Milkman by Anna Burns

The place is Northern Ireland during the time of The Troubles.  The conflict is everything and every aspect of life is filtered through the prism of which side you sympathize with and whether any action or thought of yours can be construed as supporting the enemy.  Everything is scrutinized and the result is a claustrophobic existence in which even names are valuable secrets that cannot be bandied about with freedom.

One girl tries to make her way through the cloudiness and restrictions.  We never learn her name.  We learn that there is a man called The Milkman who has staked a claim to her.  He is fairly high up in the paramilitary that controls everything so even though she has no interest in him, the community assumes she is his mistress and then condemns her for it.  Every family she knows has lost children to the conflict; she has lost a brother, another is exiled as is a sister.  She still lives with her mother whose only concern is getting her safely married and her younger female siblings. 

She learns lessons.  She has a maybe boyfriend who never comes to her neighborhood and whose existence she keeps secret.  There is a woman who poisons those around her but since the police and medical establishment are considered agents of the state, the community tries to handle the situation and cure those poisoned by themselves.  She learns that you can never expect love to work out and you marry someone who can suit rather than the one you really love as it will be too painful to lose them as you inevitably will.  You must fit in with no actions or thoughts that make you stand out.  The community is everything, the individual nothing.

Anna Burns has written a book that will be long remembered by readers.  It won the Booker Prize in 2018 and is deserving of that honor.  It shows the results of a land torn apart in a way that is like a blow to the heart.  Those who see the division that has struck our own country can read this book as a warning of what can occur when we lose the ability to even interact with those we disagree with.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Orphan Master by Jean Zimmerman

The year is 1663 but all is not well in the city of New Amsterdam.  Someone is taking orphans and the colony prides itself on looking after these lost souls.  The children are found later, murdered, mutilated and even cannibalized.  Who could be doing such horrific acts?

The orphan master comes under suspicion as he has the most access to the children as he arranges work or families for them.  But suspicion also falls on others, from wealthy black sheep from the best families to a huge former slave to an Indian who believes himself to be the witika, a spirit which lived on human flesh. 

The governor, Peter Stuyvesant, realizes that this is a crisis and informs his rudimentary police force that the killer must be discovered and captured.  But there are others working on this as well.  Edward Drummond is an Englishman new to the colony.  He presents himself as a trader but in reality is an English spy sent to America to find the whereabouts of three men who signed the death warrant for King Charles I.  Blandine van Couvering is a female trader who has gained her living after starting as an orphan herself.  She looks after the African Americans in the colony as well as befriending Kitane, the Indian whose illness makes him believe in the witika.  Blandine and Edward fall in love and race to find the killer at great personal cost.  Blandine is named as a witch while Edward's spying is discovered and he is condemned to hang for treason.  Can the killer be found in the midst of this uproar?

Jean Zimmerman has written both a compelling colonial mystery as well as giving the reader an accurate peek into the daily life of a Dutch American colony.  The Dutch settlers were different from the English in many ways, one of which was their tolerance of more freedom for women as displayed by the women traders to be found.  The intermingling of the various factions is also displayed in a positive fashion as well as the inevitability of the Dutch losing their foothold in the Americas.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction and mystery.

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger

Nell Flynn couldn't wait to get out of Suffolk County.  She doesn't have good memories from her childhood there after her mother was murdered when Nell was seven.  Her father was a homicide detective and was briefly suspected but he and Nell were miles away, camping in the forest.  Afterwards, though, her father was cold and distant as her mother had supplied all the warmth and color a little girl loved. 

Now Nell has returned after the death of her father in a motorcycle accident.  Nell is now an FBI agent; she lives her life on the road, consulting with police departments across the country on serial killers.  The life suits her; she has no interest in forming relationships with anyone.  Her last case left her wounded so she is out on leave to heal and has time to settle the estate and decide whether or not to sell the house and sever the last ties with her childhood.

When a body is found, a detective who was a childhood friend comes calling.  Lee wants Nell's help and expertise.  When Nell finds that there was another body found a year earlier and that her father was working on the case, her interest is piqued.  Soon she finds the pattern.  Both victims are young Hispanic women, both were occasional escorts hiring out to party with the wealthy men who inhabit Suffolk County and its beaches in the summer.  Both were dismembered then tied up in burlap and buried.  Is there a serial killer at work?  And horrible as it sounds, was that killer Nell's father?  The clues could point his way and he was hiding a lot of secrets.  Can Nell discover the truth?

Alger has written an interesting novel about how our childhood influences our choices in life.  Nell is wounded by her early loss and her father's coldness and distance.  Her mother's murder pointed the way to Nell's career and her father's skills and early influence made her a skillful investigator.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Booksie's Shelves, December 24, 2019

Christmas always means lots of books coming into the house.  I tend to give everyone I know books for gifts and while I'm buying for them, I often buy a couple for myself.  Then there are the best of lists that proliferate this time of year and I often end up buying books from various lists. Friends give me books they think I'll like and of course, I sometimes win books or various publishers send me books.   I wish everyone a happy holiday with lots of great books to read in the new year.  With that being said, here's what has come through the door lately:

1. From A Low And Quiet Sea, Donal Ryan, literary fiction, purchased
2.  Beginning With Cannonballs, Jill McCroskey Coupe, literary fiction, sent by publisher
3.  Amnesty, Aravind Adiga, literary fiction, won in contest
4.  A Queen In Hiding, Sarah Kozloff, fantasy, won in contest
5.  The Outsider, Stephen King, thriller, purchased
6.  The Other Gloria, L. A. Villafane, thriller, sent by publisher
7.  Look Me In The Eye, John Elder Robison, memoir, gift
8.  Midwinter, Fiona Melrose, literary fiction, purchased
9.  Death Of A Rainmaker, Laurie Loewenstein, mystery, purchased
10.  Delicious Foods, James Hannaham, literary fiction, purchased
11.  Miss Austen, Gill Hornby, literary fiction, won in contest
12.  House On Fire, Joseph Finder, thriller, sent by publisher
13.  When I Hit You, Meena Kandasamy, literary fiction, purchased
14.  The Guardians, John Grisham, legal thriller, purchased
15.  The Dark Lake, Sarah Bailey, mystery, purchased
16.  Crime Scene, Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman, mystery, purchased
17.  The Lonely Witness, William Boyle, mystery, purchased
18.  Beatlebone, Kevin Barry, literary fiction, purchased
19.  Bent Road, Lorie Roy, mystery, purchased

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear, Kindle Fire
2.  The Orphanmaster, Jean Zimmerman, paperback
3.  The Third Wife, Lisa Jewell, audio
4.  Milkman, Anna Burns, paperback
5.  Storm Prey, John Sandford, hardback
6.  Lions Of The West, Robert Morgan, hardback
7.  Once Upon A River, Diane Satterfield, Kindle Fire

Happy Reading!

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

No one ever really knows what goes on in a family once the doors are shut.  Sometimes things are wonderful and everyone gets their needs met and the family is a happy, supportive environment.  But sometimes that place that should be the happiest is a place of terror where everyone walks on tiptoes around an abuser who can go off at a moment's notice.  That was the case in the Knotek household

Shelley, the mother, was the queen bee, her every thought and word law to the rest of the household.  There were three children, Nikki, Sami and Tori, all by different husbands.  There was a nephew, Shane, who Shelley and Dave took in and raised.  Finally, there was Kathy and Ron, two people who were on their own.  Shelley insisted she was helping Kathy and Ron but in reality, she used them as slaves around the house and property and over months, slowly tortured them until they died.  Her husband lived away, just supplying his paycheck to Shelley and coming home on some weekends where she used him as an enforcer.

The girls were all subjected to abuse.  Beatings were routine and they always wore long sleeves and pants to school.  Shelley would tear up their homework, burn their books.  She would wake them from sleep and push them outside, nude, to spend the night in the cold Washington weather.  She tried to keep them from talking to each other, as isolation was one of her tools.  She told them lies and coached them until they could tell the stories as she had recreated them.

The girls kept their bond, even in secret, from Shelley.  After the first death, that of Kathy, Nikki was old enough to get away.  She told her grandmother and then the police about what was happening but nothing seemed to get done.  Shane disappeared and none of the girls believed Shelley's story about that.  Finally, after Ron's death, all the girls came forward and finally the police got involved.

Shelley and Dave were both jailed.  Dave has been paroled and Shelley has a release date of 2022.  Doctors believe that her sadistic, narcissistic personality won't have changed and worry for the next isolated person Shelley comes across.  Olsen has written a chilling narrative of a true American monster, one who managed to evade the law for years and will be released back on society in the future.  The sisters have managed to create successful lives for themselves and that is another take away from the book.  This book is recommended for true crime readers.

Gods Of Jade And Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Casiopea Tun has been dealt a bad hand in life.  Her mother, daughter of the richest man in their town, had married for love.  The family never accepted her husband, a poor Mexican, as they had pretensions of wealth and their standing in society.  When he died, he left Casiopea and her mother penniless and they had to move back in with the family where they were treated as servants and looked down on by the rest of the family.  The young scion of the family, Martin, was Casiopea's biggest burden.  He spent his days thinking of chores for her and ways to make her feel less than.

Everything changed the day Casiopea opened a chest in her grandfather's room when he was away.  It held the bones of the God of the Underworld, Hun-Kame.  Hun's kingdom had been stolen from him by his twin brother, Vucub-Kame.  Hun needs Casiopea's help to reclaim his kingdom.  If she succeeds, her every wish will be granted.  If they fail, she will die.

Casiopea and Hun start on their journey.  Hun's brother had taken valuable items from him and he needed to track each one down and get it back.  As they traveled, the relationship between the two, god and mortal, became blurred and evolved into friendship and maybe even love.  Gods don't feel friendship and love but one of Hun's bones had splintered and a part went into Casiopea's hand.  It made her essence slowly move from her to him, making him less godlike as the mortal spirit entered him.  Will Casiopea and Hun manage to overcome all the obstacles and take back Hun's birthright?

This retelling of Mexican folklore is magical.  Casiopea is a remarkable young woman.  Although put down and degraded by those around her, she manages to retain her wonder at all the things in the world and to keep her dreams alive.  She helps a god and dares to try to change his nature to make him more charitable and in the process, she finds a way to forgive her own family.  This book is recommended for readers of fantasy and those interested in the Latin viewpoint.

The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne

Betsy Phillimore returns to London for a sad occasion.  Her adoptive mother, Lady Phillimore has passed away and this is the memorial, held at the finishing school that was her love and passion.  Betsy came to the Phillimores when she was left on the doorstep in a box with a note asking them to raise her as a lady.  The Phillimores adopted her and she was raised at the school.  Betsy had a happy childhood but now lives in Edinburgh as she wanted to make it on her own.

Things have changed or more accurately, haven't changed along with the world which did.  The furnishings are looking a bit tatty.  The hordes of elegant women who have returned to honor Franny Phillimore are much more put together than the house which is tired looking.  When Betsy talks with Lord Phillimore, she finds that the school is having financial difficulties.  The curriculum is as tired as the house and is still teaching the students how to be a lady according to etiquette and standards of the sixties and seventies.  As the world changed, fewer and fewer families want that standard for their children and attendance is down.

Betsy resolves to do something to help.  She also wants to stick around and see if she can finally find out anything about her birth parents.  With the help of her best friend Liz, Matt who is the bursar of the academy and Jamie, Liz's dreamy brother who Betsy has always had a crush on, she works on updating the curriculum to offer advice on what a young professional women newly out on her own needs to know.  The lessons seem to be catching on but there are existing administrative employees that work to undermine Betsy and her ideas.  Can she turn around the school and discover her own life story?

This is an interesting, light-hearted romance that will have readers smiling as they read.  Betsy is an indomitable spirit who anyone would love to call their friend.  The tension between Betsy and Matt and Betsy and Jamie is delicious as there is more than a hint of love in the air.  The reader is also compelled to find out along with Betsy the story of her origins.  This book is recommended for romance readers.

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean

The year is 1992 and the place is a suburb in Australia.  It's summer and the hottest one in memory.  Five girls live on a cul-de-sac in the suburb and are inseparable.  Tikka Malloy is 11 that year; her sister Laura 14.  Their best friends are the Van Apfel girls.  Hannah is Laura's age, Cordelia is a year in school above Tikka and Ruth is the youngest.  The five girls are inseparable.  They go to school together and afterward, spend hours in the Van Apfel pool, eat ice creams, talk and tell secrets.

But there is one secret no one is talking about.  The Van Apfel family are religious and religion defines their lives.  Mr. Van Apfel controls everything in the house and the thing he most likes to control are his girls.  As time goes by, the Malloy girls start to guess the secret.  The secret of why Cordelia fell out of a tree breaking her arm.  The secret of why she sometimes had bruises or hair missing.  The secret behind the fact that the girls are going to run away.

And they did.  At the annual school Showstopper event, the girls vanished.  Did they run away?  Were they taken by someone?  Why aren't they being found, after days and weeks of searches and police investigations?  Their disappearance changed everything in the development and defined the Malloy girls' childhood which ended that night.

Now Tikka is back home for a visit.  She now lives in the United States and works as a lab technician.  While she is back, she and Laura work through that summer and their memories, trying to make sense of all the clues that they were too young to understand back then.

This is a debut novel and it's success makes Felicity McLean an Australian author to watch for in the future.  It was a highly buzzed book with such publications as Cosmopolitian and Entertainment Weekly calling it the book of the summer the year of publication.  I enjoyed the coming of age aspect of the novel and the slow unfolding of how Tikka came to realize that something was very wrong next door.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Broken Prey by John Sandford

The first body is that of a woman.  She has been left displayed, her naked body scourged by something like a wire flail.  Lucas Davenport gets a bad feeling about the crime as soon as he sees it, a feeling shared by his counterpart Sloan.  Sloan is about to retire and he doesn't want a major crime in his last days to investigate.  The second body is that of a young father and his son.  Again the man's body has been displayed and whipped.

Davenport gets his team together and they start to investigate whether other crimes have occurred and somehow flown under the radar.  As the body count starts to mount, the seasoned investigators realize that the crimes mimic those of some of the worst killers they have encountered in the past.  Those men are all still in prison.  Is their a copycat killer and if so, how does this new killer have all the details of the past?

The investigation moves to the prison and interviews are held with the men Davenport and Sloan have put away.  They leave convinced that the killers have coached someone to kill as they did, but who?  Is it a former prisoner?  A prison guard or other staff member?  A visitor?  As the investigation becomes more focused, the bodies continue to come and the plot moves through twists and turns.

This is the sixteenth Lucas Davenport novel.  Lucas' wife, Weather, is in London during this book with the couple's children on a surgical exchange.  Lucas is left to his own devices, pushing himself longer and harder than he usually does as there is no brake on his actions.  The plot is full of twists and the reader will be hard pressed to guess the ending.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Comanche Empire by Pekka Hamalainen

This work is the definitive telling of the rise and fall of the Comanche tribe and how it became the preeminent tribe of the Southwest.  At the start of its rise, the Comanche were just another tribe of many others.  Hamalainen shows evidence that the tribe's rise to prominence came from its ability to entirely remake it's culture and daily living routines.  It went from a hunting gathering society to one based on horses, raising and trading them, using them to become master hunters of buffalo and changing from a stationary to a mobile society.

The area of land the Comanche claimed was claimed by other cultures as well.  Both the Spanish and the French had claims on the territory as well as the Americans after the Louisiana Purchase.  The Comanche were able to play these competing claims and governments against one another to aid them in creating their trade empire.  They also used the settlers in these areas as a resource for more stock; raiding and taking off hundreds and sometimes thousands of cattle and horses annually.  Some of these were kept while the vast majority formed the basis of their trade and a means to gain produce to make up for the end of their farming activity as well as the guns and other metal tools needed for their daily activities.

At its peak, there were approximately forty thousand members of the tribe.  The fall of the empire came from various catastrophes.  There were periodic epidemics of diseases such as smallpox that the natives had no immunity to.  There was the incessant migration of settlers, determined to claim and farm land the Comanche had used as free range.  Finally, there was the extermination of the vast buffalo herds, due to natural causes such as long droughts which impacted grazing ability and the indiscriminate hunting of both the Indians and those who would kill massive numbers of buffalo just for the skins or some small part of the animal.

This book is part of the Lamar Series of Western History and the author is an associate professor of history at the University of California.  It explores the intricate causes that allowed the Comanche to succeed and those details that eventually insured their defeat as a nation.  Along the way, the reader is exposed to a myriad of knowledge about topics such as daily life, the use of slaves in the society, the role of men, women and children in this society and how the negotiation style allowed the elders to interact with the interlopers threatening their way of life.  This book is recommended for history readers.

Body Leaping Backward

It was a typical family in the suburbs in the 1970's.  Maureen Stanton was born into a middle class family in Walpole, Massachusetts.  Her dad was a computer programmer and her mother stayed at home with the seven children.  There was a hot meal every evening and sing alongs with her dad playing the piano.  There were family trips and bedtime stories.

Then everything changed.  Maureen's parents separated and nothing was the same.  The just enough money became not enough money.  Her saintly mother now routinely shoplifted clothes and food with the children watching.  Her dad was relegated to infrequent, strained time with the children.  There was little supervision of the children and no more sing alongs.

The children spiraled downward.  One of the main features of their town was the infamous Walpole Penitentiary, where such criminals as The Boston Strangler were incarcerated.  Over the years, the children had various friends who ended up there as well.  They were left basically without supervision as their mother went back to work and then started dating; often leaving for entire weekends with her new boyfriend.  As is often the case, unsupervised children find bad things to do.

In Maureen's case, it was angel dust and alcohol.  For about two years in high school, she was high daily, smoking dust right before school which was not much more than a haze that occasionally interrupted her highs.  She and her friends lived to party.  They did dangerous things for money for drugs and sold them.  They hitchhiked and took rides from men all the time, usually so impaired that it was only by the grace of God that they weren't harmed.  Her mother and teachers didn't seem to notice or at least never seemed to intervene.  Maureen was left to work her own way out of her addictions and hopelessness. 

This memoir was meant by the author, I think, to highlight the issues surrounding drugs and how they can impact young people's lives.  What came through to me, instead, was the incredible lack of supervision and help she encountered from the adults in her life.  Today the helicopter parent gets lots of bad press and every generation has it's own way to get parenting wrong.  But the way that Maureen was left to flounder around steeped in alcohol and drugs without adult intervention was far worse in my mind.  This book is a warning to parents and recommended for readers of memoirs and those interested in social issues.

Night Boat To Tangier by Kevin Barry

They sit on the benches in the ferry depot, waiting.  They appear to be typical middle-aged men in their fifties, still full of life but with some issues.  One has a significant limp and the other man has a ruined eye.  They sit and chat, waiting for it emerges, the daughter of one of the men.  But Maurice Hearne and Charlie Redmond are not typical Irish men out for a pleasant outing.  They are longtime friends/enemies and the daughter they are waiting for won't be pleased to see them.

As they sit, they talk and over the course of hours, their life stories emerge.  It's a tale of modern day smugglers; their cargo the drugs that ruined a generation in Ireland.  It's a tale of love and betrayal, friendships forged in love yet betrayed in an instant.  It's a tale of women loved and cheated on, families left behind or put in danger, violence when necessary and months of hiding out from those who would do them harm.  It turns out the daughter has fled to escape the chaos of daily life around these two and will not be glad to see them if she appears.  They are sitting there on the basis of a rumor that she might be passing through, hoping to find her if she appears and that she will be willing to speak with them.

This novel is a Booker nominee this year and one of the best books I've read.  The slow unfolding of the men's stories, of their long friendship and casual betrayals, of an entire generation of crime and hopelessness in Ireland is unforgettable.  These are not cuddly men but they are men the reader will not soon forget.  This book is recommended highly for readers of literary fiction.

The Dogs Of Christmas by J. Bruce Cameron

Josh Michaels is a loner.  An IT guy who works from home, his social life had been his girlfriend Amanda.  When she leaves him for another man, Josh pulls even further into himself, living in the house he grew up in, friendly enough but not putting himself out to make much human contact.  Then his neighbor shows up at the door.  Josh has never much cared for the man as he is a party guy and kind of sketchy.  The guy begs Josh to take care of his dog for a day or so until he can find someone to take it on a more permanent basis.  He says he has to go overseas at a moment's notice and that this dog was his girlfriend's dog and she deserted it when she left him.

Josh knows nothing about taking care of dogs but reluctantly agrees.  The dog, Lucy, he notices, is about to have puppies so that is an even higher level of commitment.  When Lucy goes into labor, he takes her to the vet to have her puppies but the vet comes out and tells him all the puppies were stillborn due to the bad food the mother has been eating.  Heartbroken, Josh and Lucy drive to his cabin in the start of a snow storm.  As he builds a fire, Josh notices Lucy is sad.  When he goes out for more firewood, he notices a box has been left in the back of his truck.  When he opens it, there are five little almost frozen puppies; someone had brought them to the vet.

Josh and Lucy's lives are changed.  Lucy now has five puppies to raise and Josh starts to meet new people through the puppies.  Kerri works at the local rescue and helps him raise and socialize the puppies while encouraging him to adopt them out.  He meets people who fall in love with the puppies.  Is this the changing point of his life?

I've had this book for years but avoided it.  I don't particularly like books centered on a holiday and while I've always had a dog, I'm not a fanatic about it.  But this book was more about Josh and his struggle to overcome his introversion and make a new life than about Christmas or being devoted to a dog to the exclusion of other things.  It was predictable but that is the point of feel good books; you know whatever happens things will work out in the end.  This book is recommended for reading dog lovers.

Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Someone is killing in New Orleans.  That's nothing new but the method of this killer is.  Two small punctures are made on the wrist and the victim is totally drained of blood.  Male or female, doesn't seem to matter.  There's a vampire serial killer at large and someone needs to find and stop it.

Detective Parks is the man assigned to the case.  He is willing to work it with all the resources at his command, but it's soon clear as the victims continue to mount that this is no ordinary killer.  It will take unordinary measures to capture it.  Marie Levant is an ER doctor but also the great-great-granddaughter of the Voodoo Queen Marie Leaveau.  She is drawn to the case and realizes that this is no human.  It is a spirit which has returned from the past to haunt New Orleans again as it did before.  Each kill gives the spirit more strength and a more solid presence. 

As the two partner together one more thing becomes clear.  The spirit vampire is not here by mistake.  It is here and drawn to Marie due to her ties to the past.  Her relative was the woman who sent it away before and now it is back to take revenge.  Can the two destroy it before it destroys Marie?

This is the second book in a trilogy that Rhodes has written about her heritage and the heritage of New Orleans.  It is full of the spooky, witchy feeling that New Orleans is known for.  As the killings and tension mount, the reader not only is drawn into the investigation but into the history of that city.  This book is recommended to readers interested in black literature, historical literature or thrillers.

The Last Of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez

They were assigned as roommates at Barnard College in the late 60's.  No one would have expected them to become friends.  Georgette George never even expected to go to college since no one in her family ever had.  Her family was poor and dysfunctional; that year while she went to college on a full scholarship her younger sister hit the road and disappeared.  Ann Drayton was her exact opposite.  She was the child of wealth, the only child of two highly successful parents and who rejected everything about her background and upbringing.  Ann lived her life totally in opposition to everything around her; everything she saw as unfair.  She was there for the anti-war, anti-society movements such as the SDS, the Black Panthers, etc.  Ann was determined to see justice and equality in the world no matter what it cost and Georgette was the example of everything Ann wanted to make right.

Their lives diverted after college.  Each of them left before graduating.  Ann ended up living with an older man, an African American schoolteacher who made her happy.  Georgette ended up marrying twice and having two children and later in life, going back, graduating and becoming an author.  Ann's life was very different.  She ended up in prison for life, her sentence the result of killing a policeman who shot her boyfriend in a traffic stop incident.  The two women lost touch and lived separate lives yet the memories of their college days were strong in each of them as their later lives unfolded.

Sigrid Nunez has written an interesting portrayal of the late 60's, early 70's when the youth of our country rebelled.  They rebelled against the Vietnam War, against the racial prejudice that permeated our nation, against the inequality that was the way of life.  Inevitably, some learned to accommodate their lives to the society and work to change it from within.  Some were lost forever in their determined approach to change everything around them by whatever means, even violent ones.  This novel was named as a Best Book by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Christian Science Monitor.  It is recommended for readers of literary fiction. 

The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck

They met in Paris in 1854.  Ella Lynch is a courtesan who has been with several men but is at loose ends and looking for support.  Francisco Solano is a young brash man, rich and exploring Europe.  He is instantly smitten with Ella and soon she is his; the deal sealed with the purchase of her beloved horse, Mathilde.  Francisco loves being in Europe where he can have anything he likes and is admired by everyone but his father is the President of Paraguay and when he insists on Francisco's return, he must obey.  He decides to take Ella with him.

She packs up and goes, thinking she will probably stay for only a while.  Instead, she stays with Francisco through his rise to become the dictator of Paraguay.  They never marry due to his family's disapproval of Ella but they remain lovers and have a large family.  She is his closest confidante and the only person he trusts consistently over the years.  He falls out with most people, condemning his enemies to torture and death, even members of his own family.

As the years go by, Francisco becomes steadily more determined to control everything around him.  This leads him to enter a deadly war with the neighboring countries and to refuse to see that the war is going badly and he needs to talk terms.  Finally, his time is done and so is his love affair with Ella, who returns with her surviving children to France.

This is an interesting historical fiction about a time and place most people are not that familiar with.  The characters are roughly drawn and it is difficult to understand what turns Francisco into the monster he becomes from the debonair young man who won Ella's heart.  It is a bleak view of human relationships and a eye-opening view of the difficulty of everyday life in many countries at this time period.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

All The Paths Of Shadow by Frank Tuttle

Meralda has quite a task before her.  She is the new Mage of her kingdom, Tirlin.  She is young and there are those who don't believe she is up to the task.  Especially since she is the first woman to ever hold the title.  King Yvin appointed her as she was the brightest student to come through the academy in history and she had the backing of the former occupants of her office, but she hasn't really solidified his support.

Tirlin is facing a momentous occasion.  All the countries around, including the mysterious country of Hang, have arrived in the capital to sign peace accords.  It is the biggest event in anyone's memory and King Yvin is determined that everything will be perfect.  He calls Meralda to him and gives her the task.  She is to move the shadow of the Tower from where he will be giving his speech after the accord is signed.  Surely she can do a little thing like move a shadow, right?

As Meralda thinks of how she can accomplish this, she visits the Tower.  The Tower is the biggest structure in the kingdom and it throws a huge shadow.  More importantly, it is rumored to be haunted and those who dare to enter are never seen in the same shape again.  As Meralda explores the Tower with the help of her bodyguards, she learns a secret that can destroy the country.  Add in those who are working against her and the accords and her job seems impossible.  Can Meralda save her country?

This is the first book in a trilogy about Meralda.  This series is more of a young adult science fiction.  The magic Meralda uses is based in solid mathematics and her struggles as the first woman in her position ring true.  It is not very violent and the romance in it is quite tame.  Readers of the appropriate age will enjoy reading about Meralda and her abilities and challenges.  This book is recommended for young adult science fiction readers.

Booksie's Shelves, November 18, 2019

It's almost Thanksgiving which is one of my favorite holidays.  There is food and family, football and lazy day indulgence.  This year my husband and I are driving down three hours to Columbia where my daughter is in her senior year of college and my son and his girlfriend are driving up from Atlanta to meet us there.  We're all going to meet for a meal and fellowship and I'm looking forward to it.  The local museum is having a Van Gogh exhibit that we can see while there and all in all, it should be a great day.  About two weeks ago I went to a great event at Bookmarks, a fantastic bookstore in Winston-Salem.  There were three speakers.  One was a publisher's representative who talked about upcoming books of note, another was a friend of mine who heads up the National Women's Reading group to present her list of best reads for this year and talk about successful strategies for book clubs and third was the author Therese Ann Fowler to talk about her latest novel, A Good Neighborhood.  As we left, we each got a book bag full of ARCs and it was one of the most satisfying events I've attended.  Here's what's come through the door lately:

1.  A Good Neighborhood, Therese Anne Fowler, literary fiction, gift
2.  Just Watch Me, Jeff Lindsay, thriller, sent by publisher
3.  The Rabbit Hunter, Lars Kepler, mystery, sent by publisher
4.  Our Better Angels, Jonathan Reckford, nonfiction, sent by publisher
5.  FKA USA, Reed King, literary fiction, gift
6.  The Idiot, Elif Batuman, literary fiction, purchased
7.  Cilka's Journey, Heather Morris, literary fiction, gift
8.  Renia's Diary, Renia Spiegel, memoir, gift
9.  A Rip In Heaven, Jeanine Cummins, memoir, purchased
10.  Greenwood, Michael Christie, literary fiction, won in contest
11.  The Wildlands, Abby Geni, literary fiction, purchased

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  All The Paths Of Shadow, Frank Tuttle, Kindle Fire
2.  Moon, Jewell Parker Rhodes, paperback
3.  The Last Of Her Kind, Sigrid Nunez, hardback
4.  The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone, Felicity McLean, audio
5.  The News From Paraguay, Lily Tuck, paperback
6.  The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan, paperback
7.  Comanche Empire, Pekka Hamalainen, paperback

Happy Reading!

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster

This is a coming of age novel of Archie Ferguson, set in New Jersey in the 1950's and 1960's.  That could be interesting although rather commonplace but what sets this novel apart is that the author has created four different life stories for Archie.   Our lives are a series of decisions, and what we choose at various points changes the paths our lives will go down and make us a very different person that other choices might have resulted in.

We look in at the four Archies at various stages, young child, around ten, teen years, college years, etc.  There are similarities; all have the same parents, Rose and Stanley Ferguson, all love baseball, all are interested in writing, all fall in love with the same girl.  But the paths vary and sometimes the parents stay together, sometimes they divorce.  Sometimes Archie gets the girl and sometimes he doesn't.  He has various successes with his writing.  How he reacts to the large events of his time; the Vietnam War, the ending of segregation, the student uprisings at universities like Columbia, vary. 

This novel is a tour-de-force for Auster.  It was shortlisted for the 2017 Booker Prize and a Best Book of the Year by such publications as the New York Times Book Review, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, the Spectator UK and the Huffington Post.   It is approachable and a joy to read, unlike some of Auster's other works which are quite experimental.  The reader is caught up in each rendition of Archie's story and as the years go by, the life granted to him becomes clearer.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Gods Of Guilt by Michael Connelly

When Mickey Haller hears that a prisoner has asked to speak to him and hire him as his lawyer in a murder case, his first reaction is relief.  Things haven't been going well at the law firm.  After Haller gets a client off on drunk driving charges and that client later kills a mother and daughter in another drunk driving incident, Haller's name is mud in the local press.  His daughter knew the victims and she isn't speaking to him and his caseload went into a spiral.  Things aren't going well for Mickey.

When he meets with the prisoner, he finds out that the murder victim was someone he knew.  Gloria was a call girl and after helping her several times, Mickey had given her a stake so that she could move to Hawaii and leave the life.  Except he now finds that she didn't leave the life or even leave Los Angeles.  She's been there all along, on the same old game and now she is dead.  Her pimp, who ran her website, is the accused and Haller's newest client.

The more Haller talks to Andre the more he starts to believe he is actually innocent.  But if Andre didn't kill Gloria, who did?  After investigation Mickey thinks he knows that but how can he prove it in court and gain Andre's freedom?  There is danger whichever strategy he chooses but he needs to make things right with his memory of Gloria.

This is the fifth book in the Mickey Haller series.  Mickey has an entire group of people depending on him and his law practice, unlike his half brother, Bosch, who can be more of a lone wolf.  Haller has his ex-wife working for him and her new husband is his investigator.  He is training a new lawyer and spends lots of time with his mentor who is now in a nursing home.  Readers who are fans of Michael Connelly will enjoy this novel and the unfolding of another Mickey Haller case.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Girl Jacked by Christopher Greyson

When Jack Stratton returns home after his wartime service, he is at loose ends.  He decides to become a policeman which is the closest occupation to the skills he learned in the military.  He is doing well and taking all the training he can get but he is low man on the totem pole and most of the crimes he investigates are traffic related or breaking up fights in bars or at homes.  Underneath the calm exterior though, Jack is a mess.  He joined the service with his best friend, Chandler who he considered a brother after sharing a foster home for several years.  Chandler did not make it home and Jack blames himself.  He bounces from woman to woman, drinks too much and has not made it over to see Aunt Hattie,  Michelle and Replacement, the woman who raised him and Chandler and his sisters.

So Jack is shocked when Replacement shows up at his apartment one morning.  She informs him that Michelle is missing and they need Jack's help to find her.  Apparently, according to the police, Michelle left her promising college career to suddenly transfer to the West Coast and a university there.  Jack is hesitant to look for Michelle, knowing that this will bring him face to face with the abandonment he has committed with her family.  But as he remembers his childhood, he finally agrees to take it on.

Replacement is determined to help although she has no police experience.  She does have computer skills which Jack lacks and has found out that the West Coast university has no record of Michelle actually getting there and attending classes.  It's not possible that Michelle has just dropped out since her education was a hard fought opportunity she would never give up.  Can Jack and Replacement find Michelle?

This is the first in a series of detective novels featuring Jack and his sidekick, his former foster sister.  Jack is a troubled soul, the son of a prostitute who abandoned him one day when he was seven after telling him he didn't know jack.  His time with Aunt Hattie and his foster brother and sisters helped him join society and although he was later adopted, he knows he has a huge debt to pay to that first foster family.  Replacement was the bratty kid sister back then but has grown up into a woman who knows her own mind and has an ambiguous relationship with Jack.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Trond Sander has moved to a cabin to live out his retirement years.  It needs a lot of work but that is fine as he has nothing but time to fill.  He lives there with his dog and one neighbor, a man that he realizes is the younger brother of one of his childhood friends.  For Trond has moved back to the area where he spent his summers with his father as he became a young man.

As he looks back, the summer when he was fifteen is the one he thinks about most.  That was the summer he and his friend spent hours together, stealing rides from the neighbor's horses, fishing, swimming and getting into mischief.  It is the summer he is man enough to help his father cut a stand of timber and send it downriver to sell.  It is the summer he becomes aware of women and his response to them.  And it is the summer that he starts to realize that his father has many secrets, most of them related to World War II and his part in that conflict.

Per Petterson is a Norwegian novelist who writes of the lives there and the pain found in life.  He himself lost his family (mother, father, younger brother and niece) in a tragedy and this has shaped his writing.  This novel won the two most prestigious Norwegian literary awards and when translated to English it won the International Dublin Literary Award and was in the top 10 best books selected by the New York Times Book Review.  His look back at what events form us as individuals and the slow unfolding of the story make this book an instant classic and it is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

This is the third book in the Wheel Of Time series.  As it begins, the group of individuals have split on different missions.  Rand has gone off by himself, not sure if he is really the Dragon but if so, he wants to protect those around him if he should go mad.  The three Aes Sedai in training, Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne, have returned to their training and punishment for leaving.  Mat is recovering from the near death he encountered by holding onto the knife of evil.  Perrin and Lolial are with Moiraine and Lan along with Min. 

As the action picks up, Rand decides he must know once and for all if he is truly the Dragon.  Lore tells him that only the true Dragon will be able to grasp and use the Sword of Callandor, secured in the Heart Of Stone tower in Tear.  He decides he must go there and find out his fate.  The three young Aes Sedai are given a mission by the head of the group.  Thirteen Aes Sedai have gone over to the Dark Lord and as the Black Ajah, are working for his good and Rand's destruction.  As they realise that these Black Ajah have gone to Tear, they understand that they must follow them there to defeat them.  Moraine has her own reasons for heading to Tear as she needs to do what she can to safeguard Rand.  Mat heads there when after learning that the man courting Elayne's Queen mother is planning to assassinate Elayne. 

All head for Tear where they will unite as Rand makes his climatic stand that will set his path going forward.  A new character, Faile, joins the group as she tries to find the Horn, unaware that it has already been found.  Faile will become the love interest of Perrin although it is unclear what part she will play in the story going forward.  All in all, this novel has lots of additional world building and ends with a battle between good and evil that will set the rest of the books in motion.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

Booksie's Shelves, October 28, 2019

It's getting late in October and I have a real treat coming this evening.  I was lucky enough to get a ticket to go hear Ann Patchett speak.  I love this author and have read most if not all of her books so I'm really looking forward to this.  You can read my review of her latest, The Dutch House, if you scroll down.  I'm moving along on my promise to my son.  His favorite series is the Wheel Of Time series by Robert Jordan.  I started it years ago but got sidetracked and I promised him this would be the year.  Since each novel in the series is 600 pages or more, it's a big time commitment but it's going well this time.  I just finished the third book yesterday and I'm off to the library for book four in a bit.  I've read some great books lately such as Lincoln In The Bardo and Kate Atkinson's Big Sky and I'm in the midst of other great ones such as Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1.  Here's what's come through the door lately:

1.  If You Tell, Gregg Olsen, true crime, sent by publisher
2.  The God Game, Danny Tobey, thriller, sent by publisher
3.  The Nanny, Gilly Macmillan, psychological suspense, sent by publisher
4.  The Cask Of Cranglimmering, Dawn Vogel, fantasy, sent by publisher
5.  Golden In Death, J. D. Robb, mystery, won in contest
6.  Body Leaping Backward, Maureen Stanton, memoir, sent for blog tour
7.  Elevator Pitch, Linwood Barclay, thriller, sent by publisher
8.  Unforsaken, John Swaine McKenna, western, sent by publisher
9.  Wolf Season, Helen Benedict, literary fiction, purchased
10.  Scatter, Adapt, And Remember, Annalee Newitz, nonfiction, purchased
11.  A Bond Undone, Jin Yong, sci fi/fantasy, won in contest
12.  The Middle Sister, Jesse Miles, mystery, sent by publisher
13.  The Forgetting Flower, Karen Hugg, mystery, sent by publisher

Here's what I'm reading:

1. 4 3 2 1, Paul Auster, paperback
2.  The Gods Of Guilt, Michael Connelly, audio
3.  The Shadow Rises, Robert Jordan, paperback
4.  Out Stealing Horses, Per Petterson, hardback
5.  Fates And Furies, Lauren Groff, paperback
6.  Girl, Jacked, Christopher Grayson, Kindle Fire
7.  Storm Prey, John Sandford, hardback

Happy Reading!

The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy

Most men would be glad to have Ben Bradford's life.  He has a wife and two little boys.  He has a great job as an estate lawyer, one that allows the family to live in an upscale Connecticut suburb from which Ben rides the train every day into Manhattan. 

But this wasn't the life he had envisioned and under the surface it wasn't nearly as bright as it appeared to others.  His great job was tedious and it surely wasn't the one of being a photojournalist that he had expected to have.  He periodically catches glimpses of his college girlfriend on television as she managed to get her dream job and is now a foreign correspondent on television.  He makes a lot of money but they spend it all on various things that don't bring satisfaction for long.  His marriage has gone cold after the birth of his second son and he comes to realize that his wife, Beth, has found her own release in the form of a torrid affair with a local guy who pretends he is on the verge of a discovery as a photographer. 

Ben is thrown for a loop by his discovery of the affair and it makes him reexamine his entire life.  What does it add up to?  When a tragedy happens that could send him to prison it becomes easy for him to set up the appearance of his death and flee his life to try to start again.  He ends up in Montana and there he finds the success he never expected to find.  Can his new life really be the one he was meant to live?

Douglas Kennedy has written a story of adult disappointments and how our lives seldom turn out to be what we had fantasized they would be.  It showcases how difficult it is to make love last and how living for someone else can only ever bring heartbreak.  Whether or not we have the strength to grab our lives and make them fit what we wanted is the main question we all face.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders

The time is 1862.  The United States is one year into the massive Civil War that tears its fabric apart, pitting families against each other and bringing death and destruction to so many.  The President is Abraham Lincoln and he questions whether what he has started was the right step and where his decisions will lead the nation.  In the midst of this, his beloved son Willie, sickens and dies.

Lincoln In The Bardo is George Saunder's imaginative retelling of the time right after Willie's death, when Abraham Lincoln is caught up in grief that will not let him surrender his son to the inevitable separation that death brings.  The Bardo is the limbo between death and the final destination of the soul, whether hell or heaven.  Lincoln visits his son's body at the cemetery where he has been taken and wonders how he will ever manage to let his son go.  The inhabitants of the cemetery, souls who have not yet left the Earth for their final trip, are caught up in the grief of the parent and the task of convincing him of the inevitability of death and the necessity of acknowledging it and moving beyond to acceptance.

There is a large cast of characters with all the souls waiting there.  Three men stand out as the main ones, a man whose inability to reconcile himself to the life that being gay would entail, a man who was not able to make his marriage work and a reverend who fears that he will never make it to heaven despite leading what he thought was a moral life.  There are many others who flit in and out of the story, a set of African-American souls who are working off the lifelong sorrows of slavery, those who spent their lives in poverty and acrimony, those who were snatched from life before they really lived it as they expected.  All are disappointed at their deaths and all must reconcile their earthly longings before they can move one.  In the meantime, Saunders also gives a feel for what the historical context of this moment in our nation's history was like.

Lincoln In The Bardo comes highly recommended.  It won the Booker Prize in 2017 and the Audie Award in 2018.  It is a highly imaginative and creative effort that stands out as a new form of literature.  It is also very divisive.  I read this with my book club and people either loved it or hated it.  I was on the side that loved it as it caught the reader up and transported one to a place where every decision is a weighty one that has decisive consequences.  I was shocked at the historical snippets that showed the vituperation that Lincoln underwent in the press and historical writings of the time.  We revere him as one of our greatest individuals but he was not loved in his own time; rather he was hated and mocked and his every decision questioned.  It gives a new way to process the divisive times of political turmoil our country is in at the present.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

In this fifth Jackson Brodie novel, Jackson has moved up north and lives in a small fishing village.  His days as a policeman are over and he makes his living as a private detective these days, finding proof of cheating spouses his mainstay.  He isn't quite alone as his teenage son lives with him part-time as does the dog that comes with him.  Jackson didn't know about Nathan for several years as his partner, Julia, decided she wanted to keep him to herself for his baby years and its a challenge to raise someone of the new generation whose desires and expectations are so different from when Jackson was a boy.  Still, he loves Nathan and since he's on the outs with his daughter, it's his only chance at fatherhood.

As Jackson goes through his days, he encounters a new woman.  Crystal is drop dead gorgeous and has used her looks and intelligence to claw her way up from a horrid childhood full of abuse.  She's married to Tommy, whose first wife died in an accident.  Crystal has an adored little girl and a stepson, Harry, who she can't help but love.  Tommy is another matter.  He seems to have lots of secret business calls and trips and she isn't really sure what he does.  Tommy is part of a group of men who have solidified their friendship by going into business.  Steve is the boss, a lawyer who knows everyone and what is legal and what's not.   Andy is a charming man who can make anyone feel comfortable.  Vince is the odd man out; an ex-soldier with IT skills but going through a divorce in which he will lose everything.  Then Vince's soon to be ex wife is found murdered and things start to come apart.

It seems that there is a human trafficking circle in the area and all the men except Vince are involved.  In fact, that's the source of the money that keeps their willingly blind wives in luxury.  Jackson brushes up against the edges of the group as he goes about his investigations and soon becomes an ally of Crystal's. 

Kate Atkinson has created an endearing character in Jackson.  He has a clear moral compass, although it might not keep him on the legal side of the ledger at times.  He is determined to protect those around him but they often see him as failing at this job.  Yet Brodie manages to come through time after time, handing out justice and help evenhandedly.  This book is recommended for readers of  mysteries.

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ryder is a famous concert pianist.  He has come to an unnamed Eastern European city to give a concert.  It's unclear why he has come and he travels so much that he rarely even knows where he is or what his schedule is on any given day.  He checks into a hotel and everyone there is excited to see him and it's clear there is an enormous amount of hope being put into this concert.  As the days before his performance go by, Ryder finds he is caught up in other people's dramas to the detriment of his own work.  But they all seem to have a claim on him.

There is the famous conductor who has been mired in alcoholism for years but seems to have managed to dry out for this performance which he hopes will reestablish his career.  There is the woman who has waited years for him and is not sure if she should continue to hope that there can be a life for them.  There is the beginning concert pianist who isn't sure if his talent is really big enough to take him out of his hometown.  His parents are simultaneously his biggest fans and critics and their marriage which is disintegrating plays a part in how they perceive him.

As Ryder visits and explores he starts to realize that he has been here before and in fact, might even have lived here.  The main porter at the hotel may be his father in law, and he may still have a wife and son here who wonder why he has been gone so long.  Old friends want slices of his time to talk over old times and grievances and several factions in the city think that only Ryder can solve their problems.  Adding another level, his parents are to come to the performance and he hasn't seen them for many years.  As the performance approaches, Ryder gets further and further behind in his professional obligations as the personal ones he has ignored for so long push to the fore.

Kazuo Ishiguro has written a sly commentary on success and on the need for connection.  The writing is nonsensical at times and the reader can feel lost in all the dramas Ryder encounters.  But through everything, it is clear that only connection to others can save us and make our lives worth living.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

When the cities disappeared, those people who managed to survive all had to migrate to continue to exist.  They fled the destruction, the violence that decimated tribes and families.  Eventually, they ended up in the enclaves and cities that still existed; cities like Qaanaaq, an arctic city built around an oil rig.  Everyone lives in one of the eight arms; the arms vary in their space and amenities.  As is the case worldwide those with money inhabit the nicest arm and those with less are pushed further and further down the scale into arms ridden with crime and disease.

But something is happening.  The shareholders who rule the city due to their wealth and possession of the controlling software that runs the city are more and more remote from the rest of the people and know little of their lives and problems.  A new disease has arisen.  The breaks, as it is called, is sexually transmitted and those infected are swarmed with the memories and thoughts of those they contracted it from and those who that person got it from, a chain of memories and thoughts that eventually drive the victims mad.  The breaks is no respecter of place or money; it destroys everyone it contacts indiscriminately.

Then something even more unexpected happens.  A woman appears in the Northern Sea, riding an orca and accompanied by a polar bear.  Who is she?  Why has she come?  What will she do?  She is violent and is determined to meet her goals although those are not immediately clear.  She inserts herself into the emerging chaos of the battle between the shareholders and the criminal overloads and gathers a family around her.  Who will emerge victorious?

This novel was nominated as a Nebula Best Novel in 2018.  It is an original, highly entertaining and thought-provoking novel, one that the reader will remember long after the last page is turned.  The world building is superb, with a cold, uncaring world that seems likely after a worldwide destruction yet the people who survive still search for meaning and connection.  The last ten percent of the novel are as stunning a resolution as I can remember reading.  This book is recommended for science fiction readers.

Knife by Jo Nesbo

Things are not going well for Harry Hole.  He's back drinking again.  Rakel, the love of his life, has kicked him out and without her and Oleg, their son, there's just not much he cares about, least of all taking care of himself.  He's working on cold cases for the police department as the only thing Harry is good at is detective work.  A serial rapist and maybe murderer who Harry put away is back on the streets after being released and Harry is sure that this man cannot change his ways.  He wants to find the man and convict him of new crimes so that he cannot hurt more women.

But bad can go to worse and that's often the case for Harry.  He wakes up from a drunken stupor to a nightmare he could never ever imagine.  Someone he loves has been taken from him and he knows that the last thing he will ever do is find the culprit who committed the crime.  After he does, he doesn't care what happens to him if he ever did. 

This is the twelfth Harry Hole mystery.  Fans will rush to pick up this newest story in Harry's career but be careful.  If you love Harry, this novel will rip out your heart.  There are few detective series that I believe have to be read in order, but this is one.  This latest installment in Harry's life is one that no one would expect and it can be hard reading.  But it is satisfying and after lots of twists and turns, the answers will be comforting.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Blood Work by Michael Connelly

Terry McCaleb knows he's a lucky man.  A former FBI agent, he had to give up that work when his heart developed issues.  He waited two years for a transplant and it was iffy whether one would come in time as he had a rare blood type that made a match almost impossible.  But with weeks to go, Terry got his new heart and now he must make a new life post transplant. 

Terry is restoring the boat left to him by his father, transferring the painstaking detail work of restoration for the detailed investigation and analysis his job required as he tracked down the worst of the worst, the serial killers.  His health regimen takes an enormous part of his day, taking meds, tracking his temperature, going on doctor follow up visits.  It's a different life but Terry is thankful for it.

Then Graciella Rivers appears one day.  She tells Terry about her sister, Gloria, and the murder that took her life.  It's a murder that hasn't been solved and a murder that is tied forever to Terry.  Gloria was the person whose heart was transplanted into Terry.  Without her death, Terry would not be living.  When Graciella asks him to look into Gloria's murder, there is an obligation he feels that won't let him put her off.

As Terry starts to look into things, he immediately encounters resistance form the Los Angles police who regard him as nothing more than another civilian.  He does have some contacts, such as Jay, a female officer whose career was jumpstarted by an investigation Terry helped her with when he was FBI.  She, at least, is willing to listen to him.  As the days go by, Terry and Jay are able to tie Gloria's murder to at least two others and they realize that another serial killer is on the loose.  Can Terry find a way to uncover this killer?

This is the first book featuring Terry McCaleb and Connelly has created an interesting character as always.  Terry is torn in many directions, his former skills making his ability to turn his back on the case impossible but his health demanding all his attention.  The killer is shadowy and the book focuses much more on the investigation and the emotions of those touched by murder.  This book won several awards such as the McCavity Award for Best Mystery and the Anthony Award for Best Novel.  It is recommended for mystery readers.

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Rachel O'Neill thought she had already had her ration of bad luck.  She had just gone through cancer treatment and her immature husband who she had put through school had divorced her.  That thought was before the call.

Rachel gets a call telling her that she is now part of The Chain.  Her daughter, Kylie, has been kidnapped and will be killed unless Rachel completes her tasks.  First she must pay ransom.  That's the easy part.  Than she must kidnap another family's child and only when that child is successfully in the chain will her daughter be released. 

How can she do this?  She is broke so how will she get the money?  Of course, she is told not to call the police or anyone else because Kylie will also be killed if Rachel breaks the confidentiality of the Chain.  Even if she gets the money, can she really bring herself to kidnap another child?  Threaten that child's parents that she will kill the child if instructions are not followed?  Be convincing?  How can she?  How can she not?

Adrian McKinty has written an original thriller that every parent can just imagine happening to them.  Although the ending has an impossibility that took away from the book, the premise and the execution of the plot is first rate.  McKinty has made his name writing detective series and this novel breaks from that and puts the spotlight on the victim instead.  This book is recommended for mystery/thriller readers.

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

They are the best of friends, Alice Morgan and Lucy Shipley.  They are close as only two roommates in college can get, both strangers but finding friendship and a feeling of family with each other.  Alice comes from money but is a fragile child whose parents died in an accident and who has been raised by a brusque aunt who never wanted children.  Lucy has fought hard to escape her childhood poverty and make a better life for herself than any of her relatives had.  Soon they are inseparable and make plans to build lives together after college and to never be apart.

But those are childish plans.  When Alice meets a man who woos her, she is torn away and starts to build a life on her own.  Lucy can't believe it and is furious.  She starts to treat Alice horribly, making her doubt her memories and attempting to make her feel guilty enough that she will leave the man and come back to her solitary friendship with Lucy.  She isn't making much headway with Alice until the accident that changes Alice's life again.

Now Alice is making yet another life.  She has hastily met and married a man who has taken her away to Tangier.  He is in his element there, scheming and partying with the other expatriates but Alice is lost and lonely.  But she isn't lonely enough that she is anything but shocked when she opens her door and finds Lucy on the doorstep.  How did she track Alice down?  What does she want?  What will she do to get her way?

Mangan has written a study on feminine friendships and the ways that jealousy and single mindedness can wreck a relationship.  Many readers will remember a time when they were involved in the same kind of close knit relationship.  But for most of us, that time is early adolescence and the friendship either matures and grows or is discarded along the way.  Mangan explores what happens when one party will do anything to keep the other in a strangling hold through emotional blackmail.  The atmosphere is one of the book's strengths and this debut novel makes Mangan an author to be watched.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and mysteries.

Booksie's Shelves, October 1, 2019

It's October although apparently this year North Carolina didn't get the message about cooler fall temperatures.  It's supposed to be a hot, muggy 95 or 96 the rest of the week.  Fleeing the hot temperatures, DH and I went north a few weeks ago and visited northern New York.  Neither of us had seen Niagara Falls and it was just an awesome sight, so much better than I had expected.  I've been visiting the library quite a bit this past month and then I found the prior year lists of the Women's National Book Association and I've been on a bit of a buying spree.  Here's what's come through the door lately:

1.  Big Lies In A Small Town, Diane Chamberlain, literary fiction, won in contest
2.  The Hearts Of Men, Nickolas Butler, literary fiction, purchased
3.  Cost, Roxana Robinson, literary fiction, purchased
4.  Appassionata, Eva Hoffman, literary fiction, purchased
5.  While I'm Falling, Laura Moriarty, literary fiction, purchased
6.  The Secret Diaries Of Charlotte Bronte, Syrie James, literary fiction, purchased
7.  The Giver Of Star, Jojo Moyes, literary fiction, sent by publisher
8.  The House On Fortune Street, Margot Livesey, literary fiction, purchased
9.  Savage Appetites, Rachel Monroe, true crime, sent by publisher
10.  What You See, Hank Phillippi Ryan, mystery, won in contest
11.  At Death's Door, Sherrilyn Kenyon, fantasy, sent by publisher
12.  Kill Zone, Kevin Anderson/Doug Beason, thriller, sent by publisher
13.  The Last Book Party, Karen Dukess, literary fiction, sent by publisher
14.  Mink River, Brian Doyle, literary fiction, purchased
15.  Just Watch Me, Jeff Lindsay, mystery, won in contest
16.  The Secret Guests, Benjamin Black, literary fiction, sent by publisher

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  The Unconsoled, Kazuo Ishiguro, hardback
2.  The Chain, Adrian McKinty, hardback
3.  Blood Work, Michael Connelley, audio
4.  Tangerine, Christine Mangan, Kindle Fire
5.  Blackfish City, Sam Miller, Kindle Fire
6.  Quichotte, Salman Rushdie, Kindle Fire

Happy Reading!

Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan

A group of college kids visit the ruins of an old prison for fun one day.  There is Tripper, the everything guy who had it all; looks, money and charm.  Quentin was a dreamer and all the girls loved him, especially Rachel.  Maisie was a former girlfriend of Tripper's and had brought along her young brother.  Casey and Wailer had just gotten married the night before; Casey an overweight man with an enormous heart and Wailer was exotic with her foreign background.  Their old classics teacher was accompanying them as well.  The day ended in tragedy with Wailer missing and the police suspecting that she was killed but no body was ever found.

It's thirty years later and the book picks the group's stories back up.  During a renovation, Wailer's body is finally found and the police are determined to get answers.  None of the group is where they thought they'd end up.  Trapper is a lawyer with a child off to college and a failing marriage.  Casey is wealthy and has a chain of restaurants specializing in comfort food.  Maisie has spent her life taking care of her brother, Ben, who never recovered from the trauma of that day.  Rachel is a teacher and bored.  And Quentin is the biggest surprise of all.  The group thinks he is dead and he is, in a way.  After that day, he finally found the courage to fake his death and run away to transform as Judith.  Judith has a husband and family she's never told about her past and has much to lose if the truth comes out.  Who killed Wailer?

Boylan has written an intriguing mystery that has interesting characters.  The only flaw is that the book seems to be mostly a vehicle for discussing the transgender experience as that is also the author's experience.  This may be intrusive for some readers who are looking just for a mystery.  For most though, the novel will stand as an interesting read with characters who are relatable.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.