Books of August 2022
So, I decided to focus solely on reading fiction in August. I should have been expecting the predictable outcome, but for some reason, I found myself surprised. Pretty much as soon as July was coming to an end, all I wanted to read was nonfiction. Oh well. I decided to stick with my goal to end the summer with lots of fiction, and planned to dive into everything else I want to read when September rolled around.
I read some great fiction this month, and have even more I’m ready to continue reading. So I don’t regret my decision, but now that the month is at an end, I am ready for at least a bit of something a bit different.
There is one nonfiction book right at the beginning of this list that I finished at the very end of July, but don’t worry, by the time we got into August, it was all fiction, all the time. But including that one book from the end of last month, I got through 15 books this month.
A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming - 3 Stars. This book definitely has a unique perspective, and it was fascinating to hear more about BTK from the eyes of his daughter. I was glad that Kerri Rawson wove her faith into the story, particularly as it played a major role in how she got through everything that she did. There were times, however, when things felt a bit slow or like truly unnecessary information was being given. While it is definitely different from most other books on related topics, this was a welcome change of pace and actually reminded me somewhat of The Most Dangerous Animal of All: Searching for My Father . . . and Finding the Zodiac Killer. Although she was truly in an unenviable situation, she shared her story with vulnerability and grace.
Gone Tomorrow - 4 Stars. It is no surprise that I started my month of fiction with a Jack Reacher read. I enjoyed this story more than some of the others and was continually surprised with how highly relevant the story was in our modern day. I disliked some of the peripheral characters in this book more than usual, but that was made up for by the story itself. It had more twists and turns than these books normally do, and I was surprised even at the very end. I knew there were definitely more of these books to come as they make such a great summer read.
Little Secrets - 4 Stars. My month was off to a truly strong start with this book. Normally, it takes me a few chapters to get into a book, but this one captivated me from the very first page. Not only is it set in Seattle (gotta love books set close to home), but the writing was solid, and the characterization was impeccable. I was a bit hesitant since there was one core aspect of the story that I found particularly painful, and based on its resolution, may have made me hate this book altogether. For such a tricky issue, it was navigated fairly well, and just about all the storylines ended on an almost-too-happy note. There was a bit of morally dubious action going on from all characters, which, while setting a truly bad example in real life, was quite enjoyable to read about.
Never Coming Home - 2 Stars. This book reminded me quite a bit of Reckless Girls in terms of the setting, but basically was a perverted version of And Then There Were None - which made the whole thing feel totally predictable and made me just want to get to the end more. There was really no real surprise, because once you know what is going to happen (which you can tell just from the cover), even the biggest twists (which are more ripples than waves) aren’t that hard to see coming. The characters in this book are all totally awful, and the idea of “influencers” as main characters is totally overused in modern fiction. There are also way too many characters to dive into in the beginning, and it takes a while to keep them all straight. I really didn’t like any aspect of this book, except for maybe the white sandy beaches described, so I really didn’t hesitate to break out the 2-star designation that I’ve been trying to avoid this year.
Never Go Back - 3 Stars. I didn’t notice the title similarity between this book and the last until I was done with both. Fortunately, I liked this book better than the other, but since it was a Jack Reacher story, that is hardly surprising. This is one that was made into a movie several years ago, but one that I did not watch until recently. Unsurprisingly, I liked the book quite a bit better than the movie and constantly found myself contrasting the two in my head. While this story felt a bit slow at times, and I was totally bored and underwhelmed at the anticlimactic conclusion, I still enjoyed being along for the ride.
Gone Girl - 3 Stars. Even this title reminded me of another from earlier this month. I’m not sure what was going on with my book selections, but there were some crazy coincidences happening here - or at least some subliminal pulls. For this book, at least, I knew I picked it because it had been on my list forever, and I finally decided that there was no better time to get into it than a month dedicated to fiction. From what I’d heard and the perception I’d developed, this book was infamous and almost a seminal thriller. As such, I was shocked that it was written much more recently than I expected and that there was very little surprise throughout. I saw just about every twist clearly coming, and one of the biggest surprises was that I didn’t actually mind the perspective changes that much. I did mind the characters, though, and found all of them annoying, dislikeable, and complex in a very contrived way. I generally don’t mind inconclusive endings, but with the story and the characters, I was left more than a bit uncomfortable with the way this one resolved (or rather, failed to do so). While there were parts of the book that I liked, and I was hopeful going in, it was not the book that I expected, and I was left pretty disappointed.
61 Hours - 3 Stars. I guess when I said I was going to dedicate a month to fiction, I may as well have said I was going to dedicate a month to the Jack Reacher series - but that’s not entirely the case, as I have read several other books that have been on my fiction list a while in the past few weeks. But that doesn’t mean that I was going to slow down on my pace of consumption for those books either. This book had an interesting premise and answered questions I had about the following book in the series, which I had read about a month ago. I appreciated an understanding of what happened, but found this book, in general, to be a bit less believable than some of the others (although, trust me, I get the general unbelievability of the series). I also found the countdown aspect to be unique and interesting, although since the actual characters did not recognize the countdown was occurring, it didn’t really make sense to me. This book also ended much differently than all of the others I’ve read so far, and I was left so curious as to why that was.
Personal - 4 Stars. I could say that I liked this Jack Reacher book more because it started off in Seattle, and that would not be a total lie - but it wouldn’t be the whole truth either. The plot of this one was meandering but different, and I was surprised (at least minutely) several times throughout. I disliked the women in this book more than usual, but ultimately just dismissed them and focused on the story itself. It was fun to have a book where the characters traveled much more than usual and met some very unique people along the way. I would like to see Jack Reacher return to Seattle and see more of the city through his eyes, but even if he never does, I will always appreciate his depiction of the city with coffee on every corner.
Nine Perfect Strangers - 2 Stars. Since I liked Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty when I read it a few months ago, I felt ready to give her another try in this month dedicated to fiction. There were a lot of similarities between the books, the Australian setting, characters, and even some of the last names had a familiar echo. This story, though, I did not like at all. It was interesting at first, and the health spa setting was well written, but there were some core parts of the story I strongly didn’t like. The drug component of the story just felt odd, and the depictions of drug-induced hallucinations were totally boring. I ended up more frustrated with than compassionate about any of the characters and felt like the ends were a bit too nicely tied up at the conclusion of the story. Although it was supposed to be a thriller, I never felt any suspense or even a single thrill. There was really only one twist at the end - and I may have missed something, but even that felt totally inconsequential and unnecessary. I was planning to watch the Hulu show based on this book, but now that I’ve brought out my 2-star rating again (I guess once you start, it’s hard to stop), I’m not sure that I will.
Thirteen: The Serial Killer Isn't on Trial. He's on the Jury - 4 Stars. As is probably quite obvious, the title of this book caught my attention and is totally the reason why I read this book. I didn’t know that this was book 3 of a series, but that ended up being okay, and I didn’t feel like I had missed too much or was coming into the middle of the story. I’m actually inspired now to go read some of the other books in the series, so we’ll see if my interest extends beyond this plot. Speaking of the plot, it didn’t quite occur in the way that I was assuming that it did - which is fine, but my brain did get stuck a few times on how I thought the story ought to have gone. In the way that it did go, there were really no big surprises, at least, as soon as you see where the story is heading. I love the courtroom setting though, and I haven’t read a lot of similar books, so that really set this one apart. The characters were also really well written, and even though there were a lot, they were pretty easy to keep straight. And since the main character was pretty compelling, I probably will be picking up the next book in the series (or going back to the beginning) before too long.
Make Me - 3 Stars. Unlike most other books I’ve ever read, I started this one in the middle. Don’t ask - it’s a long story, but I started in the middle, got most of the way to the end, went back to the beginning, and then when I got to the middle, jumped back ahead to finish it. Probably not how the book was intended to be read, but it definitely made this one unique and helped me practice my deductive skills. As for the actual story, however, it was fairly good, if not particularly unique. The ending was definitely darker than usual and not what I was expecting, even though I had been warned about both of those things while I was reading it. I also did not really care for the main girl character in the book, but I was willing to let that slide. By the time I finished this book, I was ready for a slight break from Jack Reacher and dove into some other obsessions, past and, I suspect, future.
Find Me - 4 Stars. The weird duality of titles this month continues… I enjoyed this thriller more than a lot of the ones that I read recently. The core element of the story, a girl with amnesia, felt a bit cliche, and some other elements I just didn’t really care for, but I was willing to look past those things to the story itself. I was surprised, enjoyed the twists along the way, and wasn’t entirely sure where this book would end up all the way through the conclusion. Even then, I did not expect some of the final revelations. The jumping between perspectives was well done, and the characters were also well-written, even if most of them were not particularly likable. I have already looked into other books by Alafair Burke and moved them close to the top of my list.
Cat Among the Pigeons - 3 Stars. I haven’t read an Agatha Christie book in quite a while, and although they are mostly fun, reading one gave me a pretty good idea as to why I stopped. Compared to some of the great thrillers I’ve enjoyed lately, this book simply didn’t quite cut it. The mystery was simple, with several of the elements overly predictable, and there were too many characters throughout. I also read this one since it was one of the few Hercule Poirot mysteries I haven’t yet read, but I was disappointed when he did not appear until very near the end. Of course, it is still an Agatha Christie mystery and has her signature elements of charm and surprise, but I think it will be another while before I return to her work again.
Reckoning - 4 Stars. This constituted a return to another author that I had enjoyed, and then not, as I read books from one of Catherine Coulter's series earlier this year. The first book I read (which I later realized was over 2 dozen into the series) I really enjoyed, but when I returned to the first book in the series, it fell sorely flat. This one was the follow-up to the first book that I read, which takes place much later in the overall story. I enjoyed this one about as much as that one - the story was less intriguing, but I was glad to understand the characters much better this time around. I’m excited for the series to continue and was reinvigorated to give it more of a second chance.
Labyrinth - 3 Stars. To continue on with the series by Catherine Coulter, I decided not to return to the beginning again (or, in this case, the second book) but rather to just go back just a couple of books to gain more context. I will admit there was one storyline in this book I thought was kind of ridiculous and hated the accompanying characters, so I dreaded whenever the story focused on it or them. Fortunately, however, the rest of the story was interesting and provided good opportunities for character insight and understanding. I definitely plan to continue reading more of the series and was even inspired by some of the stories referenced in this book to go back to the very beginning.
Well, that was plenty of fiction for one month, and I’m more than a little excited to get back into nonfiction books in September. I have several high on my list that I can’t wait to start.
It is hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching fall. Although the summer didn’t feel like that much of a different pace (thanks largely to school), I always appreciate seasonal transitions and getting to experience something new (or at least, just a little bit different).
Things are only going to speed up now. And there are some big upcoming things on my calendar that I can’t wait for (or at least can’t wait to check off). But I know that time is going to fly by, and I’m already excited to see exactly where I’ll be (and what I have read) by the end of the year.
Until next time,