Monday Mini-Reviews: Three Adult Reads

I will be the first to admit that having the flu (and working despite feeling crappy) did put a little damper on the amount of reading I got done this week.  Luckily I had some free time this weekend where I could really relax and curl up with a good book.  

The first book I spent much of the work week reading was Sophie Kinsella's newest book, Surprise Me, which will be out just in time for Valentine's Day.  This story is typical  Kinsella: a little convoluted, yet sweet, with a tidy ending.  Sylvie and Dan have been married for a decade.  When they see the many decades of wedded bliss stretching out before them, they decide to try and keep the happiness alive in their marriage by incorporating some surprises. And the surprises never quite work out as they envision.  But when Sophie becomes suspicious of Dan and thinks he might be cheating on her, she takes matters into her own hands.    Fans of Kinsella will enjoy whatever she writes....I have read all her books, and like some more than others.  This one is not her best, but it's also not her worst.  This is just a fun, easy read.

This weekend I read two books that I just could not put down.  The first, The Flight Attendant, by Chris Bohjalian had me from early on.  I love Bohjalian, so reading his work is like getting together with an old friend.  Cassandra is a flight attendant who finds herself in a Dubai hotel room with a man she went home with - only to realize as she gets out of bed in the morning that he has been killed.  Although her initial concern is being accused of killing him (something she is pretty sure she didn't do - but she does occasionally black out when she drinks), she eventually realize that the woman who visited with her and her dead one night stand right before his death, might want to get rid of her.  This plot is complex, and I love the way Bohjalian develops his characters.  

And, following that up was hard, but I have seen so much about Karen Cleveland's debut novel, Need to Know, which will be out on Tuesday, that I quickly picked it up for my evening reading.  This is a fantastic psychological thriller worthy of the buzz it's getting.  Vivian works for the CIA, looking for Russian spies in the United States.  When she manages to infiltrate a Russian operative's computer and see pictures of five spies, her entire world is rocked.  And that's pretty much all I can say about this one.  Twists and turns and a jaw dropping ending kept me turning pages. I love that Vivian is a mom juggling her job and motherhood, and despite the fact that her decisions are frustrating, I could at least relate to her choices.  Anyone who loves the show The Americans or grew up in the 80s when we really did fear Russian spies will want to pick this up.

And now, it's back to work this week, and trying to find something to read that can live up to these last two books.