Taken - Tony Talbot

Title: Taken

Author: Tony Talbot

Genre: Mystery, drama

Published: January, 2011

Format: Paperback

This is a story for a boy living wealthy life on a Greek island. Amon Russo lives in a huge villa. His parents are very rich, he doesn't have to go to school, there are tutors for him at home. But that is just the surface.

Under the surface, it's a whole different story. Amon doesn't have any friends. He is not allowed to have friends. His eyes are in different colors, so he is wearing contact lenses. People of the island are afraid of him. According to the local legend, having different color of the eyes is bad luck, he must have something demonic in himself. His parent are weird. Everything has to be so "perfect".

Until one day Amon starts to see cracks in his life. 

He spent his entire life on a Greek island, but he wasn't allowed to learn Greek. The channels on TV in English are off.  No one can see him without his contact lenses. People around his father start to disappear.

His parent are hiding him. Why? And from what?

What is really going on around here?

The story was full of twists. There were turn-overs on every page. There was drama and tension until the last page. You never know what is truth, and what is lie. I was expecting more dramatic end, but that was it. Somehow, it looked unfinished, but that was just my opinion. There were some questions for me left unanswered. I didn't find the answer of the most important one: "Why?" Why his parents did that to him? There was no love. They didn't love him. Why was he taken in the first place, after all?  

What I liked were the vivid descriptions of the island. Olive trees, sea, beach, synonyms  for a perfect life.  Also, I liked the way the feelings of the boy were described. Sixteen-years-old falling in love for the first time, his sexual awakening, it was well written. Overall, I liked the story. 

My opinion: 3 / 5

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie

Title : The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre:Crime, mystery

Format: Kindle

Excerpt:

I heard Mrs. Inglethorp call "Cynthia" impatiently, and the girl started and ran back to the house. At the same moment, a man stepped out from the shadow of a tree and walked slowly in the same direction. He looked about forty, very dark with a melancholy clean-shaven face. Some violent emotion seemed to be mastering him. He looked up at my window as he passed, and I recognized him, though he had changed much in the fifteen years that had elapsed since we last met. It was John's younger brother, Lawrence Cavendish. I wondered what it was that had brought that singular expression to his face.

Then I dismissed him from my mind, and returned to the contemplation of my own affairs.

The evening passed pleasantly enough; and I dreamed that night of that enigmatical woman, Mary Cavendish.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and I was full of the anticipation of a...

(From Goodreads.com)

My thoughts:

This is the very first Agatha Christie novel. I've seen most of the movies based on AC's books and read most of the books. All books that I've read were translated, this was the first one in original english language. English is not my first language and AC's style was a little bit difficult for me to understand. It took me more time to finish this book, but it was worth. 

Hercules Poirot is my favorite book character. Poison, mystery, murder, my gray cells were working :)) 

The whole story was narrated by Poirot's friend Hastings. Hastings was invited to spend sometime at the house of Styles, and in the same time the belgian detective visits the mistress of Styles, an old lady who helped many Belgians during the war. The old lady recently married a younger man and nobody is happy for that. When the mistress of Styles was found dead in her bed, poisoned, everyone assumed that her younger husband did it, because of her money. And then Poirot steps up on the scene. His gray cell work all the time. Was the old lady poisoned accidentally, or was it on purpose? Was the husband the culprit? Who did it? 

Christie's favorite review of this, her first book, was from the Pharmaceutical Journal, which praised, "this detective story for dealing with poisons in a knowledgeable way, and not with the nonsense about untraceable substances that so often happens. Miss Agatha Christie knows her job." It was adapted for television with David Suchet as Poirot in 1990.

Agatha Christie is my favorite crime writer. I always enjoy reading her books. That's why I recently joined "The Agatha Christie Book Club" co-hosted by book blogs "Books, Biscuits and Tea" and "Kindle and Me". This book is part of the reading for May.

My opinion: 4 /5

Love You More - Lisa Gardner

Title: Love You More

Author: Lisa Gardner

Genre: crime, thriller

Published: 2011

Translated in Macedonian: 2012

Format: Paperback

FROM BACK COVER:

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

 

One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?

 

AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . . 

 

As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?

 

. . . TO SAVE HER?

 

For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.

 

Love you more . . .

MY REVIEW:

This was my first book from Lisa Gardner, but sure won't be the last. It took me two days to read it, I could't stop reading until finish it. 

This is a story for unconditional mother's love. Tessa Leoni has many skeletons in her closet, she made many mistakes in her past, but the only thing that is pure and innocent in her life is her daughter. She would do anything for her, she would give her own life just to save her. The story seen through Tessa Leoni's eyes was full of emotions and memories. You can feel the connection between a mother and child, you can feel the struggles of a mother and a wife taking care for her family. 

The story seen through detective D.D. Warren's eyes, takes another level. It supposed to be an open-and-shut case:wife killed her husband who was beating her. But there is one question unanswered: where is their daughter? Did the stepfather killed her and that's why he died, or did the mother kill her own child? Is the little girl dead or alive? If she was alive, who kidnapped her? Time is ticking away.

The story was very well narrated. The two main characters were well described. Page after page, you discover more and more for everyone of them. Turnovers are there on every corner, page after page. I would recommend this book for everyone. Story full of emotions, mystery and unconditional love.

My opinion: 4/5