Killing Rachel (Murder Notebooks #2)

Anything entitled The Murder Notebooks should be fascinating right? Not so, I should have looked more into the plot and reviews before I purchased the novel. The Murder Notebooks: Killing Rachel by Anne Cassidy takes play in London, following the investigation of teenager Rose looking for her missing parents. This is the second book in the series, but I never read the first one. To be honest, I didn’t know that Killing Rachel was the second, but it really didn’t matter. The novel gives enough backstory to get by.

The main thread that goes through this series is that five years ago, Rose’s parents disappeared. Rose believes them to be dead, but her brother Josh hasn’t given up. He believes that there is a conspiracy, and that because of their parent’s work in Cold Cases the Russian Mob took them. This novel has the two looking through old letters and cases from their parents, and investigating places and people mentioned. Josh takes them to an abandoned cabin, a place he vaguely remembers, hoping that their parents might be hiding out there. Unfortunately, a group of Russian gangsters kidnap and torture Josh, hoping that he will lead them to the information they want.

Old police friends are telling Rose and Josh different things, which means that some of their parent’s friends have to be working with the Russians and are lying about what has really happened.

That is only part of this novel though. Rachel was an old friend of Rose’s while at boarding school, and she has been found dead, drowned in the lake by school. Despite a falling out months earlier, Rose goes back to school to offer her condolences and talk to the police. While their, Rose begins looking into Rachel’s life and death. A death that wasn’t a suicide like everyone is saying, but murder. Was it an ex-boyfriend, the brother of a suicidal friend, hurt and disgruntled classmate; Rose has taken it upon herself to find out.

Book was rather boring, mainly because the main character has no friends. There is so little interaction and personality that it is hard to get behind her as a character or lose yourself in her story. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy novels like Killing Mr. Griffin, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and other conspiracy and murder young adult books.

Son of Sobek: Quick Review

Waiting a year, sometimes more, for the next novel is a series can be difficult. Thanks to e-readers though, many authors are finding a way to appease their readers during the long wait, short novellas involving the characters from their series. The Son of Sobek by Rick Riordan is one such novella.

Written with his son, The Son of Sobek is a short novella that brings together the two main characters of his best selling series, Percy Jackson and Carter Kane. Told from the perspective of Carter Kane, the Egyptian wizard and the Greek Demi-God are both going after the same monster. Mistrusting of one another, they put aside their differences to fight the creature. Luckily the two are able to take down the crocodile-like creature, but something is wrong.

The Greeks and Egyptians have always stayed away from each other, keeping their gods and their monsters to themselves, but this meeting was not one of chance. Someone is trying to push the two worlds together, and create chaos.

The two boys leave on good terms, but they both know that something is going to happen to them and soon. I loved this little novella. It sets up for the possibility that once Heroes of Olympus is done, a new series will emerge that combines all the characters and gods. I cannot wait!!

Harken by Kelab Nation (Review)

It took me over three months to finish Harken by Kaleb Nation. It wasn’t the worst book I have ever read, but it didn’t hold my attention and I kept being distracted by other books and reruns of television shows. I think part of the reason that this book was such a letdown was it was really hyped up in the BookTube community and on book blogs. The writing was only mediocre, it sounded like someone who was used to just writing blogs and reviews online, the language wasn’t fluid enough for me. One of the things I hate most about many new and young authors is how pretentious they try to sound in their writings. That was something that unfortunately happened with Mr. Nation’s first novel.

The plot is a great one that was full of potential. Its one of those stories where a teenager finds out he has a great destiny foretold in prophesy or unknown family lineage. It’s set up like a Percy Jackson novel or one of the Heir Chronicles. Unknown origins, that leads to epic battles and growth. I feel like I should have loved this novel, but again the writing was just a little to difficult to get through.

Michael Asher has the ability to see people’s true emotions. When he looks into their eyes he knows what they are thinking and hiding. He made his money from spying on couples that suspect their significant other of cheating and lying. One night while investigating a possible affair, a man attempts to assassinate him. Turns out, Michael is the reincarnation of a warrior who is tasked with riding the world of evil beings.

His adventures lead him to finding his two protectors, also reincarnations, who have tried to protect him throughout all of his lives. Those who are trying to kill him feed stories to the news about Michael being a terrorist, not hard to fake since Michael keeps being in places he shouldn’t be. Plane crashes, burning houses, and killed law enforcement agents are only a few of the things that are being pinned on Michael.

The end of the book was a decent one. Enough open ending plots to make the second book a smooth transition of story, but not enough of a cliffhanger that I will buy the book. I really wanted to like this book, but again it was only a mediocre read. Three months to finish a novel? That usually isn’t a very good sign, but at least I finished it. It wasn’t bad enough for me to give up on. I can understand why people liked it, there are some great battle and fight scenes, but the writing was a little to pretentious for me, and Michael was a little to whiney for my taste.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and light conspiracy theory novels. Books with heroes who have special abilities, novels similar to the Heir Chronicles, books by Cat Patrick or The Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard.

The Sacrifice (Enemy #4) Review

Trying to review a book in the middle of a series can be difficult. I want to talk about how characters have changed, but trying to give the backstory to all the characters would be a novella in itself. But lets give it a shot. The Sacrifice is the fourth novel in Charlie Higson’s best selling The Enemy series. Set in London in the not so distant future, a sickness wiped out everyone over the age of fourteen. It has been a year since all the adults got sick, most of them died. A few however, lived if you can call it that. They are diseased, crazy animals without thoughts except to eat the flesh of all the children still alive. At least that’s how it was for the past year. Shadowman (Dylan) has been following them, observing them and they are starting to change. They are growing smarter, working together, communication to one another and the kids are not safe. Groups have banded together all over London, in the Tower, the Palace, the Cathedral, and in Parliament. But the sickos, or adults, are smarter now. They are finding ways into the fortified buildings, communicating and working together. Those children who are left, are even more unsafe than they were before.

            This novel brings together all of the different pieces, places, and people that Higson has introduced his readers to over the past few books. Brothers and sisters are trying to cross London to reunite, no matter how many sickos might be between them. Sam and The Kid in trying to find their friends have been captured by more different groups believing them to by spies, or in Mad Matt’s opinion the Lamb and the Goat, the devil and the savior. Those children in power in their “strongholds” are starting to are irrational moves.

            Maybe there is hope. Wormwood, an adult and a sicko might not be as sick as the others. He can still talk, and while he craves the taste of human flesh like the rest, his nonsense talk is starting to make scene. He mumbles about the experiments and the mistakes in-between calling for flesh and turning from the light that burns his skin. Given enough time and darkness he might be able to help those who are left stop the disease and save the children.

            But for every yin there is a yang, and while Wormwood is doing his best to fight the cravings and help, St. George has given in completely to the ravaging and chaos in his mind. He leads the newly ordered and strong group of diseased adults, and they are intent on satisfying their craving for the flesh of children.

            I thought that this book was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait for the series to continue. The first three books focused on just one, maybe two groups of kids, but this novel is bringing them all together, and setting the story up for the final battle where I am assuming all the children will band together under Wormwood’s guidance to fight off the last of the sickness and begin to rebuild humanity.

            I give this novel 4.5/5 stars and wood recommend it for anyone who likes zombie books, post apocalyptic novels, books the feature strong children facing and fighting adversary, and novels like World War Z, Gone, the Killing Floor, and the Quarantine series.

Quarantine: The Saints (Book 2) REVIEW

It seemed that the students, lead by Will and the rest of the Loner pack, were finally going to

escape the school they had been quarantined in for almost two years. A group of teenagers outside of the school were trying to break them out, unfortunately it didn’t work and the outsiders got stuck in the school with them. Nicknamed the “Saints” (since they went to the private school about two hours away), they dynamic of life at McKinley High has shifted again. The Saints had brought news of the outside, and it wasn’t good. The infection had not been quarantined by the closing of McKinley and the area round it, but had started to spread all over the state, and teenagers had been killed onsite for more than a year. McKinley High was one of the only places in the entire state that was “safe” for teenagers.

            With the entrance of the Saints power completely shifts inside the school. The “Loners” have disbanded, each person going a different gangs leaving Will alone and scared, just like he was when the quarantine first happened. That is until Gates, leader of the Saints, befriends Will in order to get a foothold in the happenings of McKinley. The two quickly bond, and take over the school with their wild parties and outrageous demands. Not to mention the taking down of former Varsity leader Sam, eventually causing his death.

            Slowly Will begins to realize that maybe Gates isn’t who he says he is. Wild mood swings, talking to himself, and there is murmur from some of the other Saints that maybe some of the deaths that happened on the outside. Deaths that weren’t caused by the government or scared adults, but by Gates, and now Gates is starting to crack in McKinley. All of McKinley is starting to crack.

            Gangs are breaking apart, attacking each other without provocation. Hoarding food and other goods has started again, people are dying, and rape and pregnancy are starting to become an issue. Drops are becoming infrequent again and the few adults who supervise the drops from afar are starting to give up trying to help.

            I thought that this was an amazing follow-up to Quarantine: The Losers by Lex Thomas. The book doesn’t overly dwell on activities from the first novel, which lets this novel have a life of its own. One of the best parts about this series in that the timeline is linear, but each chapter tells the story from a few different people’s perspective. It helps understand the story better, so its not one-sided, but gives a more accurate portrayal of what is actually going on. The story is fast passed, so I never once felt bored. There are enough different storylines to keep you entertained, but not so many that you ever get confused with who’s-who.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult, dystopian novels. He writes in a style similar to Ray Bradbury and Stephen King if they wrote for young-adults. I would compare it to books like Gone, Lord of the Flies, Charlie Higson’s The Fear Series, and other infection type books.