Sandwich by Catherine Newman

 

This is the story of a family on a beach vacation and their relationships.  There is the main character, Rocky, and her husband, Nick.  Their grown children, a son who brings his girlfriend of many years and a daughter who is gay and in college.  They are joined by Rocky's parents as well halfway through the week.

Rocky is in menopause and angry all the time.  She constantly rails at Nick and then wants him to comfort her.  She has hidden a huge secret in their marriage for decades and resents him for not 'seeing' her in her totality although she has created the distance with her secret.  She is also suffering from empty nest syndrome.  

During the week, secrets are revealed.  The son and his girlfriend are pregnant and haven't yet decided what to do.  Rocky guesses and then causes a fight between the two by being the first to know, even before the boyfriend.  Rocky's parents reveal family secrets such as the fact that many members of her father's family were killed in WW II by the Nazis.  Her mother reveals that she has a heart condition and passes out on the beach necessitating a trip to the hospital.  And Rocky finally reveals her big secret, although not directly to Nick.  She tells her daughter and he overhears her.

Catherine Newman started as a children's book author but lately has written several adult novels, this being one of them.  The book has gotten a lot of praise but I had a hard time with it as I couldn't relate to Rocky at all.  This is a woman who has everything, a husband who continues to love and desire her, two grown children who are successful and still close to her and loving parents.  Yet she whines and rages and is one of the most narcissistic individuals I've encountered in print.  Her ideas of parenting are far from mine.  I was thrilled as my children grew up and moved into their own lives as I raised them to be independent.  My role as a parent of adult children is to support them when they ask for it but not to intrude and make everything about me.  I was turned off as Rocky reminisces about giving her son sexual advice about specific techniques when he was a teenager.  I can't imagine how Nick endured her constant ranting and blaming him for everything that has ever gone wrong in her life.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction but beware. 

Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson

 

Lilian's life isn't going well.  She's in another deadend job and living back at her mother's place, up in a stuffy attic room.  She had thought she would break out when she won a scholarship to a private boarding school in her teenage years, but that didn't happen.  She did find a real friend, Madison, who came from a rich family and was her roommate  But when Madison got into trouble, Lilian's mother sold her out for a cash payout and Lilian took the blame and was expelled.  Lilian and Madison had kept up a loose relationship over the years writing each other sporadically.

So when Madison calls her with a proposition, Lilian doesn't have much going on.  Madison had married a Senator who has designs on being the next Secretary of State.  One thing could hinder his ascent.  He has ten year old twins from his first marriage and their mother has just died.  Would Lilian be interested in moving down to Tennessee and keeping them for the summer?  Madison has a four year son with the Senator so Lilian isn't sure why she needs a nanny for the twins.  That's when Madison tells her the rest.  The twins, Beatrice and Roland, both are spontaneous combustion children and will break into flame when upset. 

Lilian has nothing else going on and she'd love to see Madison again so she agrees.  When she meets the twins, they are almost feral.  Their mother had never sent them to school and their father hadn't seen them since the divorce.  They had no outside friends but had been raised totally isolated in their mother's house.  Lilian is taken aback but emphasizes with them and soon is committed to their care.  As the days go by, Lilian finds ways to help them manage their talent and starts to help them find ways that they can go into society.  The twins start to form a relationship with their little brother as well.  But when their father's aspirations seem to be working out, he wants to send the pair overseas to an institution.  Can Lilian find a way to save them?

I've loved every Kevin Wilson book I've read and this one was no exception.  He explores the idea of dysfunctional friendships.  Madison is a calculating individual, taught by her wealthy father that others are there for what they can do for you.  She has used Lilian since they met and feeds her a little friendship occasionally but Lilian is always the steadfast friend.  He also explores dysfunctional families.  Beatrice and Roland have never known anything else and at first their only loyalty is to each other.  Lilian falls in love with the two in a maternal way she never expected and they form a little family of their own.  The ending is satisfactory and the reader will remember these characters long after the book is done.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction. 

Night Of The Living Rez by Morgan Talty

 

In this anthology the author, Morgan Talty, illustrates the modern life of the Penobscot tribe in Maine.  We see David go from a young boy full of wonder but knowing that he isn't welcome in school or that he has to hide his homelife to him grown up and caught in the throes of prescription drug addiction.  He lives with his mother, grown sister and his mother's boyfriend in a small house on the reservation.  He and his friends play in the woods, paddle canoes in the river and try to hunt down the supernatural beings they have heard about in Native American stories.

But as David grows up, a tragedy in his family leaves him stumbling and uncertain.  His life becomes one of addiction as his friends fight the same battle.  His mother has always had an alcohol problem and his sister fights depression as she gets pregnant and loses the baby.  There aren't jobs and school was never his thing.  But the reader can tell that David has a good heart and does what he can to help his family and friends.

Morgan Talty is himself a member of the Penobscot tribe and grew up there.  This book has gathered many awards and was a National Book Critics Circle Award winner.  I listened to this book and the narrator did a great job, taking us from David's childhood to his old age.   It took me a little while to realize that this was a series of stories but each story unveils another piece of David's life.  We don't learn the details of the tragedy that oversaw David's life until the end of the book when David is telling it to a psychiatrist but it makes everything fall into place.  This book is recommended for literary fiction and multicultural readers  

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

 

This is the first novel in Stephen King's epic series The Dark Tower.  The book opens with two men.  Roland Deschain is the Gunslinger, a man whose childhood was spent training for his task and whose first kill was the man who betrayed his father with his mother.  Roland is chasing a figure known as the Man In Black who is a wizard like figure who has destroyed the world leaving it a shell of what it once was.  Somehow Roland has heard of the Dark Tower and knows that if he can find it, he has a chance to save the world and that the Man In Black has the knowledge he needs.

He meets two individuals that help him.  The first is Alice, a woman he stays with for a short while as he rests and gets ready to take up his journey again.  The second is a young boy named Jake he finds along the way in a barn.  The Man In Black had killed Jake in the other version of this world, the one we would recognize and Roland takes Jake along with him on his quest.  He looks after him but is asked to sacrifice him in order for the Man In Black to give him the information he needs.  

I've been meaning to read this epic series for years and finally decided now was the time.  I like the dystopian feel of the first novel and the hints we get of The Gunslinger's past life.  There are questions of right and wrong, of whether it is better to sacrifice one in order to save the many and the question of whether some individuals are meant to save the world.  I look forward to reading more about these characters and the quest as the series progresses.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.  

Recollections Of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit

 

This is a memoir covering Rebecca Solnit's life from the time she moved to San Francisco fresh out of college to her middle years.  I've been aware of Solnit but hadn't read anything by her and this book was amazing.  Some of the feminist ideas are things that rang very true such as the fact that most women do not feel safe in their daily life to do such things as go for a walk alone or come home late at night.  Women are often denied their voices and often are lectured by men about the women's field of expertise even when the man doesn't know anything about it, something I often encountered as an IT professional.  One thing that was new but made me think quite a lot was the statement that perhaps our society has set the thin woman as the standard because they actually physically take up less room.  I see my friends eating tiny meals or denying themselves food they want and I wonder why we've all agreed to the thin standard..

Solnit spent many years in her first apartment, a small one in the middle of a black neighborhood.  That neighborhood has slowly become gentrified as another group is marginalized and pushed out.  It covers her early writing years and then her growing fascination with nature, especially the West and its landscapes and native people.  We learn about her early writing career and then how she began to make a living at it and became fascinated by the intersection of it with art.  We learn about various jobs she had before becoming a full time writer and how each job informed her writing.  We learn about various artists that she interviewed and became fascinated by.

Sometimes I'll read a book and think YES! and this was one.  As soon as I finished it, I went to Kindle Unlimited and borrowed two more of her books.  The writing style is crisp and she doesn't hesitate to state the truth as she has found it.  Where many men are wrong about feminists is that they believe we don't like men.  We like men, we love men but we don't see ourselves as needing to submit to them.  We'd rather partner our lives with them.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers who enjoy memoirs and for everyone interested in the relationship between women and men.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

The country Daretana is under attack.  It's the wet season in which the Leviathans come and try to breach the walls and destroy the land.  But crime doesn't care what season it is.  A high official lies murdered in a strange way.  A tree has taken root inside his body and when it grows rapidly, it tears its host apart.

Two investigators are sent to solve the mystery.  Ana Dolabra is an experienced investigator and has solved many crimes.  But she has to have an assistant as she cannot stand stimulation.  She spends her time inside and wears a blindfold all the time.  She needs someone who can go forth and view the crime scene and do all the other things that require a presence.  

Dinios Kol is a new investigator, in fact he is on probation still.  This will be his first case.  Kol is an engraver; he has been modified so that he can engrave everything he sees, hears, smells, etc. and repeat it all on demand.  He is also finding out that he has other talents that he didn't even know of.  He is very hesitant at first but as the crimes continue and he does more and more, he starts to gain his confidence.  Can Ana and Din solve the mystery?

Robert Jackson Bennett is known for his fantasy work and has won numerous awards in the fantasy world.  I personally regard him as an automatic buy and read everything he writes.  This novel is interesting as it is a mixture of fantasy and murder mystery.  The two investigators have been compared to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and there are similarities although not a blind copy of that pair.  It is fascinating to see Din start to gain his confidence and overcome his fears that he just won't be good enough.  The mystery is compelling and the world building is superb.  This book is recommended for both fantasy and mystery readers.  

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

 

When Alex Easton receives a letter from his old friend Roderick Usher, they spring into action and travel to Roderick's ancestral home.  Roderick has written that his sister Madeline whom Alex also knows well is sick and maybe dying.  Alex arrives to find that the Ushers have fallen on hard times.  Much of the mansion is shut off and it is cold and damp with few servants.  Alex is not the only visitor.  Denton, a former Army surgeon is also there.

Madeline is a shadow of herself and Roderick doesn't look much better.  They are both skeletal and Madeline has been having catalepsy episodes where she can appear head for several days and is sleepwalking at night.  What could be causing her illness?  Denton is the first to admit that the mystery is beyond him.  The entire mansion and surrounding estate is sickly in appearance, especially the tarn where Madeline almost drowned a while back.  The wildlife is acting strangely and when Alex shoots a hare it doesn't seem to die.

The only people Alex trusts to tell her the truth and support her is her manservant Angus and an older lady from the neighboring estate who is an expert artist and mycologist.  Can they find what is haunting the house of the Ushers before everyone is affected?

T. Kingfisher is an author from my home state North Carolina.  She is well known in the fantasy world and writes a lot of fairy tale retellings and this book retells the story of the House Of Usher.  The writing sets a tense tone and the reader is slowly brought around to believing in things they would never have considered before.  I listened to this novel and the narrator did a great job.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.  

Gone To The Forest by Katie Kitamura

 

The Old Man is the ruler of his domain with no questions.  He carved out a farm in this colonial country and it is now a fishing destination and tourists come there.  Tom has always lived there.  He is very introverted and never sure if his father actually loves him although it's always been understood that Tom will inherit everything one day.

But things change.  The first change is the girl.  She is the relative of neighbors, sent out to try to salvage her reputation.  The two families want a marriage between Tom and the girl but it's not to be.  She does move in but discards Tom in favor of the Old Man.  

The biggest change is the revolution.  The natives are taking back their country and those who came later are about to lose their grip.  The government breaks up big estates and gives ten acres to any native who wants it.  But that isn't the end.  A rebel faction is fighting against both the colonials and the government.  Will the revolution get as far as the farm?

Katie Kitamura is an American novelist whose works I've been reading lately.  This was an early novel and is grim reading.  It explores family dynamics and even more, sets up the Old Man to be seen as the tyrant he is, both in his family life and in his business dealings.  It also explores the entire concept of imperialism and its effects.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Lifeless by Mark Billingham

 

DCI Tom Thorne has been out of work following the death of his father in a fire.  His father was struggling with early memory issues and Thorne isn't sure if he accidentally set the fire or if it was a payback from the criminal enterprise he just took down.  His mental health is suffering and he has no focus.  When he returns management wants to put him at a desk.

But murder in London doesn't take holidays.  Someone is killing the homeless on the streets at night, kicking and beating them to death.  Thorne makes the case that he would be the perfect person to go undercover.  His bosses are hesitant but he convinces them and is soon wandering the streets, sleeping in doorways, drinking beer with other homeless men and making friends.  His only contact is a daily phone contact with Dave Holland on his team.

Eventually, a pattern emerges.  The murders seem to be tied to former soldiers from Iraq and an action there that may have been an atrocity.  Can Thorne and his team find the other soldiers before they are killed and stop the killer?

This is the fourth Tom Thorne novel in the series.  The reader gets to know Thorne more than they do other detectives in other series.  We know about his love for his father, his guilt at what may have happened and the instability of mind that seeing nothing but the worst of human nature can have on even the strongest individuals.  The plot is tight and satisfactory and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

 

There are only a few authors whose works I save after I read them.  One of them is definitely Pat Conroy and it was a major loss to the reading world when he passed away.  Conroy grew up as a military brat and moved constantly as a child.  His life was shaped by the books he read and by his parents.  His mother for instilling the love of reading in him and his father for his example of violent masculinity.

In this book Conroy talks about the people who influenced him to read and in his writing career.  There was an English teacher in high school who not only gave him books but took him to author's homes.  A bookseller in Atlanta where Conroy went almost daily and who encouraged him in many ways.  The poet and author James Dickey whose class he took and whose writing he admired although he found him another example of toxic masculinity.  There was the time he spent living in Paris and Italy.  But mostly he lived in the South and as a Southerner, what he writes always strikes a chord in me.

Another amazing fact about Conroy that comes out in this book is his strength as a friend.  Once a friend, he stayed friends for life.  He was there for his friends as they weakened and died and delivered many eulogies.  He encouraged them and did little things for them that are so easy to overlook in the bustle of day to day life.  Conroy wasn't perfect; he had three marriages and often suffered from depression.  But he was a writing icon and I love everything he wrote.  This book is recommended for all readers.  

Impact by Mark Mills

 

Lyndon Winslow, patriarch of an extremely rich family is dying.  He calls all his family home even Florence who is the widow of his favorite son.  They have been estranged and he wants to reconcile before he goes.  On her way to the estate, Florence is hit head on by another car.  It's a miracle she isn't killed and the other driver is.

The police investigate and they decide that it wasn't an accident; someone was trying to kill Florence.  The detectives assigned to the case are a strange partnership.  Dylan has just been promoted to detective while Carrie is about to retire.  It will be Dylan's first case and Carrie's last.  

It turns out that there are several candidates who might have wanted Florence dead.  Her father had made enemies in Africa who killed him and threatened his family.  Then there are the Winslows.  Lyndon has just changed his will and included Florence in a big way, even putting her in charge of his trust.  That doesn't sit well with the rest of the family.  Can Carrie and Dylan discover who is coming for Florence before they manage to kill her?

Mark Mills is a British author whose earlier novels both won acclaim.   In this one, he is deft at creating characters who seem real while also having their own issues.  Dylan for one is about to come to the end of a long term relationship and balancing that with a job that he isn't sure he will be good at.  Carrie is a former FBI investigator and has personal problems as well.  The building of their relationship is interesting to watch as is Dylan's growing comfort with his job.  I listened to this book and the narrator did a great job, being unobtrusive yet moving the story along.  There are plenty of twists and turns and I'll look forward to more Mark Mills mysteries.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

 

Anna Williams-Bonner is a widow.  Of course, that's because she killed her husband, Jacob Finch Bonner but let's not be picky.  He was a successful novelist but that's because he had stolen the plot of her brother's novel, which was a thinly disguised version of Anna's life, one she never wanted publicized.  Her brother is also among those no longer living along with the rest of her family.

Anna decides to write her own novel of the experience of being a widow and losing someone to suicide which is what the world believes happened to Jacob.  To her surprise it becomes an immediate bestseller and soon she is off on a book tour across the country to make appearances at bookstores and clubs, being interviewed on podcasts and radio shows.  She could get used to this.

But something is wrong.  She starts to get little notices that tells her that someone out there still knows her secrets.  She thought she had gotten rid of everything but now she's getting pages from his manuscript in the mail, and even worse, so are Jacob's parents and her publisher and agent.  Anna knows she needs to track down the culprit and take care of the problem before it ruins all her plans for the future.

Jean Hanff Korelitz is a successful author of both literary fiction and now she has written a couple of mysteries.  Several of her works have been adapted for television series or movies.  In this book, she follows up on her book The Plot, which introduced the characters featured in this one.  Readers will be intrigued and repulsed by Anna and amazed at how her life seems to go her way, with of course a few murders along the way.  I listened to the novel and the narrator had the perfect cold yet self-assured narration to bring Anna to life.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

Salvation Of A Saint by Keigo Higashino

 

A man named Yoshitaka is found dead on his kitchen floor.  His wife is out of town and he is found by his mistress, who is also the wife's employee.  He has died of arsenic poisoning while drinking coffee.  The timing seems suspect.  He has just told his wife he wants a divorce after a year of marriage because she hasn't been able to give him a child.  His mistress is pregnant and he plans to marry her instead.  

The Toyko Police respond.  Detective Kusanagi is the old hand of the unit.  Two new detectives have recently arrived.  He is fine with the new young man, but the new woman detective, Kaoru Utsumi, is another matter.  She is independent and not afraid to voice her opinions.  The obvious suspect is the wife, Ayane but she was hundreds of miles away visiting her parents.  Utsumi is convinced that somehow she still did it; Kusanagi is enamored of the wife and doesn't believe she was involved.  They have to work together so bring in Detective Galileo, a physics professor named Manabu Yakawa, to help with the case.  Can they find the culprit?

This is the second Detective Galileo mystery.  He and Detective Kusanagi were friends in college and the professor uses his scientific training to help solve mysteries.  This tale was especially interesting for two reasons.  The first was how the murder could have been accomplished and there is much research before that is established.  But to me the most interesting thing was the interplay between the old guard Kusanagi and the new women detective, Utsumi.  The older male detective has had it his own way for quite a while and watching his difficulty in adjusting to a younger female detective is fascinating.  The crime is solved satisfactorily and all is well in Toyko.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

How To Catch A Killer by Katherine Ramsland

 

In this true crime book, the author categorizes the ways that killers are caught by the police and then gives a short overview of various killers who fall into that category.  Some of the methods include killer mistake, forensic evidence, self-surrender, witness reports and police procedure.

Many of the killers described will be ones familiar to the true crime reader.  These include Ted Bundy, the Golden State Killer, Aileen Wuoros, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer, Sam Little and Richard Ramirez.  Others will be new to the reader as there are also examples from other countries.  Each outline gives an overview of the killer's crimes, his or her background and how they were caught along with the number of victims they killed.

Katherine Ramsland is well known in the field of deviant psychology.  She holds graduate degrees in forensic psychology, criminal justice and clinical psychology.  She teaches forensic psychology and criminal justice at the university level and has written over seventy books on the subject.  Her book on the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, came from an extensive correspondence with the killer over several years going back into his childhood to trace the beginnings of his obsessions.  Whether an overview like this book or a more in depth profile of one killer, her writing style makes the material easy to understand for even a beginner in the field.  This book is recommended for true crime nonfiction readers.  

How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley

 

Who could be against a community center?  Not the pregnant yoga group or the childcare center or any of the other groups that use the facility as a meeting place.  New groups are being formed like the Senior Social Club for members over seventy.  Lydia, who is a new empty-nester, has signed on to lead the group but those who sign up don't seem to need a leader as they have tons of ideas of their own.  

And what a group they are.  There's Ruby, who knits constantly and uses her creations to make social statements.  Art is a former actor and also a talented shoplifter.  Anna is a former truck driver but not she does her driving in a mobility cart.  William is Art's best friend and a whiz with money.  Then there is Daphne.  Daphne has been holed up in her elite apartment for more than a decade.  She is grieving the life she had with her husband Jack but as much for the planning and scheduling and project management she did as for love.  Daphne has decided she needs friends and is soon the star of the show as she always is.

Then there is Ziggy.  He is a teenage single dad as the result of one unplanned encounter.  He loves his daughter Kylie but how will he ever make a life for the two of them?  When a teacher agrees to help him get into a university, he is thrilled but who will keep Kylie while he is doing extra schoolwork with the teacher?  In steps Daphne who agrees to babysit although she has never been around a small child much less a baby.  

All these people come together to try to save the community center, a plan that centers around Art and a stray dog named Margaret Thatcher winning a talent show.  Can such a long shot ever work?

This was my first Clare Pooley novel but I'll be watching the shelves for more of her work.  The writing is light-hearted and features optimistic people who set a goal and go after it no matter how difficult.  Older readers will enjoy reading a book that emphasizes the strengths of aging rather than the deficits.  All readers will fall in love with Daphne who makes life better for everyone around her although she is no one's role model.  This book is recommended for readers of general fiction.  

Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

 

The town is like no other.  It is remote, hidden in the mountains, and everyone knows everyone else.  The food is local and redolent of the fields and forests surrounding the town.  It is a town of strict procedures and rules that must be followed.  Strangers are not encouraged.  The most prominent feature is that of the mothers.  Occasionally, one will disappear.  When she does so, all of her belongings are taken from her house and all pictures of her are burnt.

Vera is a young girl who works in her father's photography shop.  She is about to end school and start an an adult life.  Will there be a husband and children for her?  She ends up falling in love with the town dentist, Peter.  They marry and soon have a daughter.  Vera loves her family fiercely yet starts to feel the pull to move along.  She tries to resist but eventually she becomes one of the mothers who leave.

Now she lives in the Elsewhere.  It is a hard life at first, trying to find food and work but eventually she ends up at the coast where she works in a boarding house, cleaning and cooking.  She makes a few friends over the years but her heart is always back in the town and with her family.  At last she makes a decision and returns only to find that no one recognizes her.  Will she stay as a stranger or return elsewhere?

This is a haunting tale.  The writing is rich and full of details that takes the reader to Vera's different locations.  The novel explores the meaning of motherhood, what others expect of mothers and what they expect of themselves.  The mothers in the town are almost worshipped but once they leave, it is as they never existed, their children left motherless or to be raised by another woman.  Vera fights her heritage and works to define herself over the years.  I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.  

Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen

 

Detective Carl Morck has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in his career.  That's how he came to head up Dept Q, which only looks at cold cases so old and hard to solve that they are frigid.  But he has made a success of the department and the media is full of his accomplishments.  His personal life is happy as well with his marriage to Mona and their little girl.

But unfortunately two forces are coming for Carl at the same time.  The first is a criminal network that runs drugs between Denmark and Holland.  The other is those behind police corruption.  The day after Christmas a suitcase is found in Carl's attic full of drugs and money.  One of his co-workers had asked Carl to store it for him years ago and he had forgotten all about it.  But that explanation doesn't seem likely to the police and he is arrested and sent to prison to await trial.

Unfortunately, prison is exactly where the criminal network can get at him.  Soon, Carl has fought off several attempts on his life and he knows more are coming.  The police don't seem to be interested in helping Carl clear his name.  But he has friends.  Rose, Gordon and Assad from Dept. Q are on the case.  Mona and Hardy, Carl's friend, are working their networks to find him help.  Finally, those individuals in all walks of life who Carl has helped over the years in his cold cases would do anything to repay the favors he has done for them.  Can Carl be saved before he is killed?

This is the tenth Dept. Q novel and from all indications it will be the last.  I'm really sad to hear this as the series is meaty and satisfying and I've enjoyed reading about Carl and his cohorts over the years.  Readers have watched him turn from a disgruntled man with few if any friends to someone with a loving family and many friends who will do anything to save him.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Extraordinary Life Of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

 

When Sam Hill is born, there is a hush in the delivery room.  He has ocular albinism which means his eyes are bright red.  Once assured that it wouldn't affect his eyesight, his parents take him home determined to help him face any difficulties he may encounter.

Those difficulties aren't long in coming.  Other children are afraid of him and their parents don't seem much better.  There aren't play dates for Sam.  When the local Catholic elementary school refuses Sam admission because it might upset the other children, Sam's mother springs into action.  She refuses to be intimidated and Sam is admitted.  

The other children call Sam 'devil boy' and he is relentlessly bullied.  But he does make two friends.  Ernie Cantwell is the only African American in the school and he gets the same isolation as Sam, except in sports.  Mickie Kennedy is the daughter of rich parents, but rich parents that ignore her to live their own lives.  She is labeled young as promiscuous and shunned by the other girls..  But the trio forms a friendship that lasts into adulthood.  As an adult, Sam is accepted but can he accept himself?

For some reason, I put off reading this book.  So many times, books with tons of hype disappoint when reading.  But this novel lived up to its praise.   Sam is such a warm, bighearted child and man that it is an amazing privilege to read his story.  It reminded me of a Pat Conroy novel as the essential goodness of humans even in challenging circumstances shone through.  This one is definitely a top read for me and is recommended for anyone.   

  

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

 

Detective Cormac Reilly has recently transferred from his Dublin assignment to Galway.  He has done so to follow his girlfriend who has gotten a great new job in Galway.  He was sure he could do this, but now that he is here, he has doubts.  The other men are standoffish and he has been assigned to nothing but cold cases.  His boss keeps saying he hears Cormac is the real deal but seems intent on keeping him from doing anything to prove it.

One of Cormac's first jobs was a domestic abuse case.  He found the body of Hilaria Blake, a drug overdose.  Her two children, sixteen year old Maude and four year old Jack had both been abused.  He takes the children to the hospital and has never forgotten them.  Jack was quickly adopted but Maude disappeared. 

Now Cormac hears that Jack has committed suicide.  His girlfriend, Aisling, doesn't believe that nor does Maude who has returned home after years away.  Did the abuse Jack suffer as a child lead to a suicide later?  Or was it a murder that is being mislabeled?

Cormac's only friend in the office also has troubles.  His little sister was involved in a crime some months ago and has now disappeared.  Danny seems remote as he tries to handle both his law and home responsibilities and Cormac isn't sure their friendship is solid.  On top of that, his boss has decided that Maude killed Hilaria all those years ago and assigns Cormac to prove it.  Cormac doesn't believe that is true but all the evidence seems to point to her.

This is the first Cormac Reilly mystery and the series has continued and is successful.  Cormac is a detective who refuses to take the easy way or shortcuts.  He only wants the truth and to do his job successfully.  He has a strong love interest and that is appealing about him.  McTiernan is an Irish author who worked as a lawyer before turning to writing mysteries.  In Cormac Reilly she has created an interesting character who should be able to carry the series for quite a while.  This book is recommended for mystery readers. 

Playworld by Adam Ross

 

This is a coming of age novel that is getting tons of buzz.  Griffin Hurt lives in Manhattan and goes to private school which he pays for.  Griffin is an actor and stars in a children's superhero television show.  He has also done movies and commercials.  His parents are also in the arts.  His father is also an actor although he has never gotten that big breakthrough.  His mother was a ballet teacher and now is a Pilates instructor.  Griffin also has a younger brother Oren who is interested in business and making money.  Griffin is about to make a major breakthrough in acting with a movie about to come out but he isn't sure at all that he wants to be an actor.

But things aren't going well on the romantic front.  Griffin is in love with Amanda who dangles him on a string while dating a boy several years older.  Griffin isn't sure what love is so accepts this behavior hoping she will change her mind.  But he is mostly around adults and is abused by two adults in his life.  His wresting coach is known for his attentions to the boys on the team, taking them to his apartment or the practice mats during school breaks.  

Then there is Naomi.  She is married with two children and twenty-two years older than Griffin.  She and her husband are good friends with Griffin's parents.  But she falls in love with Griffin.  They meet daily, going in her car to a secluded place where he spills his troubles to her and they kiss.  At first that is all it is but when Griffin is sent to spend the summer with her and her family while his father is on tour and his mother visits family, she seduces Griffin and introduces him to sex.  Griffin's parents are on the verge of divorce and he welcomes not only the sex but the feeling that he is the most important person in the world to someone else.  

Adam Ross is an author and editor of the Sewanee Review.  Griffin is fairly autobiographical as Ross was also a child actor and had parents in the theatre world.  He also was a wrestler and there is lots of informed talk about wrestling and what it means to those who take up that sport.  Griffin is left to basically raise himself, free to wander in and out of his apartment at will, to go places with his friends and to try to determine what he wants in life without a lot of adult guidance.  The fact that he encounters two adults who want sexual favors from him is arresting and while it has hints of Dustin Hoffman and Mrs. Robinson, Griffin is much younger and unable to process the encounters.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

 

Now that Murderbot has managed to break free of the Company, he knows what his first step will be.  He is burdened with the story that he went berserk and killed forty seven humans at an assignment.  He wants to return to the mining site and see what he can find out.

He hitches a ride and makes friends with the ship's AI along the way.  In order to exit at the site, he meets with three humans and is hired by them for security.  Someone on the planet Murderbot is going to has their work files and is using them.  They want their files back but they suspect that it will be dangerous to reclaim them.  Can Murderbot protect them while doing his own work?

This is the second in the Murderbot series.  Readers can't help but cheer Murderbot on as he looks for resolution to his past.  Although he is not supposed to have emotions, he is protective of those he works with and has a sneaking liking for them.  There are five more Murderbot novels and I can't wait to see what he does next.  This book is recommended for science fiction readers. 

The Return Of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

 

It's something no one saw coming.  A girl appears on a forest trail, filthy and wearing bloodstained clothes.  The father and son who come upon her help her back to society.  This is Ellie Black, who went missing two years ago in the middle of a party.  Ellie Black, who almost everyone had given up hope for finding alive.  Now she's going home.

Chelsey Calhoun is the police woman in charge of Ellie's case.  Who took her?  Where has she been?  Can she help the police find her captor?  The bloodstained sweatshirt she was found in belonged to another missing girl and yet a third's blood is on the shirt.  Did one captor take them all?  Chelsey is sympathetic because her family had been through something similiar.  When Chelsey was fifteen, she saw her older sister leaving the house one night.  Lydia begged Chelsey not to say anything and that was the last time anyone saw her.  In her case, the boy she had gone to meet was found dead in his car and the police decision was that Lydia's body had washed out to sea.  Chelsey knows how her family fell apart after Lydia's death and how it has affected her entire life.  It makes her the perfect person to work with families of the missing.

But something is off about Ellie.  She refuses to answer questions and barely opens up at all with her therapist.  Is it PTSD or is something else going on?  When Ellie goes missing once more, Chelsey knows it's her last chance to get answers.

This was a very suspenseful novel.  The reader will emphasize with Courtney as the case stirs up her teenage memories and finally helps to understand her life and let go of nonproductive actions.  Ellie also undergoes much change in her years of captivity and learns to value family and friends above all.  I did not see the identity of the captor coming and there are other surprises as well.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

Closer Than Blood by Gregg Olsen

 Tori and Lainie are twins but haven't seen each other in years.  Lainie has had an average life but Tori refused to do so.  She has married into wealth and knows she can have any man she wants.  Unfortunately, she doesn't want them very long.  Death seems to follow Tori.  

It started with the death of her teenage boyfriend after a car wreck.  Then her first husband who didn't make it past the honeymoon in Hawaii.  Now her wealthy second husband has been shot soon after he started talking divorce.  He changed his will leaving everything to his teenage son but that's no problem for Tori.  She just seduces him as well.

Kendall grew up with the twins and knows about Tori's evil ways, as the first boyfriend had been Kendall's before they broke up and he started seeing Tori.  She suspects Tori immediately in the second husband's death although the older man across the street has been set up to take the fall.  Can Kendall find the proof to put Tori away?

Gregg Olsen is known for his true crime books and he is one of the best in that genre.  I've never liked his fiction as well and this one is no different.  It seems average with few surprises and flat characters.  It does move along quickly and many might enjoy it.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.

The Crossing Places by Elly Grffiths

 

Dr. Ruth Galloway is an archeologist, specializing in bones.  When a child's skeleton is found on the moors she lives near, the police come to her university and ask for her help.  They are hopeful that it is the skeleton of a child who went missing twelve years ago but when Ruth examines the bones, it is obvious that this is a skeleton from centuries ago.  

Ruth lives by herself in a tiny cottage with only two cats for company.  She doesn't have a partner at the moment, having broken up several years ago with her longest relationship.  She isn't sure she wants another man in her life as she is happy as she is.

But she is sure that she likes helping the police.  Not the police themselves, especially the taciturn, rude DCI Nelson who is heading the case.  When another girl goes missing and when bodies start to turn up murdered, it's a race against time.  Can Nelson and Galloway find the killer?

This is the first book in the Dr. Ruth Galloway series.  She is an independent woman who the reader will find interesting.  The tension between her and the DCI grows and it's inevitable where it leads.  Readers will learn much about the area and the culture of the first inhabitants and their lives.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.    

Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry

 

1950.  England.  Margaret Devonshire is a math prodigy and has just started at Oxford University.  Although she is glad to be there, her heart is still at home and with her little brother, George.  George was born with a damaged heart and the doctors say there is nothing more to be done and that he won't live much longer. Megs goes home every weekend instead of staying in Oxford and making friends.

One weekend, George is very excited.  He has found a new book, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and it opens up new worlds for him, homebound as he is.  He is amazed when Megs tells him that the author is a tutor of English at Oxford.  George begs her to go ask him where the story came from.

Megs is very hesitant as she is introverted but there is little she won't do for George.  She seeks out Lewis' home and thus starts a friendship between Megs, C.S. Lewis and his brother.  She goes weekly getting stories for George and learning about Lewis' life.  He refuses to answer her questions directly, instead dropping clues and letting her and George work out the meaning of his novel.

This is my first Patti Callahan Henry novel but it won't be my last.  She has written a lovely tale of the love between siblings, both the Devonshire siblings and the Lewis men.  Along the way, the reader learns of Lewis' life.  Of course, the series that George fell in love with is now acknowledged as one of the classics of children's literature.  Megs also finds Padreig, who becomes the love of her life and who helps her make George's fondest wish come true.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and is heartwarming enough that anyone would come away more content for having read it.

James by Perceival Everett

 

James is a modern retelling of Mark Twain's classic, Huckleberry Finn.  In this one, James, known as Jim in the earlier book, runs away when he hears that his owner is planning to sell him.  Huck also runs away and the two start traveling down the Mississippi.  James is an educated man and in this version, slaves talk as educated individuals do among themselves while using a slave lingo before whites.  He can read and write and his most prized possession is a pencil and some books written by European philosophers that he managed to get away with.

The two have many adventures, several close death encounters on the water with various boats, and encounters with animals and reptiles.  James knows he is being hunted.   The two fall in with some con men who separate the two.  James also sings with a minstrel band that is touring, works in a saw mill, and finally when the two are reunited, shares his biggest secret with Huck.

This book has won many awards, including the Pulitzer.  While interesting, I didn't love it.  Much of the book, especially the second half, felt very rushed to me.  The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead covers the same territory and felt like a more compete experience to me.  Perceival Everett is a professor of English and his work has been awarded much acclaim.  This one will be a major addition to his work and is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Wager by David Grann

 

In 1740, Spain and England were once again at war.  An armada was brought together in England and The Wager was one of the warships.  In addition to the war, a side mission was to track down and capture one of the Spanish treasure ships that sent back silver and other treasures to the homeland once or twice a year.  It was believed that the action should take place in the waters off South America and the armada set sail.

One of the ships was The Wager.  It sailed with around 250 men.  Of interest was a midshipman on one of his first voyages, a younger brother of a noble family and one who would become the grandfather of Lord Bryon, the poet.  There were officers and many regular sailors.  It was difficult to man an armada and press gangs were used in addition to recruitment with many of those being sickly.

One of biggest challenges was the voyage around the Cape Horn.  It could take weeks to get around this feature.  The waves are huge having hundreds of miles to build.  The winds are almost always gale force.  The land underneath came up from hundreds of feet deep to only a few hundred.  All of these factors made the Cape an almost unimaginable passage. It could take weeks to get past it with multiple tries.

The Wager ran onto rocks and crashed.  Some of the men were able to make it ashore onto an inhospitable island.  There was no shelter and little food.  The captain was felt by many of the survivors to be making bad decisions and the group split into his supporters and those opposed.  After months, each of these groups managed to put together a vessel and attempt to sail back to civilization.  Of the 250 men who set off, eventually around thirty returned.  There were accusations of murder and of mutiny.  Whose story would be believed?

David Grann is a nonfiction writer and a staff writer at The New Yorker.  His work is known for meticulous research and bringing history to life as his books read as exciting novels do.  In this case, the vanity and social structures of the time resulted in bad decisions that cost many lives.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.  

Outside by Ragnar Jonasson

 Four friends set off for a weekend of hunting, hiking and catching up.  There are three men and a woman.  One owns a touring company, one is an actor and one is a lawyer.  They all went to university together where they met and became friends.  

But there are secrets in the group.  One has a history of rumors about past behavior that follows him.  Another member of the group died a year ago and there are still questions about that.  Some are exaggerating their professional success while others are hiding romances.

When they go out for a day long hike and hunt, a blizzard blows up.  They are barely able to make it to a hut provided by the government for traveler shelter.  But inside the hut is a man sitting with a rifle.  He just sits and stares, refusing to speak.  What now?

This is my first book by Ragnar Jonasson.  I listened to this novel and there are multiple narrators, one for each character.  They pull the action along.  The chapters are short, alternating between the four characters and this also increases the tension.  Jonasson is an Icelandic author and is a lawyer himself as well as translating fourteen of Agatha Christie's novel into his native language.  He has written many bestsellers and this one will be included in that number.  This novel is recommended for mystery readers.

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

 

Cushla and her family live a little ways outside of the armed areas of Belfast in Northern Ireland.  She lives with her mother after her father's death.  The family is Catholic and owns a pub which serves both Catholic and Protestant, soldiers and IRA members and sympathizers.  Cushla is a teacher and wants to live on her own but her mother is drinking way too much these days and needs someone there to watch over her.

One night while helping out her brother at the pub she meets Michael Agnew.  He is nothing that Cusla should want.  He is middle-aged, a married barrister and Protestant.  But there is an immediate flame between the two and soon they are involved in a torrid affair.  Life goes on even in strained circumstances and Cushla meets with Michael by night and teaches by day.

She becomes close with one of her students and then his family.  The young boy is bright and desperate for Cushla's attention and she does what she can to help his family.  He has several siblings, including a brilliant older brother who is dropping out of school to go to work and help the family.  Cushla brings the brother books to read and buys treats for the children and helps with the extras when she can.  The father falls astray of the IRA and is beaten severely which means he can no longer work.  

Can things go on as they are?  Cushla wishes for something to change and then when it does, she wishes it had never changed.  Loving in a war zone isn't for the faint of heart.

Louise Kennedy is recognized as one of bright young voices coming out of Ireland.  I love Irish writers; I think it may be my favorite region for authors.  This book was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction list and named a best book of the year by several publications.  There are several kinds of trespasses.  There is the trespass of loving a man committed elsewhere.  There is the trespass of loving a Protestant and disturbing the balance between Protestant and Catholic in an area that demands everyone take a stand for one side or the other.  I loved this book and hope more people read it.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Art Of Detection by Laurie R. King

 

Kate Martinelli and her police partner, Al Hawkins, have just been handed a new murder to cover.  The victim is Philip Gilbert who makes his money trading in Holmes memorabilia.  He is also the founder of the local Holmes dining club with nine other members.  But now he lies on the Embankment clad only in pajamas and robe.  How did he get there?  Why would he come without dressing?

Once they view the body, both are convinced that Philip was killed elsewhere and brought to the location.  It turns out that he had been waiting for the perfect time to announce his latest acquisition, a never before seen novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle and set in San Francisco.  Doyle had visited the city so it's not beyond the realm of possibility and Gilbert was in the last stages of getting the novel authenticated.  If real, it could be worth a fortune.  Was he killed for this treasure?

Kate and Al read the book and realize that the murder bears traces of the plot of the book, including the location of the victim's body.  Who could have done it?  There's the lawyer who was one of the few Gilbert had told.  There was the former actor who now works for an auction house and was authenticating the novel.  There were several women in the dining club who could be possibilities as well as the remaining men.  Who killed Philip Gilbert?

This is the fifth Kate Martinelli novel in the series.  The reader gets a book within the book as King has included the novel in question, a novel that has the victim involved with a transgender singer on Bowery Row and being a soldier whose assignment included the Embankment.  If they solve the murder in the book, will it help with the Gilbert murder?  I've loved the Martinelli series and I'm sad that King hasn't written more of them, instead focusing on her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.  This one indicates King's own keen interest in Sherlock Holmes as her writing career has demonstrated.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.