Book Review - The Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot (whose surname apparently, and strangely, rhymes with 'habit') is a hugely successful American author of Young Adult fiction. The most famous of her books are undoubtedly 'The Princess Diaries' that were made into popular films by Disney. The Guy Next Door is Cabot's first venture into the world of writing for adults in the chick-lit genre (although it's wrongly listed here on Ciao under 'children's books') and is a fairly good, and very unusual, effort.

Melissa Fuller is a gossip columnist for the New York Journal who is on the verge of losing her job as she is late for the thirty-seventh time this year. Human resources have already been through the motions of politely informing her that it is her duty to be at work on time and her boss is getting more than a little tired of her tardiness. But, this time, Melissa has a legitimate reason for arriving late; her elderly neighbour has been attacked and Melissa has escorted her to the hospital where she lies in a coma. Even worse, the neighbour has left behind her Great Dane Paco, of whom Melissa feels obliged to take temporary responsibility. She soon realises that it is just too much for her and decides to track down her neighbour's only relative, her nephew Max, and that is when the trouble begins!

Audio Book Review - Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson

I have only recently ventured into the world of audio books and my only experience before this one was limited to Stephen Fry’s (excellent) telling of the Harry Potter series. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so thought the next step would be to try one of my other favourite authors; James Patterson. I had some trepidation about whether or not I would enjoy it, because James Patterson’s books, as you will know, are completely different to the light-hearted children’s books of J K Rowling and so I wasn’t sure whether they would work as well. I needn’t have been worried though, because Alex Cross’s Trial made an excellent choice for an audio book.


Trial is Alex Cross’s account of a lawyer, Ben Corbett, who fights against oppression and racism in the early twentieth century. He is sent from Washington DC by none other than Theodore Roosevelt to investigate the rumoured lynchings of black people in his hometown, with the help of Abraham Cross and his daughter. He immediately finds his own life threatened by the very people that he grew up with and he soon becomes determined to do the impossible – make a difference in a town that violently resists change.

When considering this story and in this format, I find it hard not to draw comparisons with the Harry Potter series; whilst I’m fully aware that they are an entirely different style, genre and story, it was never-the-less a shock to hear a drawling Deep South accent telling the story rather than the rather prim and proper English voice of Fry. It did take a while to get used to it and I had to listen to the first chapter a couple of times so that I could focus on the story rather than who was saying it, but the voice became familiar and likeable very quickly.

Challenge Updates

I'm still really enjoying all the challenges I'm taking part in and I thought I'd update you to where I'm at and give you the links for if you want to join in:

I've added the following to my 'already read' pile:

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(Ok, so it's not the first time I've read these three, but it still counts!)
Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni (review to follow)
Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante (See my review here)
The Best Laid Plans by Sydney Sheldon
It Had To Be You by Sarah Webbe (See my review here)

Which brings my totals to:

100+ Reading Challenge hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog 22 / 100
Thriller Challenge hosted by Book Chick City - 7 / 12
James Patterson Challenge hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews - 3 / 10

Book Review - Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante

I am more than a little fond of reading thriller books, so it comes as a surprise that I have never read anything by Lynda La Plante who, according to one critic, ‘practically invented the thriller’. I have seen a number of the TV programmes that have been based on her books including the hugely popular Prime Suspect and Trial and Retribution series’ and have thoroughly enjoyed them, but I have never quite got round to reading her work. So it was with a little excitement that I gratefully received her newest offering Silent Scream, from publishers Simon and Schuster.

Silent Scream is the latest in the series of books that follows Detective Anna Travis as she works on various murder cases. In this one, an up and coming young movie star, Amanda Delaney, is brutally murdered in her own home. During the investigation, it becomes clear that Amanda has lead a terribly troubled life which included childhood abuse, eating disorders and a string of sordid affairs. Detective Anna Travis soon discovers that Amanda was planning to publish her no holds barred memoirs, which meant that there was a long list of people who would have a motive to murder.

Book Review - It Had To Be You by Sarah Webb

Sarah Webb is an Irish author responsible for many offerings in the world of chick-lit, including Always the Bridesmaid and Some Kind of Wonderful. I have read a few of her previous works with mixed reactions – she writes the stories with passion for her characters, but I’ve found that some of her novels take a little while to get into.


It had To Be You is the story of three woman from the small Irish village of Burnaby. Molly works in the local bookshop ‘Happily Ever After’, but has her own aspirations of writing a bestselling novel – something that will never happen if she continues to keep her work a secret. Molly’s best friend Paige is running as an independent candidate in the local elections. She is well on the way to fulfilling a lifelong ambition, but can she juggle a young and demanding family with her work, especially when a fellow candidate is out to sabotage her every move. Kate is Molly’s new housemate, she’s a nice enough girl but obviously has a lot of baggage that she refuses to talk about. Will the latest client for her dating service prove to be the answer to all her problems or is he just too much for her?