Lori's Book Sense

Welcome to this months edition of Lori's Book Sense.

I hope you enjoy these great titles I've chosen for you this month.

15 Seconds by Andrew Gross ~ 15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .Henry Steadman didn't know what was about to hit him when he pulled up to a red light. A successful Florida plastic surgeon, he is in town to deliver a keynote address at a conference when suddenly his life becomes an unrelenting chase to stay alive.

Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed and told he is under arrest. Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but just as Henry is released and about to move on, a blue sedan pulls up and the officer is suddenly killed. As the car speeds away, there is only one suspect left behind–Henry. In that moment, his idyllic life becomes a free fall into hell as he becomes the target of a police manhunt, as well as being pursued by a cunning, unnamed perpetrator bent on some kind of vengeance.

When Henry turns to a close friend for help, and he, too, ends up dead, Henry realizes he's being elaborately framed. But in a chilling twist, the stakes grow even darker, and he is unable to go to the police to clear his name, without bringing on dire and deadly consequences.

With breakneck pacing and nonstop action, 15 Seconds shows what can happen when even the best life is turned upside down in an instant. It is also the story of an innocent man, framed for murder, who has to save the person he loves the most, all while being drawn closer and closer to an inevitable face-to-face standoff with a man determined to destroy his life.

From Miami, to Jacksonsonville, to Georgia, the race is on. 15 Seconds is the story of one man’s unrelenting desire to mete out justice to those he feels destroyed his daughter, without being able to see the real root of her problems and being unable to lay the blame at the feet of those truly responsible.  It’s the story of another man’s desire to prove his innocence, to find those that are framing him, and to find out why they are doing so, and to do it all in time to stop a mad man from destroying his entire world. Once you start 15 Seconds, there is no way you’ll be able to put it down. You are sucked in from the very first page. The writing is intense, the story fast-paced, and the action is non-stop. 15 Seconds is a spine-chilling, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that will keep you reading well into the night. 

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The Playdate by Louise Millar ~ In a quiet London suburb, a group of mothers relies on each other for friendship, favors, and gossip. But some of them shouldn’t be trusted, and others have dark secrets.

When Callie moved into her new neighborhood, she thought it would be easy to fit in. The other parents have been strangely hostile, though, and her frail daughter Rae is finding it impossible to make friends. Suzy, with her rich husband and her three energetic children, has been the only one to reach out, although their friendship has recently felt inexplicably strained. Now the police have suggested that someone dangerous may be living in their neighborhood, and the atmosphere feels even more toxic. Then there’s the matter of Callie’s ex-husband, and the shocking truth behind their divorce . . . a truth that she would do anything to hide.

The Playdate will cause you to rethink each and every one of your friendships. How well do you know the woman who’s been watching your child every day after school? Will you be so quick to cast stones because of something you heard second hand from someone else? This book will not only have you questioning every single one of your friendships, but you will also make you stop and think about whom it is that you can truly trust.  The answer may very well surprise you.

It’s hard to believe that The Playdate is the debut thriller for author Louise Millar.  The writing is taut, the action slow building, the emotions intense, and the climax explosive, making it a must read for all. 

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Gun Games by Faye Kellerman ~ Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles’ most wealthy—and vicious—teens

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

Gun Games is an intense story that will lead you into the inner workings of the teenage minds; the minds of those in love, and the minds of those who hurt without feeling, and the secrets that they keep. For readers who have experienced forbidden teenage love you will find yourself rooting for Gabe & Yasmine to find a way to be open with their love, but you may also remember what it was like to lie and deceive those that trusted you.  Ms. Kellerman has the skilled ability to bring her readers right into the pages of her book so that you feel as if you are experiencing everything right along with characters themselves. Gun Games is an intense story that will grab you from page one, and hold you right up to the mesmerizing conclusion.