KILL THE MESSENGER by Tami Hoag

Finished very early on the morning of Su 10/11/20

This is a hardback that Janny loaned me. She is also a fan of Tami Hoag and so am I.

Her books are plot driven and a fast and satisfying read.

This was one of my favorite books by the author, although I didn't like the ending. The very last part of the book so lame that it reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel. It seemed like a random person was behind the murder, but not the kidnapping so I guess this is a little bit more interesting.

Jace Damon (JC) is a bike messenger in contemporary LA. He is living beneath the radar because he is slightly underage and supporting his ten year old brother, Tyler. If they become known to the authorities Tyler will end up in foster care and JC made a promise to his dead mother that he would always be there for Tyler. 

JC is called after hours to pick up a package for a lawyer. When he goes to the address to drop the material he is attacked and almost killed. 

So JC must uncover what's going on and do it without anyone's help because he would risk loving Tyler.

However, both boys do have a kind of mother in Mrs. Chen. She is a matriarch and runs a fish store in Chinatown. This is where the boys live.

A better synopsis than mine from Goodreads:

"With this new thriller, The New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag delivers her own message to suspense fans everywhere: Don't turn off the lights, and keep reading if you dare. From the gritty streets of Los Angeles to its most protected enclaves of prestige and power to the ruthless glamour of Hollywood, a killer stalks his prey. A killer so merciless no one in his way is safe—not even the innocent.

At the end of a long day battling street traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.'s sleaziest defense attorneys, he's nearly run down by a car, chased through back alleys, and shot at. Only the instincts acquired while growing up on the streets of L.A. allow him to escape with his life—and with the package someone wants badly enough to kill for.

Jace returns to Lenny Lowell's office only to find the cops there, the lawyer dead, and Jace himself considered the prime suspect in the savage murder. Suddenly he's on the run from both the cops and a killer, and the key to saving himself and his ten-year-old brother is the envelope he still has—which holds a message no one wants delivered: the truth.

In a city fueled by money, celebrity, and sensationalism, the murder of a bottom-feeding mouthpiece like Lenny Lowell won't make the headlines. So when detectives from the LAPD's elite robbery/homicide division show up, homicide detective Kev Parker wants to know why. Parker is on the downhill slide of a once-promising career, and he doesn't want to be reminded that he used to be one of the hotshots, working cases that made instant celebrities of everyone involved. Like the case of fading pretty-boy actor Rob Cole, accused of the brutal murder of his wife, Tricia Crowne-Cole, daughter of one of the most powerful men in the city, L.A.'s latest "crime of the century."

Robbery/Homicide has no reason to be looking at a dead small-time scumbag lawyer or chasing a bike messenger...unless there's something in it for them. Maybe Lenny Lowell had a connection to something big enough to be killed for. Parker begins a search for answers that will lead him to a killer—or the end of his career. Because if there's one lesson he's learned over the years, it's that in a town built on fantasy and fame, delivering the truth can be deadly."

 

 

BLESSINGS by Anna Quindlen

 Finished We 10/7/20

This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. I was somewhat familiar with Quindlen, but I was really surprised by how well written this novel was. I really loved the book!

A baby is left on the steps of a country estate in upstate Mount Mason, New York. This changes the lives of numerous people and uncovers deep and dark secrets.

The baby was left on the porch of the young man who was the handyman for the estate. He recently was released from the county jail for his part as the driver in a robbery. He didn't know that he was part of a robbery scheme, but thought he was just out for a ride with some questionable friends.

Skip Cuddy (Charles) bonds with the little girl that he names, Faith. 

Lydia Blessing is the 80 years old and has lived on the estate only with her housekeeper, Nadine. A Korean war bride with a teenage daughter, Jennifer.

Lydia learns of the baby and also bonds with Faith.

Skip and Lydia become 'parents'.

The Sub-Plot is that Lydia's brother was gay. The man that Lydia married was actually Skip's lover, Benny. 

During WWII Lydia became pregnant by an acquaintance, Frank, but this was never acknowledged.  

The Blessings family basically kept Lydia cloistered at the estate.

In the end, the girl that left Faith comes back to claim the baby.

Lydia dies and leaves the garage apartment to Skip. In the apartment is nearly a hundred thousand dollars in cash that Lydia's father had left for her, but she never paid it any attention. 

Skip starts a lawn care operation and Lydia's daughter sells the house, but decides that the name 'Blessing' should be left on the estate.

From Bookbrowse.com:

"... begins when a teenage couple drives up, late at night, headlights out, to Blessings, the estate owned by Lydia Blessing. They leave a box and drive away, and in this instant, the world of Blessings is changed forever. Richly written, deeply moving, beautifully crafted, Blessings tells the story of Skip Cuddy, caretaker of the estate, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him. The secrets of the past, how they affect the decisions and lives of people in the present; what makes a person, a life, legitimate or illegitimate, and who decides; the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community—these are at the center of this wonderful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, "Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family." 

I really loved the novel and have alerted Janny to see if she has more books written by Quindlen. 

METHUSELAH'S CHILDREN by Robert Heinlein

 Finished Sa 10/3/20

This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I have apparently never read. I learned that this novel is the first in a series featuring Lazarus Long. The story was released as serialized fiction to an early 40's SciFi magazine and published as a book in the early fifties. 

The Federation vs. The Foundation. The story is set in the future and The Federation is the government of Earth and The Foundation is a collection of families that have realized that people who live extraordinary long lives should only breed with others who have a genetic tendency for long life. 

The government believes that The Foundation is keeping the secret of Long Life from  the rest of the world. This is not true, but it is clear that The Foundation family cannot stay on Earth because the rest of the population would resent the fact that they could live for so long. 

A crooked bargain is made where The Federation will allow The Foundation families to leave if they reveal the secret.

The Families head out on a stolen space vehicle and search for an Earth-like planet.

Jockaira- These are the 'people' that they meet on their first planet that they find. These creatures are 'man-like', although they are nearly eight feet tall and their faces are split vertically from the mouth. The humans are 'rushed' into becoming part of the Jockaira's religion. 

It's not a real religion, but the Jockaira are actually kept as pets by beings of this religion. The humans leave.

They go to another planet where the creatures are all connected telepathically and look somewhat like upright rabbits. The climate is perfect and the creatures are able to 'grow' whatever kind of food that the humans might like to eat.

Lazarus Long and the leaders decide that they should go back to Earth and see if they can try to live again. 

The mid section of the novel was kind of slow, but once they arrived at the first planet, things picked up.

Lazarus Long's page at Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_Long

An easy read, but 'STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND' it is not!