Book Review: Someone Knows

Picture Taken by Me

Title:  Someone Knows
Author:  Lisa Scottoline
Pages:  384
Publication Date:  2019
Version:  Hardcover
Genre:  Adult Fiction, Mystery

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Twenty years ago, in an upscale suburb of Philadelphia, four teenagers spent a summer as closest friends: drinking, sharing secrets, testing boundaries. When a new boy looked to join them, they decided to pull a prank on him, convincing him to play Russian roulette as an initiation into their group. They secretly planned to leave the gun unloaded—but what happened next would change each of them forever.

Now three of the four reunite for the first time since that horrible summer. The guilt—and the lingering question about who loaded the gun—drove them apart. But after one of the group apparently commits suicide with a gun, their old secrets come roaring back. One of them is going to figure out if the new suicide is what it seems, and if it connects to the events of that long-ago summer. Someone knows exactly what happened—but who? And how far will they go to keep their secrets buried?"

My Review:

I saw this book advertised on the ID channel and thought, I must read that because it looks amazing.  Usually I don't pick to read books from seeing them on TV or hearing about them on the radio, but this one just peaked my interest.  Plus I saw it on the ID channel....how could I possibly go wrong?!?!  I am very glad I decided to pick it up!  This book started in present day and then quickly jumped to 20 years earlier and then about halfway through the book, came back to present.  I loved the flow of the book.  It had me hooked from the first chapter and all throughout the book.  The characters were absolutely amazing.  They were so real that I quickly found myself liking, loving, and hating them or their decisions.  I felt like I was living in the book when I was reading because it was described to well and so thoroughly.  There are soooooo few books that shock me or lead me astray, but this one did.  I found myself so surprised as the last chapters were unfolding that I literally was staring at my book with wide eyes and shock.  I had never read anything by this author before and I was very impressed with her style of writing.  Sometimes books with past and present can get a muddled feeling to them from back and forth, but this was not like that at all.  I think a major reason it was not like that was because the book may have started in present and only stayed in it a few chapters at first, it was from there divided almost exactly in half between past and present.  That made it easy to follow, but also amusing to follow to watch everything play out.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is in search of a mystery that they can really get lost in and will lose track of time in.  You will not be disappointed in anything in this book!  Characters, plot, secrets, loyalties, guilt, friendships, family dynamics, family secrets, relationships....this book has them all and all of them are edge of your seat exciting and come with twists and turns so sharp you may fall off that edge of the couch!  AMAZING BOOK!!!

5 out of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Down With The Shine

Picture Taken By Me

 

Title:  Down With The Shine
Author:  Kate Karyus Quinn
Pages:  355
Publication Date:  2016
Version:  Hardcover
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction, Mystery

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Make a wish…

Lennie always thought her uncles’ “important family legacy” was good old-fashioned bootlegging. Then she takes some of her uncles’ moonshine to Michaela Gordon’s annual house party, and finds out just how wrong she was.

At the party, Lennie has everyone make a wish before drinking the shine—it’s tradition. She toasts to wishes for bat wings, for balls of steel, for the party to go on forever. Lennie even makes a wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was murdered six months ago.

The next morning gives Lennie a whole new understanding of the phrase be careful what you wish for—or in her case, be careful what wishes you grant. Because all those wishes Lennie raised a jar of shine to last night? They came true. Most of them came out bad. And once granted, a wish can’t be unmade… "

My Review:

Holy smokes!!!  This was one of the best young adult reads that I have read in a very very long time.  I picked it up, not actually realizing it was a young adult read, until I was a couple chapters into the book.  I mean a book with a main component being Moonshine?  I figured not super young adult.  However, this book was more than Moonshine.  This book was full of poor choices, peer pressure, a need/want to fit in, magic, mystery, friendships, love, strong bonds, and family secrets that fill up an ocean.  I was quickly drawn in to love the characters, or hate them depending on the character.  I quickly was transported into the book and lost in the goings on and felt like I was standing next to the characters and working through things with them.  The main plot was quick to unfold and throughout the book I was eagerly reading onward to find out what would happen next and how Lennie would carry on and try to figure things out to fix mistakes from her past.  I was quickly trying to wrap my mind around what was happening and why, just like Lennie and Smith were.  I found a quick love for those two characters the most.  I found myself cheering them on while reading and also pushing them together as "more than friends" in my head too!  Throughout the entire book I was wondering how it would all play out in the end and how things would really end up.  I was on the edge of my seat and could not believe how it all actually turned out!!  LOVED IT!!!!!  It was a little bit of a change of pace from my usual mystery reads of murder mystery, but I loved it none the less and it was an amazing change of pace.  It also, in all fairness, did have a touch of murder mystery aspect to it, just not the main huge plot.  If you are looking for a quick and amazing read, I highly recommend this book!!

5 out of 5 Stars!!

I'm Changing!

 I will be changing my way of reviewing starting in November.  I just am seeking a bit of an easier way of posting and reviewing and keeping things short and sweet for followers to read.  I will be going to posts that include:  Picture of the book (taken by me), Number of stars I give, short and sweet review with a synopsis given by way of that review (instead of an official summary from Goodreads like I do now).