January 3.0

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Fantastical, mesmerizing, gorgeous...that is the only way to describe this beautiful new book by debut author, Melissa Albert. A brilliant mix of fairy tales and fantasy, it brings to mind the darkness of the real Grimm's tales, painting forests of reaching arms, villains with black cold eyes, and a spinner who holds characters captive in their own story. The main character is Alice, always a good choice for a fantasy tale, whose mother yanks them throughout the country, always trying to escape the bad luck that seems to follow them. However, after receiving a letter that Alice's grandmother, a famous recluse who wrote a book which has a serious cult following, has died means the darkness that follows them has receded into the past. So Alice goes to school, lives in New York with her mother and a new husband, and is a normal teenage girl. Until that is, the stories return to invade Alice's life once again. This author shows her chops the first time out with compelling characters, a complex plot line, and stunning writing. Fingers crossed for a sequel! (and seriously, look at the cover - it is stunning!)

Into the Black Nowhere (Unsub #2) by Meg Gardiner

Quite rarely do I give 5 stars to a police/murder mystery; it has to be incredibly well-written with complex and well-developed characters, as well as a thoughtful, realistic yet filled-with-shockers plot line. Meg Gardiner's second book in her Unsub series hits all these criteria - it is just outstanding! Question is...do you have to read the first book, titled Unsub? Nope - Into the Black Nowhere can absolutely stand alone (but the first book is awfully good so why not?!) This second book reintroduces the reader to Caitlin Hendrix, recently trained at the BAU at Quantico after leaving the SFPD and her ATF boyfriend. Loosely based on Ted Bundy, Caitlin and her team encounter a slick, intelligent, well-to-do serial killer who holds the Austin area of Texas in fear. As the team uncovers more victims and the murderer unravels, it becomes apparent that the psychological genius of the killer is going to lead both the team, the community, and we, the reader, on the chase of a lifetime. I ferociously turned pages, with twists upon turns upon surprises, all the way until the end. This is what I call a "humdinger" of a book. If you like Mind Hunters on Netflix, the Jo Nesbo series with Harry Hole, Criminal Minds on CBS, this book is definitely for you.

The Night Child by Anna Quinn
Not for the fainthearted reader, but what a powerful, tragic, heart-wrenching, yet hopeful story written by a Pacific Northwest writer. Anna Quinn knows Seattle and places her story in a realistic time back in the 1990's, when the trauma of sexual abuse was starting to make it more and more into the public eye. As a former public school teacher myself, I was impressed with her depth of knowledge of both setting and career. Quinn's main character, Nora, is fully developed as a high school teacher who sees for herself the outcome of students' home lives and the impact on their school lives. Nora, however, also has demons of her own as her young daughter is soon to turn six. As the author slowly and insidiously pulls secrets out of Nora, through visits with her therapists, moments with students, and an unhappy marital life, the true tragedy unfolds. This is a powerful tale of mental illness, childhood trauma, and abusive parenting that will rivet you, make you turn pages, cry a few tears, and cheer for the heroes found in the end. I look forward to Quinn's next book after this powerful debut.

Tarnished City by Vic James
This is the second book of James' powerful new YA fantasy series that began with the Gilded Cage back in the winter of 2017. The premise is unique and different. Yes, it has magic but it also has some alternative history, such as the Confederate United States is separate from the Union United States. Slavery of a different nature, that of the commoner who has no 'Skill' (ie magic) vs. the Equals who are the rich elite class with some fairly serious magical talents, most of them used for evil. Each commoner in the UK must donate a decade of their life and do their time as a slave in service of the Equals; this period can be done at any time after reaching the age of ten, thus many families try and do their time together. The Hadley family attempted this in the first book, with obvious negative consequences. Now split up and trying to rescue brother Luke from a diabolical Scottish Equal with some dark and nasty punishment routines, sister Abi joins the resistance and the political fight for the heart of England begins. If you missed the first book, I highly recommend picking it up as you will want to head straight into this second adventure. Need escapism, some magic, some heroes? This book will satisfy your every wish.

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

Need a page-turner of a mystery for your next vacation read? Here it is. At first, the plot line might seem a bit ordinary: young mom, whose life choices are not always wise, parks her car at K-Mart to grab a birthday party present, leaves her two young daughters in the car, and yes, upon returning, the girls have vanished. However, thanks to the two main characters, this is not your ordinary thriller. Alice Vega, a bounty hunter and all-around bad-ass, is hired by the wealthy aunt to find the two girls. Vega has a golden reputation, made famous by media attention, in bringing home missing kids. Once she arrives in the small Pennsylvania town, Vega needs a partner and a way in to the police department information. Enter Max Caplan (aka Cap), a former policeman who resigned in disgrace, a single father of a unique teenager, and a private detective currently involved in spying on cheating spouses. Cap sees Vega's wily tricks that get her through impossible situationsand understands the demons that drives her; Vega sees the heart of gold under Cap's gruff exterior and his keen instinct for bad guys. It is an entertaining race with these two to find these girls as they meet some unique characters both inside and outside the law.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Having read numerous stories of the Holocaust over my lifetime, I had taken a break for the past year or so; however, with Holocaust Remembrance Day and the description of this book, I decided it was time to explore once more a devastating and eternally shocking time in our recent history. Based on a true story, Heather Morris takes the story of Lale and Gita and turns it in an inspiring and hopeful story in the midst of unimaginable human suffering. The story begins with Lale, a young Slovakian man who has chosen to be the healthy Jewish male to be sent to from his family to 'work' for the Germans, arriving at Auschwitz in 1942. Quickly, Lale is trained to be the tattooist, earning extra rations and a room of his own. Torn by his seeming complicity with the SS, Lale becomes a savior to many other prisoners, displaying the Talmudic proverb that he who saves one, saves the world. In the midst of this horrible time, he meets Gita and falls in love. This is a remarkable tale of young love in the most deadly time. The beauty of this book is the ability to provide hope and inspiration through these two characters, as well as the friends they make in the camp. After reading voraciously for two days, I closed the final page not with tears, but with great hope for humanity and our ability to care for others through the darkest time.

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson
Written by a local author who grew up in my small, college PNW town, this is an exciting new entry in the world of dystopic novels. Set somewhere in a future that seems shockingly too real for me after all the posturing with nuclear weapons and North Korea in 2017, a family lives off the grid that no longer exists out in the cold of the Canadian Yukon. The family unit consists of mom, brother, uncle, foster son, and Lynn, a young girl who is intriguing, complicated, smart, courageous, and all-together human. When Jax, a young man from the 'real world' becomes a temporary tribe member, he brings reality back to this family unit in a forceful and frightening way. This book does a solid job of creating a new and scary world, peopling it with intriguing characters and heart-thumping plot twists that will leave one turning pages frantically. While the end is satisfying, it leaves the obvious door open to the rest of the series that is sure to come. My one hope is that in future books Lynn won't be needing the male characters to save her, that she will have learned to look into her own interior and save herself; then we will have a fully developed and evolved hero to cheer. (Author Tyrell Johnson will be at our local Village Books sometime in March so check the calendar)

January 2.0

The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
If you liked Benjamin's previous books (The Aviator's Wife, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, Alice I Have Been), you like historical fiction, you like learning behind-the-scenes historical trivia, this book is for you. And yes, I have loved all of Benjamin's books; she does in-depth research, develops her characters deeply, and reveals interesting history previously unknown to me. In her newest novel, she explores the beginning of the film industry, focusing on two characters: Mary Pickford, the silent film star and her best friend, screenwriter Frances Marion. It begins in 1914 as we see these two young women, who come from opposite walks of life, be drawn into the world of the cinema. Pickford, a stage star from a young age in order to support a poverty-stricken family, stumbles into work for nickelodeon films, looked down upon by theater people but paying well, ultimately leading her to Hollywood Land. Frances, a socialite from San Francisco, twice-divorced, finds herself in Los Angeles, and completely entranced by this new media. Benjamin explores the rise of Hollywood, the moguls who own the stars, and the American obsession with these film giants as she weaves the story of these two women throughout the history of the 20th century. If you are like me, you will not be able to put this one down.

The Night Market by Jonathan Moore

The question with this book is...is this a police detective/murder mystery or is it a sci-fi futuristic thriller? Once I stopped trying to pigeon-hole it into a specific genre and just went with the flow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The San Francisco homicide detectives, Carver and Jenner, are just classic: smart, curmudgeonly, loyal, and wily. Their sidekick in uncovering a vast plot of mind control is a complex young woman who lives across the hall from Carver, who nurses him back to health after a fairly creepy crime scene that he is incapable of remembering. As the two detectives race down a rabbit hole of weirdness, the other characters that get involved to try and solve this crime are intriguing and compelling. Yes, one does have to suspend a bit of disbelief, but when you cannot stop turning pages, who cares? I loved this roller coaster ride of a book.

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Considering the politics of today in America as wealth distribution and economic inequity is forefront in many people's minds, this is a very topical book. Andrew Carnegie was once the world's wealthiest man, accruing his millions from the Civil War era through the early part of the 20th century. Carnegie also became one of the world's foremost philanthropists, giving away 90% of his fortune and endowing universities and libraries worldwide. Marie Benedict (The Other Einstein) has created a fictitious story of the reasons behind how he journeyed from his role as a 'robber baron' to one of the great charitable givers of all time. This story involves a young Irish maid, an impossible love story, the hardship of an immigrant life, the corrupted ties of family, and the inevitable ending that brought the world Carnegie's philanthropy. I found the first half to be the most compelling, with the ending a bit thin; I would have liked further development of the epilogue and both main character's life changes. Yet, it was an interesting read and definitely makes me more curious about this generous 
man.

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Getting lots of pre-pub buzz, the book world is highly anticipating this new dystopic novel that shreds women's rights all over America. It takes place in a world of 'today,' no spaceships, no Big Brother computers, just normal Pacific Northwest setting. However, the federal government has recently outlawed all abortions, as well as invitro treatments, making them crimes for which young unwed teens and grown married women can be imprisoned. And just for an encore, the latest law is due to be rolled out in just a few weeks... the "two parent family, only mom and dad" rule, stopping all single people, much less (gasp!) gay people, from adopting the unwanted babies. The story follows four unnamed women: the biographer, desperately seeking a baby while writing a very weird history of a long ago female marine biologist; the mender, a quirky, off-the-grid woman who uses herbs to help women with their 'problem'; the wife, desperately unhappy in her marriage; and the daughter, a young teen with an unwanted pregnancy. The premise is creative and oh so topical. However, the end result left me wanting me. By choosing not to name the main characters around which the story revolves, it creates a distance that stopped me from empathizing, relating, truly connecting with the characters. Perhaps that was the author's point, that these are 'everywoman,' that the government making decisions about their bodies makes them all 'us.' I appreciate the concept, but as a character-driven reader, I did not become as engrossed within their story as I might have otherwise.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland
My problem with this book is varied. I began with high hopes, liking the premise of the book (CIA agent learns incriminating news about her much loved husband and father of her four children - what should she do?) I love spy novels so figured this one was in my wheelhouse. Unfortunately, I tend to be fairly critical, as I have read many government-type thrillers (ie. Child 44 if you want a seriously good Russian spy novel) and I also tend to be fairly feminist in my desire for more timely portrayals of women in today's world. The female lead, Vivian, has been with the CIA for years and we are supposed to believe that she is an important and valued member of the spy team vs. Russia. Yet she consistently behaves in an outrageously naive, might I even call it 'stupid,' manner. I found her behavior to be completely unbelievable in the context of the story. Why is it necessary to have the men be wily, manipulative, and brilliant spymasters, and yet leave the female to be shown as gullible and unintelligent, allowing her emotions to rule the day? Aargh, very frustrating and not at all what I want in my lead female roles in a spy novel. I understand the author was likely playing to her audience; I think I am just not part of that crowd. It is a page turner, but in the end I don't want a man to 'save' the woman from herself; I want Cinderella to kick some serious ass and show that brains and wile can outsmart anyone. 

January

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Four young siblings learn of a special 'seer' in their neighborhood, an old woman who can tell them their future, specifically to impart to them the day they will die. Each child hears this date alone, and must live with the consequences of knowing their future and thus the story begins. As the tale unfolds, we follow each of the four children in singularity: Simon, a young gay man, as he heads to San Francisco in the early 1980's; Klara, a free spirit who dreams of becoming a magician; Daniel, the oldest boy in their Jewish family, working towards 'normalcy;' and Varya, the eldest child, career biologist, with deeper secrets than anyone ever knew. This is a strange yet extraordinarily compelling book. Often, I did not care for the characters - their habits, their life choices, their relationships. Yet I could not put this book down. It brings up provocative themes and ideas: how would one live their life if their day of death was foretold? Do we owe it to ourselves to fulfill our life's dream? Or do we owe loyalty to our families? Is being selfish wrong or is it fulfilling our passion? The Immortalists would be an incredibly provocative choice for a book club, eliciting some fascinating and powerful conversation.

Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman
YA fantasy is my go-to escapist trick; if written well, it takes me far far away, usually has some serious evil doers that get vanquished, some heroic young people, and stays away from the sexist stereotypes much better than many adult novels, and really, the only difference being 'YA,' is that the main characters are usually upper teens. With that said, if you missed Shusterman's first novel in this series, Scythe, go back and read it. And in the day or two that takes you because it is SO good, come back and read this one. Here's the basic premise: the Cloud has morphed into the Thunderhead (a benevolent Big Brother type of character who has done away with death, disease, pain, hunger, all the bad stuff in life), but to deal with over-population, the 'scythedom' is created, with scythes especially trained in the art of death, given the power to 'glean' humanity. In the first book, we meet the two main characters, Rowan and Citra who are training to become scythes (note to self: lots and lots and lots of death in the first book, although if one hasn't been officially 'gleaned,' the revival center just brings people back to life). In the second book, Rowan is a rogue scythe while Citra works within the system, both trying to rid their organization of bad seeds. The Thunderhead becomes more of a developed character, as he talks with humanity and we see his thinking as we watch his world end up on shaky ground. I could not put this book down; Shusterman has an amazing talent to draw us into his stories and his characters, not letting go until the very last page. Highly recommend!

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The 2017 Newberry Award winner, this book is magical for any age, especially for those of us looking for an escape into another world. In this fairytale world, a witch comes every year to a town veiled in sadness where she picks up a baby left for her at the edge of the wood. The town believes it to a sacrifice to an evil crone; the witch believes the town does not want the children, and takes them across the wood to be loved by another family. However, the latest babe the witch picks up is hungry on the journey across the wood, and instead of starlight (normal food for the babies), Luna is fed with moonlight, giving her some serious magical skills. The story encompasses the years of Luna and her adopted witch-mother, and the magic that will ensnare so many characters. This is a lyrical book, written with so much beauty I wanted to devour each sentence slowly and savor every word. What a gift to the world!

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

This isa solid new mystery that is getting some very well-deserved praise. Set in the forests of Oregon, we are introduced to an intriguing new detective (this looks like it is going to be a series). Naomi is the 'child finder,' an instinctive, clever, smart, and rather tortured young woman with a mysterious past that pushes her to save other children. A young couple come to Naomi and ask her to look for their daughter who went missing in the snowy woods during a tree-cutting expedition three Decembers ago. Convinced Madison is still alive, the parents beg Naomi to find any clues. The story is told through two narrators, Naomi and the 'snow girl' who is trapped by a mysterious man in the woods. Author Denfeld peoples the book with some quirky, intriguing characters: the taciturn forest ranger, the creepy yet friendly store own who buys pelts; and Naomi's foster mom and brother who save her from tragedy. So many pieces are tied together in the end, yet some are still mysteries that totally make sense to remain hidden. I have high hopes for a sequel to this engrossing new series.

The House of Silk (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Anthony Horowitz
The author of the Alex Rider series and The Magpie Murders, and picked by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle as the only person EVER allowed to write another Sherlock Holmes book, one cannot go wrong picking up this book. Horowitz lives up to and beyond the challenge with this clever, smart, twisty-turning mystery book. Dr. Watson as narrator and handy sidekick of Holmes, the mystery begins straight away with a Mr. Carstairs seeking help from these two beloved literary icons. The story moves from gangsters in Boston, to opium dens in London, and even a dreary prison where Holmes is up to his neck in trouble. The master of the 'red herring,' Horowitz and Holmes does not let us know. At times I wondered where this story was taking us and how many side alleys were necessary but in the end I was wholly satisfied and impressed with the skills of not only our two detectives, but the author himself. If you like the quintessential British mystery, this book is definitely for you.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

How many of us wish we had written down all the outrageous, hilarious, inappropriate things a loved one has said? Both my husband and I still tell uproarious stories about our own parents, but I know I have missed so much that should be famous in family lore. Justin Halpern, however, is just much smarter than the rest of us; he actually wrote his father's sh*t down! And trust me, it is well worth the read. I laughed out loud throughout this lovely little book and saw my own self, my own parents, and most anyone's life in many of the stories. However, this book is so much more than just 'funny' for the sake of humor. It also tells a story of a father and son; all the expectations on both sides, the misunderstandings, the generational divide, and ultimately the deep and abiding love, no matter what. This is a fabulous book to gift to another person, or also just to gift to yourself; you won't be disappointed.

Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates
A bit reminiscent of A Secret History yet not as well written as a Donna Tartt book, this one involves a trio of 'friends,' a word one could use quite lightly in this story. Three young teens are drawn together in a small upstate New York town: Patrick (ie. Patch), good boy in town with aspiring political father, husband and failed financier and current obsessive chef, witness, participant, and savior to a horrible crime; Matthew, new boy to town, messed up family life, perpetrator of horrible crime; and Hannah, wife to Patrick, crime reporter, and victim of horrible crime. As the strings of this story slowly come together, one can see how the past has impacted the character's today with each one struggling to find who they are. My problem with this book is that the two males were both unlikable, and thinly developed; I don't mind crappy humans, but give them a bit more depth. I just didn't care about Matthew's past issues, or Patrick's cooking blog. Now Hannah, on the other hand, was a compelling character as she searches for answers to her past with her NYC police officer friend as well as her job that drags her into the dark corners of city crime. The ending was anti-climatic for me, having gotten to a point of apathy for Patch. At times a page turner, and at times just 'meh' for me.