March 2013 - Nightstand Book Reviews

“T is for Trespass” by Sue Grafton

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Mystery

Kinsey Millhone, the prickly star of Sue Grafton’s California based alphabet series, is no slouch detective. She follows the details, writes notes on 3×5 cards as she gathers information, and is great at ferreting out the facts. In “T is for Trespass,” she still eats way too much fast food, cuts her own hair, takes morning runs near the beach when she’s in the mood, but now drives a ’70 Mustang instead of the beat up ‘74 VW that was totaled in the last book.

Along with other legal detail work, Kinsey is a process server to take care of the bills in between the big cases, and is conscientious about everything she does in her professional life. So, when Kinsey does a cursory background check on a home health aide as a favor, and unwittingly places an elderly neighbor in harm’s way, she feels obligated to undo the damage. The problem is that no one, especially not the neighbor’s reluctant niece who hired Kinsey, wants to be bothered with the inconvenient truth.

The villain in “T is for Trespass,” an evil psychopath, is one of the best that Grafton has written. Grafton has placed us inside the mind of the twisted caregiver and created a chilling character study. I was alarmed, gripping the pages and worried that Kinsey might not survive this one – and we were only up to “T.”

The search for a missing witness to a car accident (with surprising results) unexpectedly overlaps the search for the primary villain. Grafton has set the scenes in the two stories in such a way as to make the overlap seamless and absolutely believable.

Grafton has taken on two issues that affect enormous segments of the 2013 American population – identity theft and health care for senior citizens. She handles the senior care concerns with ripped-from-the-headlines accuracy as she reveals the stark reality of what can happen when our parents/relatives become the victims of elder abuse. Sobering – and it reads like fact, not fiction.

Not too much changes in Kinsey’s personal behavior through the series – the twenty books take place over a five year span in the ‘80s, before cellphones. This way, Kinsey gets shot at, arrested, threatened and harassed, all without backup coming anytime soon.

What a life just to avoid a 9 to 5 schedule. What a ride!

Grafton received the Ross Macdonald Literary Award in 2004 and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 2009.

For more about Sue Grafton and her most recent work, please visit www.suegrafton.com

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“The Red Queen” by Philippa Gregory

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Historical

Internationally bestselling author of “The Other Boleyn Girl,” Gregory has been renowned for the quality of her historical fiction, with richly drawn female characters determined to reach beyond their expected roles in life in order to direct the course of the English monarchy.

In the NYTimes bestseller, “The Red Queen,” Gregory travels back to the War between the Roses and views the conflict from the vision of the would-be queens behind the thrones of the family of Plantagenets. The first in the series, “The White Queen,” told the story of Elizabeth Woodville. “The Red Queen” reveals the life-long ambition of Margaret Beaufort, the heir to the House of Lancaster and her son, Henry, who was second in line to the throne of England.

In the 1400’s, even women from important families were merely chattel; their hands in marriage (and therefore lands and wealth) given as a reward for loyalty to the king in battle. Beaufort was unable to identify with the life planned for her and after hearing about the exploits of Joan of Arc, wanted to devote her days to prayer. Her mother ridiculed her faith and engineered a politically and economically advantageous marriage instead.

Married, pregnant and widowed by the age of fourteen, then widowed again and bequeathed a great fortune, Beaufort was married a third time to Lord Stanley, a man even more calculating than she. She had no say in the management or distribution of her wealth, but her maniacal single-mindedness to place her son on the throne drove her life, and her fanaticism kept her focused for over twenty years. Stanley’s ambition mirrored her own and their scheming defined their loveless marriage.

Gregory deftly illustrated the changes in Beaufort’s life by describing the worktable: “…once covered with books of devotion, it (was) now covered with maps and codes for secret messages.” Beaufort herself recognized her sins of ambition and greed, but placed blame for all her problems on the mother of two boys who had an equal claim to the throne. Boys who mysteriously died a treacherous death in the Tower of London, clearing the way for Henry to return from exile and fight against the usurper, Richard III, to claim his birthright.

Murder, intrigue, bribery, war – actions committed for the right to wear the crown. More bloodthirsty and politically savvy than most of the hardened warriors she sent off to champion her cause, Beaufort fervently engineered it all.

Visit www.philippagregory.com for more information about her books, the new ‘Order of Darkness’ series, and TV shows based on her work.

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“Twilight” series by Stephenie Meyer

Bestselling Author, Young Adult/Teen

First off, let me admit that before “Twilight” hit the stores, I was not a big vampire fan – not in any format. Movies, books, television shows, nada. Maybe it’s the blood and gore, or the way the crazed Bela Lugosi-like ghouls were often depicted with blood dripping off their jaws. I like beach reads, thrillers, sci-fi and whodunits, and never found that vampires fit into those areas of escapism.

When Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt starred in that vampire movie, I said, “I’ll go see it, just ‘cause the cute guys are in it.” I walked out after fifteen minutes. Vampires just weren’t my thang.

So, when some friends told me that the “Twilight” saga was really good and that I should read the books on the long flights I took, I smiled and said, “Nooo…, I’m really not a vampire fan.” Other friends had also read the series, salivated in anticipation of the publication of the next book and even waited in line for tickets to the first movie. Grown women? What could possibly be the attraction? I mean, bloodsuckers? Ewwwww!!!!!

A few weeks later, we were all having lunch and I mentioned that a well-known bestselling author had denounced the writing. They responded, “No, it’s very well written. He’s wrong.” When I reiterated my aversion to the whole bloodsucking, chin dripping vampire persona, they said, “It’s really not so much about the vampires as it is a love story.” Love story? Now that, I could get my mind around.

And, that’s how I got hooked. One of the gals gave me the first two books (“Twilight” and “New Moon”) and I quickly realized the appeal. Meyer had struck a chord with every teenaged girl and every woman who remembered being one. She had tapped into that feeling of being out-of-place and clumsy in a new high school. She had combined the teenaged misfit concept with being attracted to the tall, dark and handsome bad boy that momma always told you was no good, along with sneaking around clueless parents when the bad boy expressed interest. Yup, Meyer got it all in the first book. Plus, she kept me hooked and asking, “When is Bella going to get bitten?”

I read the first two in a week, then the third (“Eclipse”) in two days. I was away from home and couldn’t wait five days to read the fourth (“Breaking Dawn”), so I drove 45 miles to the nearest Barnes & Noble and bought it. I like to read, but when a writer does her job so well that I can’t wait to find out what happens next? Kudos! It was fun, Ms. Meyer, and I hope you listen to your legions of fans and continue the saga.

Please Note: A bit mature for pre-teens, so I would suggest that mothers preview them first before handing them over. There are lots of topics that require a certain level of knowledge about coming of age as well as a few topics considered inappropriate for any young readers. Written for the 13-16 crowd, but fun for women of all ages.

For information about Ms. Meyers and her latest book, “The Host” as well as the movie with the same name, please visit www.stepheniemeyer.com

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