Category: Books

Genre: Book

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Louise Penny

Title:  “A Rule Against Murder”

Review:    The fourth book in Penny’s great Gamache- Chief Inspector series, is another brilliantly written novel of life in Southern Quebec. Though the story line in this one felt a bit random and quirky, Penny writes so well, her characters are so well developed and her sense of place………well, just magnificent. The entire boo takes place in a tiny “auberge” on Lake Massawippi in Quebec’s Eastern Township lakes district. You’ll want to go there once Trudeau allows us back in. The setting is based on the very real Manoir Hovey (from her liner notes)- a magical place that we visited may times in the late 90s when the strength of the dollar made such places quite affordable. I’m lining up a reservation for when we can again cross………………and taking a few Penny books with me. Wonderful!

Genre: Book 

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Richard Price

Title: “Lush Life “

Review:    Richard Price is a magnificent modern American writer-though not for everyone. His books are dark and gritty literary essays on angst driven urban life. Alienation, isolation, loneliness, hypocrisy and manipulation reverberate throughout his work. The Lower East Side is his Shangri-La…. but it’s a fearsome and dark place. This novel might seem like a crime novel on first glance, but it’s really a treatise on city life, alcoholism and despair. None do that better. Price is not prolific- he’s only written a handful of novels in 30 plus years, but his work is worth waiting for-especially if you can get through the first 50 pages. A principle writer for Film and TV (The Wire) his books are like watching a film, crisp dialog and all. See if he’s for you- he’s worth it.

Genre: Book        

Grade:  B+/B

Notable People: David Baldacci

Title: “The Fallen “

Review:    the ten thousandth listing in this book machine author’s catalog, and fourth in “The Memory Man” series……this stuff is all new to me. I’ve known of Baldacci for years, but managed to never read any of his work…since I generally turn my nose up at NY times bestselling authors. But, alas, the library is mostly closed and getting books from other libraries has slowed to a crawl…so I was lost and jonesing. Hit the living room shelves, where our benefactress had a wellspring of popular books and picked out this one. Baldacci has created a fascinating protagonist in Amos Decker, former pro footballer with head injuries, who is a semi- FBI agent with perfect recall and total lack of emotional response. The story line is pretty farfetched …..as in how may deaths, bombings, kidnappings, sabotage can happen in two weeks in a small town in Western PA….but Baldacci write really well, his characters jump off the page, and he kept me in suspense for a week…so…all in all…worth a shot.

Genre: Book   

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Louise Penny

Title: “The Cruellest Month “

Review:    Fascinating……these books are mysteries but beautifully chronicle to unique Quebecois culture of the rural Eastern Townships of Southern Quebec. It’s amazing how you can cross the border and five minutes later it is like being in the French countryside. Penny does an incredible job of painting the place and culture- and far transcends the mystery genre. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is an unforgettable character, and the fictional village of Three Pines a place we will all want to visit…maybe stay. The whodunit part may be a little farfetched – this one involves murder at séance in a clearly haunted house- but, then, who cares. This is book #3 of the current 14 editions….gonna have to pace them out or I’ll be through them all by the end of the year.

Genre: Book            

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Carl Hiaasen

Title: “Squeeze Me” “

Review:    Hiaasen is the wonderful Frankenstein creator, mixing the legendary John D. MacDonald and the insane Tom Robbins. He is the heir apparent to MacDonald’s legacy as the prose laureate of south Florida. His books are quirky continuations of Macdonald’s 40 year writing assault on the corruption and colonization of the Everglades, the Keys and the Swamp. He has produced some series but most of his are standalone works, though they tend to recycle some of the same characters for years and books on end. This book had me laughing from start to finish. Written in 20202, and set in post-Pandemic Palm Beach, and mostly around the Winter White House, it is a too-good-to-be true- account of our finally- vacating leader and his wife (Mastodon and Mockingbird to the Secret Service). It has everything you’d want in a read… drunken widows called the POTUS Pussies (or Potussies), unhinged giant Boa Constrictors, stoned secret service agents, lunatic campaigns against illegal immigrants, wild sex in the halls of the White House, and a guest appearance of the long missing one eyed Florida Governor living hermitically in the swamp….and a wonderful protagonist. Angie, who is a wild animal remover. The take on the Trumpsters is beyond wonderful. Need a Corona- break…this will do it.

Genre: Book     

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Louise Penny

Title: “A Fatal Grace”

Review:    How good is it when you find a series to sink your teeth into, and you know you have many installments yet to read? Penny’s Armand Gamache is an unforgettable character, presiding over the homicide unit of the Montreal Surrete and espousing wisdom and wonder at every turn. A modern day Maigret. This one seems to me to be built around the lyric for the Leonard Cohen song “Anthem” (When the light gets in) and again dives deep into the Quebecois culture of the small eastern townships along the Quebec- Vermont border. Gamache returns to the quaint village of Three Pines, where murder and mayhem seem to abound- with his troupe of happy and unhappy campers in tow. Book #2 further develops the wonderful town characters introduced in the first volume, is splendidly written and packs a wild story of insecurities, jealousy, lifelong loyalties…all set is a series of mid-winter Quebec snowstorms. The books are written much in the magnificent lineage of the great and prolific Georges Simenon, a hero of Gamache, by the way. Perhaps a bit farfetched as mysteries go, but what a wonderful ride. Gotta get #3 very soon.

Genre: Book   

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Steve Hamilton

Title: “The Lock Artist”

Review:    Hamilton, the fine creator of the Alex McKnight mystery series, took a break from that in 2008 to write this compelling standalone novel. The story follows the coming of age of a young man horribly damaged by his parents’ domestic violence, and death, and his traumatic treatment in the process. These events leva him unable to speak…not one word. He finds his calling as a master safe cracker, which leads him through the peculiar world of extremely dangerous and devious people involved in very high end, well planned thefts. Set in Detroit, New York and LA….it is a deeply haunting book that makes you jump out of your skin wanting to root for our protagonist. Hamilton is a superior writer and storyteller -really gets into people’s heads- and this is a wonderful surprise, albeit a dark one. Probably will learn more than you ever wanted to know about picking locks.

Genre: Book     

Grade:  A

Notable People: Louise Penny

Title: “Still Life”

Review:    What a find from my friend Maux’ considerable taste catalog. Penny writes her mysteries (Crime? Life?) in southern Quebec, where she lives. Her Chief Inspector Gamache of the Montreal Surrete is one for the ages…a combo of Bruno and Margret. Feels more like France than North America with a tightly wound story centered on the petite ville of Three Pines in Quebec’s eastern townships. Lots of underlying references to the ancient French Canadian culture and the eternal prospects of Quebecois succession. Loved the characters; loved the place; loved the story. First in an ongoing current series. Already ordered the next two from the library Big time keeper!!!.

Genre: Book 

Grade:  B+

Notable People: Julie Smith

Title: “New Orleans Mourning”

Review:    Mid 90s pre-Katrina book set in New Orleans, that introduced Smiths ongoing series featuring heroine NOLA policewoman, Skip Langdon. Interesting to read about NOLA before the storms hit and changed everything. Book is focused around the Uptown/Garden District blue bloods of N’Awlins and how they try to get away with murder-literally. If you’ve spent time there, this book is loaded with place – relevant chestnuts, and the story is a good one, but Smith (a former reporter for the New Orleans Picayune) lacks the kind of grit details that you find in Tony Dunbar’s Tubby books and frankly, lacks depth in her writing. Characters seemed stiff an formulaic to me….but still a good, quick read if you like the place. I’ll give her another shot to see how her craft advances.

Genre: Book       

Grade:  B+/B

Notable People: Paul Doiron

Title: “One Last Lie”

Review:    Doiron’s latest in his highly acclaimed Maine Game Warden, Mike Bowditch series…is a bit flat. Though the characters remain vivid and the setting of remote Maine is still sharp and continues to develop, the story seems more farfetched than his usual and rambled on a bit. This one focuses on a long forgotten murder and its long hidden survivors and is set in the rugged areas along the Canadian border. Doiron is a lifelong Mainer and it shows. He’s also quite the naturalist. I probably would not highly recommend this as a standalone book, but it’s a rich continuation of this fine series, which I do highly recommend.