Category: Stu’s Reviews

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People:  Kate Quinn

Title: The Alice Network

Review: This is a completely compelling novel about two women searching for justice in post war(two) France. The historical context centers around the true story of “The Alice Network”- a mostly unknown network of Female allied spies during the first world war- which is an absolutely extraordinary story of heroism, bravery and composure under the direst of circumstances. The book flashes back and forth between the two world wars and to 1947 when the older woman (an “Alice” from the first war) and the younger woman (searching for her beloved and lost childhood cousin in post war France) hook up for a momentous road trip across the continent to find the Nazi collaborator that holds the key to both their mysteries. Well rooted in historical facts and enticing with its characters, this boo lacks some polish in writing style, but is still mesmerizing.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People:  Louise Penny

Title: The Nature of the Beast

Review: I think by now everyone who reads this knows how I regard Penny’s Gamache works. This is the 11^th in this astounding series that combines mystery with philosophy, psychology, religion and a great deal of angst…. all told by an absolute master storyteller. This one has a now retired Gamache newly settled in the idyll of Three Pines in the Eastern Townships of southern Quebec- just a throw from the Vermont border……grappling with the discovery of the largest weapon of mass destruction ever assembled which has been hiding in the woods for almost 30 years. There is murder, mayhem, The Whore of Babylon (no shit!), Neil Young and the ever more revealed cast of wonderful characters. Did I mention we also have Saddam Hussein? I though this one might be a wee bit more farfetched than the previous tall stories-but still almost impossible to put down. The next one is by my bedside, but I need to read a few other books first, to avoid feeling like an addict.

Genre: Book  

Grade: A

Notable People:  Britt Bennett

Title: The Vanishing Half

Review: Absolutely marvelous second novel by this California wittier, who won all kinds of awards for her first effort “Mothers”, which I loved and reviewed here last year. The second book is even better. Gripping from the very start, with great plot twists, dead on psychological insights and a challenging forum for looking at racism through a variety of lenses. The book travels from rural Louisiana to DC, Los Angeles and New York and back in this radiant story of two twin sisters raised in a community exclusively of extremely light skinned black people (fictional Mallard, LA.), who pursue their adult identities in dramatically different fashions, and the effects on their lives, their daughters, their communities and each other. Very, very powerful and exceedingly well written book that was a gift from my daughter, who continues to challenge me on issue of social significance.

Genre: Book

Grade: B+

Notable People:  Harlan Coben

Title: Deal Breaker

Review: Got this book as birthday gift; one in a long series by the prolific Coben, that features Myron Bolitar. Bolitar is fledgling sports agent, former pro football player and FBI special agent, who has a pension foe trouble. It’s an interesting premise and wicked whodunnit with some innovative characters. The writing is above average, but not sterling. Bolitar is somewhat in the classic private eye mode and the book is an illuminating take on the down and dirty of sports agents. Coben has a number of series he writes, and is, coincidentally, the author of “No Second Chance” which was made into a fresh steaming series that I recently watched and was quite good. His books seem to be particularly suitable for transfer to the screen. If you are a big mystery fan, this is a good book- if you are not, it’s a skip.

Genre: Book 

Grade:  A

Notable People: Louise Penny

Title:  “The Long Way Home”

Review:      If my previous dozen or so reviews have not motivated you to check out Penny’s extraordinary Chief Inspector Gamache series……. well……you’re missing something. These books are brilliantly written- blending crime fiction with masterful psychological drama and a wonderful sense of both place and humor. Penny is simply the bomb. These books are very hard to put down. This one has it all. Gamache has seemingly retired and moved in to his muse, the fabled village of Three Pines, Quebec……but that does not end his internal and external investigations to solve complicate crimes and resolve life arcs. The cast of characters only gets better with each work, and this one takes us on a wild ride to the remote and mysterious corner of Quebec along the St. Lawrence Seaway….to the beauty of the Charlevoix region (a must trip). Along the way we have forty year old cults, crazed artists, a road trip for the ages….and…..the Garden of Cosmic Speculation (NO SHIT!!!!). I’d say you can’t make this shit up, but Penny does and with reverence and aplomb. Masterpieces!