Kill Again

by Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene

I'm not finished with this book yet.  In fact, I'm only four or five chapters in but I am so excited about it I wanted to write down some of my early thoughts.

We start of in the killer's basement apartment where he's writing on the wall.  He is obsessed with words.  After two pages I felt the tension and knew this was a scary man.

Then we switch to scanty tidbits about Claire.  She is a psychiatrist, she is co-teaching a class about serial killers to future law enforcement officers, and she has been taking a break from work for several months or longer, and is just starting back to work.  Ian, Claire's fiance, is missing from her life - don't know if he's dead or if they split up.  And she had a reoccurring nightmare as a child that has started back up in the last two weeks.

Can you understand why this book has a grip on my attention?!  But wait, there's more.  She has just introduced the idea of epigenitics to her students.  I didn't know right off what that was but being a retired biology teacher, I was intrigued.  Plus, sometime in the last year my husband mentioned an article he had read about life pressures altering our genes and those genes being passed on.  My first thought was the scriptures that talk about God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the 3rd and 4th generations.  I have always believed God works in natural ways and this idea could scientifically explain those scriptures.

I still don't know much about Epigenitics but I'm going to be looking it up and discovering more about it - that is, if it does exist as a scientific theory.

I'm hoping there are previous books by these authors.  Also hoping that this book continues to hold my apt attention throughout.

**July 2, 2015**   I finished the book.  No further mention of epigenetics which saddened me.  I did discover from internet searches that epigenitics is a scientific theory and I will continue to do further research about it.

And I discovered that these authors have a previous book that also features Dr. Claire Waters.  It's titled, Kill Switch and, yes, it is ordered and on its way to my house.

Kill Again held my interest to the end.  I felt like it wrapped up rather quickly but the rest of the book was suspenseful.

* I received a copy of Kill Again  from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was received.
.

Circling the Sun

by Paula McLean

I didn't realize this was based on real-life people and events.  At some point I began to wonder if their was some truth to the story, probably when I read the name Karen Blixen, which sounded familiar.  I looked up Karen Blixen and reacquainted myself with Isak Dinesen's real name. Dinesen is her pen name -- you'll recognize her as the author of "Out of Africa."  Denys Finch Hatton and the main character of the book, Beryl Clutterbuck were also real.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is a fictional account of real people's lives and relationships.  As with any historical fiction the reader must keep in mind that the conversations and much about the relationships is conjecture on the author's part.  However, there are facts to be gleaned and general circumstances to be trusted.

Beryl was a strong female with a great deal of grit and determination.  Sometimes she made life harder for herself with her unconventional thinking and actions.  She became the first woman to earn a license as a horse trainer in Kenya and England.

After Dnys Finch Hatton was killed in a plane crash, Beryl took up flying.  She was the first woman to fly solo from east to west over the Atlantic.

Circling the Sun was an absorbing read.  I rarely stay up late to finish a book but I did just that with this book.  Even with her successes, I felt sad for Beryl.  It seemed she was always trying to prove herself good enough for the men she loved and, mostly, for herself.

* I received a copy of Circling the Sun  from NetGalley in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was received.

G. K. Chesterton Quotes

Edited by Bob Blaisdell

Seven years ago I read The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut by Paul Nowak and loved it, so when I saw this book on Net Galley I requested it.

This is the perfect ebook for my phone.  A few minutes waiting in line anywhere and I can read a few quotes.  With Chesterton there's always something that either resonates or is fodder for contemplation.

As I read this book I highlighted many quotes that I thought were worth rereading in the future.  Unfortunately, the book got erased from my Kindle, along with all the quotes.  They are now floating around the "ether"-net.  (An argument in favor of tangible books.)  I do have a few quotes that I found by skimming through the book after I uploaded it a second time.

One of my favorites:  "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.  An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."

The paradox of childhood:  "Exactly what Shaw does not understand is the paradox; the unavoidable paradox of childhood.  Although this child is much better than I, yet I must teach it.  Although this being has much purer passions that I, yet I must control it.  Although Tommy is quite right to rush towards a precipice, yet he must be stood in the corner for doing it."

"Selfishness is a permanent and natural danger which arises from the existence of a self."

I have enjoyed reading this book as it provides a glimpse into the mind of Chesterton. I find him to be an interesting person and I agree with many of his ideas.

* I received a copy of G.K. Chesterton Quotes  from NetGalley in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was received.

Constant Fear -- NETGALLEY REVIEW

 by Daniel Palmer

I love a book that grabs my attention and keeps me reading.  I can easily set most books down with the anticipation of being able to pick up the story the next day.  Constant Fear was not so easy to set aside - I wanted to keep reading to the finish.  My anticipatory set of mind could not be convinced to savor this book for a few days.  It wanted to be satisfied sooner than later.

This is a page-turner involving a group of five teenage students, a father, and a serious hostage situation.  I don't want to give away too much.  I went into this book knowing nothing of the story so each part was new to me.  Sometimes it's good not knowing too much before you start reading.

I was delighted to discover that Daniel Palmer has written other books.  Having read and loved this one, I will be checking on some of this other books.  Nothing better than discovering a new author whose work you really like and then discovering there's more already in the treasure trove.

I recommended this book to my sister when I was only part way into it.  Now that I'm finished I will highly recommend it.  As far as thrillers go this one lived up to its claim.  No foul language to speak of, no sex scenes, but some pretty descriptive violence.  Some of the characters are very despicable people.

* I received a copy of Constant Fear from NetGalley in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was received.