Connie's BFB's in 2020

I'm in for 2020. Thanks, John, for setting it up again. I will go for 15 BFB's




01. Het spel van de engel - Carlos Ruiz Safón - 552 pages
02. Het labyrint der geesten - Carlos Ruiz Safón - 845 pages
03. De steen des Afscheids - Tad Williams - 679 pages without appendix
04. De belegering - Tad Williams - 672 pages without appendix
05. Zon - Lucinda Riley - 728 pages
06. De Darkest Powers trilogie - Kelley Armstrong - 952 pages
07. De dood van Harriet Monckton - Elizabeth Haynes - 505 pages
08. Schadevolle jaren - Richard Russo - 563 pages
09. Een onafwendbaar einde - Elizabeth George - 550 pages
10. In wankel evenwicht - Elizabeth George - 576 pages
11. De vlinderkamer - Lucinda Riley - 512 pages
12. Lichaam van de dood - Elizabeth George - 621 pages
13. MaddAddam - Margaret Atwood - 1271 pages
14. 22-11-1963 - Stephen King - 879 pages
15. Verzwegen - Karin Slaughter - 542 pages
16. Het geheime bondgenootschap - Philip Pullman - 636 pages
17. The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern - 504 pages
18. Nog lange niet - M.J. Arlidge - 524 pages
19. Bloed op het zand - Bradley P. Beaulieu - 703 pages
20. Een sluier van speren - Bradley P. Beaulieu - 607 pages
21. De val van een koning - Joe Abercrombie - 629 pages
22. Stiletto - Daniel O'Malley - 623 pages
23. De dode kamer - Bronja Hoffschlag - 713 pages
24. De Skinner methode - Bronja Hoffschlag - 649 pages
25. Voorgoed weg - Harrie Geelen - 889 pages (excluding lists)
26. De zilverboom - Lucinda Riley - 541 pages
27. De mooiste tijd van ons leven - Claire Lombardo - 553 pages
28. Draken van een gevallen zon - Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman, 527 pages
29. Draken van een verloren ster - Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman. 544 pages

Welcome once again Connie my dear.

Hi Connie. Good to see you ready for the new year!

>1 connie53: Love your counter. 😊

Thanks!

Hi Connie my dear, wishing you, Peet and the family a very Happy New Year from both of us dear friend.

I started my first BFB for the year yesterday.



Het spel van de engel by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
This is the translation of The Angel's Game, 551 pages

The blurb:

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed -- a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.

Hi Connie, great to see you here and with an early start, too!

Hi Connie, good to see you - happy BFB reading!

And finished it. Good book, but very intricate.

>10 connie53: I read this last year, and didn’t enjoy it as much as Shadow of the Wind. Gave it 4 stars.

me too!

>12 connie53: Great minds!

BFB # 2

Het Labyrint der geesten by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Original Spanish. This is the translation of El Labertino de los Espíritus. English: The Labyrinth of the Spirits, 845 pages.



The Blurb

In spoiler font because this is the final book and I don't want to spoil anything to those who still have to start in book 1.

As a child, Daniel Sempere discovered among the passageways of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books an extraordinary novel that would change the course of his life. Now a young man in the Barcelona of the late 1950s, Daniel runs the Sempere & Sons bookshop and enjoys a seemingly fulfilling life with his loving wife and son. Yet the mystery surrounding the death of his mother continues to plague his soul despite the moving efforts of his wife Bea and his faithful friend Fermin to save him. Just when Daniel believes he is close to solving this enigma, a conspiracy more sinister than he could have imagined spreads its tentacles from the hellish regime. That is when Alicia Gris appears, a soul born out of the nightmare of the war. She is the one who will lead Daniel to the edge of the abyss and reveal the secret history of his family, although at a terrifying price.,

>7 connie53:, >14 connie53: That sounds like a great series - taking a book bullet!

Finished Het labyrint der geesten by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 845 pages,

My Review

Last part of the series. This book is again so beautifully written, but sometimes a bit complicated by the long sentences. You have to reread them a few times to understand them. All storylines come together here and are neatly knotted. Although I could have missed the last chapter, it was also nice to know what happens to the main characters after the story. I will not tell much about the book itself. I do not want to reveal anything, but rather make sure that people still think that they should also read this last part.

>15 LisaMorr: You're welcome. Lisa

Started BFB # 3

De steen des Afscheids by Tad Williams.
This is the translation of The Stone of Farewell, 679 pages (without the appendixes)
Reading the paper version with a very small font so I also read the ebook alongside for when my eyes get weary.



The blurb

As the very land is blighted by the power of Ineluki's wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point —THE Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow. And the widely scattered surviving members of the League of the Scroll desperately struggle to fulfill missions which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the hidden mountain caves of the Qanuc...across storm-tormented waters to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend...through a forest alive with dangers no human could hope to brave...to the secret heartland of the Sithi, where the near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood....

And Finished De steen des afscheids - BFB # 3, 679 pages (without the appendixes)

My Review:

After some initial problems, this book became more and more fascinating. The starting problems were mainly due to the fact that I had a digital version for reading in the train and that sort of things. And that was one with quite a few disturbing errors. After I decided to continue only at home in the paper version, things went a lot better.
I read this book for the ff-challenge 2020 "neglected series" on the ff-leesclub.nl (FF stands for Fantasy Fan). And it was certainly a neglected series because I read the first part in 2012.
It is the story of Simon, the kitchen boy, who has become a hero against will and is now on his way with his traveling companions to the Stone of Farewell. His traveling companions include Prince Joshua and Miriamele. Nice book to read if you like epic fantasy.

Started BFB # 4



The Blurb

De belegering by Tad Williams
This is the translation of To Green Angel Tower part 3 in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. in Dutch this is divided into 2 book, this is part 1, 672 pages (without the appendix)

In order for the Storm King to cement his power over Osten Ard, he must find and defeat the rebel forces massing against him. But the rebels, led by the exiled Prince Josua, have rallied at the Stone of Farewell and are ready to fight the Storm King with every power they can muster. The key to their victory lies in finding the third sword of legend, Memory; but the sword has been lost for ages. Lost, that is, until Simon Snowlock realises that he knows exactly where the sword is and how to recover it. The only problem: an undead army, bolstered by powerful magic, lies between him and his destination. It will take every ounce of Simon's courage and intelligence to journey to and then recover the great sword Memory and bring peace to Osten Ard. If Simon's quest is to have any hope, Josua must move against the Storm King himself; a journey that will take him across endless seas, through ancient forests and into the stronghold of the Storm King himself.

Finished it!

My short review

I finally finished this BFB. It was a slow read but it is quite a good book. A sort of in-between book. Many preparations for the grand finale in the next book. All main characters gradually come together from all corners of the world in which this book takes place.

And starting another one

Zon by Lucinda Riley, 728 pages



The Blurb

To the outside world, Electra D'Aplièse seems to be the woman with everything: as one of the world's top models, she is beautiful, rich and famous. Yet beneath the veneer, and fuelled by the pressure of the life she leads, Electra's already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe. Struggling to cope, she turns to alcohol and drugs to ease the pain, and as those around her fear for her health, Electra receives a letter from a complete stranger who claims to be her grandmother... In 1939, Cecily Huntley-Morgan arrives in Kenya from New York to nurse a broken heart. Staying with her godmother, a member of the infamous Happy Valley set, on the shores of beautiful Lake Naivasha, she meets Bill Forsythe, a notorious bachelor and cattle farmer with close connections to the proud Maasai tribe. When disaster strikes and war is imminent, Cecily decides she has no choice but to accept Bill's proposal. Moving up into the Wanjohi Valley, and with Bill away, Cecily finds herself isolated and alone. Until she discovers a new-born baby abandoned in the woods next to her farmhouse

Finished it. BFB # 5

My review

The story of the sixth sister, Electra, is, as usual, a search for het origin. Just like her sisters, she has received a letter from Pa with instructions, but she has not done anything the letter yet. Her life as a supermodel is too busy and hectic and she has little interest in her origins. Moreover, she is addicted to alcohol and drugs. After a very violent trip, she finally decides to go to a rehab clinic and if she can leave the clinic clean, she has to make a few decisions. Then she receives a letter from Stella Jackson, who claims to be her grandmother and she gets interested in the story of her grandmother and mother. That search leads through the stories to Kenya and the Masai.

I started another BFB this afternoon

De Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong, 952 pages. It's an omnibus of 3 books, but I entered it on my LT lists as one book. So one book it is!



The Blurb.

All Chloe Saunders want is a normal life. But when she has a panic attack at school and sees ghosts, she is diagnosed with schizophrenia. She ends up in Lyle House, an institute for children with behavioral problems.
At first there doesn't seem to be anything strange about Lyle House, but when she gets to know the other residents a little better - the charming Simon and his dark, taciturn brother Derek, the spoiled Tori, and Rae, who 'has a thing for fire' - Chloe strikes doubt. None of them have ordinary behavioral problems. Why are they really here?

And finished this book this afternoon. BFB # 6

My Review:

An omnibus that I count as a book because I added it here as one book. And it is very nice to read these 3 books one after the other. Then the story stays in your head more claerly. It's a wonderful story about werewolves, witches and wizards and necromancers. That is really nice for a change. Just put your head in the book and enjoy. and Not thinking about Corona (Covid-19)

I have another BFB to report. De dood van Harriet Monckton by Elizabeth Haynes, 505 pages BFB # 7



My review

Well-crafted and excellently narrated story based on a historic event in Bromley, England. The story is made up of 5 parts, a prologue and an epilogue. In the first part, the story is told by 4 persons who chronologically report on the events per day in 1843 after the death of Harriet Monckton. After you have read this part, you might have changed your mind on who is your suspect several times. The second part is a long letter from one of the suspects to open by his / her lawyer after an arrest. Then the third part that again reports on the events, but then in 1846. The fourth part is the diary of Harriet that surfaced. After that a short part follows with the denouement and the epilogue. So it is very well put together, but I can not call it exciting. Occasionally I even felt sorry for Tom, one of the suspects. Harriet is also a naive, innocent young woman who, according to the custom of the time, is submissive to male society.

Now starting in Schadevolle jaren by Richard Russo.
This is the translation of The risk Pool, ROOT # 21, BFB # 8, 563 pages
Schadevolle jaren means Jears full of harm



The Blurb

A wonderfully funny, perceptive novel The Risk Pool is set in Mohawk, New York, where Ned Hall is doing his best to grow up, even though neither of his estranged parents can properly be called adult.

His father, Sam, cultivates bad habits so assiduously that he is stuck at the bottom of his auto insurance risk pool. His mother, Jenny, is slowly going crazy from resentment at a husband who refuses either to stay or to stay away. As Ned veers between allegiances to these grossly inadequate role models, Richard Russo gives us a book that overflows with outsized characters and outlandish predicaments and whose vision of family is at once irreverent and unexpectedly moving.

Finished book number 8 Schadevolle jaren by Richard Russo

My review:

This book leaves me with a double feeling. It's written great, but it's actually a sad subject. Ned is the son of Sam and Jenny. When Sam returns from WWII, he leaves his wife and young son alone and begins to live a life of gambling and alcohol. Ned is raised by his slightly nervous mother. Jenny wants to please everyone, but only to her own liking. When Ned is taken out of school by his father at some point, he goes on a fishing trip with a friend of his father Watje. 2 days later he is brought back home. Over time, Ned even lived with his father for 2 years. And then the differences between both parents become clear. Jenny is an overprotective patronizing mother, and Sam is a father who doesn't care much about fatherhood and often lets his son take care of himself for days. This book also provides an oppressive insight into the lives of rural Americans in the sixties. The men spend their days and nights in various cafes and snack bars, the women settle in their destinies and raise the children. We follow Ned until he becomes a father of a son when he is thirty-four.

Finished another BFB, # 9 for the year BFB # 9



Een onafwendbaar einde by Elizabeth George, 550 pages

My review

I was expecting an exciting Linley / Havers story, but I got a very disturbing story about 3 young children who were dumped by their grandmother, who they were entrusted after their father's death and their mother being admitted to a mental institute, to the care of their aunt. Aunt Kendra does not understand children and certainly not children with such a background. It soon goes terribly wrong with the girl Ness (15) and Joel (11) also runs into all kinds of difficulties. Not only does he take care of his mentally disabled brother Toby (7), but he also has to deal with a number of criminals who force him to do things to protect his brother. Things he doesn't really want to do. At the end there is still a link with Linley and Havers.

Finished BFB # 10 for the year

In wankel evenwicht by Elizabeth George, 576 pages

My review:

A book with Thomas Linley is always a pleasure to read and this big one is no exception. Occasionally I found it a bit messy because often there is a change of character without indication. But otherwise I found it very familiar

Starting BFB # 11

Lichaam van de dood by Elizabeth George

You're doing well with your BFBs, Connie!

Finished BFB # 11 for the year Lichaam van de dood by Elizabeth George.

My review.

Part 16 in the series. It took me some time to see how the timelines were combined, bur once that happened it was a delight to read this book. I won't give much details about the story because of spoilers, A real thriller as far as I'm concerned

And BFB # 12

De vlinderkamer by Lucinda Riley

Finished BFB # 13 for the year MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood



This was a very intriguing trilogy and somehow also depressing but hopeful. I really like the writing style Margaret Atwood uses. It's beautiful and there is humor too. Every book gets

Now reading and almost finished 22-11-1963 by Stephen King 879 pages



The blurb

WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . .

King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of Elvis and JFK, of Plymouth Fury cars and Lindy Hopping, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life - a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

And finished! BFB # 14

Awesome book. This book shows that changing the future by intervening in the past does not always work out as well as you hope. It's 2011 and Jake Epping, an adult-education English teacher, gets to know Al who runs a burger shop and lives near a time hole. He calls it a rabbit hole. He has been going up and down to the past on a lot of occasions to get meat for his famous burgers. The meat in 1958 is much cheaper. When Jake gets to know Al, Al has already worked out an idea to prevent the murder of John F. Kennedy by preventing Lee Oswald from shooting the president, but Al is too sick and too old to do it himself. He always comes back in 1958 and so would have to wait a long time before he can take out Lee. But he made a notebook full of notes about Lee Oswald live.
Jake decides to do it for Al and because he also wants to alter a few things that happened at that time, including the tragic story of the family of one of his students.
So Jake goes back to 1958 with a new identity, George Amberson. And then he starts his assignment. But not all of that goes without a struggle. If he changes things and goes back to 2011 and then back to 1958, all changes will be undone. So it has to go right the first time. In the time that he has to spend in the past, he gets a job at a high school and gets to know Sadie Dunhill and falls in love with her. That only makes it more complicated, of course. I am not going to tell you much because I don't want to say anything about the outcome.

Reading another BFB

Verzwegen by Karin Slaugther 542 pages



The blurb;

He watches.
A woman runs alone in the woods. She convinces herself she has no reason to be afraid, but she's wrong. A predator is stalking the women of Grant County. He lingers in the shadows, until the time is just right to snatch his victim.
He waits.
A decade later, the case has been closed. The killer is behind bars. But then another young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead, and the MO is identical.
He takes.
Although the original trail has gone cold – memories have faded, witnesses have disappeared – agent Will Trent and forensic pathologist Sara Linton must re-open the cold case. But the clock is ticking, and the killer is determined to find his perfect silent wife….

Finished Verzwegen by Karin Slaughter and give it , 542 pages, BFB # 15

My review:

Another great book by Karin Slaughter. The story is horrifying. Girls are murdered, raped and mutilated in the woods. The first few are several years earlier and Jeffrey Tolliver, Lena Adams and Sara Linton are doing their best to avoid subsequent casualties. If they can lock someone up for the murders, it seems like everything is over, but years later Sara, Will Trent and Faith Mitchell have to solve some more murders. The man who was arrested for the murders earlier wants to talk and has now collected so much material about other girls that they have to take it seriously

Finished another one Het geheime bondgenootschap by Philip Pullman 636 pages, BFB # 16



The blurb:

The second volume of Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust sees Lyra, now twenty years old, and her daemon Pantalaimon, forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined, and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed. Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right. Theirs is a world at once familiar and extraordinary, and they must travel far beyond the edges of Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost - a city haunted by daemons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the mystery of the elusive Dust.

My Review:

Great sequel to La Belle Sauvage. And there will be a third part that we hope we don't have to wait for too long. We follow Lyra and Malcolm in their quest. Lyra searches for Pantalaimon who has detached herself from her and is looking for Lyra's imagination that she has lost. And Malcolm searches for Dust. It is wonderfully written and I flew through it.

Finished another one after I reached my goal of 15 BFB's

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 504 pages BFB # 17



The Blurb

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

my review:

What a great and original book this is. It contains everything you can expect from a good fantasy book. Adventures, mysterious persons and places, cats and owls, appealing characters who still keep their mystery. What I find very special are the romantic couples. I have rarely come across a book in which homosexuality belongs so seamless in the book. Definitely a winner.

Finished another BFB yesterday, BFB # 18

Nog lange niet by M.J.Arlidge, 524 pages



The blurb:

You have one hour to live. Those are the only words on the phone call. Then they hang up. Surely, a prank? A mistake? A wrong number? Anything but the chilling truth... That someone is watching, waiting, working to take your life in one hour. But why? The job of finding out falls to DI Helen Grace: a woman with a track record in hunting killers. However, this is A case where the killer seems to always be one step ahead of the police and the victims. With no motive, no leads, no clues - nothing but pure fear - an hour can last a lifetime...

My review:

This book by M.J. Arlidge does not disappoint. It is another exciting and well-written book, with many storylines and threads that are neatly tied together. The past catches up with 4 friends who have been kidnapped for a while in their teens. Now, a few years later, they receive a phone call telling them they have an hour to live. Terrifying, of course.

And another one, BFB # 19

Bloed op het zand by Bradley P. Beaulieu, 703 pages



The blurb

Çeda, now a Blade Maiden to the kings of Sharakhai, gleans secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. Çeda could become the champion they've been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. The second book in The Song of Shattered Sands Trilogy--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action.

My review:

Exciting, but also at times gruesome and sometimes unclear. There are way too many different names that often look alike. That is really a disadvantage. The story of Çeda and Emre continues in this part, it's a shame I couldn't remember much about Part 1 when I started on this part, so I won't recommend that. Read all the parts one after the other and then I think this series can be much more impressive. So I will continue in part 3 immediately.

And another one! BFB # 20

Een sluier van speren by Bradley P. Beaulieu, 607 pages.



My review:

Very difficult to judge because this is a really complicated story. About 8 gods and goddesses, 13 kings who all but one live in the same city. And some tribes who are at war with each other or at least keep an eye on each other. So many battles and fights. Fortunately, there are also a few appealing main characters, Çeda, Emre and Davud. And there is magic, a lot of magic.

Finished De val van een koning by Joe Abercrombie BFB # 21 629 pages -



The blurb:

The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him but its going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and theres only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks.There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law.

My review:

Last part of 'De Eerste Wet' and the last part that has been translated into Dutch. Lots of battles and intrigue. Logen Ninevinger plays the leading role, but Bayaz and Glotka also play a major role, especially because of their scheming. Fortunately, it reads quickly and it is also exciting. But really not my thing.

Another one!



Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley, BFB # 22 623 pages,

The blurb

After years of enmity and bloodshed, two secret organizations with otherworldly abilities must merge, and there is only one person with the fearsome powers - and bureaucratic finesse - to get the job done. Rook Myfanwy Thomas must broker a deal between deadly rivals the Checquy - a centuries-old covert British organization that protects society from supernatural threats; and the Grafters - a centuries-old supernatural threat. But as bizarre attacks sweep London, threatening to sabotage negotiations, old hatreds flare. Only Myfanwy and two women who detest each other can seek out the culprits before they trigger a devastating otherworldly war.

My Review;

Second part in the series 'The Checquy Files' and I can say that I can't wait for the third part. And I don't even know if there will be a third part. But that should be and certainly can. I have read this book in English (because not translated), which made it a challenge but it did not detract from how good this book is. I was completely drawn into the adventures of Felicity, one of the Checquy members, and Odette, one of the Grafters, the Scientific Fraternity of Physicists. These two groups, despite their centuries of enmity, have decided to collaborate. Felicity and Odette are linked during the Grafters' visit to the Checquys in London. Adventure after adventure ensures that the women respect each other and that they can work together quite well in the long run. I don't want to tell you too much about it, because that would spoil everything. So read, I would say, but start with part 1 De dame / The Rook.

You're doing well on the BFBs!

Finished another one De dode kamer - Bronja Hoffschlag - 713 pages
Original Dutch



The blurb:

Professionally unemployed Lennart Larsen and his younger brother, successful architect Misha, are each other's opposites. Lennart spends his days drinking, smoking and keeping his Social Security benefits, while Misha works sixteen hours a day. Their parents had been killed in a car accident fifteen years earlier and that loss has turned out to be a crossroads, at which the brothers both took a different turn. Contact between them is extremely difficult and sometimes periods of weeks go by, in which they have no contact at all. However, when Misha does not answer his phone for a long time and Lennart goes to investigate, he discovers that his brother has quit his job and has left for America.

It is the start of a weeks-long quest, which mercilessly confronts Lennart with the past, lies and truths, secrets, riddles, codes, double agendas and memories. As his search progresses and he uncovers more and more aspects of Misha's life, Lennart finds out that he doesn't know his brother very well and that he has no idea what Misha is capable of. Meanwhile, Misha confronts the ghosts of his past and new demons, while the secret he has carried with him for 15 years draws him further into darkness and he plunges into a hopeless mission of revenge. Inadvertently and unwillingly, he attracts the attention of serial killer Donald Skinner.

My review;

Well written and exciting. First part of a trilogy. It is the story of the brothers Lennart and Misha Larsen who lost their parents in a car accident at a young age. Lennart is the oldest and lives a life full of alcohol and drugs and on unemployment benefits. Misha is placed in foster care because of his age while Lennart makes a half-hearted attempt to get custody of him. When that finally succeeds after three years, Misha, who was already a boy with a user manual, has become a withdrawn and angry teenager.
Fifteen years after the death of their parents, Misha has become a successful architect and Lennart has not changed anything. But then Misha disappears and when Lennart finally realizes that he tries to track down Misha. He quits his drug use and finally learns that Misha is in prison in New York and has confessed to a murder.
The book first follows Lennart and then all scenes come by again, but then seen from Misha. The information also comes from their own thoughts and insights.
I have already started again in part 2.

Finished another one De Skinner methode by Bronja Hoffschlag - 649 pages
Original Dutch



The blurb

Dutch architect Misha Larsen has been in an American state prison since his conviction for manslaughter. Only a handful of people know that he is actually on a revenge mission and is completing a kill list.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Misha is forced to make a pact with serial killer Donald Skinner to be able to delete the next name from his list, but not everyone is charmed by his new ally and Misha is not the only one with a "Plan B" .
Meanwhile, at Misha's request, his brother Lennart delves into Skinner's past and encounters shocking events in which fact and fiction seamlessly merge.
Lennart is determined to find the truth behind the legend. He learns that some things should have been buried better when his research keeps leading him back to the man with whom it all began: cult leader Macchias Dawson, who even seems to be pulling the strings from the grave.

My review;

Well written and very exciting, but in a 'under your skin' way. Just like in part 1, the story also changes from time to time, partly in the present and partly in different times of the past. This time we also get to see part of the story through the eyes of Donald Skinner, the serial killer. However, there is a shocking event that upset me completely. I ordered book 3 because I now also need to know how it ends.

Average pages per BFB looks like fun to do so.....

24 books read, total pages 15239. average 635 pages.

Hi Connie my dear, thanks for stopping by my thread on here. Amy and Andy are expecting their first child and her due date is 29th April, Andy hopes she hangs on until May 4th as he is a big Star Wars fan. We are both over the moon and Hannah is beside herself and wanted to see Auntie Amy's bump which she did on Sunday. Hannah will be 10 years and two months old when her cousin is born and hopes they have a girl.

I hope that you and Peet are both well my dear and also that the family are all doing well, sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Thanks John, for your kind words and your news about the nes grandchild. Of course Hannah is very happy. It's nice to have a cousin. And she can be a kind of big sister to the newborn. I hope everything goes well. Give Karen a big hug from me.

We are all still doing well. We only go out for groceries or medical appointments. The kids are doing well too.

BFB # 25



Voorgoed weg by Harrie Geelen, 921 pages
Original Dutch. No translation available.

This is the blurb:

There is good. There is evil. And there is worse.
Every prince knows that.
In Forever Gone, the second and third installments of the trilogy
"Can you tell me the way to Hamelen, sir?" prince Tor of Sombria is in search of his bride.
Again and again. He has to build on men; and every gnome
knows that men don't exist.
There are women, there are bad women and there is the grandmother of Evil.
There is no witch who does not know.

By going on adventures the group of earthly men are getting further and further away from home.
But any ferryman can tell you when there is a forth, there is a back.
This part of the story is also all about nothing;
atmost accidentally about everything.


And this book is just a strange as the blurb is.

My review:

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It is an extremely absurd book and I sometimes had a hard time understanding what was being said or what was happening. That took the reading pleasure out a bit. The group of people who, through some sort of transition, ended up in a world full of trolls, giants, fairies and a kind of humanoid, experience all kinds of adventures.

BFB # 26



De zilverboom by Lucinda Riley 541 pages

The blurb;

Thirty years have passed since Greta left Marchmont Hall, a grand and beautiful house nestled in the hills of rural Monmouthshire. But when she returns to the Hall for Christmas, at the invitation of her old friend David Marchmont, she has no recollection of her past association with it - the result of a tragic accident that has blanked out more than two decades of her life. Then, during a walk through the wintry landscape, she stumbles across a grave in the woods, and the weathered inscription on the headstone tells her that a little boy is buried here ... The poignant discovery strikes a chord in Greta's mind and soon ignites a quest to rediscover her lost memories. With David's help, she begins to piece together the fragments of not only her own story, but that of her daughter, Cheska, who was the tragic victim of circumstances beyond her control. And, most definitely, not the angel she appeared to be.

My review;

When Greta appears has lost her memory after an accident and months in a coma, she has to make something of the rest of her life. Fortunately, she gets help from David (who of course she no longer recognizes.) She lived with this amnesia for 24 years, but during that time she got to know David and the rest of her family, such as Ava her granddaughter and Mary, the housekeeper. David, after years of inviting her, finally persuades her to join the family for Christmas in their rural home in Wales. On arrival she gets her first flash back of old memories.
Well written, but I think the women are all a bit weak and busy with themselves. Especially Cheska, Greta's daughter is a real b***h. I am a fan of David, but you can also exaggerate sacrificing your own life. He runs from one woman to another to save them from trouble.

Hi Connie, you are going well on the big books !

Hi Connie my dear, hope that you and Peet are having a good weekend and send love and hugs to both of you from both of us and Felix, dear friend.

Thanks John. Same to you.

Finished BFB # 27

De mooiste tijd van ons leven by Claire Lombardo, 553 pages



The blurb

When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that's to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents'. As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt--given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before--we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorensons' past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile. Spanning nearly half a century, and set against the quintessential American backdrop of Chicago and its prospering suburbs, Lombardo's debut explores the triumphs and burdens of love, the fraught tethers of parenthood and sisterhood, and the baffling mixture of affection, abhorrence, resistance, and submission we feel for those closest to us.

My review

4 sisters in different stages of their lives are described in this book. It all starts with eldest daughter Wendy introducing a boy to the Sorenson family. This boy, Jonah, turns out to be the son of the second daughter, Violet. Jonah is 15, almost 16, and his existence has always been kept a secret by Violet and Wendy. The mutual relationships are under considerable pressure. Very well written, with a sense of humor.

BFB # 28

Reading another book that has been on the shelves since before I joined LT 11 years ago



Draken van een gevallen zon by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, BFB # 28, 527 pages

The Blurb

Forty years have passed since the devastating Chaos War, when the gods departed Krynn. Cruel and powerful dragons have seized control of Ansalon, dividing the continent among them and demanding tribute from the people they have enslaved. Heroes of the past have gone to their well-deserved rest. Now new heroes take their place to continue the battle against evil. Change -- for good or for ill -- comes to the world. A violent magical storm sweeps over Ansalon, bringing flood and fire, death and destruction. Out of the tumult rises a strange, mystic young woman. Her destiny is bound up with that of Krynn. For she alone knows the truth about the future, a future strangely and inextricably tied to the terrifying mystery in Krynn's past.

And finished this book this afternoon.

My review:

Good story in the tradition of the old-fashioned fantasy. Knights, dragons, elves and Kenders (no idea what they are exactly.) Mina is a young woman who suddenly appears during an unprecedented global thunderstorm and she has the gift of drawing people in the name of the true God. But there is a dark side to this god. And then you have a number of young men, Silvan, Galder (a minotaur), Gerard and Tasslehoff (Tass) Burrfoot, who, in my opinion, will play a big part in the story, either on Mina's side or on the other side.
The story is still developing so I will continue in Part 2

Thanks John!

Happy New Year Connie, Peet and family.

Thanks John. The same to you and Karen and the extended family!