Book Review: The Haunting of Ashburn House

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The Haunting of Ashburn House

By Darcy Coates

Adrienne is down on her luck; not just a little down on her luck either.  Then she feels like life has thrown her a lifeline when she finds out her long lost great aunt Edith; who she never knew even existed, has died and left her a huge estate.  It has a wonderful house that she could only dream of owning, it is near a small town that she is convinced will be just the close knit warm community she has dreamed of, and it has a great amount of land with the house.  It may be dark and look a bit....creepy, but she is determined to make the most of this.  She quickly learns that there is more to the house and her great aunt than she ever expected.  The small town is full of whispers about the weird old lady that lives in the haunted house and who never walked into town to see people, but only to buy a paper and her daily groceries and go back to her home.  Soon odd things are happening to Adrienne and her visitors she has gotten that she hopes to befriend.  She dismisses it all as kids investigating the spooky house and ghost stories they have learned from generations before them, but soon she learns that not all stories and rumors are fiction.  She sets out to figure out what is really going on in her new home and who her great aunt really was and what the truth of her past really is.  Thing is....she may wish she didn't dig into anything as she realizes that not all ghosts of the past are friendly, nor do they want you to learn about them.  With her furry companion by her side, will Adrienne be able to see what her great aunt was all about and what secrets her past held?  Or will the secrets be too much for her to handle.....or survive?  

I finished reading this book in just 3 days and I would have finished sooner had life not gotten in the way.  I finished reading and literally just sat there staring at the book, just in shock of how much I loved this book and how invested into this book I had become while reading it.  This was by far one of THE most amazing and most immersive books I have ever read!  I read this book mostly during the day, but found myself so creeped out and on edge that my phone rang and I jumped, not realizing how much I was focused on the book and into it.  I love Stephen King and how his books can suck me in...Darcy Coates was right there with how Stephen King books make me feel!  I loved every moment of the book and it seemed so real to me I found myself double checking dark spaces and mirrors in my own home!!!  If you are a fan of scary, creepy, and realistic all at the same time...this is the perfect book for you.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  I loved the characters, especially Adrienne and her wonderful cat Wolfgang.  She is someone that I would love nothing more than to pull out of the book to have sitting next to me as my real life friend.  I can relate to her in so many ways and her personality is just so easy to come to love and her situation is one I found myself really invested in and feeling empathy for her on.

5 out of 5 Stars!!

Book Review: The Outsider

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Book: The Outsider

Author: Stephen King

Summary from book back:

A living nightmare has come to Flint City, Oklahoma, as an eleven-year-old by is found brutally murdered in a local park--an unspeakable crime that rocks local law enforcement to its core as the most heinous atrocity anyone there has ever witnessed.  Equally stunning is the identity of the prime suspect: Terry Maitland, one of Flint City's most popular citizens, as well as Little League coach, English teacher, and devoted husband and father.  Detective Ralph Anderson, whose own son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest.  Multiple eyewitnesses and irrefutable evidence mean an ironclad case . . . until the investigation expands, and horrifying new details begin to emerge.  Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face?  When the answers is revealed it will shock you as only master storyteller Stephen King can.

I am a huge Stephen King fan, having read almost all his books...new and old, and having watched every movie that was based off of his books.  As a kid I fell quickly in love with his works under R. L. Stine also.  I finally got around to reading this book of his and fell in love with his writing all over again.  He may have longer books, but they never feel long to me.  I quickly got sucked into this book and found myself reading it every free moment I had.  I really don't want to go into details of any kind with this book because anything I say may tip you off to the secret of this creepy mystery.  I will say this...I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire book and found myself feeling the creepy creeps too.  While reading before bed I found myself needing to stop and then play a round of a game on my phone before settling in to sleep.  It was a creepy book that was also so realistic you can't help but find yourself checking dark corners and under your bed before you go to sleep.  The characters were amazing and I fell in love with Detective Anderson and Holly in a very short time after seeing them introduced.  I loved how the plot stayed a main plot, but also spread like darkness to encompass a much broader issue than just the murder of the first child found.  This is a great book and I highly recommend it to any mystery, horror, or Stephen Kind lover!!  You may want to read with the lights on though.  

5 out of 5 Stars!

Book Review: Musseled Out

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Title:  Musseled Out
Author:  Barbara Ross
Pages:  296
Publication Date:  2015
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Adult Fiction, Mystery

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"The busy summer tourist season is winding down in Busman's Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden senses trouble simmering for the Snowden Family Clambake Company. Shifty David Thwing - the "Mussel King" of upscale seafood restaurants - is sniffing around town for a new location. But serving iffy clams turns out to be the least of his troubles....

When Thwing is found sleeping with the fishes beneath a local lobsterman's boat, the police quickly finger Julia's brother-in-law, Sonny, as the one who cooked up the crime. Sure, everyone knows Sonny despised the Mussel King...but Julia believes he's innocent. Proving it won't be easy, though. It seems there's a lot more than murder on the menu, and Julia needs to act fast....

Includes traditional Maine clambake recipes!"

My Review:

I was looking for a nice fall setting book and when I saw this one was set in October it fit the bill nicely.  I loved this book.  It was a softer mystery, but a mystery that quickly sucked me in.  It was the type of book that was very relaxing to read.  This was a third book in a series, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to follow it, but it was a great stand alone book too.  The parts that did reference the previous books were just that, a sentence or two that mentioned something that happened in a previous book, but were not of great importance to the story going on.  The plot was interesting and the characters were amazing and I loved watching them develop throughout the book.  The setting of Maine was a nice thing to read about too.  I loved the lobstering point of view too.  It was different and something new in a book for me.  I was so convinced that I knew exactly what happened, but then as the book got closer to the end I was surprised to change my view on what I thought happened.  This was a very good book and if you enjoy mysteries this is a great book for you to pick up and give a whirl.  I simply can't go into much details without giving away the main parts of the book.  So...I will just leave it at this....if you are seeking a mystery that is not too heavy, is fast moving, has a beautiful setting, has great characters, and will keep you guessing to the end, this is a book you must read.

5 out of 5 Stars!

Book Review: The One and Only Ivan

 

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Title:  The One and Only Ivan
Author:  Katherine Applegate
Pages:  300
Publication Date:  2012
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope."

My Review:

I sought out this book originally simply because I needed a book told from the perspective of an animal for a book club.  I had heard so much about this book for so long and then heard about it even more when the movie was being made.  I finally decided now was the perfect time to read it.  This book was a change of pace for me seeing I am usually a mystery reader.  It was like a breath of fresh air and I actually devoured it in one day only, I couldn't stop reading it once I started.  I have a great love of animals and this book pulled on that love with all the fun animal characters like Ivan the Silverback Gorilla, Stella the elephant, Ruby the baby elephant, and Bob the dog.  My heart strings were pulled throughout this entire book.  It was such a change of pace to have a book from an animal stand point instead of a human one...I loved it.  I loved how the animals talk about how confusing humans can be and I found myself chuckling as I read about how when they watch humans kiss they call it Face Licking.  It made me think just how much humans really do make things complicated way more than they need to or should.  I must say, this book was filled with all kinds of emotions for me from humor and love to heartbreak and wonder.  I loved the friendships they all formed with each other simply because they were in the same situation, even if they came to that situation from greatly different lives.  The bond they all had was amazing to read.  I highly recommend this book to anyone, young or old, that wants a great, easy, and emotion packed read that will stick with them forever.  It may be a young adult book, but I think an adult reading it will take out different things from it than a young adult may that reads it.  Perhaps it is a book to read while young and when older to take away all the lessons and feelings.  Very good book that I am very happy I decided to finally pick up.  Will I watch the movie?  Probably not, some parts of the book would be very hard to see on the screen if they put them in the movie for me, too many heart strings would be pulled.  Also, I am a firm believer in the books are way better than the movies.  

5 out of 5 Stars!!!

Book Review: Fogged Inn

 

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Fogged Inn

By Barbara Ross

Adult Fiction, Mystery

Julia Snowden is passing the time of the off season of her Clambake season by joining forces with her boyfriend, Chris, and running the Gus Too; a dinner restaurant that is open after Gus closes up his morning and lunch business for the day.  Her daily routine is quickly ruined when a customer is found dead in their walk in fridge.  He may have been a stranger in town, but she just knows there is an explanation.  There were only certain people in her restaurant that night...was that just a coincidence or was there a reason only they were inside?  Is there some connection between each of the customers and the customers and the, now dead, guy in the fridge?  Soon Julia can't help but stick her nose into the situation and dig around to find out what really happened to the dead guy in her fridge.  She is told to stay out of it, she is told it is dangerous, but she just can't help herself.  Soon she finds it really is dangerous and she really should have stayed out of it after all.  Her boyfriend Chris soon worries she won't survive all her sleuthing around and that she may be starting to cross over into crazy thinking.  Some secrets are meant to be kept buried.

I must say I really enjoyed this book.  This is the second book I have read from this author in this series, but I  didn't read the whole series before them.  It is a great stand alone book and any reference to the other books is usually just in passing and is just something that a character did.  For instance the book referring to how Julia's Mom was when she first took a job compared to how she is fairing now with that same job.  I love the characters in this book!  They are fun, full of humor, and just filled with great personality.  I love watching Julia that most, she is so full of spunk and can get into the most unusual situations.  This book was a fast moving read for me.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  I was right with Julia on who I thought was the culprit of the murder and odd things going on in Julia's home.  However, like Julia, every time I was sure I had it all figured out...something would happen and I was back to not really being sure at all.  If you are looking for a great mystery read with lots of local secrets, this is the book for you!

5 out of 5 Stars!!