"No one ever leaves alive, The house at 7 Ocean Drive"....The Bookbabe Review of The Murder House by James Patterson & David Ellis

I have a fondness for mysteries; and it seems I also have a fondness this month for James Patterson novels. This is my fifth time reading Patterson; however, it's my third time reading him so far this year. (Yes I am aware we are only 25 days into 2017 lol) The Murder House was just the type of page turner I needed. It was dark, twisty, and fast paced. Boy, oh Boy, how it kept me guessing. In the novel we are introduced to Det. Jenna Murphy, who is resettling into a new job in Bridgehampton, NY. Jenna was forced out of a job with NYPD after turning over evidence on dirty cops to the wrong person. So disgraced and wanting to get back to the job she loves she finds herself working for her uncle; in a small town PD.
Just a few weeks after arriving Jenna finds herself trying to weasel her way onto a Murder investigation. However, her uncle (the Chief of Police) puts up road blocks and stops her from getting into deep.
This does not stop Jenna, who is only interested in the truth and finds herself ass deep in a mystery that begins to feel as if it involves the entrie town. And perhaps there is a cover up to keep some the lid on something big. Thrust into the story as well is Noah Walker, the man accused of a horrific double murder. Jenna just can not shake the fact that Noah is not a killer. She can just smell a set up. But she can not really figure out The Who, the what and the why of it all.
Noah himself is just trying to keep his head on straight - all the while trying to understand what's happening to him and how he really fits into all of it. Sooner or later, and very reluctantly, Noah and Jenna are forced to confront one another and join forces to catch a murderer.

This book was one hell of a ride, intense and dark and twisty. It lead you down the path of a sociopathic killer who paraded himself as a pillar of the community. He is the last person you would expect in the end. It also reveals a dangerous secret that about Det. Murphy that even she didn't see coming. I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.com.

Quotes I liked:
"Simpleton with violent tendencies and the empathy of a rattlesnake, but other than that a dear boy"

The Bookbabe Returns to the House of Night....My review of Hidden by P.C. + Kristen Cast

Where do I begin....well how about at the part where I started this book in July of 2014 and stopped reading it! I honestly gave up on it. I will start by saying that once upon a time I was crazy about this series. I raved about it. Then came a few books in the series that I had a hard time digesting. Honestly, I think that this was because the characters never seemed to have any real "growth" or complexity. At least not the characters on the side of good like, Zoey, Stark and Stevie Rae. While the Villians, like Kalona, Neferet etc..... are well developed and well written. Which is one of the reasons I came back to the series. I wanted to know how they would fight evil and handle Neferet! 

What I loved about this book was that we finally see Zoey evolve. She is forced by Nyx to grow up. She is told point blank to stop acting like a child and step into her high priestess position. Same goes with Stevie Rae; who honestly I believed had handled her Red High Priestess position rather well up to this point. I honestly would have loved to have seen more of Stevie Rae throughout this book. She kind of took on a side kick role. 

It was also nice to see Kalona in action....to see him change his ways. We all knew he had it in him; but I was surprised by some of the developments with the character in this installment of the series. I think it would have served readers better if these changes had happened earlier in the series! Kalona's character is a very interesting one to me. He is deeply flawed and has done some very terrible things. However, he will do whatever he can to be forgiven and he proves that when he battles Neferet; only to find out that he can no longer control darkness. That was perhaps one of my favorite scenes of the book. Another scene I loved was when Zoey's Grandmother, Sylvia Redbird, takes on Neferet via the use of Native American charms and magic. 

I loved loved loved this element of the story. The Cast's mix in elements of Wicca and Native American religion and Greek mythology into these books. Which is a great and fresh take on the vampire storyline; and honestly is another reason I was so anxious to give the series another try. All in all, I do not regret listening to the audio book (yes I know that's cheating lol). However, I did give the book 3/5 stars on Goodreads. I downgraded it a three because of the overly sexual scenes in the book. Like the last book these made me extremely uncomfortable because some of it read a bet like a bad Paranormal romance when the book is written for a YA audience. I am not trying to be judgmental or anything but the sex could be completely avoided because it does not enhance the story line; and again these books are marketed for kids from middle school to highschool age. I have read several YA authors that allude to sex in their books but they are not as vivid with it. In my opinion that's a fine line that should not be crossed in YA unless you can deal with it responsibly. 

Here are some of the quotes I loved from the book...