Tears in Rain Review

Tears in Rain
by Rosa Montero
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: ARC from Wunderkind in exchange for my honest opinion
Midnight Minute: A intricate sci-fi mystery meets Blade Runner.
From Goodreads:

Death is inevitable. Especially when you have an expiration date.

As a replicant, or “techno-human,” Detective Bruna Husky knows two things: humans bioengineered her to perform dangerous, undesirable tasks; and she has just ten years on the United States of Earth before her body automatically self-destructs. But with “anti-techno” rage on the rise and a rash of premature deaths striking her fellow replicants, she may have even less time than she originally thought.

Investigating the mysterious deaths, Bruna delves into the fractious, violent history shared by humans and replicants, and struggles to engage the society that fails to understand her—yet created her. The deeper she gets, the deadlier her work becomes as she uncovers a vast, terrifying conspiracy bent on changing the very course of the world. But even as the darkness of her reality closes in, Bruna clings fiercely to life.

Midnight Thoughts:

~ The book is partly inspired by the movie Blade Runner, and it is referenced several times in the book, as the techno-humans are often referred to as replicants because of the movie. Of course Bladerunner is based on the story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. 
~ The opening Tears in Rain proves why it is never a good idea to answer the door in the middle of the night. 
~ The narration is broken up with computer entries of the history of the replicants (one of the characters is a historian working on the archives), which I thought was a great way to set up the rules of the sci-fi setting and get information to the reader.  I also liked this way of presenting information because I am a nerd and I thought the history of the replicants was really interesting. 
~ It's probably helpful if you've watched Blade Runner prior to reading this book, although it's not completely necessary.  But watch it anyway, because it's a cool movie starring Harrison Ford. 
~ I hope scientists are reading sci-fi books, because it is not a good idea to make artificial life look like humans.  Don't give them emotions.  Just don't!
~ Bruna Husky as a protagonist is bad ass! Shaving her head in order to prevent giving her enemy something to hurt her with?  Brilliant.  Plus her tattoo is cool.  She would scare the crap out of me. 
~ I normally do not read much science fiction, but this book is exactly why I should!  It's easy to see our world on this path- a day where the color of someone's skin might not matter, but someone's species will. 
~ This book also serves as a reminder that reading translations is a good idea.  There are so many good books by authors who don't write in English.  I went through a phase where I read several Japanese authors and then Swedish authors.  I hope to read more translated novels in 2013!  
~ I love the idea that memories are a kind of drug to replicants.  This was not the only book in 2012 that I read that dealt with memories and how important they are to us and how much they make us who we are.  
~  I loved the complicated, intricate relationship between Nopal and Husky.  
~ Bartolo is adorable and my heart ached at how cute he was. He's both cute and pathetic, making you want to both cuddle and strangle him too. I want one!
~ The title of the book comes from a quote in Blade Runner: 

All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die.

~ I really, really hope there is a sequel!!

Timeless Characters:

Bruna Husky- private detective techno-human.  Will kick your ass.
Cata Cain- Bruna's neighbor, another replicant/techno-human.
Yiannis- human friend of Bruna's, professional archivist.
Roy-Roy- human friend who is a walking billboard.
Myriam Chi- leader of the RRM, replicant, hires Bruna.
Merlin- Bruna's dead lover, seen in flashbacks. 
Pablo Nopal- human, memory writer. 
Paul Lizard- human inspector working the same case as Bruna.
Valo- Chi's lover and head of security.
Habib- Chi's personal assistant. 
Maio- alien that Bruna picks up.
Marari- human with a bionic arm, like Red from Shawshank Redemption, she's the person Bruna goes to when she needs something. 
Bartolo- alien pet. Eats things he shouldn't.

Midnight Moment:

There were so many details in this book that made up midnight moments, but my favorites were anything to do with Pablo Nopal and his connection with Bruna, and Maio's "talent".

Stop The Clock:

For fans of science fiction and dystopian and thrillers! I will definitely be reading more books by Rosa Montero!


Rosa Montero — Website |I think this is her page.

Tears in Rain gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

 ** For you Amazon Prime members, the kindle version of this book can be borrowed for free right now!**

Let the Devil Sleep Review

From Goodreads

Let the Devil Sleep
by John Verdon
From Goodreads:

In this latest novel from bestselling author John Verdon, ingenious puzzle solver Dave Gurney puts under the magnifying glass a notorious serial murder  – one whose motives have been enshrined as law-enforcement dogma - and discovers that everyone has it wrong.
 
The most decorated homicide detective in NYPD history, Dave Gurney is still trying to adjust to his life of quasi-retirement in upstate New York when a young woman who is producing a documentary on a notorious murder spree seeks his counsel.  Soon after, Gurney begins feeling threatened: a razor-sharp hunting arrow lands in his yard, and he narrowly escapes serious injury in a booby-trapped basement.  As things grow more bizarre, he finds himself reexamining the case of The Good Shepherd, which ten years before involved a series of roadside shootings and a rage-against-the-rich manifesto.  The killings ceased, and a cult of analysis grew up around the case with a consensus opinion that no one would dream of challenging  -- no one, that is, but Dave Gurney. 

Mocked even by some who’d been his supporters in previous investigations, Dave realizes that the killer is too clever to ever be found.  The only gambit that may make sense is also the most dangerous – to make himself a target and get the killer to come to him.

To survive, Gurney must rely on three allies: his beloved wife Madeleine, impressively intuitive and a beacon of light in the gathering darkness; his de-facto investigative “partner” Jack Hardwick, always ready to spit in authority’s face but wily when it counts; and his son Kyle, who has come back into Gurney’s life with surprising force, love and loyalty.

Displaying all the hallmarks for which the Dave Gurney series is lauded -- well-etched characters, deft black humor, and ingenious deduction that ends in a climactic showdown – Let the Devil Sleep is something more: a reminder of the power of self-belief in a world that contains too little of it.

Midnight Thoughts 

~Every time I read a thriller like this one, I ask myself, why do I read any other type of genre? 

~Although this is the third novel in the series, it was my first.  Before I started this blog reading a series out of order would not have happened on purpose.  I've since discovered that when the author is good, and knows what s/he is doing, it doesn't hurt the reading experience.

~ John Verdon managed to catch me up and make me as invested in the main character as I would have been if I'd already read the first two books.

~Main character, retired NYPD Dave Gourney, is a little bit older than most thriller's mcs (that I read), but he's also a little bit wiser, a little bit more warped by all the things he's been through in his long years.  And you know I like my characters with a little damage.

~Gourney is still dealing with injuries he received from the previous novel.  He didn't magically heal both physically and mentally, and it's made him a little grumpy.  Not quite to the level of Hugh Laurie in House, but Gourney is definitely not a Positive Polly right now.

~The supporting characters help this book, and Gourney, so much.  His wife, Madeline, is a saint and they actually have a good relationship, even if it's a bit strained right now.  So many books with cops, retired cops, detectives, etc, feature fractured, damaged relationships.  Although...

~Gourney's son joins in the mystery, and there is a some distance between him and his father.  But they both love each other so much, and its so obvious. 

~The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't help but picture it as a tv series or movie.  If I can connect actors to book characters then it means I'm thinking a lot about the book.  This is always a good thing. 

~Gourney's friend Hardwick is easily my favorite character, mostly because I pictured him as Adam Baldwin (from Chuck and Firefly).   I want a friend on the force like Hardwick for the next time someone in traffic makes me mad. 

~I also pictured Gourney as Stellan Skarsgård, thus allowing me to picture his son as Alexander Skarsgård .  This is always a winning combination.  Plus there is a lot more potential in the father/son dynamic in this series, so I'm sticking with it.

~Kim was annoying.  I didn't really like her, and I found her character hard to understand.  She's like the chick in a horror movie that refuses to move out of a house even though she hears noises in the attic.  Eventually I was kind of rooting for the bad guy to get her. 

~However, I did think her idea to interview the family's of the victims of the Good Shepard to be a good idea. Too often tv and news reports on murders and focuses on the killer.  The victims often get lost, and their families definitely are largely ignored by the media. 

~I really liked the killer in the book.  It was creepy, how smart, how invasive he was. 

~I didn't like that The Good Shepard went after people in luxury cars.  I myself would like to own one someday and not get shot while driving it.

~The whole theory that The Good Shepard is murdering rich people in order to bring attention to his political beliefs was a bit unsettling considering the current political climate.  That aspect alone would make this a good book to discuss in book clubs, a rarity among thrillers.  Way to bring the social issues elements, John Verdon!

~I didn't figure the killer out until near the very end, and even then I wasn't sure until the reveal.  This book truly kept me in suspense. 

Let the Devil Sleep gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

**Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book by Wunderkind PR in exchange for my honest review.  All opinion, snark and wit are my own, and in this case, shaped by the thousands of hours of Criminal Minds, Deadly Women and Law & Order: SVU I have watched over the years, and am probably watching right now as you're reading this**

Sundays In Bed With... Let The Devil Sleep

 It's time for my weekly meme Sundays In Bed With... where we share what book we're curled up in bed with this morning (or the book we wish we had time to hit the sheets with!).  I'm actually at the beach this weekend, but if all goes well I'll be spending time with this book:

Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon, which I got from the lovely ladies at Wunderkind PR.  Our new kitty, Alabama, is settling in nicely and Riley and Emmy have accepted her into our family.  She also seems to be a book poser, just like Riley.  Hopefully someday soon I can get them in the same picture (of course 'Bama looks teeny next to hulkster Riley)!

Also happy 21st Birthday to my niece, Sam!  We've been celebrating her bday at the beach for years now, so I thought I'd share a picture of her during her very first trip to Ocean City:

 Don't worry, it's a virgin daiquiri which she got because it's what I ordered.  Sadly, right after this picture was taken, someone smacked her on the back and her face froze this way.  ;)

So what book are you reading today?  Link up below or leave a comment.  As always, I challenge you to take a picture of the book in your actual bed (or wherever you're chilling)!

Fifty Shades of Louisa May Interview and Spotlight

 Right before I left for vacation, the wonderful Emily from Wunderkind asked if I would consider reviewing or featuring the book Fifty Shades of Louisa May by L.M. Anonymous.  Emily, you had me at the title!  I'm currently reading the book, so look for my review.  Until then here's a little info about the book and a funny interview (which, sadly I cannot take credit for... I suck at author interviews, as some of you may remember when at BEA I told Veronica Roth that she looked so young and she replied, "Because I am young").   I can't wait to hear some of the speculation over who L M Anonymous really is!

Picture from Goodreads

About FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAY

Louisa May Alcott, author of the classic Little Women, friend of Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne, beloved icon of professors of American 19th-century literature and perhaps less loved by their legions of students, had a lusty side that was less academic, and more . . . transcendental than any of us knew.

Brilliantly penned by a well-known writer who prefers the cloak of anonymity to the vulgar embrace of rude fame (of which s/he has no need), this hilarious little book reveals the unbridled passion-that-might-have-been of one of the world’s most popular authors.

A racy memoir that just might tell us more about the sowing of transcendental wild oats than any ream of volumes on the subject, FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAY (OR Books; Publication Date: August 22, 2012; $15pbk/$10ebook) is not for the weak of art, or for those who prefer their literary icons under glass. It imagines an unhinged Melville doing what comes naturally, a Centennial Ball unlike any heretofore described, Louisa May’s ardent encounters with her “Wooden Friend,” and much, much more. All lovingly illustrated with X-rated woodcuts.

About LOUISA MAY ANONYMOUS

The award-winning author of FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAY has published many highly regarded works of fiction, none of them under a pseudonym. Until now. For this book, "LMA" immersed her/himself in the literature of the Transcendentalists, reading literally thousands of pages by and about them. S/he is recovering, slowly.

An Interview with LOUISA MAY ANONYMOUS

Q: Why did you write this book? 
LMA: I wondered what Louisa May would have made of the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon. After all, she wrote “blood-and-thunder” romances and thrillers under pseudonyms. So it’s clear that she had a darker, more sexual side—one that she kept carefully hidden. My book unleashes the inner Louisa and lets her have her say. 

Q: So she was lusty, then?
 LMA: The real Louisa May probably died a virgin, so lust wasn’t central to her life. She was sickly, overworked, overmedicated, and unable to take much enjoyment from her remarkable success. Fifty Shades of Louisa May is an attempt to give her a second chance at life and sex. In it, Louisa May has a lot of sexual encounters—though they end up being more hilarious than erotic, as is frequently the case in life and literature. But why not let Louisa May cut loose and have a little fun for once?

Q: How did you write this book?
 LMA: I immersed myself in their world by reading dozens of books on Transcendental history and books of the era. I took field trips to Orchard House, Fruitlands, and other landmarks. Then the spirit of Louisa May entered me (won’t say where) and guided my hand. To write the book, that is.

Q: Why do so many people seem outraged by your book? 
LMA: Because they want to keep Louisa May in some kind of virginal vault that denies that she was a complex woman with desires, bad moods, grudges, and a sense of humor. They should lighten up. In my book, Louisa May never gets tied up or spanked, tempting as that was. She’s in charge.

Q: Aren’t you making fun of her? 
LMA: No, I’m having fun with her. If the book makes fun of anyone, it’s the sanctimonious men who surrounded her, from her loony father on down.

Q: Would she approve? 
LMA: Of course not. Are you kidding?

Q: Was it difficult to write about 19^th-century sex?
 LMA: Sex in any era is still sex. It’s not like we’ve come up with lots of great innovations in sex lately, beyond Internet porn, of course. The Transcendentalists are often thought of as fancy-thinking deities. Fifty Shades of Louisa May imagines them on a more human level, where they shed all of their pretensions. And their clothes.

Q: How did the Fifty Shades trilogy inspire a historical work?
 LMA:Well, it’s clear that the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon has hit a literary g-spot by revealing the inner desires of fictional characters. Fifty Shades of Louisa May just takes it further, revealing the sexual secrets of literary figures—Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and more. Luckily, all are too dead to sue.

Q: Isn’t this book just fan fiction for Fifty Shades?
 LMA: Hardly. First of all, I’m not a fan. Rich man + semi-submissive woman = avant garde sexuality? I don’t think so. Plus, the writing blows kraken whales (quoting Melville here).

So my book is neither parody nor homage. It hijacks the title, throws away the seriousness and the bondage, and lets legendary authors perform ridiculous and embarrassing sexual acts. As writers of any era often do. So call it lewditure. Call it literotica.

Q: What do you have against the Transcendentalists?
 LMA: They were proto-hippies who brought a critical line of free-thinking humanism to the world. They were way ahead of their times. But they weren’t saints. Thoreau was a grouchy trustifarian and onanist. Like a lot of writers, Melville was manic-depressive and delusional. Hawthorne was twee and neurotic as an indoor cat. Emerson seems to have been high on opiates a lot of the time. And the Peabody sisters were libertines in training. If the E! Network existed in their day, the Transcendentalists would have been all over it.

Q: What did you end up feeling for the actual Louisa May?
 LMA: Deep admiration. She was a remarkably hard-working, politically engaged writer who achieved incredible success back when women were still fighting to get to vote. That she became a captive to her success is tragic. That critics and readers have made her a poster-child for old-fashioned goodness is reductive, inaccurate, and unfair. She was a talented, creative soul who deserved a better life. Or at least a heart-thumping roll in the hayloft once in awhile.

Q: So who are you, exactly? 
LMA: Can’t tell. Though the answer’s hidden in the book if you look hard enough.

Q: Why the secrecy?

LMA: I write in a different genre and have committed readers (and publishers) all over the world. A book like this would confuse everyone. I wanted to write a book free of my own reputation for once—as Louisa May certainly must have wanted to in her day. Now’s the time.