THE STRANGER by Harlan Coben

I read this book in 1 day. It was racy, incredibly clever and suspenseful. And all with no bad language, a sure sign of a good writer. This was my first book by Harlan Coben and it won't be the last. I can see why he has been called 'master of the plot twist'. While this story is about a stranger, it shows that none of us are really strangers in 21st century where we are all vulnerable through technology which can trace anyone, find anyone and expose anyone.  This means that in a world such as ours, secrets are fragile and fair game. While we all have them, this novel asks us to examine to what extent we would go to keep them from others and how far we would go to protect our families from knowing the truth? By the end of the book you cannot help but conclude that it is best not to know some things. The story of this book is intriguing and the plot brilliant and far too complex to summarise. I look forward to reading more of Harlan Coben. He is clearly the writer to turn to when you want a good adrenalin rush.

LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult

This was one of the best of Jodi Picoult books. The subject was fascinating and the twist in the story unexpected and extremely clever. The story follows a young girl who is trying to find her mother who became lost to her when she was three. She employs the help of a burnt out psychic and a retired policeman who was in charge of a murder case in an elephant sanctuary where her mother worked and following which her mother disappeared. This book will take you to the wonderful world of elephants in Africa and in preservation in America. It explores the dynamics of motherhood within the elephant kingdom and parallels it with that of human's and I must say the elephants come out on top. While the elephant will not leave her dead calf's body for days on end, the mother of this story runs away not knowing what has even happened to her child. The book also advocates the existence of life after death and the reality of spirit beings through the theory of reincarnation. Even though this theory is one among many which attempt to explain the meaning of life, I found it had profound bearing on the story and left me saddened knowing that there are people out there believing that family relationships end with death and that even though we continue to live as spirits we do not continue the associations we formed in 'each' of our lives. The theory of reincarnation gives little to no hope that we will ever see our loved ones again as we hop around to different bodies and different lives which makes the possibility of crossing paths with people we've come to love extremely thin. I do not believe in the theory of reincarnation and consider it absurd. I do, however, believe in life after death and that we continue on as spirits until the time of resurrection. I look forward to meeting my ancestors with great anticipation when we will renew our family ties which will go on forever. I do not know if Jodi Picoult believes in reincarnation and is attempting to promote it through the medium of this book or if she has used this theory for the impact it makes on the story she tells but the fact that she makes no attempt to discredit it makes me think that she accepts it. If so I feel sorry for the lack of confidence she has in enduring family relationships which makes the premise of her story, that of irreplaceable mother's love, rather futile.

BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty

This was a highly entertaining book with a fantastic twist. Liane Moriarty is the queen of vivid imagery which makes her characters very real and her stories very engaging. Reading her books makes you wonder what goes on in your local school, community, street, neighbourhood. Her stories turn the ordinary into something fascinating. Big Little Lies tells of one quintessential truth (quintessential being Liane's favourite word, at least in this book): just about everyone has secrets and all those who do would tell any lie to protect them, the most tragic secret guarded by one of this book's main characters being one of domestic violence. I loved the way Liane Moriarty handled this difficult subject in an objective way by uncovering another layer of abuse hiding behind the violence, that of bullying. Behind the perfect facade and protected by money and an impeccable image even the most unlikely can be oppressors but underneath the adult monsters cower little boys unable to handle humiliation to any degree. This is a story of a tragic death but so well written and intrigue so well perpetuated throughout the book that it is not until the very end that the reader finds out who actually died. Loved it. A warning: this book has swearing and blasphemy in it. This is my one and only complaint.