Do you remember how life was when you were a teenager? If you have teenagers, think about all they face today that we didn’t.
I have two intriguing books to tell you about today that involve teenagers in different ways.
In author Alison Gaylin’s latest thriller, STAY WITH ME, readers learn remembering is not always a good thing.
The protagonist, Brenna Spector, is a superb private investigator thanks to her ‘hyperthymestic syndrome,’ which enables her to remember any day in time intensely including all aspects of it.
The condition was brought on by her sister’s disappearance many years ago. The condition is also causing a riff between Brenna and her daughter, Maya, who feels she’s second in her mother’s world with her missing Aunt Clea always first.
When Maya suddenly disappears, Brenna’s world is turned upside down. Using her expert skills, Brenna begins to search for Maya and in the process discovers the past and the present could be connected.
The story moves at a steady pace and holds your attention from beginning to end. The characters are well-delve loped and realistic. The author paints a vivid setting with her words that come to life on the pages.
This psychological thriller is well-balanced with emotion and action. It’s a suspenseful read to keep you on the edge of your seat guessing the outcome.
STAY WITH ME is the third installment in the Brenna Spector series, but can be read on its own.
Stay With Me by Alison Gaylin, Brenna Spector Novel Book #3, Harper, @2014, ISBN: 978-0061878268, Paperback, 384 Pages
FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me as part of the author virtual book tour. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.
This next book I had the opportunity to begin reading a print copy and finish by listening to a downloadable audio version.
The antics of teenagers and a mysterious illness spreading through a high school are at the core of Megan Abbott’s THE FEVER.
Narrators Caitlin Davies, Kirby Heyborne and Joe Barrett do a great job bringing the characters to life. Their interruptions of the characters’ emotions as they story unfolds adds depth to this suspenseful tale. Their mannerisms enhance the story.
The story focuses on Deenie; her friends, Gabby and Lise; Deenie’s brother, Eli; and her father, Tom, a teacher at the high school. When Lise has a seizure in the classroom, rumors begin as to what caused it. Later when Lise is rushed to the hospital in serious condition after another episode, full-blown gossip begins. Fear and speculation mount when other girls in the school begin to have similar seizures.
While Deenie isn’t affected by the seizures, her world is turned upside down as friendships are strained and blame is tossed around. The students’ theories about the epidemic runs rampant with speculation, while the parents are just as baffled.
This is a story told on a number of levels, with listeners/readers being drawn in and held spellbound waiting for an answer to the illness. With all the twists and turns, the story still flows smoothly and at a steady pace.
The characters are realistic and with traits parents of teens can easily relate to. THE FEVER holds listeners/readers in a grip of ‘what if’ as the mysterious illness is uncovered. This tantalizing tale will stay with you long after the closing sentence.
The Fever by Megan Abbott; Little, Brown and Company; @2014, ISBN: 978-0316231053, Hardcover, 320 Pages
Audible Audio Edition; Narrators: Caitlin Davies, Kirby Heyborne and Joe Barrett; Hachette Audio; @2014; ASIN: B00K7KTDX8; Unabridged; Listening Time: 9 Hours and 12 Minutes
FTC Full Disclosure – A print and downloadable audio copy of this book were sent to me by the publisher and as part of the author’s virtual book tour in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copies did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I’ve enticed you a bit with these two enthralling stories. Do you think teenagers have it easier or harder now than when you were growing up?
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It’s a delight to welcome USA Today bestselling author and Edgar Award nominee Alison Gaylin to Thoughts in Progress today to talk about her latest release, STAY WITH ME, the third installment in her Brenna Spector series.
In this latest installment of the Brenna Spector Novel of Suspense, STAY WITH ME (on sale June 24, $5.99, Harper mass market paperback), Brenna’s entire world is turned upside down as she faces her most deeply personal case yet... the disappearance of her own daughter, Maya.
Brenna Spector is a prisoner to her past; she has perfect autobiographical memory—hyperthymesia—which allows her to recall in vivid and remarkable detail every moment of every day of her adult life. Yet, she lacks that clarity when it comes to her childhood, leaving her still trying to unravel the mystery of her sister Clea’s disappearance twenty-eight years ago, when Clea was seventeen.
In STAY WITH ME, her growing obsession with finding out what happened to Clea starts taking a toll on her own teenage daughter, Maya, who’s been growing more and more secretive. Then, when Maya goes missing, Brenna fears her worst nightmare has come true.
As Brenna relies on her P.I. skills to find her daughter before it’s too late, evidence surfaces showing a possible link between Maya’s disappearance and Clea’s. But could a case three decades earlier really be connected to her daughter? Or is someone hoping Brenna will play along in a twisted game that there is no hope of winning… or surviving?
By the end of STAY WITH ME, Brenna’s entire outlook on life is changed, and the mystery of her long-lost sister Clea is finally solved -- but at a devastating price.
Please join me in welcoming Alison as she graciously answers questions.
Mason - Where do you do most of your writing and do you have any writing related rituals or quirks like certain music to listen to or a favorite beverage to drink?
Alison:
I have an office in my home, though sometimes I like to mix things up and bring my laptop to a coffee shop. Either way, my writing beverage of choice is coffee. (I drink it black.)
Mason - Looking back over your latest release, STAY WITH ME, where there any more surprises than when you finished the other two installments in the series?
Alison:
Oh, there are so many surprises in STAY WITH ME, it's hard to give a plot summary without spoilers! Besides being the third book in the Brenna Spector series, it's the third in the "Clea Trilogy," so I tried to write a final installment that's both surprising and satisfying. It was fun to write, but also very hard!
Mason - Who inspired you to write?
Alison:
My mom teaches memoir writing. And my dad, a hospital administrator, was a voracious reader who loved mysteries. So when I was growing up, reading and writing were pretty much impossible for me to avoid.
Mason - What advice would you give to a new author wanting to write in any of the various genres available?
Alison:
Focus not on what you think is going to sell, but on telling a good story. Young readers are just as discerning as grown-ups (possibly more-so) and nobody likes being pandered to.
Mason - In writing the series, did it become more difficult to write each installment or did the process flow easier as the series came about?
Alison:
Good question! I think it gets easier with each book in a series. I feel like I know the characters better than when I started, which makes it easier to plot stories. But boy, writing is always, always hard.
Mason - Are you currently working on any new projects readers can look forward to reading?
Alison:
Yes! I'm currently working on an adult standalone suspense novel called WHAT REMAINS OF ME for Harper Collins -- about a 17-year-old girl who commits the "murder of the century" in 1980 and spends 25 years in prison -- only to be accused of another brutal killing five years after her release. The action shifts back and forth between 1980 and 2010, with both mysteries unfolding at the same time, so it's a challenge to write. (Plus, I get to listen to a lot of cool old songs to get in the mood!) It should be out next year, in hardcover.
Alison, thanks for sharing this look at the writing life with us. Your current project sounds as intriguing as STAY WITH ME.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
ALISON GAYLIN is the author of the Edgar-nominated thriller HIDE YOUR EYES, as well as its sequel YOU KILL ME and the standalones TRASHED and HEARTLESS, and the Brenna Spector series AND SHE WAS and INTO THE DARK.
A graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alison lives with her husband and daughter in upstate New York.
For more on Alison and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, you can see Alison on tour in the coming weeks at the following locations:
July 10, 7 p.m.: River Road Books in Fair Haven, NJ. Event with Megan Abbott.
August 1, 7 p.m.: Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY. Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
August 2, 2 p.m.: Westport Library in Westport, CT Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
August 9, 7 p.m.: Northshire Books in Saratoga Springs, NY. Event with Wendy Corsi Staub.
Thanks so much for stopping by today during Alison’s visit. Do you enjoy novels that tug on your heartstrings, while they scare you to pieces with suspense and intrigue? Or do you go more for novels that just tug on your heartstrings?
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