Giveaway: Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

WINNER PENDING

In anticipation of the highly-awaited sequel to PRESUMED INNOCENT, INNOCENT, which releases May 4, 2010, Hachette Book Group is generously offering a chance to win one of three copies of Presumed Innocent.

PRESUMED INNOCENT brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of crimes. Prosecutor Rusty Sabich is transformed from accuser to accused when he is handed an explosive case--that of the brutal murder of a woman who happens to be his former lover.

To enter to win one of three copies just comment on any of my book reviews. You get one entry for every meaningful comment but be sure to leave the title of each book you commented on in a separate comment here. 

For extra entries Tweet about the giveaway using the "ShareThis" link at the end of this post or Tweet your own message. Twitter entries can be done once a day, just be sure to leave me the link to your Tweet each time you do.

Giveaway open to US and Canada only. Please, no PO Boxes. Winners will be selected April 15th and will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email. Please be sure to leave me an email address in your comment if it's not in your profile.

Giveaway: Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/giveaway-presumed-innocent-by-scott.html

Review: The Cougar Club by Susan McBride

When Kat gets fired from her advertising job after 15 years she flees Manhattan for her home town in St. Louis. She leaves behind a much younger boyfriend who won't make a commitment and much worse, she doesn't fully trust. After a few days of feeling sorry for herself she finally gets up the courage to look up her old best friends, Carla and Elise.

Carla is the city's top rated news anchor yet her ex-husband, the station manager, is gently pushing her aside to make his much younger (and bustier) girlfriend the next big thing. Now "What comes around, goes around." is all to true as she remembers doing the same to secure her own job many years ago.

The Empty Nest Syndrome has got Elise very firmly in it's grasp. After her son leaves to college in Austin, Elise realizes that her husband has grown distant in recent months and she has a nagging feeling that he's seeing someone else. But she doesn't have the courage to confront him so she goes about her days as if nothing is wrong and spends night after night torturing herself with thoughts of what her husband might be up to.

For the three women in their forties, being back together again is just what they need to snap them out of their blues and find their true happiness, even if it means being on the hunt for a much younger cub.

The Cougar Cub was a great one-day read. Being 36 I could totally relate to these women because their stories were genuine. Their friendship keeps them strong and after a few rough patches they each come out on top to do as Kat says and, "Live Real". I highly recommend this one for fans of chick-lit.

Review: The Cougar Club by Susan McBride

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-cougar-club-by-susan-mcbride.html

Review: Stop Me by Richard Jay Parker

I'm sure you've seen them. The emails that flood your inbox that say forward this to 10 people or something bad will happen to you. Well when Leo Sharpe gets an email from a man calling himself The Vacation Killer he deletes it just like most people do. What Leo doesn't know is that this email is real. The killer has kidnapped a woman and if the email doesn't get forwarded back to him within 10 days the woman will be murdered and evidence proving the death is sent to the police.

But when Leo's wife disappears and the police receive an email from The Vacation Killer, Leo fears the worst. When 10 days pass and the police don't receive further evidence from the killer that Laura is dead, hope flares in him.
Leo's life spirals out of control and he spends months searching for Laura. He even goes so far as to befriend a man who confessed to Laura's murder even though he's never left his home state of Louisiana. Will Leo ever learn the truth behind Laura's disappearance or will he become The Vacation Killer's next victim?

Stop Me had me feeling like one big ball of nerves. The anticipation of who the real killer was and what would happen to Leo was mesmerizing and I just couldn't stop reading. The beginning of the book is a bit scattered but everything tightens up after the first third of the book and things really heat up with the last third. I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves thrillers.

Review: Stop Me by Richard Jay Parker

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-stop-me-by-richard-jay-parker.html

Review: U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

Product Description:
It's April, 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth birthday, and she's alone in her office doing paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he'd be carded if he tried to buy booze, but Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. Twenty-one years earlier, a four-year-old girl disappeared. A recent reference to her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial when he was six years old. He wants Kinsey's help in locating the child's remains and finding the men who killed her. It's a long shot but he's willing to pay cash up front, and Kinsey agrees to give him one day. As her investigation unfolds, she discovers Michael Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he's the boy who cried wolf. Is his current story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications?

Grafton moves the narrative between the eighties and the sixties, changing points of view, building multiple subplots, and creating memorable characters. Gradually, we see how they all connect. But at the beating center of the novel is Kinsey Millhone, sharp-tongued, observant, a loner-"a heroine," said The New York Times Book Review, "with foibles you can laugh at and faults you can forgive."

My Review:
I've read each and every one of Grafton's alphabet books and I'm amazed at the fact that I haven't read the same story twice. This one is a little predictable but I love the way the story jumps from Kinsey's present in 1988 back to 1967. Also Michael Sutton is so tragic you can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. I'm getting a bit "over" the character Rosie but you can't have a Kinsey Millhone book without her or Henry. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series but I hope she's saving the best for last.

Publish Post

Review: U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-u-is-for-undertow-by-sue-grafton.html

Review: Glamourpuss: The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs by Julie Jackson

Glamourpuss was a cute and quick book. There are 25 "models" and they each have a small little paragraph or funny saying that matches the look. For example the cover cat, Boone says, "I want a pony". There were quite a few that made me laugh out loud but I expected just a little more humor from The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs. I recommend this as a coffee table book if you're a fellow cat lover. Meow >^..^<

Review: Glamourpuss: The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs by Julie Jackson

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-glamourpuss-enchanting-world-of.html

Review: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Product Description: 
Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.

Told in Dinah's voice, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of the mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through childhood, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.

Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's lives.

My Review: 
This one was another book club selection that I would have never had read on my own but I am so glad I read it. Dinah's story, based on the biblical story about Jacob and his family, was extremely touching. I can't imagine having to live the life she did. She experienced plenty of joy and love from her family in the early years then her life was torn apart and she lost her first love. Yes it's fiction but I felt for her and cringed at some of her experiences. This was one amazing book that I truly enjoyed reading. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Review: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-red-tent-by-anita-diamant.html

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was an enjoyable piece of fan fiction. The zombies weave themselves into the story so naturally It seems likes it's always been written this way. Elizabeth and her sisters are sent to China to learn the dark art of killing zombies and they return to their home to keep the village safe. In this version Darcy is against Jane and Mr. Bingley's marriage because he believes she's a zombie but really it's Charlotte who is afflicted with the dead raising plague. I've only read a few pieces of P&P fan fiction but I have to say that this one made me laugh the most. It's silly but that what makes it so much fun to read. That being said I don't think that I'll be reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters since I haven't read the original. This is a recommended read if you love a quirky re-tellings of old classics.

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2010/03/review-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies.html