The Middleman

This novel by Olen Steinhauer, author of numerous other political thrillers and the author behind the TV series "Berlin Station," presents us with a protest movement against the wealthy elite and the government (remember the Occupy movement?) called The Massive Brigade. Or are they more than that? FBI Rachel Proulx has been following terrorist groups and alarms go off for her when 400 + young adults just walk out of their lives on the same day, all over the country, leaving behind family, friends, jobs, cell phones, money and identities...and disappear without a word. Rachel has been tracking Martin Bishop, the leader of the group, for years, but can she convince her colleagues that there is a serious threat here before it's too late. Told alternately from her perspective as well as that from Kevin Moore, one of those who walked away. It gets hard to tell the good guys from the bad, probably an accurate depiction of our times. Interesting, but some of his other books have received stronger reviews and I might check them out. I'm already on the lookout for "Berlin Station."
Reviews from The New York Times, the Washington Post, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.

The Darkest Minds

This YA novel by Alexandra Bracken was intended to be the first of a trilogy although it will possibly extend beyond that. It has been made into a movie, already. The premise is that a plague has wiped out most of America's children; the ones who survived have developed unusual powers--telekinesis, mind-reading, and other psychic abilities that scare the adults, who promptly turn their children over to authorities to be housed in "Rehabilitation Camps." Of course they are no such thing and, years after her incarceration, 16-year-old Ruby escapes with several others, all of whom are looking for a place where Psi children will be safe, the fabled East River. She hooks up with young Zu, whose touch burns, Chubb, a genius, and their leader, Liam. When they eventually find the refuge, it is led by the least likely person imaginable, the son of the President of the U.S. who created the camps. Ruby eventually begins to realize that not all is as it seems at their new home and doesn't know who to trust when everyone wants something from her. Here's the review from Publishers Weekly.

The Dry

Not to be confused with Dry, a YA novel I posted about earlier, this taut mystery--an inaugural outing by author Jane Harper--is set in the Outback of Australia, 5 hours from Melbourne where most people are sheep ranchers or farmers. Except there has been a drought for several years and what was once a deep and life-giving river through the town of Kiewarra has gone dry. Aaron Falk has returned after 20 years for the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, who is believed to have killed his wife and son and then himself. His baby daughter was left alive. But Luke's parents, who were more of a family to Aaron than his widowed father, just can't believe it, and they beg Aaron, a federal financial crimes investigator, to look further into the matter. The problem is, Aaron and his father were basically run out of town when Aaron and Luke's friend, Ellie, was found drowned in the river. A note was found with the word Falk written on it and people assumed either father or son had killed her. Luke provided Aaron an alibi, for which he was grateful until years later when Aaron began to realize that Luke's claim that they were together also provided an alibi for Luke. Now Aaron wonders just what Luke was capable of. He joins forces with the local police chief, who is relatively new on the job, and who doesn't quite buy the murder /suicide theory because some clues just aren't consistent with that scenario. Aaron must fight on two fronts--finding out what really happened to Luke and his family even though people in town just want to be done with it, and dealing with the ugly rumors and harassment which have been reignited by Ellie's drunken father and cousin. Are the deaths connected? And more importantly, will Aaron be able to ever find out what really happened to his friend Ellie and to Luke's family. Apparently the movie rights have already been optioned for this. There are two newer novels, Force of Nature (also featuring Aaron Falk) and The Lost Man, which will be released in the U.S. in February.
Lots of good reviews for this award-winning ( the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year) book from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and The New York Times.

House of Names

I've never read any books by Colm Tóibín although he has had several well-known ones, including Brooklyn, which was made into a movie. Still I was intrigued by the premise of the book and by the opening line: "I have been acquainted with the smell of death." This spoken by Clytemnestra, the wife of Agammemnon, who is one of the principle narrators of this novel about the ultimate dysfunctional family. Furious that her warring husband has tricked her and their beautiful daughter, Iphigenia, into coming to his camp with a lure of marriage to the hero Achilles, Clytemnestra finds instead that Agammemnon will humiliate and sacrifice his daughter to the gods in exchange for favorable winds for his fleet. Returning home, Clytemnestra takes up with her husband's cousin, Aegisthus, both as a lover and as a co-conspirator in her plan to murder Agammemnon upon his return. Daughter Electra is put into a dungeon while the deed is done and left there to cool her heels for a time to bring her into line. Clytemnestra never tells her about her sister's murder. Orestes is sent away with the sons of many of the local powerful families--kidnapped essentially to keep everyone in line as Clytemnestra and Aegisthus take over the throne. A big chunk of the book focuses on Orestes' escape with two of the other kidnapped boys who hide out in the country far from home for several years. When he returns, vengeful Electra tells Orestes of Agammemnon's murder and convinces him to help kill Clytemnestra and avenge their father...so the cycle continues. The story is rampant with whispers and ghosts.
While Tóibín is a compelling writer, I did not find this a satisfying story; however, it is the quintessential tragedy. Lengthy and laudatory reviews from NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Washington Post, and Kirkus.

Black Diamond

See the previous post, which is about Bruno, Chief of Police, the first in Martin Walker's Bruno series. This is the 3rd book in the series and some day, I will have to go back and read the 2nd, The Dark Vineyard. Bruno, who is honorifically titled Chief of Police for the French village of St. Denis, even though he is the only policeman in the village, is doing his shopping in the weekly farmers' market when several hoodlums race through on motorcycles and destroy the stall of a local Vietnamese family. Within days, an Asian restaurant in a nearby town is fire bombed. Then Bruno begins to get hints that the local truffle trade--the "black diamonds" that provide a multi-million dollar source of income for the region--is being threatened by substitutions from smuggled and inferior Chinese truffles. When his dear friend and truffle expert is brutally murdered, Bruno up to his ears in mysteries. But, as Bruno learns, his friend was also a former intelligence agent whose work may have made him a target, and there may be more important things being smuggled in from Asia than mushrooms. Once again, painful episodes from France's past, this time its colonial relationship with Vietnam, will surface and spoil the sense of a peaceful pastoral paradise. Bruno would really rather just focus on cooking, drinking wine, hunting truffles with his dog Gigi, playing and coaching rugby, and sorting out his "romances past (Isabelle of the Police Nationale), present (exotically English Pamela), and possibly future (needy single mother and research chemist Florence)."[from Publishers Weekly review]
As always, you'll want to add the Perigord region to your travel itinerary or at least go find the closest French bakery.  Additional reviews from Kirkus, The Independent, and the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Bruno, Chief of Police

I actually read this book by Martin Walker, the first of the Bruno series, some time back, but, having recently read another book in the series, I thought I should go back and fill in. Bruno Courrèges is the Chief of Police in the small town of St. Denis, in the Perigord region of France, known for foie gras and truffles. Bruno loves to cook and feed his friends. He raises animals on his little acreage and grows his own vegetables. He also plays on the local sports teams and coaches the youth soccer team. Most of the time, life is quiet in St. Denis and that's how he likes it, but he can call on a network of contacts when real trouble arises. An elderly ex-soldier who lived in the village has been found brutally tortured and murdered with a swastika carved into his chest. Because this is deemed a hate crime, competing police forces intercede and want to shut Bruno out of the investigation. Bruno however is good at skirting the national authorities and begins to think this crime has its roots in WWII and especially in a group called the Milice. According to Wikipedia, the Milice:
"was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy regime (with German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War II. The Milice's formal head was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, although its Chief of operations and de facto leader was Secretary General Joseph Darnand. It participated in summary executions and assassinations, helping to round up Jews and résistants in France for deportation....The Milice was the Vichy regime's most extreme manifestation of fascism....The Milice frequently used torture to extract information or confessions from those whom they interrogated. The French Resistance considered the Milice more dangerous than the Gestapo and SS because they were native Frenchmen who understood local dialects fluently, had extensive knowledge of the towns and countryside, and knew local people and informants."
Bruno also uses his local knowledge to flush out possible motives for murder. As The New York Times says in its review of Walker's 2nd installment in the series, The Dark Vineyard, Bruno works with "great discretion, circulating so quietly and tactfully among his neighbors that his interviews are more like friendly visits. It’s a wonderful detection method and an even cannier literary strategy, allowing Walker to pursue the plot of his mystery while beguiling the reader with extended scenes of village market days, old-fashioned wine harvests and some exceptionally congenial dinner parties." Of course, uncovering this information exposes some dark aspect of France's history, a marked contrast to the seemingly idyllic presentation of St. Denis. Nevertheless, you'll find yourself wanting to go there or at least enjoy some French cuisine.  Read this article in the NYT for some insights on the village and cuisine which so richly embellish these books.

City of Stairs

I recently read another book by Robert Jackson Bennett, Foundryside, and liked it so well that I decided to jump into his "Divine Cities" trilogy. I do love the main characters, Shara Thivani and Sigrud, Shara's so-called secretary, who Shara refers to as “a hammer in a world of nails.” But I felt a little overwhelmed by the rather complex geography and accompanying rash of place names. As in Foundryside, there is a mix of magic and technology that lends the book a somewhat steampunk aura, and once again the protagonist is a small, seemingly unpretentious woman--yay for that. Shara has been sent to the Continental city of Bulikov, presumably as an assistant cultural ambassador from the now ruling country of Saypur, to investigate the murder of Shara's friend and mentor and an eminent historian of the Continent, Dr. Efrem Pangyui. At one time the Continent was ruled by six Divinities and was the dominant power in the world, cruelly treating Saypur as a poor and backward colony. But the tables turned when one of Saypur's own, the Kaj, discovered a way to kill the Divinities; Saypur went to war with the Continent and when the Divinities died or fled, everything collapsed. After the "Blink," everything the gods had helped magically create disintegrated. Architecture, culture, the economy, and life as the population knew it are gone. Now Saypur calls the shots and no one is allowed to discuss any aspect of the Divinities or the Continent's history. But Shara is not  really a cultural ambassador; she is a spy--and one who is 2nd only to Dr. Pangyui in her knowledge of the Divinities and Continental history. And the gods may not all be dead, although perhaps not as all powerful as once imagined. And the population of Bulikov is not necessarily going to take the status quo lying down. Worst of all, Shara may have been betrayed by those she trusted the most. This is an incredibly complex storyline and sometimes it felt like it just went on too long. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable work of world building and once you get into it, you'll want to keep going.
By all means go read this nice summary by a reviewer for NPR. Here's a review from Kirkus, one from The New York Times, and from Publishers Weekly.

Wings of Fire

The second installation of Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge series finds our still struggling (see A Test of Wills post) still struggling with his shell shock and his ghost of guilt, Hamish MacLeod. Rutledge is sent to Cornwall to investigate the apparent double suicide of a reclusive invalid and her half-brother at their manor home. Although he soon learns that this woman was the famous poet O.A. Manning, whose poetry about the horrors of war--as well as about the desires of love-- helped keep Rutledge sane in the trenches, there doesn't seem anything suspicious about the deaths of the elderly siblings--that is until one of the heirs to the estate suddenly dies. As he investigates, Rutledge finds that there are a series of unsolved deaths and disappearances in the Trevelyan family. Tormented by Hamish's voice in his head, Rutledge decides to listen instead of trying to ignore it and uses these ideas instead to help him solve the crime. He must untangle a complex web of family dynamics and relationships in order to discover who is so desperate to inherit the manor, and in the process he may learn more about the woman who wrote such profoundly powerful poetry. Evocative setting, well-developed characters and a twisty plot will draw you in. Reviews from Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus.

A Test of Wills

This is the first in Charles Todd's (pseudonym of a mother & son writing team) Inspector Ian Rutledge series. Just a year after returning from The Great War, Rutledge has returned to his position at Scotland Yard, but not to his previous life. He is burdened with the guilt and ghost of a soldier he executed for cowardice on the front lines by the name of Hamish MacLeod. Additionally, Rutledge was buried alive in a suicidal last charge and suffers shell shock (now we call it PTSD), which he keeps secret. Persecuted by a cruel and manipulative superior at Scotland Yard, Rutledge is barely holding it together when he is sent off to investigate the death of retired Army colonel, Charles Harris. The villagers want to point the finger at a local trouble maker, Bert Mavers, but what little evidence there is points in another direction entirely--to Capt. Mark Wilton, the fiancé of Col. Harris' ward, Lettice. In a seemingly unrelated situation, the daughter of one of the villagers has suddenly become mute and Rutledge begins to think that whatever the child witnessed is somehow connected to the murder. Rich settings and characterization as well as clever plotting make this an engaging read. I actually decided to start  this series from the beginning after reading the newest installment, No Shred of Evidence.

Reviews available from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and The New York Times.

The Fifth Petal

This is a compelling read from Brunonia Barry set in current day Salem, MA. Here is the summary from the book jacket:
"When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem's chief of police, John Rafferty wonders if there is a connection between his death and a notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed "The Goddess Murders," in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town."
Callie was actually present when her mother and two other women were murdered, but she was hiding in some bushes and didn't see anything. She wasn't found until the next morning when nuns at a nearby convent heard her screams.  The title refers to an older style of crucifix with a 5-petaled rose which was clutched in the child's hand. Callie subsequently alternated between a series of foster homes and a home run by the nuns who told her that the woman who saved her had also died. Rose Whelan was a reknowned historian with expertise in the Salem witch trials; she was also a sort of stand-in grandmother who Callie and her mother had lived with. After the murders, however, she has became the local crazy bag lady, who believes she is harboring (bodily) the spirit of an evil banshee. When the present day murder occurs, Rose is blamed and the press about the event brings Callie back to Salem where she reconnects with Rose, who has been placed into a psychiatric unit at the hospital. Callie needs to solve the murder so that anti-witch hysteria does not take any more victims.
This is a well-researched book--5 years in the writing--skillfully blended with a multi-generational cast of characters and a complex plot. Lots of magic as well as ordinary human drama. I did not read the previous book involving these characters called The Lace Reader, but the story did not suffer as a result. Reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and an interview with The National Book Review.

Spinning Silver

I am so far behind on posting books I have read that I am a bit daunted, but here goes. This is the newest fantasy book by Naomi Novik; I've posted about Her Majesty's Dragon and Uprooted previously. Billed by the New York Times as a "brilliant" retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairly tale,
but so much more. They go on to summarize:
"Here Naomi Novik has gathered countless old tales and turned them into something all kinds of new. The theft of summer, a burning demon who lives inside a prince, a witch’s hut in the woods, the secret power of names, the frozen winter road that winds its way through the depths of the forest — they’re all here." It's a glowing review that includes a note about the value of fairy tales in troubled times.
Our protagonists are all strong female characters, which is a big recommendation from my perspective. Miryem is the daughter of a highly unsuccessful moneylender in a small village where her family is reviled and others all live better than they do, even though it's often on money borrowed from Miryem's father. As the family teeters on destitution's doorstep, she takes matters into her own hands and begins collecting the money owed her father, unfortunately bringing her to the attention of the King of Winter. He challenges her 3 times to turn his silver into gold. Our other heroines are Wanda, neighbor to Miryem's family, who struggles to free herself and her two brothers from an abusive alcoholic father, and Irina, the unloved daughter of a duke who is scheming to get access to the throne. Their efforts will come together as they each endeavor to save themselves as well as the ones they love from not only immediate threats, but from a threat to humanity. Additional reviews from NPR, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly... all of them glowing! Highly recommended read.

What Angels Fear

This is the first in the "Sebastian St. Cyr" mysteries by C.S. Harris (pseudonym for Candice Proctor); I read the 13th installment, Why Kill the Innocent, sometime back and wanted to start at the beginning. This series is set in Regency-era England; according to Wikipedia (and we know they are 100% reliable), this period lasted "from 1795 to 1837, which includes the latter part of the reign of George III and the reigns of his sons George IV and William IV, ... characterised by distinctive trends in British architecture, literature, fashions, politics, and culture." In this first installment, the "Mad King" George III is imminently (1811) to be replaced by a Regent, Prince George, who will eventually become King George IV in 1820. We also meet our protagonist, the 3rd and only surviving son of the head of the Exchequer, Lord Devlin. We learn he had worked for British Army intelligence (England is still at war with Napoleon) and has seen too many horrors to retain any positive views of humanity. Nevertheless, he has his own code of behavior, and when an actress, Rachel York, is brutally murdered, he undertakes to find the killer, not only because he is falsely charged with the crime, but because no one else seems to care.  Politics and behind-the-scenes struggles for power play a role when the King's right hand man, Lord Jarvis, insists that Sebastian (Viscount Devlin) be apprehended and convicted, even though the arresting magistrate has his doubts about Sebastian's guilt. Using his skills gained as an intelligence agent, his unique inherited abilities resulting from Bithil Syndrome*, the resourcefulness  of a resilient street urchin named Tom, and the insider information provided by former lover and current actress Kat Boleyn, Sebastian eventually figures out who the real killer is. But it may be too late to save himself. You can read an excerpt on Harris's web site. Great read for lovers of historical fiction, mysteries and Anglophiles.

* According to an author's note, Bithil Syndrome is a "little-known but very real genetic mutation found in certain families of Welsh descent [which]...is marked by astonishingly acute eyesight and hearing, and an abnormal sensitivity to light that allows those with this genetic variation to see clearly in the dark. Other characteristics of the syndrome include extraordinarily quick reflexes, a mis-shapen vertebra in the lower back, and yellow eyes..."

Foundryside

Robert Jackson Bennett has created a world, Tevanne, with elements of steampunk, dominated by several large and powerful commercial houses that control everything through mechanized magic. Using a process called "scriving,"  they make objects think they are something other than they are, i.e., it can alter the reality of things. Heavy things think they are light, stationary things think they are falling from great heights. But what if you scrived a human being. Could you make them think they are fearless, invincible, brilliant? Of course such a thing would be strictly forbidden if there were actually any laws, but such efforts have been secretly ongoing for decades in laboratories on remote colonies. Slaves are used up as experimental subjects and so far no one has succeeded. Or have they? Our protagonist, Sancia Grado, is a scrawny, underfed but extraordinarily accomplished young thief living in the slums that surround the great commercial houses. She has been hired by her fence to steal something that will give her enough money to get the metal plate out of her head that causes her searing pain in response to touch, light, sound--in fact, almost any sensation. But it also allows her to hear scrived devices murmuring and to understand everything about them when she touches them. Hence her success as a thief. She can find every nook, cranny, or hole through which to slip, and can hear the presence of anyone coming through touching a floor, a wall...
But things go awry and she accidentally starts a huge fire at the docks in the process of the theft. And when she opens the small box she stole--strictly against orders--she finds it contains an elaborate key that can talk to her. She names him Clef. But Clef was probably made by an ancient race of magicians who had achieved nearly god-like powers, and people are willing to kill to own him. So Sancia is on the run not only from the head of Tevanne's new security force but also from someone who wants to up-end the balance of power in Foundryside. This is an elaborate and well-crafted world with empathy-worthy characters and an elaborate and compelling plot. This is supposedly the opener for a new series. Bennett has also written the "Divine Cities" trilogy and several stand alone novels, I just started the first book in his previous trilogy, City of Stairs.

Murder Past Due

Doesn't get any better than this for a light cozy read: a cool Maine Coon cat, libraries, authors! First time I have read any of this "Cat in the Stacks" series by Miranda James (one of Dean James' pseudonyms), but I will definitely read more any time I want a little reprieve from the heavy stuff. This is the first in the series and we meet part-time university archivist, Charlie Harris and his rescued Maine Coon cat, Diesel. Charlie's wife as well as his dearest aunt both died a couple of years ago and so Diesel is his primary companion; he takes him everywhere, including walking him on a leash to work at the small university in Athena, Mississippi. When Aunt Dottie died, Charlie inherited her beautifully maintained old house and her house-keeper, Azalea, whose daughter, Kanesha Berry, is the Sheriff in charge of the investigation when a best-selling author and former classmate of Charlie's, Godfrey Priest, is murdered. Godfrey grew up in Athena and was always a jerk. He's still arrogant and rude but has just found out that he has a son by a woman he had a short affair with 19 years ago. That son, Justin Wardlow, turns out to be boarding with Charlie during his frehsman year at college. Between Justin's mom, Julia, and Azalea, who asks Charlie to help her daughter, Charlie gets involved with the investigation. And as Charlie learns more about Godfrey's life, the pool of suspects continues to grow; it seems that just about everybody in town has a reason to hate Godfrey Priest. Credible plotting, interesting characters, and authentic setting all add up to an enjoyable read.

Dry

This collaboration between YA author Neal Shusterman and (son) Jarrod Shusterman has been getting rave reviews (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly). The characters are all indeed young adults, but the theme is very current and of concern to all ages. Especially with California once again consumed by deadly fires, this tale of how quickly humanity descends into dysfunctionality when Arizona and Nevada stop the flow of the Colorado River into southern California was scary reading on a very visceral level. I started the book yesterday and finished early this morning if that gives you any idea of how engrossed I was. It reminded me strongly of The Water Knife (about which I wrote some time back) but told from the perspectives of several different teenagers. Alyssa, 16, is your typical high school student who plays soccer and has an annoying 10-year old brother, Garrett. Kelton's family are survivalists living next door in this suburban neighborhood; Kelton has had a crush on Alyssa forever, but she thinks he's creepy because of his family. Jacqui, 19, has been surviving on her wits for 2 years and only hooks up with the other 3 when they go looking for Alyssa and Garrett's now missing parents who went out to look for water. Henry is an adopted 13 year old left at home by his adoptive parents in a gated community while they are on a cruise. He is a schemer and opportunist and meets the other 4 when they come looking for Alyssa and Garrett's uncle. They all quickly find out that no amount of preparation is foolproof when things start to go sideways. The government is slow to respond; FEMA is focused on a hurricane and doesn't see the emergency from a water shortage. Except that it's not a shortage--that's been going on in California for a while; it's the Great Tap-Out and people die pretty quickly from lack of water. But before they do, they turn on one another, lose hope and give up, or become heroes. The questions about under what circumstances we lose our humanity are compelling.

The Alice Network

This historical novel from Kate Quinn, based on actual people and events, is told from two alternating perspectives. WWII has taken a terrible toll on Charlie St. Clair's family. Her brother James came home from the war "shell shocked" and eventually killed himself. Her cousin and dearest friend, Rose, was still in France when the Germans invaded and has not been heard from. Nineteen year old Charlie feels she failed them both and thus fell into her own depression, resulting in desperate and careless sexual encounters and an unwanted pregnancy. Her father is not speaking to her and her mother has brought her to Europe for the Swiss "cure" to her "Little Problem." But Charlie has decided to take this opportunity to slip away from her domineering French mother and find her missing cousin Rose. She has only one lead, the name on a missing persons report. When she shows up on the doorstep of one Eve Gardiner, instead of useful information she gets a gun pointed in her face and a belligerent and drunken threat to go away or get shot. But timid Charlie stays, in part because the hired help, another war shocked ex-soldier and Eve's driver, shows up to feed Eve breakfast. Not surprisingly, Finn becomes the love interest for Charlie. Eve is reluctantly convinced by a tidbit of information Charlie offers about the name of a restaurant where Rose had worked, and especially by the name of the owner, René.

The alternating story is told by Eve, a stuttering file clerk who is recruited to become a spy in WWI France because she speaks both French and German perfectly. She is minimally trained in England and then sent to the village of Lille, which is occupied by the Germans. She is greeted and managed by Lili--her pseudonym in the network--who was renowned in real life for timely and critical intelligence gathering. Eve is placed undercover as a somewhat dim-witted (the assumption people make as a result of her stutter) but competent waitress in a restaurant run by a collaborator, René Bordelon. If he is alive, Eve will hunt him to the ends of the earth for what he did to her. It is a taut tale from both perspectives and the unlikely alliance between the two brings closure--albeit tragic--to both. Great writing and compelling characters and settings.
Descriptive review from NPR. 

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President

This is the 2nd book by Candice Millard; my book group also read her River of Doubt, which I found equally engrossing. She is able to tell a good tale about actual historical events, chock full of detail about people as well as places and happenings. The title says it all. I knew nothing about James Garfield but according to Millard's website, "James Abram Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back." Not only do we follow the assassin's (Charles Guiteau) paranoid descent into a conviction that God wants him to kill Garfield, but we learn almost more than we want to know about the state of medicine in the United States (the NYT called Millard's description "fascinating, if appalling") that very probably was the actual cause of Garfield's death. Of course she tells us about the political machinations that got Garfield nominated and elected along with his wildly unpopular vice president, Chester A. Arthur. And we learn about the role of Alexander Graham Bell in trying to save the president with one of his inventions after Garfield was shot. It is truly a fascinating account and if you are a fan of Erik Larson, you will be happy to read this also.
Appropriately laudatory reviews from The New York Times, Kirkus, The Washington Post,  and Publishers Weekly.

The Music Shop

This novel by Rachel Joyce has one unique aspect: there is a play list (multiple ones actually) on YouTube for all the music mentioned in the book. And the range is wide--from punk to jazz to R & B to classical. The main character (not sure he could really be called a protagonist) is a lonely, affable teddy bear of a man who owns a run-down record shop in an even more run-down side street in London, neighboring a tattoo parlor, a funeral home, a Christian gift shop, a baker, the local tavern and a handful of residences. There are a couple of major environmental factors working against the success of the shop. First vinyl records are going the way of the dodo--it's the 80's--to be replaced by CD's, at least according to the recording company reps. Frank refuses to carry CD's and at some point the reps refuse to sell vinyl records to him UNLESS he buys CD's. The 2nd big challenge is a major development company that is trying to buy out all the residents of Unity Street and is probably instigating vandalism of the stores as a way to intimidate owners to sell. And it's working as one by one the shops start to close and neighbors sell out. The major problem is Frank himself, however, who comes from a pretty stunted childhood in some ways; although it was rich in music, it was very short of maternal care taking. His mother even drove away the one woman Frank loved, the one he believed could give him a normal life,  the one he thought was carrying his child. Now he keeps himself apart although he can, apparently and unfailingly, choose just the right music to solve the emotional problems of others. While I am a huge believer in the emotive resonance of music and, therefore, its power to move us--that is I love and endorse the premise of the book--I just did not like any of the characters. So I dutifully read the book for my book group but can't really recommend it. It reminds one strongly of The Little Paris Bookshop, which pursued the same plot line, only with much more engaging and empathetic characters. Most of the book group liked it, so I'm somewhat of an anomaly. I have liked her other books, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, both of which I've posted on this blog.
Here is an effusively glowing review from The Washington Post, another from The Guardian, and from Publishers Weekly. Even Kirkus loved it and thought it food for a film rendition--oh well, what do I know?!

Sandman

Lars Kepler, the pseudonym for husband-and-wife team of Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril, has written 7 novels in the "DS Joona Linna" series of Scandinavian noir, but this 4th installment is the first one I've read. I will refer you to the Washington Post's review for a succinct plot summary. Let it suffice to say that it is indeed very dark, and often grisly. It has to do with a serial killer, Jurek Walter, who, even though he is now in prison, is able to exert his evil influence on people outside, making them disappear or die terrible deaths. The action is precipitated when one of his victims, Mikael Kohler-Frost, makes an appearance after having been given up for dead 13 years ago. However, Mikael's sister, Felicia, is still missing and Joona is convinced that Walter knows where she is. Joona's colleague, Saga Bauer,  is sent onto the maximum security psych ward where Walter is being held to try and ascertain Felicia's whereabouts. Saga's experience on the ward create a sense of dread. There are all kinds of evil.
I think I got hooked on Scandinavian noir with Smilla's Sense of Snow (remember Gabriel Byrne in the film version?!) and I still regularly pick it up (see posts for Holt, Jansson, Jungstedt, and of course, Larsson), although, sometimes after reading one, I feel like I need to read something REALLY light and fluffy. Anyway, if you are a fan of the genre, you won't be disappointed here. Additional reviews from Kirkus, the New York Journal of Books, the Washington Times,  The New York Times and Publishers Weekly.

Child 44

My friend Anne Zald turned me on to Tom Rob Smith, and suggested I read this book first. It was so hard to read in places because I just knew things were going to go badly downhill for the characters, that I did what I seldom do...I read the last chapter to see how it turned out and then went back and finished the book. Some reviewers say the ending is too pat, but it allowed me to finish the book. It is set in post WWII Moscow for the most part; it's 1953 and Stalin has created a terrorist dictatorship masquerading as the Communist idealistic society. Everyone knows things are broken but no dares even think it, much less say it, lest the secret police take you away in the middle of the night and present you with the "evidence" that you are a traitor.   Our protagonist, "Leo Stepanovich Demidov, an M.G.B. officer with relentless ambition and an unquestioning nature" (NYT review) is called away from a major investigation to deal with the death of a fellow policeman's young son, Arkady. He resents not only being pulled into this thankless task, leaving the field of play in the big investigation to his competitor and enemy, but he must betray his colleague, who believes his son was murdered, in order to be loyal to the state. "It is not morally possible for Leo to contemplate such a question [murder]. As a loyal Soviet ideologue, he must believe that violent crime is a function of capitalist decadence. In a worker’s paradise only political-thought crimes matter. So unguarded children have nothing to fear. And Arkady’s story must be forgotten" (NYT review). As if this is not enough to threaten his status as a war hero and his career, he is then asked to investigate his own wife, Raisa. The dynamics between the two of the are truly complex, mainly because nobody is really honest about anything in Soviet Russia. Does he sacrifice her or protect her? You will find out the significance of the title eventually, but you will be filled with dread throughout the book. The Kafkaesque existence of the characters is reminiscent of those portrayed in novels dealing with North Korea (e.g., Inspector O series by James Church or Star of the North by David John). Additional reviews from The Guardian, Kirkus, The Telegraph. It was also made into a movie.

This is How It Always Is

This book by Laurie Frankel has a rather unexciting premise as its foundation, but I read it because my friend Joan Ward recommended it to me. It is the story of how one family copes when their youngest child decides at age 3 years that he would rather be a she. But that fails to convey what a beautifully written, loving, and compelling story this is.  You struggle along with the parents and the siblings as well as Claude/Poppy in trying to find the best path forward in a society that sees only "either/ or" rather than "and."
Rosie and Penn have a magical love for one another that seems to have begun before they even met. When first they get together, Penn is a struggling writer and Rosie is an ER resident. Penn sits in the ER waiting room every time Rosie has a shift--for hours at a time--just so he can talk with her on her breaks. He's working on a novel. When they marry, he becomes the stay-at-home parent. They have one boy, then two, and then four when twins are born, and in one final attempt for a daughter, they get Claude. But Claude really loves girl things--clothes, cooking, girlfriends--and Rosie and Penn are determined that they will support their wonderful child no matter what, so eventually he goes to pre-school in a skirt, wearing a pair of wings, and after some push back from his teacher, settles into being a girl with a penis. The other kids just don't care much at this stage. But of course that can't last. When a transgender college student is brought into the ER beaten and stabbed and dies, Rosie panics and decides Madison is not safe and they move to Seattle. Poppy becomes best friends with Aggie next door, and although Aggie's parents know about Claude/Poppy, they ask Rosie and Penn not to say anything to Aggie. And so the entire family guards this secret until it is no longer a secret. The next step Rosie takes to help her youngest is more dramatic. She volunteers to work at a clinic in rural Thailand and takes Claude/Poppy with her. Penn is the steady anchor at home, telling all his children a never ending Sheherazade-like fairy tale full of lessons for life. Their conversations and struggles as they try to figure out how best to help Claude/Poppy are achingly realistic. You will absolutely love every member of this family. Don't miss this thought provoking story. Reviews from The New York Times, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and the Star-Telegram. Received numerous best book of the year awards. Here is an interview with Laurie Frankel on NPR about being the parent of a transgender child.

Orphan Train

This historical novel by Christina Baker Kline is based on a "little known but historically significant moment in our country's past. Between 1854 and 1929 [i.e., 75 years!], so-called orphan trains transported more than two hundred thousand orphaned, abandoned, and homeless childrenn--many of whom, like the character in this book, were first generation Irish Catholic immigrants--from the coastal cities of the easter United States to the Midwest for 'adoption,' which often turned out to be indentured servitude." (from the Author's notes).
That is the backbone of the story which switches back and forth between a story taking place in 2011, Spruce Harbor, Maine and that taking place in Depression-era Minnesota. A young woman in foster care arranges to help an elderly widow sort through and clean out her attic as part of a community service agreement after she steals a library book. Native American seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer has been shuffled from one miserable situation to another ever since her father was killed in a car accident; her mother is a drug addict incapable of caring for herself, much less a daughter. Vivian Daly is an apparently wealthy white woman who appears to have a priveleged life. But as the two sort through the boxes and trunks of memories and memorabilia, Molly discovers that they have a lot in common. For Vivian, born Niamh, was orphaned by a tenement fire shortly after immigrating from Ireland. She was told her entire family perished in the fire, and she became a ward of the Children's Aid Society and was shipped off to take her chances in finding a new on in the Midwest. Both of these women will give something very valuable to the other. The metaphor of "portage"--carrying your belongings as you move through life--is a both a reality and a thought exercise that the two will share in their time together.
Highlights from her interview with NPR are here. Lots of good reviews, for example Kirkus, Publishers' Weekly, and Huffington Post.

Natural Causes: an epidemic of wellness, the certainty of dying, and killing ourselves to live longer

Prolific political activist and investigative journalist Barbara Ehrenreich has here taken on the--in her view misguided--culture of obsessive "fitness" and keeping people alive at all costs. She challenges some of the evidence (or lack thereof) and precepts of preventive medicine, mindfulness, and the belief we have control over our bodies. But she also ponders some interesting developments in understanding cell biology--especially those we consider dysfunctional, like cancer--such as the scientific quandary of why our immune systems sometimes turn against us. The review from the New York Times sums it up well:
"Nothing in modern life prepares us for the leaving of it. We treat aging as an outrage or, worse, as a sin. In our addiction to betterment, we’ve replaced “health” — an absence of sickness — with the amorphous “wellness” and a flurry of overtesting, fad diets and pointless “alternative” treatments."
At age 76, Ehrenreich has decided that she is "old enough to die." That means no longer subjecting herself to unnecessary exams, tests, and treatments.  “Not only do I reject the torment of a medicalized death, but I refuse to accept a medicalized life.”
With a PhD in cellular immunology, she is certainly qualified to offer an informed opinion on these matters.
Additional reviews from The Guardian, the Washington Post, The Atlantic and Kirkus.

Coffin Road

This is the 2nd book I've read by prolific Scottish author Peter May (see also my post for Black House). He has written several series, but this is among his body of stand-alone novels. The plot for this book, set in the outer Hebrides, is a timely one--the precipitous decline in bee populations around the world. However, we don't know that until we are thoroughly wrapped up in the mysterious protagonist, whose name we aren't sure of, because he has been in a boating accident and lost his memory. People know him as Neal Maclean, a writer delving into the unsolved disappearance of 3 lighthouse keepers from a nearby island over a century ago. He can't remember anything about his life or the people around him, not even the woman in the neighboring cottage with whom he has apparently been having an affair. His dog knows him, but there seem to be no clues to his identity in the cottage he's been renting for the last year and a half. No ID. No e-mails. No pictures. He's told everyone he's writing a book but there's no evidence of this in his computer. All he finds is map of the island highlighting the Coffin Road--an ancient path followed by pall bearers. When someone breaks into his cottage and tries to kill him, the need to recover his identity becomes a mater of life and death.
There are two additional parallel storylines. Teenager Karen Fleming is still trying to come to terms with the apparent suicide of her father 2 years earlier. As she struggles to deal with her mother's plans to move on and remarry, Karen wants to talk to anyone who knew her father. But after she contacts a work colleague of her father's, he dies in an automobile accident--maybe. Karen becomes increasingly convinced that her father's death was not a suicide, and maybe he isn't even dead. Meanwhile DS George Gunn is sent to investigate the murder of a man at the same lighthouse where the keepers disappeared. The stories are connected of course, but you will be led on a totally believable but devious chase to find out how. Part scientific thriller, totally engrossing mystery--well worth the read. Reviews from The Guardian, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly

Star of the North

This timely and compelling thriller by D.B. John (see my post on another book of his that I read, Flight from Berlin) is set largely in North Korea during the rule of Kim Jong Il. The book opens with the kidnapping of a college-age couple by North Korean operatives from a beach in South Korea. Because they were taken aboard a submarine, no information turns up from the usual search and surveillance methods, and the two are eventually presumed drowned. The young woman's twin sister, Jenna--both of them are half Korean-American and half African-American--has never fully accepted her sister's death. Jenna's grief over her missing twin is compounded by her father drinking himself to death after the disappearance, and she has languished in her pursuit of an academic career. Nearly 12 years later, Jenna is tapped by the CIA to participate in talks with the North Koreans and suddenly she has hope that she might be able to find out more about the disappearance of her sister. Her story is interwoven with narratives from the perspective of two North Koreans. One is a poor village woman who finds a propaganda balloon in the forest (which she must by law turn over to the authorities) filled with food and other contraband. She takes a risk and opens a stall in the black market area of the train station with what she's found. The other voice is a high ranking Korean official whose English language skills tap him to be one of the diplomatic party being sent to Washington, D.C. for talks. The characterizations of daily life for ordinary citizens, the inner circle of the regime, and prisoners in the labor camps are all based upon accounts from those who have escaped or defected. Like the descriptions in The Orphan Master's Son, these are often painful to read. The government's deceit and manipulation of its own citizens as well as the rest of the world is a sobering reminder of what we're dealing with in our current negotiations with North Korea. Reviews from Publishers Weekly, the Washington Post, and Kirkus.

Amsterdam: A history of the world's most liberal city

This book by Russell Shorto (am American who now makes his home in Amsterdam) is more than a history. It is also an examination of culture and philosophy and politics and how these evolved in a unique way, derived from Amsterdam's unique geography. It also tells how this relatively small city and country came to have an outsize impact on the developing world from the 16th to the 20th century. Amsterdam residents wrested their land from the sea, which required unrelenting cooperative activity. But they also allowed independent ownership of that land, encouraging entrepreneurship and diversity of thought and action. Early on, Amsterdam became a haven for those with different views, especially around religion, and they often had to fight off much larger and more powerful countries to maintain or regain their sovereignty. Not only was Amsterdam the home of great art (e.g., Rembrandt, van Gogh) and philosophy (e.g., Spinoza) but also of tremendous financial and trade power with the Dutch East India Company. They created the first publicly traded companies and stock market. Only once did they truly fail, when they let the Nazis take over, betraying their significant Jewish population.
Takes a while to get started, but this is a fascinating book. Laudatory and more detailed reviews from
Publishers' Weekly, The New York Times, Kirkus, and The Guardian.

Hellbent

This is apparently the 3rd in the "Orphan X" series by Gregg Hurwitz. According to the author's web site:
"Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past. Taken from a group home at twelve, Evan was raised and trained as part of the Orphan Program, an off-the-books operation designed to create deniable intelligence assets—i.e. assassins. Evan was Orphan X. He broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear and reinvent himself as the Nowhere Man. 
The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It’s said that when he’s reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them."
In this book, the call he receives is from former mentor and father figure to Evan in the Orphan X program, Jack Johns. It is a desperate call as Johns is about to be captured, tortured and killed for information regarding the whereabouts of Evan himself. Former Orphan CharlesVan Sciver has been assigned, at the highest levels, to erase all vestiges of the program. Evan will stop at nothing to track down Jack's killers, but in the meantime, his mentor's last request was to "protect the package," which, as it turns out, was Johns' only remaining protege, a 16-year-old girl named Joey. Fans of Ludlum's Bourne series will enjoy the stop-at-nothing focus, resourcefulness, and lethal skills of Evan. Will he let a girl get in the way of his revenge? Fun, fast read with well-developed and engaging characters.
Glowing reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and the Book Reporter.

I Let You Go

After reading Let Me Lie by former police officer Clare Mackintosh, I was ready to try one of her earlier books and this is her first (also a "Crime Novel of the Year" winner in England). It begins with an innocent-seeming domestic activity: a mom picks her 5-year-old son up from school and is walking home with him to prepare dinner. But as she drops his hand to fish out keys from her purse, he dashes into the street and is fatally struck by a speeding car. As she cradles his body, she sees the driver back up and drive off.
We now follow the story of the police investigation and, separately, that of Jenna Gray, a woman who has lost everything and flees her life to disappear into a small village on the coast of Wales where no one knows her. She rents a run-down cottage, has no phone, talks to no one. And she is debilitated by terrifying nightmares. We know she was a sculptor who has suffered injury to her hands. We know she was involved in the accident. But her identity is not what we are initially led to believe.
Jenna gradually begins to rebuild her life, staying anonymous, taking up photography as an outlet for her artistic nature. The local shop keeper at a near-by summer caravan park becomes a friend and offers to sell cards with Jenna's photographs on them in her shop that. Jenna rescues and then adopts a dog, beginning a tentative relationship with the local veterinarian as a result.

But her past begins to catch up with her and eventually she is arrested for the hit-and-run death of the boy, once again destroying the life she has built. We are misdirected from the very beginning. The plot is cleverly twisty, the settings very atmospheric. I will no doubt pick up her other novel, I See You. Laudatory reviews from The New York Times and Kirkus.

Parchment and Old Lace

I typically load up on lighter fare when I travel and my trip to New Mexico was no exception. I love immersing myself in the rich description of life in Charleston, South Carolina provided by Laura Childs in her "Tea Shop Mysteries" but this time I ventured into her "Scrapbook Mysteries," which are set in New Orleans. This is the 13th installment in the series featuring scrapbooking store owner Carmela Bertrand, who is also very good at solving mysteries. Carmela's romantic dinner with her beau, Det. Edgar Babcock, is interrupted by an acquaintance stopping by their table to remind Carmela of her upcoming wedding and to insist that Carmela come. When Carmela and Edgar are leaving the restaurant, they hear a scream coming from across the street in one of the famous New Orleans cemeteries and find the bride-to-be strangled to death with a piece of old lace. Trying to track down the lace is something Carmela can do to help, but she is beseeched by the victim's sister to investigate further to help find the killer. There is a long list of suspects: the fiancé, the fiancé's condescending mother, a somewhat shady real estate developer, a creepy co-worker--but surely not Carmela'a boss who is trying so hard to help. I'd never have guessed who REALLY did it!
Childs writes interesting characters, engaging plots and, as mentioned, richly detailed settings, so this was an easy and enjoyable read.

Fourth Grave Beneath my Feet

I am pretty sure I read this book some time ago, BUT my memory is so poor and apparently I did not post it on my blog, so I read it again--mainly because I was in the mood for something a bit lighter and fun. And Charley Davidson, the protagonist of this series by Darynda Jones, is forever entertaining. She names all her body parts...her brain, her heart, her boobs... and she is the Grim Reaper in her spare time.
Apparently, between the end of the last book (Third Grave Dead Ahead) and the start of this one, Charley has been captured and tortured by Reyes Farrow's step-father, Earl Walker (for the back story, see also the posts for Second Grave on the Left and First Grave on the Right). She was also arrested and put in jail because of her father, so she has quit speaking to him, moved out of her office over the tavern he runs, and isolated herself in her apartment for a couple of months, interacting only with the call center from the Home Shopping Network. Her apartment is now filled to the ceiling with boxes and she is broke. Time for an intervention from trusty friend Cookie, her psychotherapist sister Gemma, and her Uncle Bob (an Albuquerque PD detective).
When she eventually ventures out of the apartment, she is accosted by a woman who says she is being stalked and is in fear for her life. Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want part of the plot spoiled. Harper is actually already dead but does not know it and Charley doesn't have the heart to tell her, but rather agrees to take on the case and find out who the stalked/ potential killer is.

Meanwhile, Reyes is out of jail and apparently fighting demons that are stalking Charley, whose terrible post-traumatic fears provide a scent they can track. They seek to use her as a portal for evil beings to enter heaven. The relationship between Reyes and Charley is heating up; the question is, is he trying to protect her or kidnap her. As if that isn't enough, Charley is presented with two other cases that are currently stumping the Albuquerque PD, a series of bank robberies by the "Gentlemen Bandits" and several building fires, which to date have harmed no one. She is just sure there is something familiar about the robbers even though they are wearing masks. Charley is helped along by the usual suspects from the world beyond--a protective rottweiler named Artemis; her own PI and Reyes finder, former gang-banger Angel; and Rocket, the boy who knows the names of everyone who has died and maybe those of some who haven't yet. On to Fifth Grave Past the Light!

Warlight

I never read Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize winning book, The English Patient, but I loved the movie, so I decided to grab his newest novel and read it. Set primarily in and around blitz-traumatized London in the years immediately following the war and in Suffolk a decade later, it is told from the perspective of Nathaniel, initially a 14-year old boy, and later a man in his late-twenties. Nathaniel and his 15-year-old sister Rachel are left by their parents in the care of a somewhat mysterious man, a boarder in their home who the children refer to as The Moth. Supposedly the parents are going to Asia for a year as part of the father's business. What ensues is a rather lengthy explanation of all the adventures that Nathaniel has with a variety of visitors to the house, especially a man he calls The Darter, who takes Nathaniel on clandestine night-time barge trips in and around London transporting mysterious crates and not very legal greyhound racing dogs. Frankly this part of the book really seemed slow and somewhat surreal. Perhaps that was intentional, and according to reviewers (see below) it is typical of his writing. The second chunk of the book commences when his mother shows up after an attempted kidnapping of Nathaniel and Rachel, in which The Moth (actually named Walter) is killed defending them. Their father never re-appears. Rachel barely registers in the first part of the book and virtually disappears in the latter half, supposedly because she is so angry about her parents' abandonment of them that she can't stand to be around her mother. Nathaniel is sent off to various boarding schools and his mother returns to her family's home in Suffolk, where Nathaniel joins her on holidays. As an adult, after his mother's death, Nathaniel goes to work for the intelligence services, supposedly clearing out any embarassing materials from the war-time archives, and begins to piece together his mother's past as an intelligence agent. This part of the book is much more intriguing although still told in a somewhat disjointed fashion that never allows the reader to fully know how much is fact-based conclusions from Nathaniel's access to archival materials and how much is conjecture. Ondaatje is an elegant writer and that makes the book worth the effort. It is also an intriguing if somewhat hazy look into how the war was carried out behind the scenes. I thought the reviewer from The New York Times summarized Ondaatje's style of writing well when he said: "By now we know what we are going to get from an Ondaatje novel: A moody, murky, lightly pretentious and mostly nonlinear investigation of lives and stories that harbor tantalizing gaps. There will be disquisitions on arcane topics including...The nature of storytelling will be weighed and found fascinating. The spine of the plot, unlike the spine of a steamed fish, will be nearly impossible to remove whole."
Needless to say, there are lots of reviews worth considering: The Guardian, The Washington Post,  NPR, and Kirkus.

The Immortalists

This novel by Chloe Benjamin is oriented around a single childhood event. In the summer of 1969, 4 siblings--Varya, age 13, Daniel, age 11, Klara, 9 years old, and 7-year-old Simon--sneak out of their family apartment to go see a gypsy woman who can supposedly tell you your future, including when you will die. They each have to promise not to share the information with anyone else. And each of them take the predictions to heart, living their lives focused on their individual expiration dates. Sections of the book are oriented to each sibling, starting with the one who is predicted to die first. It seems that no one really has time to come to terms with their life, much less their impending death. Each in their own way insulates themselves not only from each other, but also from intimacy in general. Two of them will leave children behind. The ultimate question is, Do they die on the predicted date because it is, in fact, their fate, or because they structure their lives in response to the prediction?
More detailed summaries and reviews are available from The Guardian, Kirkus, NPR, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and Publishers Weekly. Overall, this book did not knock my socks off. I tend to agree with Kirkus that the added characters, such as the policeman who stalks Klara, often felt contrived, and with the Chicago Tribune which said Daniel's story "feels a little retrofitted to lead to a pre-ordained conclusion." I felt sorry for the main characters, but never came to really care about them.

Let Me Lie

Author Clare Mackintosh is new to me, although she has published two previous suspense novels (I Let You Go and I See You), which I will definitely check into. This one had me going from the beginning and totally dropped me on my head at the end. The story is told alternately from the viewpoint of Anna Johnson, a new mother, Murray Mackenzie, a retired detective now working as a civilian in-take person at the local precinct, and a third unnamed person, who I assumed was Anna's not-really-dead father. Anna was stunned by her father's apparent suicide, supposedly witnessed and reported by a woman who saw him load his backpack with rocks and jump from a cliff into the sea. Anna's distraught mother, Caroline, followed him in the exact same manner within months. The trauma compelled her to seek help from a therapist, Mark Hemmings, who eventually became her lover (after appropriately referring her to another therapist) and then the father of her baby. Though Anna has not yet accepted his marriage proposal, they live together in Anna's childhood home. Anna is shocked into action when a message is dropped through the mail slot suggesting the suicides were, in fact, murders; she takes her fears to the local police and Murray decides to do a little checking on his own before he refers this to the active detectives. When Anna's supposedly dead mother resurfaces, with a new name and altered appearance, she tells Anna her father had faked the suicide to escape debt and forced her to go along. She further convinces Anna that her father had been an abusive alcoholic and that is why she, the mom, faked her own suicide and went into hiding. Anna is angry and overwhelmed that her parents have done this to her, but agrees to let her mom stay with her small family, pretending she is a long-lost cousin of her mom's. More threatening messages are delivered to the house and Anna believes that her father is threatening her family. Well developed secondary characters are Mackenzie's bipolar wife, Sarah, Anna's lifelong friend, Laura, and Anna's paternal uncle, Billy.
Reviews from Publishers Weekly and The Guardian.