Bookish Thoughts: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Crown, 2012
Crime Fiction; 432 pgs

Warning: Possible spoilers.  I tried to be as vague as I could, but still write what I wanted to say about the book.

This is one of those books that everyone was talking about--and still is--when it first came out.  It is a book that polarized readers, they either loved or hated the book.  There wasn't much in between.  I admit the hype put me off the book at first.  The constant barrage of "I never saw that coming!" and "Oh my G--!" made me suspicious.  When I mentioned on Twitter about how such simple phrases could be spoil worthy, Charlie from The Worm Hole said, "You'd be looking for something surprising in everything . . . "  And, truth be told, when I began reading the book, I didn't trust anyone and suspected everyone.

Amy and Nick seemed well matched.  Two young people looking for love.  He a mid-Western writer and she a writer from New York.  They meet with hard times when they both end up losing their jobs.  Nick decides to move them from big city New York to small town Missouri to help his twin sister care for his ailing parents.  Neither Amy nor Nick are very happy at this point.  Then comes their fifth wedding anniversary.  Amy goes missing, believed to be murdered.

By the time the pair moved to Missouri, I knew.  I had the characters pegged and knew exactly where the story was going to go.  Gone Girl made me realize just how spoiler-y the simple phrase of "I didn't see that coming!" can be.  Admittedly, I'm already a problem solving reader.  When I pick up a mystery, my brain just automatically starts moving the pieces of the puzzle around to find their perfect spots.  It is something I do subconsciously.  I have never been able to completely shut that part of my brain off.  So, would I have picked up on the clues had I not been told over and over again that I should expect the unexpected with this novel?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It's hard to say.

In the scheme of things, I am not really sure it matters.  The truth is I really, really, really liked this book. Gillian Flynn is an amazing writer.  I was pulled in from the first sentence and the book slipped into my dreams the night I began it.  Let me tell you, I had the most disturbing dreams while I read this book. 

I was fascinated by Nick and Amy, by their relationship and them as individuals.  They intrigued me.  Amy's character in particular.  I loved how smart she was on one hand and yet how like a child she was in the more emotional sense.  Gillian Flynn did such a good job of building her characters and their backgrounds that they seemed so real.  I could almost touch them as I read about their lives.

I will give Flynn this.  I didn't know how the book would end, not exactly.  Some of it, yes.  And even despite that I was hoping for a slightly different outcome.  Not that I was disappointed at all by the way the book did end.  Ultimately, I think the most disturbing part of the book for me was the ending.  It made me sick to my stomach, and that's hard to do.

You can learn more about Gillian Flynn and her books on the author's website. 

Source: I purchased an e-copy of this book for my reading pleasure (and to see what all the fuss was about).

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where is Your Bookmark? (07/30/2013)

Time has not been on my side when it comes to reading of late.  I am still reading Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train as well as Monica McCarty's Highlander Unchained.  I am really enjoying Orphan Train, particularly the historical portions of the book.  I had hoped to get it finished over the weekend, but planning to read on the weekend is never a good idea.  I inevitably am not able to.  Highlander Unchained is a historical romance, the last book in a trilogy.  It is the type of book that most readers would probably speed through, but I am only able to read it in small doses before finding myself distracted by other things.  I enjoy it when I am reading it, but it isn't quite holding my attention as well as I would like.  Romance is not my genre of choice, to be fair. And I think perhaps trying to read three romance novels back to back has been too much for a reader who generally shies away from books with romance as the main plot line.

After a long unintended break from audiobooks, I recently started listening to one again.  I haven't finished the last two I tried, but the most recent one seems to be going better.  I think I had best avoid the longer and slow audiobooks for the time being and stick with fast paced thrillers.  They seem to hold my attention better, not to mention fit in better with my current reading/listening lifestyle.  

What are you reading?  Would you recommend it?

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where  

participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a 

book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

I decided to listen to Joseph Finder's suspense novel, Paranoia, after seeing mention of the upcoming movie.  I remembered at one time I had wanted to read the book, but, like so many books I want to read, had not managed to get around to it.  I dove into the audio version without really knowing what it was about, only that it was a thriller.  I am not too far in, but I am enjoying it so far.  The novel is narrated by Scott Brick, who really captures the character well.  Here is a taste from the first chapter of the book:

Until the whole thing happened, I never believed the old line about about how you should be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.

I believe it now. 

I believe in all those cautionary proverbs now.  I believe that pride goeth before a fall.  I believe the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, that misfortune seldom comes alone, that all that glitters isn't gold, that lies walk on short legs.  Man, you name it.  I believe it.

I could try to tell you that what started it all was an act of generosity, but that wouldn't be quite accurate.  It was more like an act of stupidity.  Call if a cry for help.  Maybe more like a raised middle finger.  Whatever, it was my bad.  I'd half thought I'd get away with it, half expected to be fired.  I've got to say, when I look back on how it all began, I marvel at what an arrogant prick I was.  I'm not going to deny that I got what I deserved.  It just wasn't what I expected--but who'd ever expect something like this?

Would you continue reading?

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Bookish Thoughts: The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag

Pamela Dorman Books, 2013

Fiction; 304 pgs

From the Publisher: 

Distraught that her academic career has stalled, Alba is walking through her hometown of Cambridge, England, when she finds herself in front of a house she’s never seen before, 11 Hope Street. A beautiful older woman named Peggy greets her and invites her to stay, on the house’s usual conditions: she has ninety-nine nights to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in.

She soon discovers that this is no ordinary house. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, who, after receiving the assistance they needed, hung around to help newcomers—literally, in talking portraits on the wall. As she escapes into this new world, Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds—and maybe even save her life.

Filled with a colorful and unforgettable cast of literary figures, The House at the End of Hope Street is a charming, whimsical novel of hope and feminine wisdom that is sure to appeal to fans of Jasper Fforde and especially Sarah Addison Allen.

This book didn't pull at my heart strings and twist them as so many of my favorite books do. No, this book pulled at my heart strings and made me feel warm and good inside. This has to be one of my most favorite book so far this year.  I melted as I read it.  The author's writing is beautiful, and I was caught up in the magic of the house, a house that is very much a character itself.  To cavort with the ghosts of so many famous and admirable women!  This book was a dream.

The house at 11 Hope Street cannot be seen by everyone who visits Cambridge.  That's why Alba never noticed it before.  With nowhere else to go and nothing else to lose, Alba makes her home there at the invitation of Peggy Abbot, the house's caretaker.  The walls are covered with photos of past residents, each with advice to share should the present residents be willing to listen.

Alba has a sixth sense for things and can see sounds as well as ghosts.  Sounds come to her in colors, depending on their mood and intent.  I took to Alba instantly.  She is like the black sheep in her family, never quite measuring up to their expectations.  This even in spite of Alba graduating and pursuing her doctorate at so young an age.  Her mother, whom she loves dearly, is a mystery to her, lost in a depression Alba doesn't quite understand.  As the story goes, we learn more about Alba and her past as well as the secret from the present that is haunting her.  A secret that drew her to the house on Hope Street in the first place.  It is a story that is heartbreaking and at times cruel.  

Peggy is 82 years old and has been the caretaker of the house for most of her life. She gave up her life to take care of the house and the women who came to stay there.  She made the ultimate sacrifice.  The house has made it clear that her service is coming to an end, and Peggy feels a myriad of emotions.

Alba and Peggy are not the only residents of 11 Hope Street.  There are two other women, including a struggling actress, Greer, who has lost her way and Carmen, who is running from her dark past.  All of the women in the house are troubled and seeking answers to their situations, hoping the house will help them find peace and heal old wounds.

I loved the way Menna van Praag wove these women's stories together, each one separate and yet each one tied to the house.  I also really liked how music and words played such a big part in all the character's stories, particularly Alba and Carmen's.  This added to the beauty--and magic--of the novel.

As an added bonus, the author included a list of the famous women who once visited 11 Hope Street, including little blurbs about their lives.  This only adds to the strength of the novel.

The House at the End of Hope Street wears its namesake well.  It is full of hope--and charming too.  The women of the house have very real problems, and while I suppose one might think the solutions come too easily at times, well, that's just the kind of book it is.  I loved every minute of it. This is one of those books that left me smiling at the end--and still has me smiling now.

Rating:  (Outstanding)

You can learn more about Menna van Praag and her book on the author's website. 

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where is Your Bookmark? (07/24/2013)

My seventh year blog anniversary quietly came and went yesterday.  It is hard to believe I have been at it for this long.  My blog has definitely been through several transitions, and many ups and downs.  I am most grateful to all of you, my readers, who have taken the time to visit, read my ramblings, and comment.  I cannot thank you enough for your contributions, support, and, in many cases, friendship.

As for what I have been reading lately?  Not much.  Fluff mostly.  Although, I did just start reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, which has gotten good reviews from bloggers out there.  I am looking forward to diving into it more deeply in the coming days.

What are you reading?

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where  

participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a 

book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

A first sentence or paragraph can make or break a book.  It often sets the mood of a novel, giving the reader a taste at what is to come.  It can hook you right from the start or make you wonder what you are getting yourself into.  I was especially taken with the opening of Christina Baker Kline's opening to her novel, Orphan Train:

I believe in ghosts.  They're the ones who haunt us, the ones who have left us behind.  Many times in my life I have felt them around me, observing, witnessing, when no one in the living world knew or cared what happened.   

I am ninety-one years old, and almost everyone who was once in my life is now a ghost.

Would you continue reading?

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Bookish Thoughts: The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy

The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy

Harper, 2013

Fiction; 224 pgs

Of all the books I have read this year, there are two that will be gifts for just about everyone on my Christmas (if I can wait that long--birthdays are coming too, after all) list.  One is The House at the End of Hope Street  (review to come) and the other is The Illusion of Separateness.  Both are books that spoke to something inside me.

This was my first experience with a Simon Van Booy novel and what an experience it was!  It is poignant and thoughtful.  Told in a non-linear way, through the experiences of several different people, each story is connected.  This is the story of how one man's act of kindness touched the lives of others.  The novel spans from World War II to the present, introducing a cast of characters who the reader gets to know as the story unfolds.  I hate to say too much because this really is a book best taken in without too much knowledge about it beforehand.

I think my favorite character was John.  He reminded me of my grandfather, and his and his wife's love story made my heart melt.  Mr. Hugo's story particularly touched me, how he struggled and lived his life.  There was Martin, an orphan who was taken in by a French baker and his wife; Sebastian who as a boy stumbles on the remains of a wrecked warplane; Amelia, a blind woman who works for a museum; and Danny whose business is the movies.

The Illusion of Separateness was a beautifully written novel, the language simple and concise and yet the images created an the characters described are so real.  I cannot think of anything negative to say about the book other than perhaps it was too short.  This was a book with heart.  It is a book I can see myself re-reading again and again.

Rating:  (Outstanding)

To learn more about Simon Van Booy and his books, please visit the author's website. You can also learn more about the author by visiting his Facebook page, and Twitter account.

I hope you will check out what others had to say about The Illusion of Separateness on the TLC Book Tours route!

Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. I received an e-copy of the book from the publisher for review.

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

My Anya

Anya Runyon, Our Angel (June 2008 - July 12, 2013)

She was my angel.  So loving and kindhearted.  Gentle and sweet. I first heard about her in an email. Someone's cat had just given birth and homes were being sought for the litter of kittens. I knew my husband would never go for it.  We already had one cat and also a dog.  But I wanted--needed--a kitten.  I felt it deep in my heart.  My husband relented--pretty quickly I might add.

I chose the gray one, sight unseen.  Only, when she arrived at six weeks old, she wasn't gray at all.  A mixture of tiger stripes and tortie. She was beautiful.  I fell in love with her instantly.

We named her Anya after a character in the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was a bit of a wild kitten as all young cats are. She loved to play and cuddle.  She would run from shoulder to shoulder, play with my ears, and attack Anjin's feet. She loved to lay on my chest (even when she was full grown) and nurse on my arm. It was always the same spot on the same arm.

 Anya got very sick in early 2010.  We almost lost her.  She had a rare illness in which her bone marrow wasn't producing red blood cells the way it should. She had lost a lot of weight and was in desperate need of a blood transfusion.  She endured daily  medication and weekly/biweekly and eventually monthly blood tests to help her body do what it should have been doing on its own.  Her health stabilized in time and she was off the medication for just over a year.

Parker took his time warming up to Anya when we first brought her home, not willing to accept her right away.  But he came around.  Even he couldn't resist sweet Anya. They often cuddled with each other on the bed or groomed each other.  They fought now and then as siblings do, but mostly got along well. Sometimes they would chase each other around the house.  Parker had the advantage, loving to jump up high.  Anya never was a big fan of heights.

Anya and our dog Riley hit it off instantly. She developed a strong bond with him.  She would often tease him and chase him around the house, wrestling with him too.  Anya loved to rub herself against Riley, circle around him and even walk under him in an effort play with him. 

Anya loved attention and had one of the loudest purrs I have ever heard.  When first approaching her, it was best not to go for her head.  She preferred being pet on the back first, and then, once she was comfortable with a person, she would allow him or her to pet her head. She was shy around new people, but if you stayed awhile, her curiosity would get the better of her, and she would venture out to see who was who.  She might hang back a bit or she might come over to say hi.

Our Anya was a talker.  She often said hello to me when I came into a room and let me know when she wanted something.  She and Parker took turns waking me up in the morning, letting me know it was time to be fed.  Anya liked to wake me up by walking all over me and mewing now and then.  Then she would race me down the hall and stairs to meet me at her food dish.  My favorite days though were the ones in which I would get up for work, being extra quiet so as not to wake my husband and daughter.  The four of us, Riley, Parker, Anya and I formed a procession walking down the hall and then down the stairs each morning, often me at the end.  Sometimes though, I'd be first, and I'd hold the baby gate open for each one to pass then follow them down the stairs.  Anya was always the one to look back to make sure I was still there. 

She liked to jump into the shower before Anjin got in, checking it out and then peering out at him after.  She often did that to me too.  She didn't especially like baths, but she liked to spend time in the tub.  Anya's favorite place to lie down was on any blanket or afghan available.  But her preference was always a pillow.  A pile of clothes would do in a pinch.  I cannot tell you the number of times I was doing the laundry only to have Anya plop down on the clothes I had laid on the floor or couch. Every time I sat down on the living room floor with my laptop, set a pillow next to me for my mouse and its pad, Anya would come right over and sit on the pillow with the mouse.  It didn't matter if she sat on the mouse.  She always claimed that pillow as hers.  I would just move the mouse and pad and put it on my other side.  Anya would sleep by my side as I worked.  She was my constant companion.

She endured a break in,  a move, the birth of Mouse, and the death of her best friend, Riley.  Anya often would curl up next to me while I nursed Mouse or comforted Mouse when she was crying. Anya put up with Mouse's antics, being laid on and sometimes chased.  Anya did not mind when Mouse would pet her, and would sometimes seek her out.

Anya had the softest fur. I loved the feel of it under my fingers. Like most cats, Anya loved to be brushed. And she didn't fight too hard when Anjin trimmed her nails.  And she never minded when I scooped her up in my arms to give her cuddles and love.  She would purr away, content as could be. 

Anya's passing came as a surprise to us all. She had not shown signs of illness. One minute she seemed fine and the next . . .

My heart aches for my sweet Anya.  She came to me at a time in my life when I needed her most. She filled my life with love.   She was only with us for five years, but she made a lifetime impression on us.

To my dearest Anya, know that I love you. Give Riley my best, and may the two of you play together to your hearts' content.

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

On Vacation

I am taking the week off to enjoy with my family.  I hope you have a wonderful week and may your reading be good!

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Cat Thursday: Bath Time (Part 4)

Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates cats; their foibles and humorousness and the joy they bring. You can join in by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you made or came across, cat art or share with us pics of your own felines, then post your link up at The True Book Addict.

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where is Your Bookmark? (07/03/2013)

The proverbial "they" say that bad things come in threes.  Death being one of them.  I'm not a particularly superstitious person, but it does seem to be true in my life lately.  In May, I said goodbye to my beloved Riley.  This past month it was my husband's grandmother.  Yesterday it was a coworker.  I have worked in my current office for 8 years now, many of the people working then are the same ones I see at the office still today.  We are close knit and have seen each other through ups and downs.  Our job can be pretty stressful, so it's only natural really.  Sera was one of the people who always had a smile on her face and a hug at the ready.  She was struck by a progressive strain of cancer earlier this year and yesterday she lost the battle.  The mood in the office will be somber, no doubt.  Our hearts are aching.  She was surrounded by family when she died, and for that I am grateful.

The holiday weekend is fast approaching, and along with it my vacation.  While I would have loved to do some traveling this year and take Mouse on her first real vacation, alas, it is not in the cards for us.  Hopefully we will be able to have some fun day trips mixed in among leisurely days at  home or the park.  I am also hoping the temperatures cool down just a tad.

This past weekend was an eventful one.  We drove up to Central California (where it was hot, hot, hot!) to visit my in-laws and attend Grandma Arnold's memorial service.  It was a beautiful service.  She was much loved and respected and definitely will be missed.  Something I only learned about her in recent weeks was that she took a job during World War II repairing autopilots and bombsights.  When she started, she earned 97 cents an hour.  When she left the job, she was making $1.04.  Imagine that.

It seems fitting then that my reading lately has taken me back to World War II.  Over the weekend I read Simon Van Booy's The Illusion of Separateness for an upcoming tour, and now I am reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.

What are you reading right now?

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where  

participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a 

book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

I have yet to read a Kate Morton novel, although I have heard such wonderful things about her books.  The Secret Keeper is my first.  I have only just begun reading, so am not too far in yet.  I can tell right from the start it would be quite different from Simon Van Booy's book in which the author's prose is sparse.  This introduction doesn't offer much in the way of what to expect from the book but it does give the reader a glimpse at the opening setting.

Rural England, a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, a summer's day at the start of the 1960's.  The house is unassuming; half-timbered, with white paint peeling gently on the eastern side and clematis scrambling up the plaster.  The chimney pots are steaming, and you know, just by looking, that there's something tasty simmering on the stove top beneath.  It's something in the way the vegetable patch has been laid out, just so, at the back of the house, the proud gleam of the leadlight windows, the careful patching of the roofing tiles.

A rustic fence hems the house, and a wooden gate separates the tame garden from the meadows on either side, the copse beyond.  Through the knotted trees a stream trickles lightly over stones, flitting between sunlight and shadow as it has done for centuries, but it can't be heard from here.  It's too far away.  The house is quite alone, sitting at the end of a long, dusty driveway, invisible from the country lane whose name it shares.

Would you keep reading?

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© 2013, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Bookish Thoughts: The Execution of Noa P. Singleton

The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver

Crown, 2013

Fiction; 320 pgs

From the Publisher: 

An unforgettable and unpredictable debut novel of guilt, punishment, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive Noa P. Singleton never spoke a word in her own defense throughout a brief trial that ended with a jury finding her guilty of first-degree murder. Ten years later, having accepted her fate, she sits on death row in a maximum-security penitentiary, just six months away from her execution date. 

Seemingly out of the blue, she is visited by Marlene Dixon, a high-powered Philadelphia attorney who is also the mother of the woman Noa was imprisoned for killing. Marlene tells Noa that she has changed her mind about the death penalty and Noa’s sentence, and will do everything in her considerable power to convince the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison, in return for the one thing Noa is unwilling to trade: her story. 

Marlene desperately wants Noa to reveal the events that led to her daughter’s death – events that Noa has never shared with a soul. With death looming, Marlene believes that Noa may finally give her the answers she needs, though Noa is far from convinced that Marlene deserves the salvation she alone can deliver. Inextricably linked by murder but with very different goals, Noa and Marlene wrestle with the sentences life itself can impose while they confront the best and worst of what makes us human in this haunting tale of love, anguish, and deception.

I sat on a jury once.  It was a murder trial in which a man was accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend. Both had been drinking extensively and engaged in a domestic dispute.  He killed his girlfriend, beating her with his hands and feet and a hand held vacuum cleaner.  I found the entire criminal court process . . . interesting.  I had worked in a courtroom for years, but only in the juvenile dependency court.  So, the criminal case was a new experience for me.  The information that could be entered into evidence, the way the attorneys made their arguments, the instructions to the jury . . . I came away from that experience feeling a bit disillusioned and not too confident in the entire jury trial process.  At least not in the case I heard.  It's hard to be when no one cares about the juror sleeping off a hangover during testimony or the jury foreman who asked his fellow jurors to keep in mind the defendant's age when condemning him to prison time despite having just been instructed by the judge not to take that into consideration because it wasn't relevant to whether he had in fact committed first degree murder.

And so Noa P. Singleton's story was not surprising.  I have worked with a variety of attorneys over the years--some inexperienced, others burnt out or apathetic.  They were mixed in with the good ones.  One of my favorite juvenile court attorneys was a court appointed one, not a private attorney brought in from the outside.  So the stereotype of court appointed attorneys not being the best advocates for their clients isn't always true.  That's neither here nor there.  In terms of the book, however, what most stood out for me was Noa's experience with the court process and how, unfortunately, realistic it was portrayed.  It's clear from the novel that the author is well versed in criminal law and the ins and outs of the courtroom, particularly in criminal cases involving someone without much money.

I was caught up in Noa's tale right from the start.  The novel is told from her perspective, in first person with the occasional pause for letters written by Marlene Dixon to her daughter, the murder victim.  The two narratives offer a glimpse into both Noa's mind and Marlene's.  Their stories are intertwined right from the start.  Their relationship is an interesting one, one that creates more suspicion at first rather than understanding.

The author has a gift for only offering a piece of the mystery of how and why Sarah was killed here and there, keeping the suspense building and the reader wanting to know more.  Neither Noa or Marlene are particularly likeable characters.   Neither are very reliable as narratives--or are they?  It's a question that I kept asking myself as I continued to read.

I never really connected with Noa. Being isolated on death row had given her a lot of time to reflect on her life and the direction it had taken.  We learn about her childhood and her relationship with her parents, particularly her absent father who suddenly reappears in her life.  She hadn't had an easy life, and I could see how her behavior and attitudes led her to make the decisions she did.  Still, I never quite got a handle on her.  She seemed disconnected from her own life and the people in it.  Was this a reflection of her current situation and isolation or was it really a part of who she was? 

Marlene brought in her own complications.  She said she had a change of heart about the death penalty, but Noa suspected an ulterior motive from the start--and as the reader, I did too.  It was in the way Marlene presented herself and the words that came out of her mouth.  I just didn't trust her.  Truth be told, I trusted Noa more.

I admit going into the novel I expected a rather fast read, but I didn't find it to be so.  Elizabeth L. Silver is a descriptive writer.  Whether that was a part of Noa's character or just Silver's style, I am not sure.  Add to that the fact that the reader spends so much time in Noa's head, philosophizing and analyzing things, it slowed the pacing of the book down.  At times I didn't mind at all as I found it interesting, but other times I wished I could hurry the book along.  I really wanted to get to the truth.  What happened to Sarah?  Why was she killed?  What was Noa's role?  And what about the motive?  All of this remains a mystery until the end of the book.  And, although by then the truth comes less as a surprise, there are still some surprises to be had.

When I finished reading The Execution of Noa P. Singleton, I wasn't immediately sure what I thought of the book.  On the one hand, I did enjoy it.  On the other, I felt a bit unsatisfied.  Ultimately though, I am glad I read the novel and feel that, as a whole, it was a worthwhile book, one that is particularly thought provoking.

Rating:  (Good)

To learn more about Elizabeth L. Silver and her book, please visit the author's website. 

I hope you will check out what others had to say about The Execution of Noa P. Singleton on the TLC Book Tours route!

Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. I received an e-copy of the book from the publisher for review.

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