Marlena by Julie Buntin

 

When Cat is fifteen, her life changes dramatically.  Instead of a private school and a wealthy background, her father walks out and her mother picks up Cat and her brother and move them to rural Michigan.  Once there, Cat undergoes a dramatic change.  

She has always been the good girl and decides to be a different girl.  Much of this is because she meets the next door neighbor, Marlena.  Marlena is the daughter of a drug dealer.  She is addicted to pills and alcohol and sleeps with whomever she wants.  She rarely attends school and basically does whatever strikes her to do.  Cat has never known anyone like Marlena and she decides to be like her and her circle of friends.

Cat starts drinking and picks up an addiction she is still fighting in her thirties when married and living in New York.  Marlena never makes it out of Michigan as she drowns one night while high in a few inches of water.  Was it an accident or murder?  Cat doesn't know but the question and what more she might have done for Marlena haunts her life as she tries to move forward.

Julie Buntin is writing about a life she knows.  This is her debut novel but she grew up in the same environment in northern Michigan and now lives in New York.  The book was longlisted for various prizes and named a best book of the year by publications such as Kirkus, Huffington and the Washington Post.  It is a novel of struggle as a teenager has the rug pulled from under her feet and has to reinvent herself.  Marlena is the first person she meets and she falls into her orbit.  Parents will not be thrilled to read about how impressionable teenagers are and the lengths they will go to in order to fit in.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

 

In Argus, North Dakota, sugar beets are king.  Most of the farmers grow nothing but that and use every chemical they can to up their production.  There isn't much industry so farming is the big business with the Geist family being the biggest farmers.  They bought up a lot of the littler family farms during recessions and now have a mega farm.  The population has a lot of Native Americans also whose families have been there for centuries.

Kismet Poe is the town beauty.  Although they are only finishing high school, two men are determined to marry her.  Gary Geist is the son of the richest family and the high school quarterback.  But Gary has issues having been in an accident after a drunken party at his house in which several of his friends died.  Since then, Gary has been anxious and bedeviled but he always feels safe around Kismet.  Hugo is the town genius.  His parents own the town bookstore and Hugo and Kismet bond around books.  He is probably the man that Kismet loves but Gary keeps pushing along with his mother who is planning the wedding no matter what misgivings Kismet has.

Kismet's mother, Crystal, works for the Geists, driving a front loader that moves beets from the farm to the place where they are processed.  She never married Kismet's dad as he seems a bit flaky.  That decision pays off when he disappears along with the church building fund.  

Louise Erdrich is an American treasure.  She writes about the Native American life in present days and is herself Native American.  I wait anxiously for each novel she writes and each one is a delight.  She writes about the characters' daily lives and along the way describes the ways that big business is ruining the American experience.  Her characters are not the rich but those working hard, living paycheck to paycheck and trying to make sense of their lives.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

My Wife Is Missing by D.J. Palmer

 

This family trip to New York is just what the family needs.  Michael and Natalie have had some strains in their marriage and this family trip with their children should go some way to patching things up.  The kids are hungry when they get to the hotel so Michael goes to pick up some food.  When he returns, the room is empty and Natalie's phone is going to voice mail.  He searches the hotel and when he doesn't find them, he starts to panic.  Where could they be?

Michael calls the police.  But when they come, they are able to see on camera footage that Natalie and the kids have left on their own and the taxi driver they hailed took them to Penn Station to catch a train.  Michael has to face the facts that Natalie has planned this and has left him.

But would she really leave over a suspected affair or is there more?  Natalie has insomnia and hasn't been sleeping for months.  That condition can have delusions and hallucinations.  But it's no illusion that the woman Natalie suspects Michael is having an affair with is dead, murdered by knife wounds.  Natalie fears that Michael is a killer, never more than when she investigates his past and discovers secrets there she never knew about.  Who is this man she has built a life with?

This is my first title by D.J. Palmer who specializes in suspense novels.  I listened to this title and the narrator had just the right voice to build the tension as more and more of the truth is revealed.  Both Natalie and Michael have hidden the truth so long that it is an earthquake to their marriage when the truth starts to emerge.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Engine House by Rhys Dylan

 

DCI Evan Warlow has recently retired from his job as a detective in Wales.  He anticipates lots of long walks with his dog and time to relax and catch up on all the things he had to put aside during his career.  He's sure he will miss it as he was very good at his job but retirement comes to everyone lucky enough to get that far.  

One unsolved case nags at him.  Seven years ago, a couple set out on a walk on the coastal trail.  They disappeared during that walk and Warlow and his team were never able to discover where they were or what happened that day.  It's the unsolved cases that live in a policeman's head.

Now, suddenly, a break.  A landslide happens on the cliffs and left in the crevice were the skeletons of the couple.  They had been killed by bludgeoning with a hammer and stuffed down in a crevice.  Warlow's old boss calls and asks if he will come back and help the new DCI, Jess Allenby, with her first major case since he knows it best.  Warlow reluctantly agrees as he is still curious and wants to know what happened.  Can he and the new DCI solve the case?

Rhys Dylan is a Welsh author.  This is the first book in his series about DCI Evan Warlow

The Return by Hisham Matar

 

When Muammar Gaddafi took over as a dictator in Libya, he ordered that his opponents be rounded up and imprisoned.  Hisham Matar was nineteen when most of the male members of his family were disappeared, uncles, cousins and his father.  They were imprisoned in the most notorious prison, Abu Salim where torture and interrogations were the norm along with deprivation of food and any comforts.  Most lived there for over twenty years and were only released with the overthrow of Gaddaffi and his government.  Matar's father, Jaballah, was never heard from again although it is suspected that he was one of the over one thousand men who were killed one day by firing squad at the prison.

This book tells the story of Matar's return to Libya after living his life in Egypt and England.  He reunites with his male relatives and uses whatever connections he has to try to get a definite answer about his father.  Was he killed that day?  Is he still imprisoned?  

Although one hears about cases like this, only the concrete recollections of someone who has lost a relative and gone through years of agony trying to find the answers brings it home in such a definite way.  This memoir won the Pulitzer Prize and Matar has been listed for the Booker several times, including this year.  His love and his search is inspiring while the understanding of what those men went through for twenty years, losing the best years of their lives and their dreams of how their lives would turn out is heartbreaking.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.   

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little

 

Janie Jenkins is twenty-six and has just been released from prison where she has been imprisoned since she was sixteen for the murder of her wealthy mother.  Janie was one of the press's favorite girls to gossip about until she was found covered in blood, her mother lying on the floor in a pool of blood.  Janie doesn't remember killing her but she was rarely straight those days.

Now due to mishandling of evidence, Janie has been freed.  She has a few clues that might lead to someone else as the killer, the name Tessa and the name of a town in rural South Dakota.  She tricks the paparazzi who are trailing her and heads to the town which is very rural and with only a small population.  There she discovers that Tessa was her mother, brought up in poverty and that she has relatives here she never imagined existed.  But who killed her mother?

This was Elizabeth Little's debut novel and it got lots of buzz, being nominated for several debut novel awards.  Janie is the Paris Hilton of her time, lots of bad press which probably was greatly exaggerated.  As she learns the truth about her mother and her background, she learns secrets about herself as well.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore

 

The Adirondack Mountains are ancient.  The first English settlers were those who came to farm and log the trees.  When that time ended, the owners of a large tract of forest sold it to the Van Laar family.  They have summered here for generations and created a summer camp so that future generations could learn about the land and develop survival skills and appreciation for nature.

The current generation had a tragedy fifteen years ago.  Their son, nicknamed Bear, disappeared when he was eight on the property.  He was never found and no one was ever charged with his murder although a local man was suspected but died before anything could be determined.  That tragedy decimated Bear's mother and she has lived in a fog of drugs and alcohol ever since.  Even the birth of a daughter, Barbara, two years later couldn't restore her.

Barbara, now thirteen, has been a thorn in the Van Laar's sides.  She is a defiant teenager, sent away to boarding schools early and only home in the summers when she spends her time with the woman who runs the camp and lives on the land year-round.  She has known TJ her whole life, as TJ as fourteen when Barbara was born and was her babysitter in the summers and later in Albany during the winters.  Barbara has decided she wants to attend the summer camp this year.  She is assigned to Balsam cabin where Louise is the counselor and makes a new best friend in Tracy.

Now Barbara has gone missing.  It happens during the Van Laar's annual party for their friends and business acquaintances so there are lots of suspects.  A killer has escaped from prison whose family was the original owner of the land and the police suspect that he is making his way back to the area.  There are other suspects.  Louise should have known if Barbara left but was involved with the other counselors in a late night party.  Her fiancé, the son of the Van Laar's best friends, is on the scene and has a temper fueled by alcohol and drugs.  What has happened to Barbara?

Liz Moore is an author who lives in Philadelphia and teaches creative writing at Temple University.  This mystery follows her successful novel Long Bright River.  The novel is also an indictment of rich enclaves that exist side by side with blue collar towns but have little interaction with them except for hiring the inhabitants as employees.  It also explores the lives of the rich and successful in money who have little time for their children, leaving them to be raised by others.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.    

The Editor by Steven Rowley

 

James Smale grew up in a repressed household, never sure if he fit. His father spent a lot of time with James' brother who was a replica of himself but had little time for James whose interests were more in literature and art than woodworking and sports.  When the two older children grew up and left the household, so did James' father, a move that he always felt was related to the distance between them.  After that, James and his mother also had a distance between them until now they barely speak.

Now James is an adult and about toe be a published author, the book a story of his upbringing and an attempt to understand his mother.  To his shock, his book is assigned to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as his editor.  At first James is hesitant around her but as the weeks roll on, they develop a working relationship and even the beginning of a friendship.  She pushes him to change the ending of his novel and to do so he must explore what went wrong with his childhood and expose the secrets there.  Can he do it?

Steven Rowley has written other novels, among them the successful Guncle series.  He has won awards for humor but this book is more serious and is a beacon to those attempting to make sense of a childhood where they never seemed to fit into their family.  James has a steady love, Daniel, and Daniel provides a counterweight to James' angst as he seems very balanced.  But above all, it is an exploration of how we fit into our birth families and the relationships there.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.  

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

 

Elektra is the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra.  When the king calls for all Greek men to come together to go rescue Helen from the man in Troy who kidnapped her, a thousand ships are needed to carry them all.  The war is expected to be short but ends up taking ten years.  Clytemnestra spends that decade plotting what she will do when the King returns as he performed an act of betrayal before he left.  It was an act that negates their marriage and her love for him.

When Agamemnon returns, the next act plays out.   Clytemnestra has spent her time with another man, Agamemnon's cousin, whose father he killed to gain the throne. He returns with Cassandra who knows the future but is cursed that no one believes her.   Now Clytemnestra takes her ultimate revenge and her children are placed at risk.   Her son is spirited away to safety while Elektra marries a commoner to escape the palace.

Jennifer Saint grew up interested in Greek mythology.  She was a teacher when she wrote her first novel Adriane which is the story of the Minotaur.  This was her second novel and since this, she has written several more novels all based in mythology and the stories many are familiar with.  In this one, she gives the reader insight into the House of Atreus and retells the story of the Trojan War.  Elektra is not a main character until part three when her story of her hatred for her mother and her adoration of her father is told.  I listened to this novel and the narrator did a great job, her accent adding to the reading.  This book is recommended for historical fiction readers and those interested in mythology.

The Garden Of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

 

Yun Ling Teoh has returned to the Highlands of Malaysia now that she has retired from her career as a judge.  She had come there after World War II where she had been taken prisoner along with her sister by the Japanese when they occupied her country.  The prison camp had been brutal and Yun was the only survivor.  Her sister had died along with the rest after having been made a comfort woman for the staff.

Yun wants to make a Japanese garden in honor of her sister but she knows she doesn't have the knowledge or skills.  In the Highlands, next to the tea plantation owned by family friends where she is staying, is a Japanese gardener who was gardener to the Japanese Emperor.  Yun tries to hire Aritomo but he says he only wants to work on his own garden.  He does agree to make her his apprentice.

Yun learns about garden design and other cultural rites that Aritomo teaches her.  When she leaves to take up her law career, she leaves with that knowledge and appreciation.  Now she is back and Aritomo has left her his house and gardens.  As she looks back, the secrets of those other times are slowly revealed.

Tan Twan Eng was born in Malaysia so this is a book of his country's history.  This book and others of his have been nominated for the Booker Prize.  It is a novel of war and hatred, of forgiveness both of others and of oneself, and an exploration of what our souls need in order to thrive.  The language is lush yet contained, setting the environments in which Yun found herself during different periods of her life.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

 

Eleven years ago, a peaceful community was rocked by a series of disappearances.  Shelby Tebow was a brand new mother, her baby only a few months old.  She went out for an evening run and didn't return.  Several weeks later, Meredith Dickey and her six year old daughter, Delilah, disappeared.  Meredith was a birth doula and Shelby had been one of her clients.  Were their disappearances linked somehow?

Shelby was later discovered half buried in a remote woodland location, her nude body bruised and battered.  Meredith was found later in a disreputable motel, her death ruled a suicide.  In the note she left, she told her husband not to look for Delilah because he would never find her.  Josh is left to raise their son, Leo, by himself, wondering forever what happened to Meredith to cause her to bring such horror into their family.  Shelby's husband, Jason, was convicted of her murder and is now in prison.

Then everything is brought back to light.  A teenage girl escaped from captors and identifies herself as Delilah.  That six year old girl is now seventeen.  She tells a tale of being kept in captivity, in a basement with no light ever and another captured child, Gus, her only company.  Somehow she finds a way to escape after all the years of captivity and is now home.  Can she supply the answers that have been left behind by the deaths of the two women?

Mary Kubica is known as a suspense writer.  She has written many bestsellers and this book sold over a million copies.  I read a ton of thrillers but this managed to surprise me.  As the secrets emerge with the return of Delilah, everything comes clear but with a shock to the reader.  The reader learns about the lives of the women who disappeared and the lives of those left behind like spouses, children and friends.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Color Storm by Damian Dibben

 

It is the early 1500's in Venice, Italy, the beginning of the Renaissance.  It is a great time to be an artist although with masters such as Titian, da Vinci Michelangelo, Bosch  and Raphael, it is a very competitive time.  Zorzo Barbarelli, 33, also known as Giorgione runs a studio but times are hard.  He needs more commissions and he hears about a huge one about to be given out.

A German banker, Alfred Fugger, rumored to be the richest man in Europe, has come to Venice with his beautiful wife, Sybille.  He is the one who will pay for the huge commission and he also own mines where artists' colors start as minerals.  It's rumored that he has a new mineral that creates a color never seen.  Zorzo hopes to be in the running for the commission or at least for a lesser one and he dreams of gaining the new color.

He meets Sybille and gets a commission to paint her portrait.  Soon he begins an affair with her although he knows that it will be certain death if Fugger discovers it.  Sybille fills his head with stories of Fugger's cruelty to her and soon a plot is hatched.  What will happen next?

Damien Dibble is a British author and screenwriter.  He is familiar with the artistic scene and the book is well researched.  The reader will find it interesting to read about all the great artists that were working at once and art studios are run.  The plot of Zorzo's romance provides the drama with all the art history in the background.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.   

Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line by Deepa Anappara

 

Jai and his friends Pari and Faiz live in a crowded basti or neighborhood.  His family consists of his sister, mother and father.  His father works construction and his mother works in a high rise for a rich woman, spending her days cleaning and cooking for others in a location Jai can only imagine.  What he knows are the crowded streets, the market redolent of spices and butchers and dirt.  Jai's sister is the track champion of their school but Jai isn't interested in school  He lives for his television shows, especially the police ones and imagines that he is a crime fighter as well.

Then a classmate goes missing.  Jai is sure he can find him with his friends' help.  They go around asking questions.  Faiz is sure that a djinn has taken the boy.  The boy's family go to the police but they are only interested in cases where they can get a bribe and brush the family off, saying the boy obviously ran away.  Then a second boy goes missing, then a teenage girl.  The basti, mainly Hindu, insists this must be the work of Muslims.  When Muslim children are also taken, the mystery deepens.  Can Jai and his friends find the truth?

This is a debut novel from an Indian author with a journalist background.  It explores the disparity of how crimes are investigated depending on the victim's background.  I thought about the Atlanta child murders while reading this book, how the police were slow to realize a serial killer was working the streets of Atlanta just as the police in this case were slow to investigate missing children from a basti.  Anappara uses the naivete of a child to explore how justice is often uneven depending on social class and how crime is the same in its effect no matter who it targets.  This book won the Edgar Award the year it was released and was a Woman's Fiction longlist choice.  This book is recommended for those readers interested in other cultures, mystery and literary fiction.   

The Skill Of Our Hands by Steven Brust and Skyler White

 

The Incrementalists are a group of people whose goal is to make the world better, bit by bit.  The people in the group are immortal.  When they die, their memories and personalities are gathered into what is called a stub and a volunteer new person who wants to join the group receives the stub and becomes the person who died.  

Phil, married to Ren, has just been shot so a new second for him has to be found.  The entire group gathers from all over the world both looking for the new person to receive Phil's stub and to investigate his murder and find out who shot him.  Each person in the group seems to have their own candidate and the clues to Phil's murder are slowly uncovered.  Can the group get back to normal?

The authors are both highly regarded in the science fiction genre.  Brust is the son of Hungarian labor organizers and White is the daughter of two college professors.  Both have other interests; Brust as a musician and White as a dancer.  This is the second novel in the Incrementalist series and the first in the series was a Best Book in several science fiction awards.  The world building is interesting as well as how new individuals are chosen, having to meld well with those who come before them.  This book is recommended for science fiction readers.   

The Good People by Hannah Kent

 

The setting is the rural Irish countryside in the early nineteenth century.  Life is hard for the farmers and tradesmen of the valley and everyone is dependent on the crops and the milk and eggs and meat of their livestock.  The inhabitants are superstitious and whenever anything goes wrong, they look to the folklore they were raised with to find who is responsible.  A new priest has come to the valley and he insists they must put aside their old beliefs as the Church is against reminders of paganism.

Nora is having an especially hard time.  Her husband recently dropped dead unexpectedly.  She is left to raise her grandson by herself and it is more than she can handle.  Micheal was brought to her after the death of her daughter by her son-in-law.  Although he was a normal child at two, toddling and talking, now at four he cannot walk or talk or even relate to anyone.  Nora hires Mary at a hiring fair as her maid and to help her with Micheal.  Over the months that follow, as the other inhabitants of the valley come to hear about Micheal, they call him a changeling and start to blame him for the poor crops and weakened milk and egg production they are experiencing.  Nora starts to believe that her real grandson has been taken by the fairies or Good People as they are called and that this changeling has been left in his place.

Nance is the herbalist who treats the people of the valley.   The priest is determined to drive her out and preaches against her and using her from the pulpit.  Nance is scared and ups her efforts to help those around her so she won't be driven away.  She tells Nora that she can restore her real grandson to her.  When the treatments go awry, the three women are arrested and charged with murder.

Hannah Kent is an Australian author who is interested in history and what went on in those places which were not yet part of the modern world.  The reader will be transported into this rural countryside and the difficult lives of its people .  Everyone knows everyone and secrets are not allowed.  It is a claustrophobic environment and one that lives by its own rules and laws.  The book is based on a true case and Kent has done a superb job of taking the reader to this place and time.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Last Days Of The Dinosaurs by Riley Black

 

Everyone has a picture in their mind of what the world looked like when the dinosaurs were the kings of the world.  Most of those pictures are based on movies such as Jurassic Park which may mix and match dinosaurs who didn't live in the same environment or at the same time.  Regardless an event happened that annihilated all the dinosaurs simultaneously.

Most people believe this was a meteorite.  Black shows evidence of one that hit that was seven miles wide which is hard to even imagine.  A blow of that sort created intense fires and then with all the particulates resulting from that, a blocking of the sunlight and dark days with frigid temperatures.  The dinosaurs could not hide nor find food and they died.  Some living creatures survived, such as those small mammals or amphibians that could shelter under water or in dens far below.  They would reinhabit the world along with plants that were again different from what existed before.  

Riley Black is a paleontologist who has written books and magazine articles about the dinosaurs and their demise.  Her work has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Nature and Sierra.  In this history, she explains what happened immediately after the meteorite hit, then what was the state of the world a year out, ten years, a hundred, a thousand.  In each of those chapters, she discusses what organisms were alive, how they survived and what they are.  She also states that some scientists believe that the widespread demise came from other sources but her belief is the meteorite was the culprit.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers interested in dinosaurs and how the world changed since then.  

The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles

 

Penn Cage is now mayor of his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi.  In the past, he has been a prosecutor in Texas and a successful author, but when he moved home after the death of his wife, he saw a need for reform and his friends convinced him that he would be the perfect man to take on that task.  He had hoped to land a car factory to bring in jobs but when that failed, he agreed and helped to bring riverboat gambling to town.

When a childhood friend asks to meet with him in secret, Penn reluctantly agrees.  The man is working on the largest riverboat and he tells Penn that the owners have brought a series of crimes to Natchez.  They are involved in money laundering, dogfighting, prostitution, and other crimes.  His friend is scared but wants to help Penn bring them to justice.  Penn agrees but his friend is killed before he can give him the evidence.

A crew of Irish men run the riverboat.  They are rough men, men that would kill at a moment's glance and have.  As Penn and his friends attempt to bring them down, more murders occur and Penn's love, Caitlin, is kidnapped.  But Penn has resources also.  There is a former Texas ranger and an elite commando who returns from Afghanistan to help.  There is a former army sniper who is now a deputy sheriff and Penn's own family and his friends.  Will they be enough to bring down this evil?

This is the third book in the Penn Cage series.  Penn is what used to be considered a Southern gentleman, a man with honor but who will do almost anything to protect those he loves.  Greg Iles is a master of the suspense genre and he has lived in Natchez most of his life so his depiction of the area and the people are written from that knowledge.  This book is recommended for suspense readers.  

Booksie's Shelves, September 25, 2024

 

It's the end of September and officially fall although North Carolina rarely feels much cooler in September.  To date, I've read 207 books this year and hope to reach three hundred.  But reading always slows down this time of year as NFL football returns along with new television shows.  Many of today's books come from Blackwell's in England or they are books on either the Booker, Women's Prize or International Booker lists.  Here's what's come through the door:

1. Count My Lies, Sophie Stava, mystery, sent by publisher
2. Scrap, Calla Henkel, mystery, sent by publisher
3. The Discomfort Of Evening, Marieke Lucas, Rineveld, literary fiction, purchased
4. Sleeping On Jupiter, Anuradha Roy, literary fiction, purchased
5. Angelology, Danielle Trussoni, literary fiction, purchased
6. Curdle Creek, Yvonne Battle-Felton, horror, sent by publisher
7. The Garden Of Evening Mists, Tan Twan Eng, literary fiction, purchased
8. Ordinary Wolves, Seth Kantner, literary fiction, purchased
9. High Time, Hannah Rothschild, literary fiction, purchased
10. The Puppet Master, Sam Holland, mystery, purchased
11. Mercia's Take, Daniel Wiles, historical fiction, purchased
12. A Terrible Kindness, Jo Browning Wroe, historical fiction, purchased
13. The End Of Nightwork, Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, literary fiction, purchased
14. Bad Man, Dathan Auerbach, horror, purchased

Here are the ebooks I've purchased:

1. Like It Never Happened, Jeff Hoffman, thriller
2. Better The Devil, Wes Markin, mystery
3. DCI Yorke Boxset, Books 1-3, Wes Markin, mystery
4. Terror Town, John Ferak, true crime
5. Riding The Rails With Paul Theroux, Paul Theroux, travel
6. Confessions Of A Sociopath, M.E. Thomas, autobiography
7. Violet Is Nowhere, Faith Gardner, thriller
8. The Babysitter, Liza Rodman, true crime
9. Fatal Intrusion, Jeffery Deaver, Isabella Maldonado, mystery
10. Devil's Chew Toy, Rob Osler, mystery
11. Kingdom Quarterback, Mark Todd/Rustin Dodd, biography
12. Crucible Of Chaos, Sebastian de Castell, fantasy
13. Nocturnes, John Connelly, mystery
14. Dancer, Colum McCann, literary fiction
15. The Pleasure Of Eliza Lynch, Ann Enright, literary fiction
16. By A Spider's Thread, Laura Lippman, mystery
17. The Last Remains, Elly Griffiths, mystery
18. Long Past Dues, James J. Butcher, fantasy
19. The Coworker, Freida McFadden, mystery
20. Wonder Valley, Ivy Pochoda, mystery
21. It All Falls Down, Sheena Kamal, mystery
22. Devices And Desires, P.D. James, mystery
23. LAPD '53, James Ellroy, mystery
24. Dark Restraint, Katee Roberts, fantasy
25. Ha'penny, Jo Walton, fantasy
26. Three Times A Killer, Gerald Hansen, mystery
27. Another Thing To Fall, Laura Lippman, mystery
28. In Big Trouble, Laura Lippman, mystery
29. Night, Sleep, Death, The Stars, Joyce Carol Oates, literary fiction
30. Afterparty, Daryl Gregory, fantasy
31. The Animal Hour, Andrew Klavan, thriller
32. An Inquiry Into Love And Death, Simone St. James, mystery
33. The Better Angels Of Our Nature, Stephen Pinker, nonfiction
34. The North Water, Ian McGuire, literary fiction
35. The River At The Center Of The World, Simon Winchester, travel
36. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie, literary fiction
37. Awe, Dacher Keltner, nonfiction
38. The Diabolic, S.J. Kincaid, fantasy
39. The Empress, S.J. Kincaid, fantasy
40. The Nemesis, S.J. Kincaid, fantasy
41. Sociopath, Patric Gagne, nonfiction
42. Mirrored Heavens, Rebecca Roanhorse, fantasy
43. Denon Rider, Dave Duncan, fantasy
44. Slanted, Sheryl Attkisson, nonfiction
45. It Looked Different On The Model, Laurie Notaro, humor
46. The King's Beast, Elliott Patterson, mystery
47. The Winslow Incident, Elizabeth Voss, horror
48. Dead Man Walking, Sharon Bolton, mystery
49. Blue Sunrise, Gregg Overman, science fiction
50. The Arctic Fury, Greer McAllister, mystery
51. The Last Tale Of The Flower Bride, Roshani Shokski, literary fiction
52. Children Of Paradise, Camilla Grudova, literary fiction
53. Wasp Nest, Inger Wolf, mystery
54. The Highway, C.J. Box, mystery
55. Far To Go, Alison Box, historical fiction
56. Sin Killer, Larry McMurtry, historical fiction
57. The Blue Divide, Johnny Moore/Art Chansky/Jay Bilas, nonfiction
58. Author Unknown, Don Foster, nonfiction
59. Never Name The Dead, D.M. Rowell, mystery
60. Sins Of The Son, Carlton Stowers, true crime
61. Appointment With Yesterday, Celia Fremlin, mystery
62. 2666, Roberto Bolano, literary fiction
63. The Professor, Robert Bailey, mystery
64. The Dare, Natasha Preston, mystery
65. The DI Skelgill Boxset, Books 1-4, Bruce Beckham, mystery
66. The Price Of Butcher's Meat, Reginald Hill, mystery
67. The Ministry Of Pain, Dubravka Ugresic, literary fiction
68. Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts, historical fiction
69. Nothing Else, Louise Beech, literary fiction
70. The Master Butchers' Singing Club, Louise Erdrich, literary fiction
71. The Man Who Smiled, Henning Mankell, mystery
72. The Atlas Complex, Olivie Blake, fantasy
73. Last Night At Villa Lucia, Simon McCleave, mystery
74. Edgar & Lucy, Victor Lodato, literary fiction
75. Shadowkiller, Wendy Corsi Staub, mystery
76. Bad Country, CB McKensie, mystery
77. Brown's Requiem, James Ellroy, historical fiction
78. Fury, Charlotte McConaghy, fantasy
79. Melancholy, Charlotte McConaghy, fantasy
80. The Bookseller Of Inverness, S.G. McLean, historical fiction
81. A Mind To Murder, P.D. James, mystery
82. The Mercy Chair, M.W. Craven, mystery
83. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, Andrew Miller, literary fiction
84. The Seminarian, Hart Hansen, mystery
85. The Non-Magical Declan Moore, Nathan Taylor, fantasy
86. By Gaslight, Steven Price, mystery
87. The Curse Workers, Holly Black, fantasy
88. Waiting To Be Arrested At Night, Tahir Hamut Izgil, nonfiction
89. Final Look, Dianne Scott, mystery
90. The Lookback Window, Kyle Hertz, mystery
91. Always The Sun, Neil Cross, thriller
92. The Great Alta Saga, Jane Yolen, fantasy
93. Trust, Hernan Diaz, literary fiction
94. The Western Star, Craig Johnson, mystery
95. Ashton Hall, Lauren Belfer, mystery
96. Black Water, Louise Doughty, mystery
97. The Keeper, Luke Delaney, mystery
98. Trailerpark, Russell Baker, literary fiction
99. After Shock, CJ Lyons, mystery
100. Bad Break, CJ Lyons, mystery
101. Murder, Sarah Pinborough, mystery
102. A Bad Day For Pretty, Sophie Littlefield, mystery
103. When We Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro, literary fiction
104. Forest Trap, Sigrid Holmes, mystery
105. A Trace Of Hares, Sarah Lovett, mystery
106. Ormeshadow, Priya Sharma, fantasy
107. Britt-Marie Was Here, Fredrik Bachman, literary fiction
108. When The Saints, Dave Duncan, fantasy
109. The Usual Silence, Jenny Milchman, mystery
110. Cleopatra Dismounts, Carmen Boullosa, historical fiction
111. The Iron Dragon's Mother, Michael Swanwick, fantasy
112. The Golden Wolf, Linnea Hartsuyker, historical fiction
113. Shadowlands, Matthew Green, nonfiction
114. Conversations With Friends, Sally Rooney, literary fiction
115. Clean Cut, Lynda La Plante, mystery
116. Leave The Grave Green, Deborah Crombie, mystery
117. The Wild Shore, Kim Stanley Robinson, fantasy
118. Night Angel Nemesis, Brent Weeks, fantasy
119. Lamentation, C.J. Samson, mystery
120. Gone, Randy Wayne White, mystery
121. Zorrie, Laird Hunt, literary fiction
122. Black Butterflies, Priscilla Morris, literary fiction
123. In Defense Of The Act, Effie Black, literary fiction
124. The Festival, Louise Mumford, mystery
125. Like, Ali Smith, literary fiction
126. Shadowmarch, Tad Williams, fantasy
127. Libra, Don Delillo, literary fiction
128. Innocence, Penelope Fitzgerald, literary fiction
129. The Pariah, Anthony Ryan, fantasy
130. All The Windwracked Stars, Elizabeth Bear, fantasy
131. Reckoning Of Fallen Gods, R.A. Salvatore, fantasy
132. Masters Of Death, Olivie Blake, fantasy
133. The Last Time I Saw Him, Rachel Abbott, thriller
134. The Absolution, Jonathan Holt, thriller
135. The Means Of Escape, Penelope Fitzgerald, anthology
136. Murder Undeniable, Anita Waller, mystery
137. The Drop, Dennis Lehane, mystery
138. A Killer Of Influence, JD Kirk, mystery
139. Half Way Home, Hugh Howley, science fiction
140. The Philosopher's Pupil, Iris Murdoch, literary fiction
141. Saint Maybe, Anne Tyler, literary fiction
142. Her Last Whisper, Jennifer Chase, mystery
143. King Rat, China Mievielle, fantasy
144. The One I Left Behind, Jennifer McMahon, thriller
145. Evocation, S.T. Gibson, fantasy
146. The Exiled Heir, Jonathan French, fantasy
147. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk, literary fiction
148. Going Back, Peter Robinson, mystery
149. Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction
150. The Return, Hisham Matar, literary fiction
151. The Best Of Me, David Sedaris, anthology
152. This Is My Daughter, Roxanne Robinson, literary fiction
153. The Art Of Detection, Laurie King, mystery
154. The Hanging Judge, Michael Ponser, mystery
155. Night Of The Mannequins, Stephen Graham Jones, horror
156. Camouflage, Joe Halderman, science fiction
157. A Prayer For Travelers, Ruchika Tomar, literary fiction
158. What Lies Between Us, John Marrs, mystery
159. The Thackery Lambshead Cabinet Of Curiosities, Jeff/Ann Vandermeer, fantasy
160. A Fatal Blow, Janet Neel, mystery
161. Snow Creek, Gregg Olsen, mystery
162. Til Death Do Us, Patrick Gallagher, true crime
163. The War At The End Of The World, Mario Vargas Llosa, literary fiction
164. The Gathering, Anne Enright, literary fiction
165. Goodbye, Columbus, Philip Roth, literary fiction
166. Worlds, Joe Halderman, science fiction
167. Worlds Enough And Time, Joe Halderman, science fiction
168. You Are Here, David Nicholls, literary fiction
169. The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye, David Lagercrantz, mystery
170. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, David Lagercrantz, mystery
171. My Murder, Katie Williams, mystery
172. Lost Hills, Lee Goldberg, mystery
173. The Third To Die, Allison Brennan, mystery
174. The Lager Queen Of Minnesota, J. Ryan Stradal, literary fiction
175. The Loom Of Time, Robert Kaplan, nonfiction
176. The Wrong Victim, Allison Brennan, mystery
177. Welcome Home, Stranger, Kate Christensen, literary fiction
178. Kitchens Of The Great Midwest, J. Ryan Stradal, literary fiction
179. Dictation, Cynthia Ozick, literary fiction
180. The Foreign Student, Susan Choi, literary fiction
181. Falconer, John Cheever, literary fiction
182. The Library Of The Unwritten, A.J. Hackworth, horror
183. Household Saints, Francine Prose, literary fiction
184. Over The Woodward Wall, A. Deborah Baker, fantasy
185. Signals Of Distress, Jim Crace, literary fiction
186. Illumination Night, Alice Hoffman, literary fiction
187. All Her Little Secrets, Alice Morris, mystery
188. The Stone Gods, Jeanette Winterson, literary fiction
189. The Last Gentleman, Walker Percy, literary fiction
190. I'm Not Scared, Niccolo Ammaniti, literary fiction
191. Worlds Apart, Joe Halderman, science fiction
192. Under The Influence, Joyce Maynard, literary fiction
193. American Mother, Colum McCann/Diane Foley, literary fiction
194. The Dakota Winters, Tom Barbash, literary fiction
195. The Ballad Of Trenchmouth Taggart, Glenn Taylor, historical fiction
196. Ghostheart, R.J. Ellory, horror
197. My Seditious Heart, Arundhati Roy, nonfiction
198. The Night She Dies, Sarah Clark, mystery
199. Closed Casket, Sophie Hannah, mystery
200. Death Of A Dishonorable Gentleman, Tessa Arlan, mystery
201. Detective Sophie Allen Box Set, Michael Hambling, mystery
202. A Son Of The Circus, John Irving, literary fiction
203. His Bloody Project, Graeme MaCrae Burnet, literary fiction
204. By The Light Of The Moon, Dean Kootz, mystery
205. Come Closer, Sara Gran, horror
206. The Night Raven, Sarah Painter, mystery
207. Victim, Casey Hill, mystery
208. Playground, Richard Powers, literary fiction
209. The Empusium, Olga Tokarczuk, literary fiction
210. The Alter Girls, Patricia Gibney, mystery

Here's What I'm Reading:

1. The Devil's Punchbowl, Greg Iles, paperback, mystery
2. In A Place Of Darkness, Stuart Macbride, hardback, mystery
3. The Skill Of Our Hands, Steven Brust and Skylar, White, hardback, fantasy
4. Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line, Deepa Anappara, kindle, literary fiction
5. The Editor, Steven Rowley, Kindle, literary fiction
6. The Last Dinosaurs, Riley Black, audiobook, nonfiction
7. Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica, mystery
8. The Good People, Hannah Kent, Kindle, literary fiction
9. Gideon The Ninth, Tasmyn Muir, fantasy

Happy Reading!

Wonder Women by Sam Maggs

 

In this book written to encourage young women to consider STEM careers, twenty-five women who had careers no one could have expected are highlighted.  These are not necessarily the famous women everyone has heard of like Amelia Earhart or Sacagawea, Maggs has chosen to highlight women whose stories are not familiar and women of color.

The book is divided into five main sections; science, medicine, espionage, innovation and adventure.  Each section highlights four or five women with a several page explanation of their life and what makes them noteworthy.  Following this is a section of shorter bios a few paragraphs long of other noteworthy women and this is where the most familiar names will be found.  Finally, at the end of each section is an interview with a present day woman living the career highlighted in the section with questions about how they got started and their advice for other women interested in the area.

This book was written for young adults and Maggs has chosen a breezy writing style.  This sometimes grates but overall is appropriate for the audience.  I like the fact that Maggs has chosen less familiar women and that he focuses on women of color whose accomplishments are heightened by the prejudice they had to fight to get a chance to contribute.  This is a book that should be in every school library or a great gift to give a young adult or teenage girl.  

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis

 

Sasha and Jesse are in a relationship.  They are in their twenties and not working as they figure out what to do in life.  The couple has been invited by an older professional female couple Jules and Miranda to spend the Christmas holidays with them at their country house and they agree.  Another couple, Lou and Darcy also come.  It's unclear if the older couple just want to get to know everyone better or if more will happen.

Sasha is very insecure.  She longs to be the center of attention at all times and dresses in various outfits throughout the day.  She is suspicious of Darcy who is planning a video shoot with Jesse's help.  Sasha wonders if Darcy is more attractive than her and if everyone else thinks so.

I'm not sure what to say about this book.  I'm not the target audience and I've seen reviews that thought the book was funny and insightful but I didn't find it so.  If I was gay I would be insulted that the characters were portrayed as so shallow and self-centered.  But again, I know I'm not the author's audience and I know little about her world.  I would recommend this to those who are a better match as a reader.  

Careless Love by Peter Robinson

 

In this novel, both DCS Alan Banks and DCI Annie Cabbot have strange cases to solve.  A wreck occurred on a remote mountain road and one of the cars had to be left to be retrieved later.  When that occurred, the body of a young woman was found that definitely hadn't been there the night of the wreck.  Who was she and why did someone put her body in the car?  In the other case, a wealthy man was found on the moors down an embankment with his neck broken.  Had he fallen?  But why would he go out to such a remote place in bad weather dressed in a suit and dress shoes?

As the cases are worked, they seem to be connecting.  When a third death, that of another young woman who was murdered and left in a shelter occurs, she turns out to have a connection with the first woman.  They both had a mysterious friend named Mia who had been best friends with them for a while then disappeared.  Both also had an unexplained source of money.  

This is the twenty-fifth Alan Banks novel in the series.  I set a goal of reading all twenty-eight this year and I'm reluctant to read the last three because then this marvelous mystery series will be over.  The detectives are all old friends by this point and new characters are being introduced.  Annie's father has a new woman in his life and she thinks she recognizes the man who fooled Annie into a relationship and then disappeared after trying to kill Banks one night.  That story is yet to be revealed but will tie up a loose end that has been hanging for quite a while.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

Masquerade by O. O. Sangoyomi

 

Ododo is born in Timbukto in the fifteenth century.  She is born a blacksmith as all blacksmiths are women.  But they are not revered.  Instead they are made up of widows and women who couldn't find a man to support them and are considered low caste and witches.  One day Ododo is selling some flowers she made in the market when a man flirts with her and she gives him one of her flowers to remember her by.

Then disaster.  Ododo is kidnapped and taken across the Sahara to the capital city.  It turns out that the man in the market had been the ruler of all the land and he has decided that Ododo will be his wife.  Aremo is a warrior king; he has conquered many lands and is at the peak of his strength and power.  To be chosen as his wife is hard for Ododo to understand and she asks that her mother be brought to the capital for the wedding.  Aremo agrees but the mother has disappeared, giving Ododo time to start to adjust to her new life.  

As a member of the court and the prospective new queen, every word and action she makes is scrutinized.  She tries to make friends but is betrayed several times by those who would have her disappear or be taken down in Aremo's regard.  Each section of the country is headed up by a general and several of these men are determined to take Ododo down.  Her prospective mother-in-law seems to hate her and her teacher thinks she is dull and uneducated.  But Aremo thinks she is wonderful and that is the opinion that counts.  He starts to train her to be a warrior in secret and she ends up going into battle with him.  That battle almost leads to her death but she survives and comes back to even more power.  

The author is Nigerian American and this tale is based on Nigerian folklore.  It is full of descriptions that will transport the reader to Africa, markets and wealth beyond belief, court politics and battles for supremacy.  Ododo's motives and actions are not always easy to understand but as she becomes adjusted to her new life she learns to not trust so quickly and to make her own plans.  This book is recommended for readers of multicultural, historical and fantasy fiction.  

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

 

This is the second in the Bill Hodges trilogy.  In this novel, Bill has formed a partnership with Holly, the woman related to his love he lost and has a detective agency.  Bill is a retired policeman and Holly is great on organization and computer work so they are a good match.  

Thirty years ago, a famous author was killed in his home.  He had written a famous trilogy then basically retired from public view.  The killers stole the cash he was famous for keeping at home and the notebooks, several hundred of those, where his writing for years had been done.  Morris Bellemy, the leader of the group, killed his accomplices and then buried all the money and the notebooks in a trunk near his home.  Before he could cash in on the work, Morris was arrested for another crime and put in prison. 

Enter Pete Saubers.  His family had moved to Morris' old house.  While out on day, he found the trunk and thought he could help his family.  His father had been one of the victims in the first book in the trilogy and was left with a long recuperation without a job.  Pete started sending five hundred dollars a month anonymously to his family and it provided the cushion they needed until they could get back on their feet.

Now Bellemy has been released and he wants his money and the notebooks back.  Bill and his crew are brought in once Pete realizes he is over his head, but will they be in time?

I loved this one and can't wait to read the third in the trilogy.  I love Bill and his gruff way of protecting all those around him and the character of Holly, who was repressed for all her life and is finally coming into her own.  The plotting is pure King and the pace is fast as many thrillers are.  I like these books where King has less supernatural material and more of a mystery thriller vibe.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

One Day I Shall Astonish The World by Nina Stibbe

 

This is the story of life of an ordinary English woman from her life in the 1990's to the present.  Susan is in university, studying English with plans to maybe teach.  She works part time in a sewing shop to make ends meet and there she meets Norma who will become her best and longest friend.  Susan's plans are put on hold when she meets Roy Warren and soon is pregnant.  Instead of returning to her studies, she marries Roy and has her daughter Honey.

When the shop closes as women's lives change and sewing becomes less popular, Susan works a number of jobs.  She ends up working at the local university, starting as a part timer and working her way up until she becomes the personal assistant to the Chancellor.  Along the way, she keeps up her friendship with Norma who gets her degree in English and has much more career success.  The book ends with the coming of the covid pandemic and how that affects the life of Susan and the university.

This was my first Nina Stibbe book and I listened to this novel.  It had no real passion or threats, just the everyday life of a woman with its ups and downs.  Susan is a survivor who takes what life gives her and looks for the best in everyone and every situation.  Norma is a stranger character who often backstabs Susan or goes out of her way to be secretive with her.  But the friendship endures and when Susan needs her, Norma usually eventually comes through.  This book is recommended for women's and literary fiction readers.  

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

 

Sylvie has died and her three friends are headed to her beach cottage over the Christmas break to clear it out so it can be sold.  Wendy is a professor whose books are on every college syllabus and a widow but she has Finn, the dog that Sylvie gave her.  Jude is a former restaurant owner who has carried on a forty year affair with a man who is married and can only give her a week once a year.  Adele was a famous stage actress but after a fall, hasn't worked for at least a year.  Now all in their seventies, they are all fighting off old age, some more successfully than others.

As they come together, they aren't sure how they fit without Sylvie, who had been the facilitator of the friendships.  Jude starts off furious because Wendy has brought seventeen year old Finn, who Jude thinks Wendy should have put down.  She believes that Finn will only make messes and insists that he stay outside on the deck.  Adele has just picked up the clues that tell her that her lover will be asking her to move out when she returns home after this trip.  Wendy isn't sure if she has any intellectual curiosity left, although it has been what has sustained her these many years.  

The three fuss and fight yet come together whenever anyone tries to make fun of one of them or do anything that will make the others uncomfortable or in need of help.  They are there for each other and will remain so as long as they all survive.

I picked up this book because Charlotte Wood is a Booker nominee this year.  It hits home as I'm around the same age as these women and in the past year we are starting to see our own friends sicken and deal with old age maladies.  One can't help but think of what is ahead when you start seeing disease and frailness around you.  But these women pull together and the book ends on a hopeful note.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

Swimsuit by James Patterson

 

A model, in Hawaii for a swimsuit shoot, has gone missing.  Her parents drop everything and come to the island to help look for her.  But they won't find her as there is a serial killer on the loose.  Before he leaves, there will be three girls killed as well as the first girl's parents.  

Ben Hawkins used to be a policeman.  After he left the force, he became a journalist covering the crime beat.  His editor sends him to Hawaii and he meets and befriends the model's parents.  He is appalled at what is happening and vows to find the killer.  But the killer is also looking for him.  Henri kills for an audience; a group of rich individuals around the world who pay to view the killings he does.  

Henri has decided he wants to come clean and document all of his killings.  He picks Ben but tells him he will give him and his girlfriend if Ben doesn't write his story.  He kidnaps Ben and takes him to a remote national park where he chains him in a trailer while he tells his story.  Ben agrees to write his story but is in reality determined to put an end to Henri before he kills again.  Will he succeed?

James Patterson is known for his mysteries, usually these days written with another author.  Here his cowriter is Maxine Paetro.  This is a typical Patterson mystery, short chapters, choppy that move quickly.  The characters are shallow and the plot is not believable but the reader is drawn along by the structure and the desire to see how everything turns out.  This book is recommended for mystery fans who are Patterson fans.  

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

 

The year is 2083, the place New York City.  Chocolate and caffeine are outlawed and teenagers have a curfew imposed by the government.  Yet, teenage life goes on.  Anya Balanchine's life, however, isn't the typical teenage one.  She is the daughter of the former head of the organized crime family that rules NYC.  Her father is dead, shot in his office at home, and her mother was killed in a car accident that left her big brother, Leo, damaged for life.  She also has a little sister and they all live with her grandmother who is dying of old age.

Still, life goes on.  Anya goes to school and has the typical teenage dramas with friends and boys.  She has recently broken up with a boyfriend and isn't looking to replace him.  But then there is the new boy in school, Win.  He is the son of the assistant district attorney and should be avoided like poison ivy.  But he is determined to ask Anya out and she can't resist.  Soon they are in a relationship although his father forbids it.  

This is a young adult book and not really my normal reading preference but I did enjoy it.  It was fairly predictable but Leo gets into trouble and it's interesting to see how Anya protects everyone and interacts with the other crime lords.  She is an interesting character and the reader cannot help but be on her side as she sacrifices for others and protects them.  This book is recommended for young adults.  

Lum by Libby Ware

 

Lum isn't like the others in her mountain town in Virginia.  She was born with a different body, one that could be male or female.  Her mother told her she could never marry and the boys who knew bullied and teased her.  As she grew up, she became the one in the family who cooked and cleaned.  Now in her thirties, she spends her time moving from one relative's house to another, no place to call her own and always at someone else's beck and call.

But changes are about to come to the small town.  The President is planning a scenic mountain route, the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It will bring tourists with their money to the area and new jobs for the tourist trade.  But to make the road, the government needs to buy land and it's coming through Lum and her brothers' family farm.  The town splits into those supporting the plan and those opposing.  Soon there is violence in the air and neighbor is set against neighbor.

Changes are coming to Lum as well.  She is offered a job after spending time taking care of the town's banker when he is home sick for an extended time.  That leads to him offering her a job in the tourist trade that would give her a home of her own and money she can count on.  Can she leave the life she has always known for one with more freedom?

I loved this book.  I grew up near the Blue Ridge Parkway and my family was one of the tourists who went there on Sunday drives for picnics and to see the leaves turn and the stunning mountain views.  There were curvy mountain roads where you couldn't go over twenty or thirty and Mabry Mill with its buckwheat pancakes and chocolate milk.  Ware has captured that mountain magic and created a character in Lum that the reader will fall in love with.  This book is recommended for women's fiction readers.  

Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam

 

Amanda and Clay are a married couple who want to take a week's vacation out on Long Island.  Their son, Archie, is already a teenager and their daughter, Rose, is about to be.  This could be one of the last vacations they can take together.  They rent a house on Long Island, not on the water but a few miles back in the country which has a pool.  Everything is lovely.  They swim, lounge around and read, do puzzles and just relax.  

Then the television and the phones stop working.  They had heard a booming noise so their guess was that a substation had gone out although they still had lights.  A few hours later, after dark, a knock comes at the door and an African American couple are standing there.  They are G.H. and Ruth Washington and they own the house.  They told Amanda and Clay that the electricity was out in New York City and elsewhere and they had already been out of the city attending an event so decided to come to their house.  They ask if they can stay in the downstairs suite and offered to reimburse the family half their rent for the week.

Everyone tries to reassure everyone else that this is just something normal, but the fear is seeping in.  Rose sees hundreds of deer one morning on the move further north.  The adults see a flock of flamingos that night where flamingos should never be.  Amanda insists that they fill the bathtubs in case the water supply goes out and then Archie gets sick.  More loud noises occur, so loud they crack the windows in the house.  Is this the beginning or war?  A natural disaster?

This book got a lot of buzz when it was released.  It was a Best Book of the Year choice by multiple publications and a finalist for the National Book Award.  A movie has been made and is available to view.  Alam is a writer who lives in New York.  This book allows the reader to think about what they and their family would do in the event of a national emergency and how they would react to others.  Would they think only of their own family's safety?  How prepared would they be?  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman

 

Things are about the same as always in the senior home that houses the Thursday Murder Club.  Elizabeth is mysterious as ever but her time is taken more and more taking care of her husband, Stephen, who is slipping into dementia.  Ron has a girlfriend but is on the outs with her after an argument on when presents should be opened on Christmas.  Joyce is between boyfriends while Ibrahim is alone except for his friends and a few patients he still sees.

Then something shocking happens.  An antique dealer who is a friend of theirs is found murdered.  Who would want to hurt such a harmless man?  As the Thursday Murder Club starts their investigation, they are soon up to their necks in a drug deal gone wrong.  They meet the head of the drug trade in their area who warns them they are putting themselves in danger.  Another hard man, a Canadian who is married to an art forger, is also in the picture.  As the bodies start to pile up can the Club solve the case of the missing drugs that are causing all the mayhem?

This delightful series is now on its fourth book and the characters are as fascinating and humorous as ever.  Richard Osman is an author, television producer and presenter in England.  His writing style is slyly funny while pointing out the issues faced by those getting older and there are many twists as the story progresses.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.  

Two Nights In Lisbon by Chris Pavone

 Ariel Pryce hasn't been married long, so when her husband suggests that she accompany him on a business trip to Lisbon, she agrees.  It is to be somewhat of a honeymoon and the first night lives up to that promise.  A great meal, a lovely hotel and a night of passion.  But when Ariel wakes up the next morning, her husband isn't in the room.  At first she thinks he must be walking or eating breakfast but when he doesn't return and she notices belongings he should have with him still in the room, she starts to worry.

She goes to the police but they think she is an overanxious wife.  She tries the American Embassy but the same thing happens.  Unsure where to turn, she is given a cell phone on the street by a stranger and then it rings.  John has been kidnapped and the ransom is three million in cash within two days.

Ariel doesn't know what to do.  She and John are middle class and don't have anything like that kind of money.  She calls her first husband who is wealthy but he isn't willing to help.  Finally, she is forced to make a call she hoped she would never have to make to the man with whom she shares a dark secret but who is the only person she knows who has that kind of money.

Chris Pavone is a thriller writer whose work has been awarded most of the awards in this genre.  In this clever mystery, each chapter starts with the time and the day which increases the tension as Ariel's deadline to pay the ransom inches closer and closer.  There are many twists and turns which I didn't see coming and a very satisfactory ending.  This book is recommended for mystery and thriller fans.