White Gold

White Gold

White Gold by Caitlin O'Connell
Published by Alibi on February 7th 2017
Series: Catherine Sohon #2
Pages: 347
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

In this pulse-pounding follow-up to Ivory Ghosts—hailed by Jodi Picoult as “a win for any animal lover or reader with a conservationist’s heart”—wildlife biologist Catherine Sohon ventures into the darkest corners of China to hunt the world’s deadliest poachers.
Catherine Sohon has gone undercover in the Chinese underworld, where the illegal ivory trade is at an all-time high. Posing as a foreign buyer in the backroom of the Beijing Antique Market, she’s closing in on the smuggler who has eluded her since Namibia. Then ruthless gunmen burst in, leaving death in their wake and turning Catherine into a suspect in a triad turf war.
After a close call with a king cobra on a boat full of endangered wildlife, new clues propel her across the country, from open markets to an ivory carving factory in Guangzhou to the forests of southern Yunnan, home to the precious few remaining Chinese-Asian elephants. Her quest pits her against the same vicious trafficking kingpin—only now it’s clear that even high-level officials are looking the other way as the world’s endangered species flood into China from all across Asia and Africa. And when an old lover pays a surprise visit, Catherine is forced to confront the agonizing choices that still haunt her.
As Catherine races to execute a daring sting operation along the mountainous border of Myanmar, a shocking betrayal sends her into a tailspin. Now her life depends on the bond forged with an elephant named Lu Lu. Meanwhile, in the shadows awaits a powerful new adversary—someone with far more at stake than Catherine could possibly know.

White Gold is the second book in the Catherine Sohon Elephant Mysteries. Catherine has recently moved from Namibia to China in hopes of capturing, Nigel Lofty,  a big time endangered animal smuggler (worst type of person in the world). With the help of her college roommate, Ling Ru who after college returned to China and became a customs agent. Catherine and Ling Ru find themselves in some pretty tight spots which they manage to find a way out off. The book brings to light how brutal the illegal animal trade is, at times it was not enjoyable reading about how we mutilate animals.

The best part of the book was the descriptions of the elephants and their interactions with one another and humans. Elephants are fascinating animals.
Elephants with baby
Thanks to Alibi and NetGalley for the opportunity to read White Gold.

The Cutaway

The Cutaway

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac
Published by Atria / 37 Ink on March 21st 2017
Pages: 320
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

The Cutaway draws you into the tangled world of corruption and cover-up as a young television producer investigates the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetown lawyer in this stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn.
When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t seem to shake the image from her head. Despite skepticism from her colleagues, Knightly suspects this ambitious young lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister, especially since she was last seen leaving an upscale restaurant after a domestic dispute. Yet, as the only woman of power at her station, Knightly quickly finds herself investigating on her own.
Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep into the dark underbelly of Washington, DC business and politics in an investigation that will drag her mercilessly through the inextricable webs of corruption that bind the press, the police, and politics in our nation’s capital.
Harkening to dark thrillers such as Gone Girl, Luckiest Girl Alive, and Big Little Lies, The Cutaway is a striking debut that will haunt you long after you reach the last page.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review The Cutway.

If you are looking for a good mystery then I would recommend The Cutway, Virginia Knightly, a nightly news producer for a Georgetown television station, intrigued by a missing person report that comes across her news desk begins looking into the disappearance. With a new news editor trying to edge her out of her job and an anchorman, whom she has mixed emotions about, Knightly finds herself getting involved in more than just a young and beautiful missing lawyer.

“O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!”[1.Marmion is an epic poem by Sir Walter Scott about the Battle of Flodden (1513). Published in 1808.] I am sure that we wish our real news media were as intent on getting to the truth of the matter, as this TV producer. Despite the lack of support from her staff, a police detective, and powerful political opponents Knightly doggedly keeps searching for answers.

The plot is good, I felt the author did a good job of moving the story along. At times the characters are a little flat but, I really didn’t mind so much cause I was enjoying the story.

El Paso

El Paso

El Paso by Winston Groom
Published by Recorded Books on October 4, 2016
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

Three decades after the first publication of Forrest Gump, Winston Groom returns to fiction with this sweeping American epic.
Long fascinated with the Mexican Revolution and the vicious border wars of the early 20th century, Winston Groom brings to life a much-forgotten period of history in this sprawling saga of heroism, injustice, and love. An episodic novel set in six parts, El Paso pits the legendary Pancho Villa, a much-feared outlaw and revolutionary, against a thrill-seeking railroad tycoon known as the Colonel, whose fading fortune is tied up in a colossal ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico.
But when Villa kidnaps the Colonel's grandchildren in the midst of a cattle drive and absconds into the Sierra Madre, the aging New England patriarch and his adopted son head to El Paso, hoping to find a group of cowboys brave enough to hunt the generalissimo down.
Replete with gunfights, daring escapes, and an unforgettable bullfight, El Paso, with its textured blend of history and legend, becomes an indelible portrait of the American Southwest in the waning days of the frontier.

I have to say I love the cover for this book. It really draws you in, I could hardly wait to listen to this book. Expecting the second coming of Edna Ferber’s Giant I settled in for a good listen.

Take a fading railroad tycoon from Boston, an adopted son trying to hold together his fathers railroad,two small children and Mexican Revolutionary and you have the makings for EL Paso. I have to say it is a great story line, rich gringos with their multi million acre ranches with hundreds of thousands head of cattle and one desperado out to prove to the world just how notorious he is should make a great read. I just couldn’t take the book seriously, there wasn’t the depth needed to make this a serious work of historical fiction. Simply put the characters lacked depth, and that detracted from the story.

Conclave

Conclave

Conclave by Robert Harris, Roy McMillan
Published by Audiobooks on September 22nd 2016
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

The Pope is dead.
Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election.
They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals.
Over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

Many years ago, my brother and I saw a play called Hadrian the Seventh, which was based on a book by the same name. The gist of the story is that two members of the Roman Catholic church visit a pathetic Englishman whom failed at becoming a priest; they make him a priest and take him back to the Vatican where he is elected Pope. Instead of having control over this rather pathetic fellow, he goes on to have his way with the Roman Catholic church. So any time I read a book about the Vatican I always think of Hadrian the Seventh.

Robert Harris has taken another tack, which has been written about before but Harris does such an excellent job that you really won’t mind. Using current day politics of growing place the third world, race and ethics Harris takes us through the election of a Pope. As we all know the Roman Catholic church is going faster in the third world than it is in the “old world”, so as the Vatican prepares to pick its newest Pope there are a lot of unknowns. It appears that the former Pope did somethings that no one was aware of until after his death.

A good read, but not something I see happening.