Book Review: The Big Empty by Robert Crais

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The Big Empty by Robert Crais falls into the Mystery & Thriller genre and has an expected publication date of January 14, 2025. The story opens with Anya calling to remind her mother Sadie to pick her up from the skate park. When Sadie arrives, Anya is missing. Fast forward to Traci Beller hiring private investigator Elvis Cole to find her father Tommy Beller, who abandoned her and her mother almost ten years previously. What will Elvis Cole discover? I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Big Empty by Robert Crais from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be approved and receive this novel. The main character, Elvis Cole, was an instant hit with me. He's just an extremely likable character. A somewhat insignificant character that I absolutely love is Cole's semi feral cat since I am a huge cat lover. Cole taking care of the cat is probably a huge factor in me liking him so much. I also really like his partner Joe Pike because he...
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Book Review: Wrecker by Carl Hiaasen

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book review wrecker carl hiaasen

Wrecker by Carl Hiaasen is about a teenager named Valdez Jones VIII, who goes by the name of Wrecker due to his heritage . . . many of his great grandfathers salvaged shipwrecks.  When Wrecker comes across a speedboat stuck on a sand flat, the men onboard pay him to keep silent about what he saw.  He's happy to oblige, but then, Wrecker keeps seeing the men all over Key West, and now, they want more than his silence.

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of Wrecker by Carl Hiaasen.  Having heard a lot of good things about this author, I was thrilled to be approved to receive a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review and was not disappointed in the least.

Although this book written for middle grade children, it seems more mature for lack of a better word.  I would have thought the target audience was young adults.  Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything that isn't appropriate for kids, it just seemed to be written for older kids.  It was extremely well written, and I enjoyed it as an adult.

The storyline was fantastic and mostly believable.  I loved the fact that Hiaasen used COVID-19 as one of the major themes in the story.  So many authors haven't written about it for whatever reason, and I am glad that some of what the world went through is captured in Wrecked for all eternity.  Hopefully, it will give generations down the road a glimpse of what life was like during the pandemic.

I really enjoyed the main character and his stepsister.  They were written very believably.  And, although I didn't care for Wrecker's mother, father, and stepfather, I felt like they were written realistically as well.  The setting was Key West, which I have been able to visit twice before, so I enjoyed the fact that I could picture some of the island and more touristy attractions.  I definitely want to go back there to visit and spend more time there.

Four out of five stars is what I gave Wrecked by Carl Hiaasen.  The only reason I didn't give it a five was that some of the story was a little slow.  I look forward to reading more books by this author.

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