Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd

The storyline is wonderful and very intriguing. I have to admit though that I almost did not finish the book because there were quite a few factors that really annoyed me. But before I go off tangent again let me briefly give you the gist of the novel. Elizabeth Banner is returning to Virtue Falls 23 years after her highly intelligent but dull-looking father allegedly kills her beautiful but adulterous mother.

I had read a lot of murders involving cheating spouses but the story glorified the wayward mother so much as if she was such an image of  beauty that of course she was allowed to stray from that old, unattractive husband of hers! The poor dad eventually got humiliated and tortured by the murder for 23 years even though there was not enough evidence to throw him in prison.

Then the author gives a description of Elizabeth Banner. She is absolutely drop dead gorgeous with huge breasts, a small waistline, huge hips, long legs and a sexual appetite (with her ex-husband) enough to rival a porn star. And wait! Not only is she goddess like beautiful like her mother, she also inherited the astute brain of her plain looking dad that has allowed her to excel both academically and professionally! Hence, every single straight male lusts for her while her cousins tortured her just like Cinderella got tortured by her ugly step sisters. The proverbial "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

It was insinuated that her mother was killed by her lover but they don't know who he is! You see, every straight male wanted her mom so there was a big spectrum of potential lovers to choose from. The description of both women were like in an adult fairy tale. Both were beyond beautiful that all men went on an orgasmic trance just looking at them while all plain janes trembled at their sight. Okay! I'm exaggerating. But Ms. Dodd immediately immerses the reader with more fast paced events that I fell into the spell of reading the whole novel faster than my normal pace. It was good and suspenseful.

The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue

It's a chilling story about a boy named Jack Peter whose drawings of monsters came to life. These creatures not only haunt him but also starts to terrify his family and his best friend, Nick. An "accident" involving him and his friend Nick has caused him to develop a disorder that was later diagnosed as Asperger's syndrome. This is when the frantic drawing of monsters start . What started as a drawing "phase" eventually develops into a more malevolent exercise. I did not like the ending but just like "Pan's Labyrinth" it was necessary in order to explain the bizarre happenings and make the story more effective in creating an impact on the reader. 

Your Not Safe by Mary Burton

This is an excellent thriller. It's about former residents of an upscale mental health facility for suicidal patients who are gradually being killed off  several years after being released. It also manages to mix in a little romance that heightened the story line without evoking the cringe factor most romantic thrillers usually give. Being a regular murder mystery aficionado I managed to predict the murderer but more out of instinct rather than failure of the author to "deceive" the reader. She always manages to make you doubt every suspicion you have by always inserting some clues that would help mislead you until the very end. Mary Burton has definitely improved her writing style as I made a mistake of borrowing an earlier book after being impressed with this one. Very disappointing, I should say. Hence, I urge readers to stick to her later works .