Books 14-16
Book 14: Elizabeth Lowell - Wrong Hostage - Romance-Thriller - (From Publishers Weekly) Newly divorced California judge Grace Silva discovers her billionaire ex-husband, Ted Franklin, is missing, after she's summoned to the exclusive Mexican prep school where her 15-year-old computer whiz son, Lane, is being held hostage. Ted has crossed Hector Rivas Osuna, the ruthless kingpin of the most violent crime family in Tijuana, and Grace learns that Lane will be killed if she doesn't turn over the millions Ted has stolen from Osuna. She seeks the help of Joe Faroe, an ex who predated Ted and who may be Lane's biological father; Joe works for an elite private investigation firm. Lowell's convincing depiction of the Mexican drug trade illuminates the dangerous intersection of her characters' personal lives with international politics and organized crime. Events unfold in a maze of talk and double-talk, but the payoff is solid as the family reunites, finding that both love and the price of freedom are nonnegotiable.
This was a good book. I enjoyed every minute of it! I would definitely recommend.
Book 15: Mark Twain- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Classics- A story about a boy and his adventures on the Mississippi River with an escaped slave.
I enjoyed the story but the language was difficult for me to understand at times.
Book 16: Henry James - The Turn of the Screw - Classics - (From Amazon.com) The story starts conventionally enough with friends sharing ghost stories 'round the fire on Christmas Eve. One of the guests tells about a governess at a country house plagued by supernatural visitors. But in the hands of Henry James, the master of nuance, this little tale of terror is an exquisite gem of sexual and psychological ambiguity. Only the young governess can see the ghosts; only she suspects that the previous governess and her lover are controlling the two orphaned children (a girl and a boy) for some evil purpose. The household staff don't know what she's talking about, the children are evasive when questioned, and the master of the house (the children's uncle) is absent. Why does the young girl claim not to see a perfectly visible woman standing on the far side of the lake? Are the children being deceptive, or is the governess being paranoid? By leaving the questions unanswered, The Turn of Screw generates spine-tingling anxiety in its mesmerized readers.
This was one of most horrible books I have ever read. I had to reread a lot of the book just to understand what was going on. This 100 page book felt like it was 500 pages. I would not recommend this book.
This was a good book. I enjoyed every minute of it! I would definitely recommend.
Book 15: Mark Twain- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Classics- A story about a boy and his adventures on the Mississippi River with an escaped slave.
I enjoyed the story but the language was difficult for me to understand at times.
Book 16: Henry James - The Turn of the Screw - Classics - (From Amazon.com) The story starts conventionally enough with friends sharing ghost stories 'round the fire on Christmas Eve. One of the guests tells about a governess at a country house plagued by supernatural visitors. But in the hands of Henry James, the master of nuance, this little tale of terror is an exquisite gem of sexual and psychological ambiguity. Only the young governess can see the ghosts; only she suspects that the previous governess and her lover are controlling the two orphaned children (a girl and a boy) for some evil purpose. The household staff don't know what she's talking about, the children are evasive when questioned, and the master of the house (the children's uncle) is absent. Why does the young girl claim not to see a perfectly visible woman standing on the far side of the lake? Are the children being deceptive, or is the governess being paranoid? By leaving the questions unanswered, The Turn of Screw generates spine-tingling anxiety in its mesmerized readers.
This was one of most horrible books I have ever read. I had to reread a lot of the book just to understand what was going on. This 100 page book felt like it was 500 pages. I would not recommend this book.