I am about to go into research mode, so I've been cramming the brain candy.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: A mother witnesses her teenage son stab a stranger to death in front of the family home. She has no idea what's going on (in more ways than one), but somehow travels back in time, stopping off at significant points that will help her understand and possibly prevent the murder. I found some of this book interesting, but other parts annoying. I mean, if you could travel back in time, fully aware of everything, would you not be hitting Google and other sources of public information hard? But not our mother, even though she is a lawyer and so one would expect that she has resources. Then there's the ending, which is just way too neatly tied up with a ribbon. Meh.
Just Like Magic: If you love
Elf and you can't get enough of those Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies, this is the book for you. Cynical, social climbing, international pariah Bettie accidentally brings the actual spirit of Christmas, Hall (as in Hall E. Day) into the world to fill her with Christmas spirit. It's all quite silly and predictable, but also sometimes funny and rather sweet. There is even some ice skating in it, with a completely eye-rolling bit about Bettie's mother popping off triple axels like they are nothing and no one seems to finds this worthy of notice
. I mean, yes, Hall is magical, but really.
Love on the Brain: If you liked
The Love Hypothesis, you will probably like this one, too, as it's by the same author and has some similar themes. Neuroscientist Bee gets the job of her dreams, but it means working side-by-side with a man who hates her. Cue hate to love, with science and cats and Marie Curie.
Rock Paper Scissors: The publisher says:
Rock Paper Scissors is the next exciting domestic thriller from the queen of the killer twist,
New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney. Well, if you say so, but I will not be reading another book by this queen, as I did not find the twist killer. Workaholic screenwriter Adam and his wife Amelia go off to a remote location in Scotland to celebrate their anniversary, but both have secret plans for each other. And once there, they come across a third party who has plans of her own for the couple. Adam has face blindness and cannot recognize anyone's face, not even his wife's, and therein lies the big twist. I thought the ending was ridiculous, but there are apparently people who like this one.
Nothing Can Hurt You: Now this book did not turn out as I expected. A college girl is murdered by her boyfriend and years later, the murder still affects various people in ways small and large. I kept expecting to read that the boyfriend didn't do it after all, or that there was more to it than what was initially reported, but no. I thought one plot line was really contrived and the ending was not at all satisfying, but otherwise, I thought this was an interesting book about how easily people accept the murders of college girls at the hands of their boyfriends.
Sometimes People Die: If you don't trust doctors, this is not the book for you. A recovering addict doctor takes the only job he can get at an understaffed hospital in a poor London neighborhood and soon is suspected of murdering a patient. The investigation into that murder uncovers too many deaths at the hospital; could it be that there is a serial killer among the medical staff? Well, you certainly might think so, as you can read about a number of real-life cases in which doctors (or other medical people) murdered patients. As I said, this is not a book for people who don't trust doctors. There is some sardonic humor and ruminations about medicine that keep things interesting, but the plot just meanders along, taking many detours along the way, some more believable than others. I thought the identity of the killer was obvious all along, so that didn't help.
It's an interesting look at sibling relationships and the forces and choices that draw us together and apart. I did think some of the characters' actions and motivations weren't very believable, but I found that I wanted to find out what happened, nevertheless. Good overall.
