Category: Books

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Jo Walton

Title: Ha’Penny

Review: The second in Walton’s brilliant trilogy set in 1949 post war Britain, where Nazi Germany and Britain have an uneasy “peace with honor”, and Europe is controlled by the Nazi marauders. . Inspector Carmichael is back, investigating a possible terrorist threat to murder Hitler and his imaginary British Prime Minister colleague. The book rotates chapters between Carmichael and an actress playing a gender bending Hamlet, who unwittingly becomes involved in the conspiracy to change the rapidly Fascist oriented world. This is an amazing piece of revisionist history..…exceptionally written, and beyond complex. Can’t wait until book
three.

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Tony Dunbar

Title: Tubby Meets Katrina

Review: The seventh installment in Dunbar’s’ delightful Big Easy Lawyer Tubby Dubonnet series…this one in must do reading in my book. Dunbar is always good and Tubby is a wonderful character…plus the sense in the books of N’Awlins is as good as any I’ve read. But this….this is the best understated account of the aftermath of Katrina I’ve yet seen. The overwhelming chaos, the sense of loss, the world run amok…..all framed within a little mystery story. Gripping and unforgettable. Go get it!

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jo Walton

Title: Farthing

Review: Riveting first book in Walton’s pseudo sci-fi/revisionist history novel about post war England; in which a small group of wealthy British aristocrats were able to broker peace with Hitler in 1941 (“peace with honor” over Churchill’s rampage), and effectively end the war…and turn the rest of Europe, and it’s Jews, over to Nazi domain. The book is ostensibly a murder mystery that is really a treatise on the rise of Fascism. Well executed, well written, compelling….very unsettling. I’m on to the second in the series very soon.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Walter Mosely

Title: Big Bad Brawley Brown
Review: Walter Mosely is a national treasure….and has been for eons. He has been writing the Easy Rawlins titles for 25-30 years and they never disappoint. Starting in post war- just getting settled LA in his first efforts…this one picks up in 1964. Mosley’s musings on Race in America are priceless and his feel for the underbelly of life in LA is amazing. These are mysteries but Mosley far transcends the genre. Mosley is simply one of our best. Easy Rawlins is a character for the ages. I saw a film of one his early books and Easy was played by Denzel….which is an image that I can’t get out of mind….and fits to a tee. If you are lucky, you might get this book re-gifted to you during the holidays.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+/B

Notable People: Linda Castillo

Title: A Gathering of Secrets

Review: the next in a long line of Amish Country Police Chief Kate Burkholder series. These books are extremely well written with a great sense of life in Amish- land. Castillo continues to further develop her characters and describe the culture very well. But, how much bad shit can happen in one Amish community? Gets a bit farfetched at times…but a good ride nonetheless.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+/B

Notable People: Darryl Gregory

Title: Spoonbenders

Review: this is one weird book. The story of a family of psychics involved in fuzzy espionage with the government and trying for years to be famous. The characters are rich, the writing somewhat reminiscent of Tom Robbins. I could not decide how to rate this book…thought it was hokey at times…..and could not put it down. A random selection someone gave me. The Telemachus family is worth checking out….very strange.

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Kristin Hannah

Title: The Great Alone

Review: I read Hannah’s Nightingale book earlier this month, and was so impressed I went looking for more of her work. It appears she is prolific and writes a lot of what is considered “romance novels”…but I found this recent one that is another clear split from the usual. This is one of the most challenging reads I’ve had in a while. Filled with PTSD and domestic violence, it is the story of a young girl relocating to the pure wilds of the Kenai Peninsula in remote Alaska with her crazed Vietnam vet father and helpless mother, circa early 70s. The portrayal of life in “the great alone” is spectacular and the story quite compelling. Trapped in a remote cabin with an explosive and paranoid father for eight months of 18 hour a day winter, it is a fearsome portrayal of living in a very narrow world without seeming options….until…..but I wont spoil it. Memorable characters and a well-developed setting takes this novel to another level. Difficult. Spellbinding. Captivating.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+

Notable People: Paul Doiron

Title: Knife Creek

Review: Another in along lone of Doiron’s fine series about Maine Game Warden, Mike Bowditch. A compelling, and at times, spellbinding read…this book, like all in the series, is exceedingly well written. The characters are always intriguing and the remote Maine setting is well presented. That said, it is getting a bit farfetched that one Fish and Wildlife guy remote areas of Maine can see this much death, carnage and destruction. Makes it seem like the most dangerous place on earth. Still…..highly enjoyable…I’ll read the next one.

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Kristin Hannah

Title: Nightingale

Review: Two French sisters trying to live ordinary lives in France in 1939, become major players in the French Resistance. This book is a bombshell…..brilliantly written and conceived…and absolutely illuminating account of the war from inside the destruction and torment of small village France. The characters are marvelous, the Nazi brutality staggering, the French resolve far beyond belief. Could only read in small segments, as I wept throughout. Hannah is known for her catalog of “romantic novels”, but she apparently really broke the mold on this one. This book is not easy to read….but I would not have missed it for the world.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+/B

Notable People: Steve Hamilton

Title: Exit Strategy

Review: this is Hamilton’s second effort in his new Nick Mason series- after his ten plus year run with his Alex McKnight books. I thought the first in the series (The Second Coming of Nick Mason) was an absolutely extraordinary kickoff novel…..but this one faltered a bit for me. In the first book, Mason scraped his way through some very dangerous situations; in this one the scenarios just seemed way too unbelievable…so crossed the reality line for me. That said, the book is extremely well written, as always with Hamilton, and Nick Mason is an utterly compelling character. You want to know Irish culture in Chicago…this is quite the education. The story of a small time criminal taking the rap for his friends , and getting a 25 year stretch – only to be handpicked by an imprisoned gangland kingpin to get his freedom back in trade for enslavement to his outside immoral bidding…is hard hitting and at times, riveting. I’d just prefer some shackles of reality be aped. Hoping for a better third installment.