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Book Review: Another Day In Paradise: A Louise Golden Mystery by Laurie Hanan

A Louise Golden Mystery, books read in 2013, reviews

Aug 142013

Another Day In Paradise by Laurie Hannan

Dog nappings have doubled on O`ahu over the past year. Brazen thefts of beloved pets from their homes have the community on edge. A beautiful, mysterious Chinese actress is distraught when her Pomeranian is stolen. Mail carrier Louise Golden finds the missing pooch, only to learn the actress is suddenly gone, with her belongings. Dogs are disappearing. Street people are being abducted by aliens—or so claims Louise’s homeless friend, Frankie. Clues point in different directions. Nothing adds up. A masked man appears out of nowhere and warns Louise to mind her own business. What did he mean? Everyone is a suspect: her boyfriend who tells stories for a living, the ex lover who once betrayed her, the acting coach skilled in the art of deception, the shameless stalker in the yellow Tweety Bird van. At the polo field, tempers flare. Someone’s bound to get hurt. Things heat up for Louise, as well, when a sexy Brazilian polo player befriends her. Is he truly a friend, or a rake intent on seducing vulnerable women? Can Louise even trust her own spiritual awakening to help her find a path to understanding—or is she faking it and running blindly to a dead end? What will she do when she comes face to face with her greatest fears?

This is book 3 in the Louise Golden mystery series by Laurie Hanan, and I would have a tough time deciding which book I like more, all three are really good. They all kept my attention, had a wide range of great characters, unusual scenarios, and they all kept me guessing. Plus, you get a peek into life in Hawaii! Even with it’s tropical awesomeness, there are still bad things that happen, and bad people, just like every where on the planet.

I loved that Emmeline & Jackie were still in the series, I liked reading how they’re personalities changed as they got a little older. I also liked that the furry characters were kept in the story. Who doesn’t like reading about cats and dogs?

Not only is this a great mystery, it’s also got lots of humor. Some of the stuff Hanan comes up with is hilarious. And I love that she writes so that you can “see” what’s going on.

In this book, Louise takes us on another “whodunnit” ride that starts with finding a long lost dog, then the story escalates to trying to find out who is killing street people. When she did figure out who the killer was, I was quite shocked. My brain was going in a completely different direction, and I would have never thought of that person. The final scenes were amazing, and the ending couldn’t have been better.

I sure hope there are more books to follow. It would be a shame to not be able to go on more adventures with Louise.

You can check out my reviews of the first two books in the series, Almost Paradise (book 1) & How Far Is Heaven (book 2).

I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves a good, not so heavy mystery.

Book Review:
The Road To Grace by Richard Paul Evans (Book 3- The Walk Series)

books read in 2013, The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans

Feb 282013

The Road To Grace by Richard Paul Evans

Join one of America’s beloved storytellers on a walk like no other: one man’s unrelenting search for hope.

Reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, his home, and his business, Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, has left everything he knew behind and set off on an extraordinary cross-country journey. Carrying only a backpack, he is walking from Seattle to Key West, the farthest destination on his map.

Now almost halfway through his trek, Alan sets out to walk the nearly 1,000 miles between South Dakota and St. Louis, but it’s the people he meets along the way who give the journey its true meaning: a mysterious woman who follows Alan’s walk for close to a hundred miles, the ghost hunter searching graveyards for his wife, and the elderly Polish man who gives Alan a ride and shares a story that Alan will never forget.

Full of hard-won wisdom and truth, The Road to Grace is a compelling and inspiring novel about hope, healing, grace, and the meaning of life.

I am absolutely loving this series!! I love the people Alan meets along his journey, I love the way the author describes the towns and sites of interest, and I love reading his innermost thoughts. This is a man that I would like in real life. He’s got gumption, drive and once he makes up his mind to do something, nothing can stop him.

Knowing how caring Alan is towards everyone he’s met, I was a little thrown off by his reaction to Pamela. His whole loving demeanor changed when it came to her. I know that there were deep hurt feelings where she was concerned, but I felt he should have been a little more welcoming to her, considering how far she went to get him to talk to her. But in the end, he did forgive her and they both got closure.

The encounter that Alan had with Analise threw me for a loop. I understand the emotional state they were both in, but the way things went between them just didn’t feel right to me. That being said, it made the book even better for me. People aren’t perfect. We do things we shouldn’t do and mess up from time to time. It made Alan seem more human to me. I like a few blips here and there in the books I read. Makes me thing more about things.

The next book in this series, A Step Of Faith, will be out May 7th. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Here are the links to my reviews for the previous books in this series:

Book 1: The Walk

Book 2: Miles To Go

Book Review:
Miles To Go by Richard Paul Evans (Book 2- The Walk Series)

books read in 2013, The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans

Feb 162013

Miles To Go by Richard Paul Evans

Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, wakes one morning to find himself injured, alone, and confined to a hospital bed in Spokane, Washington. Sixteen days earlier, reeling from the sudden loss of his wife, his home, and his business, Alan left everything he knew behind and set off on an extraordinary cross-country journey. Carrying only a backpack, he planned to walk to Key West, the farthest destination on his map. But a vicious roadside stabbing has interrupted Alan’s trek and robbed him of his one source of solace: the ability to walk.Homeless and facing months of difficult recovery, Alan has nowhere to turn—until a mysterious woman enters his life and invites him into her home. Generous and kind, Angel seems almost too good to be true, but all is not as it appears. Alan soon realizes that before he can return to his own journey, he must first help Angel with hers.From one of America’s most beloved and bestselling storytellers comes an astonishing tale of life and death, love and second chances, and why sometimes the best way to heal your own suffering is by helping to heal someone else’s.Inspiring, moving, and full of wisdom, Miles to Go picks up where the bestseller The Walk left off, continuing the unforgettable series about one man’s unrelenting search for hope.

This is book two in “The Walk” series and it was just as good as the first book. I loved that Alan didn’t give up his walk even though he was faced with a roadblock that would have stopped most people in their tracks.

I really liked Kailamai, she was a survivor, just like Alan. What he and Nicole did for her was amazing!

If you know me, you know I like shorter books. I know some reviewers said they thought the story should have been put into one book, not as a series. But for me, the shorter books are perfect. They are fast reads, and I don’t feel overwhelmed by a huge chunkster. I’m not a chunkster fan.

I usually recommend books to those who love that particular genre, but I would recommend this series to anyone who likes to read. It’s full of love, kindness, hope. It makes me wish I was able sell everything and go on my own walk.

Here’s My Review of Book 1: The Walk

Book Review:
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans (Book 1- The Walk Series)

books read in 2013, The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans

Feb 112013

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

“My name is Alan Christoffersen. You don’t know me. ‘Just another book in the library,’ my father would say. ‘Unopened and unread.’ You have no idea how far I’ve come or what I’ve lost. More important, you have no idea what I’ve found.” —Prologue What would you do if you lost everything—your job, your home, and the love of your life—all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts. A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. Instead, he decides to take a walk. But not any ordinary walk. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life—and inspire yours.

The author did a great job of letting the reader feel Alan’s love for his wife McKale, and his pain over her accident and loss. He also did a great job of letting us go on Alan’s journey with him. The people were real, the places were real, and every thing/one was alive on the pages.

Now I know we all have different ideas as to what we like and don’t like in books, but really, how could anyone not like this book? I thought it was SO GOOD! I read some of the negative reviews that said the book didn’t have enough action, was boring, was only about the people he met and that they were all too nice. Did they forget about the “bad” people he met? They were about as bad as you can get. Anyway, the book is not a thriller, suspense or murder mystery. It’s a book about a man on a walk across the U.S. to clear his head and heart of some very bad stuff. Of course it’s not going to be full of action. After all, he spends his days walking, What else could the book be about other than the people he meets, where he eats/sleeps, and the scenery? And the way the author writes the story, that’s enough.

I loved that Alan met Angel. I don’t know yet, but I’m thinking they’ll be friends for life.

The book was a quick read, but I didn’t want to put it down for anything. It was so good that even though it was 3:00 am when I finished it, I got up, went to my TBR shelf, got book #2, Miles To Go, and started reading it. I’m now on book #3, The Road To Grace, so check back for my reviews on these two books.

I was getting sad because I thought the series ended with book #3, but I just learned that there will be a #4, and it’s coming out in May! Hopefully there will be #’s 5, 6, 7 ….