The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Women in Cabin 10 is a psychological thriller and quite clever. It's rare when, I say this but I never saw the ending coming.

The book starts off fast paced, dwindles down and then picks up. Lo Blacklock is a writer and after a not so pleasant experience she leaves on an assignment. An assignment that she normally wouldn't handle because it is "above" her.

 After boarding a billionaires yacht on its main voyage she becomes unhinged and anxiety ridden. You are left to wonder if it is the result of what happened to her or if a passenger has really gone missing. Lo reports the screams of the passenger from the cabin next door but is told it's vacant. No one believes her and her complaints are ignored. Lo sets off to solve the case on her own and gets more than she bargained for.

I had a difficult time believing some of the story lines but I was entertained and recommend the read.

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

Picture Perfect is the story about dysfunctional families, love and abuse.
A young, Native American police officer finds, Cassie wandering a cemetery. She has no idea who she is and what she is doing there. Cassie has amnesia. Cassie is found to be the wife of, Alex Rivers, a A-list Hollywood actor.

Readers along with, Cassie learn that she is a anthropologist and professor of anthropology. Picoult takes up back in time and we "watch" Cassie and Alex fall in love and then the marriage spiral out of control. Picoult, weaves real time into her story and we learn just how important the police officer becomes to, Cassie and vice versa.

Cassie's memories resurface piece by piece, some more haunting than others. These memories are what MAKE the book, in particular the ones referencing her childhood and Connor. In fact, I would be much more interested to read a novel on Cassie and Connor than the one of Alex and Cassie. The story is good enough but it is trapped in time. In the time before cell phones were a dime a dozen, before 9/11 when sending a loved one off at an airport was vastly different than now.

This book is about, how people are victims of their childhoods and how it carries on to their adult lives.

Penny: The Story of a Free-Soul Basset Hound by Hal Glen Borland and Taylor Ought

I was around 7 or 8 years old when, Lady entered my life. My dad picked me up one weekend and off I went and when we arrived at his home, I was greeted by a wiggly, big eared, soulful eyed basset hound puppy. She was sweet, mischievous, loved dressing up and had a penchant for cookies. She never meet a cookie she didn't like.

I loved stroking her long ears, scratching her belly, taking her on short walks (she was stubborn and refused to go on long walks) and reading to her. Lady quickly became a rather important part of my life and gave me an extra something to look forward to when my dad picked me up for weekends. Lady also had a habit of jumping into cars and in general loved people and then one day, Lady was gone. We suspect that someone had fallen in love with her and taken her.  It's been over 30 years since, I've seen that sweet girl and I miss her. When, I was given the opportunity to read "Penny: The Story of a Free-Soul Basset Hound, I jumped at the chance.

Penny left me feeling nostalgic. Penny a quirky little basset hound showed up at  Hal and Barbara Borland's farmhouse. They had recently lost a dog and were in no position mentally to take on another one but Penny wiggles her way into their heart and that of many others. Penny enjoys taking long walks, taking off to visit neighbors, the butcher shop and her "old" family. Penny enters and exits their lives as she pleases. She is a nomad and a wee bit of a trouble maker making this reader fall in love with her.

I was troubled by the way she was cared for. I understand that her "owners" felt she was a free spirit and allowed her to roam as she pleased but in my opinion a beloved dog should be cared for in a much better matter. I was saddened by her sleeping outside in the barn/shed rather than in the comforts of her own home. My heart broke that she roamed around and could easily have become a target, harmed, maimed or killed.

My heart was filled with joy when I heard about her character and while, I liked reading about, Penny - I didn't like reading about what I perceive to be not so great pet ownership. The book ends sadly, no conclusion. I won't give it completely away but .... I was left with emptiness and sadness, so reader beware.

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

I am revisiting, Jodi Picoult's book by reading them in the order they were published (but, I will probably read the new one do out, way before I finish re-reading all her novels).

I am going to be honest here -- I didn't remember much of, "Harvesting the Heart" --- and quite often asked myself had I really read it, but I know I did because I owned the book and it moved along with me during three moves. I don't know if, I forgot about it because I was reading so many other books at the time or because it didn't "speak" to me.

"Harvesting the Heart" is basically the story about a married couple who have a child and the woman, walks out on her husband and daughter. She feels a urging to revisit her past and find the mother who abandoned her as a child.

In typical, Picoult fashion the story is told in different voices and in alternating chapters. The story starts in the present and flip flops between the past and current time for both characters. There is a bit of a long drawn section on horses that I could have done without. I don't care for the main character, Paige but her story in interesting enough to keep reading. I would have liked to have read more about her husband, Nicholas despite him having few redeeming qualities.

I would not suggest this book to a first time, Picoult reader but if you are a big fan you might want to consider taking some time to read it.