A Bridge Back by Patrick Garry

Nate Morrissey's world fell apart nineteen years ago. In college and separated from his love, Laura, they are both miserable and tired of waiting for their families back in Mount Kelven to approve of their relationship. They decide to elope, a decision that leads to tragedy. Reading the letters they've left behind, both sets of parents rush to follow and try to stop the wedding. They drive wildly and a perfect storm of tragic coincidences occur. The bridge that spans the lake malfunctions. Both cars are going too rapidly to stop and plunge to the river, where they land on a passenger boat. Nineteen people die, including both of Nate's parents and Laura's father.

The entire town is crushed, and many blame Nate and Laura. They both leave town, but the tragedy forces them apart and their relationship is over after that night. Nate goes on to become a lawyer and works in a high-pressure law firm; one that demands so much that he has no time for relationships or a life outside of work. Laura marries someone else, but after a divorce returns to Mount Kelven to care for her mother, who was left an invalid by the accident.

The book picks up at the point where Nate is assigned a case in Mount Kelven. His law firm doesn't know his connection to the tragedy, and has a client who is facing issues arising from it. Nate argues unsuccessfully that someone else should be assigned, but his boss is adamant that Nate is the right person for the job. He reluctantly packs a bag and heads back.

In Mount Kelven, he renews old friendships and starts new ones. He is delighted to find Helen, his grandfather's true friend, still alive and living there. While visiting her, he runs into Laura and the attraction is still there. He also meets new friends. Carmen owns the motel where Nate is staying and takes an interest in him and his story. She has a dream of buying and restoring the old hotel his grandfather ran for so many years, and where Helen still lives. He also meets Abel, the bridge tender that fatal night. Like Nate, Abel has led a constricted life since the accident, feeling that everyone blames him for his part in the tragedy.

Nate and Laura work on their relationship, wondering if they can truly go back to what they felt so long ago. In the process of helping Carmen and Helen, secrets about the town and the accident start to emerge. Can Nate discover the truth so many years afterwards, and will doing so enable him and Laura to pick up their lives?

Patrick Garry has written an interesting book that delves into how the past affects our current decisions, and that probes the question of whether one can ever go back and reclaim past happiness. The characters are believable, as is the portrayal of small town life. Readers will want to discover the secrets that are carefully revealed, and to find out what happens to Nate and Laura. This book is recommended for current fiction readers.

Booksie's Shelves, June 8, 2021

 

Summer has arrived in North Carolina.  It has been hot and steamy and all the trees have bloomed.  We have been cautiously getting back to normal.  We have eaten out in restaurants several times and one of my book clubs met in person last month although outside.  It is wonderful to start getting back to normal and picking up plans that have been put on the back burner.  I worried that my reading would take a back seat once that happened but last month I read seventeen books so it's been fine so far.  Here's what's come through the door:

1.  The Photographer, Mary Dixie Carter, thriller, sent by publisher
2. A People's History Of The Supreme Court, Peter Irons, nonfiction, purchased
3. Savage Tongues, Azareen Oloomi, literary fiction, sent by publisher
4. How To Find Your Way In The Dark, Derek Miller, mystery, sent by publisher
5. In The Aftermath, Jane Ward, mystery, sent by publisher
6. The Artist Colony, Joanna Fitzpatrick, historical fiction, sent by publisher
7. The Magician, Colm Toibin, literary fiction, sent by publisher

Here's the ebooks I've purchased:

1. A Children's Bible, Lydia Millet, literary fiction
2. The Watcher Girl, Minka Kent, thriller
3. In Her Tracks, Robert Dugoni, thriller
4. Stoned, Aja Raden, nonfiction
5. The First To Lie, Hank Phillippi Ryan, mystery
6. Beneath Devil's Bridge, Loreth Anne White, thriller
7. Long Bright River, Liz Moore, mystery
8. The Grave Tattoo, Val McDermid, mystery
9. The Pale Faced Lie, David Crow, memoir
10. Red Bones, Ann Cleeves, mystery
11. Blue Monday, Nicci French, mystery
12. Weather, Jenny Offill, literary fiction
13. The Old Devils, Kingsley Amis, literary fiction
14. Blue Lightning, Ann Cleeves, mystery
15. Beneath Black Sails, Clare Sager, pirate fiction
16. Neither Here Nor There, Bill Bryson, nonfiction
17. Those Girls, Chevy Stevens, thriller
18. Soulsmith, Will Wight, fantasy
19. Blackflame, Will Wight, fantasy
20. Skysworn, Will Wight, fantasy
21. Ghostwater, Will Wight, fantasy
22. Underlord, Will Wight, fantasy
23. Uncrowned, Will Wight, fantasy
24. Wintersteel, Will Wight, fantasy
25. Bloodline, Will Wight, fantasy
26. Lethal Guardian, M. William Phelps, true crime
27. Choose Me, Tess Gerritsen, mystery
28. The Seven Day Switch, Kelly Harms, woman's fiction
29. The Rib King, Ladee Hubbard, literary fiction
30. Blind Your Ponies, Stanley Gordon West, literary fiction

Here's what I'm reading:

1. Blue Monday, Nicci French, mystery
2. Arcadia, Lauren Groff, literary fiction
3. The Kingdom, Jo Nesbo, thriller
4. Wizards, anthology
5. The Queen Of The Night, Alexander Chee

Happy Reading!

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French

 

A party is being held.  It's for the fiftieth birthday of Alec Salter.  Under protest, his four children are there, Niall already out of college and working, Paul still in college, Ollie who plans to take a gap year before college and Etty who still has a couple of years before college.  There is lots of drinking and dancing but one guest is missing.  Charlotte Salter is nowhere to be seen.

She is still missing the next morning.  Etty goes to the family's best friends, the Ackerleys.  They haven't seen Charlotte but the older son, Morgan, agrees to walk with Etty along the river.  They don't find Charlotte but instead find the body of Morgan's father, Duncan Ackerley.  It appears he has jumped from the bridge, a sucide.

The police look into the cases but make no progress.  Thirty years later, everyone comes back to the village.  Morgan is now a successful television presenter and wants to make a podcast about the cases with his older brother.  He wants to interview the Salter children who are back in the village to clear the house and move their father into supported housing.  The Salters want nothing to do with the podcast.  The disappearance of their mother has ruined their lives and they don't want to revisit it.  Will the cases finally be solved?

Nicci French is a husband and wife writing duo who have been known for years as producing some of the best work in the mystery genre.  A book by Nicci French is an automatic buy and read for me as I love their intricate plotting and apt characterization of the people who inhabit the books.  This one is no different.  As the podcast unfolds, secrets that have been held for decades are unveiled and new deaths occur.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

In The Way Of Kings, Brandon Sanderson has written the first volume of what will be the decade's foremost fantasy trilogy, The Stormlight Archive. The book takes place in Roshar, a bleak world of stone and storms. The people of Roshar have been involved in a war for years to avenge the killing of their king. The war takes place on The Shattered Plains, a bleak area with massive chasms and stony ground. They meet and fight the people of the Plains, both for revenge and to win gemhearts.

The society is based on magic. Centuries ago, the land was ruled by the ten consecrated orders of the Knights Radiant. Those orders and warriors fell, leaving nothing but their almost-invincible armor and swords, called Shardplate and Shardblades. When armored in Shardplate, an ordinary warrior becomes almost invincible and can fight off entire battalions. Shardblades can cut through anything. Both are valued above anything else in Roshar; and those who own them are the rulers of the country.

Roshar now is ruled by a young king, the murdered king's son. He has ten Brightlords who each have armies and who fight for him, but they are not united. There are plots and counterplots, alliances and betrayals. Overall, the land is much weaker than in the past. And the signs are grim. Everything points to the coming of The Desolations again, perhaps to utterly destroy the land.

There are four individuals who seem to be the focus of both the hope and the despair that may come. Dalinar Kholin is one of the king's Brightlords, and his uncle and most trusted advisor. Renowned for his battle expertise, troubling rumors have started to circulate about Dalinar. He has been having visions of the past, and those visions make him question whether the ways of man are the way forward, or if they need to reach back to the ways of old.
Shallan is a young woman, ignorant and untested. She comes to court hoping to become the ward of the king's sister, a renowned scholar. She is accepted and learns to love knowledge and education, but she can't forget that she has come to court to attempt to steal a great treasure to help out her family back home and save it from ruin and poverty.

Then there is the assassin. No one knows who he is or why he kills, but his targets are never safe. He kills with ruthless efficiency, but each killing grates at his soul. His life is not his own, but hostage to the master who owns his oathstone. As long as his oathstone is held by another, he must obey their every command, no matter how foreign it is to his nature.

Finally, there is Kaladin. Raised as a surgeon's son, he joined the army instead when his younger brother was recruited. Far from admiring the Brightlords he joined the army to protect, he has grown to loathe them as they betray him and the codes of honor again and again. Due to these betrayals, Kaladin is now a slave, assigned to the bridge carriers, the most dangerous job in the army. Yet even in this lowly position, he finds a way to affect events around him.

This book is highly recommended for fantasy readers. If you have a fantasy reader in your life, run, don't walk, to the nearest bookstore and purchase The Way Of Kings for them. Sanderson has created a harsh world that challenges the men who attempt to survive in it, but gives glimpses of what can be. Like the best fantasy sagas, there is a moral code underlying the entire story that keeps the reader enthralled. Readers will be thrilled with this first book and anxiously await the next.

Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight

The residents of Ridgedale have woken up to a startling news story.  A body has been found by the Ellis Bridge, near the woods where students go to party and adjacent to the local college campus.  As the story unfolds, it becomes more shocking.  The body is a baby, probably a newborn, although the police aren't releasing much information.  The town, which prides itself on its low crime rate and great educational opportunities, becomes a beehive of rumors. 

Is this another sad case of a teenager who has delivered a baby her parents don't know about and an attempt to hide the result?  Is it the case of a mother and baby who have been killed and the mother's body is yet to be discovered?  Is it related to the town's last criminal death which happened eighteen years before in the same location and was written off as the result of teenage partying and a drunken accident?

The residents react differently, depending on their backgrounds.  Molly is a new reporter, starting over in a new career and town after she and her husband's second baby is stillborn.  Brenda is the queen bee, with the perfect family and married to the police chief.  Her daughter Hannah is also a perfect teenager, who spends her spare time tutoring. One of her assignments is Sandy, who has dropped out of high school to get a job.  Sandy's mom, Jenna, is the girl everyone talked about in high school.  She has brought Sandy back to Ridgedale where she hopes they can get out of poverty.  When the Wall Street finance firms cut back and Stella lost her job and shortly thereafter her husband, she decided to get out of the workforce and try a life of stay-at-home mom.

The story is assigned to Molly.  As she digs into the assignment, she starts to uncover secrets that the town and the individuals involved hoped would never surface.  The baby's death serves as a lens that highlights all the things swept under rugs and relegated to whispers.  Can Molly find out whose baby was left in the woods, and does the town want her to?

Kimberly McCreight has written a book that uses a crime to explore the way women live their lives.  Some are career women, some are housewives.  Some are happily married, some divorced and some floating from man to man.  Each must find a way to live in the town society, which likes to highlight positive things and hide negative ones deeply under the surface.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Olde School by Selah Janel

Paddlelump Stonemonger is not your average troll.  Sure, he is eight feet tall, built like a tree and fearsome to look upon.  He does have a bridge where he charges tolls.  But Paddlelump is a modern troll.  He uses his laptop to keep his accounts, and hires a goblin lawyer to watch his business interests. 

Paddlelump is mild-mannered.  In fact, he is so laid back that people tend to take advantage of him.  He is one of the wealthiest beings in Kingdom City and everyone wants some of his money. Even his maid is taking advantage of him, taking his money, refusing to clean the house and leaving early and coming late.  His watchbird, Clyde, is sarcastic about Padd's strength and character.   His friends, more traditional trolls, worry about him and want him to just 'troll up'.

Things are changing in Kingdom City.  Under the rule of High King Thadd, all creatures, trolls, ogres, humans, elves, brownies, fairies and anything else, have learned to live and work together.  Now, suddenly, all seemed to be scheming against each other, willing to do anything for an advantage.  Paddlelump seems to be a target, with low-level princes suddenly appearing and trying to kill him, willing to do that to win a princess' love; a princess they have only met online.

Then people start going missing, and the signs point to the Forest on the other side of Padd's bridge, the forest he owns.  When Paddlelump goes to investigate, he finds something so vile and horrendous that he can't believe it.  He also finds King Thadd who gives Paddlelump a quest to fulfill.  Can Padd fulfill the quest and save the kingdom?

Selah Janel has written a charming modern fantasy that turns the tradition on its head.  Paddlelump is a hero everyone can relate to, a troll with a heart of gold who isn't sure he is up to the demands life places on him.  Readers will be charmed by him and cheer him on as he attempts to follow his quest and save his town and friends. The mix of modern technology and attitudes with traditional magical creatures is well done.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers and can be read by young readers as well.

A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter

 

The call is sad but routine.  A college student has been found dead under a bridge.  It is probably the usual suicide but coroner Sara Linton isn't sure.  There's something about the body that just doesn't seem right.  She is telling her ex-husband, the police chief, Jeffrey, that when she realizes something else isn't right.  Her sister had ridden along with her to the call as they were out running errands.  She went into the woods and hasn't returned.  When they find her, she is near death, stabbed and left for dead.

As Sara rushes with her parents to Atlanta to the hospital with her sister, Jeffrey starts to investigate.  The suspicion is deepened when the girl who found the body is found dead the next day, the body staged to again suggest suicide.  Jeffrey narrows in on a suspect, the son of a white supremacist.  But his former sergeant, Lena, now works as campus security and she doesn't believe the son is involved.  Jeffrey is furious and fearful as evidence starts to accumulate to suggest Lena herself could be involved.  She quit the force after she was kidnapped and held for several days a year ago.  Could she have strayed so far from the law she loved then?  Is this a revenge plot?  As the bodies continue to appear, Jeffrey and Sara must race against time to uncover the killer.

This is the third novel in the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter.  The main characters, Jeffrey and Sara, are still in limbo, back together after their divorce but not yet ready to make it permanent.  Jeffrey's need to protect Lena and her total rejection of his protection adds more suspense.  Slaughter has created an entire environment that the reader will recognize as they settle in for another suspenseful tale.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Serpent's Kiss by Melissa De La Cruz

Strange things are still happening in North Hampton, Long Island and the Beauchamp family is right in the middle of it.  Although the centuries-old restriction on practicing magic is gone, that doesn't mean everyone is comfortable with it or even believes in it.  The Beauchamp family, made of goddesses/witches, is determined to use their magic to help those around them but fate always seems to interrupt their plans.

The family matriarch is Joanna, who can give life back when needed and travel to Limbo.  Ingrid is the town librarian and cool and reserved.  Freya is the wild child, made for all things sensual and has found the perfect job as a bartender where she can throw in love potions.  All they want is a calm life, but fate intervenes.

First, Freddie, who is Freya's twin brother and is the sun god, has escaped from limbo where he has been languishing for five thousand years.  The guardians of limbo are searching for him to serve the rest of his punishment for destroying the bridge that separates Earth from the other worlds.  Freddie insists he is innocent, and worse, that Freya's lover, Killian, is the true culprit.  Who will she believe?

Ingrid has fallen in love for the first time with an unlikely man.  Matt Noble and Ingrid met when he was investigating her family as he is a detective on the police force.  Ingrid doesn't know anything about this love stuff, and can't seem to work it out. 

Joanna has her own issues.  Her long-long husband whom she hasn't seen in centuries, has reappeared and seems interested in reestablishing their marriage.  But, she has just started a relationship with an interesting local man.  Then there is the spirit from the other world that insists she has a message Joanna needs to hear, but can't quite make the connection.

Fans of De La Cruz's Witches of East End will be delighted to read this sequel and follow the further adventures of the Beauchamp family.  Those who missed the first book in the series can pick up here with no problem.  The characters are interesting and the problems intriguing.  This book is recommended for readers of paranormal romance.

The Darlings by Cristina Alger

 

Carter Darling is a billionaire financier, head of his own hedge fund.  As he moves closer to retirement, he is pleased with his life and what he has accomplished and done for his two daughters, Merrill and Lily.  Both of his son-in-laws are employed at his firm.  Paul, married to Merrill, has just come on two months ago as corporate general attorney when his former firm went under.

But things are about to change drastically.  One of Carter's best friends, Morty, who ran one of Carter's funds, is suddenly in the news.  Apparently his great investment success is due not to Morty's acumen but to a Ponzi scheme.  As friends, Carter has not been as diligent in overseeing Morty as he should have been.  Morty's car was found on a bridge with the doors open and no sign of Morty, a presumed suicide.  Since Morty is not around to pay for his sins, the SEC will be looking for a scapegoat.  Carter may be the best one for the job.

But Carter won't go down without a fight.  He rallies his family around him and hires a PR firm who specialize in cutting deals behind the scene.  He demands family loyalty but is he willing to give it back?  How far will he go to save himself?

This is Cristina Alger's debut novel and she writes about a world she knows.  She is both an attorney and a former analyst at Goldman, Sachs.  Alger portrays a cutthroat world where betrayals are the coin of the realm and where family and power is all.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Imposter Syndrome by Joseph Knox

 

Lynch is a con man and sometimes things get hot and he has to leave quickly.  He arrives in London with a passport, a phone and no money.  That doesn't worry him, he can have cash anytime where there's a crowd.  But what does worry him is when a woman looks at him, and exclaims, "Haydon, is that really you?"

The woman's name is Bobbie and she mistakes Lynch for her brother, Haydon, who disappeared five years ago.  His car was found parked on a bridge and he had been having mental issues so the police assumed suicide.  Bobbie has a room, some cocaine and booze and suggests that Lynch stay and party.  Having nowhere else he agrees.

He wakes up the next morning, hungover to find Bobby gone but she has left something behind.  She has tattooed a heart beneath his eye just like Haydon had.  When he calls her, she says she is on a plane to California and rehab but gives him her parent's address and door codes and insists they will give him some money and pay to have the tattoo erased.  When he goes there, he finds armed security but Haydon's mother vouches for him and hires him to impersonate Haydon and get back a trunk he has left with a loan shark.  He agrees and soon is over his head.  It turns out that lots of people are looking for Haydon and now they think Lynch is their man.

Sometimes when I read a book, I'm left in awe of the author's mind and that's always my reaction when I read a Joseph Knox novel.  He seems to be living and operating on a higher plane than I am and it's always fun to go along for the ride.  Lynch encounters a cyptoking, an ex military man who now sees security and intelligence and the rest of Haydon's family, each of whom have their own agenda.  Knox is an English author and I've loved each of his books I've read.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.  

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

 Vic McQueen has a secret.  When she is on her bike and riding as fast as she can, a bridge appears and when she crosses it, on the other side is a world in which she can find lost items.  Maybe it's a bracelet her mother left in a restaurant.  Maybe it's money.  Maybe it's a new friend.  But Vic doesn't tell anyone in this world about her other one.

There is evil in both worlds.  When Vic is seventeen, she is kidnapped by Charlie Manx, who takes children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce with the license plate of NOS4A2, a play on the European vampire's name.  He takes the children to a place he calls Christmasland where the rides are free and everyone eats as much candy as they want.  But they also play dark games and over time the children become vampires as well.  They never return to their parents.  

Vic manages to escape, burning down Manx's house and given a ride out of that world by Lou, a teenager who happens to be riding by on his motorcycle.  She and Lou become an item, Charlie Manx is arrested and charged with her kidnapping.  She testifies against him and he is sent to jail.

Years later, Vic is grown but her life hasn't turned out to be a fairy tale.  She is still with Lou, off and on, and they had a child, Wayne, who mostly lives with Lou.  Vic has been in and out of mental institutions as no one believes her story of another world and convince her that it is the hallucination of a diseased mind.  Manx dies in prison after being in a five year coma.  Vic is trying to put her life back together with Wayne spending the summer with her when he is kidnapped and she knows by who.  She sees Charlie and his sidekick in that Rolls-Royce as they drive away with Wayne and she knows no one can save him but her.  

Joe Hill has written some of the best horror/mystery that I've read.  I loved his book The Fireman and I loved this one.  The villain is scary and powerful, the horrors are believable and Vic is a damaged hero that the reader can't help but love.  Her love for her child and Lou are unmistakable and she is brave enough to do anything to save them.  This book is recommended for horror readers.

The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey

 

In 1491, the village of Oakham is guided by the local priest, John Reve.  There are not many houses or people and the village is cut off by a large river now that the last bridge, the third one built, has collapsed.  Reve is awakened one morning by the news that the village's wealthiest man, Tom Newman, was seen being carried away by the river.  Despite the fact that everyone came out to search, neither Tom nor his body are discovered.  Tom owned the majority of the land and without him there, the village is in peril of being bought by a nearby group of monks who want the land for themselves.

John notifies his superior who is both above him in the church hierarchy and who has legal authorities.  The dean comes that same day much to the priest's surprise and wants Reve to name the murderer by the end of the second day.  The dean has suspects; the man whose land Tom had bought bit by bit until he owned almost all of it; a woman who is sick now perhaps as a punishment from God, and another man who was known to have disagreements with Tom.  The priest is not willing to name anyone as a murderer because he knows all the town's secrets, even those he hasn't shared with the dean.

Samantha Harvey is an English author although she spent time in Ireland and Japan growing up.  This book takes the reader back into the poverty of the Middle Ages and the superstitions that ruled every aspect of daily life.  The secrets that the village priest knows are slowly revealed and each secret turns the thoughts of what happened to Tom Newman a different way.  Who is ultimately responsible?  Is the priest responsible for the actions of his flock?  Harvey has had her novels garner much attention, with several longlisted for the major literary prizes and Orbital winning the Booker Prize in 2024.  This novel is recommended for historical and literary fiction readers.  

Murder In Hindsight by Ann Cleeland

They make a strange couple.  Kathleen Doyle is a sheltered, Irish Catholic girl who joined the police but retained her innocence.  Chief Inspector Michael Sinclair is also Lord Acton, one of England's wealthiest heirs.  They work together on the London police force and when Acton sees Doyle one day, he instantly falls in love with her.  He is actually obsessed with her and quickly convinces her that they must marry.  Now each is famous in their own way.  Acton has long been a darling of the press, his aristocratic background a major story in every situation.  Kathleen becomes a media darling when she jumps from a bridge to save her partner from drowning. 

A new case has come to light.  There is apparently a serial killer at work, one who has gone undetected for a while.  His victims follow no pattern of race, gender, social class or means of execution so there has been no connection.  Doyle, who Acton has put on working cold cases to keep her safe, makes the connection that each of the victims were individuals who had committed a crime themselves and escaped without legal consequence.  There is a vigilante on the loose. 

In the meantime, Acton's actions have made him a target for a shadowy figure.  He has, at times, taken the law into his own hands, and is, in fact, a vigilante who has killed before himself.  Now there is apparently a plot to get back at him and he has plenty of secrets to hide.  Can Doyle solve the murders while discovering how to save her husband?

This novel is the third in the Doyle and Acton series.  The characters are interesting but there are serious flaws in them.  It is hard to engage with a policeman who decides that the laws don't apply to him and who takes the lives of others when he decides it is best.  The worst thing that can be said about the characters is the author's insistence that everyone who meets either of them immediately falls permanently in love with them.  For Doyle, that is her partner, a shadowy figure mixed up in the plot against her husband and of course, her husband.  For Acton, it includes a journalist, a former lover at his ancestral home and every woman who comes in contact with him.  The couple have constant sex, several times daily, and yet constantly question if each other really loves them.  These flaws, if corrected, would make this a more engaging series.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

 

Iris Chase has always been rich.  As a girl she and her sister, Laura, were the daughters of the wealthiest man in town who owned the button factory where most of the townspeople worked.  When the factory failed Iris was basically bartered to another wealthy man who saved the factory but controlled and abused Iris.  She was whisked away from Laura and isolated by her husband, Richard, and his sister.  

Laura didn't fare any better.  Just entering her teen years when Iris was taken away, she lived in the big mansion with her increasingly remote father.  After she died, Richard brought her to live with he and Iris and started his campaign to control her.  When that didn't work, he had Laura hospitalized in a mental hospital that served as a prison.  Laura got out and disappeared.  She turned up later and gave Iris the book she had authored before stealing Iris' car and driving it off the bridge.  She was twenty-five and became a celebrity author after her death.  Her book detailed an illicit affair between a young girl and her poor lover.

Now Iris is an old woman and she is looking back at her life.  She writes in her journal everyday and along with her recounting of her daily life are excerpts from Laura's novel.  As the journal progresses, the secrets that this family kept are revealed in layer after layer of deceit and cruelty.  

This novel won the Booker Prize in 2000.  The reader is drawn into Iris' life and the sacrifices she made to try to have and keep a family and find love.  As the secrets are revealed one after the other readers will feel tenderness toward Iris, fury at the abuse and shock at what occurred.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Virgin Soul by Judy Juanita

Eighteen year old Geniece didn't know what she wanted, except that she wanted out.  Out of Oakland, California, where she had known up with extended family when her parents weren't around.  Out of being ignorant and not having a future.  Out of being a virgin, and not being in the groove of the Sixties sexual revolution.

So, Geniece heads across the bridge to San Francisco where she starts pursuing her education.  She does two years at a community college, then transfers to a four year college, just in time to be in at the beginning of the Black Pride movement.  She makes friends with those in the movement, and the speeches she hears about black empowerment starts to radicalize her.  Her friends and she begin to live as the movement wanted, black friends, black lovers, black literature, helping other black families to make it through life.

Geniece and her friends end up joining the Black Panther Party.  They know the party leaders such as Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael, Huey P. Newton, and Bobby Ethridge.  Geniece becomes the editor of the BPP newspaper, while continuing her education.  She also becomes involved in tutoring and programs such as feeding breakfast to young children.  As the movement becomes more radical, she must decide if this is still the place for her to make her dreams come true.

Judy Juanita has written a stirring novel that transports the reader back to the Sixties.  San Francisco was the hub of much of the social turmoil that ended up changing the country; the Black Power movement, the hippie movement, and others.  She effectively outlines the impetus that drove young people to join the movements and how this decision affected their lives.  This book is recommended for readers who are interested in the time period or in black history.

Booksie's Shelves, December 14, 2023

 

Art by RF Skia & Culpeo S. Fox

It's almost Christmas and the end of 2023!  I'm about ready for Christmas and I'm looking forward to seeing all my children and grandchildren along with tons of friends.  I've made a new reading friend recently and it's always great to have someone else around that understands someone who can't imagine a day without reading.  Soon I'll be doing the end of year wrapup for 2023 and starting on goals and thoughts for 2024.  Here's what's come through the door recently:

1. Quicksand, Malin Persson Giolito, thriller, purchased
2. The Swimmers, Julie Otsuka, literary fiction, purchased
3. Green Dot, Madeleine Gray, literary fiction, sent by publisher
4. Blood Sisters, Jane Corry, thriller, purchased
5. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, P. Djeli Clark, fantasy, sent by publisher
6. The Wishing Bridge, Viola Shipman, women's fiction, sent by publisher
7. No More Empty Spaces, D.J. Green, literary fiction, sent by publisher
8. The Lover Of No Fixed Abode, Carlo Fruttero & Franco Lucentini, mystery, sent by publisher
9. Prima Facie, Suzie Miller, legal thriller, sent by publisher
10. The Innocents, Bridget Walsh, mystery, sent by publisher
11. The Night Of The Storm, Nishita Parekh, mystery, sent by publisher
12. John Crow's Devil, Marlon James, literary fiction, purchased
13. A Theatre For Dreamers, Polly Samson, literary fiction, purchased
14. The Absolute Book, Elizabeth Knox, fantasy, purchased
15. The Dickens Boy, Thomas Keneally, literary fiction, purchased
16. Dust Off The Bones, Paul Howarth, mystery, purchased
17. Spring, Ali Smith, literary fiction, purchased
18. The Great Offshore Grounds, Vanessa Veselka, literary fiction, purchased
19. The Good Father, Noah Hawley, thriller, purchased
20. The Sound Of Things Falling, Juan Gabriel Vasquez, literary fiction, purchased
21. The Night Always Comes, Willy Vlautin, literary fiction, purchased
22. Murder For Christmas, Thomas Godfrey, anthology, gift
23. The Good Lord Bird, James McBride, literary fiction, gift
24. A Passage North, Anuk Arudpragasam, literary fiction, purchased
25. The Unfolding, A.M. Homes, literary fiction, purchased
26. The Fourth Rule, Jeff Lindsay, mystery, purchased
27. The Slowworm's Song, Andrew Miller, literary fiction, purchased
28. A Short Walk Through A Wide World, Douglas Westerbeke, literary fiction, sent by publisher
29. Staying On, Paul Scott, literary fiction, purchased
30. Among Others, Jo Walton, fantasy, purchased
31. No Good Asking, Fran Kimmel, literary fiction, purchased
32. The Sea Gate, Jane Johnson, women's fiction, purchased
33. Age Of Vice, Deepti Kapoor, mystery, purchased
34. Run Time, Catherine Ryan Howard, mystery, purchased
35. Trio, William Boyd, literary fiction, purchased
36. The Latecomer, Jean Hanff Korelitz, literary fiction, purchased

Here are the ebooks I've bought since the last Booksie's Shelves in October:

1. The Fifth Night, Jenny Knight, mystery
2. The Museum Of Abandoned Secrets, Oksana Zabuzhko, literary fiction
3. Labyrinth Lost, Zoraida Cordova, fantasy
4. Pictures Of You, Caroline Leavitt, literary fiction
5. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou, literary ficiton
6. A Certain Hunger, Chelsea Summers, literary fiction
7. The Black Elfstone, Terry Brooks, fantasy
8. Snow Crash, Neal Stevenson, science fiction
9. Hex, Thomas Olde Heuvelt, horror
10. Readme, Neal Stephenson, science fiction
11. Chlorine, Jade Song, horror
12. The River Is Dark, Joe Hart, mystery
13. Dalva, Jim Harrison, literary fiction
14. Garnethill, Denise Mina, mystery
15. The Fall Of Light, Niall Williams, literary fiction
16. The Last September, Nina de Gramont, literary fiction
17. The Towers Of Silence, Paul Scott, historical fiction
18. A Division Of Spoils, Paul Scott, historical fiction
19. A Lover's Discourse, Xiaolu Guo, literary fiction
20. You Can't See Me, Eva Aegisdottir, mystery
21. The Whistler's Omen, Iain Henn, mystery
22. The Drift, C.J. Tudor, mystery
23. Final Arrangements, Rich Curtin, mystery
24. Ordinary Girls, Jaquira Diaz, literary fiction
25. Friends Like These, Kimberly McCreight, mystery
26. Detective Sebastian Clifford Books 1-3, Sally Rigby, mystery
27. Dopesick, Beth Macy, nonfiction
28. Killer On The Moors, Priscilla Masters, mystery
29. Hype, Gabrille Bluestone, nonfiction
30. Almost, Elizabeth Benedict, suspense
31. The Change, Kristin Miller, literary fiction
32. October; The Story Of The Russian Revolution, China Mieville, nonfiction
33. Waking The Moon, Elizabeth Hand, science fiction
34. Damage Control, Robert Dugoni, mystery
35. Hard Freeze, Dan Simmons, mystery
36. The Burn, Kathleen Kent, mystery
37. The Way Life Should Be, Christina Baker Kline, literary fiction
38. The Fury Of Kings, R.S. Moule, fantasy
39. The Hunger Of Empires, R.S. Moule, fantasy
40. Who Cares If They Die, Wendy Dranfield, mystery
41. Werewolves In Their Youth, Michael Chabon, anthology
42. Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey, young adult
43. A Thousand Ships, Natalie Haynes, mythology
44. Taken Girls, Carolyn Arnold, mystery
45. The Darkest Corners, Kara Arnold, mystery
46. House Of Eclipses, Casey Bond, fantasy
47. Death Of A Lesser God, Vaseem Khan,mystery
48. The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher, fantasy
49. Don't Tell A Soul, D.K. Hood, mystery
50. The Folly Of The World, Jesse Bullington, fantasy
51. The Sad Tale Of The Brothers Grossbart, Jesse Bullington, fantasy
52. The Enterprise Of Death, Jesse Bullington, fantasy
53. Spider's Truth, Christa Yelich-Koth, mystery
54. Jackdaw, Daniel Cole, thriller
55. A Death In Tokyo, Keigo Higashino, mystery
56. Pictures Of Perfection, Reginald Hill, mystery
57. False Accusations, Alan Jacobson, thriller
58. Goodbye Tsugumi, Banana Yoshimoto, literary fiction
59. Veniss Underground, Jeff Vandemeer, fantasy
60. Half The Way Home, Adam Hochschild, memoir
61. Doors Open, Ian Rankin, mystery
62. The Near Witch, V.E. Schwab, fantasy
63. The Jasad Heir, Sara Hashem, fantasy
64. Scars On The Face Of God, Chris Bauer, horror
65. The CBS Murders, Richard Hammer, true crime
66. The House Witch, Delemhach, fantasy
67. The Elephant Of Belfast, S. Kirk Walsh, historical fiction
68. Necroscope, Brian Lumley, horror
69. The Rabbit Factor, Antti Tuomainen, literary fiction
70. Windhaven, George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle, fantasy
71. Study For Obedience, Sarah Bernstein, literary fiction
72. River Woman, River Demon, Jennifer Givhan, fantasy
73. The Good Guy, Dean Koontz, mystery
74. The Wickedest Of Things, Russel Barrie, thriller
75. Gods Of The Wyrdwood, RJ Barker, fantasy
76. Aloha From Hell, Richard Kadrey, thriller
77. A Test Of Wills, Charles Todd, mystery
78. The Big Seven, Jim Harrison, mystery
79. Three Sisters In Black, Norman Zierold, true crime
80. Catch Her Death, Wendy Dranfield, mystery
81. The Devil In Silver, Victor LaVelle, horror
82. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, Holly Jackson, mystery
83. The Killer Inside Me, Jim Thompson, noir
84. Songs In Ursa Major, Emma Brodie, literary fiction
85. Black Light, Elizabeth Hand, science fiction
86. Henrietta Who?, Catherine Aird, mystery
87. The Wolves Came At Night, J.T. Ellison, thriller
88. Hammer Of Fate, G.N. Gudgion, fantasy
89. And Then I Woke Up, Malcolm Devlin, fantasy
90. The Betrayed Wife, Kevin O'Brien, thriller
91. Young Jane Young, Gabrielle Zevin, literary fiction
92. Conspiracy, AC Cobble, fantasy
93. Open House, Jill Mansell, women's fiction
94. Tell Me How This Ends, Jo Leevers, mystery
95. We Are The Dead, Mike Shackle, fantasy
96. Bone Deep, Charles Bosworth & Joel Schwartz, true crime
97. The House Guest, Mark Edwards, thriller
98. Back To Blood, Tom Wolfe, literary fiction
99. The Beginning Of Spring, Penelope Fitzgerald, literary fiction
100. The Written, Ben Galley, fantasy
101. Pale Kings, Ben Galley, fantasy
102. Dead Stars, Ben Galley, fantasy
103. Chasing Graves, Ben Galley, fantasy
104. Grim Solace, Ben Galley, fantasy
105. Breaking Chaos, Ben Galley, fantasy
106. Heavy Lies The Crown, Ben Galley, fantasy
107. Devil Smoke, CJ Lyons, thriller
108. Bitter Truth, CJ Lyons, thriller
109. Warlock, Jim Harrison, literary fiction
110. Silent Tide, Alex Scarrow, mystery
111. Please Tell Me, Mike Omar, mystery
112. Irma Voth, Miriam Toews, literary fiction
113. The Golden Horn, Poul Anderson, science fiction
114. The Road Of The Sea Horse, Poul Anderson, science fiction
115. The Scandalous Letters Of V And J, Felicia Davin, historical fiction
116. Shaman, Kim Stanley Robinson, fantasy
117. Her Every Fear, Peter Swanson, thriller
118. The Lucky Ones, Mark Edwards, thriller
119. The Blind Man Of Seville, Robert Wilson, mystery
120. Mrs. Eckdorf In O'Neill's Hotel, William Trevor, literary fiction
121. The Killer's Home, AJ Carter, thriller
122. Old Fashioned, J.A. Konrath, mystery
123. The Bookbinder, Pip Williams, historical fiction
124. Blood Sentence, Keith Nixon, thriller
125. Fireblood, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
126. The Three Deaths Of Willa Stannard, Kate Robards, thriller
127. Dying To Sin, Stephen Booth, mystery
128. The World Turned Upside Down, Jisheng Yang, nonfiction
129. The Liar, Stephen Fry, literary fiction
130. Killing The Beasts, Chris Sims, mystery
131. The Killing Doll, Ruth Rendell, mystery
132. The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O'Farrell, literary fiction
133. Decline And Fall, Evelyn Waugh, literary fiction
134. Screwed, Eoin Colfer, thriller
135. Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante, literary fiction
136. The Body Below, Daniel Hecht, thriller
137. The Diviners, Libba Bray, literary fiction
138. On Harrow Hill, John Verdon, mystery
139. I Know Everything, Matthew Farrell, mystery
140. Moshi Moshi, Banana Yoshimoro, literary fiction
141. Damage, Josephine Hart, literary fiction
142. The Quasimodo Killings, John Broughton, mystery
143. The Sixth Lie, Sarah Ward, mystery
144. The Birthday Girl, Sarah Ward, mystery
145. The Turn Of Midnight, Minette Walters, historical fiction
146. When Darkness Falls, L.T. Vargas, Tim McBain, mystery
147. Girl With Curious Hair, David Foster Wallace, literary ficiton
148. The King's Justice, E.M. Powell, mystery
149. The Monastery Murders, E.M. Powell, mystery
150. The Bone Witch, Ivy Asher, fantasy
151. The Bound Witch, Ivy Asher, fantasy
152. The Blood Witch, Ivy Asher, fantasy
153. Order Of Scorpions, Ivy Asher, fantasy
154. Shards Of Earth, Adrian Tchaikovsky, fantasy
155. Life Among Giants, Bill Roorbach, literary fiction
156. Resurrection Men, Ian Rankin, mystery
157. The Two Of Swords, K.J. Parker, fantasy
158. Scenes From My Life, Michael Williams, memoir
159. Secessia, Kent Wascom, historical fiction
160. The Blood Of Heaven, Kent Wascom, historical fiction
161. The New Inheritors, Kent Wascom, historical fiction
162. A Woman In Jerusalem, A. B. Yehoshua, literary fiction
163. The Distant Hours, Kate Morton, historical fiction
164. Returning To Earth, Jim Harrison, literary fiction
165. Our Daughter's Bones, Ruhi Choudhary, mystery
166. Spearwielder's Tale, R. A. Salvatore, fantasy
167. The Inmate, Freida McFadden, thriller
168. One By One, Freida McFadden, thriller
169. The Ghostwriter, Alessandra Torre, mystery
170. Heroes, Stephen Fry, mythology
171. Come With Me, Erin Flanagan, thriller
172. Best Contemporary Women's Fiction, various, literary fiction
173. Death In Her Hands, Ottessa Moshfegh, thriller
174. The Wolf And The Woodsman, Ava Reid, fantasy
175. Cross Her Heart, Sarah Pinbourogh, mystery
176. The Book Of Salt, Monique Truong, literary fiction
177. The Bones Of The Story, Carol Goodman, mystery
178. Green Sun, Kent Anderson, mystery
179. The Pied Piper, Ridley Pearson, thriller
180. The Intrusions, Stav Sherez, mystery
181. The Dutch House, Anne Patchett, literary fiction
182. The Night Birds, Thomas Maltman, horror
183. A Killing In November, Simon Mason, mystery
184. An Occupied Grave, AG Barrett, mystery
185. Becoming Madame Mao, Anchee Min, historical fiction
186. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Us, Fiona Collins, literary fiction
187. Thief With No Shadow, Emily Gee, fantasy
188. The Meaning Of Treason, Rebecca West, legal thriller
189. Dead Reckoning, Caitlin Rother, true crime
190. The Last Thing I Told You, Emily Arsenault, mystery
191. Growing Things And Other Stories, Paul Trembley, anthology
192. Such A Loving Couple, Haley Smith, thriller
193. Edgedancer, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy
194. Wilderness, B.E. Jones, thriller
195. Daughter Of The Empire, Raymond Feist, fantasy
196. Killing Women, Rod Sadler, true crime
197. East Of Alice, Annie Seaton, mystery
198. Tell Me, Anne Frasier, mystery
199. Innocent, Scott Turow, legal thriller
200. We Own This City, Justin Fenton, true crime
201. Love Me To Death, Steve Jackson, true crime
202. Empire Of Lies, Andrew Klaven, thriller
203. The Identity Man, Andrew Klaven, thriller
204. The Bourbon Thief, Tiffany Reisz, historical fiction
205. The Mirror At Midnight, Adam Hochschild, nonfiction
206. An Inconvenient Woman, Stephanie Buelens, mystery
207. The Last Good Day, Peter Blauner, mystery
208. The English Teacher, Lily King, literary fiction
209. Some Kind Of Black, Diran Adebayo, literary fiction
210. Master Of The Delta, Thomas Cook, suspense
211. Geronimo Rex, Barry Hannah, literary fiction
212. The Good Father, Diane Chamberlain, women's fiction
213. Dead Woman Crossing, Jeneva Rose, mystery
214. Murder On Black Swan Lane, Andrea Penrose, mystery
215. Knight's Ransom, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
216. Warrior's Ransom, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
217. Fate's Ransom, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
218. An Unreliable Truth, Victor Methos, mystery
219. Nothing To Lose, J.A. Jance, mystery
220. Come Hell Or High Water, JD Kirk, mystery
221. City Of Scars, JD Kirk, mystery
222. Here Lie The Dead, JD Kirk, mystery
223. One For The Ages, JD Kirk, mystery
224. Thicker Than Water, JD Kirk, mystery
225. The Killing Code, JD Kirk, mystery
226. Blood And Treachery, JD Kirk, mystery
227. The Last Bloody Straw, JD Kirk, mystery
228. A Whisper Of Sorrows, JD Kirk, mystery
229. The Big Man Upstairs, JD Kirk, mystery
230. A Snowball's Chance In Hell, JD Kirk, mystery
231. Ahead Of The Game, JD Kirk, mystery
232. An Isolated Incident, JD Kirk, mystery
233. Colder Than The Grave, JD Kirk, mystery
234. Southpaw, JD Kirk, mystery
235. Westward, JD Kirk, mystery
236. Eastgate, JD Kirk, mystery
237. The Last American Man, Elizabeth Gilbert, literary fiction
238. Deadly Fate, Angela Marsons, mystery
239. Crying In H Mart, Michelle Zauner, literary fiction
240. Still Life, Louise Penny, mystery
241. The Family Across The Street, Nicole Troupe, mystery
242. The Girl Who Lived Twice, David Lagercrantz, thriller
243. The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy, literary fiction
244. The Other Emily, Dean Koontz, thriller
245. Our Wives Under The Sea, Julia Armfield, fantasy
246. On Our Best Behavior, Elise Loehnen, nonfiction
247. The Last Runaway, Tracy Chevalier, historical fiction
248. The Bag Of Secrets, Joy Ellis, mystery
249. The Punch, Noah Hawley, thriller
250. To Cook A Bear, Mikael Niemi, mystery
251. The Fortune Men, Nadifa Mohamad, literary fiction
252. How To Build A Boat, Elaine Feeney, literary fiction
253. The Removal Man, R.J. Parker, thriller
254. The Real-Life Murder Clubs, Nicola Stow, true crime
255. Vanished, Elizabeth Heiter, mystery
256. Nearly Mine, Molly Black, mystery
257. Gone Dark, CJ Lyons, mystery
258. Murder At Mullings, Dorothy Cannell, mystery
259. Missing In The Dark, Bernadette Calonego, mystery
260. The Year Of The Death Of Ricardo Reis, Jose Saramago, literary fiction
261. Braised Pork, An Yu, literary fiction
262. The Cyber Attack Survival Manual, Nick Selby, nonfiction
263. Black Cherry Blues, James Lee Burke, mystery
264. Counterfeit, Kirstin Chen, literary fiction
265. The Farm, Joanne Ramos, literary fiction
266. Fate Of The Argosi, Sebastian de Castell, fantasy
267. Forest Park, Valerie Davisson, mystery
268. The Night She Lied, Lucy Dawson, thriller
269. The Face Of Fear, Dean Koontz, thriller
270. The Royal Baths Murder, J.R. Ellis, mystery
271. Rabbit, Patricia Williams, memoir
272. Nasty Cutter, Tim O'Mara, mystery
273. The Names Of Dead Girls, Eric Rickstad, mystery
274. The Cleaner, Mark Dawson, mystery
275. Lesser Known Monsters Of The 21st Century, Kim Fu, anthology
276. The Throne Of The Five Winds, S.C. Emmett, fantasy
277. The Lights Of Prague, Nicole Jarvis, literary fiction
278. Country Dark, Chris Offutt, thriller
279. Next Life Might Be Kinder, Howard Norman, literary fiction
280. The Book Of Souls, James Oswald, mystery
281. A Quiet Belief In Angels, R.J. Ellory, thriller
282. Gunshot Road, Adrian Hyland, mystery
283. Cancer, I'll Give You One Year, Jennifer Spiegel, nonfiction, memoir
284. The Killing Pit, Wes Markin, mystery
285. Shadow Angels, D.K. Hood, mystery
286. Quichotte, Salman Rushdie, literary fiction
287. The Keeper Of Stories, Sally Page, women's fiction
288. Sex And Punishment, Eric Berkowitz, nonficiton
289. Deerskin, Robin McKinley, young adult
290. Live Flesh, Ruth Rendell, mystery
291. Under The Cold Bright Lights, Garry Disher, mystery
292. A Clockwork Murder, Steve Jackson, true crime
293. Henry And June, Anais Nin, literary fiction
294. The Push, Ashley Audrain, literary fiction
295. The View From Penthouse B, Elinor Lipman, literary fiction
296. Bloody January, Alan Parks, mystery
297. Artic Summer, Dalmon Galgut, literary fiction
298. Blood Red, Wendy Corsi Straub, mystery
299. Cemetary Girl, David Bell, mystery
300. The Sword Defiant, Gareth Hanrahan, fantasy
301. How Lucky, Will Litch, literary fiction
302. Furious, T.R. Ragan, mystery
303. Thief's Magic, Trudi Canavan, fantasy
304. The Eon Series, Greg Bear, science fiction
305. The Sanitarium, Sara Pearse, thriller
306. If It Bleeds, Stephen King, anthology
307. The Warrior Prophet, R. Scott Bakker, fantasy
308. The Crocodile Bird, Ruth Rendell, mystery
309. The Empirium Trilogy, Claire Legrand, fantasy
310. Medicine Walk, Richard Wagamese, literary fiction
311. Behold The Monster, Jillian Lauren, true crime
312. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante, literary fiction
313. How Will I Know You, Jessica Treadway, mystery
314. The Ocean And The Stars, Mark Helprin, literary fiction
315. Gallow Court, Martin Edwards, mystery
316. The Poet's House, Jean Thompson, literary fiction
317. As The Wicked Watch, Tamron Hall, mystery
318. The Art Merchant, J.K. Flynn, mystery
319. Sidetracked, Henning Mankell, mystery
320. Bury The Chains, Adam Hochschild, nonfiction
321. No Stone Unturned, Steve Jackson, true crime
322. City Of Saints And Madmen, Jeff VanderMeer, fantasy
323. Cursed, various, anthology
324. Hell Town, Casey Sherman, true crime
325. Hotel Honolulu, Paul Theroux, literary fiction
326. Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese, literary fiction
327. Deep South, Paul Theroux, travel
328. I Follow You, Peter James, mystery
329. Last Friends, Jane Gardam, literary fiction
330. Everfair, Nisi Shawl, fantasy
331. The Blind Man's Garden, Nadeem Aslam, literary fiction
332. Harvesting The Heart, Jodi Picoult, literary fiction
333. The House On Vesper Sands, Paraic O'Donnell, mystery
334. Cassandra In Reverse, Holly Smale, women's fiction
335. Dial A For Aunties, Jesse Q. Sutanto, women's fiction
336. The Amish Wife, Gregg Olsen, true crime
337. On Turpentine Lane, Elinor Lipman, literary fiction
338. Nuclear Family, Joseph Han, literary fiction
339. The Dark Tide, Simon McCleave, mystery
340. Lost Creed, Alex Kava, thriller
341. Field Of Bones, J.A. Jance, mystery
342. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World, Elif Sharak, literary fiction
343. Before She Knew Him, Peter Swanson, thriller
344. The Returned, Jason Mott, literary fiction
345. For You, Mike McCrary, mystery
346. Fred And Rose, Howard Sounes, true crime
347. The Signal And The Noise, Nate Silver, nonfiction

Here's what I'm reading:

1. Shrines Of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson, Kindle
2. A Taste For Death, P.D. James, paperback
3. Sonny Liston Was A Friend Of Mine, Thom Jones, paperback
4. The Ink-Black Heart, Robert Galbraith, Kindle
5. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid, paperback
6. Such Kindness, Andre Dubus III, hardback

Happy Reading!