Click for free blog updates via RSSCome play!
The Believer by Stephanie Black – review
Don’t forget! This week is the RSS contest—so be sure to subscribe to JordanMcCollum.com via RSS or email for your chance to win, and keep your eye on the footer of your email or posts in your feed reader!
I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’d like to be Stephanie Black, right? Well, I finally got ahold of her first book, The Believer. Although plot-wise, it’s completely different from Fool Me Twice (my review), I saw some definite parallels in the complexity of the mystery plots.
The Believer deals with a future dystopia where religion is outlawed. The main character, a history professor, has slowly wandered down the path of “treason,” reading unapproved and even (gasp!) religious literature—a crime punishable by life in prison.
As Dr Roshek (which is an anagram of kosher! Am I not clever?) tries to do the right thing, his world begins to fall apart the day that he is arrested for defending a student accused of treason—a stranger—from a brutal attack.
Like Fool Me Twice, the plot is very complex. I was happy that I couldn’t guess the ending of the book—by the black moment, it definitely looked like there was no way any of the main characters would make it out alive. However, the plot wasn’t so complex that I felt lost or overwhelmed—just like with Stephanie’s other book, as the book neared the climax, I could see some things coming (though there were a few surprises!), but only about 20 pages in advance. She did a good job of planting clues, too—in such a way that you could remember them if you’d paid attention.
In a way, this reminded me of All’s Fair by Julie Coulter Bellon—with terrorists insurgents trying to overthrow the government, but mostly because I was all ready to pull out my American Heritage principles to teach just why insurgencies don’t work. Really, as a history professor, Stephanie’s protagonist could have even lectured on these principles himself.
As always, I have to point out anything that detracted from the story for me. Lt. Alisa Kent, a policewoman torn between duty to her country and her conscience, is supposed to be severe, from her coloring and clothing to her mannerisms and speech. But sometimes she came off as more wooden than severe to me.
I’m eagerly awaiting Stephanie’s latest book, Methods of Madness, which is due out this month!
What do you think? Would you (or your writing) benefit from learning about why insurgencies fail? Do you like books to be complex enough to be unpredictable?
Your dream review
This week I glanced at the book my husband was reading and the back cover had some glowing remarks from reviewers. I wondered if reviews for my book would say that—and then I wondered if I wanted them to.
What do you think? Take the poll in this post or discuss in the comments!
Lockdown by Traci Hunter Abramson – Review
So this book has been on my TBR pile for the longest (well, of the books I was really going to read, anyway). I bought it right after it came out, since I’ve read everything by Traci, and since she was going to be in town for a book signing. So I’ve had it since April.
Hooray for car trips for TBR-busting! I was excited to finally read this book, since I like Traci’s books (obviously), and since it meets one of my July challenge goals to knock out one of my Summer Reading Thing books.
As with all of Traci’s books, Lockdown is full of suspense and tension with a big dose of romance (or is it the other way around?). She always researches her situations, and there’s always something new in her books. Lockdown is no exception, showcasing everything from school-shooting crises (real and fake, as part of a training course), to water rescues to medical interventions.
Plus, it was set half an hour north of my hometown. And most of the details weren’t too bad, though I could get nitpicky if you want me to (but nobody wants to hear about LDS wards in Durham, Durham hospitals, or the “correct” name of Kerr Lake to Virginians currently living in North Carolina).
As always, I note anything that I pulled me out of the book. With the blog series this month, I might have been a little more sensitive to this than normal, but a few times I felt that the POV wasn’t as deep as I’d like it—especially in some tough-to-convey emotions (shock, for example) and the instances where the narration suddenly told me about something the POV character had not noticed. There were also a few instances of passive voice or general wordiness. However, I was involved enough in the plot that I wanted to keep reading. It was a pretty fast read, like the rest of her books, and I enjoyed joining her characters for this adventure.
In all, Lockdown is a fun read, and a solid addition to Traci’s “stable.”
All’s Fair by Julie Coulter Bellon – Review
The Shepherd family is going through some tough times. Their son, Brandon, is one of two Army doctors taken prisoner by Iraqi insurgents. Their daughter, Kristen, almost marries a man who was stealing their money, and runs into the childhood friend who broke her heart. And that’s just the beginning of their week.
I’m a big fan of stories with disparate, related storylines that eventually coalesce, so I loved the way these two storylines were woven together. I also really liked how realistic Julie made both main characters and their professions—I know she did her research on Iraq with people on the ground there, and, being a political type (former American Heritage TA, what can I say?), I found Kristen’s job as a political strategist fascinating.
I was, of course, all ready to lecture the Iraqi insurgents about the Human Predicament—the cycle between anarchy and tyranny. This was a textbook example of that cycle (skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to hear it!): tyranny leads to discontent and revolution, which leads to anarchy. In the power vacuum, the people struggle for basic needs and safety. Groups compete for power, often promising to restore order. Eventually one group emerges supreme and assumes the role of tyrant all over again. (They didn’t listen to me, either, even though I can offer a few solutions.)
I read this book in one evening. However, I wouldn’t have minded if it had been a bit longer—I would have liked more development in the romantic storylines, especially the one in Iraq. Two full storylines like this is a lot to handle in less than 200 pages, of course.
All’s Fair was a fun, fast read—I even got my husband to read it. (I’ll let you know what he thinks.)
Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black – Review
Dear Stephanie Black,
Can I please be you?
Love, Jordan
Stephanie Black is awesome. She’s another wonderful author I got to meet at the LDStorymakers conference in April, and she was super nice (of course). When we were introducing ourselves, several other ladies at our table regaled me with stories of how wonderful Stephanie’s books were. Her latest novel, Fool Me Twice, was nominated for a Whitney Award in both Novel of the Year and Best Mystery/Suspense.
And let me tell you, after reading Fool Me Twice, it’s little wonder that it won Best Mystery/Suspense, despite stiff competition. The basic plot is that Megan’s identical twin sister, Kristen, convinces Megan to trade places for a share in an inheritance. But that’s just the beginning of the evil twin’s machinations—and even Kristen doesn’t know who’s ultimately pulling the strings, and how far her puppeteer will take them all.
I can’t praise it highly enough (without sounding ridiculous). I think the thing I liked the most about it was the in-depth view of each character’s motivation. In a mystery, you have so many characters that do things beyond the pale, or who do things that might seem stupid without a good, believable motivation. But Stephanie built each character’s motivation and story arc throughout the story so that even the most unwise decision (like running into the house of a woman who you think is a dangerous con) made sense for that character at that moment.
I also really enjoyed the complexity of the plot. (If you’ve ever read what I write, I err on the side of convoluted, so that’s what I love to read!) I loved how slowly each step was revealed—just enough for me to guess one more piece at a time, to see the next step—and one of my favorite hobbies is watching “murder shows” (Law & Order, The Closer, etc.) and guessing the murderer in the first quarter of the show. While the reader knows the bad guy from the beginning, the full extent of the evil plot is revealed . . . perfectly.
Sigh. It’s enough to give somebody an inferiority complex. 
I always point out one or two things that I thought could be stronger in a book, but . . . I’m really struggling here. The only thing I can come up with is that a minor character, Alex, is very flat. On the other hand, characterizing him more might have been just a little too much, crowding the book.
Stephanie’s next book, Methods to Madness, will be out in August—and I’ll beat a path to the nearest bookstore to pick up my copy as fast as my little tires will carry me. And if I can get her to consent to trade lives, woot!
Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston – Review
Okay, okay, I’ll confess—I tend to pick up books on subjects I’m interested in. Surprise, surprise. So when I saw that Tristi Pinkston had a book with an undercover FBI agent, I knew I had to get Agent in Old Lace.
When Shannon survives her boyfriend’s attempt on her life, she has to testify against her would-be killer. But he escapes custody and Shannon is in danger again. So naturally, the FBI assigns her a live-in bodyguard—one who’s tall, dark and handsome, despite the wig and the skirt. Can (very) Special Agent Rick Holden fight her attacker and his feelings for her?
I read this book in (basically) a single sitting. (If you don’t count stopping to make dinner, take a walk and put the kids to bed.) When I reached the climax, I was racing to find out what happened next! While you know who the bad guy is from page three, there’s lots to keep you guessing—and I totally guessed right . I love a book that makes me feel like a good detective (or just someone who’s seen too many episodes of Law & Order).
As always, I have to make note of any cons for the book—to me, sometimes it felt like the POV could have been a little deeper. I’m not really sure why, but sometimes the action just felt a little distant for me. However, I know other people haven’t had this problem, and it wasn’t an issue at the climax.
Tristi also deserves kudos for the best book promo/blog contest I’ve seen . . . pretty much ever. It’s kind of a blog scavenger hunt mixed with a little detective work—and it’s a lot of fun!
My Summer Reading Thing
LDS Fiction is running the annual Summer Reading Thing again this year! From June 1 to August 31, participants read fiction by LDS authors and post reviews. Since I was already doing the reviews, I thought it’d be good to jump in, since there’s a chance to win a fabulous prize. Id est, more books 
.
So I glanced over at my To Be Read pile and listed out the books sitting there waiting for me (yeah, there are other books in the pile, but they’re not by LDS authors).
|
|
|
  Contentment – Inspiring Insights for LDS Mothers by Maria Covey Cole (not fiction, but still on my list). |
  |
  |
  |
  |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ghost of a Chance by Kerry Blair – Review
I had the pleasure of meeting Kerry Blair at the LDStorymakers Conference last month. She was wonderful and kind and gracious even before I mentioned the fact that I’d just bought Ghost of a Chance, but hadn’t read it yet. She joked that if I didn’t like it, she’d be happy to refund the 50¢ she got as royalties. Her friend, Deb, also at our table, handed me two quarters and told me to say I loved it.
So yes, I have been compensated for this review. And yes, I did enjoy this book. I picked it up because . . . well, have you seen my latest projects? I’m just a little interested in Catholic things these days and part of this mystery is set in a crumbling Catholic mission.
But I’ll tell you right now—once you open this book, the Catholic angle isn’t what keeps you reading. The best thing about this book, hands down, is the voice. The protagonist, Samantha Shade, is absolutely hilarious—she’s witty, funny and as devoted to parentheticals as I am. While it always takes me a little while to get used to first-person narrators, since they’re not the default these days, once I was used to it (within the first chapter or so), I was hooked—and the book would not have been the same without it. When it comes down to it, whether you relate to that voice will determine whether you like the book.
This book also gets genuinely oh-crap-it’s-one-AM-and-I-need-sleep-but-I-can’t-stop-after-reading-that creepy. Yet it’s still very funny and very light in many ways because of the narrator.
Let’s see, the cons. I kind of felt like we lost the hero, Det. Thom Casey, for a while while he was off solving the crime and collecting the necessary info to save the day. And of course, a lot of it is over the top, but it’s played for humor and with the narration style, it all works. A very fun read!
