Tag Archives: strong female characters

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Never Lie

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Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Never Lie by Freida McFadden (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Nov 03, 2024

I honestly can’t say I remember when I picked up a copy of this book, but I will say I will be reading more from this author, assuming my heart can handle it.  Freida McFadden’s work contained shocking twists near the end, and they just kept coming.  

What begins as a seemingly run-of-the-mill plot, with a couple stranded at an isolated country home during a blizzard, leads the reader on a merry chase with one red herring of an antagonist through the majority of the book.  Tricia and Ethan seem like a happily married newly wed couple, but why are they keeping secrets from each other, and why are they afraid of how the other will react when they are revealed? From the very beginning some of their interactions seem off, though I only realized this in hindsight.

The home they find themselves in is the former abode of Dr. Adrienne Hale, a psychiatrist and bestselling author who disappeared under mysterious circumstances three years prior.  Will their unintended stay reveal clues to the doctor’s disappearance, and is she really the innocent victim?

Tricia finds a secret room where the good doctor kept cassette tapes of all her sessions with her patients, and surreptitiously starts to listen to them to pass the time, and because she can’t contain her curiosity.  Meanwhile, Ethan disappears somewhere upstairs to “work” remotely, and the reader is left wondering about the identity of one particular patient, who was blackmailing Dr. Hale.  

The chapters with Tricia and Ethan are interspersed with those of Adrienne, prior to her disappearance, and the audience learns of the same events from her point of view.  While Adrienne seemingly believes she does a lot of good, it is amazing the lengths she will go to to keep her secrets; and the reader has to wonder exactly what happened to her, and who caused it, which is only revealed near the end.  

The big question posed by this story; is anyone truly innocent?  Without revealing any more spoilers, I will say the conclusion shocked me.

This is an excellent psychological thriller and I would recommend it to any fans of the genre. I give this story five stars.

Review: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Movie Review, , , ,
Image from Rotten Tomatoes

Talk about underlying themes in sci-fi movies; what on the surface appears to be a time-travelling, dimension-hopping storyline populated by body snatchers is little more than a plot device for a compelling story of the relationships between parents and children, particularly mothers and daughters.

I know I’m a little late to the party reviewing this movie, considering it won a whopping seven Oscars in the 2023 Academy Awards, but I honestly just got the chance to watch it recently. 

At first, I didn’t know what to make of the story, where in the first scenes we see Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan as a seemingly ordinary couple struggling to balance a marriage with business ownership and familial relationships with a daughter and estranged father for Michelle’s character.  Yeoh is facing the struggles of most modern women; her life pulled in multiple directions at once by various demands on her time and emotions. 

Suddenly, though, that changes as another reality version of Quan takes over, warning Yeoh that she’s in danger, and suddenly fighting it out with Jamie Lee Curtis in a scene that could have almost come from a Bruce Lee movie.

It’s later revealed that Yeoh is the original version of herself in a persona that has branched out into infinite dimensions, each with different strengths and weaknesses, and that she is responsible for the creation of the being trying to destroy them all. The heartbreaking revelation of exactly who is the Jobu Tupaki, and her relationship to Yeoh’s character, as well as her response to this, is what makes this movie worthy of Best Picture. 

Yeoh, or Evelyn, is encouraged to stop the Jobu Tupaki at all costs, by her other-version husband and father, but decides that is not acceptable.  Instead she decides to learn to relate to her by becoming more like her and dissuade her from her chosen path of destruction.

In the end, friendship and love are the only tools able of stopping the universe from imploding, as well as preventing a catastrophe in Yeoh’s “real” life.

I would recommend this movie to everyone who hasn’t already seen it; it has everything from sci-fi to kung fu action, as well as romance and family feels.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Dead Mountain

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Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston

Dead Mountain (Nora Kelly, #4) by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author), Lincoln Child

Amy Caudill‘s review

May 13, 2024

The fourth installment of The Nora Kelly Novels featuring secondary characters from the authors’ best known series, The Pendergast Novels, finds our intrepid heroines facing an investigation based on true-life adventures.  Nora Kelly, archeologist, and Corrie Swanson, junior FBI agent, find themselves examining some remains uncovered in a cave that may have ties to a fifteen year old unsolved case.

Fifteen years ago, a group of college students went missing in the Manzano Mountains, near an Air Force base, under mysterious circumstances.  Only some of the bodies were ever found, until now.  The evidence seems to indicate that the hikers went crazy, because some apparently left their shelter at night, in various states of dress, during a blizzard. 

Before the final curtain comes down, Nora and Corrie will deal with a military cover-up, a self- righteous victim’s group whose leader is a conspiracy nut, and the true villain of the so-called Manzano massacre, who has been hiding the truth all these years.

The two main characters have developed an uneasy friendship over the course of this series, based on joint adversity.  However, this volume shows Corrie growing the most as an individual and as an agent.  She has to adjust to a new mentor following the murder of her last in the previous book, and she’s finally taking a chance on love in the person of recurring character Sheriff Watts.  Overall, it’s nice to see the two women have lives outside of archeological digs, bureaucratic problems, and death-defying escapes from terror.

This book delivers on the promise that there’s going to be plenty of action, deep mysteries, and enough twists and turns to satisfy any discerning reader, as per usual with the names of Preston and Child on the cover.  I can’t wait to see where the next adventure takes the ladies, as well as the next installation of the main series, both due out this year.  I award this book five stars, and recommend it to readers of police procedurals, action thrillers, and fans of strong female characters.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Street of the Five Moons

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Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

Street of the Five Moons (Vicky Bliss, #2) by Elizabeth Peters

Amy Caudill‘s review

When blonde bombshell/medieval art historian Vicky Bliss is shown an unbelievably perfect forgery of a piece of famous jewelry, housed in their own Munich National Museum, she convinces her boss that she should investigate the origins and purpose of this copy.  She soon finds herself on the way to Rome to check out an obscure clue from a dead man’s pocket.  

While there, she will encounter an Englishman who may be both an ally and a criminal, and an underground art forgery ring that touches the highest echelons of Italian society.  When she is invited to visit the mansion of one of the main suspects the morning after being kidnapped, and rescued, by her sort of ally/rival, Vicky doesn’t hesitate to accept, even knowing she is probably going into even more danger.  She will follow clues leading through a garden of monstrous statuary, a secret lab, and a thrilling escape through the Italian countryside.

I have read all of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series, and a few of her stand alone books written under the pseudonym of Barbara Michaels.  I adore the Peabody books, patterned somewhat after the author herself, who holds a doctorate in Egyptology; but I found the books she wrote as Barabara Michaels a little less in substance than those, so I was happy to discover the Vicky Bliss series seems to be just as fascinating as the Peabody books.

While the subject matter is obviously different, being medieval art versus ancient Egyptian artifacts, it is obvious that the author put in her due diligence in research as well as creating several memorable, fascinating characters; including Vicky and her bumbling, lovable boss Professor Schmidt, and her future possible (?) love interest/antagonist, who she only knows as John Smythe. 

I enjoyed this story very much, and intend to go back and read the rest of the series as I have time.  I award this book four and a half stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys thriller/mystery stories featuring strong female heroines.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Diablo Mesa

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Diablo Mesa by Douglas Preston

Diablo Mesa (Nora Kelly, #3) by  Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author), Lincoln Child

Amy Caudill‘s review

Authors Preston and Child have taken their characters to a lot of different places, but this latest edition to the Nora Kelly series enters previously unexplored territory, starting with an archeological dig that crosses paths with a possible alien conspiracy.

When Nora Kelly rejects an offer made to  the Santa Fe Institute to work with billionaire Lucas Tappan on an archeological survey of the Roswell site, she loses her job, only to get a better offer from Tappan to work for him privately.  Skeptical but intrigued by his “evidence” of something actually crashing in the area, she accepts, and almost immediately uncovers two murder victims buried in the sand.

Nora calls the only FBI agent she knows, Corrie Swanson, with whom she has shared a couple of adventures and thinks of as sort of a friend.  Corrie is assigned the case, which leads her down a rabbit’s hole of conspiracies and more deaths, including that of her mentor.  And for some reason, she can’t quite trust the new mentor from Washington who is assigned as her temporary supervisor.

With a plot that involves an alien probe, a secret quasi-government cult, and an action-packed assault through a hidden underground bunker; this story has plenty of action; as well as a possible romance for Nora Kelly, whose husband Bill Smithback died  due to involvement in one of Agent Pendergast’ cases (see the authors’ largest and best-known series.)

This story features the adventures of Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson, two alums from Pendergast novels and standalones from authors Preston and Child.  The two women are radically different in age, in outlook, and education, but through this series are drawn together through both shared experiences and their connection to one Agent Aloysius Pendergast.  The earliest book, Old Bones, has them at conflict, and as unwilling allies, but I sense by this third volume at least a thawing of emotions.  They agree to stay on a first name basis, despite coming together for official business.  If they will actually become friends remains to be seen, but I’m sure the authors have some interesting things planned for them in subsequent stories.

I’ll admit I was skeptical about some of the territory this novel  ventured into, but the authors have a talent for making the fantastic seem plausible, and I was deeply satisfied with the conclusion, as multiple antagonists (including Nora’s former bosses) received their just desserts.  I award this book five stars, and look forward to the next installment, Dead Mountain, due out in August.  

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

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The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

When I picked up this book I expected a paranormal adventure, perhaps with some female bonding, but what I got was a book that while containing a true horror tale was more about clashes between social classes and genders in 1990s Charleston, South Carolina.

The main character, Patricia, is a typical southern housewife-devoted to her career-minded, neglectful husband, and her two children who have their own issues, and has obligations to society to meet.  She also has a mother-in-law who is senile living in her garage room and a new neighbor that is definitely too good to be true.  Thankfully, she has her friends in the local book club to depend on when things get rough.

Who knew, that in 1990s Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, the biggest obstacle a group of women would face when confronting a proven killer who has preyed on children and women for decades, would not be the monster himself.  Instead, the real obstacles include their own beliefs regarding reality and religion, but also their overbearing, dictatorial husbands who when they ask for assistance refuse to believe them and are afraid they will embarrass themselves or more realistically, their husbands and their standing in the community.

The men believe the women have concocted this fantasy about James Harris, who is their new business partner, because they are bored housewives who spend too much time reading lurid and fanciful literature for their monthly book club meetings.  The monster, James Harris, insinuates himself into their sheltered little society in such a way that the families all depend on his good graces for their good fortune.  The men do not want to upset their partner, and the women are afraid to go against their husbands, because in some situations, they will pay with beatings and forced medication.

Patricia’s own husband, the doctor in the group, is convinced she is having a breakdown, and rather than listen to her, prescribes anti-depressants and accuses her of destroying their family.  In the face of the overwhelming obstacles, the women let the fight go, until events that include a reappearance of Patricia’s now dead mother-in-law and a fatal attack on one of their own force them to band together and act. 

This book, the first I have read by author Grady Hendrix, is so much more than a horror novel.  It does contain truly terrifying scenes that are not for children or anyone who does not appreciate gore, but the blood and mayhem is not the main focus of the book.  I award the author five stars, and applaud him for a novel that contains depth of plot that surprised me.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Once and Future Witches

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The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

This epic story follows the lives of three sisters, descendants of witches, who have been separated by fate and falsehoods, but are brought together again through mutual pain and longing.

The Eastwood sisters, each having endured separate tragedies, find each other again in New Salem in the 1800s.  They have been apart for some time, but one half-conjured spell is enough to forge an unbreakable link between the three.  While they are rediscovering each other, and dealing with their past issues, they come to realize they meet the archetypes necessary to call back the Lost Tower of Avalon, the last stronghold of witchcraft on Earth which was burned by men who feared the witches’ power and independence.

Bella, The Crone, is a librarian who prizes knowledge, and will become the wise mentor of the group who catalogues all their recovered spells.  Agnes, The Mother, single and pregnant in a time when that was not at all acceptable, but who is stronger and more capable than she realizes.  Juniper, The Maiden, is a fierce warrior, fearless, but with a dark history that will play a part in the outcome.

Together, the three will become The Last Three and uncover The Lost Tower, giving women the power to make their lives a little more bearable in an age when women are considered property and not afforded any real rights, not least of all the ability to vote for their leaders.

The author skillfully hides the lost spells of witches in children’s rhymes and fairy tales, the last place any man would think to look, to keep them safe for future generations.  One male witch, however, seeks to root out and destroy all knowledge of witchcraft so that he alone has power, and can enthrall a city to his bidding.  In the end, the only way to stop a new round of witch burnings, and save Agnes’s daughter, is to destroy the hold Gideon Hill has on the city.  It won’t be easy though, because he has just been elected as Mayor of New Salem and has made puppets of half the population. 

There were multiple points in this 530 page tome where I felt, okay, they have reached their end goal, what could possibly be left?  However, the author quickly wrote in another roadblock, another obstacle to overcome.  While the story was long, it was absorbing, and only in a couple of places, like midway through, did I feel the pacing was slow.

Overall, a very good story, one that takes the reader in completely unexpected directions.  The characterization of the three, as well as the antagonist and a few secondary players, was well drawn.  I especially enjoyed Juniper, who started out so brash and angry at the world but by the end had actually come around to feel empathy for Gideon Hill and was unable to kill him, despite very good reasons to do so.  I give this book 4.5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy or paranormal novels that contain very strong, independent female characters.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Scorpion’s Tail

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The Scorpion's Tail by Douglas Preston

The Scorpion’s Tail (Nora Kelly #2) by  Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author), Lincoln Child

Amy Caudill‘s review

When Corrie Swanson is given a seemingly routine field assignment by her boss at the Albuquerque field office of the FBI, no one expects that the shooting of a cop at a ghost town will lead to the uncovering of plots of conspiracy, murder, lost treasure, and a huge cover up on a military base. 

Corrie once again relies on the assistance of Nora Kelly to excavate a corpse found in High Lonesome, a relatively untouched ghost town, but one with recent signs of looting and of course, a shooting.  Both Corrie and Nora, the main protagonists in this series, are alumni of multiple novels in authors’ Preston and Child main series, the Agent Pendergast books.

In the last book of this series, Old Bones, Corrie and Nora did not exactly part on good terms, but they seem to respect each other’s abilities and cannot deny that on some levels they need each other’s help.  There is much made of their dynamic, these two who are not friends but connected through their sometime association with Pendergast, as reluctant partners, drawn into the investigation more and more despite pressures from Corrie’s bosses and status as a rookie and Nora’s delayed separate work and aspirations for a promotion to Chief of Archeology at the Santa Fe Archeological Institute.

When the victim is identified as the former owner of a ranch on land appropriated by the military for the first atomic test, and evidence suggests the test is actually what caused his death, the FBI, with Nora in tow, visit the Army base to ask uncomfortable questions of its commander, General McGurk, who apparently has familial ties to the area.

Who is involved in the looting and cover up?  Who is making sure that no witness survives, including trying to kill Nora and Corrie as they make covert trips back to High Lonesome, where only a part of the mystery will be solved.

This book has excellent pacing, going back and forth between multiple scenarios and points of view, as par for the writing team.  The reader is skillfully drawn into the story, without much clue as to where the next clue will appear and the next antagonist show his true colors.  In the end, the token appearance by Pendergast, (in only one short chapter near the conclusion,) will the final mystery be uncovered and the guilty receive their due punishment.

Another excellent novel from two of my favorite authors, that I award five stars for action, drama, strong female leads, all in a FBI procedural that contains so much more.  With the next novel, Diablo Mesa, already out, I’m sure I will be revisiting this universe very soon.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Murder at the Vicarage

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The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1) by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review

The Murder at the Vicarage is the first of the Miss Marple books, a series featuring one of author Agatha Christie’s “detectives.”   However, in this novel most of the actual investigative work is not done by the detective in question.  The case involves a murder that takes place at a Vicarage in the small English town of St. Mary Mead, but most of the actual legwork is done by the Vicar himself, Leonard Clement, with assistance of the local doctor, and only marginally the local constable and his superiors. 

The “detective,” Miss Marple, is only mentioned briefly here and there, and appears in the book at only a few points to point out theories and possible suspects until half-way through the story, and then only takes a more prominent role in the final chapters. 

While she takes the role of “armchair detective” to a whole new level, Miss Marple does have some amazing insights gathered from her “hobby” of observing people.  She presents her views in a way that is far less invasive or potentially offensive than some of her fictional male counterparts; she actually keeps up the appearance of a demur, gentle, polite elderly lady while she is lecturing the police on their assumptions and mistakes.

I have long been a fan of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and have read a number of her stories without a “detective” central character, so this book was quite a surprise for me.  Having read a number of Christie’s works featuring Hercule Poirot and The Beresfords, I was at first dismayed to realize how little the series heroine was featured in this story. 

I am uncertain about how much I like this particular detective.  Since this was the first book I have read of the Miss Marple series, I don’t know what to expect from further stories.  I decided to just enjoy the story, which has the usual plethora of twists and turns, false blinds and potential murderers; even if the foot work is done mostly by a bored Vicar who is actually an engaging character in his own right.

 However, the more I think about it perhaps that was the author’s plan all along?  Christie certainly does not present Miss Marple in the same manner she does her other protagonists, but perhaps that is by design?  She does appear to be setting Marple up for a more prominent role that is not apparent here but may be built upon later.  I’m sure that I will give in to curiosity and check out another story in the collection at some point. 

Meanwhile, this book is an engaging mystery, with plenty of action to charm the fans of English mystery stories, and even a strong, independent female detective in the background to appeal to readers.  I give this book four stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Echo Wife

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The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (Goodreads Author)
Amy Caudill‘s review

If the “other woman” is actually another version of you how can you be upset with her?  With yourself?  Or do you simply blame your knowingly unfaithful soon-to-be ex?  Evelyn Caldwell faces this dilemma when her husband appropriates her research into human cloning to make a copy of her that is more accommodating to his desires.  Naturally she leaves him, but when the clone named Martine contacts her, she cannot resist meeting her domesticated twin.

When she finally visits Martine at the home she shares with Nathan, she is not prepared for the chaotic events that have happened there, or the lengths she will have to venture to protect herself, her reputation in the scientific community, and the innocent lives Nathan has badly abused.

As Evelyn and Martine bond over shared love and hatred of their mutual “husband,” they explore both their differences and similarities.  Martine overrides her programming; and Evelyn reminisces about her life growing up, her early relationship with Nathan, and the experiences that have shaped her personality to make her who she is today. 

In the end, they may not like each other but they decide they need each other for what each can offer her “sister.”  The story ends in a surprisingly peaceful manner considering the hard road it takes the characters to get there.

The author raises many questions about the nature of humanity, the meaning of being human, and the ethics of human cloning.  Are they lab specimens or are they human beings?  Do they have the same feelings, the same desires, and the same life goals of naturally-grown humans?  Who has the right or the capability to decide their fates?

This book combines science fiction with a murder plot and relationship drama of multiple characters, a couple of who are at their core strong, independent females.  I recommend this book to readers across multiple genres and give it four stars for an interesting plot with many twists and a carefully thought-out administration of the “science.”