The Queen of Suspense Challenge -

The Queen of Suspense Challenge - 

Join In (Sept - Aug 2011)

Hosted by:

Tea Time with Marce

Challenge Dates:  September 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011

Details:

* If you participate in this challenge please signup below and do a post in order to get word out so we can have more bloggers join in and to network with.  Please link back to this post with your direct link to your intro challenge post, not just your blog link.

* You do not have to list the chosen books ahead of time and your choices can crossover into other challenges you have joined.

*  You can join anytime before next year Aug, this challenge is to make a fan out of you and to share thoughts and discussions about the Queen of Suspense from those who are already a fan. 

* All forms of books will count - eBooks, Audiobooks, etc

* Rereads do count towards this challenge, as that is the main idea for me.  Also, the collaboration with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark will count.

Level of Participation

2 Books -  New to Mary Higgins Clark
3 Books -  Reacquainting myself with Mary Higgins Clark
6 Books -  Rating my Love for Mary Higgins Clark (If you have read her new one already, I will allow this to be included towards the total 6 for this category only)

List of Mary Higgins Clark books

All participants that have at least one review posted when Mary Higgins Clark releases her next book will be added into an International Giveaway to win the Hardcover.  I will do a post to link your reviews on September 1st.

Welcome fellow Book Blogger Hoppers! I missed last week's blog hop. I would love to meet some new blogging friends. If you decide to give a follow, please leave me a message so that I can follow you back. 


As for this week's question, How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?
Here's my answer: Although I still have a shelf I don't know how many I have due to them being on the shelf, on the floor, in my Nook, saved on my computer in Excel and growing. I believe I have over 100 on my TBR list

Giveaway

I am announcing a giveaway. No not my giveaway :-), but a giveaway by one of my very first blog followers Julie at Reading without Restraint! Her giveaway is great one so go over and check it out 

Random Thought #3

I have the most random thoughts sometimes and I often get distracted in mid conversation, when I'm not talking to myself that is. So I was sitting here trying to figure out what to read before bed (not that I'm still trying to read The Passage and I just bought 8 books in 2 days - shopaholic much...LOL) and thought to myself that whatever I am going to read I need to average the number of pages I need to read in the next 12 days before Mockingjay comes out. So if I read The Passage I have to read a minimum of 62 pages in the next 12 days or I could read 2.5 smaller books at least. So what do I do, I play Sims 3...HA


DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY

Review: Spoilt – Joanne Ellis

Book Description:

Synopsis

Passion turns to envy. Love to murder. One way or another, everyone is spoilt.

A sadistic killer is stalking the streets, carving his hatred into the bodies of beautiful, young women.

The murders are stirring up bad memories for Detective Lucas Hudson, as he struggles to remain focused - juggling the horrors of today with horrors from the past.

When Chelsea Summerville's best friend goes missing, she's unwillingly dragged into the race to stop the killer.

As Lucas and Chelsea find happiness together, Chelsea becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

Can Lucas shake off his demons and save the woman he loves, or will everything he holds dear be spoilt?

About the author: 

Joanne Ellis is a prolific Australian writer who won the Night Reading / Publishing 'First Chapter of the Month' in May-June 2010 with her first chapter of 'Spoilt'.

Other novels written by Joanne include: 'Fire Starter', 'Womaniser', 'The Rookie', 'Charlottesville', 'Control' and 'The Mystic Garden'.

My Thoughts:  I love a good mystery. Spoilt began with a big “bang” and I loved it. It instantly captured my attention and I did not want to stop reading. The romance between Lucas and Chelsea was so intense that it made me want to believe in love at first sight. The way Lucas was so intent on protecting Chelsea was very endearing. Without, ruining the end of the story for everyone I just wanted to say that by the end of the book, I became scared for Chelsea, angry at Lucas, felt the pain and heartache they were both feeling and wanted to hurt the maniac serial killer.

Spoilt was a well written story that flowed through the chapters like melted butter. From the beginning when the murders are being investigated, to when Lucas and Chelsea initially met and then when they fell in love, the story was easy to follow. I didn’t have to go back a few pages to see if I missed anything.

I GIVE THIS BOOK

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I was given by Night Publishing.

Whoa Is Me!!!

I haven't done anything fun all week. That includes blogging and reading. My school work has been working me overtime. However, I am determined to get some reading done tonight. I'm trying to read The Passage for a Facebook Nook book club and I haven't put a dent in the book yet. It usually doesn't take me that long for a book I am enjoying. What's bad is that I contemplated not doing a paper last night so that I can do more blog "research"...LOL. I ended up doing my paper though :-(

Review: Christopher Moore - Lamb-The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Book Description: 

Synopsis

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

Publishers Weekly

A childhood pal of the savior is brought back from the dead to fill in the missing 30-year "gap" in the Gospels in Moore's latest, an over-the-top festival of sophomoric humor that stretches a very thin though entertaining conceit far past the breaking point. The action starts in modern America, specifically in a room at the Hyatt in St. Louis, where the angel who shepherds "Levi who is called Biff" has to put Christ's outrageous sidekick under de facto house arrest to get him to complete his task. Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends) gets style points for his wild imagination as Biff recalls his journey with Jesus dubbed Joshua here according to the Greek translation into and out of the clutches of Balthasar, then into a Buddhist monastery in China and finally off to India, where they dabble in the spiritual and erotic aspects of Hinduism. The author gets more serious in his climax, offering a relatively straightforward, heartfelt account of the Passion and Christ's final days that includes an intriguing spin on how the Resurrection might have happened. The Buddhist and Hindu subplots seem designed to point out the absurdity and excesses of religious customs, but none of the characters are especially memorable, and eventually both plot and characters give way to Biff's nightclub patter. As imaginative as some of this material is, the sacrilegious aspects are far less offensive than Moore's inability to rein in his relentless desire to titillate, and his penchant for ribald, frat-boy humor becomes more annoying as the book progresses. Moore has tapped into organized religion for laughs before, but this isn't one of his better efforts. Agent, Nick Ellison. Author tour. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

About the author:  Christopher Moore is the author of eleven novels, including the international bestsellers, Lamb, A Dirty Job and You Suck. His latest novel is Fool, a retelling of King Lear from the perspective of Pocket, the Fool.

Chris was born in Toledo, Ohio and grew up in Mansfield, Ohio. His father was a highway patrolman and his mother sold major appliances at a department store. He attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. He moved to California when he was 19 years old and lived on the Central Coast until 2003, when he moved to Hawaii.

Before publishing his first novel, Practical Demonkeeping in 1992, he worked as a roofer, a grocery clerk, a hotel night auditor, and insurance broker, a waiter, a photographer, and a rock and roll DJ. Chris has drawn on all of these work experiences to create the characters in his books. When he’s not writing, Chris enjoys ocean kayaking, scuba diving, photography, and sumi-e ink painting. He divides his time between Hawaii and San Francisco.

My Thoughts:  When I originally heard about this book, I was working part-time at Borders and checked someone out who purchased it. At first, she was afraid to tell me about it because she thought I would be offended. I say that all to say that I hope I do not or will not offend anyone due to the title of the book. However, I thought this book was absolutely roll on the floor hilarious. Christopher Moore uses the Bible stories we have heard as children and adds his own adult humor and twist to them giving us a laugh out loud experience. Although, there was some graphic language, it was not over the top. I have read the book twice and listened on audio books once and each time I still laughed quite a bit. If you enjoy humor, this is a good book to read.

I GIVE THIS: 

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.