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Monday, September 12, 2011

Review & Blog Tour Stop: Telling Lies by Cathi Stoler

Telling Lies
by Cathi Stoler


How many lies does it take to get away with murder? Magazine Editor Laurel Imperiole is vacationing in Florence, Italy, with Aaron Gerrard, Chief of Detectives of New York City's 13th Precinct Identity Theft Squad. A chance encounter brings Laurel to a startling realization: she's just bumped into a dead man: Jeff Sargasso, an art dealer and husband of a close friend who supposedly died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. When he vanished, Sargasso had been brokering the sale of a priceless masterpiece that was lost during World War II to CEO Alfred Hammersmith and billionaire Miayamu Moto. Hammersmith perished along with Sargasso on 9/11, and it is believed that the access codes to the $15 million deposit--ten percent of the asking price--died with them. Could Sargasso have faked his own death to steal the money? The painting's whereabouts are unknown. Laurel enlists the help of private detective Helen McCorkendale, and together they follow the threads that lead from Florence, Italy, to New York. On the way, the women tangle with Israeli Mossad agent Lior Stern and several stop-at-nothing collectors. All are determined to have the painting for themselves. Ignoring Aaron's advice, Laurel puts their volatile relationship in jeopardy. As Helen and Laurel search for Sargasso, the painting and the money, they find themselves enmeshed in a sinister skein of lies that could end in death.




Here's What I Think:While the the concept of this book is grabbing, I am not totally sure that the execution is there. The characters are not fully developed and the plot line has a few holes in it. Having said that, I did enjoy the book. The author's writing voice is there and read, she just needs to work on the structure of the story as a whole. If you are looking for a book that is worth your time, but doesn't require your undivided attention, this is the one for you. 
 
Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post.
If you are an author or publisher and would like an honest review of your title, please contact me at polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Monday, September 5, 2011

I apologize...

It would seem that my "pregnancy related aversion to reading" is still hanging on. My little girl is three and half months old now and I still am not bouncing back. It's hard for me to even admit that I honestly have not read a book in over 4 weeks! I have been keeping myself busy with lots of writing - I actually started taking on Freelance writing jobs - I am even thinking about having  custom office signs made to announce myself to the passersby. 
I know there are lots of books that I want to read - the newest Fallen Angels by JR Ward has come out, and I know the new Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs is due soon. I don't know what my deal is. I do have very little downtime with school starting, my oldest playing football and my little girl teething, but I used to find time to read before.... I started to think it was just not the right books, but I have tried so many different ones and none have seemed to catch my interest enough to really want to keep reading.

Any suggestions??