The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

Goldens, Angels, Children, Oh My!
What does a golden retriever, down syndrome child and 3 psychotic killers have in common? The answer: Dean Koontz. "The Darkest Evening of the Year" had me on the edge of my seat one moment, thinking about the divine in the next and crying over the cruelty of humans toward other living beings including themselves. With help of the Divine Mr. Koontz tells the story of hope and love that transcends the tragedies of this world.
This story is amazing. I finished it last night and I dreamed of golden retrievers and angels. I could feel the passion of the author for his story. The subjects of child and animal abuse are important to Mr. Koontz. The book was sometimes hard to read, especially when Moon Girl/Vanessa is torturing her unwanted child.
Let me tell you a little bit about the story and then I can get back to raving about what a terrific writer Dean Koontz is.
Amy Redwing is a young woman who was orphaned as a baby and then again as a small child and ended up being raised in an orphanage, Our Mother of Mercy. When she returned to the orphanage the second time after the sudden death of her adoptive parents she was withdrawn, depressed and the nuns feared for her health. One day a stray golden retriever shows up at the orphanage and Amy makes an immediate connection to the animal. She helps the sisters get the dog cleaned and settled and convinces them to keep the dog . She gives the female dog the name Nickie. For the next 10 years or so Amy and Nickie are inseparable and are almost legend amongst the other children. Shortly before Amy goes out on her own Nickie gets sick and dies in her arms.
Fast forward another 10 years and Amy runs Golden Heart, an animal rescue shelter for golden retrievers. One night she gets a call for a rescue and with her boyfriend Brian goes to a house to help a woman save her dog from her abusive husband. In the process Amy rescues not only the dog but the mother and her two children from the drunken, angry, violent man. She also discovers a strange and wonderful connection to the new retriever. Instead of setting the dog up for a “forever home” she adopts the dog herself and you guessed it, names her Nickie.
Brian, the boyfriend, is an up and coming architect with a past of his own which involves a short affair with a beautiful but manipulative girl who is crazy. He gets her pregnant and she demands he signs away his rights to her so the new man in her life, a very wealthy but sterile businessman, can adopt the child. At first he is relieved to not be burdened with a baby but as the birth approaches he realizes that it wouldn't be right to not be there for his child. When the baby is born and discovered to have down syndrome the businessman drops her like a rotten potato. Even though Brian tells Vanessa he would be more than happy to take on the burden of the baby girl, crazy girl makes it her mission for the next ten years to torture both Brian and the baby.
Both Amy’s and Brian’s stories are deeper and more horrible than my short blurb can say. These separate and unrelated pasts converge into one very long evening in a violent confrontation. I will tell you the good beats out evil but the question you have to ask is, at what cost?

Dean Koontz is, in my opinion, an extraordinary author. His ability to create horrible situations and not only make them feel real but to make me, the reader, feel such compassion and empathy for the characters is equaled only by Stephen King.
I couldn’t put this story down. I was at times smiling, other times grossed out and angry. Mr. Koontz made me feel. I didn’t just read the emotions of the characters, I felt them. I was pulling for the good guys and I wanted the bad guys hurt, in the words of Vanessa, “Hurt Hard”. "The Darkest Evening of the Years" is 5 stars, 2 thumbs up and an angel on top good.

The adjoining picture is of Dean and his Golden, Trixie.

New Look

So what do you think of the new look? I like the colors much better than the original hunter greens and navy blues of the old template. And Look Mom 3 columns! Woo Hoo!
All visitors, please take a moment and let me know how the new layout works for you!
:)
Mame

Fiction Fix Part II

Fiction Fix Part II

Well today’s news has kept me in the fiction realm. Bailout or rescue plan the real world seems like it is on shaky ground. I have to admit I have become a bit obsessed by the economic woes of our country and my household. I shared in Part I of the “Fiction Fix” the Library is a great place to get away from the insanity of the everyday. Today I have another suggestion for getting what I need. I have to be honest, even though the Library tries to provide the most mainstream titles of today they have limited options due to budget constraints. Many of my paranormal, science fiction and romantic faves are still not regularly available. The next best value is my local second-hand bookstore. This is a great place to find titles or authors that I can’t often find at the library like Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Johnson and Rebecca York. A lot of second-hand bookstores are great resources for old magazines and even text books. Some used bookstores have special focuses like comic books, romance novels, and other collectable books. Another reason I really love second-hand bookstores are they are owned by besotted bookworms like me. I don’t think anyone gets really rich running a used bookstore but they are surrounded everyday by the things they love most. All the booksellers I have met in these stores are friendly, informed and excited to share their treasures with me.



I am especially fortunate to have a bookstore with in walking distance of my house. “The Bookworm has a great staff. They are always up on the next J.D. Robb novel that is dropping or have comments on the last James Patterson mystery they just read. I get excited every time I walk in, as I am surrounded by a grand variety of paperbacks, hardbacks, and magazines. I can trade in books I have purchased or gotten from friends and use them as credit toward books from their inventory. All the books are half off of the new price. This does make the paperbacks a better value than the hardbacks. I have actually picked up a month’s worth of reading for less than $20.00. (That comes to about 6 books for me). Just the other day I strolled out with the newest Jayne Castle book, “Dark Light” and a Jennifer Cruise novel I haven’t read before. It is great knowing I am being frugal while indulging in my favorite past time. I feel like I am doing something good for me and for my budget and then I can face the news again.

Just a reminder: Don’t forget to vote on November 4th! I am an Obama supporter but no matter who you support change won’t happen without our voices being heard. Just think, this election makes us all a part of history and someday someone will walk into a library or bookstore and read about the decisions we make that day.

This isn't just another Black Out

When I think of a black out I think of a night when I slammed one too many tequilas in college. I was partying, laughing and the next thing I know I was home in bed with my make-up stuck to the pillow, the sunlight poking daggers into my eyelids and a blank space where the rest of my night should have been. It was an experience I have been loathed to experience ever again. Imagine for a moment what it would feel like if entire years and events were just gone from your memory. Then imagine that the safety of your family depends on you remembering.
In Lisa Unger’s “Black Out” her character Ophelia is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress syndrome and has holes in her memory. Her mother emotionally abandons her for the love of a convicted death row serial killer. Mom moves them from New York to Central Florida so she can be close to the man of her dreams and assist in appeals which will eventually free him from death row and prison. It is during this time when Ophelia becomes involved with the killer’s son, Marlowe. Let me just say here, “Like Father, Like Son.” Later after being rescued from Marlowe and creating a new life with a new name Annie she realizes one cannot escape the past only reconcile it. The suspense is in the reconciliation.
The story did not flow. It leaped, bounded and skipped across the Past, Present and future, from a trailer park in Central Florida to a tattoo parlor in New York to a cargo ship on the ocean back to a high end neighborhood in South Florida. Not until the very end of the book do all the unrelated bits and pieces come together for a shocking conclusion. This is a tightly drawn suspense novel that had more twists and turns in it that a Gordian knot. There were times while reading this book I wasn’t sure where I was anymore than Annie knew where she was and that was the fun. Who were the good guys? Gray, her husband? Drew and Vivian, the concerned in-laws? Who were the bad guys? Marlowe? Her mother? And the biggest question of all: who was really the victim? I kept turning pages just so I could maybe figure out where reality began and delusion ended. ? I would love to supply more detail and plot but then that would ruin the story and I wouldn’t dream of ruining it for you. The book comes to an end but the story left me wondering. Could there be a sequel? Maybe we will finally find out what happened to Gray’s sister. Where did Ella go? Hmmm….. This is my first taste of Lisa Unger’s story telling and it won’t be the last. Keep ‘em coming Ms. Unger!

Nothing is Juicier than a Plum Novel

Who’s the baddest Bounty Hunter around? Stephanie Plum!
Who’s the funniest heroine in modern fiction today? Stephanie Plum!
Who has the funniest Grandma in the “Burg”? Stephanie Plum!
Who is involved with the sexiest cop on the beat? Stephanie Plum!
Who lusts after the hottest mystery man in noveldom? Stephanie Plum!
Who has the finest former hooker cum bounty hunter in town as her sidekick? Stephanie Plum!
Over 13 books, Janet Evanovich has created not just a great character in Stephanie Plum , she has created a fantastic supporting cast in Grandma Mazur, Mom and Dad Plum, her sister, her sister’s fiancé and their kids, Lula, Ranger, Morelli and the “Burg” along with all the villains and guest starts in each novel . Each story is filled up with action, a little romance and abundant local color like the 2 gay guys who bought the funeral home and according to grandma Mazur, serve better cookies than the mob guys they got it from. Joe Morelli’s Italian grandma and her evil eye puts me in mind of some of my crazier Hungarian relatives. Wait! Stephanie is half Hungarian! Maybe that is why I have such affinity for her. Dinners at the Plum residence are nothing less than epic for their hilarity. Please, take a weekend at the beach, cabin or backyard, pour yourself a local ale of your choice and sink your teeth into this rich, colorful and hysterically funny world called the “Burg”.
Meet the cast:
Stephanie is a single woman living with her pet hamster in an apartment building with a bunch of old people. She has become a bounty hunter because she couldn’t get another job after losing her job as a lingerie buyer. Her bounty hunter skills are limited only by the fact that she couldn’t find her way out of a wet paper bag. She basically blackmailed her slimy cousin Vinnie to hire her. So begins one of the funniest, fun loving-est, romps in novel series writing!
Grandma Mazur is crazy. Her favorite social activity is going to the neighborhood funeral home for viewings. She even picks up a man at one of them. She thinks Stephanie has a great job chasing bad guys and tries whenever she can to join the chase.
Mom and Dad Plum are a typical longtime married couple. Dad tries to just ignore everything going on around him while pretending he is in control while mom deals with the stress of Plum family crises with ironing and tippling.
Valerie is Stephanie’s, (once the perfect now just as screwed up as Stephanie), sister. She married the right guy, moved to California, had two girls, and then left by said perfect husband and moves back to the “Burg” into mom and dad’s house. She is employed and then gets pregnant by the goofy and loser lawyer Albert Kloughn who turns out to have a phobia of getting married.
Take neon pink spandex, pair it with leopard print leggings on 5 inch spike heels and you have Lula. Lula is Stephanie’s sometimes sidekick who is a former hooker who still dresses like she is in the biz. She is constantly on a diet that she cannot stick to. Her favorite places to go to for stress relief is the chuck-a– cluck chicken place and the donut shop. When she isn’t helping Stephanie tracking down evaders of the law, Lula is file clerk at the bail bonds office and the sometimes paramour of Tank, one of Rangers tough guys.
Ranger is a fellow bounty hunter. He is dark, latin, mysterious and oh so sexy. The heat coming off this bad boy has sometimes melted Stephanie’s clothes.
Joe Morelli is Stephanie’s on again off again, love of her life. Joe is a local cop and can be mysterious in his own ways when he goes undercover. His Italian good looks and hot bod gives Ranger a run for his money in the sexy dept. but Joe is at heart a regular guy who wants a regular life with Stephanie. For him regular life means his girlfriend works in an office, store, or even factory not a bounty hunter who regularly gets her cars blown up or demolished and keeps her gun in the cookie jar. Steph loves him a lot but for all her bitching about bounty hunting likes it too much to give it up even for a hunk like Joe.

I love theatre. I love the movies too, but there really is nothing like live theatre. I can’t interact with a flat screen the way I can with live performers. Live theatre is the only real “Live Action” show. There is an energy and excitement to live dancers pirouetting, singers belting out my favorites, orchestras filling the auditorium and actors creating a whole world right before my eyes. The audience’s applause returns their energy back to them and the dancers leap higher, the orchestras swell and the actors get funnier or more dramatic.

West Palm Beach makes it easy to indulge in my favorite pastime. Within a 20 minute drive I can get my fill at Palm Beach Drama Works, The Cuillo Center for Theatre Arts, Florida Stage, Maltz Theatre, Lake Worth Playhouse and the crown jewel of them all, The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

Palm Beach Drama Works is located on Banyan Street in downtown West Palm Beach. This regional company has been around since 2001 and features classic plays and comedies with innovation and fresh interpretation. This season is filled with greats like “The Subject was Roses” by Frank Gilroy, “Agnes of God” by John Pielmeier, and “Benefactors” by Michael Fryan.

The Cuillo Center for Theatre Arts is located on Clematis Street also in downtown. The building that is the Cuillo has a long history of presenting theatre being the previous home to other companies one might remember, Florida Repertory Theatre and The Stage Company. It was also home to the Grand Kettler Theatre which was one of the first movie houses in West Palm Beach in the 1920’s and 30’s. Today the Cuillo presents an eclectic mix of theatre, comedy and cabaret performances. Their current offerings include “Viagra Falls” and “A Jew Grows in Brooklyn”.

The crown jewel of downtown is The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
The Kravis opened its doors 15 years ago and since then has presented world class entertainment for all of Palm Beach County and nearby Broward and Martin Counties. The Kravis not only provides the big names in entertainment but presents local companies like Ballet Florida, Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Pops and Miami City Ballet. They have a serious commitment to bringing live performance to the kids of our community too. In 15 years of business the Center has brought theatre, music and dance to over 1 million children in our Community. This season will continue the tradition of star filled presentations with Queen Latifah, kd lang, Martin Short, Steve and Edie, “Spamalot”, “Sweeney Todd” and oh so much more.

Just outside of Downtown other wonderful theatres thrive in our area.

Check out one of the finest regional Theatres in the country at Florida Stage. Located in Manalapan, Florida Stage has a long tradition of bringing cutting edge, new works to our area. This season will feature “End Days”, A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage” and “Ward 57”.

Lake Worth Playhouse, located on Lake Avenue in downtown Lake Worth has been providing the community with great theatre for over 50 years. This quaint community theatre is staying current with the times adding a film series to their lineup, as well as, a concert series featuring great regional musicians. The mainstage season consists of “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, Hollywood Arms”, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”.

Just north of West Palm Beach lies a theatre with another long and interesting history. Located on the corner of Indian Town Road and A1A in Jupiter, the Maltz Theatre, aka, the Jupiter Dinner Theatre, aka, The Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre has completely revamped and reinvented itself with a beautiful 554 seat theatre. This professional regional theatre is one of the most recent additions to the rich theatrical community of Palm Beach County presenting classics like “Man of Lamancha” and new works like “Food Fights”.

Don’t just sit in the dark with a flat screen. Come on out and experience real 3D, live, interactive theatre abounding in the area. There is no Business like LIVE THEATRE Showbusiness!

Myron Bolitar

Okay, I am behind the times. I read my first Myron Bolitar book just a couple of months ago. I know, I know. Where have I been? This character is the coolest! The first Myron book was published in 1997 with “Deal Breaker" and Harlan Coben is his creator. He has written a total of 8 Myron books since then.
I have read some of his stand alone books Like “The Woods” and “Tell No One.” They were good reads with twists and turns that leave you dizzily hanging onto the last pages but honestly they don’t stand up to Myron.
Take a tablespoon of witty repartee, add a cup of a decent “who done it”, sprinkle liberally with man humor, and stir in a cast of well drawn side kicks and you have a really tasty series. Myron is an almost famous basketball player. He made it to the big court but was injured during the first game. Instead of wallowing in self pity, Myron goes back and finishes getting his law degree. Since he can’t be a sports star anymore he decides he is going to represent them. He opens MB Sports Reps. (The MB stands for Myron Bolitar, tricky, eh?) He is joined in this business by his assistant the sexy and bodacious Esperanza, a former professional wrestler and his best friend, the sociopath Windsor Lockwood III.
What makes this series great for me is each book stands on its own but when read in order I feel like I have made some crazy friends. I can’t wait to see who Myron is going to rescue next or whether it will be a woman or a man Ezperanza is hooked up with. Let us not forget Win. He cares for nothing and no one but Myron and Ezperanza. He is a really rich, really screwed up guy who uses his evil powers for good and never fails to rescue Myron from every near death predicament he finds himself in.
In between car chases, gun point confrontations Myron and Win play movie, tv and broadway trivia. Name the show and those guys know it and can tell you when it first ran. In “Back Spin” they have a bet about whether or not Jack Klugman wore a toupee in “The Odd Couple.” Myron proves it by going back to a long lost episode of the Twilight Zone where Jack’s hairline is farther up his forehead than his Oscar character 10 years later does.
Again there are good plots here. From the story of his girlfriend’s missing sister to the golfer couple who had their son kidnapped, mystery abounds. These are not suspense novels. These are seriously great mysteries and more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Pull a fully body lager from the fridge and belly up to the books, gang. You won’t want to put either down.