Fast Friday Review: Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Missing Pieces
by Heather Gudenkauf
Hardcover, 288 pages
MIRA, February 2, 2016
2.5 stars

This is my first book by Heather Gudenkauf, so I went in blind, knowing only that she writes suspense/thrillers. The short summary of this book is this: Jack Quinlan's aunt Julia, who raised him after his mother was murdered and his father disappeared, has fallen down the stairs and is in a coma. He and his wife Sarah rush back to his hometown of Penny Gate, Iowa to be with her and his uncle. When his aunt dies the police suspect foul play and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Jack's mother resurfaces, placing the family under scrutiny. Sarah, who is a journalist by trade, finds herself drawn into the awkward circumstance of investigating her husband, sister-in-law, and other relatives for murder. There is a lot of small town drama, several creepy abandoned barns, and scarily dark cornfields involved along the way. 

To be honest, this book read like a domestic drama almost as much as it did a mystery. Sarah and Jack do not feel like a couple that have been together for 20+ years with two daughters in college. They seem awkward and uncomfortable when they interact and came across as much younger then they apparently are. They don't seem to have a solid marriage despite there being no real reason they wouldn't prior to Julia's death. That aside, I did like that Sarah was portrayed as a strong female character, though I would have liked to see a bit more from her, especially considering that she's an investigative journalist by trade. She seems to ignore what felt like fairly obvious red flags throughout this book. Also, her strange jealousy over her husband's ex-girlfriend from high school seemed absurd. 20 years and two kids and she's jealous of some girl he was "in love with" as a high school student? It unnecessarily weakened her character and felt like it was tossed in to create drama where it didn't need to be.

The plot was full of twists and turns (some made more sense than others) until the "bad guy" was finally revealed.  I found the ending so convoluted and confusing that it dropped my rating an entire star. I thought I knew who did it. The author was pushing readers in a very specific direction (almost too hard) and then the real killer came out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of twisty endings...when they make sense. There were several suspects who had *actual* motives for wanting Julia dead and yet the Gudenkauf manufactured a weird "they're just crazy" reason for her murder. It felt like a stretch and I found it unsatisfying as a reader.

The book was a fast and entertaining-enough read if you're looking for a suspense/thriller that is neither too creepy or too tense. I prefer either a fast-paced plot or thoughtful, well-developed characters and this book had neither. I'll probably pick up another by this author (I own a few, as it turns out) but I'm not in any hurry to do so. 
(Thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Sleeping Giants by Sylvian Neuvel

Sleeping Giants
by Sylvian Neuvel
Hardcover, 320 pages
Del Ray, April 26, 2016
5 stars

Rose is out riding her new bike when she falls through the earth and makes an astounding archaeological discovery – a massive hand, buried in what appears to be some kind of man-made chamber whose walls are covered with carvings. Seventeen years later, Rose is a physicist, working to crack the code of the carvings on the cave walls, hoping to find an answer to the hand. Theories and conspiracies abound, especially in light of carbon dating that places the hand well before technology should have existed to create such a thing. As Rose and her colleagues are interviewed regarding their work by a man who seems to know more than he lets on, the question remains – what is this ancient sculpture and is it safe in the hands of those who hide it from the American public?

********************

"Am I ready to accept all that may come out of this if it works? It might give us the cure for everything. It might also have the power to kill millions. Do I want that on my conscience?" 

This book was just a ton of fun. Mysterious artifacts, government conspiracies, fringe science, international political intrigue, an icy "mastermind"...this book was like a science-fiction version of Indiana Jones, if Indy had ever stuck around *after* getting back from his treasure hunting. It was solidly science fiction while still being grounded in enough real life to make it feel relatable. That's not to say the science was sound (interspecies breeding when it comes to humans is an old trope but still firmly in the realm of fiction) but it was at least recognizable, to some extent.  

 The story is told through journal entries and interviews, with a handful of radio transcripts and news reports thrown in as well. It's been done (and perhaps overdone) but it worked really well here. The interviewer becomes a character in and of himself and you come to realize that he knows a bit more than he originally lets on. I got a total Smoking Man vibe from him and loved every bit of it. Interestingly, you eventually realize that the "files" you're reading are numbered and that they are incomplete - numbers are skipped with no explanation - and I immediately wondered if this was a part of the mystery. Are they implying that there's information we're *not* being given? Will we see it later? As mysteries are solved more arise, teasing the reader all the way to the end.   All in all this book was a complete win for me. It was exciting, action-packed, and had just enough of a cliff-hanger to make me wish I didn't have to wait a year for the sequel.

(Thank you to Del Ray and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Fast Friday Review: The Nest: Middle-Grade Mental Health

The Nest
by Kennet Oppel
Hardcover, 256 pages
Simon & Schuster for Young Adults, October 6, 2015
3 stars

Steven is an anxiety-ridden young boy whose coping mechanisms have developed into OCD rituals - saying prayers twice, making lists, and repeatedly washing his hands. When his parents bring home a new baby brother with severe disabilities and chronic health issues, the whole household becomes a sad and worrisome place. Steven's anxiety worsens and he begins to have repeated dreams again, this time of a fairy-like creature this offers a solution to all of his problems.

                      ********************

I didn't mean to read this book. I meant to read the other book by the same title that everyone has been raving about. That being said, I'm glad I took the time to give this middle-grade book a quick read. I liked the way it touched on issues of mental health in a way that I think children could relate to, with an overall message of "nothing is perfect." Steven's gradual shift during the story from not wanting to refer to his brother by name to his final embrace of his new brother as a part of their family was touching and believable. 

That being said, there were time when the plot dragged and the story got repetitive. Steve would dream, wake up, be upset, go to bed, and the whole cycle would repeat. It was written in a simple, direct writing style that I liked, especially alongside Klassen's beautifully stark illustrations. Overall, I'm still not into middle-grade books, but this one was well-done.

Pair this book with a cold glass of lemonade - just lemonade. It's a kid's book, after all.