The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian

A prison break has occurred at the beginning of this third entry into the Scotland Yard Murder Squad series.  Four or five prisoners have escaped and it is all hands on deck.  Even Inspector Walter Day is expected to help, although his wife Claire is about to have their first child.  He and Sargent Hammersmith go on the chase and soon uncover more than they thought of.  There is betrayal afoot in the force, and the hunt for the escaped prisoners sets loose one of London's nightmares; Jack The Ripper who has been secretly imprisoned for more than a year.  Can the Squad find the prisoners before more murder and havoc is unleashed on London?

Alex Grecian has written a series that will appear to fans of TV shows such as Copper and Ripper Street.  The mix of historical police procedural with crime, which never really changes much, is an intriguing one.  The heroes are fleshed out just enough to be interesting and make the reader want to follow them from case to case.  The suspense is chilling and the climax is a page-turner that will have the reader anxious to find out what happens.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Booksie's Shelf, May 4, 2014

This was a week of bad weather around the country.  Luckily, my part of NC was spared.  I made it back to the pool this week after six weeks away after some surgery.  I swam a mile two different days so I'm happy!  Outside of my current gym obsession, I've been reading a lot.  Here's what's come through the door lately:

1.  Critical Damage, Robert Lewis, mystery, sent by author
2.  Progeny, Anita Bihovsky, suspense, sent by publisher
3.  The Forgotten Seamstress, Liz Trenow, historical fiction, sent by publisher
4.  Syndrome E, Franck Thilliez, thriller, sent by publisher
5.  The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, Joel Dicker, mystery, sent by publisher
6.  Two Headed Snake Of Key West, Marilyn Dalla Valle, mystery, sent by author
7.  The Book Of You, Claire Kendal, Suspense, sent for a book tour
8.  The Boy Kings Of Texas, Domingo Martinez, nonfiction, Paperbackswap
9.  The Bird Skinner, Alice Greenway, historical fiction, Paperbackswap
10.  Beauty, Frederick Dillen, literary fiction, sent by publisher
11.  Shaking Out The Dead, K.M. Cholewa, literary fiction, sent by publisher
12.  All Day And A Night, Alafair Burke, mystery, sent for book tour
13.  Lovers At The Chameleon Club, Francine Prose, historical fiction, sent for a book tour
14.  The Transcriptionist, Amy Rowland, literary fiction, sent by publisher
15.  Save The Date, Mary Kay Andrews, women's fiction, sent by publisher
16.  Don't Try To Find Me, Holly Brown, suspense, sent by publisher
17.  Stone Arabia, Dana Spiotta, literary fiction, purchased
18.  The Woman Upstairs, Claire Messud, literary fiction, purchased.

Here's a list of what I'm currently reading:

1.  The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, reading on Kindle
2.  The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, reading on Kindle Fire
3.  The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson, hardback
4.  The Devil's Workshop, Alex Grecian, paperback
5.  A March Of Folly, Barbara Tuchman, hardback
6.  A Necessary End, Peter Robinson, paperback
7.  A Tale For The Time Being, Ruth Ozeki, paperback
8.  Cold Granite, Stuart MacBride, reading on Kindle Fire
9.  The Silent Wife, A.S.A. Harrison, paperback

Go forth and read!

Savage Harvest by Carl Hoffman

Imagine being one of the wealthiest, most influential families in the world.  Then imagine your child being caught up in a life or death situation that you have no control over; where your money and influence have no effect.  That was the case in 1961 when the twenty three year old son of Nelson Rockerfeller, Michael Rockerfeller, was reported missing in the remote island of New Guinea.

Nelson had recently been elected governor of New York, and would later serve as Vice President of the United States.  Michael had been raised in luxury and with parents who believed in giving back to the world and the arts.  The family was opening a museum of native art in New York, and Michael was fascinated with the area and the native carvings found there.  He had gone to the area to locate and purchase art for the museum and to document the life of the tribes who still lived almost as those in the Stone Age had.

On November 21, 1961, Michael and an acquaintance took off in a small boat.  The boat floundered and stalled out after a day, and the men didn't know what to do.  The acquaintance insisted they should stay with the boat as that was their best chance.  But Michael felt he could swim to shore, which was probably three or four miles distant and took off.  He was never seen again.

Rockerfeller's body was never found.  Some felt that he drowned on his attempt, but there was a darker rumor.  That rumor had Michael encountering a group of tribesmen who killed him, then ate the body and kept parts for various ceremonies.  The tribesmen at that time had very limited exposure to the modern world and were still involved in intricate ceremonies that made sense of the world to them.  These ceremonies involved ritual cannibalism, vengeance killings and strength gained through the consumption of humans. 

The author, Carl Hoffman, went to New Guinea to see if he could track down the truth decades later.  He found that much of the investigation by the government was kept secret for political reasons, not wanting to be the focus of the death of such a powerful man as the country was attempting to forge their independence.  Hoffman was able to find witnesses that had been involved in the investigation all those years ago and who were willing to tell him what they had discovered.

This book is a fascinating look at another world that is far removed, both geographically and culturally from the world the reader is familiar with.   Was Michael Rockerfeller's last sight hunters dressed as those in the picture seen here?  Readers who are parents can relate to the horror of having a beloved son's death be such a mystery and the horror of what may have happened.  This book is recommended for readers of history and anthropology. 

Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick

Bunker Hill A City, A Siege, A Revolution is the story of the events leading up to the Revolutionary War and the people who influenced those events.  Philbrick focuses on three sets of individuals; those who supported independence, those who were loyalists to the English Crown, and the huge group in the middle who had to make up their minds which of the more extreme groups on the edges they would support.

This is an evenhanded retelling of the events; the mistakes made by each side that racketed up the tension, the personalities that were making the decisions, and the slowness of communications that added to the issues.  There were misconceptions on both sides.  The patriots, for the most part, supported King George, believing that he loved his colonies, and that he was misadvised by his advisers.  The Crown believed that the issues in the colonies were just minor problems and that there was little support for those who would make changes.  They believed it was unlikely that the average American would actually fight.  They chose to crack down rather than work with those who felt that too many taxes and money were being taken from the colonies.

Each of the battles and events are meticulously researched and reported.  The Boston Massacre, the fight along the Lexington/Concord roads, the battles at Bunker Hill, and the siege of Boston afterwards by the patriots is covered in great detail.  It may be surprising to many readers how violent the fighting was.  In an hour and a half at Bunker Hill, the British sustained injuries or death to half their fighting forces; over a thousand.  The patriots had 115 killed and over 300 injured.

In addition to the battles and military strategy, Philbrick spends time covering the personalities that led the fight for independence.  Many of these names are familiar; Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, John Adams.  But many influential figures are less well-known.  Philbrick covers the various military leaders with their fighting backgrounds.  He also spends time covering the story of a thirty-three year old physician named Joseph Warren.  Killed at Bunker Hill, he was instrumental in the months leading up to the fight and many believe would have been the military leader instead of Washington had he survived.

This book is recommended for readers of history, and those who are interested in how our nation was created.  Both strengths and weaknesses of the Founding Fathers are covered.  The scope of the tension and the incredible decision by farmers and woodsmen that they would rather fight than submit to overseas dominion was almost unbelievable.  Readers will find the book lively and entertaining while incredibly detailed; it is not a dry history at all.  This is another stellar effort by Philbrick whose name has come to mean well-researched and written historical accounts.

Update:  This wonderful historical fiction has just been released in paperback.  I highly recommend you give it a try.

Casebook by Mona Simpson

Miles Adler-Hart is a snoop.  He is nine years old, and fascinated with the adult world, sure that there are secrets there he must know.  He eavesdrops endlessly on his parents to discover what is going on.  That is how he learns his world will be changing.  He hears that his parents are planning to separate and that his life and that of his two little sisters will never be the same.

The separation is tough, but Miles discovers not as bad as he had feared.  The family settles back into a new configuration, but Miles worries about his mother, Irene, or Mims, as he calls her.  Above all else, he wants Mims to be happy so he is glad when she finds a suitor, a mysterious jogger named Eli who is in the same scientific world his mother inhabits. 

The reader follows Miles to adulthood.  His spying increases to snooping in his mother's room, tapping the phone and even hiring a private detective.  He and his best friend Hector are determined to find out all the secrets, but then have no idea what to do with their knowledge.  They discover things that they should never know and must determine what to do when they encounter real evil in the world. 

Mona Simpson has created a character in Miles that the reader will long remember.  He is a typical kid, a little overweight, a little dorky, not sure of himself or his place in the world, but with a heart of gold.  Above all else, he loves his family and friends and only wants the best for them.  He is unsure how to protect everyone and learns the life lesson that we can't control everything sooner than his peers.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in family relationships.

Fallout by Sadie Jones

They came together in their twenties, each eager to make their way in the world of  English theatre.  Luke Kanowski has come to London from his little English town, not sure how he will work his way into the world of theatre, but knowing that he must.  Luke has written for years and has a box full of plays.  He meets his two best friends, Paul Driscoll and Leigh Radley, who are also fighting for a chance to make it in the world.  Paul is a producer.  He knows he doesn't have creative talent but has a feel for what works and what doesn't on stage.  Leigh hopes to direct, but fills in the time doing stage management.

Luke feels at home with Paul and Leigh and they all live together in a small flat.  Paul and Leigh are a couple and Luke is with family when he is with them.  As time goes on, the trio start to have success as Luke's plays are commissioned and put on stage.  Paul, of course, is involved in their production and Leigh keeps everyone sane.  Then Luke meets Nina.  Nina is an actress, never sure of her talent.  She is married to Tony, who is manipulative and cold, but as soon as she and Luke meet, the fireworks explode.  Luke must have her, regardless of what it takes.  Soon it takes everything.

Sadie Jones has written a breathtaking novel that keeps the reader turning pages.  Everything is there; friendship, love, romance, betrayal, forgiveness and hate.  The reader is drawn into the lives of these friends and must read on to see if their lives can work out as the years conspire to take things from them.  Sadie Jones was a finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction with her novel, The Outcast, which also won the Costa First Novel Award.  Fallout will also probably be nominated for awards as it is a book that cannot be ignored.  Jones captures the creative urge and what individuals will sacrifice for the chance to be part of a creative world.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction. 

The Small Hand and Dolly by Susan Hill

In The Small Hand and Dolly, Susan Hill returns to the suspense/horror genre that has been successful for her in the past, with books such as The Woman In Black and Irish Twins.  This is actually a set of two novellas, each of which is guaranteed to set the reader's backbone on edge.

In The Small Hand, a businessman is early for an appointment and lost in the English countryside.  He finds a magnificent house in the country, obviously deserted and falling to ruin.  Curious, he strolls through the grounds and near one of the reflecting ponds, it happens.  He feels a small hand creep into his but there is no one visible.  Unimaginative, he is surer than anything that this has truly occurred and he leaves the site, thinking to lose the sensation.  But the hand is not so easily deterred.

In Dolly, two cousins, children of feuding sisters, are sent to spend the summer with an older aunt.  None of the individuals have ever met the others.  Edward is a solid little boy, prone to think that things tend to work themselves out for the best and very polite.  Leonora is like her mercurial mother, beautiful, spoiled with a vicious temper.  Both children are eight and being shipped to the country to spend the summer in a remote house with an aunt one has never met is hardly a child's dream of a perfect summer.  Edward makes the best of it, exploring the grounds, working puzzles and reading.  Leonora is furious to be there and makes sure everyone knows it.  She has set her desire on a particular doll, and when the aunt gives her a doll that is a different one, she throws a tantrum that is shocking to everyone.  Her mother soon changes her mind and retrieves Leonora and the tantrum is forgotten with her departure.  Or is it?

Susan Hill has the ability to write brooding, haunting stories that remain with the reader long after the back cover is closed.  She doesn't use the in-your-face technique often found in horror stories.  Instead, she writes of misty tendrils that take hold in the mind, slowing conquering that territory until the mind is consumed with horror.  This book is recommended for suspense readers.

The Promise by Ann Weisgarber

Oscar Williams has transformed himself from the coalman's son who spent his days making deliveries to Dayton, Ohio's finest homes to a cattleman in Galveston, Texas.  Catherine Wainwright comes from one of those fine homes, and she goes to college and becomes a pianist, performing in concert halls and at small private gatherings.

But life has a way of turning when things are going well.  Oscar's wife sickens and dies, leaving him with a four year son to raise.  Catherine is shunned by society when she makes an unfortunate association.  Both desperate, they renew their slight acquaintance through letters and soon Catherine finds herself agreeing to move to Galveston and marry Oscar.

Life there is very different from what she has known in the society residences she grew up in and frequented.  There is no electricity or inside bathroom and she knows nothing about cooking or keeping house or caring for small children.  As she starts to grope her way to success in this new life, her music draws she and Oscar together into a unit and both find love.  Love that can be short-lived in this new, harsher environment, where disease is always present and the land itself is a small island fighting for its own survival from storms and harsh weather.

Ann Weisgarber has written a fascinating look at life in the 1900's.  The reader is caught up in the culture that exists with its strictures placed on women.  Yet love finds a way in the harsher environments as individuals strive to find someone they belong to and with.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction and those who long for a great love story.

Neope's War by Tod Langley

In this third and concluding novel of the Erinia Saga, things are grim for the world.  The evil monarch, Ferral, has gained even more power over his neighbors, using his Deathmarch Army to conquer the lands around him.  His demon, who used to be the beautiful priestess Neope, has taken control of the Army and is determined to totally annihilate everyone she encounters.  Ferral has discovered the location of even more ancient scrolls that will allow him to totally subjugate the world or even destroy it in its present form.

A few brave leaders still oppose him.  King Kristian has managed to rescue his betrothed princess, Allisia.  Together they rally the few survivors of their land, Erinia, to fight the evil.  Cairn, an ancient swordmaster, vows revenge on Ferral for his treatment of his former lover.  Mikhal has some connection to the demon woman he cannot deny although he doesn't understand it.  He vows to discover the nature of his connection and use it to destroy her.  Can the overnumbered and outmaneuvered allies bring down the most powerful ruler the world has seen?

Tod Langley has written a satisfying conclusion to the Erinia Saga.  This third book is the strongest in the trilogy and the growth of Langley as an author is evident throughout.  Langley's own background makes the action believable.  He served in the Army with several assignments in support of the War On Terror, and has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, both as an infantryman and a security consultant.  His knowledge makes the battle scenes very believable with strategy and insights not normally found.  The book will leave the reader wishing there was more about King Kristian and Queen Allisia, and eager for Langley's next novel.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

Fatal Impressions by Reba White Williams

Be careful what you wish for.  Dinah Greene, owner and operator of Greene's Art Galley in Manhattan, was thrilled when her proposal for hanging art in the corporate offices of megafirm DDD&W.  But her excitement is short-lived.  As soon as she arrived to start work, things started to go awry.  Although the company has no art hanging on its walls, there is a woman with the job title of art curator, and she is adamantly opposed to Dinah and her work.  She yells at Dinah repeatedly and makes threats to get her fired.  Dinah overhears two women having a physical altercation in the restroom over a man.  She witnesses an act of almost unimaginable crudeness.  Everyone is out to get everyone else, and there is no trust or civility to be found.

Things get worse.  Determined to get done with the job as quickly as possible, Dinah goes in early to the offices to hang prints.  She sees an open office door and investigating, discovers the body of a woman.  Bad enough, but it soon becomes clear that as the person who discovered the body, Dinah is a suspect in the woman's murder.  DDD&W is more than happy to try to throw Dinah under the bus and direct the police away from their employees and corporate actions.

Dinah and her family and friends go into high gear to try to clear her.  She has a formidable team.  Her husband is the product of a very rich, very connected family.  Her cousin, Coleman, is a one-woman dynamo.  Coleman has made her art magazine very successful and just started a second magazine.  She knows everyone in the city.  Rob is a former policeman who is now a consultant on art crimes throughout the world.  Can this team find the murderer before Dinah is falsely arrested?

This is the second Coleman and Dinah Greene mystery.  Reba White Williams is very familiar with the art world she writes about.  She and her husband created what is considered the finest American art print collection of American artists, and then they split it into smaller collections that they loaned out to museums.  Her female creations are interesting characters, and the reader gets a glimpse into how the art world and the world of interlocked Manhattan connections work.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Hangman by Stephan Talty

Five years ago, Buffalo was terrorized by the serial killer the papers dubbed 'The Hangman'.  Marcus Flynn kidnapped four teenage girls.  Three were found, all hung in trees.  The fourth was never found, as Flynn was discovered in a motel room with a gunshot wound to the head and was left with significant brain damage, unable or unwilling to tell police where the last victim was.

Now Buffalo is on terror alert again.   While being transported to another location, the Hangman has escaped.  The top priority is finding him before he can get away or worse, start claiming new victims.  Every police resource is thrown at the case, including the talents of star detective, Abbie Kearny.  Kearny, who is the daughter of a respected former detective, was not in Buffalo at the time of the original murders and can provide a fresh eye.

One is soon needed.  A new teenage victim is found within a day.  Soon other disappearances start to occur and the tension is racketed up hour by hour.  Abbie is desperate to find a clue that might help her discover Flynn's hideout.  She turns to the Network, the informal collaboration of police and city employees that work behind the scenes and keep things running, playing outside the rules.

Stephan Talty has written a taut, compelling novel.  The Hangman is a memorable villain and Kearny's investigation is full of surprises and twists.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Hassan Haji starts life in Mumbia, India.  His family runs a modest restaurant there.  When prejudice results in a family tragedy, the family moves to London, but the damp, cloudy city is not a good fit.  While on a family vacation in France, the family discovers the French region near the Alps and purchases a home there.  It is directly across from a gourmet French restaurant run by Madame Mallory.

Madame Mallory is the terror of the town.  She gets first choice at the farmers market and the butchers, and a meal in her restaurant is formal and follows specific rules.  She is appalled when the Haji family decides to open an informal, loud, spicy Indian restaurant across the street.  However, when she goes there and actually eats, she realizes that Hassan is that rare find, a natural chef.

She extends an offer to the Haji family to take Hassan in and train him.  He makes the hundred-foot journey over to her world, and his life journey is set.  Hassan learns all he can from Madame Mallory, then strikes out on his own in Paris. 

Richard Morais has written an entertaining tale that will delight foodies and those readers interested in family sagas.  The book is full of stories about food and all that goes into running a successful restaurant.  The food is lovingly described, and the reader feels full and satisfied after reading this volume.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy food and reading about it.

Booksie's Shelf, April 17, 2014

I just got back from a week in my favorite city, New York, where I went to Broadway plays and spent hours in art museums.  So good for the soul!  I had my birthday while I was there, so I celebrated when I returned by buying a stack of books this week.  I love chunksters so that's mainly what I got.  Here's what came through the door recently:

1.  Back to Blood, Tom Wolfe, literary fiction, purchased
2. Towers Of Midnight, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, fantasy, purchased
3.  The Last Stand, Nathaniel Philbrick, non-fiction, purchased
4.  The Hunter, John Lescroart, mystery, purchased
5.  Rome, Robert Hughes, non-fiction, purchased
6.  The Pearl That Broke It's Shell, Nadia Hashimi, literary fiction, sent by publisher
7.  White Coat And Sneakers, Hillary Chollet, memoir, sent by author
8.  The Drummer's Widow, Joanna Fitzpatrick, literary fiction, sent by publisher
9.  Hollow Ground, Natalie Harnett, historical fiction, sent by publisher

Here's what I'm working on reading:

1.  The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, reading on Kindle
2.  The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, reading on Kindle Fire
3.  The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson, hardback
4.  Neope's War, Tod Langley, paperback
5.  A March Of Folly, Barbara Tuchman, hardback
6.  A Necessary End, Peter Robinson, paperback
7.  Small Hand And Dolly, Susan Hill, paperback
8.  Cold Granite, Stuart MacBride, reading on Kindle Fire

Here's a hope for great reading for all!

Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer

The eleven stories in Incendiary Girls challenge the reader to explore parts of the human brain and human emotions they rarely think of.  The stories contain fantastical elements; a lover who changes into a camel, a man who unknowingly contained male and female anatomies and is now pregnant, a Death Angel who is pleased to wrongly predict an early death.  The stories also contain references to medical knowledge.  Many of the narrators either are studying medicine or interact with medical surroundings.

What the reader experiences is an exploration of how humans react in extraordinary circumstances.  Even in extremis, we tend to reach out and search for connection with those around us who can help us weather difficulties.  Most of the characters reach resolution in some way, either by overcoming the circumstances they encounter or by accepting that their lives have changed and things will be different from the norms they have lived with.

Kodi Scheer teaches writing at the University of Michigan.  Her stories have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Iowa Review and other publications.  She has won the Dzanc Prize for Excellence in Literary Fiction and Community Service.  Readers who read these stories will be challenged and enriched by human experiences not commonly encountered but that explore human limits.  This book is recommended for anthology readers and those interested in the human experience. 

The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah

The Murder Wall is the wall in the police common room where the pictures of murder victims hang until their case is solved or relegated to the cold case files.  Detective Kate Daniels sees the pictures of the two murder victims she discovered a year ago every day at work, and it continues to dig at her that she never found their killer.

Then another murder is reported, and Kate is given the opportunity to be the officer in charge.  This is her first chance to be the lead investigator and she is determined to do everything correctly this time.  The problem is that she recognizes the victim and then hides that fact from her commanding officer.  Unfortunately, that's not the end of the bad news.  As the days pass, more bodies are discovered and it becomes apparent that there is a serial killer on the loose, who has now progressed to a spree killer.  All the murder victims seem to be unrelated, although there is a religious theme running through the murders. 

As Kate tries to put the pieces together, she also struggles with her private life.  She has concentrated exclusively on her career and she doesn't have anyone to share her life with.  Can she carve out time for a love interest and still be effective?  What is more important to her?

Mari Hannah has written a compelling police procedural murder mystery.  Kate is ambitious and driven, but is starting to realize the price she is paying for that ambition.  The killer is clever and there is a drumbeat of suspense as the bodies start to add up.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Above All Men by Eric Shonkwiler

Life is different in America after the wars.  Infrastructures fell and were not able to be replaced.  For example, when a hurricane knocks out oil refineries there is no more gasoline after what is available is used up.  The country reverts to life as it was a hundred years ago, in the 1930's, a more rural, slow life. 

David Parrish is a war veteran who has returned home.  He tries to maintain a family life with his wife Helene and their son, Samuel.  It eats at him that Samuel, who is very bright, will never know life as he did, with all the technological advances that brought the world to anyone's doorstep.  Instead, they farm as best they can, rediscovering the old methods of intensive farming that used to be the norm.   There are rumors about scavengers who roam aimlessly, trying to steal what they can regardless of who it belongs to.

David does what he can to help those around him.  This sometimes creates tension with Helene, but it is the only way he knows to live.  If someone needs help with a roof or fields, David is there.  He takes in a family to help on the farm, who were in danger of starvation, and finds a true friend in the father.

Then, everything changes.  A child in the community is murdered, gunned down for no reason.  People draw back into their own enclaves, fearful of those around them.  David is determined to discover who would do such a horrendous act, and bring those responsible to justice.

Eric Shonkwiler received his MFA from The University of California Riverside.  His work has appeared in publications such as The Los Angles Review Of Books, The Millions, Fiddleblack Magazine and Midwestern Gothic.  This is his debut novel and the writing is so strong and clear that its power cannot be denied.  The book questions what a man should do to save his family, and how far we should go to be good neighbors.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and is a strong contender for the best book I've read this year.  Eric Shonkiwiler is an author to watch.

Guest Article by Christopher Yates

I was lucky enough to receive this guest post from the author of Black Chalk, which I reviewed yesterday.  Christopher Yates writes about alcohol, which plays a large role in the story.  Here's his post:

Boozing and Musings, One Writer’s View

My debut novel, Black Chalk, features an unreliable narrator—unreliable for several reasons, which I hope you’ll want to unearth for yourselves. But one of the major reasons for the narrator’s unreliability is whisky. 

Whisky is the drink of choice of my apparent narrator who, being a hermit, orders all his liquor online. 

And of course there has long been much made of writers and their not infrequent reliance on addictive substances, with alcohol being by far the most popular choice. 

In Black Chalk, one of my characters lends a book of Raymond Carver short stories to a friend and then proceeds to say: “He was an alcoholic. All of the best American writers were. Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck. Hemingway, obviously. Hemingway was king of the writer drunks. Cheever and Carver. Truman Capote. You go back a bit further and you’ve got Poe and Melville.”

Why is this? Well, speaking from my own perspective (I am a writer and British, which gives me two reasons to enjoy a drink), I consider alcohol my reset button at the end of the day. And the boozing patterns of most drinking writers tend to be remarkably similar— 

You don’t drink while you write. Never drink while you write. (Hemingway refuted the idea that he drank while he wrote. He said Faulkner drank sometimes while he wrote: “I can tell right in the middle of a page when he’s had his first one”.) But you wake up early, sometimes a little foggy, you slide into the new day, your dreams still half-alive in your head, the previous night’s alcohol still jiggling the ideas in your head, and that’s when you start to write. 

And I find writing mentally quite exhausting. I start at around 10 in the morning and only very rarely can I keep going beyond 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Does that sometimes feel indulgent or lazy? Of course—because this is writing, it’s not coal-mining or construction work. But the truth is, once I’ve written about 500 words, the drop-off in quality is rapid and extreme. 

So once I’m done writing, I run errands—walking the dog, laundry, grocery shopping, emailing my editor/agent/publicity people/mother, writing blog pieces like this one, washing last night’s dishes, compiling puzzles (my other job, but that’s another story)… 

And then comes the evening. The evening is for cooking (something I love), accompanied by my first beer, and then eating, drinking some wine, chatting with my wife, maybe a night-cap. All of this helps me relax after the arduous mental strain of 500 words, that peculiarly strange task of making stuff up. As I said, alcohol is my reset button at the end of the day. 

None of this is to say that you have to drink to be a writer. Often I wish I didn’t. Am I going to stop? No. Writing is something exceptionally fragile, you can lose your ability to do it so easily that I intend to stick to my routine. And alcohol is part of my groove, for better or worse. (For better.) 

I will leave you with another line from the “king of the writer drunks”, Hemingway. It’s something he wrote in a letter to a Russian translator and critic, Ivan Kashkin, that makes complete sense to me. 

“When you work hard all day with your head and know you must work again the next day what else can change your ideas and make them run on a different plane like whisky?”

Cheers, Papa.

 

 

Black Chalk by Christopher Yates

In Oxford, six friends have joined together as freshmen.  There are four males and two females.  One is American, five are English.  Jolyon is the cornerstone.  Charming and magnetic, he is the person everyone wants to be around.  Chad has come over from America for a year of study abroad.  He is intense and finding his way in life.  Mark is a scientific whiz.  Emilia is the psychologist and the most empathetic member of the group.  Jack is the comedian although it is unclear if his jokes are hiding something under the sarcasm.  Dee is a writer and seems fragile.

On club day, the group meets a club that seems intriguing.  The club is meant to promote games, mainly role-playing ones.  Chad and Jolyon come up with a game that the club agrees to sponsor.  It is an offshoot of Truth or Dare.  There will be a round once a week.  The person who loses will choose a challenge, or set of challenges if the loss is a big one.  The challenges are things that have been specifically chosen by the group for that person, based on their personality.  Who knows better than friends what will be difficult for someone to do?  Everyone puts in a thousand pounds.  If a player refuses a challenge they are out of the game and lose their stake.  The last person wins all the money plus an additional ten thousand pounds put up by the supervising club.

At first the game is mild with challenges like standing up at supper and singing.  Mildly embarrassing but nothing earthshattering.  That changes as the weeks go by and the group dynamic starts to change.  Close-knit friends start to look at each other with suspicion.  As the challenges get harder and more humiliating, they lead to consequences that no one in the group anticipated before the game started.

Christopher Yates has written a compelling, dark mystery that will have the reader constantly on edge.  There are twists and countertwists.  Alliances are formed and broken and the game follows the group in ways no one could have anticipated.  This book is recommended highly for mystery lovers and those interested in psychological suspense. 

Waiting For Wednesday by Nicci French

Dr. Freida Klein, London psychotherapist, is not working at present.  After the events that occurred after her last time helping the police, she is left battered in body and spirit and needs time to recuperate.  She questions if she should ever help the police again, and they also wonder if the association was wise as Freida is not the kind of person who is bound by rules and regulations.

But sometimes things seem to be meant to be.  A woman in Freida's neighborhood, Ruth Lennox, is found murdered in her home.  The police first believe it is a routine robbery gone bad, but as they investigate, a layer of lies and secrets begins to emerge.  The woman's children are acquaintances of Freida's niece, and she brings them to Freida as they grapple with their grief and disbelief. 

Then Freida starts another quest.  She hears a story that she can't just put away.  It tickles at the edges of her mind, and she tries to find the girl the story originates with.  Soon, with an unlikely ally, she realizes that there could be a serial killer who has operated without discovery for years.  Can Freida solve the various murders or should she turn her back on crime and focus on her own recovery?

This is the third mystery in the Freida Klein series by Nicci French, and readers who read the first two have been eagerly anticipating this one.  Klein is very different from the normal detective, brought into cases against her will by her drive to help others and her ability to see beyond the apparent to the hidden.  The pace is slow at first, but soon the reader realizes that the slow pace just increases the tension that creeps in on every page.  It leads to a stunning conclusion that won't be soon forgotten.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Booksie's Shelf, April 2, 2014

March has been a good reading month.  I've read some great mysteries this month and now fantasy and historical fiction are calling my name.  Here's what's come through the door recently:

1.  China Dolls, Lisa See, historical fiction, won in contest
2.  Fallout, Sadie Jones, historical fiction, sent for book tour
3.  That Summer, Lauren Willig, literary fiction, won in contest
4.  The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison, fantasy, sent by publisher
5.  Monday, Monday, Elizabeth Crook, contempory fiction, sent by publisher
6.  Send Off For A Snitch, KM Rockwood, mystery, sent by author
7.  Shoggoths In Bloom, Elizabeth Bear, won in Worldbuilders raffle
8.  Running With The Pack, edited by Ekaterina Sedia, anthology, won in Worldbuilders raffle
9.  My Accidental Jihad, Krista Bremer, memoir, sent by publisher
10.  In Accord, Kristin Chambers, contemporary fiction, sent by publisher

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, reading on Kindle
2.  The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, reading on Kindle Fire
3.  The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson, hardback
4.  Rivers, Michael Farris Smith, hardback
5.  A March Of Folly, Barbara Tuchman, hardback
6.  A Necessary End, Peter Robinson, paperback
7.  Waiting For Wednesday, Nicci French, hardback
8.  The Murder Wall, Mari  Hannah, reading on Kindle Fire
9.  The Silent Wife, A.S.A. Harrison, paperback
10.  The Hundred-Foot Journey, Richard Morais, paperback

Good reading to all till the next time!

The Forest Unseen by David Gerge Haskell

The Forest Unseen is a fascinating nonfiction book that examines life on a one square meter of old growth forest owned by the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.  Haskell is a biology professor at the university and spent a year observing the same small meter of land in the forest, observing the changes that each season brings to the land.

The book is divided into chapters that correspond to his visits to the patch.  He examines everything he sees and hears.  The reader learns about songbirds, mushrooms, how plants reproduce, why certain plants bloom in the spring, ticks, microscopic animals, trees, fungi and how the climate changes throughout the year structures the life available for observation.  The reader will pick up tidbits of knowledge in each chapter as well as an overarching view of the entire interrelated ecosystem.  For example, half of all songbirds who do not migrate will die in the winter due to the inability to find enough food to convert into heat.  That is one observation that stuck with me, but every chapter will provide new insights into the world that surrounds us.

The book has been recognized as one of the best in this genre.  It was a Finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction.  It was the Winner of the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award, and the Winner of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for National Historical Literature.  Readers will find the book fascinating and a microscope into the workings of the world mostly unknown to the average person.  This book is recommended for readers of nonfiction and those interested in the natural world.

Wolf by Mo Hayder

The Anchor-Ferrers have come to their country home to relax and for Oliver, the husband to recuperate after heart surgery.  The couple is accompanied by their daughter and the family dog.  They barely get settled when they are captured by two men who move into the house to hold them hostage.   The dog runs away, leaving the family in the custody of the kidnappers.

Inspector Jack Caffery is in the area, taking a break from his police work after a case he just can't forget.  As always, thoughts of his brother who disappeared when they were just children won't leave him alone.  He realizes that a local tramp, known as the Walking Man, may have a clue to the disappearance and what happened and decides to approach him one more time.  He finds the Walking Man with a dog that he has found.  The dog has a note attached to his collar, 'Help us'.  The man says his price for telling Jack what he knows about his brother is for Jack to find the dog's family and discover what is going on with them.

As Jack starts his investigation, things are tense and getting worse at the house.  Although it first appears that ransom is the reason for the kidnapping, as time goes on it becomes clear that there is some personal motive behind the crime.  The kidnappers seem more interested in terrifying and humiliating the family than in any ransom.  Can Jack find them before a tragedy occurs?

Readers of Mo Hayder will be thrilled to find this seventh Jack Caffery novel.  No one writes like Hayder or leaves the reader so breathless and frightened.  Although the violence isn't that graphic, the tension builds so strongly that the reader may have to take breaks in order to read on. There is a twist that most readers won't see coming.  Wolf is a compelling page-turner.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Ripper by Isabel Allende

A serial killer is stalking the streets of San Francisco.  Bob Martin, the policeman in charge of the cases, searches everywhere for a connection between the victims who seem totally random.  However, this one may hit home for him.  There are indications that his ex-wife, Indiana, may be a target for the killer.  Then there is Amanda, their daughter.  She and a cadre of kids from all over the globe are involved in playing an online detecting game they call Ripper.  They look at real cases and try to solve them before the police do.

Indiana is the original earth mother.  She works as a massage therapist, and takes in wounded and lonely people under her wing as naturally as a mother bird protects her fledglings.  There are two men in her life.  Alan is a wealthy, cultured man who has been her lover for four years.  He can't imagine giving her up, but also can't imagine marrying her as she is not the typical woman in his social circles.  Ryan is an ex-Seal who loves Indiana fiercely, but is haunted by demons from his time in the service and the missions he has participated in. 

Against this background, the murders continue to pile up.  Often they are couples, both savagely killed.  All the victims have post-mortem injuries that the police know must mean something, but the meaning eludes them. Then Indiana goes missing.  Does the Ripper have her and can she be found and saved before she is also brutally killed?

This novel is a definite departure for South American author Isabel Allende.  Better known for her historical novels featuring South American history and culture, Allende refuses to be pigeonholed as an author.  She recently wrote Zorro, a book in the popular heroes category and has also written memoirs and children's books.  Her novelist background shows through in this mystery which gives extensive background for all the characters and the locations where the events occur.  Readers will be interested in this book both for the mystery itself and the departure from her normal subjects.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman

In the 1870's, the wealthy were godlike in their ability to do as they chose.  This was the time of the Robber Barons, men like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt amassing legendary fortunes from natural resources.  To those names, add the Delegates, rich beyond belief from their silver mine holdings.  Fredrick Delegate, or Freddy as he preferred to be known, was the family patriarch.  He had two sons, Hugo and Nicky. 

When one is so wealthy, it is easy to become bored.  Wealthy men often seek out the bizarre and uncommon.  Thus it was with Freddy.  His interests ran to human oddities, and the family retinue contained a Chinese woman who had been a concubine and a Native American transgender.  But Freddy's real interest was in what was known as feral children; those humans said to be separated by tragedy from their families and raised by animals.  While visiting their silver mines in Nevada, the family comes across a young woman known as Savage Girl.  She is said to have been raised by wolves and is imprisoned in a sideshow, titillating the desires of men who came to her shows.

The Delegates rescue Savage Girl from the man who keeps her in the show making money from exhibiting her.  Freddy and wife decide that this is the perfect project, turning this feral girl into a New York debutante and proving that nurture overcomes nature.  As the weeks go by, it becomes clear that the girl was captured by Indians in a raid and lived with them for some time; she knows some Comanche language.  Slowly she begins to learn English and tells them her name, Bronwyn.  Hugo is fascinated and repelled in equal parts by Bronwyn.  She is beautiful but there is an air of remoteness about her that keeps people distant. The mysteries surrounding her life seem impenetrable, making her more appealing.   She has secrets that she doesn't share with anyone.  Soon Hugo notices that gruesome murders seem to follow the family as they make their way back to New York.  Are they connected to Bronwyn?  Could she be the murderer?

Jean Zimmerman has written a historical fiction novel that pulls the reader in and gives them a view of the Gilded Age and the wealthy families that ruled the country.  Along the way, the views of Darwin and the strict structures of society are explored.  There is a love story, a crime story, there is something for everyone.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction and for mystery lovers alike. 

Booksie's Shelf, March 20, 2014

North Carolina had another ice storm this week, but today the sun is shining and spring flowers are blooming.  My backyard is full of robins and I hope spring is here to stay.  This week I've been in the 1800's with a feral girl adopted by a rich family, with an art model being stalked by a killer, with an Indian chef who has moved from India to England to Switzerland, and out west on a rural farm.  Here are the new books or portals to other worlds that have shown up since my last post:

1.  The Code Of The Hills, Nancy Allen, mystery, sent by publisher
2.  Almost Royalty, Courtney Hamilton, chick-lit, sent by publisher
3.  Bittersweet, Miranda Whittemore, literary fiction, won in contest
4.  Far To Go, Alison Pick, literary fiction, Paperbackswap
5.  Chop Chop, Simon Wroe, literary fiction, won in contest
6.  Swimming Home, Deborah Levy, literary fiction, Paperbackswap
7.  Acts Of God, Ellen Gilchrist, anthology, sent by publisher
8.  A Dangerous Age, Ellen Gilchrist, literary fiction, sent by publisher
9.  The Promise, Ann Weisberger, historical fiction, sent for book tour
10.  Airstreaming, Tom Schabarum, literary fiction, sent by publisher
11.  Waiting For Wednesday, Nicci French, mystery, sent by publisher
12.  Incendiary Girls, Kodi Scheer, anthology, sent for book tour
13.  Savage Harvest, Carl Hoffman, nonfiction, sent by publisher

What I'm currently reading:

1.  The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, reading on Kindle
2.  The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, reading on Kindle Fire
3.  The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson, hardback
4.  Rivers, Michael Farris Smith, hardback
5.  A March Of Folly, Barbara Tuchman, hardback
6.  A Necessary End, Peter Robinson, paperback
7.  Ripper, Isabel Allende, hardback
8.  The Murder Wall, Mari  Hannah, reading on Kindle Fire
9.  The Forest Unseen, David Haskell, reading on Kindle
10.  The Silent Wife, A.S.A. Harrison, paperback
11.  The Hundred-Foot Journey, Richard Morais, paperback
12.  Wolf, Mo Hayder, paperback

Have a great spring beginning this week!

Over My Live Body by Susan Israel

Things are not going great for artist Delilah Price.  Although she is about to have an exhibition of her sculptures, that's the only good thing she has going.  She is having to work long hours to pay her way so that she can create her art.  To make money and keep the flexible hours she needs, she puts in long hours as an artist's model, usually nude.  That has her boyfriend, Ivan, up in arms and he's gotten so jealous that Delilah has decided to break up with him.  If that's not enough, she has picked up a stalker, one that evidently has seen her in her modeling sessions.

Things get worse.  After she locks Ivan out, he won't give up and continues to call and show up wherever Delilah goes.  It's hard to tell who is more threatening, he or her stalker, who advances to in-person meetings wherever Delilah goes.  Then the bodies start piling up, including the partner of her best friend, Morgan.  Delilah goes to the police and finds that she needs to file paperwork and restraining orders before they can do anything.  Meanwhile the threat level continues to racket up.  Detective Patrick Quick seems aloof one day then interested the next.  Can he solve the murders and protect Delilah?

Susan Israel has created an offbeat heroine, a strong woman intent on her career and determined to make it on her own regardless of what it takes to do so.  This is the novel in a series about Delilah and Detective Quick, and the tension between them fuels the action.  Readers will be interested in solving the mystery while finding out about the life of an independent artist and what it takes to pursue a career in the field.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives edited by Sarah Weinman

Mystery lovers are in for a treat with the publication of Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, which is edited by Sarah Weinman.  This anthology features stories by some of the grande dames and early female writers in the mystery genre.  These women paved the way for the successful female crime writers of today, women such as Tana French, Denise Mina, Val McDermid and Laurie King. 

The stories are set in the years between the 1940's to the 1970's.  There are writers everyone has heard of, women such as Patricia Highsmith, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Shirley Jackson and Celia Fremlin.  But there are also literary gems by writers most have never heard of or have forgotten.  These are women such as Nedra Tyre, Miriam Deford, Joyce Harrington and Helen Nielsen.  Regardless of whether the reader is familiar with the authors or not, the experience of reading these stories is fulfilling. 

Sarah Weinman's main job is as the news editor for Publishers Marketplace.  She also writes a monthly newsletter, the Crimewave for the National Post.  Her own short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcok Mystery Magazine and in the anthologies Long Island Noir, Dublin Noir and Baltimore Noir.  Her love of these early women authors and their contributions to the world of mystery writing is evident in this highly readable anthology.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Fortunate Son by David Marlett

The year is 1727 and the place is Ireland.  James Annesley is thirteen, the son of The Earl of Annesley, one of the richest peerages in England and Ireland, with extensive land holdings in both countries.  The current Earl is killed in a street accident, which makes James the seventh Lord Annesley.  That is, until his wicked uncle rides into town the day of the funeral, beating James in the street and sending him into hiding while he claims the title for himself.

Richard, the wicked uncle, claims that James was not the legitimate child of his father, but born of an alliance with the woman who was James' wet nurse.  This woman, Juggy, was in love with Flynn, the stableman who was James' emotional father and the father of his best friend, Sean.  Flynn and Sean try to protect James from Richard, but it is soon evident that he wants to have him killed to remove the threat he represents.  He doesn't manage to have James killed, but instead James is kidnapped and sent as an indentured servant to the Colonies. 

James is given a seven year sentence and when he attempts to escape, a further nine.  When James is twenty-seven, he returns to England where he plans to mount a case against Richard and reclaim his inheritance.  The trial is the biggest trial in English/Irish history, and everyone knew the story.  The most amazing thing about this novel is that it is based on a true story.

David Marlett has written a fascinating tale of noble skulduggery, of a time when nobles were truly lords of all they surveyed, and they were able to commit heinous acts without fear of punishment.  The case was so well known that it echoes in books based on the story.  Some of these include Robert Lewis Stevenson's Kidnapped, Sir Walter Scott's Guy Mannering, and Tobias Smollett's novels, The Adventures Of Peregrine Pickle and The Adventures Of Roderick Random.  The reader will be treated to a fast-paced story with unbelievable twists and turns, a famous tale that fell into obscurity over the years and is now rediscovered.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

The Kill Room by Jeffrey Deaver

NIOS has a rogue administrator.  The National Intelligence and Operations Service handles top-secret missions such as using drones to target terrorists.  But what if the targets selected are not really terrorists but just enemies of the man who runs the organization?  That's the fear when Robert Moreno, an outspoken critic of the United States, is assassinated in his hotel room.  Other members of the federal government are afraid the NIOS is out of compliance but needs a quiet investigation to determine if there is something wrong.

That's when Lincoln Rhyme and his team is called in.  Rhyme is the foremost forensic expert the New York Police Department has, even though he has been a quadralepic for many years.  He has collected a team of skilled investigators to be his hands and legs and can get to the truth if anyone can.  First and foremost is Amelia Sachs, one of the force's top detectives and Rhyme's love.  But there are many others; computer investigators, electronic surveillance, document verification and access to government files.  A new player on the team is ADA Nance Laurel, a buttoned-down, rigid lawyer who isn't quite sure what to make of the informal group she now must work with.

Although the team believes a sniper has committed the murder it soon appears that this is instead a refinement of the drone program which is supposed to avoid the collateral deaths that dropping huge explosive payloads provide.  Although the investigation is secret, it is soon clear that someone in NIOS knows what is going on.  Witnesses start to be eliminated before the team can get to them to interrogate.  The team starts to suspect that things may be even more complicated than it first appeared.  Can they unravel the mystery in time to stop the next target from being killed?

This is the tenth entry in the popular Lincoln Rhyme series.  Deaver has created a character that is memorable.  His plotting manages to balance on a tightrope; intricate but compelling.  He creates a page-turner that has plenty of twists and turns to keep even the most experienced mystery reader satisfied.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers and those who are unsure if all our government agencies can be trusted. 

Booksie's Shelf, March 9, 2014

It's been a strange week in North Carolina.  Although the daffodils are blooming, we had a major ice storm yesterday, resulting in thousands losing power.  We were lucky and only were out of power for about four hours.  That just translates into reading time!  Here's what came through the door this week:

1.  Providence Rag, Bruce DeSilva, mystery, sent by publisher
2.  The Devil's Workshop, Alex Grecian, mystery, Amazon Vine review book
3.  Rules For Becoming A Legend, Timothy Lane, literary fiction, sent by publisher
4.  The Tropic Of Serpents, Marie Brennan, fantasy, sent by publisher
5.  Hangman, Stephan Talty, mystery, Amazon Vine review book
6.  The Plover, Brian Doyle, historical fiction, Amazon Vine review book
7.  How To Succeed In Business Without Really Crying, Carol Leifer, memoir, sent by publisher
8.  Tales From The Eternal Café, Janet Hamill, anthology, sent by publisher
9.  Swimming Home, Deborah Levy, literary fiction, Paperbackswap book
10.  Savage Girl, Jean Zimmerman, historical fiction, sent by publisher
11. Acid Row, Minette Walters, mystery, Paperbackswap book
12.  The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry, historical, sent by publisher
13. Wolf, Mo Hayder, mystery, Amazon Vine review book
14.  An Unsuitable Princess, Jane Rosenberg LaForge, memoir, sent by publisher
15.  The Rise & Fall Of Great Powers, Tom Rachman, literary fiction, contest win

What I'm currently reading:

1.  The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton, reading on Kindle
2.  The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, reading on Kindle Fire
3.  The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson, hardback
4.  Rivers, Michael Farris Smith, hardback
5.  A March Of Folly, Barbara Tuchman, hardback
6.  A Necessary End, Peter Robinson, paperback
7.  The Time Regulation Institute, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, paperback
8.  The Murder Wall, Mari  Hannah, reading on Kindle Fire
9.  Tilted World, Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Tennelly, paperback
10.  The Silent Wife, A.S.A. Harrison, paperback
11.  Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, edited by Sarah Weinman, paperback
12.  After I'm Gone, Laura Lippman, paperback
13.  The Small Hand and Dolly, Susan Hill, paperback

Have a great reading week!

Moth And Spark by Anne Leonard

Caithen is a small country caught between two larger ones, great powers that are rivals.  They are under the protection of one of these, vassels to the Emperor.  The Empire bases its strength on the protection of its band of dragons.  The dragons were originally from Caithen, but were stolen away centuries ago and forced to be slaves to the Emperor.

Prince Corin of Caithen is caught up in the intrigue needed to save his country during this time of war and destruction.  While the Emperor is charged with protecting the country, he has recently made moves that put that protection in question.  In fact, it appears that he is betraying Caithen, willing to sacrifice it to the other power for some reason.  That reason is Prince Corin.

Corin was selected by the dragons years ago to be their savior, then given a forgetfulness enchantment that left him unaware of his part to play in the power struggle.  Now the time has come to fight for the dragons and he has become aware of what fate has chosen him to do.  The problem is that he has no idea how to go about freeing the dragons, although he knows that he must in order to save his country.

As he is struggling with the issue, he meets a woman he never expected to find.  Tam Warin is a commoner, a doctor's daughter who has come to court with her royal sister in law.  Corin and Tam are instantly attracted to each other, although it is clear to both that their love can have no legitimate ending.  A prince cannot marry outside of the royal class.  But neither can resist the other, and as their love affair progresses, they discover that it is meant to be.  Tam is a Seer and her skills along with the powers the dragons have given Corin may give the two the edge to free the dragons and save Caiten.

Anne Leonard has written a fantasy sure to please dragon lovers and those interested in political intrigue and magic as a solution to problems.  The love affair is written well with the problems the lovers encounter brought front and center.  The interaction with the dragons is well done, as is the political maneuvering found at royal courts.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

Death Bed by Leigh Russell

Someone is stalking women on the streets of London.  Two women have gone missing with their bodies showing up days later, battered and mutilated.  The killer is taking teeth and amputating limbs post-mortem, to what purpose no one knows.  The police pull out all the stops in their investigation, but are not getting anywhere fast.  Public sentiment is rising since the two victims who have been found are both minorities and there is a question of police prejudice.  Even worse, the evidence recovered with the bodies suggest that there could still be other victims who have not been found.

Into this environment comes Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel.  Steel has been in the police force for years, but has been posted in a more rural area.  Now she has been transferred to London, and this case is her first opportunity to either shine or fail.  She has a new sargent, Sam Haley, a vivacious woman who keeps Geraldine in the know about the local team and its gossip.  She also has a new supervisor, one that she's not sure she trusts.  She feels he will take the credit if the investigation is successful and use Geraldine's London inexperience as the scapegoat if it fails.

The victims seem to not have much in common.  Jessica Palmer is a child of the streets, poor and working in a massage parlor.  Donna Henry is wealthy and cultured.  Yet both have fallen prey to the killer.  Steel determines that the common factor is that both were taken outside pubs after a night of too much indulgence, snatched off the street while making their way home.  Can she find the killer before more women go missing?

This is the fourth novel in the Geraldine Steel series, although the first where she strikes out on her own rather than being paired with her prior partner, Ian Peterson.  Readers will find the novel interesting in its inside view of a police investigation and how the personalities of those investigating a crime impact the success of the job.  This book is recommended for mystery readers. 

The Free by Willy Vlautin

Leroy Kervin is a former soldier.  Badly wounded, he has spent eight years in a group home and despairs of ever regaining his health. His days are full of confusion and his nights full of horrific dreams in which he and his girlfriend are pursued by a group that wants to harm them.   Pauline Hawkins is a night nurse at the home and Leroy is one of her charges.  Pauline was raised by her father when her mother left them and now the roles have reversed and she takes care of her father.  Freddie McCall is the night manager at the home.  Crushed by medical debts, he works two jobs trying to stave off losing his home.

These are the protagonists of Willy Vlautin's fourth novel, The Free.  Each has been crushed by life, by circumstances beyond their control.  Yet each refuses to give up.  By small acts, they reach out to others, helping where they can and just providing friendship and support where they can't.  They are the backbone of America, those who will never be famous or rich but who plod on daily to do what they can to carve out a life a little less bleak than it would have been.  They never lose hope that doing what they know is the right thing will eventually make life better for those around them.  Whether that is being kind daily to the clerk in a donut shop or rescuing a young person from the streets, they do what is in front of them to do. 

Although the subject matter seems bleak, the reader will finish this novel with a renewed sense of hope and a belief that most people will try to do what is best whenever they can make that choice.  The characters could easily give up but refuse to do so.  While they may skirt the law in their choices, those choices are ultimately in the service of morality.  One can't help but get involved with Pauline and Freddie and cheer them on in their battles.  Willy Vlautin has been praised as a novelist to watch, and this book strengthens that recommendation.  This book is recommended for readers who want to know that our choices matter and that when we refuse to give up it will make a difference in the lives around us.

Thieves' Quarry by D.B. Jackson

Times are difficult in pre-Revolutionary Boston.  The British navy has just brought in a fleet of ships to show force and transport the soldiers that will be occupying the town while the wayward colonists are brought to heel.  While still in the harbor, a tragedy occurs.  All the men on one ship, one hundred in all, are found mysteriously dead. There are no wounds or blood to be found, just scores of men who dropped wherever they were.  What could have caused such an event?

Ethan Kaille may be the answer.  A former convict who served time in Barbados as a convicted mutineer, he now works as a thieftaker in Boston.  Thieftaking is not a particularly lucrative occupation, but one for which Ethan is uniquely suited.  For Ethan is a conjurer.  Some call conjurers witches, and they are as feared and scorned as one might imagine, that is, unless you need their talents.  The Crown is in such a situation and they hire Ethan to discover what has occurred.

Ethan quickly realizes that the deaths are the work of magic.  He thought he knew all the conjurers in Boston, but someone this powerful is more than he has ever encountered.  He starts searching for the answers, but he has some powerful enemies.  Sephira Pyrce is the city's most successful thieftaker, and Ethan's sworn enemy.  She is also searching and it is a race to see who can locate the responsible individual first.  Although hired by the government, that doesn't mean everyone in power is willing to help Ethan.  Sheriff Greenleaf is a long-time declared enemy of Ethan's, and does everything in his power to thwart his investigation.  The lieutenant governor, Thomas Hutchinson, is an even more formidable enemy.  He hates all conjurers and witchcraft, and gives Ethan a deadline to solve the mystery.  If he fails, Hutchinson vows to hang every conjurer in the city.  Can Ethan fight his enemies off long enough to solve the mystery?

Thieves' Quarry is the second novel in the Thieftaker Chronicles.  While reading the first is recommended, it is not necessary for enjoyment of this new entry into the historical urban fantasy genre.  D.B. Jackson is the pen name of an established author, who has planned at least two more books in this fascinating series.  Fantasy readers will be excited to discover this author, and will wait eagerly for the next installments. 

Bark by Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore is acknowledged in the literary world as one of the masters of the short story genre.  In this new collection, she gives the reader eight stories that explore the human condition and our need for connection.

In the first story, "Debarking" the protagonist has recently gone through a divorce.  He deals with the loss of his marriage and constant time with his children.  In time, he starts to reach out and establishes a new relationship with a woman who has a teenage son.  The story follows the difficulties of starting anew with someone else and having to adjust to their personalities and needs. 

In "Wings" the author explores the end of life and how for many people all loving relationships have fallen away due to time and death, leaving them alone for the last journey.  They are especially susceptible to manipulation by others as they try to not be alone at the end.  It also explores the death of long-term relationships that may have been held together by nothing more than inertia after the first blush of lust has dried up.

Moore is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, a post she accepted after almost three decades at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker and the Paris Review.  Stories have been included in anthologies such as the 1998 edition of The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Short Stories of The Century and Children Playing Before A Statue Of Hercules.  Readers will find much to ponder after reading these stories about the nature of love and our never ending need for others to share our lives with.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those who enjoy the short story genre.