Wolf Trap

 I have not read anything by Connor Sullivan before and don't know if I will read his previous thriller, Sleeping Bear. In spite of very positive reviews for both of his books, I found his writing to often be clunky and he frequently used the wrong word to convey his characters' actions. The premise is that Brian Rhome, a former operative for one of the CIA's most clandestine services, has left the service and gone off the grid. Motivated by guilt because he led his team into a terrorist ambush, he is totally disillusioned with the powers that be, himself and the world in general. However he gets pulled back in by his godfather, also a member of Ground Branch, with the offer of being able to kill the man who slaughtered his team and at the same time possibly prevent an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. I will give the guy credit for creating an elaborate and eventually compelling plot and hope that his writing gaffes are just the result of bad editing. 

Publishers Weekly says of this book, "In this exhilarating thriller from Sullivan (Sleeping Bear), U.S. president Angela Buchanan is on the brink of a major political victory with the imminent signing of a sweeping international climate-change agreement....Sullivan's clever rhetorical tricks will keep even savvy readers in the dark while he ratchets the tension ever higher. By the end, readers will be exhausted, breathless, and eager for further Ground Branch adventures. Sullivan is a writer to watch." Booklist reviewer agrees that "it's a solid, well-crafted thriller that will keep readers turning the pages."

The Light Pirate

I really liked this book by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which is essentially a tale of the coming apocalype due to climate change. But "it is not so dystopian" (the New York Times) and is, in fact, "a redemptive tale" (Library Journal) and "a tender meditation on change and adaptability" (BookReporter.com). When the book opens, Florida is already suffering the consequences of gradually rising ocean levels. The family of Kirby, his new and pregnant wife Frida and Kirby's two sons from his first wife live in the small town of Rudder, which is directly in the path of the hurricane season's 3rd storm, Wanda. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker has his hands full trying to restore power and leaves his two sons, Flip and Lucas, in the care of their pregnant step-mother. Without telling Frida, the boys take off on an adventure before the storm arrives and one of them never makes it home. Frida goes into labor and delivers a baby girl who she names after the storm. Kirby gets home to find his wife dying on the kitchen floor and an infant girl wrapped in her arms and demanding attention. Wanda, who was “born at exactly the wrong time, under exactly the wrong circumstances, given exactly the wrong name,” becomes the victim of bullying as she grows up and her father eventually entrusts her after-school care to a neighbor, Phyllis. Phyllis is a biology teacher and a survivalist who makes frequent excursions into the woods to study the effects of the changing climate on the local flora and fauna. Wanda joins her on her excursions and picks up much of Phyllis' knowledge about both the environment and survivalism. We follow Wanda as she loses her home, her family members, and finally she also loses Phyllis. But she has learned how to survive in the new world of water where Florida once stood, and even finds a new sense of community. 

 Kirkus closes their review of the book with this: "Brooks-Dalton creates an all-too-believable picture of nature reclaiming Florida from its human inhabitants, and her complex and engaging characters make climate disaster a vividly individual experience rather than an abstract subject of debate." Similar to other reviewers, The New York Journal of Books sees both the dark and the light of this story: "But there is a luminescence here, a force that takes on a quality of the intelligence of the universe. In the glow of that light, hope and exhilaration bloom. And in these moments before the new, violent storm hits its readers, the world of this novel is unforgettable." I would agree with Marie Claire's reviewer who says the book is "Reminiscent of Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing." Maybe this will also be a future movie.

Guilt by Association

This book by Marcia Clark (of O.J. Simpson lead prosecutor fame) is the first in her "Rachel Knight" series. Rachel is an assistant district attorney for the L.A District Attorney's "Special Trials Unit," Which handles the "toughest, most sensitibe, and most celebrated cases" (book jacket) that come to the DA's office. She lives for her work--smart, ambitious, hard-charging; not surprisingly, she has not been able to sustain a long term relationship with a man. One evening, after a long day, she's on her way home to the Biltmore Hotel, where she lives,  when she notices a lot of police activity nearby. When she checks out the scene, she finds her colleague Jake Pahlmeyer and a young male prostitute have been found dead in a seedy motel room. Rachel cannot believe the innuendo coming from all directions and the tentative conclusion that Jake killed the boy and then himself. Rachel is determined to clear Jake's name if possible and so begins discretely investigating on her own, even though her boss has specifically warned her off. She is also assigned one of Jake's cases, the rape of a 15-year-old girl who is the daughter of a big donor of the current DA, so the pressure is on. Her friend Bailey Keller, a detective with the LAPD, agrees to help her with both cases. 

Kirkus calls this "a corker of a debut" and describes Rachel as "a brainy,  plucky female prosecutor." Publishers Weekly says of this "triumphant fiction debut" that "Readers will want to see a lot more of Knight, who combines strength of character and compassion with all-too-human foibles." Booklist also offers a glowing review: "pairs her knowledge of the L.A. judicial scene with a surprising flair for fiction in a remarkably accomplished debut novel....Clark offers a real page-turner here, with smart, fast-moving prose; a skillfully constructed plot; and a protagonist well worth knowing. Rachel, whose past is only hinted at, is a well-rounded character who's as tough with suspects as she is sensitive with young victims. A top-notch legal thriller that will leave readers wanting more...a genuinely high-quality novel."

My Heart is a Chainsaw

I do occasionally read young adult (YA) books but not horror books; this book had such positive reviews that I felt compelled. This YA novel by prolific author Stephen Graham Jones is set in contemporary times in the remote town of Proofrock, Idaho on the shores of Indian Lake. Jade is a 17-year old half-Blackfoot daughter of an abusive father and an absent mother. She endures her miserable life by being the expert on the "slasher" subset of horror films. Here's a summation from School Library Journal: "Jade Daniels is an outcast in the quickly gentrifying Idaho lake town she's always called home. When a Dutch teenager is found dead, Jade takes morbid delight in the fact that this is surely the first victim in a horror film come to life. Everyone in town is a suspect, and beautiful new classmate Letha Mondragon is the perfect Final Girl--the genre's famous lone survivor. If Jade's obsession with slasher movies is the center of this novel, issues of class, power, and addiction are the spokes that connect the wheel. Content warnings include sexual abuse and suicide, as the protagonist lives in poverty with an abusive father and attempts to take her own life. Jade's family belongs to the Blackfeet tribe, and Jones (Blackfeet) authentically conveys feeling unwelcome in one's own home. Tropes from horror movies play a big role in the novel. The omniscient narration tracks Jade's obsession with these films, a hyper focus that frustrates the few reliable adults in her life as she struggles to communicate in any way other than through the lens of slasher movies. Readers can't help but root for her and implore other characters to heed her warnings, especially in the last third of the book, when the pace sharply quickens. VERDICT A horror novel not dissimilar to slasher movies."  Booklist endorses this book by saying, "Readers will be drawn in by the effortless storytelling and Jade's unique cadence. This is a methodically paced story where every detail both entertains and matters, and the expertly rendered setting explodes with violent action. This brilliantly crafted, heartbreakingly beautiful slasher presents a new type of authentic "final girl," one that isn't "pure" and may not be totally innocent, yet can still be a vessel for hope." NPR agrees that this book is praise worthy: "Jade is a memorable character who uses horror as a shield against the world. She loves watching slasher movies and even writes about them to make up her history grades (those essays are sprinkled throughout the novel and show off her encyclopedic knowledge of the genre). Slashers have a formula Jade knows well — but real life doesn't, so she spends a lot of time forcefully applying movie logic to the mayhem around her...Jones' novels are literary cakes that lure readers with their frosting of blood and chaos and then surprise them with the smart, soulful goodness lying underneath. In My Heart is a Chainsaw, Jones does it again, and he's as brilliant as ever." Publishers Weekly offers "Horror fans won't need to have seen all of the films referenced to be blown away by this audacious extravaganza." I would agree with the Washington Post that this book actually made me want to watch the movies Jade constantly references, even though I have stayed away from the horror genre (movies & books) my entire life. Their review provides this description of Jade: "The story follows Jade Daniels, a 17-year-old misfit who dyes her hair with shoe polish and food coloring and counts overalls and combat boots as wardrobe essentials. Her parents are absent or execrable, she has no friends, and every disappointment is “one more nail” in the coffin of Jade’s dreams...Horror is Jade’s only solace. For her, slasher movies are a religion, providing a comforting vision of order: “Everybody in a slasher cycle has a role,” she explains...Jade’s awkwardness and insecurities, her intractable obstinacy, her refusal to behave in a socially acceptable manner, all make her a believable nuisance to the adults in her life, who expect “Jade to continue being the burden she already is.” Despite all that, neither they nor we can help loving her. Though their resistance to her theories leaves her “flabbergasted to the point of no return,” she tries, tries and tries again. She’s respectful and patient, with an irrepressible sense of humor to balance our her sense of horror. We’re so much on her side we find ourselves hoping for the worst." Library Journal says Jade's voice reveals " her cynicism, anger, and deep hurt, but also her hope, kindness, conviction, and bravery. The building tension is perfectly paced; listeners will journey with Jade through redemption and freeing acknowledgment of what really happened to her in the past to bring her where she is today...This is a must-have for public library collections."

Less

This book by Andrew Sean Greer was selected for this month's book group (4/11/23), it won a Pulitzer, and I have read favorable reviews; so I was looking forward to this. But I have to say that until the very end, I did not particularly like Arthur Less. Library Journal sums up the plot line this way: "This hilarious and touching novel follows Arthur Less, a gay man, as he travels around the world in order to avoid attending the wedding of his former lover. The wedding invitation was the final realization for Arthur that he never should have broken up with Freddy, and as Arthur's 50th birthday approaches, he realizes he may be alone forever."  In addition to providing an escape hatch from his emotional distress, the trip provides "both a parade of colourful characters and a voyage of self-discovery (The Guardian). Interestingly, because Arthur's latest manuscript was turned down by his publisher, he is in the process of rewriting it as he travels. And at the end we realize that the emotional arc of the rewritten novel mirrors the emotional arc of this book. Or at least that's how I saw it because, at the very end, I did finally experience some empathy towards Arthur, just as the fool of a protagonist in his book goes from being a despised character to one towards whom the reader feels compassion.

Publishers Weekly calls the novel "wistful," while Kirkus labels it a "literary picaresque." Hmmm, perhaps. Kirkus goes on to conclude, "this is a very funny and occasionally wise book." Booklist says the novel is Greer's "his finest yet" and goes on to conclude, "Less is a wondrous achievement, deserving an even larger audience than Greer's best-selling The Confessions of Max Tivoli (2004)." And finally, The New York Times offers a glowing review, in part: "Less is the funniest, smartest and most humane novel I’ve read since Tom Rachman’s 2010 debut...Arthur’s wanderings as he makes his way from disaster to disaster are hilariously, brilliantly harrowing. But laughter is only a part of the joy of reading this book. Greer writes sentences of arresting lyricism and beauty... Delights of language abound...Even Arthur’s random observations are entertaining. Why, he bitterly wonders, do today’s young gay men insist on marrying? 'Was this why we all threw stones at the police, for weddings?' And as for quaaludes, 'is there any more perfect spelling than with that lazy superfluous vowel?'...By the time Arthur reaches Japan, the reader isn’t just rooting for him but wants to give the poor guy a hug."

Scorched Grace

This mystery from poet Margot Douaihy has an unusual protagonist. Sister Holiday is a former punk rocker (band), Lesbian (current), and outright trouble maker (still is). When her drugging and drinking lead to the death of her terminally ill mother, Holiday turns to her mother mother's faith and petitions to become a novitiate. Nobody will accept her except the tiny order of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood in New Orleans. The only condition in addition to the usual restrictions on the sisters is that she has to wear a neckerchief and gloves to hide her elaborate tatoos. She has turned her musical talents to teaching music  at the Order's San Sebastian School. She routinely confiscates her students non-allowed cigarette stashes to supply her own nicotine habit covertly in the alley behind the school. While so engaged one evening, she becomes the sole witness to the breakout of a fire in the classroom building and the flaming fall from the 2nd story window of her friend, the janitor. She runs into the building and rescues two trapped students, one who ends up in the hospital and one who thereafter drops out of school. The fire is declared to be arson by the fire officials. When her favorite sister is the victim of a so-called accidental fall down the stairs and another fire, which is fortunately put out very quickly, Sister Holiday takes it upon herself to find out who the arsonist is. There are several other small story lines that I won't elaborate here. Her characters are richly drawn and the heat and feel of place of New Orleans are evocative. If you can stand all the cursing and occasional descriptions of sex (in her previous life only, of course), I recommend this book.

Publishers Weekly says of the book, "This briskly plotted master class in character development makes the most of its New Orleans setting, "the crucible... of miracles and curses." Douaihy ... is off to a terrific start."  As The New York Times says about this "showstopper of a series debut," Sister Holiday is constantly struggling with making a new life and home that is so different from her past: “I worked so hard to let people into my new life. But when you don’t know or trust yourself. How can you give anyone else the benefit of the doubt?”  Library Journal reveals that the book has already been acquired for a TV adaptation.

A World of Curiosities

The title of Louise Penny's most recent addition(the 18th) to the "Gamache" series is loosely based on an actual Flemish painting ( by Frans Francken II) from the early 17th C called "A Cabinet of Curiosities," which is supposed to represent artifacts from various cultures/ countries around the world. Only in this case, the painting also contains lots of hidden clues to the identity of a serial killer. How it came to be in a hidden room above Myrna's bookshop strains credibility. While I still love the characters of her books, who grow more richly filled out with each subsequent book, I found this book had too many moving parts and was sometimes hard to follow. What I did enjoy were the flashbacks to the original meeting of Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir. The first case they worked on together involved two children who were subjected to the worst kind of sexual abuse and now those two grown up children have come back into the lives of Gamache and Beauvoir by taking up temporary residence in Three Pines. 

The Washington Post calls this "The eeriest Gamache novel yet, “A World of Curiosities” is also one of Penny’s most intricately plotted and harrowing." The Seattle Times says it is "an irresistible read." Kirkus concludes, "The plotting is complex and the characters as vivid as ever, but the opportunity to watch Gamache and Beauvoir's relationship develop is what makes this book one of Penny's best. Penny will have you turning the pages as fast as you can to see how she'll manage to tie everything together." Finally, Publishers Weekly offers these comments: "Bestseller Penny’s virtuoso 18th novel featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Québec Sûreté ...blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense....This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many." I guess you'll have to decide for yourself.

Secret Lives

Mark de Castrique has created a wonderful protagonist in the guise of the 70+ year old owner of a boarding house for government employees on temporary assignments. As a former FBI agent, Ethel usually rents to agents from the FBI, CIA or the Secret Service who are on temporary assignment. Although she appears to be a short, frail old woman, when one of her boarders is shot in front of the house, Ethel springs into action. She photographs the crime scene, conceals evidence, and speed dials the director of the Secret Service. Her distant cousin Jesse, who is boarding while attending university, concludes there is more to cousin Ethel than he originally thought. When Jesse is attacked, Ethel is able to draw upon a widespread network of former colleagues to run her own investigation as she determines that these events are part of an inside job. I found characters engaging, especially Ethel, and this was a fun, fast-reading whodunit. 

Library Journal offers this conclusion to their review: "Add another wise, experienced senior sleuth to a group that includes Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" series and even Miss Marple. De Castrique's ... quirky characters and offbeat twists will appeal to Osman's readers." And Kirkus praises, "A taut and crisply told thriller whose charmingly shady protagonist triumphs over a labyrinthine plot." Publishers Weekly calls this a "light and lively series launch" and goes on to say, "plucky Ethel is an elderly Nancy Drew: sure of herself and her convictions, and ready to bend a few rules to achieve her goal of seeing justice done."