Review of Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen

Rating: 4.5* out of 5

From the beginning in Rome to the end in (… well you’ll just have to read the book to find that out!) this stand-alone thriller, by the always entertaining best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, will enthral and captivate you.  If you’re looking for a Rizzoli and Isles type novel, you won’t find that here.  What you will find is another fascinating side to Tess’s knowledge and abilities and a wonderfully satisfying thriller.

Julia, from whose perspective the book is mainly written, is a professional violinist and happily married mother to three year old Lily living in current-day Boston.  She happens upon a piece of unknown music in a little bookshop while on a trip to Rome, but little does she realise the chain of events that playing this piece will begin upon her return home.  Is Lily really trying to hurt her?  Is something wrong with her precious child?  Why will no-one believe her?  Who is good and who is bad?  From hardly being apart to being afraid of her own daughter, Julia’s story gathers pace quickly really making the reader wonder about the cause of the strange, and very frightening, behaviour.

Interwoven with Julia’s story is another, set in the days before, and early days of, World War 2.  It tells the story of Lorenzo, a Jewish musician and composer living in Venice, and his family and friends.

Though they have never met, and their stories are from different times and places, danger is no stranger to either Julia or Lorenzo making you want to read on and find out more as the pace of this novel accelerates.  Finding out Lorenzo’s story and the history of the Waltz he wrote become vital to Julia (and the reader), leading her own story down unexpected paths with many twists and turns.  

Danger is ever present for both Julia and Lorenzo, but so are beauty, love and music.  The whole book is wonderfully written, even though sometimes about painful subjects, leading the reader to change their mind several times about some of the well thought out characters as the story unfolds and ultimately leads to a very satisfactory ending.

ARC received from  http://mysteriesandcrimethrillers.blogspot.co.uk/ for review purposes.

Review of Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard

Rating 4* out of 5

Jane’s husband just died, and she lost her precious dog shortly thereafter, but she is keeping something secret from those nearest to her – she’s more broken up about the pooch! 

Maybe she would have told her closest friends but she’s not living in her hometown of San Diego.  Instead she’s still in Philadelphia where she lived with her husband but never really settled. Even though everyone says one shouldn’t make any sudden changes when recently widowed, Jane feels this is exactly the right time for her to make the move home. 

But life has other plans for her.  Her aunt and uncle need her. 

The thought of helping to look after a B & B, and its customers, makes Jane shudder (she’s really not a people person!).  However it will help fill in the time while she looks for a new job and being there for family is important to her.  So she heads off to Prescott, Arizona, meeting a stray dog in a rest stop on the way.  She can’t leave her there all alone but can’t bear to let another dog get into her heart so takes her to a nearby rescue.  What will become of the beautiful pup?

This is Jane’s story: a time of changes, self-analysis and new adventures while dealing with a huge range of mixed emotions at her recent losses.  It’s a story about the past, the present and the future and all the planned, and unplanned, things that happen along the way. 

As the reader I found this book highly entertaining, engaging and funny.  The characters are well written and described, some more likeable than others but all people I’d love to meet.  Even though Jane’s situation at times is quite a sad one, it is most definitely not a tragedy and there are plenty of comic moments all the way through.  Jane’s lists, the “signs” and the titling of the chapters in the book are nice additional features that I really enjoyed. 

This is definitely a book that dog lovers will connect with.  Anyone who’s had a pet can appreciate what Jane feels and goes through.  So who rescues who?  Read and find out – Maybe!

ARC received from http://mysteriesandcrimethrillers.blogspot.co.uk/ for review purposes.