Category: Books

Genre: Book    

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Ann Patchett

Title: “The Dutch House”

Review:    Award winning novelist’s eighth novel takes on three generations of a broken family covering a period of fifty years. Set outside Philadelphia in an ornate mansion that becomes the obsessive focal point of the family’s life, it is a beautifully told story of loyalty, surrender, rediscovery and complete angst. The characters are vivid, the relationships heart wrenching, the prose top notch and has a wonderful evocation of time and place. A memorable read thanks to my most erudite referral sources, Feel and Maux.

Genre: Book 

Grade:  A-/B+

Notable People: Caleb Carr

Title: “The Alienist”

Review:    A huge dynamic book that many will be familiar with from the TV series, though I’ve never seen it and did not make the connection until I got the book (after reading Carr’s most recent work, “Surrender, New York”). Carr likes historical fiction with very real characters and is thorough is his research; think Teddy Roosevelt, John Pierrepoint Morgan, William James). Alienists were the precursors to today’s criminal profilers and reviled as dingbats and heretics during the 19^th century. This book takes place in turn of the century New York-a very different place than it is now, and it is a wonderful picture of the time and place. The pursuit of a “whore-boy” serial killer is fascinating and well-grounded in both the theories of the time and what we now know. Hard to put down for most of the book though the end was little shadowy. Good one to hunker down with.

Genre: Book      

Grade:  B

Notable People: Tony Dunbar

Title: “Night Watchman”

Review:    this is the ninth in Dunbar’s Tubby Dubonnet series. Tubby is a N’Awlins lawyer trying to live the good life, but nagged by conscience to do the right thing. Complimented by a splendid cast of characters and Dunbar’s (a local attorney) amazing sense of the city, the books are quality diversions. This one went a little overboard with Tubby becoming haunted with a murder he witnessed when first coming to The Easy in 1970……which leads to the usual mayhem…. how many car bombings can go off unnoticed in one day? The story lost momentum in the last third, and had poor resolve, but a very quick and entertaining read, nonetheless. If so inclined, you could follow Dunbar’s food and drink descriptions for a memorable tour of the city.

Genre: Book 

Grade:  B+

Notable People: Anthony Doerr

Title: “About Grace”

Review:    Hard to believe……500th review over the last eight years or so…. must need something else to do……This is a very complicated first novel from the author of “All the Light We Cannot See”, which I reviewed here and loved. Doerr is meticulous in his writing and at times a bit hard to keep up with. This is a sweeping story of a tortured hydrologist and his quest for some form of truth and meaning…. lots and lots of minutia about all things water in the book, most of it symbolic. The story takes place over 30 or so years moving from Anchorage to Cleveland to St. Vincent’s in the Caribbean, as the protagonist tries to find his wife and daughter, who he abandoned in in 1979 during a flood in Cleveland that he had dreamed would occur (a frequent event in the book). He has no idea if his daughter had died in the flood and escapes to the Caribbean, living a minimalist existence and obsessing over the causal link between his dreams and people’s horrific misfortunes- possibly even his daughter’s death. I was inclined to give up on this book multiple times, but it kept me just enough hooked to carry on, and was glad I did. This is a book that takes time to read and absorb, but is ultimately quite moving.

Genre: Book   

Grade:  A-

Notable People: Steve Hamilton

Title: “Night Watch”

Review:    Hamilton, the author of the long running and wonderful Alex McKnight mystery series, also writes standalone books and this is his latest….and a total gem. Like film noir??…. this is for you. I can imagine a young Robert Mitchum in the lead role. It’s a murder story shrouded in the cacophony of a man’s devastating grief and loss. Joe Trumbull is quite the everyman- a widower, jazz lover, boxer and ………of all things…. a juvenile probation officer, in…. of all places……Kingston, New York. As someone who has worked in juvenile justice for most of my adult life, this is a rare treat and the life is portrayed pretty well. As someone who has spent considerable time in the sleepy city of Kingston, that an unusual, and appreciated, choice for venue. Honestly, could not put his one down, and devoured it in three readings. Hamilton is really good.

Genre: Book      

Grade:  A

Notable People: Delia Owens

Title: “Where the Crawdads Sing””

Review:    another in long line of culturally sensitive books my daughter has given me, with obvious implications. This is Owens, a longtime Naturalist’s first novel, and it a gem. Set in coastal North Carolina from 1952 to 1970, it is the story of “The Marsh Girl” (Kya) , a young woman deserted by all her family as a seven year old, who raises herself in the wetlands of the remote Outer Banks. It’s a masterful Whodunit mixed in with a beautiful coming of age story and a treatise of the ecology of the swamp. Beautifully written and told, with characters that jump off the page. Starts a bit slowly, but becomes hypnotic………….did not want it to end……ever.

Genre: Book   

Grade:  A-/B+

Notable People: Alex Michaelides

Title: “The Silent Patient”

Review:    Chilling and suspenseful first novel that baffled me throughout. The book starts in London with a disturbed woman killing her husband and goes on a whirlwind from there. It is told through the lens of her equally disturbed psychotherapist, and the erstwhile murderess’ journals, and is full of unusual twists and turns. Not a traditional mystery, and more of a full blown treatise on borderline personalities. The psychological themes and jargon are well researched and the use very short chapters allow for absorbing the intense narrative. I had no idea where this was going until the very end. Quite an inaugural effort, though the writing has some maturing to do. A number one NY Times bestseller, which was gifted to me, and made me wonder about the symbolism off that.

Genre: Book

Grade:  A

Notable People: Linda Castillo

Title: “Outsider”

Review:    The 19^th book in the Kate Burkholder series is the best yet in my estimation. In a major departure, the entire story more or less takes place in a snowbound Amish house in the fictitious Painters Mill, Ohio. This book delves into Kate’s challenging past and her break from her origin Amish family and community, as well as the introduction of a fascinating character from her past. Additional bonus for some of us- much of the book is centered on Columbus, Ohio and deadly corruption in the Columbus Police Department-allegedly fictional (but some of us would be believers). The main series characters have developed very well over the years, the writing is taut and suspenseful, the sense of Amish life, culture and place is extraordinary. Very, very compelling reads.

Genre: Book         

Grade:  A

Notable People: Martin Walker

Title: “The Shooting at Chateau Rock”

Review:    Merdi, Merdi, Bruno……the latest in the long running Bruno, Chief of Police series- one that just continues to get better. Though framed as mysteries, these books are much, much more-full of French custom, philosophy, history, politics and the resplendent life of the magnificent Perigord region. Plus, you get play by play recipes of one of the world’s most distinguished foodie enclaves. And, it is a whopper of a tale to boot.  I took two weeks to read this book in short installments just because I did not want it to end. Check them out!!!

Genre: Book 

Grade:  B+

Notable People: CJ Box

Title: “Long Range”

Review:    the 20^th installment in box’s Joe Pickett series continues the wild adventures of the Wyoming Fish and Game Warden, who cannot avoid ruining pickup trucks and being shot at. Box is one of the best writing today in this genre. This one is filed with dark forces, drug cartels, political intrigue and a tumultuous plot……read it in three days flat. I will say it felt a bit predictable and repetitive of some previous efforts, but still an exciting read. Joes’ perennial sidekick, the Master Falconer Nate Romanowski, remains a character for the ages. Start at the beginning with this series- it will keep you busy and entertained for quite a while.