and her wry personality which I truly enjoyed. While it does get a bit silly at times, it was an engrossing and imaginative tale.

Could not put this down! Very unsettling psychological horror about a family who takes in their dying matriarch. The ending, which I will not spoil, wasn't what I wanted nor what I expected...and that's a GOOD thing!
This book really resonated with me as my mother moved in with us a few months ago.

And she brought a pretty stone with her.

S.A. Cosby has become a "must buy" author for me.
This time around a former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff must track down a serial killer that lives in their midst.
I love Cosby's "take no BS" protagonists who, like in his previous books, usually has to battle with the local racist Neanderthals. In this day and age, those confrontations are very cathartic and satisfying.
A gritty, violent and propulsive page turner!

Who would have thought a 640 page book about evil apples would be this entertaining? Well, it was!
At first I thought this seemed a tad corny, but then Wendig quickly pulls you into the lives of various characters in this small rural town. It‘s gruesome and gory at times, but never dull.
Coincidentally, while reading I got a shipment of Harry & David apples.
I never eat apples.
Yet I was compelled to do so.
They were delicious.
I need MORE!!!!

If you are looking for a spooky short story collection for the Halloween season, look no further.
Writer/Director Jordan Peele has collected 19 short stories from black authors you might already know & some you don‘t.
While some are better than others,you‘ll definitely be entertained...and a little creeped out.
I mean…that book cover!

Some standouts for me:
Reckless Eyballing
The Rider
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree
Dark Home
An American Fable

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

There is a lot going on in this book which at times made the story feel convoluted, but never dull.

With a past and present story structure, this tale examines mother-daughter relationships, sibling relationships, toxic relationships, friendships, a missing black girl, ghosts and a creepy haunted house.
And trauma. Lots of trauma.

I told you it was a lot.

If you are looking for a Stephen King novel that does not have a supernatural element to it...this would be a good pick.
Random people are disappearing and King's beloved investigator Holly Gibney is back on the case.
While the time jumps were a bit confusing at times and the ending was a tad unsatisfying, this was a compelling (and slightly stomach churning) read.

Really enjoyed this little novella narrated by a lovable yet hungry mountain lion who is forced out of his home in the hills of L.A....or as he calls it "ellay".
Funny and whimsical observations about the people he encounters that will make you smile and perhaps shed a tear or two.

Ugh! Strange syntax by our hero, characters in blackface, endless and confusing descriptions about sleeper cells, the inner workings of Luna and a computer named Mike, all of which leads up to a revolution which I assume happens. Made it to 40%, but just didn't care enough to find out if they were successful or not. I guess this reader is a harsh reviewer.

I almost read this before a recent flight but decided against it…glad I did!

T.J. Newman wastes no time in this high octane thriller and follow up to “Falling”, about a commercial airliner that ditches in the Pacific Ocean.

You‘ll want to finish this page turner in one sitting.

Heeere's HOLLY!
Happy Publication Day!

“On Tuesday, Adelaide Henry had been a farmer. On Wednesday, she became a fugitive.”

Adelaide Henry sets out to escape her past in rural Montana in 1915. But she's not traveling alone.

Victor LaValle has written another page turner with this Lovecraftian female driven tale that grabs you from page one and doesn't let go.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

REBECCA meets THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER in this twisty whodunnit from Riley Sager. Just when you think you've figured it all out, Sager hits you with another WTF plot twist.
While some of those twists gave me some pause, this is still a highly enjoyable read!

More like 3.5 stars
The author known for his ambiguous endings strikes again with this collection of short stories and one novella (the titular title) told in free verse of anthropomorphic animals living in an allegorical Trumpian world.
Not a fan of ambiguous endings, but somehow, Tremblay continues to draw me into his fascinating and bizarre worlds.

The title says it all: A harrowing “tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder”…and why I prefer staying on land.

Really enjoyed Less Than Zero and The Shards but after reading 1/3 of this one, I just couldn't go any further. The endless descriptions of what everyone was wearing and eating...I just couldn't.
Maybe it's me.
Probably is.

By the way, I'm wearing a Perry Ellis Portfolio slim fit blue checked shirt, Kenneth Cole pants in Onyx Black and black Cole Haan loafers. Glasses by Calvin Klein and watch by Apple.

The prequel to “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars” (which I loved) left me a bit disappointed. The premise is very “Alien” in its set up, but I found the story a bit repetitive as they got closer to their destination.
Sadly, it left me with more questions than answers.

It's difficult to discuss this book without spoiling the story.
With that said, as usual, I knew nothing of the story or the genre going in (I assumed it was horror. It is not.).
It is a sprawling sci-fi tale set in a dystopian world dealing with class struggle, family, love, loss and some shocking twists and turns along the way.
At times I found it confusing, but it was never dull.

Pass the tissues... 😢

RIP😢

I was in high school when this book came out yet never read it until now.
BEE's debut novel that put him on the literary map rings of authenticity and the sense of hopelessness that is common amongst the teenage set.
While I thought The Shards was better, this stream of consciousness tale was a quick and engrossing read.

The plucky wise-cracking Jane I loved in Dread Nation is now this dark and brooding character with little warmth or humor. She spends the book dead set on hunting down the villain whose actions, if you look at the big picture, aren't wholly villainous, at least not to the extent that warrants Jane's obsessive desire to kill him at any cost.

Also, not a lot happens here.

In short, I enjoyed revisiting this world, but I was ready to leave.

Women should be housewives, should not have careers, should be subservient to their husbands, should be paid less than men. No, this is not the Republican party platform for 2024,but rather 1960 and Elizabeth Zott,our protagonist,is a hero.

While much has changed, equality is still a daily struggle even in 2023. As for the story itself, great quirky and clever characters, with a funny and profoundly moving narrative. And the dog...loved the dog!

In a revisionist history where the Civil War was interrupted by the rise of zombies, a young
black girl trained to fight zombies is sent to a frontier town where she must contend with a
mercurial and racist Sheriff who runs the town with an iron fist.

Utterly engrossing YA novel (didn't know it was YA!) that I could not put down.
Book 1 of 2!

More like Slogging Towards Bethlehem.
I would have DNF'd this book but I got Reading Goals to achieve and this was a relatively short book.
A wildly pretentious and dull one at that.
#NotForMe

Lots of puppets coming to a big screen near you!

I laughed, I cried, I was terrified!

This book has everything....1980's, San Fernando Valley (where I grew up and live), high school life, 80's music, sex, queerness and a serial killer! I mean, I can like...totally relate (minus the serial killer part).

This 1980's time capsule is a suspenseful & intense work of metafiction that kept me fully engaged throughout its 600+ page count.

(Trigger warning for extreme violence, animal death/cruelty)

I Have Some Questions too, like, did this overly long book not have an editor?
Sheesh!
I loved The Great Believers. This? Not so much.

100 pages in I was bored, but decided to give it a chance.
Now I'm 60% done and don't feel any different.

I guess I'm now one book further away from my year end reading goal.
I can live with that.

Exploring themes of guilt, complicity and grief, Boyne‘s follow up to The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a beautifully written and compelling tale.

Jumping between the past and the present, 91 year old Gretel (the sister of Bruno from TBITSP) finds herself befriending a young boy from a troubled household and reflecting back on the years after the war.

Boyne continues to be one of my favorite authors.

This well-researched and exhaustive biography on screen legend Marilyn Monroe by Donald Spoto (who passed away this past February) was released back in 1993. While he doesn't wallow in the gossip and speculation that surrounded her, he does debunk many of these myths.
Marilyn's career spanned 16 years & 29 films and while I would have liked more behind-the-scenes of her films, I definitely came away respecting her even more than I did before.

More than just your run of the mill haunted house story. It‘s also about family relationships,secrets and puppets.
Lots and lots of puppets.

3.5 rounded up to 4.
I loved the sense of dread and the 80's nostalgia infused into this story that takes place over one Halloween night. It's stories like these though that make me wonder how we ever lived without cell phones, as they would have come in handy here!
I didn't love what seemed to be a story bloated with too many underdeveloped characters that, at times, I found difficult to keep track of.
That being said, it was a fun, creepy read.

I'm really torn with this one.
I picked it up because it won the Horror category (not really horror) for Goodreads Choice Awards and Stephen King blurbed about it.
All good signs.
I read the book knowing nothing of the plot and found myself thoroughly entertained.
I was set to rate this 4 or 5 stars.
Then I watched this video (SPOILER ALERT) and everything changed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EnG8_oZcu4

Set in 1959, a stage actress, after suffering a mental breakdown, escapes to a small town in New York where she rents a house in a suburban neighborhood.
This 80 page novella is basically "Rear Window" with a supernatural twist.
Fun and creepy.

Octavia Butler upends vampire mythology with this tale of a Black female vampire who is the sole survivor from an attack that left her with amnesia & her entire family dead. Now she must piece together her history & find those responsible.
While the inner workings of vampire families were at times confusing, this allegory of racism in America & the journey of self-discovery our hero embarks upon was an enjoyable page turner.

Talk about a stage mom from hell!
Jennette McCurdy chronicles her life as a child actress which was imposed upon her by her dominating and manipulative mother.
As a result, she struggles with mental health issues, addiction and eating disorders.
A very candid and surprisingly funny memoir.