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

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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

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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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The Body in the Belfry: a Faith Fairchild mystery by Katherine Hall Page

19 Friday Apr 2019

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Ex-New Yorker Faith Fairchild copes not only with the culture shock of the Massachusetts village in which she, her minister husband, and their baby have settled, but also with the shock of finding a woman’s body in the church’s belfry.

“A humorous and entertaining addition to the murder-in-the-village genre.”—Booklist

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A Catalog of Birds by Laura Harrington

13 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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What makes a life worth living?  In these 259 pages, I dropped into upstate NY in the 70’s where small town life is simple and close to nature.  When the larger world rips a family and community apart, the author with sheer fierceness permits us to see and share the impossible.  “A marvel of a novel.”

“Stunning natural descriptions provide a rich backdrop for Harrington’s beautifully articulated coming-of-age story, which captures the pain of loved ones grappling with the after effects of war.”—Booklist (Starred)

“ … one of the great pleasures of reading A Catalog of Birds is that it’s as impossible to categorize as it is to put down. The smooth path of Nell’s life is interrupted by tragedy. Her best friend, Megan, disappears mysteriously, and her beloved brother, Billy, comes home from Vietnam severely injured. At once, the novel becomes a searing war story and a page-turning thriller.”
—The Washington Post

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The Kortelisy Escape by Leonard Rosen

05 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in Fiction, magic, mystery, suspense

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Rush to grab this moving, unlikely story narrated in alternating chapters by Grace, abandoned in foster homes her whole young life, and Nate Larson, her grandfather recently released from prison. Magic tricks, magic patter, and magic shows advance the mounting tension and enrich the larger questions concerning loyalty, love, and wonder. This is storytelling at its best and it takes place in our New England!

“A tender tale of loyalty, gratitude, and the healing power of magical wonder; Rosen’s gifted storytelling will appeal to readers beyond genre boundaries.” –Booklist

 “Nate Larson has been in federal prison in what the feds admit is a miscarriage of justice….The feds release him to take custody of his granddaughter, who, as an orphan, has gone into foster care. The hitch is that he must testify against his brother, Dima, who is suspected of child sex trafficking….Fourteen-year-old Grace Larson is stuck in “foster care hell” in Massachusetts, being shunted from one “rental parent” to another, some of whom sexually abuse her. So when a court order sends her to live with Nate, whom she doesn’t know, she is deeply suspicious. Nate shows her magic tricks he’s perfected during his confinement, leaving her slack-jawed with wonder…So whom to betray, his brother or granddaughter? Nate and Grace are both smart and deeply sympathetic people who have felt great pain in their lives. .. The story twists, turns, and—presto! A brilliant solution” – Kirkus Reviews

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Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

29 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in Biography, History, Non-fiction

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During World War II, Englishman Eddie Chapman is recruited by Germany to become a spy, only to turn himself in and become a double agent for England. This work of nonfiction contains characters as colorful as any in fiction. A true story that often seems too incredible to be real.

“Agent Zigzag is a true-history thriller, a real spy story superbly written. It belongs to my favorite genre: the ‘Friday night book’–start it then, because you will want to stay with it all weekend.” —Alan Furst

“A portrait of a man who double-crossed not only the Nazis, but just about every other principle and person he encountered. In doing so, Eddie Chapman made all thriller writers’ jobs harder, because this spy tale trumps any fiction.” —Men’s Journal

“Superb. Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving.”—John le Carré

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