Altered State by Gregg Luke

Altered State
by Gregg Luke

Medical Thriller
288 pages, 6x9 softcover
Target reader: Adults

Covenant
978-1-59811-832-2
Release Date: June, 2009



From the publisher:

Homer and Morgan Winegar believe they may have finally found happiness in the quiet college town in which they have settled. Perhaps now in their new life together with Morgan’s nine-year-old son, they can each leave a troubled past behind. But when Morgan’s psychology students begin exhibiting bizarre behavior, the couple quickly becomes entangled in an experiment headed for catastrophe.

Someone is illegally administering a mind-altering drug to unwitting students. With the potential for millions of dollars in profits on the line, the pharmaceutical designers are more than willing to set aside morals to test the limits of the subconscious and mind control. As the growing ranks of test subjects fulfill increasingly disturbing commands, Homer and Morgan race to discover who’s pulling the strings—and how they are doing it. But as the final stages of research point to a deadly calamity, events from the past threaten to shatter the couple’s fragile trust—just as they need it most.

Will they be able to overcome the forces that threaten to pull them apart and find a way to stop the impending tragedy?

This is a great suspense/medical thriller. It's set in Logan, UT on the USU campus, and although there are references to the LDS community, there is no preachy doctrine here. The characterization was good and all the characters were believable. There is a lot of science involved and even though I really know nothing about that stuff, it seemed believable to me.

I liked the idea of a mind control drug in the energy drink. I hate those drinks and think they are evil. Sort of. I give my kids a hard time when I catch them drinking them. It was vindication for me to see them used as the delivery system for the drugs. :)

I felt that the resolution, where they find the back door command to the system running the mind-control music a little to easy. I was also disappointed that we never really find out about Homer's past. I suppose it's not vital to the story, but if you're going to put it out there that he has a troubled past, I think we need some hint of what it was.

Overall, I really liked this book and think others that like fast-paced, mind-controlling, mass murderer wanna-bes will like it too.

Plot:

Characters:

Ending:

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Content Ratings

Language: No swearing.

Violence: Fist fights, mind control, intended mass murder.

Drugs/Alcohol: The students drink an energy drink with lots of caffeine.

Immorality:

Values/Themes: An LDS book with themes on repentance and forgiveness.

Age Appropriate: For adults and older teens.

Writing Mechanics: There were several info dumps. I suppose it's necessary to give us the needed science background but I think it could have been woven in a little more seamlessly.


© 2010 It's a Book Affair

Eyes Like Mine by Julie Wright

Eyes Like Mine
by Julie Wright

LDS YA Speculative/Historical
288 pages, softcover
Target reader: 14+

Covenant
978-1-59811-625-0
Release date: July 28, 2009



From the publisher:

A story of family that transcends time William has been missing for two days. And even though the rest of the wagon company has decided they must continue on to Zion, Constance Brown refuses to go any further until she finds her husband. All she can think about is the last time she saw him — he lovingly touched her face and then sang their baby girl to sleep. Will that memory be all Constance has to hold on to?

In a future time and place, Liz King is a teenager struggling with her identity in the modern world. The embarrassment she feels because of her parents’ divorce and her family’s new-found financial problems turns to bitterness.

Through an inexplicable twist of fate, Constance and Liz are brought face to face. Liz recognizes Constance’s name from her mother’s endless lectures on their family history, and she also recognizes her eyes — they are exactly like her own. Were these distant relatives brought together in order to help each other?

Will Constance be able to return to her own life and find William, and will Liz be able to keep from telling Constance how her story ends? In this irresistible novel filled with gripping adventure and heartfelt emotion, two young women from drastically different times and settings learn that the challenges life holds for them are not so different after all.

Read an excerpt.

Eyes Like Mine is one of those stories that's difficult to categorize. It's definitely for young adults, but adult women will like it too. Most of it is set in current time and deals with current issues—like divorce, infidelity, teen drama— so that makes it general or realistic fiction. Except it's not very realistic because there's a time-traveling relative involved. That makes it speculative. There are also several scenes that happen in the past, which makes it historical. And for good measure, there's some romance thrown in.

Whatever we call it, it was a pretty good read. I thought the characterization of Liz and Constance was very good. They became very real to me. Garrett, the love interest, was also pretty good. Liz's parents and siblings weren't as well developed as I'd like to see.

The plot was good. Liz's teen angst and drama drives a lot of the story. I liked the juxtaposition of two personalities—Liz and Constance—from two eras in time, and how values, thoughts and behaviors are somewhat shaped by our culture.

I also liked the very strong message that families are forever. Families are more than just the nuclear unit we see them as today. They stretch backward and forward in time.

The time traveling may be a stretch in believability for some readers, but it didn't bother me.

For me, this book was 3.75 stars—so close to a 4.0 that I'm going ahead and rounding it up. I think those who like clean stories and aren't offended by the mix of time travel and LDS theology should enjoy this book.


Plot:

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Ending:

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Content Ratings

Language: No swearing.

Violence: Liz's horse is hit by a car. That was a little hard.

Drugs/Alcohol:

Immorality: Liz's father was unfaithful, causing a divorce.

Values/Themes: An LDS book with themes on faith, trust, genealogy and family.

Age Appropriate: Teens and adult women should like this book.

Writing Mechanics: A little glitchy in spots, but dead on in others. Some head-hopping and abrupt POV changes.


© 2010 It's a Book Affair

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3)
by Patricia Briggs

Paranormal
304 pages, softcover
Target reader: Adult

Ace
978-0441015665
Release date: January 2008



From the publisher:

"I could smell her fear, and it satisfied something deep inside me that had been writhing under her cool, superior gaze. I curled my upper lip so she could get a good look at my sharp teeth. I might only weigh thirty or so pounds in my coyote shape, but I was a predator..."

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape—but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.
Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decided between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her...

Read Chapter 1.

Series book: Moon Called (book 1), Blood Bound (book 2)

About that cover: Once again, I read the e-book and I didn't see this cover until months later. I used my Photoshop skills to blur the image.

This is one of those books where if I tell you very much, I'll give away plot points that would be better for you to discover on your own, as they unfold. I'll just say that the Fae are being murdered and Mercy's old boss is blamed. In her attempt to prove his innocence, she meets some very dangerous creatures who try to kill her and in the process acquires some magical objects. Mercy also finally chooses between Samuel and Adam.

While the characterization is still stellar—it's what Patricia Briggs does best—the plotting and storyline aren't quite as good as the first two books. It was interesting and kept me reading but there seemed to be a lot of repetition of certain lines of thought. It wasn't as tightly written as the others.

The language is both more frequent and more intense. The violence was ramped up—more murder, more blood and gore, more Fae trying to eat Mercy. There is a homosexual relationship, which had been referred to in the previous books but is more obvious in this one. We also learn of some of the details of Ben's sordid past and what makes him as ornery as he is at times.

There is also a rape scene that is disturbing both in its brutality and unexpectedness. It's at the end of the story and I'm not sure why it was included. It didn't seem to be integral to the plot or character development, other than as one more way to show how evil the Fae murderer was. It was so shocking to me that it colored the entire experience of reading the book in a negative way.

I may have to take a break from the Mercy books for awhile.


Plot:

Characters:

Ending:

Cover: Too sexy. I'd be embarrassed for anyone to see me reading it.



Content Ratings

Language: Quite a bit of swearing; some of it strong.

Violence: Murders, forced suicide, blood and gore, ripping of victims to pieces, rape.

Drugs/Alcohol: Adult drinking.

Immorality: Rape. Ends with the implication that Mercy and her declared boyfriend are going to be physically intimate, but there are no details.

Values/Themes: Not sure what the message of the book is, except that evil is really evil and violence happens to everyone. Pretty depressing.

Age Appropriate: Teens are reading this, but it's definitely for mature adults.

Writing Mechanics: Rambling and repetitious in places.


© 2010 It's a Book Affair

Methods of Madness by Stephanie Black

Methods of Madness
by Stephanie Black

LDS Suspense
248 pages, softcover
Target reader: LDS Adult

Covenant
978-1-59811-730-1
Release Date: August 1, 2009



From the publisher:

It’s been three years since the terrible night Emily Ramsey suffered a double tragedy—the death of her sister and the disappearance of her fiancé. She deserves another chance at happiness, and gentle, adorable Zach Sullivan is the perfect man to mend her shattered heart. But from the moment Emily opens the hand-carved box holding a glittering diamond solitaire, she’s seized by an unshakeable fear: she’s going to lose Zach.

That’s exactly what Monica, Zach’s ex-girlfriend, is banking on. Bitter with envy, Monica will stop at nothing to sabotage Zach and Emily’s romance. Troubling notes show up in Emily’s mailbox, fanning the flames of suspicion. A bloody photograph sends her reeling. But when someone is brutally murdered, will Emily be able to escape suspicion and the possibility that she might be next?

Read an excerpt.

I've already referred to Stephanie black as twisted. How do I top that? She's freakin' twisted?! And I mean that in the very best sense of the word.

Once again, Stephanie Black has created a twisty, turny, fully satisfying suspense novel. When she does the big reveal at the end, I'm going, "What?!!?" Not that her foreshadowing wasn't great. It was. It's just that so many of her characters have dark secrets and demented little quirks that it was impossible for me to figure out who the killer was.

I liked Methods of Madness only slightly less than Fool Me Twice—but only because the killer and the twists and turns in that one was so spectacular that it's going to be hard to top. It's really hard to talk about a suspense thriller without giving anything away. So let me just say that the characterization was great. The plot was totally believable. And I loved it!

If you like clean suspense and murder thrillers that are basically clean and non-graphic, you're going to love this one.

Plot:

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Ending:

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Content Ratings

Language:

Violence: A description of a dead body. Some off-stage murders. Attempted murder.

Drugs/Alcohol: Some of the non-LDS characters drink.

Immorality:

Values/Themes:

Age Appropriate: Teens will like it too.

Writing Mechanics: One tiny timeline goof. Not telling where it is because most readers won't notice it.



© 2010 It's a Book Affair