The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman

From Amazon ~

Billionaire genius Genoa Greeves never got over the shocking death of her favorite teacher, Bennett “Dr. Ben” Alston Little, murdered execution-style and stuffed into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz. No arrests were ever made, no killer charged for the brutal crime. Fifteen years later, the high-tech CEO reads about another execution-style murder; this time the victim is a Hollywood music producer named Primo Ekerling. There is no obvious connection, but the case is eerily similar to Little’s and Genoa feels the time is right to close Dr. Ben’s case once and for all—offering the L.A.P.D. a substantial financial “incentive” if justice is finally served for Little.
Lieutenant Peter Decker resents having to commit valuable manpower to a fifteen-year-old open case simply because a rich woman says “Jump!” Still, the recent murder of Primo Ekerling does bear a disturbing resemblance to Little’s case, even though two thug suspects are currently behind bars for the Ekerling murder. Decker can’t help but wonder about a connection. His first phone calls are to the two primary investigators in the Little case, retired detectives Calvin Vitton and Arnie Lamar. Lamar is cooperative, but Vitton is not only reluctant to talk, he winds up dead of a suspicious suicide twelve hours later. Plunging into this long-buried murder, Decker discovers that even though the two slayings are separated by a decade and a half, there is still plenty of greed, lust, and evil to connect the dots.
Decker’s team of top investigators not only includes his favorite homicide detectives, Scott Oliver and Marge Dunn, but also his newly minted Hollywood detective daughter, Cindy Kutiel, whose help proves to be invaluable. His wife, Rina Lazarus, continues to be his backbone of support, offering a cool, rational outlook despite her growing concern for her husband’s welfare and safety. Rina’s worries and fears begin to build at a fevered pitch as past and present collide with a vengeance, catapulting an unsuspecting Peter Decker closer and closer to the edge of an infinite dark abyss.
A relentlessly gripping tale spun by a master, Faye Kellerman’s The Mercedes Coffin races through a dangerous urban world of fleeting fame and false dreams, making heart-pumping hairpin turns at each step of a terrifying journey, where truth and justice are fine lines between life and death.

Could there possibly be a connection between two murders 15 years apart? No one seems to think so until someone offers the LAPD a seven figure endowment if they are able to solve the 15 year old cold case. Even though Peter is a lieutenant, the chief assigns him to the case. Of course his top detectives Marge & Scott are there to help him. As well as his detective daughter Cindy. The going is tough at first, yet slowly but surely Peter and his team start connecting the dots and can’t believe where it leads them. Has Peter pushed it to the limit one to many times??? I’m a huge fan of this series. I’ve read them all from book one. I love how the characters have grown along with each book – no soap opera rapid aging syndrome here. I can remember when Peter and Rina got married and had Hannah – and now she’s got her license and has become her own person. The one thing I didn’t like about this book was that Rina seems to have been turned into a boring cooking, cleaning and gardening housewife. She’s not as active in this investigation as she usually is. Other than that – another great book by Ms. Kellerman

No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

Blurb from Amazon;

On the morning she will never forget, suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom, she discovers the house is empty, with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. In the blink of an eye, without any explanation, her family has simply disappeared. Twenty-five years later Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so, why was she spared? And if they’re alive, why did they abandon her in such a cruel way? Now married with a daughter of her own, Cynthia fears that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case, in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something – or even that her father, mother or brother might finally reach out to her… Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realise that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made…

I purchased this novel in response to Book Club Forum  member recommendations. I wasn’t disappointed. I haven’t read a book so rapidly for a long time. From the start this mystery book is pacy but full of detail. You are quickly drawn into liking Cynthia and her family and wondering along with them what on earth happened to her family? The plot is revealed piecemeal and as a reader who continually tries to work out the ending of books, I found myself still baffled even though more than half way through which in turn drove me on to read late into the night to find out what occurred. All in all excellent to read and I would highly recommend this to anyone. Not an intellectual read but an attention grabber with a thoroughly worked on plot leaving no scrappy endings.

Hang a Thousand trees With Ribbons – Anne Rinaldi

Amazon Synopsis

This is a moving historical novel based on the story of Phillis Wheatley – the first African American female poet. It is an intriguing and moving story of a young girl kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold, in 1761, as a slave to the wealthy Wheatley family of Boston. Phillis Wheatley – as she comes to be known – has a keen intelligence and a knack for learning. When the family discover her gift for writing poetry, they begin to mould her future by having her ‘perform’ for influential guests. Eventually, she is sent to England, where her work is finally published – the first book of poetry by an African American woman. However, all the trappings of success do nothing to change the fact that she is still a slave.

My Thoughts

A wonderfully told tale of the first African American female poet. It charts her life from when she was young girl in Africa, to how she got caught by slave traders, her voyage to America, then being sold into slavery. It’s a tale full of courage and determination that kept me turning the pages until the very end. The strength and determination of this young girl, her journey into womanhood, and her eventual success as a published poet is an inspiring story. This is a period of history that needs to be written about and Rinaldi has done a terrific job. 

The Last Days of Lacuna Cabal – Sean Dixon

Amazon Synopsis

An original, mischevious rites of passage novel which will delight fans of off-beat fiction such as ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’and ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’. The Lacuna Cabal Montreal Young Women’s Book Club is THE foremost book club in Canada, no, in the world. Priding themselves on their good taste, intelligent discussions and impeccable opinions, they are a group of misfits and oddballs, living on the edge of normality. There are only two rules: what Missy says goes (ok, there is a nod to democracy but let’s be honest here) and NO BOYS. EVER. Of course, the premier book club in the world must read the first book ever written: ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’. But this monumental book leads them to break all their rules, shed members who end up missing out on EVERYTHING, and travel across the open seas to Bahrain in search of a wise man who’ll hopefully have all the answers. Original, funny, quixotic and ultimately very moving,The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is set in a time of upheaval: the Iraq war is exploding and people across the world are marching in protest.It’s the story of a group of friends who find a family of sorts within their book group, who learn to cope with love, and the lack of it, loss, and the lack of that, and with growing up in a world that is falling apart.

My Thoughts

 Quirky doesn’t go anywhere near describing this amazing novel. I found it surreal, utterly unique, bizarre and at times perplexing but always absolutely enthralling, it kept me intrigued and entertained throughout. Having said that it did take 75 pages before I was well and truly hooked. I persevered with it because it seemed so promising from its blurb and I was pleased to discover I was right to hang on in there with it. I do feel this is destined to become a ‘Marmite’ book though. Another plus is that it’s also inspired me to read The Epic of Gilgamesh, although it by no means necessary to do so to enjoy this book.

The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg

This is a Christian book which I have had recommended to me several times. This is my sister-in-law’s favourite book.

Here is the synopsis for The Life You’ve Always Wanted:

The heart of Christianity is about transformation — about a God who isn’t just concerned with our “spiritual lives,” but who wants to impact every aspect of living. It’s realizing that God meets us not in a monastery but on Main Street, and that all of everyday life has the potential to be lived as if Jesus himself were the one living it. John Ortberg calls us back to dynamic heartbeat of Christianity — God’s power to bring change and growth — and shows us how we can attain it . . . and why we should attain it. Offering modern perspectives on the ancient path of the spiritual disciplines, Ortberg guides us on a journey beyond performance and externalism. As we learn not to run harder, but to walk with consistency, we’ll encounter joy, peace, kindness, and all the signposts of a faith that’s vital and growing. Paved with humor and sparkling anecdotes, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, an ECPA best-seller, is an encouraging and challenging approach to a Christian life that’s worth living. Life on the edge, that fills our ordinary world with new meaning, hope, change, and a joyous, growing closeness to Christ.

I found this book incredibly helpful. I found some of it washed over me, however, the key points were easy to remember. It is very informative, uses real life examples to help teach and is written well.

From this book I have learnt to do things as if Jesus were doing them, how to pray more effectively, how to mediate and study the Scriptures in a better method and change how I think when I am sometimes feeling low.

This isn’t a long book, only 220 pages and the text is broken up with a few diagrams, funny stories and tip-boxes to help put into action what has been read.

A helpful read.

8/10