Secrets and Samaritans

I’m happy to report that this year, exactly like every other year, is quickly approaching its darkest day, and then we shall have more daylight again. I feel like a bear: all I want to do is eat and sleep, preferably in my cozy cave with the space heater on and my sweet kitty cuddled up next to me. I’ve been reading a ton, partly because of my multiple book club obligations, and partly because I am afraid to watch TV and lose the LDBC. One of my friends just lost because of a TikTok; luckily, I never go on TikTok. I'm not sure if I even still have an account, and if I do, idk the password.

To continue my Victoria Holt romance novel marathon, I read Seven for a Secret. I gave it three stars. I am noticing that her writing is annoyingly repetitive, which is not something I probably picked up on as a teenager. I mean this in several ways. First, she often repeats words in a paragraph, as if she couldn't be bothered to check a thesaurus. Or maybe it was sloppy editing. Second, she has her characters constantly repeat themselves in both dialog and narration. Third, she repeats themes. Early on in this story I guessed what the secret was, so it wasn't a surprise at the big reveal. The reason I guessed it is because she keeps doing this "switched baby" motif in so many of her novels. I still enjoyed the story, but idk how motivated I am to complete my list of her books. For sure, I will read the ones I have already checked out from the library as well as the used paperbacks I've purchased. After that... who knows?

I also read The Good Samaritan, a thriller by John Marrs, which was one of my online book club's December picks. I awarded it three stars too. It started out in an interesting way, with the protagonist working as a volunteer at a crisis phone line. We soon discover that she actually wants to help a select few folks end their lives instead of dissuading them, and her big thrill is to be on the phone with them when they do it. We also discover she is an unreliable narrator and quite wacko at that, which is fun. I dig unreliable narrators. One of the people she helps has a distraught fiancé who discovers who she is and sets a trap for her. It turns out that he is her daughter's teacher! What are the odds? The story veers into more ridiculousness and becomes a bit tiresome. Everyone is awful, so there's no one left to root for. 

My OBC's "bonus" book for this month was Holiday Home by Daniel Hurst, another thriller. I could not give this one my "gentleman's C" (three stars) because it was just so tediously repetitive, and so I gave it two. The characters are not believable at all, and they all seem to have the same "voice" during their separate first-person narratives, which I find sloppy. It's like writers are just churning out books to have a large output, without taking basic care to make their stories enjoyable. And the fact that two couples, each with a child, would blithely go on a vacation to a secluded house with no internet/phone in case of an emergency is just stupid. But everything hinges on the lack of signal, so we trudge onward. Blah.

Speaking of good Samaritans, one of the cleaning people at my office found my Australian opal ring and turned it into the lost and found! I didn't even think to ask if the building had one until my little granddaughter mentioned the lost and found at her school when I told her I had lost my ring. It's been a few weeks, and I searched everywhere, finally resigning myself to never seeing it again. But I called, and they have the ring! I didn't have time to pick it up today (it's in a separate building a few blocks away), and I will do it tomorrow. The freezing cold weather is making my fingers shrink, though other parts of me seem to be expanding, so I will have to be more careful. This was a special ring because I had bought it with my beanie baby profits (no seriously), and my mom was with me that day, which makes it a nice memory. 

The question is... should I get a cupcake at Sprinkles tomorrow after I pick up my ring, as I practically have to almost sort of walk right by Sprinkles to get back from the other building? I shall ponder this as I drift off to dreamland...