January 8, 2016 CHAIN OF FOOLS

First extremely cold weekend this winter--on Saturday it was 22 degrees with a NORTH wind that made if feel like 10. NO SUN. That was long johns, heavy coat, scarf and hat weather. Hard  to run in, but doable with a comrade--EVEN THOUGH--we did contemplate the gym for a whole 2 seconds before deciding we'd rather face the elements.  Woke up to about 7 inches of snow this morning--the sun was shining but it was a frigid 15 degrees. Believe it or not, it actually felt warmer than Saturday because the sun was out. I love the sun and actually feel so much better when I get to bask in its rays. That's what makes winter tough for me. NOT ENOUGH SUN. I don't mind running in the winter but it's an entirely different animal.  Instead of melting in the relentless heat of summer-- runners have to face a cold without a heart--with whipping winds to boot. Must be crazy to put up with these extremes right??  The weird thing is that I  loved both runs this weekend--the cold, wind, clouds, sun--it was exhilarating. Being able to run in this kind of weather is a gift that I appreciate. It is definitely a mindset OR maybe I'm just a fool-- hey, I've been talked into worse things in my life.  This all makes me think of Harlan Coben's book Fool me Once because the main character in that book is definitely not a fool. First off, Coben's books are definitely "formula" books but they are  fun to read. Don't get wrapped up  in character development..yada yada..he's not that kind of writer. He writes fun, suspenseful, plot driven stories and has sold millions of books--so go with it. I went through a Coben phase one summer and got my fill. This is the first one I've read in quite awhile and I really enjoyed it.

Maya is a former special ops pilot--disgraced for ordering a defensive airstrike that inadvertently killed five civilians. She has returned home to her two year old daughter and husband Joe only to have him brutally murdered during a mugging in Central Park. Maya decides to hire a nanny  when she goes back to work and installs a nanny cam to keep an eye on her daughter. After work one day, she decides to watch the cam and sees footage of her husband playing with her daughter???  She can't believe her eyes--Isn't he supposed to be dead??  Maya ultimately decides to start her own investigation of not only her husband's murder, but also her sister's murder a few years  earlier after NYPD Detective Kierce shares some startling news. They were both murdered by the same gun. What really happened to Maya's sister Claire, her husband Joe.......and his brother who was brutally murdered ten years earlier. Find out when you pick up this easy to read, suspense filled novel of about 460 pages. That might sound like a lot of pages but his books are serious page turners so it's really only about a 4 mile run that will leave you wanting more.