Book Review: Hope to Die

 

James Patterson is one of my favorite authors. Quite a few people in my family read his stuff. It seems like he got into a boring rut for a while. And how do you not when you are 21 books into one series, and are writing on like six other series at the same time? His last book in the Alex Cross series, Cross My Heart, was phenomenal. It was back to his best writing. These two books, Cross My Heart and Hope to Die, appear to have been split in half, obviously, because Cross My Heart ended with quite the cliff-hanger. And some have speculated that Hope to Die was the last in the Alex Cross series. I truly hope this isn't true because it was another example of brilliant writing by Patterson.

 

Here is a little blurb from a book review site:

Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career. Cross's family--his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children--have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give this mad man what he wants if he has any chance of saving the most important people in his life. The stakes have never been higher: What will Cross sacrifice to save the ones he loves?

Widely praised by the greatest crime and thriller writers of our time, Cross My Heart set a jaw-dropping story in motion. Hope to Die propels Alex Cross's greatest challenge to its astonishing finish.

 

 

For anyone who reads these books, you know how important Alex's family is to him, and this really pushes Alex to a place where he has never been before - committing murder to save his own family, at the demand of the psycho who is holding his family hostage. So the review above, stating an astonishing finish, really hits the nail on the head. This was a fantastic book!

Weekend Recap

 

 

What a weekend!

 

Friday night was my firm's holiday party, and while the main party itself was rather tame, the pre and after parties stole the show. A group of us paralegals (and our guys) got together, since we all live relatively close to each other, for some pre-party drinks, etc. and then caravanned to the main party location. Since the main party wrapped up seriously early this year (apparently last year got quite rowdy), we headed to a bar for several hours of drinking and belly laughing. I'm glad my parents were able to watch my kids overnight because I needed a night out like that. So fun! Many adult games nights are now in the works for this group.

 

Saturday was quite a busy day with picking up the kids, shopping, and personal pampering. It's no secret that I do regular massages (I'm telling you, those memberships are worth it!) and pedicures. Saturday was a pedicure day and I love my holiday design (thanks to Pinterest).

 

 

 

Once I got home, Kendall and I set to work in the kitchen to make a yummy pre-game dinner.

 

 

And then I helped the kids put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday involved a quick little shoot, some house cleaning, editing with lots of Christmas music, and finishing a really good book. I'm about to start a new book by a brand new (to me) author. This always makes me nervous, but the reviews have been nothing but phenomenal, so I have a feeling this will be a good one.

Mason {newborn}

I had such a great time shooting with little Mason. He sure made my baby fever kick into high gear! He was such a little trooper. I sure hope I get more shoots with him as he gets older!

'Tis the Season!

It's usually a week or so later that I buy our tree, but I jumped the gun this year. We grabbed a great little tree last night (in the rain) and it dried out enough overnight to put on the lights. The kids sure had a great time!

That Moment When.....

 

 

....you pull up to a restaurant for a nice dinner and see his truck there. Instead of forcing what could have been an entertaining situation for some, a vote was taken and we headed to a different place to eat.

 

 

Book Review: Blue Labyrinth

 

 

November proved itself to be quite the month of reading! I had a variety of new books to choose from, and still have two more to go. Nothing makes me happier than having TOO many books to read. 

 

It's no secret that the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is one of my favorites. They are complex, both scientifically and psychologically, and Agent Pendergast ranks up there as one of my favorite literary characters. I would LOVE for Hollywood to make movies out of these books - or at least some sort of HBO series.

 

Here is a little blurb from www.prestonchild.com on this book:

"A long-buried family secret resurfaces when one of Aloysius Pendergast’s most implacable enemies shows up on his doorstep as a murdered corpse. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect murder, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased. The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California’s desolate Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his family’s sinister past.

But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is soon stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. In short order, Pendergast is caught in a wickedly clever plot, which will leave him stricken in mind and body…and may well end with his death."

 

This book started off with a bang and continued on in a grand adventure with every passing page. I love how Preston and Child made numerous historical references to events from past books. This was a page-turner at its finest - I could not put this book down and kept finding excuses to dive into it even for just five or ten minutes here and there. Read it! And beyond that, go back and start at the beginning of the series. You will NOT be disappointed.