Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evelina

In the years following the Civil War, a woman blazed onto the national scene.  Victoria Woodhull started life in a family of grifters and con men.  She was used by her parents to further their crimes as she and her sister, Tennessee, were forced to work long hours as fortune tellers.  This was the era of seers and spiritualists and many people believed that the dead could return to predict the future. 

Victoria fled her parents into an early marriage at sixteen, only to find that the man she thought would save her instead was at bad as her parents.  He was an alcoholic and thought nothing of beating her.  But there was a spirit in Victoria that refused to give up.  She and her sister went to New York and managed to meet the acquaintance of one of the nations richest men, Cornelius Vanderbilt.  With his patronage, the sisters managed to break into the heights of society.  Desperate for knowledge, Victoria used her acquaintance with Vanderbilt to learn about the stock market and the two sisters opened the first female stock brokers office. 

But Victoria's interests ran wide.  She yearned to make herself known and valued in all aspects and she became part of the suffragette movement to fight for the vote for women.  That led her to the trade unions with their message of rights and more power for those working.  She opened one of the first female newspapers in order to push her views out to more people.  Finally, in 1872, she became the first woman to run for President, believing that her spirit guide predicted her success.

But Woodhull's views were too outrageous for the times.  She had divorced her first husband and remarried another man but was adamant that she wouldn't be controlled this time.  She advocated for what she called free love, the right of men and women to love where they would regardless of their martial status, what would today be called an open marriage.  She befriended prostitutes and others from the lowest classes.  She fought constantly against the other women in the women liberation movement, like the Stowe sisters as she constantly pushed for more than most considered possible and was considered to be using the movement for her own purposes.  As Victoria came out with more and more radical ideas, she finally lost all that she had accomplished and today, few even know her name.

This novel won the Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction in the U.S. women's history category.  It puts the spotlight back on a woman who dared to want equality and fought her entire life to gain it, not only for herself but for everyone around her.  Although ultimately she failed and was silenced by her critics, she is now being rediscovered and lauded for her accomplishments.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

Making A Killing by John L. Hart and Olivia Rupprecht

As the Vietnam war rages, there are lots of events going on besides those on the battlefield.  There is CIA involvement in government affairs, and men who are cashing in on the vast wealth that the heroin trade in this area provides.  All of these factors come together when Kate Morningside is kidnapped.  Who has her?  Is the kidnapping part of a spy-counterspy plot?  Is she caught up in the machinations of the men trying to control the drug trade?

Kate is loved by JD Mikel, the CIA's top assassin but also the brother of the Poppy King, the man who controls the vast drug trade in the shadowy background.  Perhaps the kidnapping is part of a plot to force JD to betray his brother.  He reaches out for help from two unlikely sources.  Gregg and Izzy are two Army psychiatrists.  Gregg also loves Kate and the two are willing to help find her.  They travel from base to base, providing help to soldiers who are addicted while keeping their ears to the ground to pick up any clues about Kate's whereabouts.  Will they find her in time?

The writing team of John L. Hart and Olivia Rupprecht have created an intricate plot that brings together the worlds of espionage, drug trafficking and warfare.  The characters are interesting, especially that of JD.  The men they fight against include some of the vilest sadists and criminals imaginable.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

It is an unlikely encounter.  She is the best opera soprano currently singing.  He is an extremely wealthy Japanese industrialist.  They are brought together in a small Latin American country who wishes to court the fortune and influence of the businessman.  His birthday is coming up and one of the few personal things known about him is his love of opera.  So a massive birthday party is thrown and the opera singer is hired to provide the night's entertainment. 

At the end of her singing, the crowd of wealthy businessmen and their wives are silent, amazed at her talent.  At this moment, in swarms a group of guerrillas; it is hard to understand that they are actually there or what their purpose is.  They have come to kidnap the President of the country.  Unfortunately for their plans, the President didn't attend and his Vice President is the highest ranking official.  The guests are forced to the ground, their sumptuous garments crushed and matted.  What will the invaders do now?

What they do is settle in.  They soon get embroiled in negotiations with the police outside.  The women are all sent out in the first round of bargaining, as the terrorists realize they have too many hostages along with those who are ill.  That still leaves over forty men and one women inside; the soprano.  The terrorists are not willing to give up that bargaining chip. 

Now the negotiation period stalls.  Days, then weeks and soon months go by.  The terrorists begin to make ever more outrageous demands, and the police and officials outside provide nothing but food.  Soon the story even falls out of the headlines as days go by.  Inside, a new society emerges.  The men are all in love with the soprano.  A translator, Gen, who works for the Japanese tycoon, becomes essential as he can help these men from all over the world communicate with each other.  As the days go by, it is discovered that two of the guerrillas are girls who are disguised as boys.  Alliances are formed and love affairs emerge.  The most momentous is between the industrialist and the soprano but there are other love affairs as well.  Will this state of affairs go on forever?

Ann Patchett has written a story that is both torn from the headlines and timeless.  It is the story of people coming together in spite of differences.  It is the story of how we each long for beauty to make our lives more bearable.  It is the role of love in our lives.  The novel won the Orange Prize (now the Bailey Prize) and the PEN/Faulkner award.  It is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Kraken Sea by E. Catherine Tobler

Jackson doesn't who what he is exactly, but he knows he isn't like the other children in the orphanage that is all he remembers.  They don't really like him and he can take or leave them.  No one really bothers Jackson as the word is out of bad things that happen to those who cross him.  Jackson is content as he can be.  He has Sister Jerome Grace as a friend and that was enough for him.  Most days passed by without incident although sometimes others would see a momentary flash of scales or a hand that seemed to not quite be formed correctly.  Jackson doesn't know what these momentary flashes are but he knows he needs to hide them from everyone else.

Than things change at the orphanage.  A group of children are chosen to be adopted by families out West and Jackson's name is on the list.  He can't imagine who would want him as no one else has or why.  The woman in San Francisco who has chosen him goes by the The Widow and she is respected and feared by everyone around her.  There are others in her mansion and again, not everyone is fully human.  Jackson knows he has been chosen to live with The Widow for some purpose although he doesn't know why.   He finally feels accepted and that is a revelation to him.  Jackson meets Mae, who is a lion tamer at a circus/show a few blocks away who is mysterious and powerful and drawn to him.  At the same time, he meets a girl at a bakery who seems the epitome of normality.  Which girl is he meant to love and why?

This novella is menacing and murky while still being fascinating.  There are glimpses of myriad things going on in the dark and behind the scenes but much is left to the reader's imagination and interpretation.  The reader is left with the feeling that there is more to Jackson's story that hasn't been told yet and that further adventures await him.  This book is recommended to fantasy readers.

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

Twenty-eight years ago, a horrible event happened in the small Georgia town where the Quinn family lived.  Rusty Quinn was a defense criminal lawyer, an occupation that made him an unpopular figure in town.  His wife and two daughters, Samantha and Charlotte, were at their house when two men intent on revenge on Rusty broke in.  At the end of the day, Rusty's wife, Gamma, lay dead, Samantha was barely alive and Charlotte, at thirteen, was left to mourn the wreck of her family and then testify in the trial that sent a man to Death Row.

Now another horrific event has taken place in town.  A girl has taken a gun into an elementary school and opened fire, killing the principal and a young girl.  Unbelievably, Charlotte is mixed up in this event also.  Although she now is a practicing attorney herself, she had gone to the school before classes began and is caught up in the events as a witness.  Her father plans to defend the shooter and that night, when he ends up in the hospital, Charlotte has had enough.  Her husband contacts Samantha, who has lived estranged from Charlotte and Rusty all these years, and asks her to come home to help. 

It's the last thing Sam wants to do.  She fought for years to be able to walk and talk again.  She left home as soon as she could and became a patent attorney in New York City.  She is highly paid and the best at what she does but she cannot manage to cross the gap those distant events left to reach her family.  This is probably her last chance to reunite with her family.  She returns.  Can she reconcile with Rusty and Charlotte?  Can the two sisters unearth the secrets that remain from that event and find a way to work together in this new crisis?

Karin Slaughter is a successful novelist.  She currently has three works in film production, this being one of them.  She has two successful series and has written eighteen novels.  Her ability to spin a tense, compelling story makes readers want to continue reading to find out what is next.  What is next is often a twist that the reader couldn't see coming, but that makes everything fall into place.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi

An unspeakable crime has occurred.  A man lies dead in his courtyard, his head split open by the hatchet laying nearby.  The only person there when the police arrive is his wife, Zeba.  The family lives in a small Afghan village and Muslim law is the norm.  The man, Kamal, was not a perfect man.  He had removed his family from the side of town where his family lived and there were rumors of the things he chose to do.  Zeba was expected to have no input into his behavior; to take whatever he chose to dish out and continue to be a perfect wife and mother to her four children. 

Now Zeba is in prison, the house with no windows.  She refuses to speak or give any explanation about what has occurred.  She is quartered with other women who are imprisoned for crimes, many of which boil down to zina, having sex outside marriage.  This could be loving a man one planned to marry, having an affair, being prostituted by one's husband or even being raped but blamed.  Women were not believed, their testimony not given any weight.  They were arrested by men, tried by men and judged by men.  Their punishment was given out and administered by men.

Into this environment comes Yusuf, Zeba's attorney.  Yusuf was born in Afghan but his family immigrated to the United States where he grew up and became an attorney.  Now he is back in Afghan as he wants to make an impact in the land of his birth.  He believes there is something in this crime that has not been uncovered, some reason that Zeba is not speaking.  Can he uncover all the hidden secrets that led to the crime?

Nadia Hashimi has shone a light into a culture that is difficult for most readers to imagine.  It is hard to conceive of a life where you have no hegemony, where your every action is dependent on what someone else decides you should do, where your desires and needs have no effect on any outcome.  Readers will be intrigued with the machinations that go on beneath the surface so that these women can survive if not thrive.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in feminist themes.

Trail Of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Maggie Hoskie is a member of the Dinetah tribe.  After the deluge that took much of the western United States, the tribe lives behind a huge wall that was created by the prayers of the Dinetah tribe leaders.   But all is not safe behind the wall.  Monsters are also living there and it is Maggie's decision to hunt and kill them, protecting those she loves.

Her mentor and lover was Neizghani, an immortal who is the greatest fighter ever known.  She worked and lived with him for many months, then in the midst of one of their greatest battles, he deserted her without a word.  That's what immortals do but they leave a hole behind them that is almost impossible to fill. 

After weeks of holing up in her trailer, Maggie is starting to move among her people again.  She is asked to rescue a young kidnapped girl from a monster and although she manages to kill it, she realizes that this is a new type of monster and she doesn't know who created them or for what purpose.  Her adopted grandfather introduces her to his grandson and suggests that they work together.  Kai seems to be a lightweight, turning aside situations by talking his way out of them rather than fighting as Maggie does but to please the old man she takes him along.  Can they discover who is creating the monsters that are preying on the tribe?  Can she find out what happened to her mentor and why he has deserted her?

Rebecca Roanhorse has written an entertaining tale that is unique in its setting in an Indian land after a dystopian event has changed the world we know.  Maggie is an interesting heroine and as she learns to trust and love others, the reader is taken on her journey.  The action is fast and furious and the book ends with the reader barely able to wait for the next novel in the series.  This book is recommended for readers of sci fi/fantasy.

Dead In The Dark by Stephen Booth

Even though they work in different police organizations now, Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are both still busy with their work, murder.  Fry, who has transferred to work with a division dealing with more organized threats, is called to the murder scene of an immigrant.  He was a loner and kept to himself but she soon discovers the more common scenario for these immigrants from Eastern Europe is for them to live overcrowded in dilapidated residences, crammed in with others and paid starvation wages.  They are resented by the local inhabitants and experience prejudice wherever they turn.  This touches a chord with Diane, whose background in care left her with memories of children she lived with who faced the same unreasoning prejudice.

Ben Cooper, who is still in his small village, has been promoted to head up his team.  He now adds management worries to those of fighting crime in a remote village where he knows many of the inhabitants.  The most recent case he has brings back bad memories in the village.  A man has gone missing.  Ten years ago, the man's wife had disappeared and it was assumed by all that he had killed her.  He was charged even though no body was found but was saved at the last minute by an eyewitness account that seemed to clear him.  But memories are long and Cooper knows that his disappearance now could have its roots in those former times.

This is one of the success stories in the mystery genre.  This is the eighteenth book in the series and readers not only get satisfying puzzles but they get to see the development of the main characters over the years.  The series is called the Cooper and Fry series but, although everyone pairs the two, they themselves have a complicated relationship and don't always see themselves as a team.  Their friction makes for an interesting digression from the usual mystery series and keeps it interesting.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

A Long Way From Home by Peter Carey

The Redex Trial was a brutal car trip in the 1950's.  A total of 6,500 miles through unforgiving terrain, rally teams would fight for the chance to be crowned the winners.  It was a national sport with the drivers becoming national heroes.  Back then, the roads were still not reliable and the drivers had to fight terrain where the roads were mere wisps of dirt, streams had to be forded and supplies were few and far between.  It was an endurance race that could only happen in Australia.

Eager to make their name and fortune, one team set out to make their mark.  Titch Bob is the best car salesman in Australia but that doesn't mean he will be given the prize he covets; a Ford dealership.  His wife, Irene Bob, is a woman who knows what she wants.  She married Titch in part because he was a small, compact man and she knew her babies with him would be easy births.  She is outraged at his inability to get the dealership and is ready to do whatever it takes to help him win, even fight his larger than life father for him.

The Bobs are the drivers on their team, but they turn to their next door neighbor, Willie, Bachhuber, to be their navigator.  Willie has had a hard start to life.  He married young but left his wife in the hospital when their baby was revealed to be another race.  Stunned by that betrayal, he became a teacher but lost that job when his discipline methods came into question.  He was one of the first radio quiz show heroes but lost that job through duplicity.  Twenty-six years old, he jumps at the chance to go along on the Redex quest to see what is next for him.

The team's preparation pays off and soon they are the leaders.  But time and proximity exposes strains.  The Bob's marriage is strained and Willie's past and the secrets hidden there make him prey to a life-changing event.  The Redex Trial will change each of their lives forever.

Peter Carey is one of Australia's foremost novelists.  He is one of only four writers to have won the Booker Prize twice.  One was for Oscar And Lucinda and the other was for The True History Of The Kelly Gang.  In addition, he was won The Miles Franklin Award, Australia's top literary award, three times.  His forte as an author is to develop intriguing characters that characterize the Australian personality and to bring the history of his country into his books and make it approachable to the reader.  This book is recommended to readers of literary fiction.

Carousel Court by Joe McGinniss Jr.

They came chasing the American Dream.  Phoebe spends her days riding the California freeways, driving from doctor's office to doctor's office, her job as a pharmaceutical rep demanding that she flirt and sometimes more to make her quota of sales.   Nick came out to California believing that he had a job in the film industry only to find out that it was vapors when he got there.  He now works for a firm that clears out and cleans up houses that are foreclosed on and where the people living have just given up and moved on.

Nick and Phoebe are struggling, fighting every day just to keep their heads above water.  They live in an amazing house but just like their neighbors, they are upside down on the mortgage and struggling to make payments.  Their toddler son is with the nanny more often than with them.  In order to make it work they need to pull together but instead they turn on each other, using drugs and alcohol to fill the gaps.  Soon they are locked into a martial struggle that seems to have no resolution, each doing whatever they can to hurt the other.  Both indulge in infidelity and recriminations, blaming the other for their misfortunes.  Will they survive or be victims of the life they have chosen?

This bleak novel is not for everyone.  The main characters are struggling and as they flail around, hurting everyone they get close to, they are unlikeable and hard to emphasize with.  They know what the dream is but it is forever out of their grasp and they can't figure out why some people are winning while so many struggle and go under.  The reader moves on, unable to look away from the train wreck that is their lives and wondering if there is any hope of redemption.  This is not an easy book but it is a searing indictment of what chasing the dream can be.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

March Violets by Philip Kerr

The year is 1936 and the place is Berlin, Germany.  Bernhard Gunther, known as Bernie, is a private detective.  He became one after leaving the police force in support of his friends who were pushed out by political actions.  One of his biggest areas of work is finding missing persons; many are found to have been shipped to concentration camps or picked up by the Gestapo and killed. 

Bernie is called to the home of a multimillionaire.  The man's daughter and son-in-law have been murdered and a safe in their house containing an expensive diamond necklace has been burgled.  The man wants Bernie to run a parallel investigation to that of the police as he doesn't want to give the police all the information he has as he thinks it could have adverse financial impact on his business. 

Soon Bernie is up to his neck weaving his way between political bigwigs, the police, members of the criminal underclass and men from the Gestapo.  He meets a beautiful movie star and several women who have lost their jobs due to the new emphasis on women staying at home and being supported by their men.  It is a delicate task working through all the horrendous things going on in Berlin in that era but crime never takes a break.  Can Bernie find the murderer and the jewels?

March Violets is the first book in Kerr's successful crime series featuring Bernie Gunther.  There are currently fourteen books in the series.  Readers will enjoy the noir feel of the book and have room to compare German noir with that of Hollywood.  Bernie is an interesting character and his ability to maneuver between all the warring factions in Berlin is fascinating to watch.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Booksie's Shelves, September 1, 2018

September has arrived and hopefully, autumn will be close behind.  Here in the South, we don't really get fall temperatures for six or eight more weeks, but I'm ready to decorate my door with my fall wreath and put out my glass pumpkins all over the house!  Last year I even made a glass pumpkin at a workshop which was fun.  We have delivered the college age daughter back to school so I'm back to days on my own, which translates into lots of reading.  I read twelve books in August and hope to match that in September.  Here's the ones that have made it through the door:

1.  The Island Of Always, Stephen Evans, literary fiction, sent by publicist
2.  Trust Me, Hank Phillippi Ryan, thriller, sent by publisher
3.  Grace Williams Says It Loud, Emma Henderson, literary fiction, purchased
4.  Stygian, Sherrilyn Kenyon, fantasy, sent by publisher
5.  Spies, Michael Frayn, literary fiction, purchased
6.  The Shape Of Rain, Michael Koep, fantasy, sent by publicist

Then there was the Audible sale last weekend.  I bought the following audio books:

1.  The Drowned Girls, Loreth Ann White, mystery
2.  The Water Knife, Paolo Bicagapuli, fantasy
3.  Brothers And Bones, James Hankins, mystery
4.  Gone To Dust, Matt Goldman, mystery
5.  The Naturalist, Andrew Mayne, mystery
6.  Silent Victim, Carolina Mitchell, mystery
7.  A Killer's Mind, Mike Omer, mystery
8.  Strange The Dreamer, Laini Taylor, fantasy
9.  A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, George R. R. Martin, fantasy
10.  Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi, literary fiction
11.  The Three Musketeers, Alexander Dumas, classic literature
12.  Wizard's First Rule, Terry Goodkind, fantasy

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  Rembrandt's Eyes, Simon Schama, hardback
2.  The Crossing, Michael Connelly, audio
3.  Carousel Court, Joe McGinnis, hardback
4.  The House Without Windows, Nadia Hashimi, hardback
5.  All The Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy, audio
6.  Bitter Violets, Philip Kerr, hardback
7.  The Golem Of Paris, Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman, paperback
8.  Autonomous, Annalee Newitz, Kindle Fire
9.  Pachinko, Min Jin Lee, Kindle Fire

Happy Reading!

A Woman Is A Woman Until She Is A Mother by Anna Prushinskaya

In this collection of eleven essays, author Anna Prushinskaya discusses one of the common threads tying women together, that of motherhood.  She wrote these essays while she was pregnant with her first child and then after the birth of her son.  She discusses such topics as the feelings of being pregnant, labor itself, the change that pregnancy and birth makes in a woman's life and how motherhood and outside employment interact.

In the essays, several themes emerge.  Prushinskaya brings in the Russian influences of her heritage and she discusses the thoughts of prominent feminists about the topics of women and childbirth and of becoming a mother.  Her family emigrated from Russia in 1998 and she became a citizen in 2008.  She discusses the quandary of bringing into an imperfect world a being one loves immediately and wishes the best for.  She talks about the uncertainty of pregnancy; not knowing when labor will begin or how things will turn out.  She talks about the changes one undergoes immediately after childbirth as a new world is entered.  Readers, especially women, will be interested in this unique take on one of the common experiences that bind women together.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers and those interested in the female experience.

The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain

Two young boys start a friendship and grow up in a small Switzerland town.  Gustav lives with his mother, his father having passed away.  His father was the assistant police chief and during WW II, forged dates on Jewish passports to indicate they had entered Switzerland before the country's cutoff date on accepting refugees.  Due to this, he lost his position and the family struggled with poverty thereafter.

Anton is his polar opposite.  He is Jewish and comes from a wealthy family.  In addition, he is a musical prodigy and his family does whatever they can to support his talent.  Despite the differences, the boys maintain their friendship throughout their years growing up.

They grow apart in adulthood.  Anton has remained in town, becoming the music master at the local school, a far cry from the spectacular future everyone envisioned for him.  Gustav has accomplished his life goal; he owns a hotel in which he can maintain high standards and take care of his guests.  Taking care of others is very important to Gustav.  The novel turns on what happens between the two in their adult lives.  Will they be content to live out the dreams they had as children or will they reach out and try to find more? 

Rose Tremain is a successful novelist, with titles like The Road Home, Merival, Trespass and Restoration.  She has been nominated several times for prizes such as the Booker and the Bailey's Prize for Women and has won the Bailey's.  She focuses her novels on relationships and how individuals come together and support or tear down each other.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Snap by Belinda Bauer

Life has not been kind to Jack Bright.  When he is eleven, the car in which he is riding with his mother and two younger sisters breaks down.  His mother leaves to find a phone telling Jack he is in charge.  She never returns.  Two weeks later, her body is found, the victim of an attack and murder.

Three years later, Jack's still in charge.  Unable to handle the stress of losing his wife, Jack's father goes out to get milk one day and never returns.  Jack is left to keep the family together and hide the fact that he is the man of the family.  The girls stay home now as going to school might reveal their situation and put the three into the system where they would be separated.  Jack makes sure they stay under the radar by keeping the house spruced up and making sure they have the material things they need to survive.  Since he is too young to get a job, he ensures their survival by stealing.  He breaks into houses and steals things to turn over for pay but also steals healthy food and books.  He steals a lawnmower so the grass will remain trim and steals paint in order to spruce up the outside of the house.  All appears normal.

Then one day while breaking into a house, Jack makes a discovery.  He finds the knife that killed his mother and he now knows the identity of her murderer.  He can't do anything about it himself but he brings the police in on his secret, even at the expense of being caught for the hundreds of robberies he has done.  Is Jack right?  Will the police detective in charge be able to prove it?  He is new to the district, transferred in after messing up elsewhere.  Can this be his redemption as well as Jack's?

Belinda Bauer burst onto the mystery scene with her first novel, Blacklands, in 2010, which promptly won the Crime Writer's Gold Dagger Award for Best Novel Of the Year.  She has written a series of mysteries since, and is often compared to mystery writers such as Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters.  Her books tend to focus on young people who are exposed to crime through no fault of their own and who slowly come to realise that not everyone can be trusted.  This book has been longlisted for the Mann Booker Award this year and is recommended for mystery readers. 

NW by Zadie Smith

They all grew up in the Caldwell housing estate in NW London and now as adults their lives have diverged.  Natalie is a successful lawyer with a wealthy husband, a great job, two children and a huge house.  She grew up as Keisha but knew her name was another thing about her past she needed to move on from.  Leah was her best friend but she has never been focused, instead letting her life happen to her rather than directing it.  She works a job haphazardly at a non-profit and has finally married a good man, a hairdresser who wants to have a good life.

Felix and Nathan also grew up in Caldwell but their lives have not turned out as well as those of the women.  They have had encounters with drugs and petty street crime; their job prospects and history are not what one would want.  They still see the women but these days they are more of a reminder of what the women's lives could have been rather than a welcome friend.

In NW, Zadie Smith illustrates the hopes and dreams of the area she herself grew up in.  The stories are short and disjointed, the language the same.  The reader is taken into an area where the language is jerky and everyone is just trying to get ahead and carve out some peace and success for themselves.  It was chosen as a New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2012 and gives readers a peek into a life they have little knowledge of.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Einstein's Beach House by Jacob M. Appel

In these eight stories, Jacob M. Appel gives readers a view into the lives of others and what they do to survive and thrive.  The title story refers to a family where the father has the bright idea of claiming their beach house was once owned by Einstein and that he spent his summers there after a guide misnumbered the actual house and tourists started arriving.  His plan to make some much-needed money backfires spectacularly. 

Other stories show us a family who lives next to a sex offender and how the father reacts, a family where the child has an imaginary friend with coincidences that are unimaginable, a female rabbi who is having a hard time deciding on the appropriate response to a former lover who tries to take advantage of her good nature and a teenage boy who is invited to be friends with the teenage girl he already has a crush on by her parents.  Each story shows us the events in various viewpoints and leaves the reader pondering the nature of humans and their relationships.

Jacob M. Appel is an amazing person.  He holds a bachelors and master's degree from Brown University but also has five other master's degrees and a doctorate, including both legal and medical degrees.  He has taught at various universities and his work has won praise and awards in various contests such as the O'Henry and the Reynolds Price Short Fiction award.  He writes on reproductive rights and his medical essays are published in various journals and collections.  His insight on how humans relate to each other are interesting while being very approachable.  This book is recommended for readers of short stories. 

The Years That Followed by Catherine Dunne

They are sisters under the skin, although they've never met.  Each has a life that is irretrievably impacted by the wealthy Demitriadas family, a family from Cyrus whose wealth was made by shipping interests.  Each will love a man from the family and find their life changed forever.

Calista is an eighteen year old when she meets Alexandros who is in Dublin for talks with her father.  When he comes to dinner and shows an interest in her, she feels the spark of attraction and a sense that nothing will ever be the same.  She lets Alexandros rule their relationship and when she finds herself pregnant, they marry and he gets ready to take her back home.  Home to Cyprus, where she won't speak the language or know anyone.  Home where he is the youngest son of the family and doesn't get the respect he thinks he is due.  Home where he is able to control her every movement until even that is not enough and he starts to get violent.  Calista is too young to know what to do and soon there are her children, who are her life.

Pilar grows up in Spain in the depths of poverty.  When she is eighteen, her mother sends her to Madrid and puts her under the protection of a successful man who came from their village and who the mother knows she should have married.  Pilar lives and works for years and under the tutulage of Senor Gomez, learns about financial matters.  She is able to buy into an apartment house and live there, overseeing her tenants.  She meets Petros, the patriarch of the Demitriadas family while he is there on business.  They fall in love and have a year of wonder until Pilar gets pregnant.  Then Petros tells her there is no future, that he can never leave his family.

As the years progress, the women live their lives always under the influence of the Demitriadas family.  They learn to compensate and carve out lives for themselves and finally after decades, they share one final thing; a death that each think will change the rest of their lives.  Are they right?

Catherine Dunne is an Irish writer who explores the ways that love changes those in relationships.  She doesn't see much happiness coming out of these relationships and her message seems to be that women must protect themselves at all costs.  This novel is recommended for readers of women's fiction.

The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis

The Dutch in the early 1700's are the masters of the world.  Their clockmakers have created a series of mechanical men.  These beings are alive yet enslaved through chemical bindings to their masters.  They start to feel pressure whenever given an order and as every minute passes that the task is not completed, their pain increases until it is intolerable.  Thus, they quickly obey any order without pause or hesitation.  Their masters don't acknowledge that these are sentient beings who have feelings and aspirations but treat them as one would a vacuum cleaner or washing machine.  With such obedient creatures, the Dutch rise in the world standings as they have soldiers that never tire and slaves to do all physical work.

Jax is one of the enslaved but something wonderful happens.  While carrying out a task to deliver a package, part of it spills out and when it touches him, something changes.  His obligation to constantly serve any human who orders him has disappeared.  He can, for the first time, think for himself and about what he might want.  It's clear; he wants freedom and to escape from his masters.  Can he find a way to get away from the humans who see him as a rogue and a threat?

Ian Tregillis has created an interesting world in which the ideas of predestination and human freedom can be debated.  The mixture of fiction and solid historical research gives this world gravitas and serves as a stand from which an alternate view of history can be imagined.  This is the first of a trilogy and readers will want to continue with the other novels to read more about Jax's attempt to gain freedom.  This book is recommended for readers of fantasy. 

The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer

Most people thought Eve Singer had a charmed life.  They saw her beauty and her prestigious job as a television reporter.  What they didn't see was the reality of Eve's life.  Her beat was the crime beat so she was immersed daily in murder and mayhem.  When she left work, she didn't go home to a loving family.  Instead she went home to her second job, caring for her father who suffered from Althimezers.  There wasn't any time left for romance, friends or even rest and relaxation.

A murderer is in town and his crimes are getting more frequent.  He fixates on Eve and decides that only she can tell his story.  At first, Eve is willing if reluctant as being in contact with a killer is a scoop no other reporter can match.  But soon her repulsion forces her to break contact and the killer is incensed.  Eve now moves from his venue to get his story told to his obsession.  He is determined to ruin her life to pay her back for daring to refuse his requests for publicity.  Who will win, Eve or the killer?  Eve is familiar with working towards deadlines but now the deadline is how quickly the killer can get to her and kill her.

Belinda Bauer was forty-five before she wrote her first novel.  That first novel, Badlands, won the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger Award, something unheard of for a debut.  Since then her novels have won her the mantle of the new Ruth Rendell and her ability to turn a story on its head makes her novels page-turners.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Girl In The Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

Something suspicious is going on in the technology world.  One of the foremost authorities, Frans Balder, feels that he is in danger.  He has been working on creating an artificial intelligence that will overshadow human intelligence and his work is of interest both to the private sector and various governmental agencies.  Rumors are that he has made a breakthrough but he has suddenly left his job in the United States and returned to Sweden.  There he takes his son back from his ex-wife and decides to devote himself to being a good father.

But that's not an easy task.  The son is autistic and doesn't talk.  He spends his days working complex jigsaw puzzles and occasionally having meltdowns.  No one seems to understand him but Balder feels that there is hidden intelligence straining to come out.  He starts to make progress but then his past catches up.  Hours after being warned by the Swedish intelligence agency that he is a target, he is murdered in front of his son.   Before he dies, he contacts journalist Mikael Blomkvist and asks to see him on an urgent matter.  Blomkvist arrives to a murder scene.  The boy, August, was a witness but anything he saw is locked inside his shell. 

The killers don't believe August isn't a threat, however, and decide to come back and finish the task of removing all threats.  Blomkvist and the police inspector contact the mysterious hacker, Lisbeth Salander, to help them understand Balder's work and to safeguard August.  Can they keep him safe until the killers are brought to justice?

Lagercrantz is continuing the series of Salander novels that made an instant success of their author, Stieg Larsson.  Larsson had three highly successful novels that made Salander one of the most recognizable figures in the thriller world.  This fourth novel carries the storyline onward.  Readers will miss some of Larsson's writing style and ability to make a story electric but will be glad to read another of Salander's adventures.  The novel considers the concept of artificial intelligence and what life would be like if humans were not the smartest organisms around as well as the moral quandaries of a world with constant governmental surveillance.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Booksie's Shelves, August 7, 2018

We're into August and perhaps the end of summer is in sight.  I'm not a fan of heat and humidity so summer is my least favorite season.  Fall is my favorite so I'm looking forward to that.  We're about to move our daughter back to SC for her junior year of college.  Next summer she may be doing an internship so this may have been her last summer at home which is sad.  We've taken trips, cooked together, accomplished goals and read, read, read all summer!  Here's what's come through the door lately:

1.  Ghosted, Rosie Walsh, modern fiction, sent by publisher
2.  The House Swap, Rebecca Fleet, thriller, sent by publisher
3.  Melmoth, Sarah Perry, historical fiction, won in contest
4.  Go Home, Afton, Brent Jones, mystery, sent by publisher
5.  So Much Life Left Over, Louis De Bernieres, literary fiction, sent by publisher
6.  Rush, Lisa Patton, women's fiction, sent by publisher
7.  November Road, Lou Berney, thriller, won in contest
8.  Stone Cold Sober, Rebecca Marks, mystery, sent by publisher
9.  Old Fashioned With A Twist, Rebecca Marks, mystery, sent by publisher
10.  Swift Vengence, T. Jefferson Parker, thriller, sent by publisher
11.  Unexploded, Alison Macleod, literary fiction, purchased
12.  Button Man, Andrew Gross, thriller, sent by publisher
13.  Believe Me, JP Delaney, mystery, sent by publisher
14.  The Whale, Mark Beuregard, literary fiction, sent by publisher

Since the last time I posted, I've also purchased 21 ebooks, with eight of those being boxed sets and downloaded about thirty ebooks as ARCS.  There's never a dearth of reading material in this house!

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  Rembrandt's Eyes, Simon Schama, paperback
2.  The Girl In The Spider's Web, David Lagercrantz, hardback
3.  The Mechanical, Ian Tregillis, paperback
4.  The Crossing, Michael Connelley, audiobook
5.  All The Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy, audiobook
6.  The Beautiful Dead, Belinda Bauer, paperback
7.  Autonomous, Annalee Newitz, Kindle Fire
8.  The Years That Followed, Catherine Dunne, hardback

Happy Reading!

Silk And Song by Dana Stabenow

Johanna Wu is the granddaughter of the traveler Marco Polo.  When he left, he put his wife and daughter under the protection of the merchant Wu, his best friend.  Wu's son married Polo's daughter and their only child was Johanna.  Johanna grew up on the road, traveling with the caravans across the East, learning the value of silks and gems, paper and maps.  Along the way, the family grew when they rescued a boy, the only survivor of a massacre that killed both his parents.  Jaufre's father was an Englishman, a former Crusader and Knight Templar who now sold his services for protection along the trading routes. 

Johanna and Jaufre are left at a loss when their father, Wu, dies.  It is unlikely that they will be welcome in China without their father as their European features mark them as different.  They decide to go to Venice to see if Marco Polo yet lives.  Along the way, they add to their group of friends.  There is Johanna's stepsister, a wise woman and healer who knows plants and medicine.  A Mongol assassin joins their group when he falls in love with the stepsister.  There is a troubadour and a traveling religious man, both strays whom the group takes in.  Another former Templar joins the group and along with his Mongol counterpart, train the group in self-defense.  Two women from a harem are rescued by Johanna and join them.  Finally, when they reach Venice, Johanna adds a street urchin who is sold by her father. 

Together the group travels and trades, encountering friendship and base treachery along the road.  Johanna has an amazing white stallion that she races and who has never been beat and will only respond to her.  Will they find the answers they seek in Venice?  Could Marco Polo be alive after all these years and will he remember the wife and child he left behind in China?  What is the mystery of Jaufre's background that is hinted at by those they meet?

Dana Stabenow is known for her mysteries.  This historical novel is a departure but the reader will find the same robust storytelling that has made her a success in her more familiar genre.  The relationships are interesting and the various quests and dangers are compelling.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

The Quick by Lauren Owen

James Norbury grew up, isolated, in the English countryside with only his sister, Charlotte, for friendship and affection.  Their mother had died and their father had little time or interest in them and left them to be raised by the servants.  After his death, they moved out of the huge mansion that would be James's when he was grown and into the cottage of their caretaker.  There James lived until he went to college.  Afterwards, in the late 1800's, he made his way to London.

He didn't have to work but wasn't as wealthy as many of the men he went to college with and now encountered in London.  James shares rooms with Christopher Paige, a man from a wealthy family who is well established in London.  They slowly build a friendship.  Then the unimaginable happens.  The two are walking in the streets when they are set upon by a man.  After the encounter, Paige is dead and James awakes to find himself kidnapped.  To his utmost horror, his captors are a society of those others call vampires and James has been unwillingly brought into their number. 

In the meantime, Charlotte has made her way to London to find James after her letters and telegrams go unreturned.   She finds him in the worst situation imaginable and in the midst of an epic struggle between those belonging to the upper reaches of society who are vampires and those in that category from the lower classes.  The two sets are determined to eradicate each other and then there are vampire hunters also.  Somehow Charlotte must weave her way between the rivalries and try to save James.  Is it even imaginable that she can?

The Quick  is a debut novel, the title referring to everyday humans who are known as the quick by those who hunt them.  Lauren Owen  has managed to recreate the misty London which always seems so mysterious and slowly build tension as the two groups fight their battle for supremacy.  This book is recommended for readers of horror and mystery fiction.

Indie Fantasy Readers

A new group has started on Facebook for those readers who love indie fantasy.  They are having a summer reading challenge to spotlight the novels and build membership.  Booksie rushed to join as soon as I heard as I love fantasy and always love to support the authors who bring us so many hours of joy.  There are great prizes and swag for the winners.  Winners are chosen from several tiers so if you read at a different rate or have a busy summer planned, you will still have a chance to win.  The link for the group is:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/indiefantasyaddicts/

Good luck and good reading!

Grist Mill Road by Christopher Yates

Early adolescence is a strange time.  Boys are starting to be interested in girls.  Some have shot up while others still appear to be children.  Girls are starting to grow into their beauty and flexing their attraction muscles.  All are unsure of themselves, how they fit into the world and how to make their way forward.  This was the case with the three main characters in Christopher Yate's novel, Grist Mill Road. 

Patrick is the kid everyone knows; his father a popular figure around town who is going places.  He is still small and unsure where he fits in.  Hannah is the girl everyone wants to be.  She is acknowledged as the prettiest girl in the class but there is still an innocence there as she starts to want to explore love.  Her family is the richest in town.  Matthew is the class bad boy.  A year older than the rest and much bigger, his father is the town drunk who beats up his family to keep them in some imaginary line.  He and Patrick become friends when Matthew moves from New York City to tiny Grist Mill Road.  A year later, he and Hannah notice each other and sparks start to fly.  The three decide to hang out one afternoon.  At the end of it, a senseless crime has occurred that will mark the three for life and send them all in different directions.

Christopher Yates's first novel, Black Chalk, hit the mystery genre like a bomb.  This novel has the same ingredients; an intricate plot that twists and turns into areas the reader doesn't anticipate; compelling characters that work their way into the reader's brain, and a mystery that shocks as it is revealed.  This novel is also unlike the first which is the bane of second novels and can easily stand on its own, not depend on the first novel.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride

Things should be looking up for Logan McRae.  Not only has he been promoted to Inspector at long last, but he actually has staff rather than being the low man on the totem pole.  He has a new girlfriend and his house renovations are coming along nicely.  Of course, he's now working in Professional Standards which is the equivalent of being a vampire in the police force but you can't have everything.

But McRae should know that good news doesn't last.  He is pulled back into the regular force when the body of DI Bell is discovered.  Everyone is shocked as they thought they buried him two years before.  Then another police body is discovered, this one a woman who was investigating the Bell case.  McRae is involved from the Standards side and when the rest of the force is short-staff due to a spate of recent child abductions, he must investigate the murders.  His pleas for additional help brings him the assignment of none other that his prior nemesis, Roberta Steele, now demoted back to the ranks and who must now work for Logan instead of bossing him around. 

Logan McRae is one of the most interesting detectives in a current series.  MacBride's patent humor in the face of horrific cases and his ability to portray the Scottish police as multi-dimensional characters is what makes this series such a delight with committed fans who wait eagerly for each novel in the series.  This one is the eleventh and fans will turn the last page already ready for the twelfth.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Murder On The Med by Peter Mayle

It should be a good month for billionaire Francis Pierre.  Of course, most months are good when you're a billionaire and have a gorgeous villa in Marseilles, France.  But Pierre's good friends, Sam Levitt and his fiance, Elena, are coming to visit for a few weeks and he is excited to see his friends.  Pierre plans outings and lots of sumptuous meals to share with them.  But there is a fly in the ointment.

A Russian tycoon, Oleg Nikita, lives on his yacht, sailing around the world and partaking of life's pleasures.  He is used to getting what he wants and unfortunately, he sees Pierre's villa and decides that is what he wants.  Nikita makes an offer for Pierre's home but Pierre isn't interested in selling, His interest now piqued even more, Nikita increases his offer but Pierre stands firm.

Nikita isn't used to the word no.  His past relationships are characterized by him emerging with what he wants and often the other person is left with nothing, sometimes not even his life.  Nikita has no problem with doing whatever it takes to win in every situation.  He decides he will have the villa no matter what and starts to plan Pierre's demise.  Sam, who is a veteran of tricky situations like this, takes matters into hand and starts to plan an intricate intrigue that will stop Nikita.  Will his plan work out to save Pierre and his villa?

Peter Mayle is known for his writing about his life in France and the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  His book, My Year In Provence, was a huge bestseller, staying on the bestseller lists for over three years.  His other novels also highlight the food and culture of his adopted homeland.  He wrote four Sam Levitt novels and readers will delight in a novel that is entertaining and informative.  This book is recommended for readers of thrillers and those interested in the area.

Once Upon A River by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Margo Crane is not suited for this world.  Sixteen and blessed or cursed with unearthly beauty, she lives with her father on the Stark River which feeds into the Kalamazoo.  She doesn't like the things of modern life.  What she likes is what her grandfather has taught her; the river life, fishing and hunting, making do with what you have and working for what you want.  Margo's mother couldn't take the poverty and the boredom and headed out a few years back.  There's rumors she isn't that far away but no one seems to know.  Margo doesn't speak much but loves all her family and is a crack shot, in fact a sharpshooter.

But tragedy follows her.  Men can't seem to leave her alone due to her beauty.  When a family disagreement over her blows up into a fight that leaves her father dead, Margo isn't sure what to do.  She can't live with her aunt and uncle who have been her second family because that's where the fight occurred and there is bad blood and she doesn't feel safe.

So Margo takes off in her grandfather's old boat which he left her when he died.  She drifts down and into the life of Brian who has been fascinated with her since he came to buy a deer from her father.  She is happy enough there but when Brian is sent to prison, she is once again adrift.  She ends up at Michael's, a man from elsewhere who lives on the river but isn't a riverman.  She makes attempts to find her mother but a letter sent to her when she hears where she might be only says it is not a good time to visit.  When another tragedy occurs, she leaves Michael's house and is on her own again, drifting and making her way.

There are other men, always entranced by Margo's beauty and not content until they possess her.  Margo takes what she can from each man, learning more about how to survive on her own and how to only give what she is ready to give.

Bonnie Jo Campbell is a writer who draws the reader in immediately.  Her novels have won praise including a National Book Finalist nomination for American Salvage.  She was made a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011 and teaches in the MFA program at Pacific University.   She lives with her husband in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Her ability to write about those forgotten by society and those determined to live their lives outside the mainstream experience is the key to her success.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

When journalist Fiona Sheridan hears that the deserted Idlewild Hall is being renovated and will be reopened, she is appalled.  Everyone in town has always avoided the place and it has been closed since the 1950's.  Fiona has a personal reason for avoiding it.  Her only sister had been found murdered on its grounds twenty years ago, the death that tore apart her family and that has kept her from moving on in her personal life.

Back in the fifties, four roommates bonded together to survive Idlewild Hall.  Known as a boarding school for problem girls, there was little about learning that defined the place.  It was all about rules and punishments.  Of the four, Katie Winthrop was the clear leader.  She had been sent there after an incident with a boy left her bruised and bloody, her parents blaming her.  Cece was the illegitimate daughter of a rich man whose maid mother tried to drown her in shame.  Sylvia was a French refugee from World War II and the horrors that visited France.  Roberta was the closest to normal, a girl with good grades and athletic talent.  But she had viewed up close and personal the effects of PTSD on her favorite uncle and it had broken her.  Together they managed to survive and even thrive in a place where everyone believed the ghost of an unhappy girl stalked the halls.

Fiona is determined to use this renovation to finally find the truth about what happened the night her sister died and was left there.  She does this over the objections of her boyfriend, Jaime, a local police officer, son of the former chief.  The first day she visits the place with the son of the new owner, workmen find a body down in an abandoned well.  It appears to have been there for fifty years or more.  How does this body tie in with the school and with Fiona's sister?  Can she find the answers before the evil manages to find her?

Simone St. James writes in the paranormal realm with novels that are both gothic and mystery.  Her work has won awards such as the RITA Award from the romance genre and the Arthur Ellis Award from Canadian mystery writers.  Her forte is the deft characterizations she creates; strong women who manage to thrive in horrendous situations.  In this novel, the transition between the 1950's, the 1990's and present day are handled efficiently.  This book is recommended for readers of paranormal mysteries. 

Two Kinds Of Truth by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch is retired from the Los Angeles Police Department but not from police work.  Unable to retire happily, he is now working part-time at the San Fernando Police Department, lending his expertise to their understaffed department.  While at work one day, he gets a visit from his past.  One of his old partners is now working cold cases.  The LAPD has created a Verdict Integrity division and one of Bosch's enemies is heading it up.  He has chosen to revisit the case of a man Bosch put on Death Row twenty years ago. 

The Integrity Team's evidence looks strong.  The main piece of evidence against the man is a necklace the victim always wore which Harry found hidden in the man's apartment.  The killer insists that Bosch planted the evidence.  Even worse, new forensic testing shows another man's semen on the victim's clothes.  The man has been granted a hearing on whether he should get another trial and the story is a front-page newspaper story.  If the killer prevails, Harry's entire career will be tainted and every case he worked will come into question.

In the meantime, his part-time job has heated up as well.  A pharmacist and his son are gunned down in their shop and it looks like an assassination.  Who would want to kill them?  Harry and his new team soon uncover a plot that makes the usual murder seem friendly and Harry goes undercover to solve the case.  Another ex-partner, Jerry Edgar, is involved in this one as well.

This is the twentieth novel in the Harry Bosch series.  Harry is not a necessarily friendly man but he is truthful and loyal to those he trusts.  He may bend the rules a bit but is determined to find the truth and put those who break the law away.  One of the most interesting things about this novel is the interplay with his ex-partners and the fact that the strong relationships Harry has built over time are what allows him to be successful.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Babes In The Wood by Ruth Rendell

It was a parent's worst nightmare.  The Dales were very protective parents, rarely going anywhere without the children.  Giles Dale was sixteen and his sister, Sophie was thirteen.  But when the parents had a chance at a weekend away in France, they took their chance.  One of the children's former teachers had agreed to come and stay with them so everything seemed fine.  But when the parents returned, the children and the woman staying with them had all disappeared.  What could have happened?

Chief Inspector Wexford had a job on his hands.  To complicate matters,  it had been raining for days and everything was flooded.  Roads were cut off and the police were busy helping people evacuate.  Everyone's first thought was that the trio had drowned, but Wexford had trouble believing it.  Even flooded, the waters were about four feet deep in the deepest flood areas and both the children could swim.  In fact, all three could have waded to safety.  But the search assumed the worst and valuable resources were diverted to search for the children and their babysitter along with her car.  Nothing was found.

Days went by and then weeks.  No sign of the three was found.  Finally, after weeks of frustration, the car was found miles away in a remote country estate which was deserted most of the year.  There was a body within.  It was Joanna Troy, the teacher who was staying with the children.  There was no sign of the children at all.

As the weeks and then months went by, Wexford and his team continued to search for the children and investigate what happened to Joanna.  Secrets started to emerge and relationships that had seemed solid now showed their cracks.  Would they ever find the truth?

This is the nineteenth Chief Wexford novel in the series.  He is an interesting character, a more cerebral man who has a skeptical outlook on life and who rarely believes that what is shown at first glance is all that it seems.  Ruth Rendell is, of course, acknowledged as one of the masters of the mystery genre and this novel does not disappoint.  The gradual unwinding of the mystery and the glimpses into the lives of the police involved are intriguing and the mystery's solution is one most will never see coming.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Golden Bats And Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell

PBS viewers have been introduced to the Durrell family by the series on their time in Corfu.  Gerald was the youngest child and his distinguishing characteristic was his love of animals, a love that was indulged by his mother in a way few children experience.  This was a love that formed his life and work. 

Golden Bats And Pink Pigeons is about Durrell's time on the island of Mauritius in the 1970's.  It was the home of the dodo, the most famous example of extinction, and still at that time was home to many animals, reptiles and birds found nowhere else on earth.  Durrell's focus as an adult was not just on exploring and finding such animals, but on his work as a biologist who ran a refuge in Jersey where endangered animals could be brought to breed in captivity until their numbers were such that they could be reintroduced to their native habitat.  This work is ongoing after Durrell's death.

In this work, there are chapters devoted to the various animals he and his crew captured to rescue in their four months in the area.  There is a chapter about the pink pigeons, one about various lizards and skinks they captured and another about bats.  There is a luminous chapter about the coral reefs surrounding the island and all the never-before seen fish and other inhabitants of it.  There is a chapter about the capture of boas.  All of this work occurred in uncomfortable if not dangerous environments and Durrell's time there left him weakened and ill.

Readers will be enthralled with his adventures and his humorous method of making light of misfortunes and hard work.  Durrell's delight in everything he saw and his passionate determination to rescue species on the verge of extinction shines through on every page.  This book is recommended for readers of nonfiction who enjoy travel books and those interested in the environment.

Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin

Rice Moore has found the perfect job for someone in his situation.  He is the caretaker on a remote setting in the Appalachian mountains; land owned by a Foundation that wants to preserve the pristine forest as it has always been.  Rice has a biology background and in addition to building a cabin, he spends his days making observations on the land, cataloging the plants and animals he encounters.  It's a far cry from the Mexican prison he spent time in after having drugs planted in his backpack.  That experience left him with scars and some dangerous enemies that would love to put an end to him. 

But things are never perfect.  Rice discovers that poachers are killing the preserve's black bears.  The paws and gallbladders are valuable commodities on the black market.  He decides that he will take on the task of stopping the poachers.  In the process he bumps up against local inhabitants who don't trust him as an outsider, a motorcycle gang and DEA agents that still believe he is a criminal.  He also meets the woman who had the job before him and hopes that perhaps a relationship might start there.  But danger surrounds him everywhere as his Mexican enemies get word of where he is adding to his local enemies.  Can Rice rebuild his life in the midst of chaos?

This is a debut novel for McLaughlin.  He grew up himself in the land he writes so beautifully about and holds both a law and MFA degree from the University of Virginia.  His characters are drawn well and the plotting is tight but above all, his love for the land and animals shines clear.  This book is being recommended as one of the best thrillers of the summer and it seems clear that McLaughlin has made an impressive start on his career.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman

Dr. Alex Delaware is surprised to hear from Tanya Bigelow.  Years ago, he successfully treated her as a little girl with OCD tendencies.  Now Tanya is nineteen and her problems are as grown up as she is.  Her aunt, Patty Bigelow, has recently died.  Patty was an ER nurse, very good at her job and very organized.  She stepped up and raised Tanya when her mother dropped her off as a two year old so she is the only mother Tanya remembers.  Before Patty died, she made a startling confession.  She started telling Tanya she had killed someone but died before she could give any details.  Was this the truth or was it the pain-filled fantasy of someone in the last minutes of life?

Delaware wants to help Tanya although he finds it hard to believe someone like Patty could have ever killed anyone.  He enlists the aid of his friend, Detective Milo Sturgis, and between the two of them they start to piece together Patty's life all those years ago.  Adding veracity to Patty's confession is the fact that one of the first people they talk to turns up dead days later.  They come to realize that Patty was telling the truth and that someone evil is stalking Tanya.  Can they find him before he finds Tanya?

This is the twenty-first novel in the Alex Delaware series.  It's one of my favorites as there is lots of action but little gore or violence for the sake of violence.  There is always a mystery and it is entertaining to watch as it unfolds.  The friendship between Alex and Milo is interesting and the ability for them to solve crimes with their mixture of orthodox police investigation and Alex's psychological insights is intriguing.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Shadow Tracer by Meg Gardiner

The day has come, as Sarah Keller knew it would.  For the past five years, she and her daughter Zoe have lived quietly in Oklahoma, far from her California home.  She fled there with Zoe when her sister, who is Zoe's real mother, was murdered by a religious cult.  When Zoe is in a bus accident and taken to the hospital, a fact that Sarah never knew is revealed.  She was given a microchip when she was a little baby and it reveals that Zoe's parents are not Sarah, which opens up a can of worms.

The police and social services are hesitant to turn Zoe back over to Sarah.  There is talk of putting her in the foster system until it can be determined whether or not Sarah is her legal guardian or a kidnapper.  Worse, the FBI are soon involved as they see Zoe and Sarah as their best bet to infiltrate and destroy the cult, which deals drugs for money to fuel their cult.  The cult also soon finds out what has occurred which sets their assassins on Sarah and Zoe's trail.

Sarah knows she must hit the road again.  Five years ago, she was helped by a US Marshal who sent her into hiding.  Now she reaches out for his help again.  Michael Lawless helped Sarah then without telling his superiors.  Will he risk his career to do so again?

Meg Gardiner has written a tense, jet-propelled thriller that will have the reader anxiously flipping pages to see what happens next.  Sarah is a real character, one that readers can imagine themselves being.  She is helped along the way by a woman who runs a skip-tracing operation, a nun who knows her way around guns and by Michael.  The villains are some of the scariest this reader has encountered and the maniacal determination of the FBI agent who is determined to bring Zoe in regardless of the cost in human life is implacable.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

First Person by Richard Flanagan

Things aren't going well for Tasmanian author Kif Kehlmann.  Married with a small child, he and his wife have just discovered that twins are on the way.  That is problematic when all the work Kif gets is part time and the mortgage is already difficult to meet.  Now Suzy can't work at all and things are getting tighter and tighter.  Kif is sure he is an author but in reality his first novel is still in the works.

As things get more desperate, Kif is contacted by his old buddy Ray.  Ray lives on the edge of society and it's never really wise to ask him exactly what he's doing these days for a living.  But this time Ray has an offer for Kif.  Ray has been working for Siegfried Heidl and Heidl is looking for a ghostwriter for his memoir.  Ray has suggested Kif.

Siegfried is Australia's disreputable con man, its Bernard Madoff.  He has skimmed approximately seven hundred million from the banks and is about to go to trial.  His life story has never been told and little is known about him.  When the publisher agrees to Kif as the ghostwriter, he packs up and takes off for what he thinks is his big break.

But it's not that easy.  Heidl can't bring himself to tell the truth, no matter the reason or the importance.  With a deadline looming, he refuses to answer any questions, even simple ones like where he was born or how his childhood was.  He spends his days talking on the phone and reading the newspapers, leaving Kif more and more confused and frustrated.  The publisher is pushing harder and harder and Kif starts to string together a few tidbits Heidl has let drop, padding the facts with more and more falsehood.  As the deadline fast approaches, Heidl gets further into Kif's soul and finally commits an act that will scar Kif forever.

This is Flanagan's newest novel.  It starts slow and the reader becomes as frustrated as Kif.  The final fourth of the novel flies and the reader is aghast at what occurs and how it plays out across the years.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.