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Book Round Up!





I am super intrigued by this book. What DOES happen when the women who are disappearing are prostitutes and can we honestly deny the fact that their lifestyles didn't effect the way their murders were prioritized? 

From Good Reads: Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Kolker delivers a haunting and humanizing account of the true-life search for a serial killer still at large on Long Island, in a compelling tale of unsolved murder and Internet prostitution.

One late spring evening in 2010, Shannan Gilbert, after running through the oceanfront community of Oak Beach screaming for her life, went missing. No one who had heard of her disappearance thought much about what had happened to the twenty-four-year-old: she was a Craigslist prostitute who had been fleeing a scene—of what, no one could be sure. The Suffolk County Police, too, seemed to have paid little attention—until seven months later, when an unexpected discovery in a bramble alongside a nearby highway turned up four bodies, all evenly spaced, all wrapped in burlap. But none of them Shannan's.

There was Maureen Brainard-Barnes, last seen at Penn Station in Manhattan three years earlier, and Melissa Barthelemy, last seen in the Bronx in 2009. There was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island, just a month after Shannan's disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year. Like Shannan, all four women were petite and in their twenties, they all came from out of town to work as escorts, and they all advertised on Craigslist and its competitor, Backpage.

In a triumph of reporting—and in a riveting narrative—Robert Kolker presents the first detailed look at the shadow world of escorts in the Internet age, where making a living is easier than ever and the dangers remain all too real. He has talked exhaustively with the friends and family of each woman to reveal the three-dimensional truths about their lives, the struggling towns they came from, and the dreams they chased. And he has gained unique access to the Oak Beach neighborhood that has found itself the focus of national media scrutiny—where the police have flailed, the body count has risen, and the neighbors have begun pointing fingers at one another. There, in a remote community, out of sight of the beaches and marinas scattered along the South Shore barrier islands, the women's stories come together in death and dark mystery. Lost Girls is a portrait not just of five women, but of unsolved murder in an idyllic part of America, of the underside of the Internet, and of the secrets we keep without admitting to ourselves that we keep them



I clicked on this because the cover looked amazing... and once I read the description, I knew I had to check it out! 

From Goodreads: A high-powered Manhattan attorney finds love, purpose, and the promise of a simpler life in her grandmother's hometown. 
Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish--to find the hometown boy she once loved, and give him her last letter. Ellen leaves Manhattan and her Kennedy-esque fiance for Beacon, Maine. What should be a one-day trip is quickly complicated when she almost drowns in the chilly bay and is saved by a local carpenter. The rescue turns Ellen into something of a local celebrity, which may or may not help her unravel the past her grandmother labored to keep hidden. As she learns about her grandmother and herself, it becomes clear that a 24-hour visit to Beacon may never be enough. THE IRRESISTIBLE BLUEBERRY BAKESHOP & CAFE is a warm and delicious debut about the power of a simpler life...


And ok, while I was searching for this other book I wanted to add, I came across the CATCHING FIRE trailer, which comes out this fall. Can you say, GOOSEBUMPS? 




And then after watching the trailer I got distracted, naturally, and forgot what book I was looking for! 

OH OH I Just remembered!!!! Don't you just love when that happens?!)

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson-over 14,000 people have reviewed this book and given it over 4 stars on goodreads.com! 


From GoodReads: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization.

Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.

So there you have it! Get reading! 
Sounds like alot of you are reading some pretty awesome books, according to Twitter! Keep it up! :) 

Comments

  1. Hmmm I might have to add some of these to my "to read" list.

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  2. The 2nd sounds neat. I just got done with "The Summer I Learned to Dive" and it was great!

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  3. I have to read the Lost Girls. I live about 15 minutes from where the bodies were found. It's heartbreaking and truly a mystery.

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  4. Adding all of these to my "to read" list! I read Redesigning Rose at your recommendation and it was the best book I have read in a long time! Thanks!

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    1. Samantha, you've absolutely made my day! Thank you so much for your lovely comment about Redesigning Rose and for enjoying Rose's journey so much!

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  5. I so want to read the 2nd one! That sounds so great & like a book I'd LOVE! Oh, Hunger Games- the trailer makes me tear up (not even joking...) every time. AH I CAN'T WAIT! Can you be in GA so we can go see it together when it comes out?! K, thanks!

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  6. I had not heard of any of these books, but I'm adding every single one to my reading list! They all look very good! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. I have chills after reading your synopsis of Lost Girls. I don't think I could read it unless i was with other people- I get too freaked out about some things as i live alone... not because i'm an escort ;)

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  8. Life After Life is so good! Confusing but amazing :)

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  9. As always I'm adding books to my to-read list thanks to you. Love it! I'm for sure putting The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe on my list. The other two, while intriguing, I'm going to wait to see what you think of them after reading.

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  10. You just gave me more than 1 book to read....well to add to my list of ones that I STILL need to read! :) Thanks! I'm on goodreads too! http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18405507-tawny
    Also.. did you see this Catching Fire trailer? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MkvUNfySGQU#at=11
    I seen that one on people's website a few days ago! I'm super stoked about it! :)

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  11. More interesting books I am at the moment listening to Bad Blood by Dana Stabenow it's a Kate Shugak novel

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  12. Ooo, that last books sounds intriguing! I'll have to look it up.
    xox
    giedre

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  13. I'm putting Lost Girls on my to-read list right NOW. Thanks for sharing!

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