February 2019

The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Having written two international bestsellers, (The Dry and Force of Nature), we can depend on Jane Harper to give us entertainment. Yet, in her latest new book, a stand alone with new richly developed characters, Harper reminds us again that not only can she plot a book with intelligence and develop complex characters, but she can write, and I mean really write. Harper sets the scene in The Lost Man in the extreme loneliness of the Outback. One can feel the heat, see the long lonely fence lines, sense the isolation from her beautiful prose. The tale of three brothers begins with the death of one of them, as Cameron is found dead at the mysterious old stockman's grave, a spot rife with legend and secrets. As the story spins out, we learn of Nathan, the oldest, and how a decision as a young man marked him for life. We meet Bub, the baby of the family, the one most impacted by their father's death. We see Xander, Nathan's son, as he struggles with his parent's vicious divorce. Yet in this world of men, we also find strong women: Liz, a mother bound by secrets she cannot divulge; Ilse, a wife whose love is divided; and two little girls who hold the answers to it all. As much I loved Harper's first two books, The Lost Man is now in first place. It is breathtaking in its beauty, its richness, and its ability to keep me turning pages, constantly in awe of this author's deep talent.


The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
It is hard to believe that this is a debut author; the raw writing talent is stunning. On the surface it is historical fiction, based on the life of photographer Lee Miller and her relationship with artist Man Ray. Yet it is much much more, painting a portrait of Lee herself. Raw, dark, sensual, tortured, brilliant, perceptive, lost, self-absorbed, weak, strong, creative - these words all describe this complex woman. Lee lives her youth in a magical time and place; Paris in the twenties and thirties was a bastion of creativity, of exploration of art, a time of experimentation, rebellion, and savage selfishness. Scharer also sparingly uses Miller's years as a war photographer to juxtapose the trauma of the Holocaust for all the witnesses. At times I wanted to shake Lee until her teeth rattled, hug her close to chase away the demons, take a shower to wash away the decadence of her life, or stand in awe at the art she created. Scharer is a prodigious new talent, a bit reminiscent of Donna Tartt (occasionally too wordy but always the master storyteller). I wonder what others will think of this book as it leaves one with many questions and so much on which to turn over and over in one's head? There is no perfectly wrapped bow to end Lee Miller's story, making this debut novel one helluva book to ponder and argue and endlessly discuss. It. Is. Brilliant.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Finally, a worthy thriller that is well-plotted, with intriguing characters, thoughtful twists, and an ending that is not tied perfectly with a bow. Dr. Theo Graber is the narrator, a psychotherapist newly arrived to the Grove, a small institution for the criminally insane. Drawn to the hospital by the newspaper stories of famous artist Alicia Berenson who murdered her husband, Theo believes he is the one who can finally get Alicia to talk after a silence of six years. Interspersed between the story line of his work with Alicia and the other members of the staff is Theo's story of his own personal history, his cheating wife, and disintegrating marriage. If you are looking for a well-written page turner, this is it - impressive debut.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
I think I am the last person in America to pick this book up. Confession: I hate hate hate being a lemming and following all the buzz over the cliff. However, in this case I really should have leapt sooner as this is a stunning debut worthy of all the attention. Set in North Carolina, the story begins in the marsh with a dead body of a young man. Moving back in time, the tale turns to Kya, a little girl who is abandoned by everyone she depends upon and left to raise herself deep in the marsh land. Switching between time periods, we see the investigation in the murder progress as we watch Kya grow. Woven in amongst the engaging characters is the marsh itself, described in lyrical prose, an ever-present force in Kya's life. Follow the lemmings...this book is worth it.

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
If you like YA fantasy, strong complex characters, creative setting, romance, and taut tense cliffhangers, this is the series for you. (And if you've never done YA or fantasy - give it a shot. It is the best escapism from the crap in this world!) Sooo many books (seven in total and each keep getting longer) that I begged off reading this series as it just seemed overwhelming. However, my 29 year old daughter pushed and pushed, and yes she was correct. Aelin is a wildly contradictory main character, at times hateful, heroic, aggravating, self-absorbed, caring, generous, murderous - in other words, she in intriguing. And no one does fantasy and the Fae world like Maas - she is the master. This series will keep you reading for weeks on end, engrossed in an entirely different world that enters your dreams and keeps you turning pages.

January 2.0

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
A life lived right in my own back yard, a single mother tries to provide for her young daughter in Skagit County of Washington State. Stephanie has a high school diploma and some college community credits from Running Start, yet is stuck in a cycle of low-paying jobs. Once her daughter comes along and an abusive relationship spirals out of control, Stephanie must rely on the only safety net she has: herself and the government. Unable to get help from generations of poverty in her own family, she takes the one job she can - cleaning homes. We see the private lives of many of Stephanie's clients, the results of a low-paying job with no benefits, no sick pay, no vacation, and what life is like living on the edge, one mistake or life accident away from disaster. Often, I found myself being judgmental and then stopping myself, acknowledging my own privilege, and learning from Stephanie's heartfelt story of her life. This book will provide a ton of conversation at your next book club, trust me.

Southern Discomfort: A Memoir by Tena Clar
Hands down, this is one of my favorite listens in the last year. Tena Clark, successful songwriter and music producer, grew up in Mississippi the youngest of four girls, raised by a black maid, a racist father, and an alcoholic mother, and just to throw in another complication, she is gay. Her memoir shows us the many facets of her childhood and young adult life: pulled back and forth between two parents following divorce, dad's multiple relationships, mom's addiction issues, the racism in her small town, wild teenage years, parenthood, sorrow. The author pulls no punches and shows her parents, and her community, in all its glory and in all its messes. The author narrates the book in a thick southern accent, drawing one deeply into the heavy heat of a Mississippi summer day. Tena Clark shows the complexities of loving one's parents while also being terribly hurt by their actions - ditto for Mississippi, which draws her back constantly and hurts her heart as well. This is just a fabulous memoir.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshana Chokshi
I was rather torn by this new YA fantasy series; I loved the set of friends who direct and inhabit the story, but found the plot itself a bit confusing. Set in 19th century Paris, this Paris shows the clash between the established families that have all the money, power, and magic, and the ones that don't. The leader of the gang, Severin, runs a beautiful old hotel but is haunted by the disinheritance of years ago, relegating him to a back seat in the power circle. His gang of thieves who help him recover 'artifacts,' are a creative group: the mathematical genius with social issues; the gentle soul who knows everything there is about plants and keeps a pet tarantula; the once-dead Indian femme fatale; the history buff and gifted symbologist who helps get them all out of tight jams; and the arrogant but needy heir from the power brokers. Incredible character development, but put into a plot line that has to do with stealing stolen objects, unrequited love, mysterious bad guys, that ultimately left me a bit unclear as to what was really going on. Perhaps I read too late at night, or perhaps my brain was more muddled than it should be but I needed a bit more clarity on this one. I'm hoping book two will clear some things up for me.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Critically acclaimed, on everyone's "Best" lists of 2018, and beautifully written...yet it was a very 'meh' book for me. The story begins with a young slave boy on Barbados called George Washington Black. No parenting, no schooling, and surrounded by violence and the degradation of violence, somehow this young man is chosen to become a house slave. Wash then goes on to help in the scientific experimentations of the son of the plantation, and thus his adventurous life begins. A life that takes him into the air, up to Boston, on to the Arctic and to England and even to Morocco, all the while narrating his story to us in an erudite, educated manner that seems completely out of sync to me with his beginnings. I just felt like the story was implausible and it dragged on and on and on in a rather dull fashion. Perhaps I missed the boat on this one, but it just did not grab me.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
This is a page-turner of a second novel (The Wife Between Us) by a dynamic and talented writing duo. The premise: young struggling make-up artist steals a client's appointment to become part of a college psychological study due to the high pay. We can all see where this is going, right? Well not exactly. The questions that Jessica first answers seem innocuous, yet they then become more nuanced, more complex, and once Jessica is then asked to actually meet with the female psychiatrist, the world becomes very weird. Told from two perspectives, Jessica's and the doctor's, I thought I knew where the story was going but the turns down the rabbit hole were surprising and shocking. This one will keep you reading late through the night.


The Shadows We Hide / The Deep Dark Descending by Allen Eskens
Allen Eskens has become one of my favorite fiction writers to listen to, telling solid police procedural stories that have very human elements and relatable characters. Shadows actually involves the characters from a previous much-liked read, The Life We Bury, as the young man who is now guardian of his autistic brother and has a girlfriend studying for the bar exam gets pulled into the murder of his father, the father he has never met. The second one is a series Eskens has written about Detective Max Rubert, a curmudgeonly man still haunted by his wife's tragic hit-and-run death. In this book, Max is pulled into the underworld of Russian sex trafficking that leads him to shocking revelations of his past. Eskens is a compelling writer; if you like mysteries with humanity, he's your guy.

That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron
I always find the Victorian era intriguing, especially when combined with the mother of a towering historical figure such as Winston Churchill. Alas, this book was rather disappointing. Following the life of Jennie Churchill, we hear about her childhood sporadically sprinkled throughout the novel, as well as her marriage to politician and younger son of a duke, Randall Churchill. The focus is mainly on her affair with an Austrian aristocrat and supposedly, her 'independence.' I was underwhelmed by her so-called flouting of society however, as she seemed to bend every frivolous and shallow Victorian rule but nothing all that substantial. Ultimately, the only interesting thing I found out about Jennie Churchill was that she gave birth to Winston. Well-researched and written, but rather dull.

January 2019

The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
The latest book by one of my favorite authors (Jane Steele, Gods of Gotham) has a new one out, based in the PNW and it is gooooood. It begins in the 1920's, New York City, where a young girl named Alice has, shall we say, an 'interesting' childhood. Sprinkled throughout the book, we slowly understand how a neglected little girl becomes a gangster, a thief, and a runaway. In fact, Alice runs so far from New York that she winds up in Portland, Oregon where she is adopted into the Paragon Hotel. Patronized only by the few African-Americans who inhabit this incredibly racist city (Oregon's constitution made it illegal to move there if one was black + had the largest KKK group west of the Mississippi - yep, who knew??), Alice finds a plethora of intriguing characters: the drunk doctor and uncle to the beautiful yet mysterious singer, the Pullman car porter who is also a WWI decorated hero, the stern, religious front desk maven, the complicated siblings who work the elevator and clean rooms, the Southern cook, and the little boy who is raised by the entire population at the hotel. Throw in a bleeding-heart liberal woman who also happens to be married to the police chief, a burning cross, and some star-crossed lovers, and yes, you've got a humdinger of a story. Don't miss this fascinating book:)

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Hedy Lamarr...European refugee, Hollywood siren, famous beauty, but scientist? Who knew? Marie Benedict's latest (The Other Einstein, Carnegie's Maid) takes on the story of the real Hedwig Kiesler and paints the picture of a complex, intriguing woman that she was, not as Hollywood portrayed her. Born into a Jewish family, Hedy was raised in Vienna, wed to a powerful man in the Nazi party, and a victim of abuse. Benedict spends half the book on Hedy's early life, showing us the traps she had to escape to become the woman of the silver screen. Her life in Hollywood, under the MGM studio system, is equally as fascinating as her escape from Nazi Austria. Once she gets involved with the invention of a radio system to improve torpedo accuracy, wow, just wow. This story is reminiscent of Hidden Figures and Radium Girls, as the "why didn't we know all this sooner?" factor. Having done outstanding research and delving deeply into the characters, this is definitely my favorite of Marie Benedict's historical fiction dynasty that she is building.

She Lies in Wait (DCI Jonah Sheens, #1) by Gytha Lodge
If you like police-centered mysteries and love BBC shows like Broadchurch, this is a good book choice for you. A new series picked up by Random House, Lodge shows her writing chops as well as her knowledge of how a detective unit works as she explores a cold case in a small British town. Thirty years ago, a fourteen year old girl went missing from a camping trip that involved her sister and five other teens. Leaving a lingering mystery in the town, her skeleton is then discovered and the search for her killer commences. An intriguing cast of characters inhabit the story: DCI Sheens, the head detective with some secrets in his past; Hanson, the 'newbie' who is dogged in her pursuit of answers and seems to have a sixth sense about lying; Topaz, the sister with a dark past; Jojo, the studly rock climber who hides information; Brett, the Olympic athlete with the perfect home; Benners, a politician who was the teen drug dealer in years past; Cooper, the previous bad boy turned college professor; and Coralie, the forgotten girl of the group. This is a definite page turner and solid writing - I look forward to the second series to see how the unit detectives are further flushed out.

The Au Pair by Emma Rous
The premise is intriguing...coast of England, a brother and a set of twins, and mom falls off cliff on day of twin's birth leaving many secrets behind. The story switches back and forth between Seraphine, one of the twins, in today's world and Laura, the au pair from the past who was present the day of their birth. The first half was compelling reading, as in I did not want to put it down. However, the last twenty percent got a little ridiculous and long-winded for me, with some pretty implausible 'solutions' to complete the tale. Beach read that will keep you reading...yes. Will it satisfy you? Questionable. However, as a debut writer, I do think Emma Rous has good potential - the story is plotted well, the characters are intriguing, and the twists are definitely there. Just needed a better grounding in reality for me, and a tighter wrap-up.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell
This is a solid 3.5 star thriller, yet nothing special. As always, Lisa Jewell gives us a page-turner that involves some secrets amongst the characters, a British setting, and some twists in the end that are intriguing. In her latest book, an interesting collection of people live in a fancy neighborhood in Bristol, up in the Heights where a young boy takes pictures of everyone, a mother with mental illness haunts the streets, a sister tries to get her life together as she lives with her brother and his wife, a girl tries to protect her friend, and a school head is either a compassionate kindly teacher who wants to help students in trouble, or he's a creepy pedophile who should know better. Good for a beach read if you're looking for a quick page-turner, but not nearly complex enough to keep my brain thinking or deep enough into development to care for these characters.