What Are We Reading And Reviewing in April 2020?

What are you planning to read in the month of April?

📌 - ★
Carol Reads With the Bunny

📌The Devil Colony - James Rollins - 4.5★ (Group Read from March)
📌The Black Ice - Michael Connelly - 3.5★ (Group Read)
📌Stone Cold - David Baldacci - 4.5★ (Group Read)
📌Playing With Fire - Tess Gerritsen - 5★ (Pick a Winner)
📌We Were Liars - E. Lockhart - 5★
📌The Dark Lake - Sarah Bailey - 3.5★
📌You Will Pay - Lisa Jackson - 2.5★
📌Croak - Gina Damico - 3★
📌Sub-Zero - Robert W. Walker - 3.5★
📌Black House - Stephen King & Peter Straub - 3★
📌The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell - 5★
📌The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater - 2.5★
📌Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Myers - 3★
📌The Violets of March - Sarah Jio - 2★
📌Dead Dry - Sarah Andrews - 3★
📌The Christie Curse - Victoria Abbott - 4 ★
📌Blackberry Wine - Joanne Harris - 4★
📌Flat Broke With Two Goats - Jennifer McGaha - 4★
📌Sticks & Stones - Madeleine Urban - 5★
📌Divide & Conquer - Madeleine Urban - 5★
📌Stars & Stripes - Abigail Roux - 5★

Dead Dry - Sarah Andrews
Em Hansen series Book #10
3 ★

Geologist and investigator Em Hansen is helping out the Salt Lake City police on the murder of a fellow geologist. Dumped in a gravel quarry, his arms and legs removed and his face bashed in so he'll be unrecognizable, Em IDs him anyway because of a strange tattoo--a geological map of the world--she spots on his body: It's Afton McWain, a controversial figure who worked in big oil in Colorado but who now works in the field of water and droughts.

The geology and water discussions were interesting... but a bit too much information that had nothing to do with the story. I find the idea that the police would even have such a person as a forensic geologist on their staff, let alone want her to get involved in solving a mystery...somewhat unbelievable. Another disturbing thing was the way the men in Em's life talked and speculated about her. This seemed to be sexual harassment and not professional on either her part or theirs. The murder was an interesting one in all it's "goriness"...hence the 3 stars. It could have easily been a 4 star, or even a 5 for some, if more time had been spent on the mystery itself.

Sub-Zero
3.5★

The world has struggled with deadly winters for decades--killer storms has taken thousands of lives. Now in the year 2020, it is in the grip of a new Ice Age, all because man had altered the weather to suit his own needs, not realizing the terrifying forces he had unleashed. Meant as a men's adventure science fiction disaster novel SPOOF, the reader must take this first novel tongue-in-cheek, and try your best not to get caught up in it so much you forget to laugh. An ice-age descends over Chicago, trapping an ensemble of characters inside the tallest tower in the city, trapping them with a murderous madman out to kill the weatherman.

Could we be engineering a new ice age? I'm not sure of the answer...although the author has created a strong argument for it...but you also have to bear in mind that this is now 2020..the year that this was suppose to happen. This book was written in 1979...and we are all still here with not a single "walking Popsicle" among us. The story was good and showed that the author had spent some time researching his subject. The only really bad thing I can say about the book was that it seemed to have come directly from his typewriter/computer...making it's way to the printer bypassing the editor/proofreader entirely. If you like a few laughs with your "end of civilization" mystery...then you will enjoy this one.

The Children’s Blizzard – David Laskin
Audiobook read by Paul Woodson
4****

On January 12, 1888 a massive cold front brought plummeting temperatures, gale-force winds, and blinding snow to the northern plains. The day had started out unseasonably mild, and children walked to school without their usual heavy coats, gloves and hats. Caught completely unawares and unprepared many of them died in the blizzard that is still talked about in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Minnesota.

Laskin has pieced together the stories of several immigrant families and what happened to them during the two days of the storm. There are stories of heroism and determination. Children who kept their heads and found shelter. Teachers who shepherded their classes to safety. Men and women who died searching for their livestock. Many who survived the initial storm and exposure, later died of complications – gangrene that resulted from severe frostbite, or heart arrhythmias that caught them unawares.

It’s a gripping tale, told masterfully.

Paul Woodson does a fine job reading the audiobook. He sets a good pace and his narration held my attention throughout.

Croak - Gina Damico
3★

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort's true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business. She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice — or is it vengeance? — Whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again.

It’s a Young Adult novel but it fit a challenge so I picked it up. I was surprised how much I liked it….not loved it…but liked it. The characters were ‘different” but they were also sometimes a bit funny. The main character...Lex...was most of the time...obnoxious...but I believe that was supposed to make the reader feel empathy for all she had been through. Since I'm not 16 years old...I just wanted to slap her. I believe the best description for the book would be it was Harry Potter with reapers instead of wizards.

Indianapolis: The True Story– Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
Book on CD read by John Bedford Lloyd
5*****

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man.

I’ve known about the U.S.S. Indianapolis since I was about eleven years old. In 7th grade I became fascinated by sharks and read virtually every book in my public library about them. Many of those books included the story of the Indianapolis sinking and the days at sea that the survivors endured. So, this was not a new story for me, nor the first book about the tragedy that I’ve read.

But knowing the story did nothing to lessen my fascination or divert my attention from the tale. Vincent and Vladic did extensive research, including interviews with survivors and their families. The result is a detailed, thorough and still intimately personal story. There was more than one section that brought me to tears, and I cheered at the eventual success the survivors had in clearing their captain of charges of culpability.

The audiobook is masterfully narrated by John Bedford Lloyd. I listened in rapt attention.

Dark Lake - Sarah Bailey
Gemma Woodstock series Book #1
3.5★

The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when a high school classmate is found strangled, her body floating in a lake. And not just any classmate, but Rosalind Ryan, whose beauty and inscrutability exerted a magnetic pull on Smithson High School, first during Rosalind's student years and then again when she returned to teach drama. As much as Rosalind's life was a mystery to Gemma when they were students together, her death presents even more of a puzzle. What made Rosalind quit her teaching job in Sydney and return to her hometown? Why did she live in a small, run-down apartment when her father was one of the town's richest men? And despite her many admirers, did anyone in the town truly know her?

DS Gemma Woodstock has a connection to Rosalind..the woman found dead in the lake. She is not at all thrilled about this turn of events as that is something she is desperate to hide. Dark Lake is a mystery with an interesting case as well as an interesting investigator who quickly becomes obsessed with solving it. It takes place in a rural town in Australia where everyone knows everyone and it seems that everyone has something to hide. Gemma is beginning to find that sometimes cases can really get too close to home. The only thing I found unbelievable about the characters was Gemma's son's father and their relationship. I just couldn't see a woman this strong willed falling for such a wimp. Otherwise a really good start to the series.

Paris By the Book – Liam Callanan
Digital audiobook read by Kim Bubbs
3***

From the book jacket: When eccentric novelist Robert Eady abruptly vanishes, he leaves behind his wife, Leah, their daughters, and, hidden in an unexpected place, plane tickets to Paris. Hoping to uncover clues – and her husband – Leah sets off for France with her girls. {There} she discovers an unfinished manuscript Robert had been writing without her knowledge … and that he had set it in Paris. Mother and daughters follow the path of the manuscript to a small, floundering English-language bookstore whose weary proprietor is eager to sell. Leah finds herself accepting the offer on the spot.

My reactions
I wanted to love this book. The author is from my home town, the beginning of the book is set in Milwaukee, and then the action moves to a city I love, Paris France. Plus, it’s a book about books. But …

I never really connected with these characters. I didn’t understand this great love between Robert and Leah. He was always given to these “disappearing” acts and it was clear to me (so why not to Leah?) that he had some significant mental and/or emotional health issues. Her continued grief and inability to move on just drove me crazy. On the other hand, I can only imagine how devastating this was for her, especially with two little girls who NEVER STOPPED looking for their Dad.

The twists and turns in the story gave me difficulty as well. It seemed all too convenient that they could suddenly get an extended visa, for example. I won’t mention other twists to avoid any spoilers.

Bottom line, it’s a splendid premise, has some great atmospheric scenes highlighting Paris, includes MANY book references, but didn’t live up to my expectations.

Kim Bubbs does a fine job narrating the audiobook. I could easily tell which character was speaking, and it moved at a satisfying pace.

The Fault in Our Stars / John Green

2016 Review:
3.5 stars

16-year old Hazel is fighting cancer and needs help to breathe via a machine. At a support group meeting (which bore Hazel to tears), she meets Gus. Gus is 17 and managed to fight off his cancer, though not without losing a leg first. This is their love story.

It was good, but I didn't find it anything special. I guess there was too much poetry and philosophy in it for my liking? I also didn't like Hazel's favourite author and could not, for the life of me, figure out why she liked that book so much! I wasn't surprised with how it turned out. What did surprise me is that I didn't cry. My favourite by John Green easily remains Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

2020 Review:
3.5 stars

Rating remains the same as the first time I read it, and my review could be pretty much the same. I listened to the audio this time and the narrator did a good job. I really wasn’t interested in the whole Peter Van Houten (author) storyline at all. Didn’t like the storyline, didn’t like the character. There was so much of that storyline in the book, unfortunately, that the book wasn’t great for me, either. I actually only remembered one thing from the first time I read it, and that was the beginning – how and where Hazel and Augustus met. Although part-way through, I either vaguely remembered, or just guessed (again) at how it might end.

Out of America / Keith B. Richburg
3.75 stars

The author is a black reporter, and in the early 1990s, represented The Washington Post in Africa. He was excited to go, to follow his “roots” in Africa. In his three years there, he experienced the civil war and famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the many corrupt authoritarian and dictator “governments”, kids in the streets bearing AK-47s. He thought about his African-ness vs his American-ness, and came home (as many reporters in Africa do) beaten down.

The first part of the book is more about his childhood. He grew up in inner-city Detroit in the 1960s and 70s. Initially, he was a minority in his neighbourhood, but that changed. While he continued to go to school with mostly white kids and had friends there, he hated choosing “sides” between his white school friends, and his black neighbourhood friends.

The book included specific chapters on Somalia and Rwanda, and later on, South Africa (and the relative success of the introduction of democracy there vs the mess of it in the rest of Africa). He also has lots of examples throughout the rest of the book on the health care and AIDS in Africa, and plenty on the politics and governments of various countries.

I found the country-specific chapters more interesting, as well as the health care one, rather than the political chapters. I think it was because there are just too many names to remember and who is related to which country/city, etc. I also found the author’s own thoughts and introspection on what he encountered in Africa and his own feelings about being black and being American vs having those African roots. I also found his own biographical details quite interesting.

The edition I read came out in 2009, though it was originally published in 1997. So, this one had an additional foreword, written shortly after Obama was elected president.

The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
4.5/5 stars
This is the amazing true story of the women animators that worked at the Disney studios and who influenced and participated in the filmmaking process of the animated films. They came from all backgrounds and did jobs that the men got paid more for doing but they persevered and were able to make an impact on the films they worked on. Interesting fact -I never knew that the book Bambi: A Life in the Woods was banned in Germany because it dealt with German antisemitism and it was written by a Jewish author. Highly recommended!

Beating about the Bush by M.C. Beaton
236 pages - ★ ★ ★ ★

A redeeming entry in the series! Agatha Raisin is hired to look into a case of industrial espionage. Add in a murdered secretary, a vindictive donkey, and a few other personalities - you've got a good mystery!

I liked this one. Agatha was toned down a bit, and her quest for a husband was also toned down. Maybe not a 4-star read, but better than the usual 3 or 3 1/2.

Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meter
Twilight Saga Book #4
4★

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved? To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

I had read this series with my niece when it first came out. Believe me that it takes some patience for readers who are not 14 to 15 year old girls to get to the last books. I remember how excited she was about each new addition and like 98% of her age group she loved Edward. Thought I'd visit the last book again since it was IMO the best of the set. it is a good story and a good series to read for anyone that wants to expand their reading experience. There are many opinions about the series and again it seems to be relevant to the age group. I believe that the author wanted to write a love story in the first book that was about the obsession of first love with some paranormal traits within it...and it was targeted towards younger girls It seems though as the series progressed she starting writing the story to the more mature audience as the characters grew and the audience expanded. As I said it was an enjoyable read and well worth the 4 stars,

The Violets of March - Sarah Jio
2★

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after. Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily's good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

The author uses the curious nature of wood violets which have bloomed on the island in an off-season to signal promise and redemption for the future. Great Aunt Bee tends and protects these flowers but actually the story is suppose to center more around the mysterious red velvet diary that Emily finds....but what it actually did was give me a list of unbelievable and seemingly impossible events. One or two would have been okay but there was t least a half dozen or more. For example...
1. Months worth of events were indicated to have occurred in three weeks time.
2. Emily meets someone...falls in love and gets engaged after three dates in three weeks...you have to bear in mind that she had just divorced the "love of your life". (her words, not mine)
3. Emily simultaneously dated two new men within that three week period and she hadn't seen one of them in ten years. (When did she find time to research her new book?)
4. The date on the letter from her grandmother was one day after her grandmother dies...and the list goes on. Name changes throughout were also confusing. I've read much better by Sarah Jio.

>5 BookConcierge: I am not from Minnesota but my husband's family is and I remember them talking about this blizzard.

The Armistice Day Blizzard Ranks #2 on the Minnesota State Climatology Office Top five weather events of the 20th century. Ask any Minnesotan born before 1940 and they can tell you where they were during the Armistice Day Blizzard. The weather was relatively benign the morning of the November 11, 1940.

The Devil Colony - James Rollins
Sigma Force series Book #7
4.5★

a novel of boundless imagination and meticulous research, a book that dares to answer a frightening question at the heart of America: Could the founding of the United States be based on a fundamental lie? The shocking truth lies hidden within the ruins of an impossibility, a lost colony of the Americas vanished in time and cursed into oblivion. A place known only as The Devil Colony.

The mysteries and excitement here... like the founding of America, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, the Native American peoples, the Book of Mormon, and nanotechnology are all plots that fit well into the Sigma story frame that fans of this series have come to expect and look forward to. There is a large number of side characters here that also takes some time to place them in their places and importance in the story. Overall I have to call it a very enjoyable read though it was a bit too long. On a side note I read that it took Rollins 2 years to write this novel...so...another winner in this series and a well earned 4.5 stars.

Not a book but a cute video about girls stuck at home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJM-u6IABGQ&authuser=0

>16 mnleona: .... It's interesting how certain events remain in our collective memories. However ... the book is about a blizzard in 1888, so I doubt your husband's relatives remember it directly, though they may remember stories they heard from their own older family members.

A Good Yarn – Debbie Macomber
Digital audiobook narrated by Linda Emond
3***

This is book two in the Blossom Street series, featuring Lydia Hoffman, owner of “A Good Yarn” in Seattle Washington, and the people who come to her store for knitting classes and form friendships as a result.

It’s a charming, easy read with an ensemble cast that includes teenagers and seniors, and every age in between. Happy marriages, divorces, dating scenarios, crushes, and disappointments. People struggle with financial ruin, job loss and major health issues. The reader shares their ups and downs, and it ends on a predictably upbeat note.

I haven’t read the first book in the series, though I have read other books by Macomber. They are all mind candy, comfort reads. Enjoy!

Linda Emond does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to voice and manages to keep them straight.

>18 JulieLill: That was precious!

Playing With Fire - Tess Gerritsen
5★

When violinist Julia Ansdell picked up the Incendio Waltz in a darkened antique shop in Rome, she knew it was a strikingly unusual composition. She uncovers a heart-stoppingly dark secret that not only dates back to the horrors of the Holocaust, but also involves a dangerously powerful family who would stop at nothing to keep Julia from bringing the truth to light.

While in Italy, Julia buys an old piece of sheet music titled Incendio by an L. Todesco, whom she’s never heard of. When she plays the composition at home in the U.S., Lily ...her 3 year old daughter...appears to go crazy...killing their cat...stabbing Julia in the leg with a shard of glass and causing her to fall down a flight of stairs. Does the music possess an evil quality? Or does the problem lie within Julia herself, as her husband, Rob, thinks? As Julia flies off to Italy to try and find out more about the piece of music...we switch time periods to 1940 to learn more about the composer. This is war-torn Italy and many dreams are not coming true for the people of this era...and such is the case for young Todescoa and the love of his life...Laura. As the two plot lines converge...people die...and Julia places herself and others in mortal danger. In fact the stakes are even higher than she ever imagined. My advise...clear your schedule and bring plenty of food with you when you start reading. You will not want to put it down.

The Christie Curse - Victoria Abbott
Book Collector Mystery series Book #1
4★

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?
Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans. Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls. Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?

I don't usually care for cozies but I really enjoyed this one. It features Jordan Kelly...a book researcher and the only one in her family without a criminal background. We meet...but don't love or admire in any way...Vera Van Alst. Vera is known to be rude and overbearing. Perhaps she has reason as an automobile accident has confined her to a wheelchair...or it could be that she is just rude, overbearing and obnoxious. The real ruler of the house is the cat...also not always lovable...but hey...it's a cat. All of the characters are well drawn and colorful. It was just plain entertaining and fun. A great start to this series and I will look for more.

American War / Omar El Akkad.
3 stars

It’s 2075. Tomboy Sarat (Sara T.) and her family live in Louisisana, one of the border states to the “Red”/Southern zone of the US. The Free Southern States are a group of only 4 states that are defying the order to not use fossil fuels. This will lead to the Second American Civil War. Not long before the war starts, Sarat’s father tries to get papers to travel north, but the building he is in is blown up. Sarat’s mother manages to get them on a bus heading to a refugeee camp in Georgia, one of the Red states.

I liked the first half, but I didn’t like Sarat as she grew up. I didn’t like her; I didn’t like the people she was associating with/learning from; I didn’t like the things she was doing. It was a bit boring for a portion after the refugee camp, where the focus of the book really was on the war. (Trying to stay away from spoilers!), it got slightly better for a bit, but I was confused toward the end. Not sure I liked the end, either. Overall, I’m considering it ok.

The World That We Knew
Alice Hoffman
4/5 stars
Set during WWII in France, Hanni, a mother knows she has to send her daughter Lea away before she is sent to a concentration camp. She pleas with her rabbi to help but he can’t. Overhearing the conversation, the rabbi’s daughter Ettie suggests bringing forth a golem that would protect her daughter. Ava is the created creature who will look over Lea and will travel with her to a school where they help to save their Jewish students and hopefully will protect her during the occupation. I enjoy Hoffman and she spins an interesting mystical tale that imbues a tragic part of history. A Book Set In A Time Or Place That You Wouldn't Want to Live

A True Cowboy Christmas – Caitlin Crews
3***

Gray Everett buries his father and immediately gets into an argument with his two younger brothers. They’ve both left the family ranch years ago while Gray has stayed and worked the land, securing the property for future generations of Everetts. But their cantankerous – okay, just plain mean and ornery – father left the property to the three boys, and Gray’s brothers want to sell to a big real estate developer and take the cash. So, Gray decides he needs a wife who will help him run the ranch, raise his daughter from his first marriage, and perhaps produce a few more kids to share the load in the future. And he asks his nearest neighbor, Abby, a “salt of the earth” kind of woman (who has secretly loved Gray since she was in second grade).

I was surprised by how entertaining I found this, despite some totally ridiculous dialogue. (Does anyone actually talk about “consummation” when planning their wedding?) The sex scenes were not too over the top, if setting unrealistic expectations for first-time virgin sex. But did everyone have to have a mother from hell? Gray’s mom, Becca’s mom and Abby’s mom were all bitter harridans.

I thought the miscommunication between Abby and Gray was belabored. Would have liked to see a more gradual coming-to-agreement, meeting-of-the-minds story arc rather than the abrupt “Come to Jesus (i.e. Christmas)” turnaround.

But hey, it’s a cowboy Christmas romance, so it’s okay. And I did like looking at that cover ….

We Were Liars – E. Lockheart
5★

A beautiful and distinguished family….A private island…A brilliant, damaged girl… a passionate, political boy…A group of four friends, the Liars whose friendship turns destructive…a revolution….an accident….a secret...lies upon lies…true love…the truth. Read it and if anyone asks you how it ends...just LIE.

The book is narrated by a 17 year old girl named Cadence. She was born into the Sinclair family, a wealthy family that must always appear in control of all situations. Throughout the story, Cadence is trying to recover her memory from the summer when she was 15. On that summer vacation an accident occurred that caused her to lose her memory. The story is written in a way that I found to be unique and interesting. It’s a love story… it’s a mystery…it’s a book that completely throws you off again and again. I was a little confused by Cadence throughout the story, but the twist at the end solved that and I found that I was really endeared to this young girl. It’s always nice to be surprised by a book and this one certainly did that...so 5 stars for a most enjoyable adventure.

>19 BookConcierge: I was referring to the 1940 blizzard my father-in-law remembered.

The Lace Reader / Brunonia Barry
4 stars

Sophya left home in Salem, Mass. for California a while back, and hasn’t returned... until now, when her elderly great-aunt, who, in-part, raised her, went missing. The women in her family have an ability to “read lace”, sort of like seeing a future. While home, Sophya, confronts her past, and her family’s past (including violence and abuse), while falling for a local police officer, though they are both a little bit socially awkward.

I had a bit of trouble with this at the start, as there were so many characters to figure out who was who and how they related to each other. Maybe half way through, I figured out the majority of them. There was a lot going on in this story and I didn’t even touch on most of it in my summary. I did like the storyline with Sophya and the cop. I also liked the setting of Salem – I’ve been there once, as a tourist, so it was fun to picture it. Overall, I really liked this. I was surprised at the ending and it’s one where I feel like I should go back and reread, knowing what I know now. (But, I never do... and if I ever did, there would likely be a big enough gap that I will have forgotten, anyway!).

News Of the World – Paulette Jiles
Book on CD performed by Grover Gardner
4****

Captain Jefferson Kidd is a 70-year-old widower who travels the small towns of Post-Civil-War Texas, reading the news to a paying audience hungry for information from foreign lands. In Wichita Falls, he’s approached by a man who has helped rescue a young girl – Johanna Leonberger – from the Kiowa tribe that has held her captive for some years. Kidd is asked to take Johanna with him, and return her to her relatives in the San Antonio area. Reluctantly, he agrees, though he knows the 400-mile journey will be fraught with peril.

Oh, I loved this tale, and the way Jiles portrayed these two central characters. Kidd is a principled man, a veteran of war, who may be elderly but still has his wits about him. Johanna is a wild child, who has forgotten English (and German), and speaks in the tonal language of her adopted tribe. She refuses to wear shoes, keeps trying to run away, is fearful and obstinate. But as they travel through this wild country, they come to trust one another. Kidd teaches her some English, and she carefully calls him “Kep-Dun” and comes to understand – and believe – him when he assures her that things are “all right.”

The decisions they must make are sometimes heart-breaking. The ways they support one another when facing various dangers and come to simply enjoy one another when things are going smoothly, paint a picture of love. There are some scenes that are quite comical, many that are tender, and quite a few that had me on the edge of my seat.

I particularly enjoyed the landscape of their journey. I’ve traveled many of these areas in my many trips to/from Texas to visit family. Oh, how I long to see the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush that color the hills come spring each year! This is the second book by Jiles that I’ve read, and I think I need to read more.

Grover Gardner did a marvelous job performing the audio. His somewhat gravelly voice was perfect for Captain Kidd, and he did a passable job of voicing Johanna as well.

Black House - Stephen King & Peter Straub
The Talisman series Book #2
3★

Twenty years ago, a boy named Jack Sawyer traveled to a parallel universe called the Territories to save his mother and her Territories “Twinner” from an agonizing death that would have brought cataclysm to the other world. Now Jack is a retired Los Angeles homicide detective living in the nearly nonexistent hamlet of Tamarack, Wisconsin. He has no recollection of his adventures in the Territories, and was compelled to leave the police force when an odd, happenstance event threatened to awaken those memories. When a series of gruesome murders occur in western Wisconsin that are reminiscent of those committed several decades ago by a madman named Albert Fish, the killer is dubbed “the Fishman,” and Jack’s buddy, the local chief of police, begs Jack to help the inexperienced force find him. But are these new killings merely the work of a disturbed individual, or has a mysterious and malignant force been unleashed in this quiet town? What causes Jack’s inexplicable waking dreams—if that is what they are—of robins’ eggs and red feathers? It’s almost as if someone is trying to tell him something. As this cryptic message becomes increasingly impossible to ignore, Jack is drawn back to the Territories and to his own hidden past, where he may find the soul-strength to enter a terrifying house at the end of a deserted tract of forest, there to encounter the obscene and ferocious evils sheltered within it.

I've always considered Stephen King as the ultimate "Master of Horror". Team the Master up with Peter Straub ...another noteworthy horror writer and you should have a winner..right? Unfortunately Black House just falls short. The killer is perverse,but not frightening at all. Actually he is more comical than ominous, and his thoughts read more like mischievous adolescent rage than visions in a psychotic mind. The fact that he is not in complete control of the evil occurring throughout the county also diminishes his character’s powers as evil. Overall The plot is predictable and the characters have neither the fear-factor of the clown from It, nor the sheer evil presence of Tak from Desperation. Even the dead cat from Pet Sematary had more punch. I expected more from these two authors. Worth 3 stars but no more IMO.

Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
Digital audiobook performed by Dan Butler
4****

A classic of gay literature explores the coming of age of a young American living in Paris in the 1950s. Torn between his fiancé and the bartender he meets and comes to love, David struggles to find a way to be true to himself.

I don’t know how I came across this little gem of a novel. But I’m so glad I’ve read it. Baldwin’s writing is evocative and atmospheric. His characters are well drawn and reveal their strengths and weaknesses through their thoughts and actions. I did think the dialogue was a little stilted, especially between Hella and David, but then I suppose it would be, as these characters (particularly David) are trained to be circumspect about such things. And David has spent so much of his young life hiding the truth from others, and, more importantly, from himself.

The tragedy that unfolds as a result of all this duplicity is perhaps inevitable, but still breaks my heart. I feel for all these characters as their dreams and aspirations are slowly destroyed. I think Hella will find her way; her eyes have been opened and she’ll be more cautious next time, but she’ll find love again. But David? I worry for David. I wonder what is next for him as the novel closes, and I can’t seem to imagine a happy ending. But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps he’s learned something valuable about being honest with himself and others. Perhaps he’ll get another chance to love honestly and find happiness. In today’s environment, certainly that could happen. In the 1950s?

Dan Butler does a superb job of reading the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gave a nuanced and empathetic performance.

A Cast of Killers / Sydney D. Kirkpatrick
3.5 stars

In 1967, movie director King Vidal decided he wanted to make a movie about the 1922 murder of a silent film director William Desmond Taylor. The murder was never solved. So, Vidal started doing his own investigating. Prime suspects, at least in the media, included actresses Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Minter, as well as Minter’s mother, Charlotte Shelby. Vidal looked at media, police reports, and did many interviews (of people involved who were still alive). Vidal never made his movie, so Sydney Kirkpatrick took a look at Vidal’s notes to write this book.

It was mostly interesting, but there were still dry parts in the book, so I did lose focus occasionally – although that may also be, in part, due to plenty of things on my mind. The book also includes biographical information on many of the main “players”. I’ve only read one other book that included info about this murder – have to admit, I don’t recall if there were any theories in that book, but this one certainly sounds quite plausible to me.

Blackberry Wine - Joanne Harris
4★

Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet. There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

What a charming fairy tale for grown-ups! It comes complete with elements of fantasies... a house in the French countryside...potions and healers with the power to transform...love everlasting even if often is not entirely convincing. There were only a couple of things that were slightly annoying but not overwhelming. The narrator was a bottle of wine...you don't have to go back and reread that...it was indeed a bottle of blackberry wine...and the end of the book is a little unbelievable. The recluse harbors a dark secret which comes out of the blue. Overall it was certainly an intriguing way to present he story.

Let It Snow – Nancy Thayer
3***

From the book jacket: A Nantucket shopkeeper discovers that Christmas is the perfect occasion to make unexpected friendships … to warm the coldest of hearts … and maybe even find love.

My reactions:
Thayer writes a lovely, quick romance set against a charming backdrop of Christmas in Nantucket. The characters are mostly straight out of central casting: cute-as-a-button, precocious kid; gruff, miserly millionaire; salt-of-the-earth friends who rally round; handsome, scion of wealthy family who just wants to love and be loved for himself; scrappy small business owner with a heart of gold.

But I’m not complaining. I read these books because they are comfort food. I know exactly what I’m in for and I’m happy to get it.

The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell
5★

Be careful who you let in. Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am. She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them. Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

Lisa Jewell has been a favorite author of mine since I first read "The Girl In The Garden" and "Then She Was Gone"... both excellent works...but I believe she may have out-done herself with "The Family Upstairs". It will kept you guessing throughout the story. Every time you think that you have established a connection or figured out an identity...guess again. I also loved the concept of the creepy house where people died and all of its surrounding mystery. There is plenty of suspense and atmosphere with characters that you can both love and hate... sometimes at the same time. Overall it reads as part psychological thriller...part domestic drama, with a side of horror thrown in. If creepy houses...mysterious deaths... and dark family secrets pique your curiosity, then this one is a must-read for you.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict – Laurie Viera Rigler
Digital audiobook narrated by Orlagh Cassidy.
2**

From the book jacketAfter nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and find herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom, or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy? Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman, and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer.

My reactions
I should have read the book jacket and put the book aside. This was just ridiculous on so many levels, and Courtney was a total idiot whom I wanted to slap on about every other page.

Okay, at least Rigler disabused fans of the Regency era of some of their more romantic notions with some in-your-face reality (outdoor privy, chamber pots, body odor, greasy hair, etc). The plot line was mildly entertaining, and played with time travel, identity and memory. The reader is asked to believe that Courtney has really become Jane Mansfield and that NO ONE in her circle realizes she is really a different person in Jane’s body.

Oh well, it was a fast read (or listen).

Orlagh Cassidy does a great job despite the poor material. I’ve listened to several of her narrations and come to appreciate her gift for narration. She really brings the characters to life.

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
Raven Cycle series Book #1
2.5★

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her. His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

The story has some interesting moments and there really is nothing wrong with it...except that I am not 13 years old and I really didn't get the point of most of it. I knew it was YA when I picked it up...but that didn't matter at the time. I have read and really liked many books marked YA...Harry Potter in point. I truly believe that Stiefvater is capable of writing and telling a story. It's just that this is not a story that will appeal to very many adults.

>37 BookConcierge: Aw, I enjoyed this one!

Where the Wild Things Bite
Molly Harper
3.5/5 stars
Due to the library being closed, my choices of books are limited. I had picked this book up off the free shelf at the library before it closed and it did meet the criteria of my book challenge. While this book will never will win a Pulitzer, I was thoroughly entertained about this story of a rare book expert, Anna who was to deliver a book to her client knowing that this book on the undead was highly prized by many people. While she took precautions on her plane trip she did not realize that a vampire, Finn Palmeroy was following her to try and steal the book. She also did not realize the pilot was also was trying to steal it until he crashed the plane. Finn and Anna survive the plane crash, only to be stuck in the middle of nowhere and they have to rely on each other when they soon realize others are after them.

Hands Like Clouds / Mark Zuehlke
3 stars

Elias is the coroner in the small town of Tofino, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. When a local environmentalist/activist (or “ecoterrorist”) is found hanging from a tree, the initial thought is suicide, but Elias quickly figures out that Ian was strangled before he was hung. The local RCMP, though, is busy preparing for a US Senator to tour the area, looking at the ancient rainforest (and the already clear-cut sections) that the logging companies want to continue to raze.

Especially with the environmental angle, I had hoped this would draw me in more. The mystery itself was interesting, but the characters weren’t as much so – at least to me – until at least the second half of the book. Zuehlke puts a lot of description in the book, which does paint a clear picture of Vancouver Island, but it’s a bit too much for me, overall. I did love the setting, though.

You Will Pay - Lisa Jackson
2.5★

Deadly secrets of a long-ago summer stir to life once more. It starts as a prank—a way to blow off steam after a long summer at Camp Horseshoe. Among the teen counselors, tensions and hormones are running high. No wonder the others agree when Jo-Beth Chancellor suggests they scare Monica O’Neal a little . . . or a lot. Monica has it coming, and no one will really get hurt. What could go wrong? Everything.

Sounds from the description that it's another good one by this author...however I think Lisa Jackson must have been on vacation and this was written by a ghost writer. The first part of this book was like watching paint dry. No action to speak of...and no suspense. Each new character reviews the story from the viewpoint of the main character in the chapter. Same thing over an over. There were red herrings galore and off center plot lines that went absolutely nowhere. The premise was good but it just failed to carry through. Never had a Lisa Jackson book quiet like this one.

Planting Stories – Anika Aldamuy Denise
Illustrations by Paola Escobar
5***** and a ❤

Subtitle: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré.

This picture book biography is marvelously illustrated by Paola Escobar. I can practically hear the noise of the ferries, traffic, sewing machines, and the laughter of children entertained by Belpré’s puppet shows.

I loved the story, which is simple enough for children to absorb, but detailed enough to engage an adult. I practically appreciated the author’s note which delves a bit deeper into Belpré’s extraordinary influence.

>39 LibraryCin: Your initial review may have been why I put this on my TBR, Cindy. LOL Oh well ... different strokes

>44 BookConcierge: Ah, true...

An American Marriage – Tayari Jones
Book on CD performed by Sean Crisden and Eisa Davis..
4****

A young couple are on their way to success and, just over a year into their marriage, contemplating beginning a family, when the unforeseeable happens. Torn apart by racial injustice, they struggle to maintain the promise of their relationship.

I think it would be a great choice for a book-club. There are so many issues to discuss:
Can America tolerate an upwardly mobile African American couple? How do parental expectations influence our adult selves? Is a personal goal more important than a shared dream? Is it reasonable to expect a seemingly strong relationship to survive a forced separation of several years? What’s the meaning of “faithful”? Is an omission a lie?

This is a marvelous character-driven study of relationships, in the broader context of modern society’s inability to grant a Black man the basic premise of “innocent until proven guilty.” Despite this great injustice, the central focus is really the characters’ lack of communication and honesty with one another.

I admit my loyalties alternated between Celestial and Roy, though ultimately, I think I’m in Roy’s camp. The person I didn’t understand or sympathize with at all was Andre. I liked that Jones gave us two sets of parents who were dedicated to one another, and to their children. And that she introduced the “biological” vs “actual” parent dichotomy.

The audiobook is performed by two talented voice artists: Sean Crisden and Eisa Davis. This made it easy to follow the changing points of view, though I thought there should have been a third narrator for Andre’s chapters.

Sticks & Stones - Madeleine Urban
Cut & Run Series Book #2
5★

Six months after nearly losing their lives to a serial killer in New York City, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are suffering through something almost as frightening: the monotony of desk duty. When they're ordered to take a vacation for the good of everyone's sanity, Ty bites the bullet and takes Zane home with him to West Virginia, hoping the peace and quiet of the mountains will give them the chance to explore the explosive attraction they've so far been unable to reconcile with their professional partnership. Ty and Zane, along with Ty's father and brother, head up into the Appalachian mountains for a nice, relaxing hike deep into the woods... where no one will hear them scream. They find themselves facing danger from all directions: unpredictable weather, the unrelenting mountains, wild animals, fellow hikers with nothing to lose, and the most terrifying challenge of all. Each other.

I started this series some time ago and had actually read this book but it had been so long ago that wanted to reconnect with the characters. And what characters they are! The tough... hard working,...chance taking...FBI agents with hearts as big as Zane's native Texas. What a pair! Along with being those FBI Special Agents..they are also two partners that want to be more than working partners. A trip to Ty Grady's home in West Virginia allows the reader to meet the family that shaped Ty into the reliable...willing to die for his country and those that he loves man that he is in both his professional and personal life. The series is not going to be for everyone but you just can't help falling in love with these two. The biggest question in this episode of their lives is can they survive the "vacation from Hell" and can they survive one another?

The Brideship Wife / Leslie Howard
4 stars

It’s the mid-19th century, and Charlotte, at 21-years old, is desperate to find a husband. Well, she isn’t that excited about it, but her sister and brother-in-law, high society people, are insisting. The match they want her to make, however, is a jerk, to put it mildly. But, Charlotte doesn’t have a lot of options, until she finds out about a “brideship”. England is sending unmarried women to the colonies in the New World, specifically to Vancouver Island and British Columbia, in what would later become Canada, to provide the men there with potential wives. Although Charlotte is initially hesitant, she ends up on one of the ships...

I really liked this. I liked Charlotte – she is more independent than many women at the time, I think – certainly those of her social class. Although quick to read is nice, I did feel like the book could have gone into more detail/spent more time on many of the topics.

As I always hope for, the author did include a note at the end where she talks about where she learned of many of the issues she covered in the book, including treatment of women, social classes, smallpox in the Native population, the gold rush towns in BC, the culture in those towns, as well as the tendency toward fire in the buildings, and more. She also provided a master list (can’t think of what it’s called) of actual women who sailed on one of the brideships (she used many of the names). Many of the things that happened in the book were events happened to someone in real life.

Flat Broke With Two Goats - Jennifer McGaha
4★

When life gets your goat, bring in the herd! Jennifer McGaha never expected to own a goat named Merle. Or to be setting Merle up on dates and naming his doeling Merlene. She didn't expect to be buying organic yogurt for her chickens. She never thought she would be pulling camouflage carpet off her ceiling or rescuing opossums from her barn and calling it "date night." Most importantly, Jennifer never thought she would only have $4.57 in her bank account. When Jennifer discovered that she and her husband owed back taxes―a lot of back taxes―her world changed. Now desperate to save money, they foreclosed on their beloved suburban home and moved their family to a one-hundred-year-old cabin in a North Carolina holler. Soon enough, Jennifer's life began to more closely resemble her Appalachian ancestors than her upper-middle-class upbringing. But what started as a last-ditch effort to settle debts became a journey that revealed both the joys and challenges of living close to the land. Told with bold wit, unflinching honesty, and a firm foot in the traditions of Appalachia, Flat Broke with Two Goats blends stories of homesteading with the journey of two people rediscovering the true meaning of home.

It wasn't that the couple wanted to raise goats or that they wanted to live in the woods of North Carolina...it was the six figure tax debt on their suburban home that they were buying from a friend that that lead then to the cabin in the North Carolina woods. Her upbeat and sometimes funny memoir follows the couple and their two dogs into a situation that was less than ideal. The house wasn't ever going to be featured in Better Homes & Gardens. It was filled with the pungent odor of mold..., had green camouflage carpet “on the ceiling,”...a barely functioning bathroom...which she thanked the Housing Gods was at least indoors...countless mice... and a constant influx of snakes attracted by those countless mice. To make matter worse...if that was even possible...her husband had outright lied to her about their financial situation...so she achieved some happiness with the purchase of a few goats and chickens. She learned how to make goat cheese...breed the goats, with only a few misadventures along the way. The narrative often rambles...and there is a long section about her life with her abusive first husband. She glosses over some of the deeper problems that she and her husband created for themselves. There are recipes in the book if anyone is longing for a bowl of Crock-Pot goat milk soap, which involves “9.56 ounces 100 percent pure lye” and some unspecified “protective gear.” It's sad...it thought provoking...its sometimes funny. It diffidently made this reader glad to only be reading about it and not in any way experiencing it.

As Nature Made Him – John Colapinto
5*****

Subtitle: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Girl

From the book jacket: In 1967, after a baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment. On the advice of a renowned expert in gender identity and sexual reassignment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the boy was surgically altered to live as a girl. This landmark case, initially reported to be a complete success, seemed all the more remarkable since the child had been born an identical twin: his uninjured brother, raised as a boy, provided to the experiment the perfect matched control.

My reactions
This made me so angry! It’s been a week since I finished it and I thought I had calmed down, but just typing that synopsis from the book jacket stirred those embers in me. The unmitigated arrogance and superior attitude of Dr John Money made me want to hunt him down and do an experiment on HIM! (But he died in 2006…)

In writing the book, Colapinto did an excellent job of researching the various players in this tragedy. He provides considerable background on the development of sexual/gender identity theory, including interviews with many researchers and reporting from numerous professional journals. He gained the trust of David Reimer, his parents and brother and had extensive interviews with them, as well as with childhood friends, teachers and physicians who treated the boys. I think the book is balanced and truthful. I applaud David Reimer for the way he manages to survive the horror that was his childhood. (Note: I could not help but look up the case on the internet, which is how I discovered that Money died in 2006, but also learned that both David and his brother committed suicide.)

>50 BookConcierge: This man should have been hunted down and faced disbarment at the least... from the medical profession. Good grief...do you wonder that there are so many people that don't trust doctors...they think they are Gods. I fully understand your feelings on this man.

Ahab’s Wife: or, the Star-Gazer – Sena Jeter Neslund
4****

Opening line: Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last.

Melville’s classic Moby Dick contains perhaps three or four sentences that reference Ahab’s wife – “… not three-voyages wedded – a sweet, resigned girl…” – but those brief references were enough to inspire Neslund to write this tome.

Una is a marvelous character: intelligent, forthright, adventurous, eager to learn, ready to work, open to new ideas, questioning of the status quo, tenacious, principled, loyal and loving. Neslund takes her from her childhood in Kentucky, raised in a remote cabin near the Ohio River, by a God-fearing man who will beat the Lord into his daughter if necessary, and a devoted mother who will ensure her child’s safety, to her later years in Massachusetts. Along the way she encounters a wonderful cast of colorful characters – from her Aunt and Uncle, to the young men she is courted by, to the sailors / whalers she comes to admire, and the neighbors who form her “family” in Nantucket and ‘Sconset (including Mary Starbuck, wife of Ahab’s first mate).

Neslund fills the novel with details of life in 19th century America:. the difficulties of a winter in a small Kentucky cabin, the excitement (and terror) of sailing on a whaling vessel, the tragedy of slavery, the joy of intellectual pursuits, the dangers of childbirth, and the quiet peace of a happy home.

But make no mistake, the story is Una’s, first and foremost.

Stone Cold - David Baldacci
Camel Club series Book #3
4.5★

Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington D.C., the club has won over some allies, but it has also made some formidable enemies. Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is the greatest con artist of her generation. As an old, powerful mark hunts her down and the Camel Club tries to protect her, a new opponent suddenly arises. One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past turn up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, he's a loving father and husband who uses his skills to keep America safe. But Finn is also an unstoppable killer who now sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Harry Finn, Stone may well have met his match.

This is a series that is certainly without a doubt is "character driven". These three unlikely super heroes led by Oliver Stone...who has huge secrets of his own...reach out...attach themselves, and grow on you with every addition of this series. This episode of the Camel Club concludes some things that desperately needed to be concluded and at least one that defiantly didn't...came out of the blue...and will change the atmosphere of the remaining two books. I'm upset with David Baldacci over his choice here...but then I'm not an influence for his choices. I'll read the next two books and hope that he comes up with something redeeming.

Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
5/5 stars
Janie Crawford is a mixed race daughter whose mother ran off and who was eventually raised by her grandmother. Life is not easy for Janie. She is forced to marry one man, and then eventually runs off with another man. Neither of them had treated her with respect. It was not until she meets the love of her life, Tea Cake that she feels loved. They eventually take off to Florida to make a life for themselves but fate has other plans for Janie. I have never read this Hurston book before but I did enjoy this story and would read more of her books. It never won any prizes and did not do well until later in the 1970’s when there was a call for more African American books and literature books.

Blue Asylum – Kathy Hepinstall
2**

As the United States fights a Civil War, Iris Dunleavy wages a battle at her Virginia plantation home against her husband’s tyranny. As a result, she is “convicted of madness,” and is sent to an island asylum off the coast of Florida.

I wanted to like this. I thought the premise was interesting and that there would be some opportunity to learn more about the issues of the time, especially as it concerned treatment of the mentally ill. But I was sorely disappointed.

Hepinstall populates the novel with a wide array of characters: Dr. Cowell, who prides himself on running such a “modern” asylum; the matron, obviously modeled on Nurse Ratched; Wendell, the doctor’s pubescent son; Mary, the doctor’s wife who is more neurotic and needy than most of the patients; the chef, who has befriended Wendell; Ambrose, a confederate officer suffering from PTSD; and various other patients, from the charmingly odd to the deranged and violent. The doctor’s wife was a wasted opportunity. She floats in and out of the novel, much as she must float in and out her of laudanum-induced haze. Poor confused Wendell spends more time masturbating and hiding in the swamp than interacting with the characters; still, he plays a pivotal role.

There are a few positives. Iris is (mostly) a strong female lead character. If she occasionally acts against her own best interests, well, I think that’s easily understood given her circumstances. But her decisions and behavior in the last few chapters are just ridiculous. One moment she seems to have some sense of self-preservation and is thinking along those lines, the next she’s throwing caution to the winds and behaving in a manner that is sure to attract unwanted attention.

Perhaps Hepinstall was trying to give the reader a sense of the disorientation a truly sane person must feel in such a mandated confinement. If that was her intention, then she mostly succeeded. But, like Iris, I just wanted to escape.

>54 JulieLill: .... JulieLill, I loved this book. The audiobook is read by the incomparable Ruby Dee and she does a marvelous job! Makes the dialect easier to comprehend, I think.

>56 BookConcierge: Wow- that would be interesting to hear Ruby Dee narrate that book. I had to look up and see if Dee was still alive but she died in 2014 at the ripe old age of 91.

Fish & Chips - Madeleine Urban
Cut & Run Series Book #3
5★

These two agents...Ty and Zane... are intoxicating and addictive. I believe that of the of the 2 books that I have read, this is the most light hearted of them and a bit more comical. Not that being stuck in the middle of the ocean on a fancy cruise ship with people trying to kill you can be considered light hearted in any way. The guys are becoming more comfortable with one another...they play off of one another but underneath they are both terrified that they will do something to upset the balance of their delicate new relationship. There is a slight mystery and an antique racket going on for them to investigate...but in the end they just want to explore the next twist in their new situation. It's a good series...a fast read...but not for everyone.

Pies and Prejudice – Ellery Adams
Digital audiobook performed by C.S.E. Cooney
2**

First in the “Charmed Pie Shoppe” mystery series

From the book jacket When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LeFaye bakes pie. So, when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flaky crust. But her pies aren’t just delicious, they’re also having magical effects on the people who eat them – and the public is hungry for more. Having discovered her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae…. (opens) the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But when her old nemesis, Loralyn’s fiancé is found dead – killed with Ella Mae’s rolling pin – it’ll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.

My reactions:
I’ve been drawn to this basic premise – food’s magical qualities – since reading Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices. That predilection was reinforced by Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Joanne Harris’s Chocolat. So I was sucked in by the promise of the magical qualities of Ella Mae’s pies, as well as previous good experience reading another series by Adams. But I was sorely disappointed.

As cozies go, this is a pretty decent premise. And Adams populates the book with an interesting array of charmingly eccentric characters, even if they are all out of central casting. But the “woo-woo” element just got away from her. Ella Mae is so completely clueless about her gifts as to make it completely unbelievable. The melodrama is way over the top. And the murder mystery plot is just a mess.

I finished because I needed a challenge book for a genre I usually avoid – witches. And I’ll torture myself with more from the series for the same reason. But I really don’t recommend them. I prefer my books, even cozies, like my pies – less “charm” and more filling.

C.S.E. Cooney is not a narrator I’ve come across before. She does a reasonably good job of performing the audio. Though I do think her Southern accent is a bit over-the-top. Still, her pace is good and her diction is clear (a real plus as I listened at double speed).

So I've finished the NOs(Bad Deed & Exit) and so it's on to finishing Tear it Down by Nick Petrie and Obsession in Death by J D Robb and starting The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz and Memory Man by David Baldacci

Go Down Together: The True Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde / Jeff Guinn.
4.25 stars

Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker (later known as “Bonnie and Clyde”) both grew up extremely poor in the slum of West Dallas, Texas. They both loved their families very much and visited as often as they possibly could, even while on the run. They knew they would die young, likely violently. They stole fancy cars, and robbed some small banks and small stores and gas stations, which really only gave them enough money for food and gas. They had very little left over, and mostly had to sleep in “their” car. When they had extra, they often brought it to their families.

I knew nothing of Clyde and Bonnie beyond their names and that they were criminals/gangsters on the run in (I thought) the 1920s (it was actually only for a couple of years in the early 1930s). This book was so well-researched. I feel like, if it’s not (it might already be), it should be the go-to book about the two of them. Their crimes did mostly start off as robberies and stealing cars, but in their haste to not get caught, there were shootouts and people got killed. There were a few other murders thrown in that weren’t part of shootouts, as well.

It was slow to read, but nonfiction often is. That being said, it was fascinating and I was interested all the way through. Now, there were multiple confrontations and shootouts, so I did get a few confused toward the end, and some of the criminals who came and went from the “Barrow Gang” also got a bit confusing, but overall, this was really good. There was also a section of photos included in the middle.

Divide & Conquer - Madeleine Urban
Cut & Run series Book #4
5★

Baltimore, Maryland, is a city in alarming distress. Rising violence is fanning the flames of public outrage, and all law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are catching blame. Thus the FBI's latest ideas to improve public relations: a municipal softball league and workshops for community leaders. But the new commitments just mean more time Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have to spend apart when they're happily exploring how to be more than by-the-book partners. Then the latest spate of crime explodes in their faces-literally-throwing the city, the Bureau, and Ty and Zane's volatile partnership both in and out of the office into chaos. They're hip-deep in trouble, trying to track down bombers and bank robbers in the dark with very few clues, and the only way to reach the light at the end of the tunnel together requires Ty and Zane to close their eyes.

The first book I read in this series...Sticks & Stones was loaned to me when I ran out of reading material a few weeks ago. My good friend loaned me the copy and said "Don't judge a book totally by the subject matter." I knew what he was referring to as he and his long-time partner had just gotten back together after a rough patch in their lives. He said he totally related to the character of Zane Grady. I totally believed him. Frankly I never expected to love these two characters..or for that matter the series thus far, as much as I have. It was a shot in the dark of something different. It isn't all sex as I suspected it would be... although there is plenty of that...but I was surprised how well the crime parts of it are written...how easy the story comes together and how much sense it all makes. He keeps feeding me books...I keep visiting with Ty and Zane. We are all happy campers....except that now I have to read out of order while he tracks down book #3. sigh

The Library of Lost and Found
Phaedra Patrick
4/5 stars
Martha Stewart has had a terrible life. She can't get the job she wants at the library. Her friends all use her as a doormat and she has a terrible relationship with her sister. One day she finds a book that has a very familiar story when she realizes it was a story that she once told. She tracks down the book and gets involved with the bookstore owner who found the book for her. Little by little Martha tracks down the mystery of her published story and in doing so she stands up for herself and meets the mystery author of her published book! I thought this was thoroughly enjoyable.

Montana Sky – Nora Roberts
Book on CD read by Erika Leigh
3***

Jack Mercy was a wealthy cattle rancher in Montana’s Big Sky country. At his death he left behind three daughters (each born from a different marriage), two ex-wives, and a ranch worth millions. Only his youngest daughter, Willa, had lived and worked on the ranch, and she’d never had any contact with her half-siblings: Tess, who’s a Hollywood scriptwriter, and Lily, a quiet and unassuming woman who is obviously running from someone. Now the three virtual strangers must live on the ranch for a year in order to inherit anything from the old man. Of course, there happened to be three unmarried men around, one for each of the sisters… Oh, and a psychopathic serial killer as well.

Oh, Nora, Nora, Nora. The romance was more than enough to hold our attention, with sibling rivalry and the push/pull attractions between the couples entertaining enough to keep even this curmudgeonly reader turning pages. And I did love picturing all those rippling muscles on the big, strong men! But that serial killer subplot! Totally unnecessary and drove me crazy. Still, I did enjoy this schlocky cowboy romance, even if some of the sex scenes prompted giggles.

Erika Leigh does a fine job narrating the audiobook. There are a lot of characters to handle and she was up to the task, though I thought her interpretation2 of housekeeper Bess and of the bad guy (you didn’t think I’d tell you who it is!) were a bit over-the-top.

>52 BookConcierge: I totally loved this book! I'm glad you did, too. It has stuck with me over the past few years. And that opening line. What a zinger.

Moonheart by Charles de Lint
5***** and a heart

When Sara and Jamie discovered the seemingly ordinary artifacts, they sensed the pull of a dim and distant place. A world of mists and forests, of ancient magics, mythical beings, ageless bards . . . and restless evil.

Where do I begin with this review of one of the most influential books in my life? It is splendid. I have read and re-read it for (literally) decades, and I always find something new in it. Whether it's the explanation of the magick that resides in music, to the idea of an Otherworld that exists next to our own, the chance finding of magical items, there are elements that continue to draw me in.

The basic premise is a house in Ottawa built by the grandfather of the current owner that is massive and takes up one entire city block. It houses Jamie Tams and his orphaned niece, Sara. They have an inheritance and run a little flea market where Sara finds some interesting artifacts in a box in the back. Concurrently, the local RCMP are running an operation looking into the paranormal, but behind those scenes is a rich, evil business man who craves absolute power.

Woven into this tale of music and mystery is the feud between the Welsh bard Taliesin, the druid he cast into stone before being set off across the Atlantic in a coracle, and the mythical beings who inhabit the New World, a seemingly ageless sorcerer's apprentice, and the Ottawa folk music scene, and the tale-telling abilities of a master story teller, and you have a classic urban fantasy.

Big Cherry Holler / Adriana Trigiani
3 stars

This is the second book in the series. Marginal *****SPOILER***** for the first book . Ave Maria and Jack have now been married for 8 years. They have a daughter, Ella, and lost a son 3 years ago. Jack is a coal miner, but he comes home one day to let Ave know that the mine will be shut down and he is out of a job. Put that together with the continued grief from the loss of their son, this puts an additional strain on their marriage.******END SPOILER******

It was ok. Not as good as the first one, in my opinion, particularly the first half. It picked up a bit in the second half, but I was annoyed with both Jack and Ave for much of the book. I am undecided on whether or not I’ll read the 3rd book... I probably will, anyway.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5*****

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six: The band's album "Aurora" came to define the rock 'n' roll era of the late seventies, and an entire generation of girls wanted to grow up to be Daisy. But no one knows the reason behind the group's split on the night of their final concert at Chicago Stadium on July 12, 1979 . . . until now.

Had this not been a gift from a friend, I don't know if I would have treated myself to it. And if I hadn't, I would have regretted my choice. Because it is an amazing, wonderful book. I was just on the young side of many of the supergroups from the 70's: I could enjoy their music on the radio but I was not old enough to attend many of their concerts. Still, it's the music I grew up with and it influence my life choices.

Reid captures the feel of a band in this gem of a book: the talent, the personalities, the struggles, and the interactions. It's not enough to just say "egos," it's also the interactions that take place under the stress of touring together with the high of playing in front of a live audience. She structures the book as a series of interviews with the members, manager, sound tech, and all those associated with a fictional 70's band. It is a brilliant way to bring this story to life in a way that is authentic to rock music of this era. Highly recommend it to appreciators of any music genre, especially those of use who lived through these times (or wondered about what it was like to live through them).

Stars & Stripes - Abigail Roux
Cut & Run series Book #6
5★

Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have managed the impossible: a few months of peace and quiet. After nearly a year of personal and professional turmoil, they're living together conflict-free, work is going smoothly, and they're both happy, healthy, and home every night before dark. But anyone who knows them knows that can’t possibly last. When an emergency call from home upsets the balance of their carefully arranged world, Ty and Zane must juggle family drama with a perplexing crime to save a helpless victim before time runs out. From the mountains of West Virginia to a remote Texas horse ranch harboring more than just livestock and childhood memories, Ty and Zane must face their fears—and their families—to overcome an unlikely enemy and bring peace back into their newly shared world.

Just when you think you have just read the best one in the series along comes another one that changes your mind completely. This one allows us to see more of Zane & Ty's families as the two leave Ty's family in the West Virginia mountains to go to Texas to help Zane's family when Zane's father is shot. We also see the two guys searching their hearts thinking about more of a life together and what it would mean for both of them both personally and professionally. The series is touching, romantic...and sometimes down right comical with the wit that can only be Ty and Zane. Looking forward to the next one.

The Only Road – Alexandra Diaz
Digital audiobook performed by Ramon de Ocampo.
5***** and a ❤

Twelve-year-old Jaime and his fifteen-year-old cousin, Angela, are forced to flee their Guatemalan village due to the Alpha gang’s terrorizing families in their area. Their families make the heart-wrenching decision to send the youngsters to America to live with Jaime’s older brother after Angela’s brother is killed by the gang for refusing to join. The novel details their harrowing journey through Mexico, where they encounter other gangs, as well as officials who do not want the refugees in their country.

It’s a powerful story and very well told. I loved these characters! The dangers they face include robbery, beatings, incarceration, hunger, lack of shelter, and various threats from both fellow refugees and local inhabitants they encounter on this 1,500-mile long journey. Having little more than a small bag of provisions, a sewing kit, some money sewn into the seams of their clothes, a crude map with some information on safe houses along the way, and Jaime’s sketchbook, they find in themselves courage, inventiveness, tenacity and compassion. A few of their fellow refugees have made the attempt before and they learn quickly from them a few tricks to be able to pass as Mexicans. Other fellow refugees turn out to be almost as dangerous as the gangs that control various territories they pass through. Despite the many dangers they face, they cling to hope and to the telephone number they’ve memorized – so they can call Jaime’s older brother if / when they make it across the border to the USA.

Because this is for the young adult market the book is probably less horrific that the realities, though it still alludes to the many dangers such refuges face. Threats of injury, dismemberment or death when boarding a moving train, for example. The possibility of assault and rape from gangs that “patrol” the tracks. The lack of food, water or shelter as they make their way through a desert landscape.

Ramon de Ocampo does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gives the young characters reasonably “young” voices. Diaz includes a number of Spanish words / phrases in the text (there is a glossary / dictionary at the back), and Ocampo’s pronunciation of Spanish is spot on. (Though I can’t really speak to whether he sounds Guatemalan vs Mexican.)

The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams by Lawrence Block
4****

Just to update you on Bernie. For nearly a year he's walked the straight and narrow and has coaxed his secondhand bookstore in New York's Greenwich Village into turning a small profit. He's even allowed a cat to move in, and struggled with nocturnal retirement. Then Borden Stoppelgard comes into Bernie's life. Not a nice man. Borden is Bernie's new landlord, and wants to increase the rent by ten thousand dollars--a month! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This was a really funny book. And you know, I know people like Bernie Rhodenbarr, with his strange, cynical sense of humor. They are good people and I think if I did not know real people, I may not have enjoyed this book as much as I did. And while it is one of a series, it works very well as a standalone.

It's NYC in the mid-90s so it is a slower paced world with people who make phone calls from pay phones and no internet. Bernie is a reformed burglar who is making a living off his low rent bookstore until his new landlord steps in. And lo and behold, the low rent is now going to be upped by $10K per month.

And then Bernie's burgling itch starts up that evening over drinks with his good friend and fellow small business owner, Carol. He really doesn't mean to, but he eventually winds up in an apartment where the rich older couple is in Europe for a while, and things happen. Like, jewelry and cash and, wait, why is this door locked? Oh. it is, and there's a dead guy in it. But the door only locks from the inside (an interesting look at burgling and the tools and the folks who are able to enter locked doors and drawers) and how did he get dead?

A cast of characters that border on the all-money-but-no-brains category ensures, some of whom are related to one another, and then there is the stolen baseball card collection and the reason for some cards being more valuable than others, and you get a funny and strangely twisted story of burgling and mayhem and a very strange ending.

The Fact of a Body / Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
3.5 stars

The author thought she wanted to be a lawyer. She had known since she was a child that she didn’t believe in the death penalty. When she took a position in a firm in Louisiana that defended people on death row, she was shown a video of a confession by Ricky Langley, a pedophile who murdered a 6-year old boy in 1992. She learned of the story just after his second trial that found him guilty of second degree murder, which took the death penalty off the table, although his original trial had put him on death row. The author then had to face her own family history, and writes in this book about both Ricky’s life and trials, as well as her looking back on her own life and confronting what had happened to her.

It took a bit at the start to get “into it”, as I couldn’t figure out where the two stories intersected, or why she went back and forth between the two. It’s a good thing she started each chapter with a place and year, as she did jump around quite a bit between time periods in both her and Ricky’s lives. It took me a while to get interested in her own story, particularly, but it did get more interesting as the book went on.

The Preacher’s Daughter – Beverly Lewis
Book on CD read by Aimee Lily
2**

From the book jacket: For Annie Zook, the only daughter of an Old order Amish preacher, the “Plain and simple life” is anything but plain and simple. She juggles conflicting desires and closely guarded secrets – a “fancy” friend, a secret room, and an unthinkable dream … while a long-ago mysterious disappearance weighs heavily on her heart.

My reactions
I think Lewis’s ambitions got away from her. There is just too much going on in this novel and none of if it satisfactorily explored. There’s that mysterious disappearance from the past, which is worthy of a novel all its own. Those events haunt not only Annie, but Zeke as well. Then there’s Zeke and Esther’s marriage difficulties, which would certainly make an interesting story. And the central story of the preacher’s daughter, Annie, who is pulled to expressing herself in painting, though it is forbidden, and who is encouraged by her English friend, Louisa (who is running for an all-but-arranged marriage).

I think Lewis does have a knack for exploring the Amish and Mennonite cultures, and contrasting their perspectives against those of modern-day America. I’m glad she gives voice to people who struggle with the basic tenets of faith and a way of life that may not completely suit them. This is the first in a series (“Annie’s People”) and I may read another.

I didn’t realize until I started the CD that it was an abridged version. Aimee Lily seems to do a good job, but I abandoned the audio for the text version so I could fill in the blanks left by the abridged audio.

>71 threadnsong: I love this series. Read it long ago, and I think I should re-read it now.

Seeing Voices / Oliver Sacks
3 stars

Oliver Sacks takes a look at deaf people in this book. There are three sections. The first one focuses on history (how deaf people were treated, communicated with (if at all), etc.), the second on the brain/psychology/science, and the third on deaf culture, with a focus on a deaf university.

It was ok. I don’t know anyone who is deaf, but I was always interested in sign language, at least from high school, when a friend and I got a book out of the library to try to teach ourselves. I later (15-20 years ago) did take an actual class. But, the book itself – some parts were interesting, particularly the culture/university section, but I found other parts quite dry (the middle section). The book is short; almost half of it is Notes.

Revolutionary Road
Richard Yates
4/5 stars
Set in the 1950’s Frank and April, a young couple with two children, live a dull life. When April discovers a new job opportunity in France for her that enables her to make a great deal of money, she convinces Frank that they should move there and he could watch the kids and look for a career he could enjoy. Unfortunately, April becomes pregnant and her dreams are shattered. Life returns to its normal stagnancy until April makes a shocking decision, changing all of their lives forever. For a book written in 1962, I thought this quite a shocking topic for the author to undertake but I had a hard time putting this down.

The Gown – Jennifer Robson
Digital audiobook narrated by Marissa Cailin
3.5***

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: A Novel of the Royal Wedding. Okay, maybe a bit more … not Charles & Diana; not William and Kate; not Harry and Meghan. No, this royal wedding is that of Elizabeth and Phillip

As has become almost de rigueur for historical fiction these days, Robson uses a dual timeline. Heather Mackenzie is in Toronto Canada in 2016 and is intrigued by the scrap of fabric with exquisitely detailed hand-embroidered flowers that she’s inherited from her grandmother. Her grandmother never talked about her early years in England. Turns out she was one of the crew of embroiderers tasked with decorating Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown. And the secrecy surrounding the design and work was every bit as intense as any modern-day royal wedding.

I really enjoyed the details of post-war London. Explanations of rationing and continued deprivations were handled seamlessly. I especially liked the friendship between Ann Hughes, the scrappy Brit, and Miriam Dessin, the French immigrant, and how they helped and supported one another. Robson even manages to include a bit about how some Jews were able to escape the Nazis.

I’m over this dual-timeline fad … just tell the story, PLEASE … which is why I give it three stars. Still, it captured and held my attention throughout. I look forward to my F2F book club discussion (when social distancing is over).

Marissa Cailin does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. She has many characters to handle and was able to give them sufficiently distinct voices so that I was never confused.

The Black Ice - Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch series Book #2
3.5★

Narcotics officer Cal Moore's orders were to look into the city's latest drug killing. Instead, he ends up in a motel room with a fatal bullet wound to the head and a suicide note stuffed in his back pocket. Working the case, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is reminded of the primal police rule he learned long ago: Don't look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together. Soon Harry's making some very dangerous connections, starting with a dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that wind from Hollywood Boulevard to the back alleys south of the border. Now this battle-scarred veteran will find himself in the center of a complex and deadly game-one in which he may be the next and likeliest victim.

The crime... if it even is one...is a puzzle that Harry Bosch intends to find the answer to...even it leads him to the police in Mexico, where it seems that he has worn out his welcome before he even arrives. The Mexican Police are not laying out the welcoming mat but they do content that it might be in their best interest to help him. The question that he carries with him is ..did narcotics officer Calexico Moore commit suicide? You'll have to read the book if you want the answer. I've read most of these books years ago but Harry Bosch is always a guy that is a real delight to re-visit anytime.

The Book of Joy / Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Abrams
3 stars

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams (who had collaborated with Tutu over a number of years) headed to India for the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday and to spend a week discussing joy and how to get there, and celebrating his birthday.

I’m not much into self-help books (this was a gift), but I enjoyed the relationship between Tutu and the Dalai Lama, the camaraderie, the humour. I loved the photos of them dancing, smiling, laughing. For those interested, there is a section at the back that includes meditations and ways that both religious leaders wind down and contemplate things. Overall, the book itself, for me, was ok.

>74 BookConcierge: I seem to remember the "Burglar Who" series being reviewed and read some years back. I was quite pleased at how much I liked this one. It worked as a standalone book which I like with my mystery series.

>77 BookConcierge: I know a woman who is a needlework teacher who is one of the embroiderer's of the Queen's gown. She is very proud of the hem she embroidered to this day, and is a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework in London. I'm glad to hear that embroidery made it into a modern-era book!

Isle of Dogs by Patricia Cornwell
4****

Chaos breaks loose when the governor of Virginia orders that speed traps be painted on all streets and highways, and warns that speeders will be caught by monitoring aircraft flying overhead. But the eccentric island of Tangier, fourteen miles off the coast of Virginia in Chesapeake Bay, responds by declaring war on its own state. Judy Hammer, newly installed as the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, and Andy Brazil, a state trooper and Hammer's right hand and confidant, find themselves at their wits' end as they try to protect the public from the politicians--and vice versa--in this pitch-perfect, darkly comic romp.

A quietly, darkly humorous take on the usual Dr. Kay Scarpetta investigative murder mysteries. And while most of the humor is not the "laugh out loud" variety (until Trip, the seeing-eye mini-horse comes on the scene), this book and its characters throw out many humorous instances even in the dark parts.

As is usual with Cornwall's books, there are several threads going around: a string of unsolved murders and mayhem; a psychopath or several; a woman at the top of the Police Department; and a political player who works every angle to secure his position.

Add to this the arrangement of a young police/investigative officer who has gone on an extended leave of absence in order to research subjects for a proposed "Trooper Truth" website (as was common in the early days of the internet), a nearly blind governor whose intestines are riddled with discomfort, and the independently-minded folk of the Island of Tangiers, right off the Virginia coast, and you have ingredients for a wry look at mayhem and the impossible happening just the way we always hope it would.