P.S. I Love You

Author: Cecilia Ahern
Genre: Romance
Pages: 503
Rating:

Holly and Gerry Kennedy were childhood sweethearts - nobody can imagine them without each other. But Gerry dies of a brain tumour and Holly falls apart.
I know that that sounds like something I wouldn't want to read. But this is where the novel begins. Gerry has left a series of little letters for Holly marked March, April and so on, that she is supposed to open only on the first day of each month. Each letter asks her to do specific things that she would normally not do on her own, but because it's something that Gerry has asked her to do, she goes ahead and does it.
In the process, she rediscovers herself and learns to live life again. She misses her husband desperately but she also learns to remember him with a bitter-sweet happiness rather than sorrow.
The book is not simply about grieving over the death of a spouse. It is about loving life any which way. The powerful love that Gerry and Holly have for each other spills throughout the book. I adored the book, I will admit shamelessly. Maybe the guys (and all non-softies) ought to stay away from this one coz it is incredibly mushy, no doubt. But what's a love story without mush?
I found myself waiting for the next note along with Holly. Cecilia Ahern is a little repetitive in places but she builds up an air of anticipation very well. It's funny in places and senti in others. If you are looking for a story that captures your imagination and touches your heart, and keeps you hooked till the last page, this is it. I personally think it manages to be sweet without getting corny. Quite a feat that!

P.S. I hear there's a movie adaptation with Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler. But I usually find movie adaptations disappointing, so I steer clear of them. But the book's worth reading.
And sorry, couldn't resist the P.S. :)

Hell's Kitchen

Author: Jeffrey Deaver
Genre: Crime
Rating:

Say ‘Jeffrey Deaver’ and what comes to mind are The Bone Collector and the dashing quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme. Hell's Kitchen, however, is not a Lincoln Rhyme who-dun-it.
It is about John Pellam who is a Hollywood location scout. He’s filming a documentary on Hell’s Kitchen, one of New York's rough neighbourhoods, capturing memories of long time residents on tape. His star is Ettie Washington, an elderly woman who’s a natural story teller. One evening, he arrives at her tenement to discover a raging fire that kills a little boy. Ettie becomes the No.1 suspect.
As other fires are set off in the area while she is in jail, the cops realize that she couldn’t have set off the fire, but they believe she hired an arsonist to collect insurance money.
Pellam sets out to find the truth and clear Ettie’s name. He needs Ettie to finish his documentary, but he’s also grown fond of the feisty old woman.
The story takes us through the dark alleys of Hell’s Kitchen and into smoke filled bars. Deaver creates a tense, simmering atmosphere that explodes right at the end.
At the same time, his characters are entirely believable and real. The bond between Pellam and Ettie, the unlikely friendship between Pellam and a little street urchin, Ismail, make it a very human story. You find yourself rooting for Ismail.
Read the book. It’s a crime story with a human touch. This one also kept me up at night till I turned over the last page. It was worth the bleary eyes in the morning.

Just One Look

Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Suspense-Thriller
Rating:

The book starts when the protagonist (a woman for a change), Grace who is the average suburban mom, finds a wierd photo in the bunch of prints she picks up from her photomat. It shows a man who looks like her husband Jack standing with 4 other people. One of the women has been crossed out with a red X. When she asks her husband about it, he denies a connection and refuses to talk about it. That very night, he disappears. With the photo.
The book chases Grace as she tries to find Jack. There is a breathless, desperate quality to the writing that perfectly mirrors Grace's quest. Coben has managed to keep the reader slightly off-balance all the time. Just when I felt like I was beginning to understand, came a new twist. The character of Grace is especially well written and the story seems slightly far fetched, yet in the realm of 'may be'.
It's only towards the end that you get a slightly dissatisfied feeling. The last 15 or so pages are a slight, very slight mind you, let-down. But, overall, it's a thoroughly readable book with a nail biting pace. Another un-put-downable book. A must-read for suspense lovers.

The Fraternity of The Stone

Author: David Morrell
Genre: Suspense-Thriller
Rating:

The story revolves around a has-been assassin who retires from the profession and the world and takes refuge in a monastery. After leading a silent, solitary existence for seven years, his past catches up with him. In a mysterious, brutal attack, all the occupants of the monastery are wiped out. Except one.
Thrust back into the world he left willingly, our hero unwillingly finds himself remembering and using skills he thought he’d forgotten.
The book is by no means a recent one. It was published in 1987. But the storyline is such that it grips you by the throat even today. The style is racy, the story is tightly written and the characters are thoroughly believable.
Throughout the book, the plot takes numerous twists and turns and goes into flashbacks which only serve to heighten the suspense. An extremely readable book.
But please, read it at leisure. You won’t be able to put it down once started.