gloryb
Fraser Valley Regional Library
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gloryb's rating:
Added Dec 20, 2023
Added Dec 20, 2023
BESTSELLER EXPRESS - Counting the CostBESTSELLER EXPRESS - Counting the Cost, BookA Memoir
by BESTSELLER EXPRESS - Duggar, JillBookBook
gloryb's rating:
Added Dec 08, 2023
Comment:
An insightful description of what the author's life has been like since her marriage to Derrick. The easier part for her to write/talk about was the first section of the book in which she recounts her upbringing in the family home, the family's TV show, her courtship, and starting a married life. The second part would have been more difficult to write as it deals with her private life. In it she describes her financial conflict with her dad arising from the TV show's contracts she unknowingly signed, and how therapy helped her to become her own person. Marrying Derrick, who now is an attorney, was such a good choice for her. Jill doesn't mention, unfortunately, much about her relationship with her sisters close to her in age; mainly it's about her relationship with her dad and the inner conflict she has had with the values she was brought up with.An insightful description of what the author's life has been like since her marriage to Derrick. The easier part for her to write/talk about was the first section of the book in which she recounts her upbringing in the family home, the family's TV…
gloryb's rating:
Added Dec 02, 2023
Comment:
Typical Kinsella novel in which she follows her usual pattern for the main female character. Don't read this romance novel if you are stressed out as the first half of the book, which is all about job stress, anxiety, and being uptight at work, won't be relaxing. I didn't find too much that was funny in this novel, but Kinsella does excel in having a message in her novels. This one is about enjoying life.Typical Kinsella novel in which she follows her usual pattern for the main female character. Don't read this romance novel if you are stressed out as the first half of the book, which is all about job stress, anxiety, and being uptight at work,…
gloryb's rating:
Added Nov 28, 2023
Comment:
A most satisfying page turner despite all of the technical details which make the story so real. Perhaps the ending will be the beginning for the author's next novel.
gloryb's rating:
Added Nov 22, 2023
Comment:
I enjoyed this novel, both the story and the writing. The novel could be categorized as a coming-of-age novel as the story focuses on the changing relationships the main character, an 18 year old male teen, has with his family, particularly his cop dad and ex-soldier brother, and his best friends - both male and female. However, the novel is also one about catching a murderer and how the teen gets involved in that. The author doesn't have just one narrator; each character, when appropriate, has a viewpoint to share so it kept me on my toes as to who was telling the story. The description of the prison
environment was hard to believe, but added to the intensity of the plot.I enjoyed this novel, both the story and the writing. The novel could be categorized as a coming-of-age novel as the story focuses on the changing relationships the main character, an 18 year old male teen, has with his family, particularly his cop…
gloryb's rating:
Added Nov 10, 2023
Comment:
If you like bantering between characters, this novel has a lot of it which is OK for only a while and then it is easy to skip over those sections. As always in this series, there is nothing straight forward about the murder mystery that the seniors get involved in. I especially enjoyed the novel's minor plot of the internet trickster who got tricked himself by these seniors who were just helping one of their own retrieve his money in a romance fraud. With references in the novel to current newsworthy items like King Charles, euthansia for a respectable death, the heartbreak of dementia, drug gangs, fraud on the internet, gangsters still active in prison, fake art - the list goes on - , the novel seems more up-to-date than dated by the age and ailments of the characters. Although the characters persue the lost heroin over which a friend was killed, the most noticeable theme in the novel is that of dementia and how one character dealt with it and why.If you like bantering between characters, this novel has a lot of it which is OK for only a while and then it is easy to skip over those sections. As always in this series, there is nothing straight forward about the murder mystery that the seniors…
gloryb's rating:
Added Nov 05, 2023
Comment:
I didn't enjoy the first novel in this series, but I did enjoy reading this one. The author seemed to focus more on the plot and the backstory of the villagers this time than on the personal lives of the detectives and their working relationships. I thought the motives for the murders were weak when revealed at the end.I didn't enjoy the first novel in this series, but I did enjoy reading this one. The author seemed to focus more on the plot and the backstory of the villagers this time than on the personal lives of the detectives and their working relationships. I…
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 31, 2023
Comment:
The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part reads like a horror novel for teens and would be appropriate for that age group, too. However, the second and third parts wouldn't interest them and it is, then, that the novel becomes more appropriate for adults. The third part reveals the reason for parts 1 and 2. It is clever plotting, but even thought the first part may not appeal to adult readers for example when a phone devours a boy or another boy becomes an insect, just keep on reading and you'll be rewarded with a twist in part 3.The book is divided into 3 parts. The first part reads like a horror novel for teens and would be appropriate for that age group, too. However, the second and third parts wouldn't interest them and it is, then, that the novel becomes more…
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 31, 2023
Comment:
The reader has to enjoy reading the repartee among the characters of which there is lot of before the murder investigation takes off around the half way mark. I found those parts easily to page through - just tiresome reading there. The ending for this story will be in the next book.The reader has to enjoy reading the repartee among the characters of which there is lot of before the murder investigation takes off around the half way mark. I found those parts easily to page through - just tiresome reading there. The ending for…
The Jealousy Man and Other StoriesThe Jealousy Man and Other Stories, Book
by Nesbø, JoBook - 2021Book, 2021
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 31, 2023
Comment:
A collection of several short and longer stories all with different characters and situations. situations are like I've never read in other novels. Most of the stories revolve around revenge and, in most cases, the main character achieves to outwit his "opponent". Some of the stories are more interesting than others. "The Line"even made me chuckle at its unique ending. Nesbo also tries his hand at science fiction future scenarios - rather dystopian though- in this collection.A collection of several short and longer stories all with different characters and situations. situations are like I've never read in other novels. Most of the stories revolve around revenge and, in most cases, the main character achieves to outwit…
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 22, 2023
Comment:
Slow start but picks up after the middle when the police finally get involved in a crime. A lot of the novel is about the life of the main characters - Simon & company. Easily to page through those 'fill" parts of the novel.
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 13, 2023
Comment:
Just didn't measure up in comic scenes, witticisms, and plotting to his other novels featuring Angus the Canadian "politician". Reads like a memoir.
gloryb's rating:
Added Oct 10, 2023
Comment:
This novel didn't grab my attention quickly like the author's previous book, "Lost Immunity". The novel has too many plot lines and characters. It took too long for me to get interested in how the detectives would solve the unexplained deaths due to overdoses of a certain type of weight control pill. Good to know, however, what harmful substances these pills contain and how users, desperate to improve their body image, take them without knowing that these substances can be fatal.This novel didn't grab my attention quickly like the author's previous book, "Lost Immunity". The novel has too many plot lines and characters. It took too long for me to get interested in how the detectives would solve the unexplained deaths due to…
Added Oct 05, 2023
gloryb's rating:
Added Sep 23, 2023
Comment:
The author certainly has no difficulty describing the thoughts of her characters - every single one! The plot shifts from 1 type of plot - infidelity - to another completely different one. The adults in the story live in the same neighborhood and are all connected by their secrets which eventually are disclosed. The focus of the story, however, is around a manipulative 9 year old of one of those families - perhaps a bit young, in my mind, for what unfolds.The author certainly has no difficulty describing the thoughts of her characters - every single one! The plot shifts from 1 type of plot - infidelity - to another completely different one. The adults in the story live in the same neighborhood and…
gloryb's rating:
Added Sep 17, 2023
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Preferred this novel to the other one he also wrote - "False Witness". Interesting story idea about hurting those who hurt others.
A Day in the Death of Dorothea CassidyA Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy, Book
by Cleeves, AnnBook - 2018Book, 2018
gloryb's rating:
Added Sep 17, 2023
Comment:
Similar to an Agatha Christie novel. Right at the start a murder occurs and as the novel progresses the reader learns more about the victim and the motives of several characters who could have done the deed. Characters have secrets, tell lies, omit crucial information which the detective needs to solve the case. I got caught up in the novel as I read on. Probably will read another book in this series as the detective has a nice character.Similar to an Agatha Christie novel. Right at the start a murder occurs and as the novel progresses the reader learns more about the victim and the motives of several characters who could have done the deed. Characters have secrets, tell lies, omit…
gloryb's rating:
Added Sep 17, 2023
Comment:
The story seemed promising at first but slows down in the middle when the author describes the process the detectives go through in solving the crimes. I wasn't too interested in the author's minor storylines about the detective's father or about his family life. One could just skip to the last 50 pages to see who did the crimes and why.The story seemed promising at first but slows down in the middle when the author describes the process the detectives go through in solving the crimes. I wasn't too interested in the author's minor storylines about the detective's father or about…
gloryb's rating:
Added Aug 24, 2023
Comment:
Complex and complicated plot with too many characters. What kept my attention at first was the 6 kidnappings of children of billionaires and how those were done. The author then shifts his focus to his main character and tells how he got involved in trying to find these children. There is much violence as the main character hunts down the people behind the kidnapping and uncovers their reason for doing so. Not for the money - the ransom this time - but for political reasons which are only revealed very near the end of the novel. Perhaps the author had some broader themes relating to current world events he wished to explore, but for me these issues caused the story to be long-winded despite the usual story length of around 350 pages.Complex and complicated plot with too many characters. What kept my attention at first was the 6 kidnappings of children of billionaires and how those were done. The author then shifts his focus to his main character and tells how he got involved in…
gloryb's rating:
Added Aug 16, 2023
Comment:
Another good read from John Hart! Same writing style - flowery with awful similies at times- but the action in this story seems to cancel my dislike of them. The relationship among the characters is key and kept me guessing how some of them were related. Be prepared to read descriptive paragraphs of graphic violence.Another good read from John Hart! Same writing style - flowery with awful similies at times- but the action in this story seems to cancel my dislike of them. The relationship among the characters is key and kept me guessing how some of them were…
gloryb's rating:
Added Aug 05, 2023
Comment:
I like surprise endings and Nesbo certainly succeeds in this novel. I was blindly thinking I knew "who dunit" when all along the clues throughout the book were for another person. Although the subject of parasites is disgusting, especially as Nebo uses them in this novel, they certainly are a most unusual murder weapon. Did Nesbo read some researcher's thesis? There are many references in this novel to Harry's personal life in Nesbo's previous novel about Hole.I like surprise endings and Nesbo certainly succeeds in this novel. I was blindly thinking I knew "who dunit" when all along the clues throughout the book were for another person. Although the subject of parasites is disgusting, especially as Nebo…
gloryb's rating:
Added Jul 24, 2023
Comment:
The actions of the female main character over 4 days are unbelievable, almost laughable, as she walks miles, climbs up and down stairs and steep banks, and jumps down from high heights with that throbbing seeping bloody wound in her side. Also, she doesn't come across as a 28 year old - more like an older teen - with her need for affirmation and confidence building from her partner. Very annoying were the constant use of swear and profane words. This female character has more weaknesses than strengths. The plot, revolving around coded backdoors in security technology, is a novel one.The actions of the female main character over 4 days are unbelievable, almost laughable, as she walks miles, climbs up and down stairs and steep banks, and jumps down from high heights with that throbbing seeping bloody wound in her side. Also, she…
gloryb's rating:
Added Jul 21, 2023
Comment:
A very polished book for a debut novel. It kept my attention right to the end. A page turner.
gloryb's rating:
Added Jul 21, 2023
Comment:
An unusual plot - about a daughter, now a GP, who wants to track down her wealthy British father who she has been told by her mother attacked her and killed her nanny when she was just a child. The author moves easily from past to present so the reader gets to know the background of the characters - both the main character, her mother, and her father's family - and especially how the mum and her 2 kids coped with the public's knowledge of what had happened in their home. That's the first part of the book. The last half of the book is about the main character's clever actions in tracking down her father's whereabouts without the help of the police. The ending is shocking, unexpected, even though there were hints of the daughther's pent up anger at her father. This book was a good way to spend the afternoon.An unusual plot - about a daughter, now a GP, who wants to track down her wealthy British father who she has been told by her mother attacked her and killed her nanny when she was just a child. The author moves easily from past to present so the…
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