Author Archives: Weston Public Library Staff

How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Biography, Uncategorized

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Sy is the author of the Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness and one of her best friends is Vicki Croke who wrote one of my favorite books, Elephant Company: the inspiring story of an unlikely hero and the animals who helped him save lives in World War.  I knew I was in for a treat.  Animals have so much to teach us about being better humans.

“How to Be a Good Creature is a rare jewel, full of empathy and the profound wisdom Sy has received from animals she has loved over her extraordinary lifetime. This sweet book is a triumphant masterpiece that I’m recommending to everyone.”—Stacey O’Brien, author of Wesley the Owl

“I don’t know anyone whose animal empathies and scientific bona fides I admire more than Montgomery’s—from the curiosity she holds for a tarantula to the tender longing she has for an octopus. Told with characteristic humility and gorgeous language, How to Be a Good Creature is a remarkable achievement.”—Eliot Schrefer, author of Endangered, a National Book Award finalist

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The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

21 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by in Fiction, murder and investigation, mystery

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This is a standalone title. Griffiths writes a couple of mystery series, including the popular Dr. Ruth Galloway series.

Her books are set in East Anglia and the landscape (urban settings in this title) are always a component of her work. Something that I particularly appreciated about this suspenseful book was its homage to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins — I want to re-read that now. Griffiths uses three narrators to tell the story, which works well, as the reader can see the blind spots and the different perspectives that each character/narrator has.

“Utterly bewitching. This atmospheric, intricate thriller, a pitch-perfect modern Gothic, chilled my blood and warmed my heart. As unforgettable as it is original.”—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

“My heart is still pounding after finishing Elly Griffiths’ The Stranger Diaries. As with her other books, this is fiercely intelligent, warm, human and at times, funny. But unlike her others, this is a stand-alone. Her first and I hope not her last. The Stranger Diaries picks up where the great Gothic thrillers of the past leave off.  At once a homage to that great literary form, and a re-imagining.  It is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense.  I loved this book!  And you will too.”—Louise Penny, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series

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Unto Us a Son is Given (Commissario Guido Brunetti) by Donna Leon

17 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Fiction, murder and investigation

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When an elderly family friend is urged to bequeath his fortune to a specific heir before suddenly dropping dead, Commissario Guido Brunetti untangles a disturbing mystery from the victim’s past.

“Hers is an unusually potent cocktail of atmosphere and event.”―New Yorker

“For those who know Venice, or want to, Brunetti is a well-versed escort to the nooks, crannies, moods, and idiosyncrasies of what residents call La Serenissima, the Serene One . . . Richly atmospheric, [Leon] introduces you to the Venice insiders know.”―USA Today

“Each year brings the delight of a new Commissario Guido Brunetti novel, and this twenty-eighth book featuring the ever-reflective Venetian detective does not disappoint . . . As always, the skillful Leon weaves deft plot threads . . . Along the way, murder and perfidy abound, providing Brunetti with numerous investigative challenges. Ultimately, Brunetti muses about the profound nature of family ties and the danger of family secrets, inviting readers to do likewise.”―Library Journal (starred review)

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Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

12 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by in Biography, memoir, Non-fiction

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In this page-turning memoir, therapist Lori Gottlieb describes her work helping patients, as well as her experience visiting a therapist. Gottlieb writes with humor and empathy about her patients and herself, and I became invested in all of her characters.

Now being developed as a television series with Eva Longoria and ABC!

*An O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2019*  

*A People Magazine Book of the Week*
*An Apple Best Books Pick for April*
*An April IndieNext Pick*
*A Book of the Month Club Selection*
*A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Book*
*A Newsday, Apple iBooks, Thrive Global, Refinery29,
and Book Riot Most Anticipated Book of 2019*

“An irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition.”–Kirkus, starred review

“Rarely have I read a book that challenged me to see myself in an entirely new light, and was at the same time laugh-out-loud funny and utterly absorbing.”–Katie Couric

“This is a daring, delightful, and transformative book.”–Arianna Huffington, Founder, Huffington Post and Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

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The Widows of Malabar Hill (A Perveen Mistry Novel) by Sujata Massey

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by in detective, Fiction, Historical Fiction, murder

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2019 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery: Winner and Top Pick
Winner of the 2019 Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel
Winner of the the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018
An ABA IndieNext Selection
A Washington Post Best Audiobook of 2018
A WBUR On Point Best Book of 2018

1920s Bombay,India: Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s only female lawyer, is investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the murderous.  Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India’s first female attorney, Perveen has experienced how women are silenced and following her sharp sleuthing instincts races to ensure that no innocent women or children are in danger. I can’t wait to read her next novel in the series,The Satapur Moonstone, available May 2019.

“A sneaky feminist masterpiece wrapped up in a cozy whodunit . . . just genius.”
—WBUR’s On Point

“I’ve been complaining for several years now that we don’t have enough competent female leads in mystery series, and Sujata Massey has delivered with The Widows of Malabar Hill. I was taken in by this Law and Order-esque tale set in lush, swing-era Bombay, and I loved seeing Perveen proceed with a cool head and a fiery heart. Readers looking for a strong female heroine, a vivid setting and a strange mystery will find it here.” —The News Tribune

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

28 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in murder, Non-fiction, True crime

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In 1972 Belfast, a woman named Jean McConville was taken from her home and never seen again, leaving behind her ten children; her body was eventually found in 2003. Journalist Patrick Radden Keefe uses this incident to highlight the larger story of Northern Ireland during the Troubles, focusing on figures like the Price sisters, Gerry Adams, and more. There is a local connection too, as Boston College became involved in the McConville murder investigation. This is a gripping work of nonfiction.

“[Keefe] incorporates a real-life whodunit into a moving, accessible account of the violence that has afflicted Northern Ireland… Tinged with immense sadness, this work never loses sight of the humanity of even those who committed horrible acts in support of what they believed in.”
—Publishers Weekly, *starred review*

“If it seems as if I’m reviewing a novel, it is because Say Nothing has lots of the qualities of good fiction, to the extent that I’m worried I’ll give too much away, and I’ll also forget that Jean McConville was a real person, as were–are–her children. And her abductors and killers. Keefe is a terrific storyteller. . .He brings his characters to real life. The book is cleverly structured. We follow people–victim, perpetrator, back to victim–leave them, forget about them, rejoin them decades later. It can be read as a detective story. . .What Keefe captures best, though, is the tragedy, the damage and waste, and the idea of moral injury. . .Say Nothing is an excellent account of the Troubles. —RODDY DOYLE, The New York Times Book Review

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The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay

20 Monday May 2019

Posted by in Fiction

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This debut novel kept me turning the pages sensing something ominous was going to happen but wondering just how this privileged, naïve girl from Bangalore on an unplanned trip to locate a long ago visitor to her family home would manage or fail traveling in the now volatile, dangerous mountains of Kashmir.  Frought with tension….well worth it.  Can’t wait for her next book!

“Vijay intertwines her story’s threads with dazzling skill. Dense, layered, impossible to pin—or put—down, her first novel is an engrossing tale of love and grief, politics and morality. Combining up-close character studies with finely plotted drama, this is a triumphant, transporting debut.”—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

 “Dazzling… Vijay’s prose is exquisite—florid and descriptive at times, spare and pared back at others. The story keeps twisting unexpectedly until the end, keeping emotions fraught, questions percolating. It’s a scintillating novel from a truly gifted writer.”—BOOKPAGE (STARRED REVIEW)

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Benediction by Kent Haruf

13 Monday May 2019

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A friend of mine said ”I have read this before.  But when I noticed my husband was reading it,  I decided to read it again. It’s the best thing I have read in a long time.”  Author of Plainsong and Eventide, Haruf returns to the small town of Holt, Colorado to have us sit by the bedside of terminally ill Dad Lewis and experience the strong ties that bind people to get through the hard times in life.  Enjoy a setting without the chaos and distractions that govern our lives today.

“Benediction suggests there’s no end to the stories Haruf can tell about Holt or to the tough, gorgeous language he can summon in the process.” —Paul Elie, The New York Times Book Review 

“Itself a blessing. . . spare and unencumbered. . . . Haruf’s great skill is in describing the plain ways of people who live in small places [and the war] going on between good and evil that we recognize as part of our nature. This is what makes Benediction a universal story, not a hometown tale.” —Michael D. Langan, The Buffalo News

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The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

03 Friday May 2019

Posted by in detective, Fiction, mystery

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This is the fourth in a series of popular police procedurals about Stockholm police superintendent Martin Beck, a likeable, flawed and deeply human police detective.  In this story Beck seeks the murderer of nine passengers on a Stockholm bus, one of whom was his best detective.

“A tantalizing, intricate tale.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Sjöwall and Wahlöö write unsparingly and unswervingly. . . . Their plots are second to none.”—Val McDermid

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Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

26 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in Fiction, murder and investigation, suspense, thriller

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A family from Korea moves to a small town in Virginia, where they open and operate a small medical treatment facility. When an explosion at the facility kills two people, many of the community’s residents become involved in the subsequent trial. The book is part mystery, part legal drama, while also exploring the lives and motivations of its central characters. This was a well written page-turner that reminded me of Ann Patchett’s books.

A Barnes and Noble Bestseller
An IndieNext Pick
An April 2019 LibraryReads Selection
An April 2019 Book of the Month Club Selection
An Amazon Editors’ Pick
A Best New Book at People Magazine

A Most Anticipated Book of 2019: BuzzFeed, AppleBooks, Refinery29, CrimeReads, Electric Literature, Nylon, The Millions, BookRiot and more; named one of 10 Best Books to Read in Spring 2019 in The Saturday Evening Post; one of Southern Living‘s Best Books of Spring 2019

“Kim effectively uses her background as a trial lawyer, skillfully crafting her narrative by interweaving the stories of her characters, each of whom speak for themselves as the story progresses toward a surprise ending. With touches of mystery, legal thriller, and character-driven storytelling, where nothing is ever quite as it seems, Kim’s promising debut will certainly have readers looking forward to her next offering.” ―Library Journal (starred review)

 “A deeply moving story about parents and the lengths they will go for their children . . . readers will be riveted by the book’s genre-bending structure and superb pace. Miracle Creek is a stunning debut about parents, children and the unwavering hope of a better life, even when all hope seems lost.” ―Jung Yun, The Washington Post

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