Book Review- Janelle Brown's Watch Me Disappear

Thank You to Spiegel & Grau for proving me with an advance copy of Janelle Brown's novel, Watch Me Disappear, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Jonathan's wife, Billie, disappeared on a hiking trip nearly a year ago. Her body was never recovered and he is now going through courts to have her death certificate issued, so that he can file an insurance claim. He's running through his savings and falling behind in bills; money is an enormous stress. He'd love to drowned his troubles in alcohol, but he must pull it together for Olive, his teenage daughter. Olive's grief has started manifesting itself in visions, where she believes that she's not only seeing her mother, but that her mother is still alive and needing her help. Jonathan discovers information about Billie's past that leads him to believe that she might not be the person that he thought he had married, and that perhaps, she really is still alive.

LIKE- I'm a fan of Janelle Brown's writing and I was happy to be approved for her latest novel. I admire Brown's ability to write emotionally rich scenarios and compelling characters. Watch Me Disappear has quite a few plot twists and reads like a mystery, but at its core, it's character driven. 

I felt most connected to Jonathan, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders and is really struggling to keep his life together. He's not a perfect parent (who is?), but he sincerely tries to make Olive's life better and the two have a beautiful connection. Watch Me Disappear is told primarily in close third-person that alternatively focuses on Jonathan, Billie, and Olive. However, there is a story device in which Jonathan and Billie's relationship is remembered in first person, through a memoir that Jonathan is writing. I'm not sure that the memoir entries added much to the story. I felt that they slowed the pace. However, they also drew me closer to Jonathan, as I was able to hear his direct voice. I was more interested in Jonathan and Olive's reaction to their predicament, than I was about the character of Billie. 

DISLIKE- There was a confusing element early in the story when I thought that Watch Me Disappear might turn into a fantasy novel. It was the combination of Billie giving Olive books about telepathic kids and then having Olive experience her visions. I spent the first half of the novel expecting it to go an entirely different direction. 

I really disliked the character of Harmony. Harmony is a long-time friend of Billie. She has the hots for Jonathan and now that her friend is dead, she is making her move on him. The scenario of a woman coming on to a grieving widow is bad enough, but the storyline with Harmony with regard to Billie's mysterious past, becomes a muddled mess at the end of the story. I didn't so much dislike the ending, but it was a onslaught of information and characters creating an overly complicated explanation.

RECOMMEND- Maybe. I didn't absolutely love Watch Me Disappear, but I enjoyed it. It's a fast read with unexpected twists; a solid blend of mystery and family drama. I like Brown's writing and I'd recommend her other novels. 

Book Review- Carolyn Murnick's The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder

Thank You to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance copy of Carolyn Murnick's book, The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Carolyn Murnick and Ashley Ellerin were childhood best friends growing up in New Jersey during the 1980's. They were inseparable as children, but when they became adults, their lives went drastically different directions. Murnick moved to New York City and lived in a tiny railroad apartment, while starting a career in journalism. Ellerin moved to Los Angeles and lived in a Hollywood Hills home with the money she earned as a stripper. She went to wild parties and dated celebrity Ashton Kutcher. 

The last time Murnick saw her friend, they struggled to regain their connection. They were still friends, but had clearly drifted apart. A year later, Ellerin would be murdered, stabbed forty-seven times in her Hollywood home. 

The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder, is Murnick's examination of her friendship with Ellerin and her coming to terms with never quite knowing what happened to her best friend. Murnick attends the trial of Michael Gargiulo, the accused murderer, and becomes obsessed with finding out not only why Ellerin was murdered, but who Ellerin had become prior to her death. 

LIKE - The Hot One is a compelling blend of memoir and true crime. With so much information readily available on the internet, Murnick falls down a rabbit hole when trying to figure out what happened to Ellerin. I found this quest to be highly relatable. I've had my own unsolved life mysteries (none anywhere near as dramatic as a murder!), but issues that no amount of research can resolve, yet ones that are impossible to let go. I felt connected to Murnick's obsession and with the hold it had on her. 

Even though I lived about fifteen minutes from the murder scene, I don't remember hearing about this case in the news. It's gruesome and horrific. Murnick does not spare details. I think the most chilling part is when Murnick decides to visit the crime scene and she stands across the street from Ellerin's house, in a dog park. Gargiulo had a pitbull that he would take to the dog park and from the dog park, there was the perfect vantage point to spy on Ellerin. Murnick mentions that Gargiulo would have been able to see right into her bathroom. He stalked and hunted her. Other creepy patterns from Garguilo, based on all of his victims, is he liked to pose them and he committed the murders when he had a high chance of being caught, for the thrill. One woman managed to fend him off as he was stabbing her and lived, although she couldn't positively identify him. Garguilo isn't a random attacker either, he was Ellerin's handyman and beyond working at her house, he managed to get himself invited over for social events. Murnick really sets the stage by explaining how she imagined Garguilo hunting Ellerin, waiting for the right moment to strike. It gave me the chills.

DISLIKE- Only that the point in which the memoir ends, does not give us resolution with regard to Gargiulo's trial. I suppose this mirrors Murnick's inability to have her own questions answered, but it also makes me wonder if she should have waited to tell this story. It was disappointing to not have this resolution. 

RECOMMEND- Yes. If you like true crime and memoir, The Hot One is a compelling read. 

2016 Alaskan Cruise- Around the Ship

Here's a tour of Holland America's MS Amsterdam from our 2016 seven-night cruise to Alaska. The pictures were taken over the course of the entire trip, so in some cases, there are multiple shots of the same location taken on different days. You'll notice this with the main pool, which is shown both with the retractable roof open and closed.

The MS Amsterdam is considered a medium-sized cruise ship, with just 1380 passengers. Since we managed to get the last available room on the ship, I'm assuming that we sailed close to or at maximum capacity. The public spaces were never crowded, we could relax in a lounge chair on the deck and not see anyone else for long stretches of time.

Holland America attracts an older crowd and although we are middle-aged ( late 30's/early 40's), we were definitely among the youngest passengers on this cruise. It was late May and most schools were still in session, so only a few children were on our cruise. However, based on the vibe of Holland America and ship's offerings, I would bet that this isn't a first pick for families. We are traveling to Alaska with my step-kids this coming summer and we opted for Princess Cruise Lines.

Here are outside deck shots. Notice how few people were on the decks? It was like this for most of the trip.

On the first day of our cruise, we ran around and snapped shots of the interior, including many of the night clubs and lounges. As I mentioned, the ship skewed older, which was reflected in the evening entertainment. It was more low-key than other cruise lines that I've vacationed with; on the MS Amsterdam, the musical entertainment that we experienced included a trio playing jazz standards, early evening classical music, and popular music prior to 1990-ish. All of it was very good, but it was definitely geared toward an older crowd. The ship was very quiet after eleven pm. This is not a party cruise!

Here is a picture of the main show room. We met here prior to all of our excursions. We also saw an evening show that included a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but he was funny. It was clean comedy and I remember him having a patriotic bent, including sharing his memories of entertaining the troops during a USO tour.

We spent a couple of nights in the casino, where Dan had a run of luck at the roulette table. He had a big win with our lucky number 7 and became a mini-celebrity with other passengers who saw the win. 

A unique feature on Holland America is their Culinary Arts Studio presented by Food and Wine Magazine. The Culinary Arts Studio features cooking demonstrations by one of the head chefs on the ship and after each demonstration, they provide recipe cards. I'm not huge into cooking, but I enjoyed the presentation enough to go on two different days. One featured appetizers, like crab cakes and the other was all about desserts. Truthfully, I just went for the food samples!

The MS Amsterdam has two pool areas. On the first day of the cruise, we experienced the "Sail-Away" from Seattle with Mai Tais at the adult-only pool. 

Here are pictures of the main pool, which has a retractable roof. It was chilly during our cruise to Alaska and only a few brave people went swimming. We didn't swim, but we did enjoy the great poolside burgers at Dive-In. I also love the bear statue!

Hands down, my favorite part of the ship was the Explorations Cafe. Explorations Cafe has enormous coffee cups, excellent lattes, and delicious cakes. It was easy to make this our afternoon snack spot. 

The cafe is located in the library, which was well-stocked with books and comfy chairs. This may be surprising, but the MS Amsterdam is the first cruise ship that I've been on that has had a magnificent library. A fabulous library should be mandatory on all cruise ships! I have to compare this to my experience on two different Royal Caribbean ships, which had maybe fifty books and lots of empty shelves. The Royal Caribbean libraries were used as a place for teens to hang out. On one Carnival Cruise, the library had books (old, dusty books), but it was located next to a noisy night club! Luckily, Holland America has done it right and I'm officially dubbing it the cruise line for book lovers. 

In addition, they had tables with New York Times crossword puzzles, that could be wiped for the next player and the puzzles were refreshed every day. The games cabinet was well-stocked and we had highly competitive games of Battleship. 

Coming next, port and excursion reports.