“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
—Henry David Thoreau


Through all of the years that I spent teaching, observing, and inter-acting with young people, I never figured out what made them (or any of us) “tick.” Why are some people kind and empathetic while others are cruel and amoral? Why do some happily immerse themselves in multi-cultural environments, while others shy away from anyone who does not share their heritage?  Why do some grow up to be religious leaders, while others grow up to be serial killers? We might take comfort in believing that upbringing has everything to do with it, because then we could assure ourselves that our children will most certainly be perfect, but that answer is too simple and often proven wrong.

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, by all accounts, had a relatively normal upbringing, and he ate people! Oprah Winfrey was repeatedly molested by her cousin, her uncle and a family friend. She finally ran away from home and had a child at fourteen who died shortly after his birth. Oprah overcame all of her hardships, was an honor student, went to college, has a net worth of 2.9 million dollars, and more importantly, she is a kind and generous person who spends her time helping others.

No, upbringing isn’t the answer (although it is many times a contributing factor), and I don’t believe that people are genetically destined to do harm. What is it then, that makes most liberals see immigration as a necessary kindness that we must offer at our own expense, while most republicans see it as a distraction and detriment to the good of our country. Both sides have merit, and both sides have flaws. I just wonder what makes certain people think certain ways.

I do realize that we all can be swayed by the right rhetoric, and some lobbyists will go to any extreme to get their way, but I wonder what goes on in the heads and hearts of those men and women who lobby to make cigarettes available to those who are slowly killing themselves with each puff? Or why do NRA lobbyists demand there be no gun control, allowing semi-automatic weapons to flood the streets, while some gun control advocates push for the removal of all firearm? Is it only money that controls their beliefs, or do they see things so very differently from each other that they will never come to a meeting of the minds?

It is easy to say that those who believe in immigration, welfare, gun control and pushing the human rights agenda are the true humanitarians, while their counterparts are without compassion or human kindness, but I know differently. I have a number of friends who believe in the conservative agenda while being truly kind in their dealings with others. They are thoughtful people who truly believe in the importance of a conservatively run country.

Dostoyevsky once asked if you would be able to kill one small child if you could be assured that act would save many lives. I have thought about that many times throughout the years since my college professor introduced me to “my good friend, Dostoyevsky.” I ultimately came to the conclusion that I could not take the life of that innocent child, but I wonder if those that could are seeing a bigger picture, and if so, what makes them see something that others do not see.

On a far simpler note, my very favorite part of the year fast approaches. Son Michael will be here come Saturday and several days later Nephews Jonathan and Nick arrive. We are lucky that Beth and her crew and niece Rebecca and her family live so close, and are contributing to our feast. My sister Judy and I have already started cooking, and our Thanksgiving table should be seating twenty this year. I know that Thanksgiving is controversial for some, but in my family it simply represents a time that we will all put aside our other obligations and come together to pig out. Everyone’s favorite dishes make an appearance, the kids will be a bit too noisy, football will be on some television, somewhere, and my dad will be sneaking tastes of anything that isn’t tightly wrapped.

I want to take this time to wish all of you a very healthy and delicious Thanksgiving.  I will be taking the week off (only the second week since I began this blog almost four years ago) to spend time enjoying my family. Never fear...I will be reading, and I will be back the following week, fully recovered from the food coma that Thanksgiving always delivers.

I did find a book to help you through the holiday stresses though. End Game (Will Robie Series) by David Baldacci is sure to get your mind off of shopping, cooking and
feeding a hungry mob. If you are familiar with this author than you know that you have a treat in store.

As always a complete review of this book follows this blog.

Happy reading,

Beverly
​

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Genre: Thriller

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In 1996 I read the first book published by David Baldacci, entitled Absolute Power, and I was absolutely hooked. I couldn’t wait until his next book came out one year later, and Total Control was another winner. Baldacci continued to write one great book after another for the next ten years, and he definitely earned a place on my list of best authors. In 2006 however, he decided to work on characters who could return in future books, and his Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series began.

He was so successful in this genre, that he began several other series, and in 2012 he introduced us to government assassin Will Robie. Five books later Robie is still going strong, and his fan base looks forward to each new adventure that he is featured in. End Game, his latest, will not disappoint his audience. This book finds Will Robie and Jessica Reel in a sparsely populated area of Colorado, searching for their handler, Roger Walton, code named “Blue-man.”

Blue-man disappeared while on a rare vacation, and finding him becomes a priority.
Unfortunately, the small Colorado town that is their base is economically stagnant, lacking a strong police force and populated with several heavily armed fringe groups. Things get nasty, lives are lost and our heroes face some overwhelming odds.

Baldacci introduces some strong characters in his novels, and these two are among the strongest, so those that know them aren’t too worried. The book begins with Robie single handedly killing sixteen “bad guys” without breaking much of a sweat. The reader has to be an expert at suspending reality and just accepting the Superman-like qualities that this author bestows on his characters, but once that is done the ride is non-stop.

Baldacci is excellent at setting the scene and building suspense with his short chapters and various cliff hangers. He is equally good at building characters and having them deal with various hardships along the way to a successful conclusion. The relationship between Will and Jessica is not an easy one and proves to be an interesting aside to this adventure.

If you are looking for an exciting holiday read, look no further, Baldacci has done it again.

- Beverly


Publisher - Grand Central Publishing
Date of Publication - ​November 14, 2017

"We investigate in secret so that we don’t smear innocent people.”
—James Comey


Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Sheen, etc., have been accused of some despicable behavior, and these accusations have helped shine a light on actions that have been hidden away for much too long. There is no doubt that too many men in positions of strength and power have used their position to force others into unwanted acts. As I mentioned in a previous blog, there is no excuse for these actions, and it would be difficult to find a woman today who has not faced harassment of some sort.

Of equal concern to me, however, is that I am watching the very things that make America great fade away in a new political climate. Our judicial system stands out in the world with its strong policy of Innocent until proven Guilty. Unlike many other countries, those accused of crimes are given time and attorneys to represent them. In fact, it has never been their job to prove innocence, but rather the state’s job to prove guilt.

Suddenly, things are turned around, and these men are being accused, tried by media and punished, before they face the first judge. Weinstein lost his job because of these accusations. Spacey is literally being spliced out of a movie that is to be released next month, and he is being replaced by Christopher Plummer. Do I believe these men are guilty? I think they probably are, and that is where the problem lies.

It is not my place to judge innocence or guilt without knowing all of the facts, yet it is easy to do so. The media sensationalizes much of what we hear and often paints an unfair picture. Through the years women have been in a position of fighting to be believed, and that was wrong. It would be equally wrong to believe every accusation without knowing all of the facts now, but it is even more detrimental to the very foundation of our justice system if employers begin punishing employees without the benefit of a trial.

I understand their dilemma. If director Ridley Scott releases the film “All the Money in the World” in December with Spacey, as expected, he might lose much of an audience to protesters. Since Spacey did admit to some of what he is being accused of, Scott was probably able to replace him without fear of a lawsuit. Weinstein may have admitted enough to allow them to oust him from the company he started, but we must be careful not to jump the gun in doling out punishments before real guilt has been established.

Our country was founded on, and our constitution written to solidify, several important principles that make us great. The separation of church and state, equality for all and the premise of innocent until proven guilty are dangerously close to being trampled on in our present day political arena. If we, as Americans, let this happen, then we will be no better than the countries that we have condemned through the years. No matter what party we vote for, we must always stand together and fight anyone who tramples on the rights our forefathers believed exemplified America.

Speaking of being believed to be guilty before all the facts are in, John Lescroart’s newest novel, Poison, finds defense attorney Dismis Hardy attempting to defend his client from a murder he believes she could not have committed. The book, due out in February, is sure to satisfy all Lescroart fans and add many more to that same fan list.

As always, a complete review follows this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

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Genre: Legal Thriller

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Reading Lescroart’s books always makes me feel like I am visiting with old friends, and Poison is no exception. He has introduced several protagonists through the years, and while each of his books features one, they all seem to pop up in most of them. Defense attorney Dismas Hardy was the main character in the first book of his that I read, and he seems to be a favorite of this author.

In Poison, the seventeenth Hardy book, we find the hero finally recovered from two bullet wounds. He has vowed to steer clear of murder cases and concentrate on himself, when he is called by a former client. Several years ago Abby Jarvis went to prison for vehicular homicide. Grant Wagner hired her when she was released, and she turned her life around. By all accounts she adored Wagner and his family, yet she finds herself accused of murdering him and needs Hardy’s help once again.

As Dismas investigates the Wagner clan in an effort to find an alternative theory, he finds himself in several dangerous situations. As always there are several sub plots that keep the readers’ interest, including one that features the murder of a friend of Hardy’s son. As the plot evolves, many of the protagonist's friends make their customary appearances, and a feeling of deja vu set in for me.

Lescroart makes his characters come alive, and they are definitely the high point of his books for me. His ability to intertwine his characters and make us root for all of them is a talent he uses well. His plots are always intricate but quite easy to follow, and I enjoyed trying to figure out who did what to whom as I got deeper into this storyline.

As a legal thriller, Poison is a winner, and I am looking forward to seeing who Lescroart features in his next book. I recommend this as an addition to your legal thriller collection as soon as it is released.

- Beverly
​

Publisher - Atria Books
Date of Publication - February 13, 2018

A room without books is like a body without a soul”
---Cicero


Arthur and I were talking recently, and I shared some of my best childhood memories with him. My grandmother, Rose, was an unbelievable inspiration to me. One of eight children, she was the only girl, and her education wasn’t as important to her family as it should have been. Her last bit of formal education was eighth grade, yet she never stopped learning. She was highly cultured, often enjoying the symphony or taking in shows, and she raised my mother to follow in those footsteps. My mom was one of few women of her age to attain a college education and use that education to pursue a career in teaching.

Grandma Rose was never without a book in hand and taught my mother the importance of reading. My mother kept a collection of her favorite books, and I spent many hours pouring over well-read copies of Heidi, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Jane Eyre, to name a few. Of course it was Grandma who first introduced me to my childhood hero...Nancy Drew, and I never looked back. Every week we would walk to the Bala Cynwood shopping plaza and eat a wonderful lunch at the local Horn & Hardart Restaurant. When I was sufficiently stuffed, we wandered several doors down to Doubleday Bookstore, and I was allowed to pick a Nancy Drew book to add to my collection. We would then return to her house and spend the afternoon reading together. I prized those books and those Saturday afternoons with my grandmother and believe that was what started my addiction to reading.

Indeed it is an addiction. I must have several books at my fingertips at all times. Before the days of electronic books, travel used to present quite a challenge for poor Arthur. It was his responsibility to pack my books, and I always packed two per day. We had to overtip bellmen to carry insanely heavy suitcases to our room, and I was never really settled in until the books were unpacked and stacked on my nightstand. My children used to watch me with mild amusement, but I noticed that their suitcases felt heavier than they should have, too. I don’t know if it was heredity or environment, but Mike enjoys reading and Beth is as obsessed with her collection of books as I ever was.

Then, of course their is Sarah. Sarah Rose (yes, she is named after grandma Rose) puts all of us to shame. I have a picture of Sarah when she was approximately six months old, propped up on a big chair with a book on her lap. She is intently staring at the pages with a smile on her face and her finger pointing to something. The only time she ever gets in trouble in school is when she is reading her book during a lecture. We went to pick her up from Sunday school one day, and we became anxious when she didn’t show. We asked her friends who said she left with everyone else, yet she was nowhere to be found. Eventually I saw her turning a corner, nose in her book. It seems she left the classroom, got to an exciting part of her book, and leaned up against the wall to finish the chapter. Some of my favorite moments with Sarah are in a bookstore when I let her pick out a book or two for her week’s entertainment.

So for those of you who ask me how to get your children interested in reading, I say that you need to put down your iPhone and pick up a book. If they see how important reading is to you, they just might decide to give it a try. In fact, children’s literature is so well written today, you might want to share reading material with your children. Some of today’s most prolific authors (Patterson, Grisham, Coben, etc.) write novels for young readers that stand right up with the best of their adult novels.

Reading might just become a bonding experience.

In fact, the first book I reviewed this week is Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel written by one of my top authors, Harlan Coben. It is a well written young-adult mystery featuring Mickey Bolitar. If the name sounds familiar it is because Mickey was introduced in one of Coben’s Myron Bolitar books. This is a fun read for you and your children.

In case you never read a Myron Bolitar book, I also reviewed Deal Breaker, the first in this Harlan Coben series. It is probably the weakest in this series, but it is a great place to meet all of the characters and get some backstories.

As always, complete reviews of Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel and Deal Breaker follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

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Genre: Young Adult/Mystery

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I am a big fan of Harlan Coben, and an even bigger fan of his series protagonist, Myron Bolitar. I have read the entire series and reviewed most of them through the years. When Myron introduced us to his nephew, Mickey, in one of his novels, I realized he had an ulterior motive. Coben wanted to write young adult novels, and Mickey was a perfect foot in the door.

In Shelter Mickey recently witnessed his dad’s death and helped send his mom to rehab. Even though he had been estranged from his uncle, Myron, he had no where else to go. Suddenly he has to acclimate to a new school and an uncle that he really doesn’t like. Meeting Ashley at school makes everything a bit better, and when she suddenly disappears he knows he has to find her.

What he finds shocks him, and he is suddenly in much deeper than a high school student should be. Since author Coben has a great deal of experience fleshing out investigators, Mickey becomes a character who is interesting to follow. Sometimes it is a bit difficult differentiating him from his uncle, but I think that as the series continues, Mickey will stand out as his own strong character.

My favorite part of the Myron Bolitar series is the addition of wonderful supporting characters. Mickey’s friends fill the same roll. Ema is a bit of an outsider, and Spoon, the janitors son, kept me chuckling as they try to help Mickey solve the mystery of Ashley’s disappearance.

This is a great book to buy for your young adult children and then read it when they are through. It will lead to some interesting dinner time conversations.

- Beverly
​
Publisher - Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Date of Publication - ​September 6, 201

Genre: Mystery

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Deal Breaker is not one of Harlan Coben’s best books. It does, however, introduce us to one of fictions best characters, Myron Bolitar. Myron was a basketball star before an injury sidelined him. Now he is a sports agent turned investigator. In the past eleven years, Coben has written eleven books in this series. As I read each one, I found him growing as an author in the same way I found Myron growing as a protagonist.

Most of his books center around sports figures, and in Deal Breaker we meet rookie quarterback Christian Steele. Christian, Myron’s top client, receives a phone call from a former girlfriend of his who is thought to be dead. This puts Myron in an uncomfortable situation as he tries to unravel a mystery that could cost him his life.

Coben’s books are always sprinkled with a sarcastic type of humor that I find appealing, but suspense is always in the forefront of his tales. The secondary characters in this series are actually the stars, and I would love to invite them all to my house for a barbecue.

While this might not be the best book you read this year, if you never read a book in this series then it is a good place to start. You will meet the characters and can rest assured that they only get better from here.

- Beverly
​

Publisher - Delacorte Press; First Edition edition
Date of Publication - July 25, 2006