Category Archives: Knopf

February 10, 2022 · 12:03 am

Review: The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler

Title: The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler
Killer Instinct Series Book Eight
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 481 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

#1 INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER • Detective Joona Linna is on the trail of a kidnapper who targets teenage girls and makes their worst nightmares a reality.

Sixteen-year-old Jenny Lind is kidnapped in broad daylight on her way home from school and thrown into the back of a truck. She’s taken to a dilapidated house, where she and other girls face horrors far beyond their worst nightmares. Though they’re desperate to escape, their captor foils everyone of their attempts.

Five years later, Jenny’s body is found hanging in a playground, strung up with a winch on a rainy night. As the police are scrambling to find a lead in the scant evidence, Detective Joona Linna recognizes an eerie connection between Jenny’s murder and a death declared a suicide years before. And when another teenage girl goes missing, it becomes clear to Joona that they’re dealing with a serial killer—and his murderous rampage may have just begun.

Review:

The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler is a chilling mystery. Although this latest novel starring Detective Joona Linna is the eighth installment in the Killer Instinct series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I HIGHLY recommend all of the books in this outstanding series.

Detective Joona Linna and his daughter Lumi are still on delicate footing when he is begins working on his newest case. Sixteen year old Jenny Lind was kidnapped five years earlier and there has been no trace of her in the intervening years. That is until her body is discovered in a macabre tableau in a local playground. Linna is unconvinced she is the killer’s first (or only) victim, and he soon uncovers a victim whose death is eerily similar to Jenny’s murder. When Mia Andersson goes missing, Joona turns to his friend, psychologist Erik Maria Bark to work with the lone witness to Jenny’s murder.

Joona has to work hard to convince his new boss Margot Silverman to allow him to work the Jenny Lind case. Due to unsurprising (to Linna) circumstances, he soon takes over the case. He is frustrated by their lack of evidence but Joona will go to dangerous lengths to track down anyone who might have information about Jenny’s killer. When Mia vanishes, he and Erik continue working with the witness whose mental illness makes it difficult for him to recall important details about Jenny’s murder.

The Mirror Man is a compelling mystery that is incredibly suspenseful. Joona trusts his instincts as he works tirelessly to uncover the murderer’s identity. Chapters depicting the horrific and violent conditions under which the kidnapped women live provided added tension and urgency to the unfolding storyline. With a truly jaw-dropping plot twist, Lars Kepler brings this grisly thriller to a high-octane conclusion. The final scene of this brilliant mystery will leave old and new fans of the Killer Instinct series breathlessly awaiting the next novel in the series.

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Filed under Contemporary, Killer Instinct Series, Knopf, Lars Kepler, Mystery, Review, Suspense, The Mirror Man, Thriller

August 19, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

Title: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 354 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER • A smart, sexy, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about ex-boyfriends, imperfect parents, friends with kids, and a man who disappears the moment he says “I love you.”

Nina Dean is not especially bothered that she’s single. She owns her own apartment, she’s about to publish her second book, she has a great relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and enough friends to keep her social calendar full and her hangovers plentiful. And when she downloads a dating app, she does the seemingly impossible: She meets a great guy on her first date. Max is handsome and built like a lumberjack; he has floppy blond hair and a stable job. But more surprising than anything else, Nina and Max have chemistry. Their conversations are witty and ironic, they both hate sports, they dance together like fools, they happily dig deep into the nuances of crappy music, and they create an entire universe of private jokes and chemical bliss.

But when Max ghosts her, Nina is forced to deal with everything she’s been trying so hard to ignore: her father’s Alzheimer’s is getting worse, and so is her mother’s denial of it; her editor hates her new book idea; and her best friend from childhood is icing her out. Funny, tender, and eminently, movingly relatable, Ghosts is a whip-smart tale of relationships and modern life.

Review:

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is an interesting novel that follow main character Nina Dean for a year of her life.

Nina Dean has just turned thirty-two and she is ready to jump back into the dating game. She is rather rusty when it comes to romantic entanglements since she was in a long-term relationship. Her best friend Lola introduces Nina to the world of dating apps. After several possibilities fizzle out before the meet in person stage, she hits it off with Max.  Has Nina finally met her Mr. Right?

Nina is a successful cookbook author and she is also a columnist.  She is in the unenviable position of watching her beloved father’s decline from dementia and her mum’s unexpected attempts to remake herself. Nina’s longtime friendship with her married friend Katherine has also hit a bit of a rocky patch. So Max is a welcome addition to her life but she is bewildered when he “ghosts” her after a pivotal point in their relationship.

Ghosts is an engaging novel with an intriguing storyline. However, Nina and the secondary cast of characters are somewhat underdeveloped.  While the dialogue is snappy and sarcastic, there are several pages of Nina’s inner thoughts that are long winded and meandering. One of the scenes late in the story is rather jarring since it does not fit with that particular story arc. Nina’s scenes with her dad are heartbreakingly poignant as his dementia worsens. Her relationship with her mum is a little contentious due to Nina’s lack of understanding about her mum’s out of character behavior. Dolly Alderton brings the novel to a lovely conclusion that readers will absolutely love.

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Filed under Contemporary, Dolly Alderton, Knopf, Rated C+, Review, Women's Fiction

January 24, 2018 · 11:57 pm

Review: Only Child by Rhiannon Navin

Title: Only Child by Rhiannon Navin
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: A

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

For fans of Room and the novels of Jodi Picoult, a dazzling, tenderhearted debut about healing, family, and the exquisite wisdom of children, narrated by a six-year-old boy who reminds us that sometimes the littlest bodies hold the biggest hearts, and the quietest voices speak the loudest.

Squeezed into a coat closet with his classmates and teacher, first grader Zach Taylor can hear gunshots ringing through the halls of his school. A gunman has entered the building, taking nineteen lives and irrevocably changing the very fabric of this close-knit community. While Zach’s mother pursues a quest for justice against the shooter’s parents, holding them responsible for their son’s actions, Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and art. Armed with his newfound understanding, and with the optimism and stubbornness only a child could have, Zach sets out on a captivating journey towards healing and forgiveness, determined to help the adults in his life rediscover the universal truths of love and compassion needed to pull them through their darkest hours.

Review:

Rhiannon Navin’s debut novel, Only Child, is a poignant, heartrending and emotional story narrated by a six year old boy who survives a school shooting.

First grader Zach Taylor, his teacher Miss Russell and his classmates are among the survivors of a school shooting that takes the lives of nineteen classmates and educators.  Zach is a very bright and observant young boy whose parents’ marriage is already a somewhat stressed before the shooting and in the aftermath, they leave him to cope with the tragedy on his own. His questions are heartbreaking as he tries to make sense of what happened especially when he learns the identity of the shooter. Zach is embarrassed when he regresses to what he considers to be “baby” behavior and he takes comfort in the hideout he has created for himself. He is also confused by the changes in his mother but his father is surprisingly understanding of what Zach is experiencing. Finding solace in a set of children’s books, Zach tries to apply the insights he gleans from the stories to restore happiness to his family.

Although quite smart, Zach’s worldview is simple and lacking pretense. He is quite honest about his perceptions of the shooting and its impact on his family. His little world is shattered and he cannot understand why his mom’s reaction is so different than his and his father’s. Although he was quite close to his mom before this life altering event, he is stunned by how drastically his sweet and caring mom’s behavior becomes in the days, weeks and months following the shooting. Zach loves his dad, but his father’s long commute and work schedule leave little time for them to spend together. However after the tragic incident, his dad’s presence reassuring.

Zach’s astute observations, conclusions and decisions are age appropriate. While some of what he observes goes over his head, readers will definitely understand the implications.  Quickly picking up on the tension between his parents, he breaks down their behavior into something only he can understand and he is quick to pick up on the subtle nuances of impending trouble.  Zach’s parents are so consumed by their own struggles to cope, he is left to navigate the morass of his emotions on his own. His coping mechanisms are heartbreaking yet effective and his explanations are guaranteed to make even the most stoic reader shed a few tears (especially his scenes with his dad in his hideout). As Zach continues to watch his family fall apart, he decides on a course of action to heal the people he loves.

Only Child is an absolutely brilliant novel that is unique, deeply affecting and quite thought-provoking. Zach’s narration is incredibly compelling and viewing the world through his young eyes is often quite perceptive. Rhiannon Navin is an immensely gifted storyteller who evokes empathy and deep emotion in this sorrowful yet ultimately uplifting story.

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Filed under Contemporary, Knopf, Only Child, Rated A, Review, Rhiannon Navin, Women's Fiction

May 25, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

souls nightTitle: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 192 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Their brave adventures—their pleasures and their difficulties—are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer’s enduring contribution to American literature.

Review:

In Our Souls at Night, Kent Haruf once again takes readers back to Holt, CO where two widowed neighbors’ unorthodox arrangement is met with resistance by their children and some of the townspeople. Quite moving, this lovely novel is also heartwarming and poignant and it is one that will stay with readers long after the story ends.

Louis Waters and Addie Moore are both long widowed and although they have been neighbors for decades, they do not know one another very well. So Louis is rather surprised when Addie approaches him with an unusual request that she believes would help relieve her loneliness. She asks Louis if he would come to her house nightly and sleep with her-for companionship, not sex. After careful consideration, Louis agrees to give her suggestion a try and what follows is a beautiful relationship that defies convention but makes them happier than either of them could have imagined.

Before falling asleep, Louis and Addie take turns discussing the different events that have made up their lives. They confide in one another about their marriages, their mistakes and their losses. Nothing is off limits as they discuss their failings, their regrets and the disappointments they endured over the years. Both share their concerns for their respective children and their sense of responsibility for the missteps and mistakes they feel have contributed to their kids inability to find happiness as adults.

It is not until Addie’s young grandson, Jamie, comes to stay with her that their relationship deepens but it also becomes much more complicated. Addie and Louis enjoy introducing Jamie to outdoor activities that are missing from his life and the three spend a great deal of time enjoying the natural beauty of the surrounding area. However, Addie’s son is not happy about Louis spending time with his mother or his son, and Addie is soon torn between her son’s demands and her relationship with Louis.

Our Souls at Night is a heartfelt novel that is beautifully written. Published posthumously, this sweet, gentle and emotional story is a little sad, yet also uplifting. Kent Haruf is a longtime favorite author of mine and he will be greatly missed.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kent Haruf, Knopf, Our Souls at Night, Rated B+, Review