Book Review: Perfectly Good Crime by Dete Meserve

We were given the opportunity to review Perfectly Good Crime by Mete Meserve.  Read below to find out what this book is about and to see what the Vise Library thought about it!

About the book:

When the estates of the 100 wealthiest Americans are targeted in a series of sophisticated, high tech heists, Los Angeles TV news reporter Kate Bradley must venture inside the world of the super rich to investigate the biggest story of the year.

As the heists escalate, Kate's search is thwarted when the Los Angeles police detective she's been working with mysteriously disappears, her senator father demands that she stop reporting on the heists, and the billionaire victims refuse to talk to the media. Kate uncovers clues that those behind the robberies have shocking, yet uplifting, motives--it just may be a perfectly good crime that brings about powerful change.

Further complicating her life is a dream job awaiting her in New York, a choice that could shatter from her deepening relationship with Fire Captain Eric Hayes. Kate must trust her instincts--and her heart--in a high stakes search that will test everything she believes and force her to decide where she belongs.

Some of America's wealthiest families are being targeted in a ring of high tech heists and a lot of good things start happening for the less fortunate (Robin Hoodish maybe?).  Kate is a news reporter that steps in to investigate what is happening and shows us what happens with TV politics when there is a war between the integrity of getting a good story versus going for higher ratings.  Kate is thrust into the spotlight for this story and uncovers the reason behind the robberies.  Not only does this story impact Kate professionally, but personally as well.  Her relationship with Eric is put to the test when she has to make a decision between her own ambition and the person she loves.  

This book is a follow up to Meserve's previous novel Good Sam.  I haven't read the first book in this series but I was able to pick up this book pretty easily.  Perfectly Good Crime is a great mix of suspense and drama with an underlying message of giving back.  This book will have you turning the pages quickly to figure out who is behind the heists but also with what happens with Kate.  Such a fun read with a great message!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | 

About the author:

Dete Meserve is an award-winning author who is searching for Good. Like Kate Bradley in the novels 'Good Sam' and 'Perfectly Good Crime,' Meserve searches for people who are doing extraordinary good for others. While most mysteries focus on finding the killer or kidnapper, Meserve's novels focus our attention on finding the helpers, the rescuers, and the people who bring light and hope into the world with their selfless acts of kindness. When she's not writing, she is a film and television producer in Los Angeles and partner of Wind Dancer Films. Meserve lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children—and a very good cat that rules them all.

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Summer Reading Challenge: The Choices We Make by Karma Brown

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is The Choices We Make by Karma Brown!

About the book:

Following her bestselling debut novel Come Away with Me, Karma Brown returns with an unforgettable story that explores the intricate dynamics of friendship and parenthood 

Hannah and Kate became friends in the fifth grade, when Hannah hit a boy for looking up Kate's skirt with a mirror. While they've been close as sisters ever since, Hannah can't help but feel envious of the little family Kate and her husband, David, have created—complete with two perfect little girls. 

She and Ben have been trying for years to have a baby, so when they receive the news that she will likely never get pregnant, Hannah's heartbreak is overwhelming. But just as they begin to tentatively explore the other options, it's Kate's turn to do the rescuing. Not only does she offer to be Hannah's surrogate, but Kate is willing to use her own eggs to do so. 

Full of renewed hope, excitement and gratitude, these two families embark on an incredible journey toward parenthood…until a devastating tragedy puts everything these women have worked toward at risk of falling apart. Poignant and refreshingly honest, The Choices We Make is a powerful tale of an incredible friendship and the risks we take to make our dreams come true.

How far would you go for your best friend?  Hannah and Kate have been bffs since the 5th grade.  Hannah is a little jealous of Kate and her family because Kate has what Hannah can't: children.  Hannah and her husband have received the devastating news that they can't have children.  However, Kate wants to help and she does the only thing she can think of that will help.  Kate offers to be a surrogate mother to Hannah's child and is willing to use her own eggs to do so.  This is not an easy decisions since all of their lives are intertwined in so many complicated ways.  The friends have to consider how their spouses will take this and how this could affect everyone legally and psychologically.  When Kate's husband, David, tells her that he just wants her to be happy, the plan to give Hannah children is set in motion.  This is great, right?  It is until a tragedy happens that shakes everyone that is involved.  Friendships are tested and what is "right" for everyone involved is put into question.

This is such a heartbreaking story but it does an amazing job of showing how there are so many things to consider when choosing this option.  It is not something to be taken lightly and the author does an amazing job of showing all sides.  It is a complicated story when there is something to be ecstatic about but while there is grief involved too.  You can tell that this is a passionate story for the author and you will be emotional reading it.  An absolutely thought provoking story that will have you thinking about it long after you finish the last sentence. 

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the authors:

KARMA BROWN is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer, who probably spends too much time on her laptop in coffee shops. When not writing, she can be found running with her husband, coloring (outside the lines) with her daughter, or baking yet another batch of banana muffins. Karma lives just outside Toronto with her family. She's the author of two novels: COME AWAY WITH ME (September 2015) & THE CHOICES WE MAKE (July 2016).

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Summer Reading Challenge: All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker!

About the book:

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, struggles to pretend this horrific event did not touch her carefully constructed world.

As Tom and Charlotte seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town - or perhaps lives among them - drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

Dr. Forrester is a psychiatrist that is currently treating Jenny, Tom (Jenny's father) and Charlotte (Jenny's mother) and we see this story through his eyes.  He is treating the three of them for different things that stem from the same incident: the sexual assault of Jenny (plus something else that I can't give away!).  Jenny was given a new drug after the incident that erases the memory of the assault (or does it really erase her memory?).  Jenny is having a hard time coming to terms with the assault and the not knowing of the event or who did it.  Tom is struggling with revenge.  He wants to know who did this to his daughter and seek his own kind of justice.  Charlotte is ready to sweep this under the rug and pretend it never happened.  This psychological thriller navigates you to the truth behind who did this to Jenny (with some twists!) and how all of the characters cope with it.  If you are looking for a quick read that keeps you guessing, check out All is Not Forgotten!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the authors:

Wendy Walker is an attorney and former investment banker. She lives in Connecticut where she is busy raising her three sons and writing her next thriller.

Connect with the author:

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Summer Reading Challenge: So Close by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is So Close by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus!

About the book:

From international #1 best-selling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus comes a story about a girl from the trailer parks of central Florida and the two powerful men who shape her life―one of whom will raise her up to places she never imagined, the other of whom will threaten to destroy her.

Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives―in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it’s his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda’s imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she’s never had―a role model. Meanwhile Amanda is introduced to the wealthy, charismatic, and deeply troubled Pax Westerbrook. He clearly desires Amanda, but if she gives in will that move her closer to the life she’s always dreamed of―or make it impossible?

Amanda rides Davis’s political success all the way to Washington, where he becomes Senator and will later be tapped for president and even make a bid for the White House. But when Amanda starts to suspect, and later confirms, his moral indiscretions, her loyalty is tested. Will a girl from a trailer park even be believed if she goes public with damning information? Will she be willing to risk losing everything she’s gained?

Amanda comes from very humble roots and wants to rise above her situation. She gets a job working for a lawyer (Tom) that has aspirations of his own.  His wife, Lindsey, is someone that Amanda can see herself looking up to.  She thinks that Lindsey and Tom have the perfect relationship.  However, as time goes on Amanda realizes that their relationship may not be everything that is cracked up to be as Tom's political spotlight begins to rise.  Meanwhile, Amanda is intrigued by a rich and very troubled man named Pax.  Pax has his own demons to deal with and in a way scared of what Amanda represents.  

So Close is a book about multiple chances and gives great insight into the political arena.  This book also drives home the fact about being able to choose your friends but not your family.  This is also a book about going after what you want but feeling like you have responsibilities that you can never relinquish (in Amanda's case: her family).  Loyalty is a common theme but told with through the voice that we all are familiar from McLaughlin & Kraus.  Just be warned that you will not be able to put this book down once you start it!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the authors:

Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus met at New York University’s Gallatin School of Indi-vidualized Study, where they both graduated with concentrations in Arts in Education. Before teaming up to write The Nanny Diaries, Kraus had continued in the arts and McLaughlin worked as a business consultant within the private and public sectors. 

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Summer Reading Challenge: Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer!

About the book:

When Char Hawthorn's husband dies unexpectedly, she is left questioning everything she once knew to be true: from the cozy small town life they built together to her relationship with her stepdaughter, who is suddenly not bound to Char in any real way. Untethered explores what bonds truly form a family and how, sometimes, love knows no bounds.Char Hawthorn, college professor, wife and stepmother to a spirited fifteen-year-old daughter, loves her family and the joyful rhythms of work and parenting. But when her husband dies in a car accident, the “step” in Char’s title suddenly matters a great deal. In the eyes of the law, all rights to daughter Allie belong to Lindy, Allie’s self-absorbed biological mother, who wants to girl to move to her home in California.

While Allie begins to struggle in school and tensions mount between her and Char, Allie’s connection to young Morgan, a ten-year-old-girl she tutors, seems to keep her grounded. But then Morgan, who was adopted out of foster care, suddenly disappears, and Char is left to wonder about a possible future without Allie and what to do about Morgan, a child caught up in a terrible crack in the system.

What does it actually mean to be a mother?  Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer tries to answer that very question.  Char is the stepmother of Allie and is forced to examine the role of a stepmother when Char's husband, Brad, dies suddenly in a car crash.  Not only is Char having to adjust to this new life as a widow, she is having to help Allie adjust to her new life as well.  Allie's biological mom (Lindy) is not the loving, responsible parent she should be and only wants Allie when it is convenient.  Between the death of her father and Lindy pushing for Allie to move to California, Allie is struggling with life and school.  Allie decides to start tutoring young girl named Morgan.  Morgan has not had it easy either: she grew up in the foster system and self harms.  

This book will take you on an emotional journey that deals with many issues and storylines.  It delves deep into what it takes to be a parent and what it means to be a family.  This story also tackles the legal system and gives insight onto psychological damage.  A very compelling, heartbreaking read that you will not be able to put down!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Julie Lawson Timmer grew up in Stratford, Ontario. She is a lawyer, a mom/stepmom and a fledgling Pilates practitioner who, despite the often-questionable results, is making a sincere effort to become a better cook. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband, their children, and two spoiled dogs. 

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Book Review: Hitched (volume one) by Kendall Ryan

We were given the opportunity to review Hitched by Kendall Ryan.  Read below to find out what this book is about and to see what the Vise Library thought about it!

About the book:

Marry the girl I've had a crush on my whole life? Check.
Inherit a hundred-billion-dollar company? Check.

Produce an heir... Wait, what?
I have ninety days to knock up my brand-new fake wife. There's only one problem--she hates my guts.
And in the fine print of the contract? The requirement that we produce an heir.
She can't stand to be in the same room with me. Says she'll never be in my bed.

But I've never backed down from a challenge and I'm not about to start now. Mark my words--I'll have her begging for me, and it won't take ninety days.

On the heels of her smash hit and New York Times bestselling SCREWED series, Kendall Ryan brings you HITCHED, a romantic comedy that delivers heart and heat. A NYC playboy turned business mogul has ninety days to win over the woman he's always desired in order to save his father's company. One tiny problem: She hates his guts.

Noah and Olivia are in a bit of a predicament: in order to inherit and save the company that their fathers built, they have to get married (and little time to seal the deal, 90 days).  That does not seem so terrible except for the fact that Olivia cannot stand Noah.  She is not a fan of his playboy ways or his carefree attitude.  Little does Olivia know that Noah has been in love with her since they were kids.  She gives him a shot to woo her before she will accept the marriage contract.  As the wooing progresses, Olivia realizes that there may be more to Noah than she initially imagined.  Meanwhile, the company that they are trying so desperately to save is being circled by vultures who wish to see it taken over.  There is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end that makes you want the next volume, NOW.  This is a funny, fast-paced read that will have you laughing out loud.  Noah is hilarious and is ready for the challenge that is Olivia.  The two have great banter/chemistry and will have you cheering for their HEA.  Make sure you get your hands on this book and be ready for a great time!  

P.S. Volume 2 releases soon and the final installment will be available next month!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | 

About the author:

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Todaybestselling author of more than a dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold more than a million ebooks and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller list more than two dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Weekly. She lives Texas with her husband and two young sons.

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Summer Reading Challenge: You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!  This week's book is You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott!

About the book:

The audacious new novel about family and ambition from "one of the best living mystery writers" (Grantland) and bestselling, award-winning author of The Fever, Megan Abbott.
How far will you go to achieve a dream? That's the question a celebrated coach poses to Katie and Eric Knox after he sees their daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful, compete. For the Knoxes there are no limits--until a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community and everything they have worked so hard for is suddenly at risk. 

As rumors swirl among the other parents, Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself irresistibly drawn to the crime itself. What she uncovers--about her daughter's fears, her own marriage, and herself--forces Katie to consider whether there's any price she isn't willing to pay to achieve Devon's dream. 

From a writer with "exceptional gifts for making nerves jangle and skin crawl" (Janet Maslin), You Will Know Me is a breathless rollercoaster of a novel about the desperate limits of parental sacrifice, furtive desire, and the staggering force of ambition. 

Katie and Eric's daughter, Devon, is a gymnastics phenom.  Devon is an Olympics hopeful and her entire family is has given their all for the journey.  However, the dreams of Katie, Eric and Devon come to a halt when a hit and run happens in town and threatens to destroy everything.  Rumors fly about the family and Katie tries desperately to grasp at what this accident has to do with her family.  However, as Katie digs deeper into her family, she discovers things she wishes she could take back.  

This entire book has a wonderful sense of dread and foreboding (I know, weird, right?).  Trust me, this book is so wonderfully done and has you on the edge of you seat until the end.  This book delves into the darkness of people and families and how people will do anything for the things they want.  It is a chilling tale about people and will keep you guessing through the entire book.  One of the most haunting lines in this book, in my opinion is: "Was one meant to pay forever for a fleeting mistake?"  This pretty much sums up the entire book and every choice that was made in this story.  Such a great psychological thriller for the summer!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

MEGAN ABBOTT is the Edgar award-winning author of seven novels, including DARE ME, THE END OF EVERYTHING and her latest, THE FEVER, which won both the International Thriller Writers and Strand Critics Award for Best Novel and was chosen one of the Best Books of the Year by Amazon, National Public Radio, the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. Her stories have appeared in anthologies including Detroit Noir, Queens Noir and the Best American Mystery Stories of 2014. 

She is also the author of The Street Was Mine, a study of hardboiled fiction and film noir. Her next novel, You Will Know Me, comes out in July 2016. She has been nominated for awards including the Steel Dagger, the LA Times Book Prize and the Pushcart Prize. Currently, she is working on developing DARE ME and THE FEVER for television. Megan is a staff writer on HBO's forthcoming David Simon show, The Deuce.

Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English Literature and went on to receive her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She lives in Queens, New York City.

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