Summer's End

Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty has become a favorite, brain-candy author...and I don't mean that as an insult.  On one hand, I am not in awe of her 'pretty' writing, yet she is a very good writer.  What I most admire about her is that she has the ability to write some rather long books (both here are well over 400 pages), but in such a way that no extraneous pages exist.  Moriarty writes a story that is truly obsessive to read, as in you cannot put it down, and that is a true talent, as far as I'm concerned.  I read The Husband's Secret while on vacation and gave it a rave review, so when her newest book, Big Little Lies, came out this month, my favorite library-loaning friend sent me home with it.  The story begins with a group of PTA parents, standing on a balcony at the elementary school, staring down at a dead body.  It then catapults the reader back in time, six months previously, as you meet the pivotal cast members of this quirky, intriguing, and sometimes annoying parental clique who lives in a beach community outside of Sydney.  We have the overly-obsessed mothers who believe their children are all geniuses, you have the perfectly coiffed PTA leadership group, you have the marital cheaters, heavy drinkers, PMS-challenged crazy women - in other words, Moriarty has captured the extreme sides of parenthood and then mixed in a murder to pique one's interest.  I read obsessively, never figuring out who the dead body was or how the murder occurred, until revealed n the final chapters.  Definitely five stars and would be fun to talk about in a book club.
I was so impressed with the first two I read, I decided to download What Alice Forgot, her first book that really hit it big.  Again, I read it obsessively.  This story begins with Alice, waking up from a fall off her bike, as she's madly 'biking' in her gym class.  As people rush around helping her, and an ambulance transports her to the hospital, Alice is worried about her first pregnancy, what she's doing in a gym in the first place, and how she got so thin.  As she discovers that ten years have disappeared on her, she's the mother of three children, and is in the middle of a nasty divorce, Alice has to reevaluate everything in her life.  As Moriarty unfolds the mystery of those lost years, we begin to see how Alice got to the place in her life where she now resides.  I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of emotion, and the ideas about life choices and marital growth that it brought up, particularly in the end.  This was a thought-provoking book, as well as just an obsessively good read.

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski
This is a challenging book review for me to write...one one hand, I was in awe of the beautiful writing of Leganski, the magical setting of post WWII she created down in Louisiana, and the intriguing characters who reside in the small town.  On the other hand, I felt like she had a bit of a political/religious agenda that at times intruded itself on the pleasure I found in her book.  The main character, young Bonaventure, is born to a young woman, just experiencing the loss of her much loved young husband.  As the baby grows, we see that Bonaventure is a pretty special young man, who has no physical voice but who's inner voice is strong.  His home is filled with the ghost of his father, his mother and grandmother, and the housekeeper with secrets of her own.  Throw in a religious zealot as his other grandmother and Bonaventure's uncanny ability to hear everything, as in he hears the beginning of the world, when a star is born, and when a rock was held, and you've got a very compelling read.  You do have to divorce yourself from reality in this book, but Leganski weaves a beautiful southern tale about lost love, secrets kept, and a special little boy that is rather unforgettable.

The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
I would never have picked up this book on my own.  First, it's vicious long, as in almost 700 pages.  Second, the cover is hideous (let's be real...covers can be a siren call, or a detriment) and the title is fairly trite.  Last, it's a translation from a French writer, selling over a million copies in France along, and I sometimes like to avoid the 'crowd.'  However (you knew that was coming), I understand now why it's been such a huge international juggernaut.  I haven't woken up at 5 AM to finish a book since Harry Potter #7, but this one was un-put-downable.  Here's the plot premise:  thirty years ago, fifteen year old Nola, the pastor's daughter, disappeared.  Fast-forward to today and her body has been found and young, fabulously successful author, Marcus Goldman's old mentor and famous author, Harry Quebert, has been fingered for the crime.  As Marcus tries to find a plot idea for his new book, he also plays detective as he tries to clear Harry's name.  This is a serious roller coaster ride, giving the reader all kinds of ideas of 'who-dunnit' with the plot twisting every which way.  I can't even say the book is too long, as I didn't find any wasted story line.  Is it pretty writing?  No.  Who cares - it's obsessively good.  I cannot recommend this one highly enough:)

S Street Rising:  Crack, Murder, and Redemption in Washington, D.C. by Ruben Castenada
While it seems like just yesterday we were watching the constant news stories about the gangs, the killings, and crack epidemic around our country, it was actually about 25 years ago.  Castenada, a reporter for the Washington Post, tells a compelling story about this city in the midst of crisis.  The added twist to it all is that Castenada himself is a crack addict and alcoholic, who contributes to the crime on S Street while he covers the police beat.  I found myself less interested in his own demons, than in the life he paints of a broken city, the pastor who builds a church in the middle of the 'slingers' and drug lords, the heroic homicide detective, and the battles fought with the corrupt D.C. police department, and the twisted and immoral mayor, Marion Berry.  At times, the writing is a bit scattered, jumping around from place to place, but the picture he paints of Washington D.C., as it becomes the murder capital of our country, is quite fascinating.  It is definitely a nice change from fiction, while adding a piece of knowledge about a history that is easy to ignore.


The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian
Grecian is back to the form of his first novel, The Yard, as he returns to the story of Jack the Ripper and the murderous tailor, Cinderhouse, in jolly ole England.  The men of the murder squad in Scotland Yard, in the final decade of the 19th century, are unique, likable, and fascinating, all at the same time.  Inspector Day, son of a pastor, who shockingly wants to work on the seamy side of London, is still haunted by the inability to catch the Ripper.  While his lovely young wife, Claire, labors to deliver their first child, Day is compelled to leave her side and try to round up the escapees from a huge prison break.  His mentor, Inspector March, insists on being his partner, which leads to some tight spots from which they must expel themselves.  Day's loyal soldier, Constable Hammersmith, seems to be indestructible, as he has escaped death numerous times in Grecian's previous two books, and seems to be well on his way to courting his own demise once again.  Add in a couple super creepy bad guys from The Yard, as well as a group of aristocratic men who lock up and punish criminals in their own twisted manner, and you've got a compelling book.  If you like a dark, gothic murder mystery, that has some light moments as well, this is a great read, whether you've read the first two in the series or not.

Good Reading:)

The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession by Charles Lovett
Ooh...for all your book lovers, English teachers, and connoisseurs of fine books, this is the book for you.  It has every ingredient needed for an obsessive read:  suspense, intrigue, danger, history, even a little romance.  Just the title itself was like a siren call to a book lover like myself.  The main character, Peter, is a true loner, anxiety-ridden bibliophile and antiquarian - in other words, he sells old books.  However, his melancholy life in the small English village as he tries to recover from his wife's death is interrupted when he is asked to look at some books in an old man's library.  He discovers a book that could possibly be the 'Holy Grail' of booksellers - a book that changes the way we look at literature.  Lovett handles changes in time seamlessly, as he goes back to Peter's life with his girlfriend-soon-to-be-wife, as well as through English history as we visit Shakespeare's time, the Age of Enlightenment, and even the Victorians.  I loved all the quirky references to literature, and learned quite a bit along the way.  This is just a rollicking good read if you're looking for one that you cannot put down:)

The Baker Street Translation by Michael Robertson
If you are a Sherlockian and you haven't read these delightful books, you have missed out on some fun reads.  This is the third one in the series, but you can pick them up at any place.  Our two fine brothers, Nigel and Reggie Heath, are once again mixed up in some odd mysterious happenings.  They are required to respond to all letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes, since they occupy his offices at 221B Baker Street. The quirkiest letter so far reveals itself in this book...an old woman from Texas has left her entire fortune to Sherlock Holmes, and the response she receives is that since Holmes cannot accept money, she should leave all her money to Reginald Heath.  Thus...the chase begins for who wrote the response; the identity of the kidnapper of Sir Buxton, Reggie's rival for Laura, the beautiful super model;  and the terrorist who writes incorrect nursery rhymes and plans on obliterating the royal family one at a time.  I know...sounds rather ridiculous, but Robertson weaves a tale in his dry, very British tone that makes one chuckle at these two wickedly book-smart and life-stupid brothers.  A nice short book (whew...what a relief after the Game of Thrones series), and a light funny read to end the summer of reading.  Loved it!

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood
This was a deliciously dark book, read in a perfect British accent on audible.com.  The story begins when two girls, Belle and Jade, are convicted in the murder of a four year old girl.  Belle and Jade themselves are just eleven when the crime occurs and the public backlash for these wicked crimes set these two on a course for which their lives cannot be turned.  Fast-forward to the present, and we meet Amber Gordon, a 37 year old woman who lives with a slimy boyfriend, in a seaside English town, where she runs the boardwalk carnival and discovers a murdered woman one night.  Kirsty Lindsay, a freelance journalist, college graduate, wife and mother of two, is sent to cover the story as more murders occur and Weymouth town is seen as the home of a serial killer.  However, these two women have their own secret lives, engulfed in the murder of little Chloe of long ago.  Marwood weaves the story of long ago in with the murders of today, creating an engrossing tale of how the press can twist and destroy a person's life, how hidden pasts always reveal themselves at the most inconvenient times, and ponders the question of who is redeemable and who is lost.  This would be a tremendous book club read, as the life choices that are made time and again are questionable and debatable - highly recommend.

Cemetery Girl by David Bell
This is what I would call a bit of a beach book - okay, rather dark for a beach book but a quick read.  Part mystery, part family psycho-drama, it is an engrossing story of what happens when a family falls apart.  The narrator is Tom Stuart, the father of Caitlin, who disappeared four years ago when walking their family dog.  A typical sassy, rebellious young teenager, police ultimately assume she ran away and parents are haunted by guilt and self-doubt.  The father, who quite frankly is a bit of an ass, becomes obsessed with finding Caitlin, searching down every fake clue and crazy person who thinks she has seen his daughter.  His wife, on the other hand, buries herself in her church, forming a rather 'close' relationship to the pastor of the 'big-box' church.  So of course what happens?  You guessed it...daughter returns.  Traumatized and refusing to help in the search of her kidnapper who she 'loves,' we watch as the family tries to return to being the family they used to be, as we the reader knows that they never will be that suburban, cookie-cutter family again.  Not poorly written, yet not brilliantly written either, it is definitely a page turner, though I had a few issues with some plot-holes.  However, I'm picky when it comes to mysteries.

Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo

Speaking of good mysteries, one never goes wrong with our Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo and my favorite, tortured Oslo detective, Harry Hole (Ho-lay).  While Nesbo has written ten Harry Hole novels, you can literally pick up any one, in any order, and you're good to go.  This one begins with Harry, drunk in a bar, the mysterious death of the Norwegian ambassador in Bangkok, and the chief of police requiring Harry to head to Thailand to figure out what happened.  Bangkok is not shown in a pretty light in this book; it reeks of death, drugs, prostitution and slave trafficking, you name it.  It comes across as the Chicago of the 1920's - not a place for a vacation.  The ambassador has a knife in his chest, his freaky daughter shows up uninvited to Harry's hotel, the Thai lead detective is a bold American woman with no hair, and on top of all this, Harry has decided to jump on the wagon to keep his head clear.  This is a page-turning, suspenseful, tightly-written mystery where Nesbo leads you into deadends on 'who dunnit' until the very last chaper.  If you like a good mystery, this is it.

The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson
From the title and cover alone, one can already tell this is a quirky, different book, and it does not disappoint.  Written by a Swedish writer who killed it internationally with his first book The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window (this man likes his funky titles!), I saw it all over the place in Europe and heard about it from two different people on our travels through Croatia and Amsterdam.  First, you just have to suspend reality.  Seriously.  Second, if you ever read and loved Catch 22,  then your brain will recognize this hilariously written farce that makes some rather pointed statements and forces you to look at life in a variety of ways.  The heroine is Nombeko, a young black girl who cleans latrines in Soweto township thirty years ago.  And the hero?  Well, that's Holger Two, the twin that doesn't exist.  Confused?  So is he...but that's the fun of it.  We watch as Nombeko's life goes from latrine manager, to head cleaning lady at South Africa's nuclear bomb-building plant, to an abandoned apartment building in Sweden, to a potato farm outside of Stockholm.  Her life is an uproariously funny, unpredictable, unrealistic romp through Jonasson's quirky brain.  This book is very different from most trade books out there today, and well worth the read, in my opinion.  I look forward to our book club discussion on it in September; I suspect some will hate it, seeing it as silly, while others will find it provoking, while still others will wonder what is the sense of it?  That's the beauty of literature - never the same reaction:)