Noa P. Singleton is awaiting execution for the murder of her father’s pregnant girlfriend. As the months pass and her execution date gets closer, Noa is visited by Marlene Dixon, mother of her victim.

About: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva is the eighth in the Gabriel Allon series. Even though there are numerous references to the previous books, I thought this novel was still a good read and could be read independently. 352 pages Publisher: Signet Language: English ISBN-10: 0451227387 My rating for Moscow Rules – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Thoughts: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (web­site) is another solid, well-written and dependable adventure in the Gabriel Allon chronicles. After reading the 8th book in the series it is obvious that Silva has created a character that is strong, subtle and conflicted with an interesting background story and engaging future. At this point in his life, Allon and the readers aren’t really sure what he is. Allon is too old to be the James Bond style agent, too young to retire, too cynical to take a desk job but he is a patriot in every bone in his body and is still able to contribute. Silva realize that he can’t keep his spy young forever and basically ruined his spying career in several books prior by having his face splashed across newspapers and European agencies not allowing him entry…

Tomomi “But­ter­fly” Ishikawa com­mit­ted sui­cide but left her best friend, Ben­jamin Con­sta­ble, a trail of clues which lead him from Paris to New York and back – the cities she called “home”. Ben is search­ing for jour­nals and notes left specif­i­cally for him.

Article orignially published as Book Review: Big Brother – by Lionel Shriver on Blogcritics.org About: Big Brother by Lionel Shriver is a fictional book from this acclaimed author. Ms. Shriver won the 2005 Orange Prize for her acclaimed novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 384 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0061458570 My rating for Big Brother – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Thoughts: Big Brother by Lionel Shriver (Facebook) is a book which stylistically reminded of So Much for That which I thought was fantastic. Ms. Shriver wrote an interesting book, with a twist at the end which I did not see coming. I was a bit disappointed with the book because I thought it might have more social commentary. After all, So Much for That was scathing in its criticism of the health care system. I was expecting more of the same about the weight loss industry, its shysters, the discrimination and reasons for obesity – I got some of that but not much. Yes, I concede that I should read a book without any…

Pepper: A History of the World’s Most Influential Spice by Marjorie Shaffer is a non-fiction book tracing history through the trade of black pepper

About: The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor is a novel which introduces the reader to Yael Azoulay, a high-level UN staffer. The book is marketed as being the first in a trilogy by Mr. LeBor who is, by trade, an author and journalist. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 368 pages Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Language: English ISBN-10: 0062208551 My rat­ing for The Geneva Option — 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Adam LeBor Thoughts: The Geneva Option by Adam LeBor is a gripping thriller which introduces the world to a strong heroine. The world created by the author is raw and brutal, a world most of us would like to think does not exist. Yael Azoulay, the protagonist, is truly an international woman with no roots and no place she can call home. This is a fast paced book is entertaining on the surface but has a lot going for it in between the lines. The lose-lose deals Yael has to strike leave the reader feeling almost dirty but with the clear understanding that they must be made…

About: Seduction by M.J. Rose is another novel in the Reincarnationist series. This is the fifth book in the series and deals with past lives as do the other books. 384 pages Publisher: Atria Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1451621507 My Rating for Seduction – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More books by M. J. Rose Thoughts: Seduction by M.J. Rose (web­site) is a detailed and somewhat haunting novel. This Gothic tales touches on reincarnation (as do the other books in the series), love and loss, pain and family secrets. Half the book takes place in present time, the other half in the past in which author Victor Hugo is a major part of. While I do enjoy Ms. Rose’s work and writing style, the fact that Hugo was in the book was a major draw for me. While there is some romance in the book, as well as a few paranormal elements (not the normal genre I read) they are sub-stories to the main narrative. As the other books in the series, this one also deals with finding about past lives and how they affect individuals to this day. While the book can be read as a…

Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende is a fictional novel and a coming of age story. Ms. Allende is an award winning, internationally famous, Chilean writer.

About: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is the long awaited novel by this bestselling author. Mr. Hoseini’s previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, sold more than 38 million books. 416 pages Publisher: Riverhead Sold by: Penguin Publishing Language: English My rat­ing for And the Mountains Echoed — 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Khaled Hosseini Thoughts: I was glad to receive a copy of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (website | Facebook) from the publisher as I enjoyed both his previous books. When I started reading the book two things became immediately clear – this was not going to be another heart wrenching novel and that this is going to be an ambitious story. This is a character driven novel, the story takes place all over the world over decades, but it’s the characters that make you want to come back for the next story. One the reader gets through about half the book, the reader can put together the individual pieces which make the work a whole. What I enjoyed in the narrative were the subtleties which Mr. Hosseini weaves into his work. Reading the stories…

Zorro by Isabelle Allende is a novel that retells the story of the hero. Ms. Allende is one of the most prominent authors in the world and this book is very different from the ones she is known for