The Light Between Oceans is a captivating and heartfelt story about the extent to which we’re willing to go for those we love. Tom’s a reliable, quiet lighthouse keeper, a lonely man until he meets sweet, flirty Isabel, a woman very different from himself. After their …more wedding she joins Tom on isolated Janus Rock, where, together, they happily prepare their home for a family. When life disappoints them, Tom takes an extreme risk, going against his nature, to make Isabel happy. Now, while Isabel awakens ecstatic each day, Tom is decidedly troubled and, for the first time in their marriage, there are silences and vital issues they can’t discuss.

ML Stedman brings Tom and Isabel, two flawed, desperate but likable people, alive in the pages of her book, weaving a compelling and morally complex story that will keep readers mesmerized until the very last page. (less)

Gloria Zimmerman, who suffers from an extreme case of OCD, and Henry Young, a former drug addict, meet at Oxford University when they discover that their dorm rooms share a bathroom. These brilliant people are drawn to one another, recognizing in each other the loneliness …more and discomfort they both feel in society. Their bond is strengthened by their shared love of the music of Van Morrison. Henry subscribes to the idea of fatalistic optimism he finds in Van Morrison’s music and believes is the answer to Gloria problems. If Gloria and Henry can overcome their fears of commitment and rejection and accept each others' help, they'll have lifelong support and love while navigating life's obstacles. The question is: Are Gloria and Henry willing to take the risk to trust and be vulnerable to each other? (less)

This is one of the best mysteries I’ve read in a long time. The writing is scintillating, the complex criminal investigation is mesmerizing, filled with surprising twists and palpable tension and the three-dimensional characters are captivating. I loved the English setting, …more the skulling, which connected with the theme of power and control, and the K9 search-and rescue team. The juxtaposition of the investigation with the family life of the Detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, married with children, made them more relatable.
This book is for anyone who enjoys a riveting police investigation, intriguing, memorable characters and learning about British culture and society. (less)

Noah Boyd's The Bricklayer begins fast-paced and exciting with a unique plot, combining intrigue with hair-raising adventures and graphic violence. FBI agents are dying, the Agency is being extorted for millions and high-profile individuals are being killed. Steve Vail, a …more bricklayer and former FBI Agent is recruited, to stop the criminals, by Agent Kate Bannon. Vail was known as an agent loathe to follow the rules and dismissive of FBI policy, but who knew how to track down the bad guys. Vail works quickly and is soon on the killers' trail. But the dialogue between Vail and Bannon is, primarily, sexual innuendo and suggestiveness which grows tiring as the story stagnates three-quarters of the way through. Tacked on plot twists seem formulaic and forced in an attempt to revive the story's former pace. Ultimately, it doesn't work and one is left feeling that the book should have ended sooner. Aside from Steve Vail, Boyd's intelligent, arrogant protagonist and Kate Bannon, the attractive, smart but insecure Agent, the characters are one-dimensional, flat and forgettable with the focus on the action. Perhaps if they had been more fleshed out, the last quarter of the book would have played out more realistically without a reliance on contrived plot twists. Ultimately, Steve Vail is an exciting new character whom fans can anticipate reading more about in future books from this series. My hope is that with experience, Noah Boyd will soon weave a tale that remains as riveting to the end as most, but not all, of The Bricklayer. (less)