January 28, 2015 - Erin -

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriary

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read
My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret

Everyone but Rachelle was able to make the meeting at Sobatos on Fairway Drive.  Everyone liked the book.

2015 Roster

2015
January - Erin - THE HUSBAND'S SECRET by Liane Moriary
February - Frances - THE RACKETEER by John Grisham
March - Janice - BLOOD AND JUSTICE by Raven T. Hill (ebook)
April - Nancy - THE FIRST COUNSEL by Brad Meltzer
May - Rachelle - ENDURANCE Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
June - Linda - PRIVATE L.A. by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
July - Jan - THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kid
August - Erin - THE WEDDING by Nicholas Sparks
September - Frances - SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson
October - Janice - The Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
November - Nancy - The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
December - Rachelle

Monday, DECEMBER 29th - Jan - HOUSE AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford

Henry Lee is still mourning the death of his wife when he learns that the belongings of Japanese Americans hidden in the basement of Seattle's Panama Hotel for decades have been discovered. Henry is drawn to the basement, and what he's searching for there opens a door he thought he had closed forever. The story switches back and forth between 1986 and the 1940s, when a 12-year-old Henry attending an American school (he's "scholarshipping" as his father likes to say) meets another international student working in the school kitchen. Keiko is Japanese American, the enemy according to Henry's father, but the two become best friends before her family is imprisoned in one of the relocation camps.


Christmas Meeting will be at 1pm on Monday, December 29th
Gift Theme:  Bring one of your favorite $10 indulgences for our exchange (i.e.:  book, movie tickets, lotion, gift card, music, food or ???)
We all had a great time at Jan's.  After a delicious Lasagna/Salad lunch we did our book summary and gift drawing.  All went home with some of Jan's orange marmalade and a bag of clementines. 

NOVEMBER 17th - The Timekeeper's Son by Mike E. Miller - Linda

What would you do if you could start your life over again? What if you didn’t have a choice?

That’s what happens to Andy Meyers. He has all the normal trappings of life: a beautiful wife, a nice house, and a good job. But all that vanishes when he wakes to find himself reliving his own childhood. He is suddenly nine-years-old again, and he is poised to reenact a terrible chain of events that altered his life forever.

But that’s just the beginning. Things get even more complicated when Andy discovers an impossible note. Someone knows he has come back. Someone who doesn’t want him to change anything. And they will stop at nothing to keep him from it.

As Andy starts to unravel his own past, he begins to find that things are much different than he ever imagined. His family has a secret. A secret so big that it could change everything.

DATE:  Monday, November 17th at 1 pm - Venita Rhea's in Rocklin
Nancy, Frances and Rachelle weren't able to be there.  Everyone attending had read the book.

October - Rachelle - THE NOVEMBER MAN by Bill Granger

THE NOVEMBER MAN by Bill Granger
(originally published as THERE ARE NO SPIES)

Meet Devereaux.  Covert operative from the top secret R Section.An intelligence agency founded by President Kennedy after the CIA botched the bay of pigs operation.R Sections function is to essentially spy on the spies.  After receiving orders to go to England to meet with an informant demanding $30,000 for information about an alleged plot to assassinate a high ranking member of the British Royal Family, the reluctant Devereaux is drawn into a complex web of deceipt, treachery,and inter-agency backstabbing of the most lethal varieties.  A no nonsense character, Devereaux has many enemies{or are they friends?} to contend with, not least of which is Soviet agent Desinov who always seems to appear at crucial times.  Who are the plotters of the assassination and what are their motivations? Is it the IRA, KGB, CIA, or some other unknown entity? The story unfolds with brisk pacing and an exceptional feel for the dialects of Ireland. The concept of the upstart R Section is an interesting one for it makes for natural intrigue and suspense.  Who are the good guys and who are the villains? The line is most assuredly blurred.  Author Bill Granger invests his protagonist Devereaux with an angst and cynicism that can only come from having been in the game for many years.

Meeting Date:  Monday, October 20th at 1 pm:  Everyone but Rachelle and Erin made it today.  Nancy's sister Eileen joined us as well.  Mixed reviews on the book and will be interesting to see the movie version.

SEPTEMBER - Nancy - JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER by Jodi Taylor

Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet. Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting. Follow the catastrophe curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake ...

DATE:  Monday, September 22nd at 1:00 p.m.
Kindle version is available for 99 cents on Amazon (at least today)

AUGUST - THE PIED PIPER by Ridley Pearson - Janice

A wave of baby nappings has terrified parents from San Diego to Portland. And when the Pied Piper--named for the penny flute he leaves in the cribs of his victims--claims his first Seattle infant, the investigation draws in homicide detective Lou Boldt. Assigned temporarily to Intelligence so he can spend more time with his kids while his wife is hospitalized for chemotherapy, Boldt's role is to keep the FBI out of the Seattle Police Department's way.

But FBI special agent Gary Flemming is a tough adversary--so tough it almost seems as if he's intentionally sabotaging the SPD's investigation. Then the Pied Piper snatches Boldt's own daughter, promising that unless Boldt throws both the Feds and the SPD off his trail he'll never see his child again. Caught between his professional obligations and his fear for Sarah's life, Boldt launches his own private manhunt with the help of John La Moia, his replacement in homicide, and police psychologist Daphne Matthews, his closest friend in the department.

They form a task force under the noses of the Feds and the SPD, and soon discover how the Piper has managed to stay a step ahead of the police, elude capture, and find his small victims. The chase moves from Seattle to Portland to New Orleans, culminating in a thrilling denouement in the daffodil fields of Washington's Skagit Valley. Combining strong characterizations with an impressive command of both policing and pacing, Ridley Pearson, author of Chain of Evidence and Beyond Recognition, delivers another sure winner in this outing for Lou Boldt.

Date:  Monday, August 25th - Chili's - Everyone but Rachelle met for lunch and to discuss the book.
Those who had read the book, enjoyed it, especially the last half.  The first half was hard to get into with so many characters involved we thought.

2014 Roster - August through December

August:  Janice - The Pied Piper by Ridley Pearson
September:  Nancy - Just One Damned Thing after Another by Jodi Taylor
October:  Rachelle -  The November Man by Bill Granger
November:  Linda -
December:  Jan -

JULY - The Wanderer - Robyn Carr - Frances

July 28th - 11:30 at Jack's Urban Eats

From Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the popular Virgin River novels, comes THUNDER POINT—the highly anticipated new series that will make you laugh, make you sigh, and make you fall in love with a small town filled with people you'll never forget.

Nestled on the Oregon Coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land's unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he's been left an old friend's entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community's destiny in his hands.
Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.
With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

Everyone but Rachelle and Erin (tired from work/shift changes) met at Jacks Urban Eats.  Everyone has read/reading the book and liked it.

JUNE - The Light Between the Oceans by M.L. Stedman - Erin

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.

Interview with author (read AFTER you've finished the book)

MONDAY - June 30th at 11:30 Pinto Thai (Everyone but Rachelle and Janice attended)

MAY - GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn - Jan

Marriage can be a real killer.    One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.    On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?    As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?   With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

Meeting Date:  Monday, June 9th at 1 pm (lunch)  Everyone but Erin (surgery recovery) and Rachelle (flu) were at Four Sisters Café for book club lunch.  Everyone had read the book and felt the book was slow in some parts and didn't like the ending..but appreciated the twists and turns in the storyline.

APRIL - TAHOE NIGHT by Todd Borg

April 28th - TAHOE NIGHT by Todd Borg - Linda

TV talk show host Leah Printner had a perfect life until a car accident killed her husband and left her face badly scarred, ending her thriving career. After Leah gets out of the hospital, Detective Owen McKenna gets a call from the landlady of Leah's father. The landlady thinks that a man is stalking Leah. She thinks both Leah and her father are in danger. Will McKenna look into it? McKenna is only on the job a few hours before the father is murdered. When he realizes that the killer wants the daughter as well, McKenna rushes Leah into hiding. McKenna discovers that there is more than one killer, and that they are fixated on Grendel, the monster in the ancient, epic poem, Beowulf. McKenna also learns that the crimes are linked to an art forgery of old-master paintings. Under the paralysis of fear and the trauma of injury, Leah's life hits bottom. The woman is broken and maybe beyond saving. But the killers made one fatal mistake. They took down the father and tried to kill the daughter on McKenna's watch...
Everyone but Frances (new granddaughter) and Rachelle (long run day) made it today at Gingers.  Those that had read the book, liked it.

MARCH: LONE SURVIVOR by Marcus Luttrell

MARCH 31 - LONE SURVIVOR by Marcus Luttrell

Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive.

This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squad mates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.

A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates' heroism and mutual support renders an experience that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.

Frances was out of town and Jan sick, but the rest of us met at Costa Vida on Eureka for dinner.  Most of us had finished the book (Erin still reading it).  We all learned a lot about the circumstances our forces endure over there and found the book a compelling read.

February - INFERNO by Dan Brown - Nancy

MONDAY - FEBRUARY 24th

The threat of world overpopulation is the latest assignment for Brown's art historian and accidental sleuth Robert Langdon. Awakening in a Florence hospital with no memory of the preceding 36 hours, Langdon and an attractive attending physician with an oversized intellect are immediately pursued by an ominous underground organization and the Italian police. Detailed tours of Florence, Venice, and Istanbul mean to establish setting, but instead bog down the story and border on showoffmanship. Relying on a deceased villain's trail of clues threaded through the text of Dante's The Divine Comedy, the duo attempt to unravel the events leading up to Langdon's amnesia and thwart a global genocide scheme. Suspension of disbelief is required as miraculous coincidences pile upon pure luck. Near the three-quarters point everything established gets upended and Brown, hoping to draw us in deeper, nearly drives us out. Though the prose is fast-paced and sharp, the burdensome dialogue only serves plot and back story, and is interspersed with unfortunate attempts at folksy humor. It's hard not to appreciate a present day mega-selling thriller that attempts a refresher course in Italian literature and European history. But the real mystery is in the book's denouement and how Brown can possibly bring his hero back for more.

To read about how Dan Brown researched this novel and pictures of locations, click on:
http://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Dan-Brown/dp/0385537859/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390859861&sr=8-2&keywords=inferno

Only 4 of us this month...Frances and Rachelle were sick and Erin had to work.  The rest of us met at Brookfields.  We all enjoyed the book and had a good discussion about it.

2014 ROSTER

Janice - DEAD IN THE WATER by Stuart Woods
Nancy - INFERNO by Dan Brown
Rachelle - LONE SURVIVOR by Marcus Luttrell
Linda - TAHOE NIGHT by Todd Borg
Jan - GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn
Erin - THE LIGHT BETWEEN THE OCEANS by M.L. Stedman
Frances - THE WANDERER by Robyn Carr
Janice - THE PIED PIPER by Ridley Pearson
Nancy - JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER by Jodi Taylor
Rachelle
Linda
Jan - DECEMBER - HOTEL AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford