The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

26 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Fiction, murder, mystery

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This is debut novel with punch!  Detective Gemma Woodstock seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the victim, a former classmate, and you don’t know why. She seems jealous of Rosalind’s beauty and sense of mystery which has a kind of magnetism on people which Gemma feels she lacks and the train-wreck of her own life reflects. As the secrets of this small Australian town are revealed, her partner and boss sense Gemma has deeper connections to the murder victim, more than adrmissible…but when Gemma falls into the sights of the murderer, nothing will keep her from the satisfying pursuit to its end. For readers who enjoy Tana French and Lisa Gardiner –  a new writer to follow.

“Police work comes easily to Det. Sgt. Gemma Woodstock, the narrator of Australian author Bailey’s stellar first novel…Bailey interweaves her sympathetic protagonist’s past and present with uncommon assurance…a page-turner that’s both tense and thought provoking.”―Publishers Weekly

“The Dark Lake is a mesmerizing thriller full of long buried secrets that sucked me right in and kept me up late turning pages. Gemma Woodstock is a richly flawed and completely authentic character – I loved going on this journey with her and the way the truth of her past was revealed in bits and pieces as we went along. Sarah Bailey has crafted an exquisite debut – I can’t wait to see what she does next!”―Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People

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Once We Were Sisters: A Memoir by Sheila Kohler

19 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Biography, Travel

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On the first page in the first one hundred words, the author has given the reader the end of the story.  But the writing is so fluid and so many intriguing topics are touched on – sisterhood, motherhood, the yearning for the impossible, the regret of unfulfilled relationships, the desire to write it all down and the exotic but troubled location of South Africa during apartheid – that the reader feels compelled to read on to discover the full story.

“A searing and intimate memoir about love turned deadly.” —The BBC

“In this intimate, exquisitely written memoir, the author’s first work of nonfiction, she explores the impenetrable bond that can exist between sisters. . . . In spare, delicate prose, Kohler brings a seasoned novelist’s skills to this deeply moving, compelling memoir.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“It’s fitting that the book is written in the present tense, because [Kohler’s] sister is forever with her. Their relationship changes shape yet lingers, as do the important questions about women and violence.”—Oprah.com (5 Powerful New Memoirs)

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The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve

13 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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Along with storytelling mojo and stylistic verve, this novel has an excellent, suspenseful premise: Grace’s life is upended and ultimately transformed by a real-life historical catastrophe, the wildfires that spread through coastal Maine in October of 1947, following months of severe drought. With all the terror of fire on our West coast these days, it is scary to realize it happened not far from us not that long ago.  As good as her first book, The Weight of Water.

“This is sure to be a best seller. Shreve’s prose mirrors the action of the fire, with popping embers of action, licks of blazing rage, and the slow burn of lyrical character development. Absolutely stunning.”—Library Journal  (starred review, Editors’ Spring Picks)

“It is a book of small moments, a collection of seemingly simple themes that build to surprising and moving crescendoes. Shreve’s spare, economic prose suits her character’s practicality and initial hesitance to determine the course of her own life… Shreve’s crisp writing becomes more expansive in the moments when her protagonist consciously stretches beyond the boundaries of her previously narrow life.—BookPage

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Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liz Mundy

05 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in 20th century, History, Non-fiction, United States

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1942 – all the men were off to war.  An suddenly the Navy and Army needed brain power to break volumes of enemy codes. Senior women graduates started receiving mysterious letters asking them to come to Washington DC to help the war effort. 10,000 women responded from across the US and swore an oath of secrecy for life.  With these girls, I experienced WWII… battle to battle, ship by ship. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. Fascinating!

“Mundy is a fine storyteller…. A sleek, compelling narrative…. The book is a winner. Her descriptions of codes and ciphers, how they worked and how they were broken, are remarkably clear and accessible. A well-researched, compellingly written, crucial addition to the literature of American involvement in World War II.”―Kirkus (starred review)

“Code Girls reveals a hidden army of female cryptographers, whose work played a crucial role in ending World War II. With clarity and insight, Mundy exposes the intertwined narratives of the women who broke codes and the burgeoning field of military intelligence in the 1940s. I cannot overstate the importance of this book; Mundy has rescued a piece of forgotten history, and given these American heroes the recognition they deserve.”―Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls

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Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

29 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by in Fiction, Humor

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This book really made me laugh. Graham and Audra are a married couple living in New York with their son. There’s not too much more to the plot than that, as they navigate their son’s needs and interact with Graham’s first wife, Audra’s friends, and the origami club their son joins. What I loved about this book is the humor, much of it related to Audra, who is one of the most unique characters I have encountered in a while.

“Audra Daltry is a singular creation—a character so funny, so appealing, so sure that she can change the world for her family that she will jump right off the page and take up permanent residence in your heart. Standard Deviation is a marvel.” —Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life 

“Warmhearted… Dishes up amusing riffs on marriage, misfits, and finicky eaters, plus some wonderfully on-target descriptions… Explores the complexities and ambivalences that color even our most central relationships… This book is about a marriage under stress—though Heiny keeps it bubbly, evoking the smart, stylish wit of Laurie Colwin, Nora Ephron, and Maria Semple… [She] clearly has what it takes to join the elite coterie of witty social satirists who turn out smart, lively charmers.” —Heller McAlpin, NPR

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Murder in the Marais (An Aimée Leduc Investigation) by Cara Black

22 Friday Dec 2017

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This title is the first in a series featuring female sleuth Aimee Leduc. The story is set in 1990’s Paris with flashbacks to the early 1940’s.  The author’s writing style makes for a quick, absorbing read and her inclusion of details about life in France during the German Occupation are revealing. The story hinges on the murder of Lili Stein, the proprietor of a small grocery store in a Jewish neighborhood. When she is discovered strangled in her bedroom, forehead marked by a Swastika, Aimee sets about unraveling long held secrets that lead ultimately to a present day election.\

“Literate prose, intricate plotting, and multifaceted and unusual characters mark this excellent first mystery.” –Library Journal

“The charm of this series comes from the character and a vividly rendered setting. Aimée rides her pink scooter through the streets of Paris, roller skates through the Louvre after closing time, and tears through dark tunnels under the Palais Royal wearing peep-toe shoes or vintage Valentino boots, her eyes ringed with kohl, trying to figure out who is out to get her . . . Zut alors! It’s quite a ride.”
—The Boston Globe

“Forever young, forever stylish, forever in love with Paris—forever Aimée.”
—New York Times Book Review 

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On Beauty by Zadie Smith

13 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in Fiction

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An English professor moves his family to a Boston suburb to teach at a university, where they are each drawn into relationships, friendships, and conflicts, particularly with another academic family. This book is funny, insightful, and poignant, loosely based on E.M. Forster’s novel Howards End.

“In this sharp, engaging satire, beauty’s only skin-deep, but funny cuts to the bone.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…[A] thoroughly original tale about families and generational change, about race and multiculturalism in millennial America, about love and identity and the ways they are affected by the passage of time. Ms. Smith possesses a captivating authorial voice—at once authoritative and nonchalant, and capacious enough to accommodate high moral seriousness, laid-back humor and virtually everything in between—and in these pages, she uses that voice to enormous effect, giving us that rare thing: a novel that is as affecting as it is entertaining, as provocative as it is humane.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

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Odd Child Out by Gilly MacMillan

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in England, Fiction, mystery

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This is a new writer for me.  Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened.  Noah is British.  Abdi is a Somali refugee.   And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol, England. The writer keeps the tension at high pitch, a real page turner. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. The writer’s empathy for her characters is spot-on. (Includes reading discussion questions.)

“Macmillan captivates readers with a story just as addictive as her first… [and] shines when exploring the intricacies of relationships… Fans of Tana French, Ruth Ware, and Gillian Flynn will become completely entrenched in the unfolding details.” (BookPage)

“With lovely prose, depth of character and an intelligent narrative, Macmillan lifts the level of suspense with stiletto-like precision: a tiny graze here, a shallow cut there and, eventually, a thrust into the heart. At once profoundly unsettling and richly rewarding.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

29 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in fantasy, Fiction, Science fiction

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This fantasy story is set in a world where there are four versions of London, each ruled by different leaders with varying amounts of magic. I loved the two protagonists – one a magician, the other a thief – and the novel’s humor and adventure.

“A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Its plot is gripping. Its characters are memorable. Its setting in four parallel, powerful Londons is otherworldly yet believable. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale that is original in its premise and compelling in its execution. This is a book to treasure.” ―Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of The All Souls Trilogy

“Schwab (Vicious) creates an ingenious set of nesting alternate Londons in this imaginative, well-crafted fantasy. Confident prose and marvelous touches-a chameleon coat, a scarlet river of magic, a piratical antiheroine-bring exuberant life to an exhilarating adventure among the worlds.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Emperor’s Club – dvd

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Drama, Fiction

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 “Character is destiny,” wrote Heraclitus and Ethan Canin is a master at exploring people who are struggling to understand themselves and the unexpected turns their lives have taken. The Emperor’s Club movie is based Ethan Canin’s short story, The Palace Thief, where a history teacher at an exclusive boarding school reflects on the vicissitudes of a lifetime connection with a student scoundrel.

But there is a feature to this movie which has the viewer question his/her values towards morality and ethics. The major theme appears to be that at some point in our lives we choose our path towards attaining the highest level of morality life allows us. This film also attempts successfully to portray how we measure whether we are or have attained these goals.  One of my favorite movies.

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