Anyway, last night’s episode guest starred Gabrielle Cartiers. Whoo hoo, Andrea! She looked great and as usual did a magnificent job acting as a kidnapped mother. The part that really touched me though was Jody’s innocence and her father’s motivations. Not exactly the way *I* would handle things, lol, but I am quite sane. At the end, I really loved Jody with Prentiss. It would totally go against what the show is about, but I’d love to see her with a kid of her own. This isn’t the first episode where she “fell” for a child. It would be nice to see Prentiss with a personal life, but I know that’s not what this show is about. Darn.

VIOLATION

by Darin North

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Signet (October 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451179153
• ISBN-13: 978-0451179159

BOOK BLURB:

Haunted by a savage attack that forever changed her life, Thea Auben is determined to provide a safe home for her son, David, the only gift of a buried past. In a small California town, Thea believes she has found refuge. But her haven is about to be shattered by the very person she is trying to protect. Because David is tired of hiding…and of lies about a father who died before his birth.

Against his better judgment, ex-L.A. cop Jack Verrity rented his secluded house to the woman and her son. He had no idea he was about to be swept into a cross-country search–for a boy, for the truth–and for a life he thought he’d left far behind.

When David disappears, Thea and Jack’s lives converge in a hunt plagued by deception and danger. And Thea soon faces a shocking realization that the truth she has worked so hard to hide may not be the truth at all…

IMPRESSIONS:

When I started reading, I was immediately reminded of my short attention span. Things moved rather slowly at first, and even then, most of the pages were filled with narration. Not a favorite with this reader. I even found myself skipping chunks of description and narrative in order to get to the action and dialogue. But about half way through the book, maybe a bit more, lol, I found my groove and the rest flowed like butter on steaming flapjacks…only not as delicious.

Some parts were a bit odd, such as the online chat language, and I chucked it up to being written in the late 90s. Did people really talk that way? I don’t know (lol, I hope not), but it was only in one section, so it was pretty easy to get past. There was also a reference to skin color and DNA. While I understood why Mr. North wrote it this way, it’s simply not accurate.

Other than these issues, I surprisingly enjoyed this book. I eventually began to care and understand Thea–it was hard to at first. While I knew who the villain was as soon as his name was mentioned, I was only half correct. :) Unfortunately, Thea and Jack’s relationship never cultivated past stares, but that added to who the characters were. If anything more had happened, it wouldn’t have been plausible. All-in-all this was a pretty decent book.

I’d much rather watch a movie than read a book now…hmmm, not that I’d rather, more like time wise I can easily devote an hour to the television then several days for a book. On top of a busy schedule, most books nowadays simply don’t grab me fast enough. But as a writer, I know this is a sin, so I’m ready to do something about it.

About four years ago, my aunt gave me all the suspense and horror books she owns. They’re all adult and mixed with my own TBR (to-be-read) pile, I have roughly 300 books on my shelves. THREE HUNDRED books! I stare at them, walk past, and go about my day. I didn’t pick them out, so it’s hard to get into them. And of course, I keep adding to the heap…YAs mostly.

So I’m making myself a challenge. Before passing these on to my library, I’m actually going to read them first. Most are rather old (for books anyway). Late 1990s. And there are several I KNOW I won’t read, but for the most part they look good and a good handful I even recognize.

I’ll post the reviews as I read them, and I’ll try to keep an adequate amount of YAs in the mix. But 300 adult books, dude.

It starred Demi Moore as a police detective searching for a serial killer. Mr. Brooks, a successful business, was this serial killer, and his role was played by Kevin Costner. William Hurt, Marg Helgenberger and several other well-known actors round out the cast.

This movie didn’t necessarily have the twists that the others I mentioned in the last post had, but it had several layers. What appeared to be several subplots ended up braiding together and growing. This made this movie unexpected and very enjoyable. Of course, with the outstanding performances, it was easy to get drawn in.

Definitely a movie to see!

I don’t expect anything from Lifetime that isn’t predictable and formulaic. That isn’t bad, I still watch the channel A LOT, and it means I don’t have to worry about bathroom breaks :P, so when a movie comes along that doesn’t go the way I think it’s going to, I am not only thrilled, but I practically get up and give in a standing ovation. There are two that come to mind. The first is Solstice.

It’s about a group of teens who spend their summer, after graduation, at a house on the lake. The house is owned by the heroine’s (Megan) family. Less than a year ago, Megan’s twin sister (both played by Elisabeth Harnois), Sophie, committed suicide. And it appears that Sophie’s ghost is in the house and trying to communicate with her sister.

It’s a ghost story and a mystery rolled into one. The thing I loved most about this movie is the twist. I didn’t see it coming and it’s reminiscent of The Sixth Sense, Gothika and Hide and Seek. (I’m not comparing movies based on writing or acting but on how they made me feel and the twists elements.)

It’s definitely worth seeing, and the rest of the cast is comprised of:

A brunette Amanda Seyfried (love her!) plays Zoe, Megan’s BFF, Tyler Hoechlin plays Nick, a cute local boy that involves Megan and the gang in black magic, Shawn Ashmore plays Christian, Sophie’s ex-boyfriend and someone who, according to Zoe, has the hots for Megan and the last two friends are couple, Alicia played by Hilarie Burton (with her southern accent) and Mark played by Matt O’Leary.