Gary Braver

RUMOR OF EVIL introduces Detectives Kirk Lucian and Mandy Wing as they investigate the supposed suicide of a Cambridge woman who was a pillar of her community. This investigation leads to a death nineteen years earlier of a foreign exchange student named Vadima Lupescu.

As Lucian and Wing investigate, they find connections to what had been written off as a tragic accident that happened one Halloween night nineteen years earlier. The hanging victim, Sylvie Cox Thornton, was one of a group of friends present at the party that ended with the tragic death of Vadima. The more they look at the earlier death, the more they become certain that it was a murder and that someone is worried about that fact coming out.

I enjoyed this story. I especially liked that the character of Kirk Lucian was so well developed. He is a man pushing fifty who is dealing with the hit-and-run death of his fourteen-year-old daughter and the possible dissolution of his marriage because neither he nor his wife can deal with their loss. Lucian is sometimes depressed and suicidal but uses his work to keep himself grounded. He is also fighting to reconcile with his wife while she is off exploring new possibilities with the contractor who recently completed a reno project at their home.

I had a pretty good, and correct, idea of who the murderer was based on the flashbacks to the events of nineteen years earlier, but I still enjoyed the journey of Kirk and Mandy figuring out the crime.… (més)

"women pay the price when their passions threaten men.”
― Tess Gerritsen, Choose Me

Choose Me
by Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver

My review:

Have you ever had a book that showed hints of greatness?

Maybe the whole book wasn't a ten but elements of it were absolutely extraordinary? This is how I felt with "Choose me."

On the surface, the plot appears nothing more then the tragic tale of a young woman's fall from a window. Or was it a fall? Was it suicide? Could it have been murder? It is up to a stoic Police Officer by the name of Frankie to find out.

There is so much more crackling beneath the surface of this book. While it is seemingly your standard Police procedural mixed with some naughty "gone wrong" romance, there is more to it then that.

Choose me grapples with the question of passion. And sin. What happens when you play by the rules all your life? What happens when you think you are a good person-and then engage in behavior that until the moment you do it, you'd always thought was behavior that was beneath you?

There are elements of Shakespearean tragedy to "Choose me." You can see aspects of other great books as well. One of my favorite books in the world is called "Damage" by Josephine Hart and if you are lucky enough to have read that, you may understand what I am trying to tell you with "Choose me." Because this book reminded me so much of Damage.

It also reminded me of the book, "The Drowning girls". This was also a book I enjoyed greatly. Forbidden fruit is not a new theme in literature but when done well, it holds much power. I was mesmerized by aspects of Choose me.

And this book contains much Historical aspects as well. The themes of Greek Mythology are huge and as I am a fan of the subject, that appealed to me.

The characters are etched in shades of gray. No one character is all good or all bad, although at times that would not seem to be the case. And although my opinion will not be popular, there were times I felt for Taryn. Did I also at times despise her? Oh yes! But all of the characters are complex.

And so yes, the book was good. I would give it 3.5 stars. The reason I cannot go higher is because of the same problem that plagues many books. It simply became to unreal.

As we get closer to the end, many things happen that caused me to raise my eyebrows and shake my head in disbelief. The thing about great tragic books is that they never feel like books. But toward the end-well-for me anyway-this became very much like the standard thriller. Elements made no sense. Characters did things that were not needed. It started to feel like twists for the sake of twists. And by the end, I was a bit exhausted.

That doesn't mean I did not like the book. I did and would recommended it. But I didn't LOVE it. It would be more accurate to say I loved aspects of it.

SPOILERS:

I was actually glad John lived so I had no issue with that nor the fact that Maggie and Frankie became friends. My problem was the fact that John got shot in the first place. It was obviously done to move the plot along. I was let down, I'll admit. There wasn't any need for that. And making Charlie the one who shot him was bizarre.

Also I could not figure out what Cody's purpose in the book was. I felt like his whole arc changed very suddenly and I wish the end, where they're all in the house and bullets start ringing out could have been omitted. It should have been just an intense scene with John and Charlie.

It seems every book these days, has to have crazy stuff happen at the end and most people I know do not like that. It's a long time from Gone Girl. And the book is good enough on its own that no real twist was even needed. I will say I was pretty sure who did it from almost the beginning.

So, I would rate this a three although I wish GR would allow for .5 ratings. I'd recommend it but you have to suspend some disbelief as the book goes on.… (més)