The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading this book, but it's for book club, so I always read what's selected. The subject matters were definitely serious and concerning (abuse against women, murder, abuse against dogs, the unfair Caste system, pedophilia), but the interactions between the women (not exactly friends; not exactly not friends) were laugh-out-loud funny at times! I absolutely loved their "sparring" and their unique "friendships" and camaraderie, especially when it came to getting rid of their despicable husbands.

The main character, Greeta, lives in a small village in India. Her husband left her five years previously, but the village people believe that she killed him. She has lived in near isolation since his departure, other than her weekly "loan meetings" with her loan group, which consisted of four other women. The meetings were for making payments on their loan. Greeta had her own business making marriage necklaces, which is how she supported herself since she didn't have a husband. The women in her loan group included her former best friend, Saloni; twins Preity & Priya; and Farah. Each of these women had their own business, but the other four lived with their husbands.

Many of the men in their village treated their wives horribly. One of the twins' husband threw acid in her face, disfiguring her permanently. Greeta and Farah's husbands were both physically and emotionally abusive. Farah asks Greeta to murder her husband. Greeta says "no" initially, but then overhears Farah's husband's plan to steal Greeta's hard-earned money. So Greeta devises a plan for Farah to kill her own husband. Greeta's reputation "grew" from there, needless to say.

The authorities don't give these women any credit for being smart enough to pull off a murder, so it was the best kept secret in the village. Ha! Anyway, Greeta ends up falling for a village man who sells illegal liquor. She brings home an abused dog and allows him in her house (which everyone is aghast about). And her husband comes home after five years, which is terrible timing - for many reasons.

This book is funny and empowering and I ended up liking it a lot! This is why I belong to a book club. It forces me to read wonderful books I never would have read on my own.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Vengeance in Death by JD Robb

Book #6. Summerset is at the center of this story. I like Summerset - especially his devotion to Roarke. He has also shown kindness to Eve at times, but she really doesn't see that. I am hoping that one day Eve accepts Summerset for who he is and his importance to Roarke and not be so nasty to him all the time. Maybe the author thinks it's better to have an element of "conflict" in her stories, but I prefer to have the conflict between the good guys and the bad guys, not between two of her main characters.

Summerset is accused of murder and we get a better of understanding of what life was like for Summerset & Roarke in Dublin. We know that Roarke was not always an above-board businessman and that he made a lot of money participating in illegal business practices, but we have a better understanding now of some of the truly awful things he has done in his past. Basically, he sought vengeance after Summerset's daughter was raped and killed. Now the people who helped Roarke track down the men who raped and killed Summerset's daughter are being killed. Eve, the police lieutenant, who doesn't like Summerset anyway, seems to have no issues initially arresting him. Fortunately, since she is a good cop, she realizes pretty quickly that Summerset is being set up. The murderer is a religious fanatic, so that's one big clue that it's not Summerset!

The murderer calls Eve and tells her riddles that she has to solve to find the next murdered person. He always tells her that she can save the person if she finds them fast enough, but that really doesn't appear to be the case since she figures out where everyone is pretty dang quick, and they have already died a torturous, violent death.

Eve & Roarke go to Dublin, which is a nice change of pace. Roarke also befriends a young boy who pretty much lives on the streets and Roarke finds a home for him. So that was different too. I can't imagine Eve & Roarke ever having kids, but maybe this was some foreshadowing about their future life. Who knows? (I think there are 57 books in this series now, so anything can happen!)

Wendy's Rating: ****

Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson

I was googling the best suspense novels and this one popped up on most lists. So I decided to give it a read. I would definitely agree that it is a "page-turner". I am tired today because I had to stay up late last night to finish it!

Christine has suffered a tragic event that results in a brain injury that causes amnesia. She doesn't have typical amnesia however. She literally cannot retain any information about her life from day to day. She wakes up every morning and has no idea where she is or who she is with. Her tragic event happens in her 20s and now she is in her 40s. When she wakes up each morning, she thinks she is still in her 20s. (You have to think about the Drew Barrymore/Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates. It's the same type of amnesia.) She cannot make new memories and she cannot remember anything about the last 20 years of her life. Nothing. Every single day she starts over.

There is a doctor, Dr. Nash, who contacts her and convinces her that he can help her. He tells her that he would like to write a paper about her type of amnesia and his method of treatment of her. He wants her to journal everything that she learns each day before she falls asleep because once she falls asleep, she is back to square one. He gives her a phone so that he can call her each morning to remind her where her journal is. When she finds the journal, she can read what she wrote the previous days. There is also her husband, Ben, who she lives with but obviously doesn't remember. Dr. Nash tells Christine (every day) that Ben is opposed to Christine working with him, or any doctor, because they had already tried every type of treatment and none of it worked, so he just wants to live their lives the way it is. So Christine writes notes in her journal to keep the journal, and her appointments with Dr. Nash, a secret.

Ben is super patient and loving, but Christine re-discovers nearly every day that he has lied about something. When she questions him about it, he explains that some things are simply to upsetting to her (like her son Adam's death), so instead of causing her emotional turmoil all the time (because she doesn't remember from day to day), he just avoids certain subjects/truths.

The other significant relationship in Christine's life was her best friend, Claire, who she initially only remembers as the "redhead" she used to be close to. It's takes her a long time to figure out what happened to their relationship.

So Christine doesn't know who to believe or who to trust. She doesn't know the truth from lies. I really enjoyed following Christine on her journey!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan

It's been a number of years since I have read a Jodi Picoult novel. Her novels are usually very thought-provoking, providing glimpses into opposite viewpoints, which I have always found intriguing. I had no idea what this book was about before reading it. It's the story of the teenage love (Seniors in High School) between Asher and Lily. Asher lives with his mother, Olivia, in New Hampshire. Olivia fled her husband in Boston after years of abuse, taking Asher with her when Asher was about 6 years old. Lily is new to town. She also lives with her mother, Ava. Ava also rescued Lily from her father's abuse. So these two were bound to have a connection!

The story alternates between present day and chapters continuously moving backwards in time, which is an interesting concept. Asher and Lily are about three months into their relationship when Asher is found cradling Lily's body on the main level of Lily's home. She presumably fell down the stairs after being in her bedroom off the top of the stairs. Asher states that he found her at the bottom of the stairs when he arrived at her house after school because Lily had stayed home sick and wasn't responding to Asher's texts after a disagreement between the two. Lily's bedroom is in disarray, like someone had a physical fight. Asher tells the police that he hadn't been in Lily's bedroom, but his fingerprints were discovered all over her room. Asher is arrested for Lily's murder.

After the first 200 pages I started to wonder where the "conflict" was that is typical of Jodi Picoult stories. Then BAM! I was hit with a twist I was not expecting! Although the twist is a major part of the story, the real conflict was within Olivia. Olivia had been brutally abused, mentally, emotionally and physically by her husband, Asher's father. She saw signs of her husband's temper in Asher at times, and she was deeply worried that Asher could be capable of harming someone. Asher kept denying that he harmed Lily, but no one really believed him, including at times Olivia.

The title of the book, Mad Honey, refers to the honey produced by bees that pollinate rhododendron flowers. Mad Honey has hallucinogenic affects and can be lethal in concentrated doses. Olivia is a beekeeper, which was an interesting part of this story in my opinion. A lot is explained about bees, but now I want to know even more! I wish I could find the passage where Olivia talks about Mad Honey, but to paraphrase, she talks about all of the wonderful things about honey and then comments that even good, pure, things can be toxic given the right conditions. So, she was comparing the bees who pollinate rhododendron flowers to her son, Asher. Again, I am simplifying her thoughts.

I really liked this book, despite the over whelming sense of sadness, since Lily dies and her death affects a lot of different people.

Wendy's Rating: *****