The Bear by Claire Cameron

 

Anna, five, and Alex, almost three, have gone camping with their parents.  They are in the tent while their parents are just outside sitting around the end of the campfire.  Anna is about to drift off when she smells a horrible smell and something, a big black dog?, snuffles around the tent.  

Of course, it isn't a dog but a bear.  Somehow her dad gets the children inside the huge Coleman container that will save them.  When daylight comes and the children emerge from the Coleman, they don't see their dad at all.  They find their mother in the bushes, bleeding,  She tells Anna to get Alex to the canoe and paddle from the island they are on to the mainland.

This is the story of how Anna and Alex manage to get away.  It is told entirely through the eyes of Anna so from a young child's perspective who doesn't really understand what has happened or why she has to do these things when she just wants her parents.  She doesn't know how to find food or water or what direction to take them in.  She just moves them on as best she can.

Claire Cameron is a Canadian author and this novel was a national bestseller in Canada as well as being longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.  Her ability to see the world through the innocent eyes of a young child in the midst of tragedy is compelling.  The reader will follow the children's journey almost afraid of what the next page might bring.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Athena's Champion by David Hair and Cath Mayo

 

As the novel opens, Prince Odysseus of Ithaca has come to go through an event that will mark him as the true heir of his country.  Instead, family secrets are revealed that have him outcast and chased by those who would kill him.  Odysseus is short of stature but is known for his logical thinking.  He is saved from one who would kill him by the goddess Athena and agrees to become her theios or champion.  That gives him more strength, faster healing and faster moves but comes with obligations to serve her as she asks.

This is the early story of Odysseus' life.  He is brought into the war that is raging between the gods as Zeus tries to become the sole ruler.  He meets other heroes such as Theseus who he dislikes and forms a rivalry with.  The novel details the kidnapping of Persephone and the journey to Hades to retrieve her where Odysseus' skill in negotiating is a key factor.  

This is the first novel in the Olympus Trilogy.  It is not a straight retelling of the Illiad and the Odyssey but rather a reinterpretation of how the events of Odysseus' life make him into the hero he is known throughout history as.  The gods are presented as having many mortal traits such as jealousy and rivalry and they desire a relationship with humans to further their goals.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect for this type of story.  This book is recommended for readers of myth.  

The Cave Dwellers by Christina McDowell

 They are the Washington elite, politicians, businessmen and diplomats.  Some are old money while others are new to the upper monied class.  Their children attend elite private schools and are guaranteed places at the Ivy League universities their parents are alumni of.  They have the perfect life or do they?  When one of the families experiences a break-in, murder and their house burned to the ground, the other families start to question their lives.

We see this world through the lives of several of the families and their children.  There is Bunny, only child of one of the richest families, a family that made their billions on the backs of their workers and who are about to be embroiled in multiple wrongful death lawsuits for the illnesses their chemical plants have caused.  Bunny is bored with her life and suspicious that she doesn't deserve it.  After the murder, she visits the man arrested in prison and tries to bridge the gap between them.  She is dating Billy, whose father has just been nominated for Secretary of Defense.  His father could care less that Billy is a talented musician; he is determined that Billy will continue the family tradition of military service.  Mackensie's father is a new Senator who champions women's rights in public and has affairs in private.  She is dating Marty, the only African American in their group and whose parents are both lawyers.  Then there is the son of the Russian ambassador who the rest of the group call Putin.

All of these families are poised on the brink of disaster and some of them will tip over.  Along the way, their social climbing, lack of interest in others and determination to have their own way in life is exposed.  This is a debut novel and the author is a bit heavy-handed.  Every character in this social circle is totally corrupt and unlikeable.  The point she is making, that wealth and privilege is often based on corruption is valid but would be more compelling if her characters were more well rounded.  Very few people are totally one way or the other; most of us have good and bad characteristics and we are judged by which ones we allow to rule our lives.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton

 

Mickey has a problem.  He got over his head gambling and now his bookie is sending around enforcers to collect what Mickey doesn't have.  He really needs to get away, out of town or off the planet if possible.  The expedition off to seek a new world is just the ticket and his best friend is already on the crew.  But Mickey studied history in university instead of engineering and the only job he's qualified for is that of Expendable.

The name pretty much explains the position.  Mickey's genes are cloned and ready to be brought into action.  He is given all the most dangerous jobs such as facing monsters, repairing engines that are spewing radiation or exploring unknown terrain.  At this point, Mickey is Mickey 7, and has died six times.  But his mind is uploaded so he feels like he is pretty much the same person.

The expedition is exploring a planet that shows some promise as a new home.  Mickey is out roaming to map out more of it when he falls into a crevice.  His friend is circling but says he can't rescue him and flies off.  Mickey is resigning himself to death when the monster arrives.  It's appendages and maw come closer and closer and then it picks up Mickey, takes him back to the ship and sets him down.

Now there's a real problem.  Mickey's friend, not wanting to admit he left him, has reported him dead.  When Mickey gets back to his room, Mickey 8 has already been generated.  What to do now?  Should Mickey have to go in the destroyer just because he didn't die?  Should the new Mickey be killed?  Can they both survive?

Edward Ashton has written an engaging science fiction with a memorable character.  Mickey has been handed some rotten cards in life but goes about making the best of it.  I've already gotten the next in the series and I'm looking forward to going on more adventures with Mickey.  This book is recommended for science fiction readers.

Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw

 

Modern day Shanghai is the epitome of change.  If you stop for a month, you've lost your place and must start over.  It is the land of opportunity where you can be a pauper one day and a billionaire the next.  All it takes is hard work, luck, a good idea and financial backing.

Tash Aw follows several immigrants whose stories tell the larger story of Shanghai.  There is Justin, the older son of a huge property development family who comes to the city to tie down the purchase of a property and then promptly has a breakdown.  Phoebe is in Shanghai illegally.  She is determined to make her way and spends her leisure time devouring self-help books.  Willing to do whatever it takes, she also casts her net on social media to find a man to finance her.  Gary is a pop singer whose time in the limelight is done after he has a public meltdown one day.  Yinghui loved poetry and the arts in her youth.  She was engaged to Justin's brother but after their breakup, she moved to Shanghai and reinvented herself as a businesswoman and is now very successful.  

Then in the background is the shadowy figure of Walter Cho.  He interacts with many of the other characters.  He has social relationships with both Phoebe and Yinghui although neither is sure if he is really romantically interested in him.  He writes the self-help books that Phoebe devours and through them we see his early childhood that shaped him.  He is the man who scoops the property that Justin's family desired, bringing about their bankruptcy.  He convinces Yinghui to partner with him in a mysterious project.

Tash Aw is Malaysian and grew up in Kuala Lumpar as a child before moving to England as a teen.  He studied law and worked as a lawyer for several years before deciding to write instead.  His writing won the Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was longlisted for the Booker.  In this novel, he explores the meaning of modern commerce as well as the basic human longing for connection that drives the characters even when they think they don't need anyone else.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Law Of Innocence by Michael Connelly

 

When Mickey Haller leaves the bar that night, his only thought was of the case he just won which had been the cause of celebration.  When the police lights come on behind him, his first instinct was irritation.  When the policeman says his license plate is missing, Haller finds it hard to believe and is starting to think that the policeman had pulled him because he knew Haller was a defense attorney.  The policeman inquires about whether Mickey had been drinking, but he had been on the wagon for several years.  Yet the policeman asks him to get out of the car and then says he needs to open the trunk.  By now, Haller is pretty sure he is being targeted by someone he has made angry.  He refuses to open the trunk but then the policeman sees something dripping and insists.  Haller is as shocked as the policeman when the open trunk reveals a body.

Now Mickey is in prison and trying to put together his defense on a murder charge.  The victim is a former client who Mickey had represented several times until the client stopped paying his bills.  He is facing years in prison and a prosecutor who is absolutely convinced that Mickey is a murderer.  Can he win his most important case?

This is the sixth novel in the Lincoln Lawyer series.  Characters from the other novels appear here also: Haller's ex-wife, Maggie, his other ex-wife and secretary, Lorna, Cisco his investigator and his daughter Haley.  Readers will get an inside look at the defense side of a trial and the legal maneuvers that Haller performs in order to prepare and present his case.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Island Of Wings by Karin Altenberg

 

Neil McKenzie makes the decision to devote his life to God after a childhood accident in which a playmate is killed.  He spends his university education preparing and is ordained a minister.  He volunteers to take the most remote parish the Church has and is assigned St. Kilda, a small island off the Scottish coast which is so small and insignificant that it isn't on the map. 

Before he goes, he marries Lizzie.  Lizzie is nineteen and has no idea what marriage or the remoteness of life with no companions will be like.  The natives live in hovels and they don't speak English but a form of Gaelic which Neil also speaks.  They survive on the many birds that migrate there and on whatever they can get fishing.  Their animals live in the hovels with them and their manure is used as fertilizer for the minimal farming they do.  It is a life of poverty where sixty percent of all the babies born die within eight days.

Lizzie is pregnant with their first child but loses it after a miscarriage.  She loses other children as well but eventually the couple do have a family with children.  The native women don't fare as well, some having many children without any surviving and eventually they come to resent Lizzie and her children.  Neil is determined to improve the natives' lives both through his sermons and in practical terms with newer dwellings and a plan for farming.  

Over the years, Neil and Lizzie draw further and further apart.  Neil, like most men, is afraid to show his emotions and Lizzie is left isolated.  Eventually, her life is all about her children while Neil becomes more and more estranged from his family and other individuals.

This book is based on the true story of the couple who spent time on St. Kilda.  The reason for the babies' deaths was eventually discovered but too late to keep the inhabitants of the island going.  Altenberg has written an interesting novel about the trials of those who went to try to help native populations and it is of note that these men and women off the Scottish coast were just as poverty-stricken as any tribe on a Caribbean island or deep in the jungles of South America or Africa.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

 

When Jack asked Grace to marry him, it was a dream come true.  She couldn't believe her luck when he had spoken to her in the park and then they had developed a relationship.  He's everything a woman could want.  Handsome, attentive, rich and totally devoted.  He also meets Grace's main requirement.  She has a sister, Millie, who is mentally challenged.  Grace is determined to provide a home for Millie when she turns eighteen and graduates from the residential program she is in.

Jack buys a house for them to live in after their marriage although Grace hasn't seen it yet as he wants to surprise her.  But it has a huge room for Millie and he assures her everything else they had listed as must-haves in a house.  Grace's parents love Jack.  They are about to emigrate to New Zealand and are happy that their girls will have this man in their lives.

The wedding day comes.  It is marred for Grace by Millie having a fall at the wedding and having to miss the ceremony when she is taken to the hospital.  But the ceremony is lovely and soon Grace and Jack are man and wife.  It is the last happy moment Grace will have.

Immediately after the wedding, Jack shows his true nature.  He is a monster who has married Grace only to get to Millie.  He tells Grace he plans to torture Millie mentally until she is totally broken for he is a master of fear and wants nothing more than to make those around him terrified.  Then he plans to kill Millie.  Grace spends her honeymoon in Indonesia locked out on the balcony of their hotel room for hours while Jack disappears.  He uses various techniques to convince Grace that she has no escape and to make others see her as a neurotic woman prone to delusions.

Things are no better when they return to England.  Grace spends her days locked in a barren room.  Sometimes Jack feeds her, sometimes not.  He watches every interaction she is allowed to have with others.  He spends his time with her torturing her with recounting his plans for Millie.  Can Grace escape this nightmare?

This is a debut novel and B.A. Paris exploded onto the literary scene with it.  The reader is transported into Grace's nightmare world and is as terrified as she.  The ultimate nightmare Jack is preparing is believable and terrifying and the reader can easily envision it.  The love between Grace and her sister is admirable and relatable and the trap it enables is believable.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Dodge City by Tom Clavin

 

Tom Clavin has written an informative and interesting history of Dodge City during the 1880's when the city had the reputation of being 'the wickedest town in the American West'.  This was the decade of the big cattle drives and when the cowboys made it to their destination, they were ready to cut loose and drink, gamble and seek female companionship.  The job of sheriff or deputy was low paid although there was an extra amount given for each arrest and there were plenty of those.  The job was also dangerous as alcohol and guns were a deadly match and tempers were often short.

The book focuses on three men in particular.  Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday were all known for their fast draw and gun shot accuracy.  Clavin gives the men's backgrounds and then follows them through their time in Dodge City.  Both Earp and Masterson had several brothers and these relatives floated in and out of the story.  Holliday was a dentist by trade but in reality a gambler and alcoholic who mainly backed up his friend, Bat Masterson.  He and Earp didn't get along that well but Earp put up with him due to his friendship with Masterson.

Clavin also covered the fight in the OK Corral.  It was a short fight as opposed to the reputation and fame the battle gained.  He also covers the various battles against train robbers, stagecoach drivers and trail bosses with their cowboys.  Other interesting topics were Boot Hill, Billy the Kid and various other famous outlaws of the time.

There was a lot to learn in the book.  The first was the relative shortness of the time period that Dodge City was so wild and wooly.  It was mainly one decade, the 1880's.  Another was the relative shortness of the time that the men were lawmen.  It was a young man's game and both Masterson and Earp were pretty much done by the time they were out of their twenties.  Masterson ended up in New York as a newspaper writer and Earp in California.  Earp was married four times and his last wife was the longest relationship and was with him at the end.  Masterson also had multiple marriages and his last wife started as a bigamous marriage but they remained together for many years.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers and especially those interested in the Western expansion and settlement.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

 

Alwyn is born to a prostitute, his father unknown.  Cared for by no one, he runs away and joins a group of outlaws in the forest who teach him to fight and provide him with a sort of family.  He proves to have exceptional talent as a warrior.  But things rarely stay the same in a war torn country.  When his band of outlaws is betrayed and most killed, he ends up sent to the mines as a slave.

After working several years there, his intelligence is noted and he is brought into the house of the noble running the mines.  He is taught to read and write and is thereafter known as Alwyn Scribe.  He is given the task of writing the story and message of Lady Evadine Courtain, who believes that they are all cursed and will be facing the end of the world.  Alwyn and his friend escape and live on their own for a while but as the wars progress, they end up back in the king's army.  As he fights the battles, he wonders if this will forever be his lot.  When Courtain is in danger, he can leave her to die or risk everything trying to save her.  Which will he do?

Anthony Ryan is known as one of those in the top league of epic fantasy writers.  His career was in the British Civil Service which he gave up once his first novel in the series Raven's Shadow was published to great success.  This novel is the start of another series.  Ryan is adept at creating characters the reader cares about.  Alwyn Scribe is brusque and rude but contains a core of loyalty towards the few people he lets inside his circle.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was exceptional for this type of novel.  This book is recommended for epic fantasy readers.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

 

Although they are both pilots, Chip Linton is no Sully Sullenberger.  When his plane developed issues, Sullenberger somehow managed to land it in the Hudson River with no loss of life.  When Chip's plane ran into a flight of geese, he tried to land in a nearby lake but the plane split in half and thirty-nine people died. Although Chip is still a young man, he will never fly again.

The family decides to move from their home in Pennsylvania and make a fresh start.  They choose a small village in New England.  Chip's wife, Emily, is a lawyer and they have twin girls, Hallie and Garnet, who are ten.  Chip is struggling to recover mentally after the wreck, his guilt debilitating.  They buy an old house and set to updating and restoring it.  

The village seems a bit standoffish but there are people who reach out.  Many of the women have an interest in horticulture and greenhouses are common.  The herbalists seem to have their own circle and that is the circle that reaches out to include the Linton family.  The women all seem intrigued and entranced by the twins and start to teach them how to grow plants and the uses that plants can have.  Meantime, Chip is starting to see hallucinations and soon doesn't trust himself to be around Emily and the girls.  Was this move a mistake?

Chris Bohjalian is an author who typically centers his novels around a social issue.  This novel is a departure and is more of a gothic novel with a creepy house, apparitions and a creepy circle of people whose intent is not clear.  There are supernatural elements and I'm not sure I liked that although it is well done.  This book is recommended for horror readers.

Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell

 

Nadia's family isn't quite the norm.  Her mother, Leonie, left Nadia and Clare, her sister with their dad, James, when they were quite small.  The three moved in with James's mother, Miriam, and have lived with her ever since even though the girls are in their twenties now.  Along the way, Leonie had another daughter and brought her to live with James, Miriam, Nadia and Clare also.  Tilly is thirteen and figuring out all the teen issues.

Nadia is a landscape designer.  She has just landed a marvelous job with a property developer.  While his construction workers fix the inside, Nadia turns the outside into proper gardens.  Clare is an artist trying to get noticed.  She is dating an entitled rich guy who treats her terribly.  Nadia's long time boyfriend left her when he became a model and an actor and she sees him in the gossip columns.  But her new boss might just be the ticket to get over Laurie.

James hasn't dated anyone since Leonie as that was quite enough chaos, thank you very much.  But Tilly introduces him to Annie and they start to do out.  Meanwhile, Miriam has been in a relationship with Laurie's father, Edward, for years.  Edward wants to marry her but Miriam steadfastly refuses.

Things are going along when out of the blue, after a year and a half, Laurie shows back up.  He wants to get back with Nadia but she isn't sure if he is serious plus there's the new relationship with Jay to consider.  Then out of the blue, Leonie decides Tilly should leave the only home she's known and move in with Leonie, her new boyfriend and his teenage daughter.  How will things work out?

If you are feeling sad, there is always a way to perk up and Jill Mansell is high on the list.  Her breezy novels introduce the readers to characters they feel they could be friends with and puts them in situations where it seems unlikely they will emerge unscathed.  But somehow things always work out and the last page is turned with satisfaction and pleasure.  This book is recommended for women's fiction readers.

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

Korede gets the call she had fervently prayed she would never get again.  Her sister, Ayoola, needs help and only Korede will do.  When she gets to the apartment, she finds Ayoola's newest lover dead on the floor, stabbed through the heart.  Korede is a nurse so she knows a lot about cleaning and sanitation.  She helps Ayoola clean the apartment and dispose of the body.  This is the third time this scenario has played out.

Ayoola takes it as her due.  She has always been the little sister who is the beautiful one, the favored one at home.  She expects attention and help as her due. Men fall all over themselves to be with her and she always has a man in tow. Korede has been tasked since a child as watching out for Ayoola and so she feels that some of the blame for Ayoola's actions belongs to her also.  

At work, Korede is known as the diligent one, the nurse who goes above and beyond her required duties.  She works closely with a doctor that secretly, she hopes may come to have feelings for her.  But that hope is destroyed when Ayoola stops by at lunchtime one day and the doctor sees her.  Soon, he is sending Ayoola flowers, buying her jewelry and taking her on extravagant dates.  Korede doesn't know what to do.  Her heart is broken and she is worried that the doctor may meet the same fate as Ayoola's other men.  What can she do?

This debut novel exploded onto the scene.  It was nominated for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Women's Prize For Fiction as well as other honors.  The novel is short and moves with the speed of a hurricane bearing down on shore.  Ayoola is a beautiful monster and Korede is caught up in her destruction, fighting her instinct to find a way to stop her sister and shielding her again and again.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker

 

They are two of the town's oldest families and there is bad blood between them.  The Turners are rich and powerful and don't mind letting anyone know it.  The Gillys are farmers of the salt that is plentiful in this New England coastal town.  The Gilly salt is bound into the town's traditions and most people believe it brings them luck although they wouldn't say so.

These days the Turners are represented by Whit, the last of the Turners.  There are two Gilly sisters, Jo, the oldest and the one who knows the salt best and Claire who only wants to escape the hard work and poverty of the salt farm.  Whit first loved Jo but when she refused him he settled for Claire.  Claire is the beautiful one but her heart has never been Whit's either.  She is in love with Ethan but he went away and became a priest so she settled for position and wealth only to learn that neither can bring happiness.  The two sisters are estranged and haven't spoken in years until a crisis in Claire and Whit's marriage brings Claire home.

Whit is determined to acquire the salt farm to go along with all his other property.  His mother, Ida, who ruled the town while she was alive, told him that the salt farm would keep their wealth and position safe.  Jo refuses to sell although she is about to lose the farm to the bank from a loan her mother took out before her death.  How far will Whit go to get his way?

Tiffany Baker has created characters that the reader will remember for a long time.  Jo is strong and always does what she believes is right even at great personal cost.  Claire's chance at happiness flew away at eighteen and she has been desperately chasing it every since. It is also interesting to learn about the trade of salt farming and what it entails.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction.

Booksie's Shelves June 2, 2022

 

June 2nd and regardless of what the calendar insists, summer is here in North Carolina.  I mean sticky, humid, ninety degree days summer.  My background is Scandinavian and I'm not a fan of summer.  But every cloud has a silver lining and staying indoors just means more reading time.  I'm still working on reading all the anthologies I have and just finished a great one by Laurie Notaro.  It was my first read by her and that's one of the joys of reading; discovering another author you love.  I also went on a James Ellroy buying spree this month.  Here's what's come through the door:

1. There Are No Happy Loves, Sergio Olguin, mystery, sent by publisher
2. The Bone Flower, Charles Lambert, mystery, sent by publisher
3. This Is The Country, William Wall, literary fiction, purchased
4. Metropolis, B.A. Shapiro, literary fiction, sent for blog tour by publisher
5. Smells Like Tween Spirit, Laurie Gelman, humor, sent by publisher
6. The Sewing Girl's Tale, John Wood Sweet, historical fiction, sent by publisher
7. The Way The Crow Flies, Ann-Marie MacDonald, literary fiction, purchased
8. The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl, mystery, purchased
9. Cora's Kitchen, Kemberly Garrett Brown, literary fiction, sent by publisher
10. None Without Sin, Michael Bradley, mystery, sent for blog tour by publisher
11. Summertime, J. M. Coetzee, literary fiction, purchased
12. The Boatman's Daughter, Andy Davidson, horror, purchased
13. St. Urbain's Horseman, Mordecai Richler, literary fiction, purchased
14. Nightingale Point, Luan Goldie, literary fiction, purchased
15. My Dark Places, James Ellroy, memoir, purchased
16. Blood's A Rover, James Ellroy, literary fiction, purchased
17. This Storm, James Ellroy, literary fiction, purchased

Here's the ebooks I've bought:

1. The Folding Knife, K.J. Parker, fantasy
2. Orlando, Virginia Wolff, literary fiction
3. A Death Most Monumental, JD Kirk, mystery
4. The Big Nowhere, James Ellroy, literary fiction
5. L.A. Confidential, James Ellroy, literary fiction
6. Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy
7. Hounded, Kevin Hearne, fantasy
8. A Line To Kill, Anthony Horowitz, mystery
9. Utopia Avenue, David Mitchell, literary fiction
10. Or Else, Joe Hart, mystery
11. The Book Of Accidents, Chuck Wendig, horror
12. The Good Doctor, Damon Galgut, literary fiction
13. L.A. Requiem, Robert Crais, mystery
14. Dream Girl, Laura Lippman, mystery
15. Engines Of Empire, R. S. Ford, fantasy
16. The Heroes, Joe Abercrombie, fantasy
17. The Harlech Beach Killings, Simon McCleave, mystery
18. True North, Jim Harrison, literary fiction
19. Strip, Thomas Perry, mystery
20. A Small Hotel, Robert Olen Butler, literary fiction
21. Broken Verses, Kamila Shamsie, literary fiction
22. Forty Thieves, Thomas Perry, mystery
23. The Fifth Heart, Dan Simmons, horror
24. The Sentence, Louise Erdrich, literary fiction
25. Indigo Slam, Robert Crais, mystery
26. Slow Horses, Mick Herron, espionage
27. The Vanished Triangle, Claire McGowen, true crime
28. The Hand That First Held Mine, Maggie O'Farrell, literary fiction
29. What The Storm Means, Brandon Sanderson/Robert Jordan, fantasy
30. Never See Them Again, M. William Phelps, true crime
31. Voodoo River, Robert Crais, mystery
32. Kiss Of The She-Devil, M. William Phelps, true crime
33. If Looks Could Kill, M. William Phelps, true crime
34. Dead Simple, Peter James, mystery
35. Sharp Ends, Joe Abercrombie, anthology
36. The Little Friend, Donna Tartt, literary fiction
37. The Hidden Soldier, Eoin Dempsey, literary fiction
38. December Park, Ronald Malfi, horror
39. The Bomb Maker, Thomas Perry, mystery
40. The Tiger And The Wolf, Adrian Tchaikovsky, fantasy
41. Count Zero, William Gibson, science fictioni
42. Poison Flower, Thomas Perry, mystery
43. Revelator, Daryl Gregory, horror
44. The Ascendant Trilogy, K. Arsenault Rivera, fantasy
45. Version Zero, David Yoon, science fiction
46. The WVU Co-Ed Murders, Geoffrey Fuller, true crime
47. The Bread The Devil Knead, Lisa Allen-Agostini, literary fiction
48. Salt Lick, Lulu Allison, literary fiction
49. The Crossing Places, Elly Griffiths, mystery
50. Guards, Guards!, Terry Prachett, fantasy
51. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey, fantasy
52. The Girl Who Was Taken, Charlie Donlea, mystery
53. Little Eyes, Samantha Schweblin, literary fiction
54. What Are You Going Through, Sigrid Nunez, literary fiction
55. The Dark Horse, Craig Johnson, mystery
56. Ship Of Magic, Robin Hobb, fantasy
57. God On The Rocks, Jane Gardam, mystery
58. The Treatment, Mo Hayder, mystery
59. The Murder Game, Julie Apple, mystery
60. Under Her Care, Lucinda Berry, mystery
61. In A Strange Room, Damon Galgut, literary fiction
62. Lone Wolf, Jodi Picoult, literary fiction
63. Free Love, Tessa Hadley, literary fiction
64. Arms And The Women, Reginald Hill, mystery
65. A Tip For The Hangman, Allison Epstein, mystery
66. Smoke, Joe Ide, mystery
67. Death's Mistress, Terry Goodkind, fantasy
68. To Kill A Fae, Jamie Waters, fantasy
69. The Collector's Apprentice, B.A. Shapiro, literary fiction
70. The Bad Girl, Mario Vargas Luca, literary fiction
71. The Leprechaun Wars, Wes Snowden, fantasy
72. Half The World, Joe Abercrombie, fantasy
73. The Vacation, T.M. Logan, mystery
74. Land Of The Wolves, Craig Johnson, mystery
75. A Beginning At The End, Mike Chen, fantasy
76. The Risen Shard, D.K. Holmberg, fantasy
77. The Volunteer, Salvatore Scibona, literary fiction
78. The Goodbye Coast, Joe Ide, mystery
79. Katabasis, Joseph Brassey, fantasy
80. Siege Perilous, E.D. deBirmingham, fantasy
81. The Famished Road, Ben Okri, literary fiction
82. Unbonded, D.K. Holmberg, fantasy
83. A Dark Room In Glitter Ball City, David Domine, true crime
84. The Papers Of Tony Veitch, William McIlvanney, mystery
85. Careless, Kirsty Capes, literary fiction
86. Going Wrong, Ruth Rendell, mystery
87. The Mongoliad, Greg Bear, fantasy
88. The Mongoliad 2, Neal Stephenson, fantasy
89. Death Of A Dormouse, Reginald Hill, mystery
90. Dangerous Ground, M. William Phelps, true crime
91. The Immortal Words, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
92. Storm Glass, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
93. Mirror Gate, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
94. Iron Garland, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
95. Prism Cloud, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
96. Broken Veil, Jeff Wheeler, fantasy
97. A Spark Of Light, Jodi Picoult, literary fiction
98. No One Is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood, literary fiction

Here's what I'm reading:

1. The Gilly Salt Sisters, Tiffany Baker, Kindle
2. Nadia Knows Best, Jill Mansell, paperback
3. The Night Strangers, Chris Bohjalien, hardback
4. The Pariah, Anthony Ryan, audible
5. Ragnarok, A.S. Byatt, audible
6. Fire And Blood, George R. R. Martin, hardback
7. Metropolis, B.A. Shapiro, paperback

Happy Reading!

I Love Everybody by Laurie Notaro

 

In this anthology, Laurie Notaro shares her life as only she can.  I'm not usually a laugh out loud person but this book got me giggling and laughing until I was gasping for breath.  She has recurring characters such as the meth head handyman who has decided Laurie is his best friend and personal ATM.  In the title piece, she goes to Costco determined to show her sweeter side but ends up frustrated by the store traffic and the competition for the food samples and ends up yelling at an elderly woman with an oxygen machine so decides maybe she doesn't love everybody after all.  The reader learns about her job frustrations and her marriage.  I defy anyone to read about how Laurie's favorite corduroy overalls simply exploded while she was putting them on after years of wear.  This book is hilarious and recommended for readers who need a lift to their day.

Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

 

Annie McIntyre is treading water.  She graduated from college and is now back home, figuring out what's next.  Home is Garrett, Texas, a small town she thought she was leaving behind.  She didn't think she would be back and working as a waitress at the town's cafe.  She also didn't think she would still be attracted and torn between two men she dated in high school.

The McIntyre family is well known.  Annie's grandfather was the police chief and everyone knows him.  Her father was a policeman as well for a while.  They live in town now but still have the old homestead farm.

Annie's life becomes even more complicated when a tragedy occurs.  Another waitress at the diner, Victoria, has been murdered.  Annie saw her the night she disappeared at a party she went to.  Victoria was drunk and flirting with some men from outside town; workers of a pipe construction company that wants to buy the land Victoria just inherited from her grandmother.  Annie looked for Victoria before she left but couldn't find her.  The next thing she heard was that Victoria's body had been found.  Could Annie have saved her if she had looked for her harder?  Can she find the murderer now?

This is a debut novel from Samantha Jayne Allen.  She gets the small town relationships and sense of boredom and frustration right.  Annie is a sympathetic character, searching for the next chapter in her life and caring for those around her.  The book has interesting subordinate characters such as Annie's private investigator grandfather and his woman partner and various women and men Annie grew up with but realizes she doesn't really know.  This book won the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery set in the Southwest and is recommended for mystery readers.

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

 The end approaches.  The final battle is in sight and Rand is changing to prepare himself.  He gets harder inside, willing to do whatever it takes to defeat his enemies and giving up the boy and man he has been.  He attempts an alliance with the Seanchan but the Empress refuses. Those around him see the change and mourn it.  As he gets harder, he trusts fewer and fewer people and is ready to sacrifice anyone to achieve the defeat of evil.

Egwene is facing her own battle.  She has been captured by the White Tower and although she is has been raised Amerylin by the Aes Sedai who fled the Tower, she knows the two factions must come together.  She starts working from within as a prisoner, pointing out to her captors the divisions within the White Tower and how weak it makes the sisterhood.  When the Seanchans attack, killing some Aes Sedai and capturing others for slavery and to make into weapons, Egwene sees her chance.  Can she unite the Aes Sedai and lead them to their appointed role in the Last Battle?

Mat and Perrin are both slowly working their way towards Rand.  Mat has been told that Moraine, the Aes Sedai that visited their village so long ago and started the boys and two women on their path, has not been killed but is captured.  He and his Band are headed to try to rescue her.  Perrin is also on the move.  

This is the twelfth book in the Wheel Of Time.  It is also the first book that Brandon Sanderson wrote after Jordan's death, using his notes for how the series should end.  Sanderson brings a breath of fresh air to the series.  His pacing is a bit more brisk and the characters accomplish huge feats in this book.  There are two more books in the series and I'm looking forward to reading them.  This book is recommended for epic fantasy readers.

The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

 

They call it the Long Walk.  Every year one hundred men, many young boys not out of their teens, start the walk.  The winner gets to ask and get for anything they desire.  The catch?  There are strict rules, the main one being that the walkers cannot stop for anything.  Those who stop or slow down past the minimum speed are warned.  A warning can be walked off if the walker gets up to speed and stays there for an hour.  Three warnings and another offense means that the soldiers who accompany the walkers shot and kill the offender.  At the end, there will be only one walker.

Ray Garraty is the local favorite.  The walk starts and is mostly in Maine and he is a Maine son.  Ray is sixteen and he entered the contest on a whim.  When he was chosen, he had thirty days to decide if he would take up the challenge or take his name out of the competition.  Both his widowed mother and his girlfriend begged him to drop out but something made him continue.  Now he is in it to the end.

The walkers start out full of vim and vigor  But as the hours roll on, they get quieter.  They must eat while moving, drink, if they need to relieve themselves they have to do it in full view of others and as time goes on, even sleep as they walk.  Some make friends and some form enemies.  The first deaths start to occur and the mood changes as it sinks in that this is real and only one of them will survive.  Will it be Ray?

This is an early novel of King's, written under his alter name, Richard Bachman.  King writes an introduction talking about why he used the Bachman name.  Bachman had a darker vision of the future and of humanity than King.  This book is a good illustration.  The reader slowly realizes that yes, all the characters they start to recognize and empathize with, will be killed, one by one.  Hopes and dreams don't matter, whether you are a good person or bad doesn't matter.  All that matters is whether you can outwalk the others.  This book is recommended for suspense and horror fans.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

 

Atticus O'Sullivan appears to be a twenty-one year old man who owns and runs a New Age bookshop in Tempe, Arizona.  But looks can often be deceiving.  Atticus is actually over two thousand years old and he is the last Iron Druid.  He was involved in the battles of yore and has been on the run for centuries from his enemies.  Tempe has been a refuge but there are signs that his enemies have finally tracked him down.

This time Atticus decides to stay and fight rather than run.  He has some help.  He has an Irish wolfhound who is his closest companion.  He has the help, usually, of The Morrigan, a crow in form who is the Irish Chooser Of The Slain although her support is always questionable as she can change in the blink of an eye.  The first of the Fae is on Atticus' side but only because they share a common enemy.  He has a tentative relationship with a local coven of witches but Atticus doesn't trust them at all.  He does trust his lawyers, a werewolf who does the day work and a vampire who takes the night shift.

But his enemies are powerful.  The Irish God of Love has hated Atticus for centuries and has chased him across the world.  He wants to become the ruler of the Faes and knows he will have a better chance of that if he can eliminate Atticus first.  He also has entry to the demons of hell and can call on them in a fight as well as his own witches.  Can Atticus survive this latest challenge?

Kevin Hearne has created a memorable character in Atticus.  He is a native of Arizona so he gets the locale perfectly.  His writing style is light and humorous and the reader will fall in love with Atticus and his wolfhound.  This is the perfect first novel in a series; it can be read as a stand-alone tale without cliffhangers but it's so delightful that the reader will be interested in reading more of Atticus' adventures.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

Playing For The Ashes by Elizabeth George

 

When Inspector Thomas Lynley and his DS Barbara Havers are called out, they know it will be murder.  What they don't know is that this is a celebrity death with all the extra attention and scrutiny that entails.  Kenneth Fleming was a national hero, playing on England's cricket team.  He was the people's hero, having made the team not after attending fancy schools and colleges but as a grown man plucked from the factory floor after being spotted in an industrial league.

There are plenty of suspects to consider.  Fleming was found in the cottage of his mistress, Gabriella.  Her husband claims to know of the affair and care less.  There is Fleming's wife, who has been separated from him for four years but hopes always for a reconciliation.  His teenage son is full of rage at his father's absence and betrayal.  Kenneth has another strange relationship.  He lives with his mentor, the woman who used to be his teacher and who became his boss at the factory.  No one understands this relationship although there is plenty of gossip about it.  Had Fleming's affair with Gabriella crushed Mrs. Whitelaw's unspoken hopes?  Then there is Olivia Whitelaw.  She left her home and family as a rebellious twenty year old and hasn't spoken with her mother in years.  Mrs. Whitelaw has left her considerable fortune to Fleming, not Olivia.  Is there jealousy there?

Lynley and Havers work the investigation with plenty of pressure from above at the Yard and plenty of lies from every suspect.  Can they see through the lies to the truth of who killed Kenneth Fleming?

This is Elizabeth's George's seventh novel.  Her forte is the characters she creates and the web of lies they tangle around themselves.  Readers welcome another chapter in the story of Lynley and Havers and are familiar with their private lives.  The mystery is intricate and the unraveling is taut and satisfying.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

 

It is the 1950's and Lakshmi has finally made a life to sustain herself.  She was forced into marriage at fifteen to an abusive man who beat her every month when she wasn't pregnant.  At seventeen, she ran away from her village and family to try to make a new life for herself.  She became a henna artist and soon discovered that she had a real talent for it.  A rich man she met encouraged her and helped her move to Jaipur where he lived.  Introduced to some of the upper class including his wife, she eventually found herself the most prized henna artist in the city.  

Lakshmi has even found the money to build a house for herself.  She is about to move in when her world changes forever.  Her husband appears in Jaipur after all these years, demanding money from her.  He has brought someone else.  After Lakshmi ran away, her mother had another daughter that Lakshmi never knew about.  Both their parents are now dead and the sister, Radha, has come to live with Lakshmi.

Lakshmi is determined that Radha will have everything she never did.  She is only thirteen so there is time for her to get an education.  When Lakshmi pleases one of the ruling class, the woman offers to pay for Radha to attend the most prestigious school for girls in the city.  

Lakshmi should be happy but there are cracks in her life.  She has a second stream of income, giving women who are pregnant and don't want to be herbs and drugs to make them miscarry.  This darker money is made in partnership with the man who brought her to the city.  His wife is influential and Lakshmi is attempting to add more income by arranging a marriage for their son.  But when Lakshmi offends this woman, in a mere manner of weeks her entire world collapses as the woman abruptly takes away her support.  

This is a debut novel and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club choice.  The author was born in India but immigrated to the United States as a teenager.  Her background is in advertising and marketing.  The novel introduces the reader to the culture and fashions of India and the caste system and lack of opportunities for women that was common in the 1950's.  Lakshmi is a strong woman but her strength make her blind at times to the strength of others as she is determined that she knows what is best for everyone.  Her constant maneuvering and willingness to do anything for money is her eventual downfall.  This book is recommended for readers of women's and historical fiction.

All The Little Hopes by Leah Weiss

 

They are best friends but it's a miracle they ever even met.  Lucy Brown is from the eastern part of North Carolina, growing up on a farm with tobacco and bees with her large family.  Now that the War is on, one of her brothers and her brother-in-law are gone overseas.  Her dad is sought out by the government for his bees.  The Army doesn't want the honey so much but needs all the beeswax he can provide for waterproofing tents.

Allie Burt Tucker is from the mountains of North Carolina.  After her mother's death, her father sends her East to help out his sister who is pregnant and needs help.  But when Burt arrives, her aunt doesn't know who she is or why she's there. The aunt hasn't seen her husband in weeks and thinks Burt is after him. She seems on the verge of a breakdown and one night she throws Burt out in a storm and tells her never to return.  Burt makes her way to Lucy's house and eventually moves in with Lucy's family.

With the war on, Lucy's dad has trouble keeping up the work of the farm plus over a hundred hives.  He trains Burt to work with the bees and also uses the help of the town's gentle giant who is a bit slow but a good worker.  Later he even uses German prisoners of war.  There is some talk about them but the men soon show that they are just like most men, some good, some bad.

Burt and Lucy do all the things thirteen year old girls do.  They tell stories, pretend to be detectives and talk about boys.  They do each other's hair.  Over the next couple of years they grow ever closer as they start to become more adult.  Burt has a close call with an older boy who pretends to like her but has other things in mind.  The girls learn about Ouija boards and use one to solve their most puzzling questions although the answers seem strange and hard to interpret.  But most of all they learn to be a family and form a friendship that will never be broken.

Leah Weiss is a bestselling author who never published until after she retired from her career as an executive assistant at a school.  Her first novel, If The Creek Don't Rise, has sold over a 100,000 copies and is also a novel of the rural South.  Weiss was born in Eastern North Carolina.  I was lucky enough to meet her at an author event when her first novel was published and she is a warm and witty woman.  The characters in this book will bring wry smiles of recognition to women as they look back on their own teenage years and the friends they shared their lives with.  This book is recommended for women's fiction readers.

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

 

Will Trent and his partner Faith are called out at night to a horrific scene.  A former policeman has been found dead in a abandoned nightclub and there are women's bodies as well.  Worse for Will, it appears that one of the women is his sometime wife, Angie.

Thus starts another case that is tied to Angie and Will's background.  Along with the abuses they suffered as children, there is a woman married to a basketball player who has connections to Angie and possibly Will.  Angie is back to her old tricks, teasing Will with her presence and then disappearing, refusing to concede him to Sarah, who Will is in love with.  Will wants to be with Sarah but childhood bonds keep him tied to Angie as well.  Before the case is done, there will be revelations of domestic abuse, corrupt policemen, rape and drugs.  

This is the ninth Will Trent novel.  Although I've loved him as a character I'm ready for him to either be with Sarah and drop Angie completely or the reverse.  There was not much about Faith and Amanda, their boss, in this novel, but prior novels have given their backstories.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

All Things That Deserve To Perish by Dana Mack

 

Elisabeth von Schwabacher has just returned to her family home in Berlin from three years of music study in Vienna.  She is an accomplished pianist and along with the fact that her father is extremely wealthy will be considered one of the catches of this year's matrimonial events.  But in 1896, there are several things against her as well.  Elisabeth's family is Jewish and there is open discrimination against them in society.  She is also quite outspoken and has returned home with ideas of what women should be able to have outside of a marriage.

Two nobles court her.  One is an old friend but she isn't interested in him romantically.  The other is from an impoverished family although their standing  in society remains high.  Elisabeth is immediately attracted to him but isn't sure she wants to marry anyone.  She decides that this close to the nineteenth century she should be able to do as she pleases and determines that she will take him as a lover.  The noble is more than willing and she does so.  Her family discovers this and are appalled.  They send her away to relatives.

But love will out and the noble and Elisabeth eventually marry.  She goes to his estate only to be shocked at how different it is from the heights of Berlin society.  His family is open with their distaste for her Jewishness as are the other families in the area.  

Dana Mack is a historian, musician and journalist.   This is her debut novel but her articles on various subjects have appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor and the Washington Post.  Her background has made her the perfect author to write this novel about women's changing roles in society and the fact that the Jewish population were being ostracized long before Hitler came to power.  This book is recommended for historical fiction readers.

Midstream by Lynn Sloan

 

Polly Wainwright has drifted through her twenties and early thirties.  She once dreamed of making movies but has settled for a job as a picture editor. She moved from her life in New York back to Chicago when her mother was injured in a car crash and just stayed there.  Polly has a partner but he is a war correspondent and has been overseas covering the end of the Vietnam War and his letters are becoming more and more impersonal.  She has an apartment she likes and a routine that just a bit too comfortable.

Then Polly's world falls apart.  Her steady job is suddenly in jeopardy.  Her best friend is facing a serious illness.  She realizes that her boyfriend may not come home and resume their relationship.  What will she do with the rest of her life which is, she realizes, her responsibility to carve into what she wants?

This is a lovely book.  I felt like Polly was one of my best friends as I could relate so totally with her dreams and struggles.  When I was her age, I knew women who just drifted into a life that fit other people's expectations of what women should do and I knew women who took charge and made their lives what they had always wanted it to be.  The book was set in 1974 and this was the time when the feminist movement was strong and women thought about whether the way things had always been for women was going to be enough for them.  Polly is a character that will remain with readers long after the last page is read.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction.

The Prince Of Mournful Thoughts by Caroline Kim

 

These twelve stories by Caroline Kim explore the Korean culture and their immigrant experience through time.  The first story, Mr. Oh, is about a middle-aged man who has come to America.  He has a wife who he loves more than she loves him and two successful grown children.  He has a laundromat and he has unexplained pains and depression that he wants explanations for.  His life hasn't turned out as he imagined and he isn't sure what's next.

My favorite story was Magdelena.  A sixteen year old girl tells about going on a picnic with immigrant families on her birthday and then about going with her mother to check on an older woman from their church.  They find the woman near death, dehydrated and almost starving.  She is obviously on the brink of a psychotic breakdown and the girl's mother calls an ambulance and then accompanies the woman leaving her daughter behind to work out what all of this means.  

Readers who are interested in other cultures will enjoy these stories as will anthology readers.  Kim attempts to convey the entirety of the Korean experience, especially that of those who have been forced to move elsewhere in order to survive.  This book is recommended for anthology readers and those interested in the Asian culture.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

 

Marion Graves and her twin brother Jamie were only six weeks old when their first brush with notoriety occurred.  They were passengers on the cruise ship their father captained when it ran into trouble and capsized.  Many died including their mother and their father was shamed since he chose to save the babies rather than be the last man on board.  He was imprisoned and the twins were sent to Montana to be raised by his brother.

The uncle had no idea how to raise children and was an alcoholic.  He basically let the children run free and raise themselves.  Marian fell in love with flying when some barnstormers came through town.  She was determined to do whatever it took to learn how to fly, dropping out of school at fourteen so she could earn money.  Marian married young to a bootlegger who wanted to control her.  Marian flew the liquor into the States for him but eventually left him to be free.  She ran to Alaska and took another name, living under the radar and flying visitors and supplies into small Alaskan towns.  

Later she was a pilot in World War II, one of the women who flew transport craft from the factory to where they were needed.  She met Ruth and Eddie, a couple she grew close to.  Ruth was also a pilot and Eddie was a navigator.  After the war, she was at loose ends until she met with a woman of great fortune who offered to sponsor Marian's dream.  That dream was to fly around the world, flying over the North and South poles, a flight that had never been made.  Marian could not be dissuaded and took off with Eddie as her navigator.  They never made it and their bodies were never found although the last sighting of them had been in Antarctica.  

Now, one hundred years later, an actress is hired to portray Marian in a film about her life.  The actress, Haley Baxter, has a fellow feeling for Marian.  Haley's parents had been killed in a plane crash when she was a small child and she was also raised by an uncle.  Haley became a child star in Hollywood and then when a scandal broke, she was hounded off her movie and television career.  She needs a comeback badly and the film about Marian might just provide it.  But as she reads the script, starts to make the film and researches Marian's life, she thinks she has found out some of Marian's biggest secrets.  What should she do with this new information?

Maggie Shipstead has written a novel that is fascinating about a woman who won't be boxed into anyone else's thoughts about what she should do.  The novel has been nominated for both the Man Booker Prize and the Women's Prize For Fiction.  Marion is a mysterious woman, determined to do whatever she chooses rather than following society's strictures.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Long Gone by Alafair Burke

 

It seems too good to be true.  Alice Montgomery is attending an art exhibit when she is approached by another patron--an attractive, charming man.  They talk and Alice is amazed when the man says that he is helping a friend open an art galley and he is looking for someone to run it.  Alice's last job was in an art galley but since being laid off, she hasn't worked for a year.  She jumps at the chance and agrees to meet the man in the next few days once he has picked out a location.

In New Jersey, a teenage girl runs away.  Was it typical teenage angst or had she run away to escape the bullying she is encountering in high school?  Her mother had never told her about her father but had she run off to try to find him?  The police investigate but don't find much in the way of answers except that her fingerprints are inside the galley that Alice has just opened.

Hank is an FBI agent.  He is obsessed with a man who is a Dirty John figure--he charms women, gets all of their assets in his name then disappears.  The last woman who fell for his schemes is Hank's sister.  The man escaped all charges after her death but Hank is determined to bring him to justice.  He surveils him in his spare time even though he has been warned at work to stop and that unapproved suveillance could cost him his job.

Everything is brought to a head and the disparate threads merge when Alice opens the galley one morning to find it completely stripped of everything; pictures, desks, telephones, office supplies.  The only thing left is a body and it's the body of the man who is Alice's galley contact.  The police question her and her answers don't satisfy them.  It becomes apparent that Alice is the chief suspect and there are questions that the police aren't even investigating.  Can Alice solve the murder?

This is Alafaire Burke's first stand alone novel.  It is fascinating to watch the plot unfold and the various threads weave together into a story that makes sense.  There are hints of relationships that will continue after the case and it is always interesting to think about what happens to people swept up in a police investigation afterwards.  Alice is the archtype of a young woman trying to make it on her own in New York although she has a family that can rescue her when needed.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.

Void Moon by Michael Connelly

 

To the average person, Cassie Black seems like the typical L.A. woman, all business and a bit remote.  She is selling luxury cars but doesn't date the customers who ask her out.  Her boss knows what almost no one else does.  Cassie has just gotten out of prison for manslaughter and is on parole.  Her boss had a similar story at one time and tries to help those in her situation.  The only other person who knows is her parole officer.

Cassie is trying her best to just live her life and get off parole but her itch is back.  She was one of the best cat burglars around and the manslaughter was from a job where things went south and her partner died.  That partner was also the love of Cassie's life and she hasn't been back to Los Vegas since.  But she contacts someone in the business and asks for a job.  She was given the job of stealing from a high roller. He was on a big roll and winning big.  He had a case he kept handcuffed to him whenever he left the tables and Cassie was to steal that case and whatever was in the safe in his room.  The catch: it would have to be done while he was in the room sleeping.

Cassie doesn't like the job.  It's in the same city and even the same casino where her lover was killed.  But she does want the money and agrees to the job.  Things seem to go well and she gets the case but that's the last thing that goes right.  Now she has the owners of the money and the police and a private eye all on her trail.  Can she get away?

This is a standalone novel by Michael Connelly and not one in the Harry Bosch series.  The author obviously researched techniques for safe cracking and installing surveillance cameras as well as picking door locks.  Cassie is a remote figure throughout most of the book as she has learned to be but by the end the reader will be pulling for her to succeed.  This book is recommended for mystery readers. 

Bob Goes To Jail by Rob Sedgwick

 

Rob Sedgwick was born into a wealthy, talented family.  They lived in houses with sixteen bedrooms in New York City, houses with art from names such as Jackson Pollock on the walls.  Rob had two siblings, Kyra Sedgwick, the actress and Nicco, who is an artist.  Rob was an actor with roles in movies and on soap operas.  But apparently that wasn't enough.  From an early age, Rob and his friends experimented with drugs and soon were heavy users.  In his twenties, Rob agreed with a friend to let his grandparent's house, where he was staying while they toured Europe, serve as a safe house for a large marijuana operation.  Rob was thrilled with the money he got and the swagger he acquired as a drug dealer.  He dated a stripper and delighted in taking his friends to watch her perform.  His fantasy world crashed when the DEA showed up at the door and arrested him and the rest of the crew.

Rob was facing jail, perhaps five years or more.  But his family jumped to his defense.  Rob immediately started cooperating with the DEA, naming his accomplices and detailing the operation.  His family obtained an expensive lawyer who gave Rob a checklist of activities to perform before the trial.  Eventually he had his day in court, where he got a four year sentence which was suspended.

Many readers will find this memoir a fun read.  I was less entranced.  The story of rich kids doing whatever they wanted, running wild in New York City and various vacation homes was not appealing.  The contempt he had towards women, ditching his long time girlfriend when she got pregnant and going to prostitutes left a bad taste for me.  While the book was paced in an entertaining fashion and has gotten good reviews from many readers, others will find themselves more appalled than entertained.  This book is recommended for those interested in the New York rich and famous.  

The Hanged Man's Song by John Sandford

 

Kidd calls Bobby his friend although they have never met in person.  They are both computer hackers and Bobby heads up the group of those who make their living this way.  When Kidd can't get in contact with Bobby, he knows its time to make the journey to Bobby's house.  When he gets there, he finds what he had half expected and dreaded--Bobby has been killed.  Worse, the laptop that may hold all the details of who is in the group and what they have been doing for years has been stolen.

With his sometime girlfriend, LuEllen, Kidd and another friend, start to unravel Bobby's life and determine who has killed Bobby and what they plan to do with the information on the laptop.  It's an involved chase and there are other deaths along the way.  Will Kidd be successful?

This is the fourth and final novel in the Kidd series.  It was published in 2004 and eighteen years is a lifetime in computer terms so the technical side is a bit antiquated.  But the story of murder and retribution is fresh and interesting and the reader will be totally involved in the chase.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Booksie's Shelves, May 1, 2022

 

How can it be May already?  This year is flying by.  March Madness was an exciting time this year with my beloved Tarheels making it to the championship game.  I've been a Tarheel fan before Michael Jordan played for them so this was one of the few things that can tear me away from reading.  Our North Carolina spring is gorgeous with forsythia, daffodils, roses and azaleas blooming everywhere.  My birthday was in April so that means lots of new books.  Here's what's come through the door:

1. A Thousand Moons, Sebastian Barry, literary fiction, purchased
2. The Searcher, Tana French, mystery, purchased
3. A Prayer For The Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers, fantasy, won in contest
4. Sleepwalk, Dan Chaon, literary fiction, sent by publisher
5. Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance, Alison Espach, literary fiction, sent by publisher
6. Winter's Reckoning, Adele Holmes, historical fiction, sent by publisher
7. Birds Of California, Katie Cotugno, literary fiction, won in contest
8. Elsewhere, Alexis Schaitkin, literary fiction, sent by publisher
9. The Kingdoms Of Savannah, George Dawes Green, mystery, sent by publisher
10. Blurred Fates, Anastasia Zadeik, literary fiction, sent by publisher
11. Midstream, Lynn Sloan, literary fiction, sent by publisher
12. The Sharp Edge Of Mercy, Connie Hertzberg Mayo, literary fiction, sent by publisher
13. Every Man A Menace, Patrick Hoffman, mystery, purchased
14. A June Of Ordinary Murders, Conor Brady, mystery, purchased
15. Redhead By The Side Of The Road, Anne Tyler, literary fiction, purchased
16. The House At Sea's End, Elly Griffiths, mystery, purchased
17. The Birdwatcher, William Shaw, mystery, purchased
18. Perfidia, James Ellroy, literary fiction, purchased

Here are the ebooks I've bought:

1. Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City, K. J. Parker, historical fiction
2. The Folding Knife, K. J. Parker, fantasy
3. Orlando, Virginia Woolf, literary fiction
4. A Death Most Monumental, J.D. Kirk, mystery
5. L. A. Confidential, James Ellroy, literary fiction
6. The Big Nowhere, James Ellroy, literary fiction
7. The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy
8. The Well Of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy
9. The Hero Of Ages, Brandon Sanderson, fantasy
10. Hounded, Kevin Hearne, fantasy
11. A Line To Kill, Anthony Horowitz, mystery
12. Utopia Avenue, David Mitchell, literary fiction
13. Or Else, Joe Hart, mystery
14. The Book Of Accidents, Chuck Wendig, science fiction
15. L. A. Requiem, Robert Crais, mystery
16. Dream Girl, Laura Lippman, mystery
17. Engines Of Empire, R. S. Ford, science fiction
18. The Heroes, Joe Abercrombie, fantasy
19. The Harlech Beach Killings, Simon McCleave, mystery
20. True North, Jim Harrison, literary fiction
21. Strip, Thomas Perry, mystery
22. A Small Hotel, Robert Olen Butler, literary fiction
23. Broken Verses, Kamila Shamsie, literary fiction
24. Forty Thieves, Thomas Perry, mystery
25. The Fifth Heart, Dan Simmons, horror
26. The Sentence, Louise Erdrich, literary fiction
27. Indigo Slam, Robert Crais, mystery
28. Slow Horses, Mick Herron, spy fiction
29. The Vanishing Triangle, Claire McGowan, true crime
30. The Hand That First Held Mine, Maggie O'Farrell, literary fiction
31. Never See Them Again, M. William Phelps, true crime
32. Voodoo River, Robert Crais, mystery
33. Kiss Of The She-Devil, M. William Phelps, true crime
34. If Looks Could Kill, M. William Phelps, true crime
35. Dead Certain, Peter James, mystery
36. Sharp Ends, Joe Abercrombie, anthology
37. The Little Friend, Donna Tartt, literary fiction
38. The Hidden Soldier, Eoin Dempsey, historical fiction
39. December Park, Ronald Malfi, horror
40. The Bomb Maker, Thomas Perry, mystery
41. The Tiger And The Wolf, Adrian Tchaikovsky, science fiction
42. Count Zero, William Gibson, science fiction
43. Poison Flower, Thomas Perry, mystery
44. Revelator, Daryl Gregory, science fiction
45. The Tiger's Daughter, K. Arsenault Rivera, fantasy
46. The Phoenix Empress, K. Arsenault Rivera, fantasy
47. The Warrior Moon, K. Arsenault Rivera, fantasy
48. Version Zero, David Yoon, science fiction
49. The WVU Coed Murders, Geoffrey Fuller, true crime
50. The Bread The Devil Knead, Lisa Allen-Agostini, literary fiction
51. Salt Lick, Lulu Allison, literary fiction
52. The Crossing Places, Elly Griffiths, mystery
53. Guards! Guards!, Terry Prachett, fantasy
54. Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey, fantasy
55. The Girl That Was Taken, Charlie Donlea, mystery
56. Little Eyes, Samantha Schweblin, science fiction
57. What Are You Going Through, Sigrid Nunez, literary fiction
58. The Dark Horse, Craig Johnson, mystery
59. Ship Of Magic, Robin Hobb, fantasy
60. God On The Rocks, Jane Gardam, mystery
61. The Treatment, Mo Hayder, mystery

Here's what I'm reading:

1. Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead, Kindle
2. Gathering Storm, Robert Jordan, hardback
3. Long Gone, Alafair Burke, mystery
4. The Kept Woman, Karin Slaughter, kindle
5. The Prince Of Mournful Thoughts, Carolina Kim, paperback
6. Dodge City, Tom Clavin, paperback
7. Bob Goes To Jail, Rob Sedgewick, audio

Happy Reading!