Play Dead by Harlan Coben

I came across this book at Costco and was so excited to find a book I hadn't read by one of my favorite authors. The inside said that it was his first book. Needless to say very disappointed. Not nearly as good as the rest of his books. If this is the first book you find by him, put it back and pick up any of his other books. It had a good concept. Laura and David get married and on their honeymoon David goes for a swim and doesn't return. Laura is crushed and while grieving tries finding answers to several questions. This will bring up events and lies from 30 years ago. It was too wordy and could have been shorten A LOT! I was definitely curious but then I got to a certain point where I just wanted to know so I could be done with it. I'd say pass on this one and pick up Tell No One or Good for Gone by Harlan Coben instead.

Rating: C-

Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay

I've always been interested in reading books about the Holocaust. I can't seem to understand why something so terrible had to happen to so many innocent people. In Sarah's Key, there are two stories going on. One story is about Sarah and her family in Paris in July 1942. French police came arresting Jewish families. Sarah hides her brother and tells him she'll be back for him. The other story takes place 60 years later and is about a journalist Julia who starts researching the roundup. During her research she discovers a link between Sarah and her family. I thought it was definitely well done with going back and forth between the two different stories. I couldn't put the book down. I was sadden by most of Sarah's story. It's important to read books like this so we never forget what happened. A must read!

Rating: A

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

This was our book club pick by one of my friends. The book is about a famous author named Vida Winter who has given several different stories about her past. Now that she is old and sick she finally decides to tell the true story and seeks out Margaret Lea to write her biography. Margaret has her own issues with her family and a secret they kept from her. As Margaret begins hearing Vida's story, she becomes very intrigued as it continues to unfold. At times I wasn't sure how I felt about the book especially early on as Vida starts telling her story. There's a little bit of wierdness for me reading a little about her parents who were actually siblings. But as the book progressed I was interested in some of the characters and how it was going to all come together. Definitely happy that there was a twist at the end. I'm really looking forward to discussing it with our reading group to see what everyone else thought.

Rating: B-

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

I grabbed this book at Costco a couple of months ago because it looked like a good mystery. It's about a girl Sydney who goes missing and no one knows what happened to her. Of course her father Tim does everything he can to find her. Along the way he discovers that maybe his daughter wasn't always honest with him and that he isn't the only one looking for her. The more he investigates, the more dangerous it becomes for Tim and Sydney. I was a little disappointed with the book. I thought the book could of been a little shorter, sometimes parts were a little repetitive. I was definitely curious to see how it was going to turn out and the last hundred pages got pretty interesting, some twists too. But it just ended, leaving me with some questions. This is the first book by this author I've read. I would probably be willing to try another one of his books.

Rating: C