War For The Oaks by Emma Bull

 

Eddi McCandry's life is in turmoil.  She has just broken up with her boyfriend, Stuart.  That also means the band in which they both played has also broken up.  She and her best friend who plays the drums in the band, agree to meet tomorrow to discuss what to do going forward and whether they should start their own band.  But before tomorrow, Eddi's life will change forever in a way she could never have predicted.

As she goes home, she encounters a large black dog near a fountain.  It seems to be herding her toward the water and as she nears, she sees a woman emerging from the water.  She is a beautiful woman but unearthly.  When she looks around, the dog has changed into a man.  Together, they tell Eddi that she has been chosen as the champion of the fae and that a war is about to occur.  It is unbelievable but watching the dog change back and forth to man and the cold beauty of the woman makes it conceivable.  

Eddi goes home with her head reeling.  Not the least of her consternation comes from the fact that the man/dog whose name is Phouka will now be her bodyguard and living in her apartment.  When the next day comes, she and her friend, Carla, start discussions about their new band.   Carla knows a keyboard player and they post notices and get a lead guitarist and a bass player.  But a new band is not all that Eddi is facing.

The Seelie Court of the Fae and the Unseelie Court are warring for dominance.  Eddi is shocked and changed forever when she witnesses the first battle and realizes that her new band members are also Fae.  She is pushed and pulled between the two sides with the Unseelie Dark Queen singling her out for manipulation.  Which side will win and will Eddi's life ever be the same?

This is a debut novel and thoroughly enjoyable.  It won the Locust Award for Best First Novel.  The book is filled with music and love and a sense that there is more to the world than what we see.  Eddi is an interesting heroine who defies the world to live life on her own terms and who is unstoppable  in attaining her goals.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.   

Affliction by Russell Baker

 

Wade Whitehouse's life hasn't turned out like he expected as a young man.  Back then, he was a local high school athlete, then a young husband and father, known to everyone in town.  He had a job at which he expected to progress and had even been named as the town's policeman.  But like his tired New Hampshire town, life hadn't been kind to him.

Now Wade is approaching middle age.  His athletic body is long gone, overlaid with the residue of many years of eating junk food and drinking till the bars close.  His marriage has broken up, taking with it his daughter and the house he had built himself for his family.  His job is a dead end and the police job is nothing more than a glorified traffic guard and bar bouncer.  He is known by everyone in town but he can't think of many who like him.  In his darkest hours, he knows he is nothing more than the failure his father always predicted he would be.

When an out of town union leader is killed on opening hunting day, Wade starts to come out of his fog.  He suspects that the hunting accident may not have been an accident at all.  It may have been a way to hide the fact that the mob has been using union funds to purchase land all over town.  A new skiing resort is in the works and the few influential men in town are all in on the plan.  Wade is determined to find out the truth and expose the plot.  Will he be successful or is it just another dream destined for failure?

Russell Banks has written a searing expose of masculine expectations and the slow realization in midlife that things don't always work out.  Wade has positive qualities but he is his own worst enemy and he can quickly turn gold into dross and ruin everything he hope to achieve.  It is heartbreaking to watch him attempt to change his fortunes repeatedly only to have his temper and drinking overcome his dreams.  It is my first read of one of Russell Bank's novels but it surely won't be my last.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Impersonation by Heidi Pitlor

 Allie Lang is a single mother, by choice.  She lives with her five year old son, Cass and her on-again, off-again boyfriend.  Allie is a ghostwriter by profession, although she has to supplement her income with substitute teaching and landscaping odd jobs.  Her childcare is shaky.  She can't afford a fulltime program so she has Cass in a childcare center one or two days a week for the socialization and then she has a neighbor watch him on other days.  Unfortunately, the neighbor is elderly and getting forgetful but it's what Allie can afford.  Her days are filled with uncertainty and she can't plan for the future like those in more stable situations are able to.  But she has tons of time to spend with her son and she is her own boss, reliant on herself and her creativity to carve out a life.

When her latest ghostwriting assignment blows up, Allie is at loose ends.  Then a dream job comes her way.  Lana Breban is a famous woman, a feminist who has come to embody the struggle.  She is a household name but her team feels that a biography would humanize her, showing her as not only a revolutionary but a wife and mother.  They hire Allie and she is ecstatic as Lana is one of her heroes.  But the work doesn't go well.  Lana is constantly off somewhere, at conferences and rallies, brainstorming with corporate heads and lawmakers.  She gives Allie very little material and it becomes apparent, there is little to give.  Lana has been a very hands off mother, leaving the raising of her child to a housekeeper and nannies.  Under pressure, Allie slowly begins to substitute in her own memories and struggles of being a mother.  Lana is pleased and tells Allie to do more of that and when the book is finished it is more Allie's story than Lana's.  But trouble is waiting in the wings.

Heidi Pitlor has worked in the publishing industry for most of her career.  She is also the senior editor of the Best American Short Stories series since 2007.  Her inside knowledge of the publishing industry makes this novel authentic.  She is a wife and mother to twins so she knows the difficulties of motherhood.  In Allie, she has created a woman that the reader can instantly relate to and cheer for.  The novel illustrates the difficulties women face without being preachy about them.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction and relationships.

Booksie's Shelves, August 16, 2020

 

Week way too many of the virus and its isolation.  We're still staying at home and wearing our masks on the rare occasions we go out.  We did go for a lovely drive to a marina yesterday just to get out and see some different scenery for a bit.  Our daughter has moved home after her recent university graduation and we're waiting to see what will be next for her.  The Booker Prize nominees were released since I wrote and this year's thirteen candidates include several debut novelists.   I've read six of last years nominees and I own all the rest so I'll get to them sooner or later.  I was thrilled to see Anne Tyler in the list this year; she has been a favorite author of mine for many years.  Here's the newest books I've acquired:

1.  Impersonation, Heidi Pitlor, literary fiction, sent for a book review
2. The Merciful, Jon Sealey, legal thriller, sent by publicist
3. Under Your Skin, Rose McClelland, mystery, sent by publicist
4. A Crown Of Swords, Robert Jordan, fantasy, purchased
5. His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie, women's fiction, sent by publicist
6. Hench, Natalie Walschots, literary fiction, won in contest
7. The Prince Of Mournful Thoughts, Carolina Kim, anthology, sent by publicist

Here's the ebooks I've purchased since my last Booksie's Shelves:

1. Bull Mouontain, Brian Panowich, literary fiction
2. Spying On The South, Tony Horowitz, nonfiction
3. Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Evisto, literary fiction
4. Plague, C. C. Humphreys, historical mystery
5. Visible Empire, Hannah Pittard, science fiction
6. Spilled Blood, Brian Freeman, mystery
7. Blood Orange, Harriet Tyce, literary fiction
8. Tower Lord, Anthony Ryan, science fiction
9. Make Me No Grave, Hayley Stone, mystery
10. Don't Ever Forget, Matthew Ferrell, mystery
11. House Of Rain, Craig Childs, nonfiction, history
12. Fate Of Dragons, Alisha Klapheke, fantasy
13. Song Of Kali, Dan Simmons, horror
14. Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane Moriarty, mystery
15. Hyperion, Dan Simmons, science fiction

Here's what I'm reading:

1. Fair Warning, Michael Connelly, Kindle
2. The Overstory, Richard Powers, audio
3. Land Of Marvels, Barry Unsworth, paperback
4. The Wolves Of Winter, Tyrell Johnson, Kindle
5. Deep As Death, Katja Ivar, paperback
6. The Lost City Of The Monkey God, Douglas Preston, hardback
7. War For The Oaks, Emma Bull, paperback
8. What You See, Hank Philipi Ryan, hardback
9. In Plain Sight, Kathryn Casey, Kindle
10. All The King's Men, Robert Penn Warren, Kindle

Happy Reading!

The Atlas by William Vollmann

 

The Atlas is a collection of essays written by William Vollmann during his travels as a journalist, many times in war zones.  The places written about include the following; Sicily, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, various parts of the United States, Madagascar, France, Canada, Thailand, Cambodia, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Hungary, Egypt, India, Australia, Burma, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Mauritius, Tasmania, Somalia, Switzerland, Poland, Belize, Bosnia and Croatia.  

These are not happy traveling essays.  Rather they depict the underside of society, the poor, the ill, the desperate.  Most of the essays took place in the early 1990's and there was war in many places.  AIDS was the epidemic that was sweeping the world and the people Vollmann associated with were most at risk for it; poor, sex workers and those willing to do anything to stave off the boredom of their lives.  He spends a lot of time with prostitutes as they seem to be his love interest but the women tend to cheat him of his money and leave him after false promises.  It is a life where one can expect little of others and even that little tends to be too much to expect.  

Vollmann is an interesting writer with books such as Europe Central which won the National Book Award.  This collection is a glimpse into his mind which is an uncomfortable place to visit.  He seems to seek out the dregs of society and make his friends among those who society chooses to ignore.  It is a place of depression and anxiety where hopes are crushed and life is brutal and short.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers and those interested in Vollmann's life and thoughts.

Phantom Prey by John Sandford

 

Lucas Davenport is bored and a little depressed.  He is often depressed at the end of the winter in Minnesota.  He knows he needs a good case, one that's out of the ordinary to kickstart his brain and get him moving.  When his wife Weather asks him to speak to a friend of hers whose daughter has been missing for several months, he is reluctant but finally decides to.  Other than that, he's on a detail that is staking out the apartment of the wife of a fugitive and waiting for him to sneak home to see her. 

When Lucas goes to see Alyssa, Weather's friend, his interest is piqued.  At the time of her daughter's disappearance, Alyssa had been a recent widow, her husband having been killed in a small plane crash.  She and her daughter, who had recently graduated from college had a strained relationship as the daughter was upset that Alyssa's marriage had been strained at the time of her father's death.  Alyssa came home one day to find blood and signs of a cleanup.  She hadn't been expecting her daughter that day, as she had her own place, but the blood tested out to be her blood and she hadn't been seen since.  Was she dead?  If not, where was she?

Frances, the daughter, had been flirting with the Goth lifestyle for a couple of years.  Her friends wore black, listened to Goth music and were serious about it to varying degrees.  Frances was about through with it as she had too much business background from her parents to be happy not producing something but it was a slow removal.  When other individuals in the Goth life who knew Frances started to be murdered, Lucas knew it was all related somehow.  He discovered fifty thousand missing from Frances' accounts and now he maybe had a motive.  Can he find the killer before more people are murdered?

This is the eighteenth novel in the Prey series.  Lucas is his same self, a magnet to women who he faithfully turns away as he is a family man these days.  His ability to handle multiple investigations, his relationships with his men, and his ability to shake up a stalled investigation are some of the qualities that keep readers coming back to read more about his exploits.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Locked Doors by Blake Crouch

 

Andrew Thomas has been on the run for seven years.  Seven years ago, his life was almost perfect.  He was gaining fame as a novelist.  He lived on Lake Norman in North Carolina surrounded by friends.  Then his brother returned and Andrew's entire life exploded.

His brother was a psychopath.  He was also a serial killer and he and his partner, Luther Kite, had killed many people for years.  Now they pulled off their master plan, killing Andrew's mother and burying the body on his property.  They also threw in several other victim's bodies to make the deception work and it did.  Suddenly, Andrew Thomas was wanted everywhere, his picture on every news show and he made the FBI Most Wanted list.  

Andrew fought back.  Along with his best friend, Steve, he went out to track down his brother and Luther.  At the end of his trip, his brother was dead and he left Luther dying in the desert.  Unfortunately, Steve was also killed and Andrew buried him in a remote place.  Then he hit the roads.

He lived as an undocumented person, always on the move, working menial jobs for a few days or weeks when he could find them, then moving on.  Finally, he has ended up in a remote village in the Yukon.  There, he lives peacefully under an alias, finally putting his past behind him.  Or so he thinks.

But two things converge to ruin his sanctuary.  An aspiring writer, working in a bookstore, recognizes Andrew when he comes in to browse and is determined to track him down and interview him.  Far worse, Luther survived his desert ordeal and has decided to draw Andrew out of isolation.  He kills Andrew's former fiancee in a very public manner and kidnaps Steve's wife.  When Andrew sees this, he knows he must give up his peaceful life and finish what he started seven years ago.  Along with a young police detective, he tracks Luther down for one final confrontation from which only one of them will emerge.

This was my first Blake Crouch novel.  He grew up in North Carolina about eighty miles from my location.  I always like to read and feature North Carolina authors and it's wonderful to see how famous Blake has become in the years since he graduated from Chapel Hill.  This novel was suspenseful and full of twists.  It is recommended for readers of suspense novels.

With Or Without You by Caroline Leavitt

 They shouldn't work as a couple.  Stella is logical and grounded, a nurse who is a great at her work.  Simon is mercurial and creative, a musician whose band almost made it to the top.  Stella's best friend, Libby, is a doctor at the hospital where Stella works.  She can't understand why Stella would stay with Simon who seems childish and self-centered to her.  Stella supports all of Simon's dreams and where does that leave Stella?

Now Simon has one more chance to make it big.  The band has been asked to go to California to open for a rising star and it could mean the start of something new.  When Stella tells Simon she doesn't want to go with him, they argue and then end up partying to try to make up.  The next morning Simon wakes up determined to talk things out but Stella doesn't wake up.  She is in a coma.

The coma lasts for several months.  During that time, Simon starts to change.  He begins to grow up and realizes that his role is to be there for Stella no matter what she needs.  Libby helps with Stella's care and sees the changes in Simon.  As she gets to know him better, she changes her opinion of him.  He seems more mature and giving now.

But when Stella finally awakes from her coma, all is changed.  She is a different person.  She likes different food and different things while her old habits don't interest her at all.  She starts to draw and then paint people and a huge talent flows through her.  Soon she is in demand and she finds the fame that has always eluded Simon.  Simon is confused at the changes and draws even closer to Libby.  As they inevitably fall in love, they try to find ways to justify the betrayal of Stella.  When Stella discovers their relationship, everything comes to a crisis.

Caroline Leavitt has written a warm and wise novel about human lives and how none of us lives just one life.  We all change throughout our lives and what defines us at one point may not interest us at all at another.  What does love mean in this kind of changing and unfolding of lives?  Does a true love change with the people involved or does it have a finite timeline?  The reader will find themselves challenged to think through these questions and to relate them to their own lives.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in our relationships and connections to each other. 

Pilgrim At Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

In the 1970's, Annie Dillard, twenty-seven, spent a year near Tinker Creek in Southwest Virginia near the city of Roanoke.  Pilgrim At Tinker Creek is her memoir of her time spent observing the wildlife in this area and thinking about the bigger philosophical ideas of how nature works and what role, if any, God plays in this marvelous, cruel, breathtaking world.  

Open any page and the reader will find a sentence that stops them in their tracks.  Dillard's attention to detail and her ability to portray what she sees poetically is rarely found in a book.  Few of us take the time to observe as closely as she does.  She may spend four hours sitting in one spot without moving in order to observe a muskrat whose survival depends on being able to spot any predators in the area.  She spends hours observing insects and how they lay their eggs, hatch, grow and die.  

Not everything is perfect.  She spends a chapter talking about the ten percent of all living organisms that are parasites.  Some are amazingly specific, a mite which only resides on one species of bird in one area.  Some are common and annoyingly familiar such as a mosquito or tick.  She returns several times to an incident where she saw a frog suddenly collapse as it's insides were sucked away by a water bug.  This horror is part of the same nature that can stop one with its beauty.

She did see lots of beauty.  She narrates the occurrence of a monarch butterfly migration.  She notes the flowering plants that follow the spring and the colors of autumn.  She can also find beauty in creatures such as a copperhead that most of us would never find beautiful due to repulsion.  As she watches, she meditates.

This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975.  It is a fascinating read for those interested in the natural world around them.  I was particularly interested as I was living in this same area at the same time so I could relate to most of what was written.  Those who are not religious can enjoy the book on a different level than those interested in her ideas about God.  This is a masterwork by an author at the top of her form and is recommended for nonfiction readers who enjoy nature.  

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

Daniel Rooke grew up a lonely child.  He was bright, much brighter than his classmates and shunned by his classmates.  He rarely spoke.  His salvation occurs when the local doctor notices his intelligence and arranges for him to receive a place at the Portsmouth Naval Academy.  There his intelligence is seen as the positive thing it is and he becomes entranced with astronomy.  But there is no place for another astronomer when Rooke is ready to find work so he instead becomes a lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

After his one encounter with battle, Rooke is left with what would be called PTSD today.  He is at loose ends when he hears of an opportunity.  It is 1788 and an excursion is being planned to the uncharted territory of New South Wales.  The king has claimed sovernity but the land is uncharted and nothing is known of the people, animals or food of the area.  The trip will last for three years.

Rooke has used his astronomical knowledge in the Navy as a navigator and he continues on this trip.  Once the ship has landed at what they name Botany Bay, he moves away from the main camp and sets up an astronomical and scientific observation station.  He prefers this lonely life, living by himself and only seeing his military companions once a week for dinner.

As time goes on, the expedition tries to make contact with the natives.  Of course, no one can speak their language but rudimentary attempts are made.  The natives start to visit Rooke at his station and he begins a study of their language and soon can converse with them.  He develops a strong relationship with a young girl of around ten.  As the military commander decides to take stronger and stronger steps to be in command of the native population, Rooke finds himself in conflict between his feeling for the natives and his obligation as a military man to follow the change of command.  This conflict leads to a confrontation that will change everything.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most famous authors.  Previous novels have won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize as well as the Orange Prize and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.  Her knowledge of the landscape and native population allows her to visualize what it must have been like for the first English military settlers.  She can clearly see and knows the history of the relationship between the native people who lived there and the new inhabitants and how that relationship progressed.  This book is recommended for readers of historical and literary fiction.

No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie

A woman's body is found in the Thames.  She was rowing and it turns out that she was a top rower who was a possible participant in the sport at the Olympic level.  Rebecca Meredith is also a police inspector which makes her murder a different proposition as it introduces complexities not always found in other murders.  Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid is chosen to head up the investigation although he is about to go on family leave to be a stay at home parent while his detective wife Gemma goes back to work.

Who could have killed Meredith?  Was it someone from a past investigation who is out for revenge?  Her former husband who is now on the brink of financial collapse after their divorce settlement?  Her former rowing coach who might not be excited to see his former student out-competing his current team?  Someone from work who would be impacted by a recent complaint Rebecca had filed?  Her new lover who was on the canine rescue team which found her body?  Any of these individuals are a possible suspect.

As Kincaid starts to investigate, he learns more about Rebecca.  She is a driven woman who will sacrifice herself to gain her goals.  What does that mean about the internal complaint at work?  Will she sacrifice her career to gain satisfaction?  What does it mean to the men in her life, who know that they will always come second to her ambition?  Soon another crime occurs; the workshop/home of the man on the canine team is torched and he is hurt.  Is this a separate crime or is it connected?

This is the fourteenth book in this series.  Much of the action centers around the relationship between Duncan and Gemma and their expanding family.  When it turns out that Gemma has a personal connection to the case, it makes Duncan even more determined to find out what has happened and Gemma uses her resources to work the case from another angle.  The mystery has a satisfactory ending and the reader is left eager to read more about this couple and their work.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Attorney Mickey Haller is one of Los Angeles' best defense attorneys.  He is known as the Lincoln Lawyer because he basically runs his practice from the back seat of his Lincoln Towncar.  He's found that is the most effective way of managing his business as he spends his days going from court to jails to meetings, rarely settling for very long.  He has staff who manage the practice; his ex-wife Lorna does the scheduling, billing and takes care of the paperwork, Earl is his driver and spends his days ferrying Mickey from place to place and he has Levin, his private investigator.  

Haller has just gotten a new client and he is excited about him both because he thinks the case will be an easy win and because the man's family is wealthy and can pay big bucks for Haller to represent him.  Louis Roulet has been arrested and charged with attempted rape and bodily harm on a woman.  The pictures of her injuries are horrendous and the police have recovered a knife belonging to Roulet and his prints are everywhere in her apartment.  It appears to be an open and shut case.

But Mickey isn't so sure.  Roulet seems like that rarest of cases, an innocent man.  He has an answer for everything; the woman approached him in a bar and gave him her address but when he arrived he was knocked out and when he came to the police had been called and he was arrested on the spot.  Who is telling the truth?

As the case progresses, Mickey and Levin find evidence that could clear his client but he starts to have misgivings.  Is the man really innocent or just more adept at hiding his guilt than other clients?  Soon other cases start to impinge on this one and it will take all of Haller's legal expertise to be sure that justice is done, both in this case and the others.

This is the first in the Lincoln Lawyer series.  Fans of Connelly's work know that it is later revealed that Haller is the half brother of Harry Bosch.  The plotting in this novel is tight and the surprises come quickly.  Readers get an inside look at what running a legal practice is really like from the inside along with an interesting set of cases that end satisfactorily.  This book is recommended for mystery readers, especially those interested in legal thrillers.

Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson

In 1816, a group of young radicals from England gather overseas in a villa.  They include Lord Byron, the poet Shelley, a doctor, Shelley's wife, Mary, and Mary's stepsister who is Byron's lover.  There is not much to do as it rains incessantly.  Bored, Byron challenges everyone to write a new work, including the nineteen year old Mary.  She writes the story of Frankenstein, which she uses to explore her feelings about how each individual has their own worth and every person should be free to experiment and live to their fullest potential.

In modern age Britain, Ry Shelley, a descendant of Mary, is a doctor and a transgender who is making the transition from life as a woman to that of a man.  He meets a brilliant scientist, Victor Stein, who is interested in how life can be defined, the field of artificial intelligence and the quest for immortality.  Ry is willing to help at first, bringing Victor discarded limbs for his experiments but she hesitates when he reveals the full range of his experiments and what he is willing to do to push the barriers of what it means to be human.

This novel was a longlist nominee for the Booker Prize last year.  It is an interesting mix of the two time periods and what it means to be human in each era.  In the early 1800's, it is the ability for women to be treated as full citizens of the countries they inhabit.  In modern times, it is the ability of each person to define basic facts about themselves such as gender and appearance, to do the work they desire and to push the frontiers of knowledge.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Lives Of Edie Pritchard by Larry Watson

Edie Pritchard grows up in a small town in Montana.  She is considered smart and intelligent by those around her and fun-loving.  As the novel opens, she is working as a teller in a bank as there aren't many career jobs for women in the sixties.  The novel is broken into three distinct parts, Edie in her twenties, in her forties and in her sixties. 

Edit marries young.  She is married to Dean Linderman.  Dean is a twin and his brother Roy has always been the outgoing one, while Dean is more introverted.  Roy is a salesman, Dean is a mechanic.  Dean can't believe that Edie chose him and wonders if she made a mistake choosing him over Roy.  Both men want Edie and now, even though Dean is married to her, he spends his days becoming more and more jealous of Roy and what he imagines Edie might feel for him.  When Edie and Roy go on an errand that ends in a disaster, it precipitates Edie's decision that this life might not be for her.

In her second stage, Edie has moved away and is now married to Gary Dunn.  Dunn is wealthy and is determined to control all around him, including Edie.  When she gets a call from Roy asking her to return to her first home to visit with Dean, who is sick, Gary immediately says no.  Edie decides that she will determine where and when she goes places and takes off with her daughter.  Dunn follows her and there is a scene that comes from the men around her trying to control her.

Finally, in the last stage, Edie is now in her sixties and on her own.  She has moved back to her hometown and lives quietly in an apartment, working and having a few friends.  Her life is turned around when her granddaughter decides to visit out of the blue.  She brings her boyfriend and the boyfriend's brother and it's clear that these men are trouble.  They are the kind who drift from town to town, scheming get rich quick schemes and not too careful to follow the law.  The granddaughter leaves with them but then contacts Edie wanting her to come find her and take her back.  When Edie does, she is forced into a confrontation with the brother who is determined to keep his brother's girlfriend with them. 

This is an interesting novel from successful novelist Larry Watson.  As with other novels, he writes about small town life, about people who live lives of quiet desperation and who attempt to find happiness in their surroundings.  Edie spends her life trying to throw off the need of men to control her life; her decisions and her happiness.  Whether the control is overt or convert, it exists in every male relationship she encounters and the reader is left wondering if Watson sees this as a given in male-female encounter.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Detective Gemma Woodstock is faced with a difficult homicide investigation.  She is the lead detective in the small town where she grew up and where she knows everyone and everyone knows her.  The victim in this case is Rosalind Ryan, the English and drama teacher at the school where she and Gemma attended as teenagers.  They weren't friends back then but few knew that Gemma had issues with Rosalind.  Rose, as some called her, was beautiful even back then and she was the new girlfriend Gemma's first love, Jake, turned to after he broke up with Gemma.

Now Rosalind has been found floating in the lake behind the school.  Although she was liked, no one seemed to know her well and there are several fields of inquiries.  The surviving family is her father and three brothers, none of whom seem to be that upset about Rosalind's death.  There are rumors about Rosalind at school.  Some people think she was involved with the principal who seemed to favor her while others gossiped that she was much too close with the male students.  The autopsy reveals that Rosalind is pregnant so there was a man somewhere in her life although there is no overt signs of one.

Gemma has other issues.  Her relationship at home with her partner, Simon, is floundering.  The main thing that is keeping them together at this point is their son, Ben.  Gemma is involved in an affair at work with her partner, Felix.  He is married with three children of his own and they both know the affair is doomed or that it will tear their lives apart.  Can Gemma balance her personal life and her professional one in order to solve the crime?

This is a debut novel for Sarah Bailey.  The novel is set in rural Australia and American readers may have some small difficulties with cultural differences such as school schedules and Christmas being hot and steamy.  The main character, Gemma, is not a polished professional but rather a woman with demons of her own, trying her best to do the work that defines her.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanaugh

When actor Bobby Sullivan's wife and business manager are found dead, in his bed, he is the obvious suspect and is quickly arrested.  His movie company is aghast at this development in their marketing of Sullivan and his latest movie and hires an expensive law firm to represent him. 

Eddie Flynn isn't one of the city's expensive lawyers but he is effective and creative.  When he is hired to be second chair, he sees a chance to be hired fulltime by the firm which will help him in his quest to reunite his family.  As he learns about the case, he begins to believe that Bobby is innocent.  When the law firm pulls out, Flynn becomes the lead attorney and is determined to do whatever it takes to free Sullivan.

But there is an adversary Flynn never suspected.  A serial killer has been operating for years under the radar.  His joy is in the killing but also in managing to get someone innocent found guilty for the killer's crimes.  Sullivan is his latest case and this time the killer is upping the ante.  Through devious maneuvers he manages to get himself on the jury where he gets a front row seat and can assure a guilty verdict.  Can Flynn uncover the killer and prove Sullivan innocent?

Steve Cavanaugh has written an intriguing and fascinating novel that is a mix of a legal thriller and a serial killer novel.  Eddie Flynn is a sympathetic character and the reader will be pulling for him.  The killer seems invincible and it is hard to see how he can lose.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

They awake slowly.  All six of the crew of the Dormire are clones and they have been recloned after dying.  Why would all six of the crew have died at once?  As they awake, they realize that all of their former beings have been murdered but who did it?

Their mission is to transport humans in suspended animation to a new planet with more resources as Earth continues to be depleted.  The crew are all clones with a criminal past.  No one except the captain has access to the files outlining the crimes each individual has committed.  And IAN, the AI running the ship, has been damaged.

The crew consists of these individuals.  Katrina is the captain.  Her second in command is Wolfgang, who is in charge of security.  Joanna is the crew doctor.  Hiro is a navigator while Paul is also an engineer and is there to work on various systems that have errors.  Maria is the cook and general errand helper who cleans and does whatever is needed to keep things moving.

Now they must work together to figure out who killed all of their previous bodies and who is still trying to kill them.  They are working in the dark without IAN's help to remember things or give them files to make their jobs easier.  As the killer strikes again, the crisis becomes more timely.  Which of them is the killer and can the others stop them before all is lost?

This novel was nominated for both the Hugo and the Nebula Best Novel Award in 2018.  It is an interesting premise and in order for the mystery to be solved, the reader must learn about how the clones came to be created, the rules governing their existence and what they are allowed to do.  As each individual's backstory is told, the shadowy reach of an individual they all have in common is seen.  This book is recommended for readers of science fiction.

Booksie's Shelves, July 16, 2020

Halfway through July and not much has changed.  The virus is now surging in many states, North Carolina being among them.  I'm worried about school openings with four grandchildren who could be exposed and more and more children being affected.  Our daughter, who recently graduated from college, will be moving home at the end of the month to stay with us until she finds a job, not an easy task in this economy ravaged by layoffs and business drawbacks.  We are still self-isolating and while it gets boring, I must say it is good for reading.  I read sixteen books in June, and of course got a lot more.  Here's what's made it through the door:

1.  Other Fires, Lenore Gay, literary fiction, sent by publisher
2.  War For The Oaks, Emma Bull, fantasy, purchased
3.  The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton, historical fiction, purchased
4.  The Muse, Jessie Burton, historical fiction, purchased
5.  Monogamy, Sue Miller, literary fiction, sent by publisher
6.  The Zero, Jess Walter, literary fiction, purchased
7.  Holy Skirts, Rene Steinke, literary fiction, purchased
8.  The Lives Of Edie Pritchard, Larry Watson, literary fiction, sent by publisher
9.  2030, Mauro Guillen, nonfiction, sent by publisher

Ebooks I've purchased in the last month:

1.  Laidlaw, William McIlvanney, legal thriller
2.  Murder On Birchleaf Drive, Steven Epstein, true crime
3.  Good Girl, Bad Girl, Michael Robotham, suspense
4.  The Marsh King's Daughter, Karen Dionne, historical fiction
5.  A String Of Beads, Thomas Perry, suspense
6.  Out Of Bounds, Val McDermid, mystery
7.  Blood Ties, Samantha Hayes, mystery
8.  Hunter's Blood, Val Penny, mystery
9.  The Temple Of My Familiar, Alice Walker, literary fiction
10.  Eve Of Snows, L. James Rice, fantasy
11.   Chaos Awakens, Megg Jensen, fantasy
12.  The Origin Of Species, Charles Darwin, nonfiction
13.  Walk The Wire, David Baldacci, suspense
14.  Lila, Marylynne Robinson, literary fiction
15.  The Age Of Wonder, Richard Holmes, nonfiction
16.  The Silent Sister, Dianne Chamberlain, literary fiction
17.  The Grim Sleeper, Christine Pelisek, true crime
18.  Old Man's War, John Scalzi, sci-fi
19.  The Future Of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz, science fiction
20.  Pretty Killer, Johnny Truant, mystery
21.  Lost Girls, Caitlin Rother, true crime
22.  The Last Of The Moon Girls, Barbara Davis, literary fiction
23.  Her Final Words, Brianne Labuskes, mystery
24.  The Dentist, Tim Sullivan, mystery
25.  These Women, Ivy Pochoda, mystery
26.  Harbour Street, Ann Cleeves, mystery
27.  The Last Time I Lied, Riley Sager, mystery
28.  Gnomon, Nick Harkaway, sci-fi

Here's what I'm reading:

1.  The Overstory, Richard Powers, audio
2.  Pilgrim At Tinker's Creek, Annie Dillard, Kindle Fire
3.  The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel, hardback
4.  The Lives Of Edie Pritchard, Larry Watson, paperback
5.  War For The Oaks, Emma Bull, paperback
6.  Snap, Belinda Bauer, Kindle Fire
7.  The Dark Lake, Sarah Bailey, Kindle Fire
8.  Atlas, William Vollman, paperback
9.  The Lieutenant, Kate Granville, paperback

Happy Reading!

The New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke

Detective Dave Robicheaux has been a policeman for many years in his beloved Louisiana.  Things have changed over the years, of course,  His best friend, Clete Purcel, ran afoul of the police force and is now working as a private investigator instead of as Robicheaux's partner.  His new partner, Bailey Ribbons, is beautiful and young and he isn't sure exactly what to make of her.

Robicheaux goes to visit Desmond Cormier, another friend from way back.  Desmond is one of the few who left and found fame and fortune.   He is a movie director and his movies have gained awards.  Now he is back shooting a film in Louisiana.  The movie business is bringing money to the area but Dave isn't sure it isn't also bringing trouble.

Cormier has surrounded himself with men that Dave isn't sure he likes.  There is Antoine Butterworth, who has a reputation as a sadist.  Lou Wexler is a lawyer and money man but Dave isn't happy that his daughter. Alafaire, is dating him.  While visiting Cormier, Dave spots a body in the water and it turns out to be a young woman who has been crucified and set afloat on a cross.  Desmond and Antoine, who are also there, claim to not see anything, nor know anything that can help in the investigation.

More bodies follow.  Most are women who have interfaces with the movie folks, but there are other men around who could be involved.  Hugh Tillinger is an escapee from the Texas death row, where many think he was about to be executed for murders he did not commit.  Then there is the creepy Chester Wimple, who is a mob hitman and one of the scariest villains around.  Who is responsible for the murders?

This is the twenty-second Dave Robicheaux novel in the series.  Dave is getting older and having survived three wives, feels he is too old for love.  His feelings for Bailey are a surprise to him.  Clete has his back as always, and the friendship between Dave and Clete is a bright spot in the narrative.  Robicheaux's love for his native Louisiana shines through as does his fierce love of family and friends.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Peacekeeping by Mischa Berlinski

The year is 2008 and the location is Haiti.  The narrator is a journalist who is temporarily living there with his wife.  He looks around for other Americans to pass time with and he meets Terry White.  Terry is a former policeman, a homicide detective from Florida.  He and his wife, Kay, suffered financial issues in the downturn of 2008 and he has signed up with the United Nations peacekeeping force, composed of security professionals from around the globe who are in Haiti to keep the peace during troubled times and to teach the Haitian policemen their techniques.

Terry isn't thrilled to be there.  He is living alone, with Kay coming down for periodic visits.  He ends up becoming pretty much a permanent bodyguard to a local judge who was educated in the United States.  Johel Celestin has a little influence as a local judge but he longs to do more for his countrymen.  He has a vision of building a road from the capital to his impoverished area.  There is almost no trade and fresh food is difficult to come by without a reliable means of transportation.  It depresses the economy as farmers can't raise crops they have no way of transporting to sell, nor can fishermen make a living.  He decides in order to get his road built he will run for the office of Senateur.  The current occupant of the position, Maxim Bayard, is old and Johel senses he might be able to be defeated.

Political campaigns are not easy in Haiti.  The voting process is full of corruption with voters often selling their votes to both sides.  Many just sign in at the voting place and leave a blank ballot for the poll workers to fill out.  There are influential men who can promise entire villages to be counted for one side or the other.  Can a newcomer fight against this established dominance?  Even worse than the political fight Johel is in, he has a more personal issue.  Terry White has fallen in love with his wife, Nadia, and they are having an affair.  The journalist observes all these conflicts and watches to see what the outcome will be.

Mischa Berlinski's acute observations of personal and political conflict read like the headlines from the latest edition of the newspaper.  He immerses the reader in a world most have never considered and finds a way to make this political contest in a remote area relevant.  He explores the relationship between men and women and between men with their friends and the sudden explosions that can occur when lust and love come between them.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.