The Alphabet Book Challenge "E"

 The E Books

You know, if your last name begins with the letter E, you do not have a lot of competition. The selection in my library was small—basically two and a half sections. It took me some time to pick out two books that sounded good.

Book one: If You Knew Her by Emily Elgar

Cassie Jensen arrives at the intensive care station. She was hit by a car and left for dead. She is in a coma. Her husband and his mother gather at her side. They want to find the perpetrator who left the beautiful young woman for dead. A physical examination reveals that Cassie is pregnant. But why isn't the husband happy? Why isn't he overjoyed? Why does it appear he is only acting the part? Chief Nurse Alice Munro becomes obsessed with her patient's past. How did Cassie end up in the hospital? What was going on in her life? 

In the same room as Cassie, there is a man named Frank. He is also in a coma but has recently opened his eyes and is showing signs of awareness. Unbeknownst to anyone but the reader, Frank can hear what is going on in the room. He is aware of the visitors arriving to see Cassie. He is aware of what they are saying and confessing. Unfortunately, he has no way of letting anyone know. 

As Cassie advances in her pregnancy, the mystery deepens. Frank becomes aware of who tried to kill her, but he has no way to let anyone know. 

Okay, this book gave me a new awareness of comas and what goes on in an intensive care unit. The mystery was page-turning, and I wanted to know more. I was intrigued by the characters. Their backstories were like roses; each petal revealed another clue. It was a page-turning mystery.

I give it four and a half stars. Almost perfect. :)

Book Two: Burned by Thomas Enger

The setting is Norway. It took me a moment to fumble my way through the setting. I realized at once that this is an issue when people unfamiliar with a setting have. I didn't know how to pronounce the words. I could wing it and hope I had it right. 

The author's voice was excellent. The main character, Henning Juul, was conflicted, intriguing, and believable. 

Henning was returning to his journalism life after a horrific arson incident that left him scarred. The first case he is assigned to help investigate involves a female student who was stoned to death in a tent set up on campus to film her movie about Middle Eastern-style honor killing. Is it art reflecting life? Or a murder disguised as an honor killing? Henning, who has been dealing with his recovery and the loss of his son to the same fire that left him burned, needs to refigure out the ropes of his career. But it doesn't take long for him to reestablish old connections and chase down leads. It also doesn't take long for the bad guys to figure out who he is.

One thread leads to another, and Henning is stuck in a web before he knows it. Is the murder Pakistani-related? Or is it something deeper? More personal? The bad guys are closing in. The clues are mounting up. The tension is increasing.  And then ... the mystery is solved. 

Successful mystery. I was wondering about the murderer, but was thrown by the red herrings. They were more plausible. Thomas Enger brilliantly wrote a "whodunit." If you can get past the Norwegian words and spelling, READ THIS BOOK. This is a great mystery. I love the fact that the main character is a journalist. 

I give it five stars. :)



 





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