August Beach Reads

Posted by Saluki in Beach Reads, Book Reviews | 0 comments

August Beach Reads: Grab a towel, some sunscreen & come read with us!

Nothing is better than sitting outside with a good book. Whether it’s in your back yard or on the beach, there is just something about soaking in the rays while you lose yourself in another world. So, we thought we would share some books that we think are perfect beach reads.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Saluki’s Recommendations

If you are in the mood for books unlike anything you have ever read before, pick up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy.

Summary: Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, the powerful Vanger clan, murdered Harriet over forty years ago.

Starting his investigation, Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. He now crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness.  Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.

This series was written by the late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson.  After his death in 2004, it was discovered that he had three unpublished novels, which make up this trilogy.

From the very first chapter, I became instantly engrossed in this book.  It is a crime novel but unlike anything I’ve ever written.  Instead of a typical cop/lawyer book, this one involves a journalist and a socially introverted, brilliantly gifted, yet very wounded woman.  The first book in the trilogy focuses on Mikael Blomkvist, who shortly after losing a libel case to a wealthy Swedish businessman named Hans-Erik Wennerström, is hired to discover the truth behind the disappearance of the niece of a wealthy titan of business, Henrik Vanger.  At the end of his contract, Vanger promises to give Blomkvist the ammunition he needs to sink Wennerström for good.

Lisbeth Salander is hired to do a background check on Blomkvist by Vanger and later becomes his research assistant.  Salander is not your typical heroine.  She is asocial to the extreme, emotionally closed, untrusting, and damaged to the extent that as a child she was removed from the care of her parents, declared emotionally incompetent and is a ward of the state.  Despite all of this, I can guarantee you will be rooting for her through each book in the trilogy.

While this book is in many ways a comment on Swedish society, the principles of greed, crime, and violence can be easily translated to this country.  It is also a fascinating look at investigative journalism, and the risks that dedicated journalists take to find the truth.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that much of the book is about the violence that is perpetrated against women, and how so often it is over looked by people in positions of power.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a book filled with intrigue, suspense, and pulse pounding action that will leave you guessing at every turn.    Don’t just buy the first book.  To really appreciate the genius of this series and to get the full impact of these characters, you need to read the whole series, which includes The Girl Who Played with Fire and the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

SusanAshlea’s Recommendations

Whisper of Death, by Christopher Pike

Roxanne and her boyfriend are driving home when they see a mysterious person standing in the road, but when they turn back, of course he’s gone. When they get home, they are greeted by an empty house and even more chilling, a completely empty town.  Everyone has seemingly vanished. Eventually they find three more people, all very stereotypical characters: Leslie the beauty queen, Stan the nerd and Helter the jackass. As the characters are picked off one by one in greusome ways, they discover stories written about them by a girl named Mary Sue. The stories seemingly prophesied how each of the characters would die.  Eventually only Roxanne is left to uncover the mystery of Mary Sue and her part in the mysterious deaths.

I’m sure you all, like me, remember the days of Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, right? I was in Middle School and High School when I started devouring their books. Whisper of Death was one of my favorites, and even now I can recall the mental images of each of these characters being picked off one by one by an unseen force.  I remember the chilling idea of trying to leave town and being unable to.  If you are looking for a fast read that will keep you turning the pages, this is a good one. At only 160 pages, you can easily read this book in an afternoon by the pool or even relaxing on your couch.  If you want a fast thrilling read, this book is it.

The Summerhouse, by Jude Deveraux

Ellie, Leslie and Madison are all disillusioned by the way their lives have turned out.  They shared their 21st birthday in a New York City DMV, but they also bonded over their hopes and dreams.  19 years later, as the women are turning 40, Ellie invites them all to her summerhouse to share the weekend together.  Upon arriving, they meet the Mysterious Madam Zola who offers them each the chance to relive a period of their lives. They seize the chance, as it is their opportunity to change the course of their lives as they know it.

I am a nut when it comes to Jude Deveraux. She is billed as a romance author, but all of her books have extra elements added that make them more than a simple romance. The Summerhouse is every woman’s dream: what would you do differently if you had the chance to go back in time with the knowledge you have now? Wouldn’t you take the opportunity to relive a pivotal moment of your life?  Each journey these woman embark on as they travel back in time is riveting, and you can’t help but root for them as they try to sort out their future by way of their past.  But the tough decision comes at the end, when each of the women have to chose whether or not they want to change their future completely without any memory of their time in The Summerhouse.  What will they decide? Will they throw away their chance at something different, or will they continue with their everyday lives with only a brief memory of what could have been?  You’ll have to read the book to find out, but I promise you won’t be disappointed!