Into The Darkness by Barbara Michaels

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

When Daniel Mignot, the roguish and mysterious founder of a majestic jewelry empire, dies after a sudden illness, his granddaughter, Meg Venturi, is drawn back to Seldon-the small New England town she ran from so many years ago.  Expecting only to pay her respects and to act as a pillar of strength to her fragile Gran, Meg receives the shock of her life when she learns her beloved grandfather has left her the local antique jewelry store that was his greatest joy.  With this inheritance comes another, even more startling, legacy as Meg is forced into a business partnership with the man Daniel Mignot selected-the man half the town whispers was responsible for the old millionaire's death.

Amidst rich blood-red Burmese rubies, shimmering baroque pearls of a deathlike pallor, and a delicate gold ring whose foreboding message reads "Here I lie and wait for you," Meg is haunted by a mysterious and increasinly dangerous chain of events.  And when she discovers a legacy of dark revelations older and more intriguing than the glittering jewels they surround, Meg must wage a battle of wits to protect something even more precious-her very life....

This was my third Barbara Michaels book and I keep falling in love with them harder the more I read.  For me this book was all about secrets that families keep and the lengths people go to make sure they are never found out.  The suspense is build up slowly with a few hints of danger and malicious gossip floating around in the air.  The tension slowly builds until it boils over in a chaotic finale that gives you the pay off you are wanting the entire time you are reading this.

Like the other two heroines I've read in Michaels' books, Meg is a strong, feisty indiviudal who doesn't have any problems giving her opinions or holding her own against the rest of the characters.  She has her own distinct personality that is shaped by her and her own experiences, she isn't overly influenced by her family, eventhough she has a strong sense of loyalty to them. 

I'm really looking forward to reading even more of her books, though I haven't got one lined up yet.  So if any of you have a favorite book of hers to recomend, please do so.

This will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Brin Ohmsford

Ever since I started this feature I've had a myriad of character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series running through my head vying for consideration.  Would I pick Shea for the way he is able to grow in confidence and work his way through all the doubts to win the day?  Would I go with Allanon, who has to be one of the most stoic but in the end lovealbe characters in all fantasy?  Maybe one of the Leahs for their loyalty and friendship would have been a good choice.  In the end I've decided on Brin Ohmsford from The Wishsong of Shannara.

Brin starts off as a young lady who plays with magic in the way that a toddler will play with a rubber duck in the bathtub.  It's something fun, it's not to be taken seriously, it doesn't have any serious ramifications, it's childsplay.  That's what she thinks anyway.  Little does she know that her power of the Wishsong will save the world once again from the evils that threaten the races.  The Wishsong alone is enough to qualify her for a FFC post.  With her magic, she is able to control nature, through song.  Through wishing for it, she can sing a tree through it's life cycles within minutes.  Leaves changing from green to brown, then falling off all within a few seconds, over and over again.  There is almost no limit to what her magic can accomplish.

When the Duid Allanon shows up to take her with him on a quest to destroy a book that is evil as it is sentient, she isn't sure she should go.  She doesn't see how she would be able to help or even if she wants to help.  Throughout the journey her power and her sense of self are tested to the harshest limits, and she comes out on top.  She rejects all the self doubts and insecurities, she fights off the growing corruption that using her magic allows into her.  Watching her grow from a naive young woman into an intelligent and strong woman is a wonderful pleasure to read.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Shannara books, I would strongly urge you to pick them up and discover for yourself some of the best written characters in fantasy.

Vanish With The Rose by Barbara Michaels

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Who knows what long-forgotten family secrets lie hidden in the eighteenth-century mansion which is being restored by a pair of wealthy eccentrics?  Not Diana Reed, who arrives at the house with a false name and a false identity and who lives in constant fear of betraying herself.  For Diana, posing as a landscape architect trained in the esoteric specialty of "old roses," is determined to uncover a darker and more personal secret-one that may have begun and may well end in murder.

But the dead past intrudes on the present as Diana is haunted by eerie visions, strange music coming from nowhere, and the scent of roses wafting through empty rooms, and she is forced to confront forces more deadly than any she could have imagined. 

After my dissapointing time with Neverland I had to read something that I knew would be a great read and since I had a few Barbara Michaels' books waiting to be read, I picked one up and I was dissapointed.  Michaels is a new author for me, as I've only read one other book of hers but I enjoyed it so much that I figured I would at least enjoy another.  So when I picked up Vanish With The Rose and started reading, I wasn't dissapointed.

Diana is a wonderfully headstrong woman who sets out to discover what happened to her brother, who has been missing for almost a year.  Now her method of putting herself into a situation that allows her to do this is a little shady, but you forgive her for it, even after she discovers the family she is duping are kind, welcoming and overly likeable.  The guilt she ends up feeling is very real and her desire to make it right with them but also to find out the truth start to war within her, which creates an intersting dynamic.

The mystery itself has a solution that I did not see coming and I'm still thinking of the interpersonal issues that such a solution finale would create.  It was such a anguishing outcome that you could feel the sorrow and horror the Diana feels when she discovers not only what happened to her brother but who was responsible.

As in the previous book I've read by the author, and the third who's review will be coming up shortly, this is a masterful blending of mystery, suspense, romance, and just the right amount of the supernatural to concot an engrossing novel that is almost impossible to put down.  I think I've found a new favorite author to keep Agatha Christie and Mercedes Lackey company.

This book will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn at Book Chick City.

Mailbox Monday for 4/26/2010

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke was sent for a TLC Book Tour.

The Secret Keeper by Dorien Grey was sent by the author for review.

When Dreams Bleed by Robin Cain was sent by the author for review.

I bought Midnight Graffiti edited by Jessica Horstings and James Van Hise in hardcover for $1 from the Friends of the Library Book Store.

Neverland by Douglas Clegg

Synopsis From Book Jacket:

For years, the Jackson family has vacationed at Rowena Wandigaux Lee's old Victorian house on Gull Island, a place of superstition and legend off the southern coast of the U.S. One particular summer, young Beau follows his cousin Sumter into a hidden shack in the woods—and christens this new clubhouse "Neverland."

Neverland has a secret history, unknown to the children...

The rundown shack in the woods is the key to an age-old mystery, a place forbidden to all. But Sumter and his cousins gather in its dusty shadows to escape the tensions at their grandmother's house. Neverland becomes the place where children begin to worship a creature of shadows, which Sumter calls "Lucy."

All gods demand sacrifice...

It begins with small sacrifices, little games, strange imaginings. While Sumter's games spiral out of control, twisting from the mysterious to the macabre, a nightmarish presence rises among the straggly trees beyond the bluffs overlooking the sea.

And when Neverland itself is threatened with destruction, the children's games take on a horrifying reality—and Gull Island becomes a place of unrelenting terror.
 
I was given the chance to read this by the publicist and I have to tell you I was really excited to get it in the mail.  I was giddy the rest of the week, antsy with anticipation, wanting to dive into this as soon as time allowed.  The synopsis sucked me in, the cover gave me the chills, and the illustrations throughout the book were brilliantly done.  So when the day came for me to finally get started on it, I was on cloud nine.
 
Then reality set in and I was left feeling a little gray, a little down in the dumps.  I don't want anyone to think that this book wasn't good or didn't have a storyline that wouldn't horrify you, because it does.  The character of Sumter belongs in the pantheon of "demonic" children, right alonside Damian and the gang from "Children of the Corn." 
 
My problem with the book and in writing this review, is that the book left me feeling nothing once I was done with it.  There was no lasting memory or image from the book that was burned into my brain for all time.  Which is what I want from a horror novel, I want to be so horrified that I can't wait to read the book again in order to feel those goosebumps raising on my arms and find my breath catching as I get to a really scary scence. 
 
This one just left me a little underwhelmed and a little disappinted by the "surprise" explanation given to explain Lucy.  Anyone who is paying attention to the story should be able to figure it out way before the big reveal.  There is no shock or awe to it and the way it's explained feels hurried, almost as if it was an afterthought.
 
I wish I could say I either loved or hated this book, but I can't.  All I can say is that it's ok, nothing to horrible but nothing that screams at me to read it again.  I do think it's worth reading if you are a big fan of the genre and enjoy being scared, even if the thrills don't last long after the last page.

Favorite Fictional Character --- The Green Hornet

What is it about the characters we fell in love with as children, were we can't let them go?  Why, even after decades, do they hold a place in our hearts and imaginations?  It seems that most of my FFC posts have been about characters that I either identified with, or looked up to as a child.  This week will be no different.

The Green Hornet first started as a radio program, then became a film series, and later a TV show in the 60s.  It is this version of the character that I was familiar with growing up.  It only aired for one season but has been on TV almost every year since in syndication and for one year as a kid, I ate up every episode I could watch.

The Green Hornet was the masked alter ego of Britt Reid, the grand nephew of John Reid aka The Lone Ranger.  As Britt Reid, he was a respected newspaper publisher who's good lucks got him attention from the ladies.  As The Green Hornet, he was a masked vigilante who fought crime along with his assistant Kato (who was played by Bruce Lee).

Looking back on it, I'm sure some of the appeal this show held for me was the striking good lucks of it's star, Van Williams.  However, the vast amount of pleasure I took from this show, and it's character, was the idea that a normal guy can take on the criminal element and come up on top.  He doesn't need to have super powers or millions of gadgets to get the job done.  He just needs a strong sense of justice and a clearly defined path to accomplish his objectives.  The action was always fun and never over the top and the acting was actually great compared to alto of the other shows in this genre.

I've read that they are making a movie with Seth Rogen playing Britt Reid, I'm not sure what I think of the idea yet, but I can't wait to see the results.  Hopefully it will stay true to the character and feel of the original show.

Mailbox Monday for 4/19/2010

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

I stopped in at the Friends of the Library book store to drop off a few books and I ended up walking out with 3 hardcovers for a total of $2.  I bought 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs, Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen (thanks to Deb of Bookmagic for the recomendation), and a hardcover that combines The Case of the Daring Divorcee by Erle Standley Gardner and Try Anything Once by A.A. Fair.  The picture I found for the book looks just like the one I bought except for the first story.

I bought Ghosts of the White Nights by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. in paperback for $1 from the Dollar Tree.  It's the third in a trilogy so now I have to get the first two books.