The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

 The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin, 328 pages

We read this for our book to movie club.  I enjoyed the book for its ability to go in depth with the characters.

The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve

The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve, 293 pages

Anita Shreve has written many books and the Pilot's Wife, I believe, was an Oprah book selection.  I listened to this as a playaway read by Melanie Griffith.  Kathyrn finds herself a young widow when the commercial plane her husband is flying crashes after taking off from London.  Shocked when it is suggested that he committed suicide by crashing the plane, Kathyrn searches for answers.  What follows is a shocking and surprising twist that will change Kathyrn's life forever.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - 405 pages

The contestants of the Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant thought it was going to be a fun trip to the beach.  Instead they are stranded on an apparently deserted island after their plane went down.  Only 13 of the girls survived the crash.  Now they must decide will they focus on survival and rescue  . . . or will they practice their pageant skills?

This was a wonderfully snarky book that I tremendously enjoyed.  I listened to this on audio as read by the author.  She did a great job of differentiating between the different girls.  Her dialects and tone of speech were spot on.  I especially enjoyed the intros of each CD as done by the ditsy Miss Alabama.  The book did a great job of poking fun of girl stereotypes, beauty pageants, commercialism, and celebrity while still handling the characters with respect.

Wrath of Angels by John Connolly

Wrath of Angels: A Charlie Parker thriller by John Connolly - 480 pages

Deep in the North Woods of Maine the wreckage of a small plane is discovered by hikers.  There are no bodies but there is definitely a presence in the woods.  Good and Evil entities have been seeking the plane and its contents for a long time.  A list of names has gone missing from the plane and having your name on that list will bring the very devil to your door.  Detective Charlie Parker who has a history of facing unimaginable evil fears his own name may be on that list.  Rivals for the list face off in the Maine woods and encounter otherworldly presences outside of their conflict.

The Charlie Parker thrillers are definitely a cut above the average suspense novel.  The writing is very evocative of mood and place and Parker's tortured past adds a whole other layer to the narrative.  I found this book to be a little slow to get started but still a worthwhile addition to the series.