A Private Cathedral

This is an earlier book by James Lee Burke that still features Dave Robicheaux--this is the 23rd installment in that series. As with all his books (and I have read several), the writing is compelling and atmospheric, even though often very dark. This book has a bit of Romeo and Juliet plot that involves young lovers from two crime families that have been mortal enemies for decades. There is also an element of the supernatural here, as there was in Burke's most recent book, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood. It's a challenge for Dave and his troublesome but loyal sidekick and former detective colleague, Clete Purcel, to battles a time traveling assassin. 

Erik Larson (one of my favorite non-fiction writers) in his WSJ review calls this genre of Burke's writing "Louisiana gothic" and claims that this is his favorite book in the series.   D offers a mixed review, concluding "Whether or not you buy the metaphor of reincarnation here, it goes a long way toward explaining the thread that links Dave’s 23 grandly repetitive adventures." The New York Journal of Books has a much more detailed plot line in their review and offer these perspectives: "As usual in Burke’s books, Robicheaux faces his own guilt over killings in Vietnam and his on-again, off-again love affair with alcohol...Robicheaux is twice-widowed, which makes his loneliness and desire a poignant obstacle as he tries to do the right thing for people who are on a highway to hell...the story achieves a satisfying resolution, moral or divine justice where everyone gets what he or she deserves, whether or not the earthbound courts would agree." Publishers Weekly calls the book "superb" and rounds out their review by saying "An imaginative blend of crime and other genres, Burke’s existential drama is both exquisitely executed and profoundly moving."

Rituals

This is the sequel to the Mary Anna Evans book I read a few months ago, Plunder. Obviously I enjoyed the first one enough to read another. This is the 8th installment in the Faye Longchamps series. Amande Landreneau, the orphaned teenager that Faye and husband Joe Wolf Mantooth rescued and adopted in that previous book is helping Faye with a tedious project going through a private collection to identify is anything is of worth, and to catalog everything in the collection. While in this small town of Rosebower, NY, which was established by spiritualists, they encounter a colorful cast of characters. Of course there is a murder and maybe another in the offing if Faye cannot figure out who is cheating to gain power in the local community. 

Kirkus closes their brief review with this note: "The emphasis on the spirit world makes this a bit of a departure from Evans’ usual historical and archaeological themes (Plunder, 2012, etc.), but it’s certainly a well-plotted and enjoyable mystery." Similarly, Publishers Weekly says, "A superior puzzle plot lifts Evans’s eighth Faye Longchamp mystery...Evans pulls all the pieces nicely together in the end."

When Women Were Dragons

I really wanted to like this book by Kelly Barnhill...after all, who can resist that title?  And she has won numerous prizes and awards for her children's books, including the Newbery Medal for The Girl Who Drank the Moon. And I loved the premise--that every woman had some dragon in them, and when they reached for that power they could, in fact, become dragons. But overall the book felt like it dragged and ended on such a sticky sweet note that I can't wholly recommend it.

Set in a 1950's era America, math and science prodigy Alexandra Green (it's Alex for those who care) is abandoned by her favorite aunt, Marla, who is part of the mass dragoning disappearance of tens of thousands of women in 1955; by her mother who shortly therafter dies of cancer; and by her father, who quickly remarries the proverbial secretary to start a new family. Literally, he shoves teenage Alex and her young cousin, Beatrice, in a run-down apartment and sends them rent and food money once a month--until he, too, dies. Fortunately Alex has the support of the local public librarian, who is a force to be reckoned with.

Kirkus, on the other hand, extolls the storyline: "In lesser hands the dragon metaphor would feel simplistic and general, but Barnhill uses it to imagine different ways of living, loving, and caring for each other. The result is a complex, heartfelt story about following your heart and opening your mind to new possibilities. This novel’s magic goes far beyond the dragons." The New York Times offers a more thought provoking review. Publishers Weekly also closes on a positive note, "Barnhill makes palpable Alex’s sense of loss as well as the strictures of mid-century American life. This allegory packs a punch."

Cackle

I was in the mood for something a bit more frivolous and this book by Rachel Harrison certainly filled the bill. But there is also a strong flavor of feminism here. This is the review from Booklist:

"Annie's boyfriend was her world; then he dumped her. She can't afford to live in New York City without him paying half of the rent so she moves to a small town to teach. Right away, nothing is quite right. The town is magazine-perfect, but there are persistent spiders everywhere. Before she meets and befriends Sophie, Annie has no one, but then she quickly realizes there is something off about Sophie. The townspeople are terrified of Sophie, who talks as if she has lived quite some time. After she curses a boy in Annie's class, it is clear that Sophie is a witch. Still, Annie is not comfortable in her own company; if she's alone, she seeks solace in alcohol, texting her ex, and later on, a friendly spider. Annie is, at times, annoying, whiny, frustrating, endearing, and interesting. But she doesn't stay that way, with Sophie's help. Sophie's attention toward Annie is a psychological cat-and-mouse game as Sophie wants a witch friend. Annie's evolution from lonely teacher to witch will hypnotize readers." For an additional review, check out Publishers Weekly

Hurricane Girl

This short novel by Marcy Dermansky left me asking, what's the point? Here's the book blurb:

"Allison Brody is thirty-two and newly arrived on the East Coast after just managing to flee her [abusive] movie producer boyfriend. She has some money, saved up from years of writing and waitressing, and so she spends it, buying a small house on the beach. But then a Category 3 hurricane makes landfall and scatters her home up and down the shore, leaving Allison adrift. Should she go home from the bar with the strange cameraman and stay in his guest room? Is that a glass vase he smashed on her skull? Can she wipe the blood from her eyes, get in her car, and drive to her mother's? Does she really love the brain surgeon who saved her, or is she just using him for his swimming pool? And is it possible to ever truly heal without seeking some measure of revenge?"  None of these questions really seem to matter to me.

However, several reviewers liked the book, including my go-to source, Kirkus. They offer this assessment: "Small comic gems sparkle in their deadpan settings on every page. No matter how bad things get, Alison's running joke to herself—she still has her health—never ceases to amuse her, though at a certain point, 'she did not think anyone else would think it was funny.' She’s wrong about that. The only bad thing about this book is that you will likely finish it in one sitting." Library Journal says "The ending is satisfying, if unconventional." The New York Times says the book is "hilarious. Dermansky’s offbeat humor and spare prose make Allison’s mind a thrilling and wholly unusual place to be." and they go on to conclude, "This is a wickedly entertaining read from first to last."

On the other hand, Publishers Weekly agreed with me. "In Dermansky’s lackluster latest (after Very Nice), a young woman contends with a certain well-worn millennial malaise. Allison Brody, 32 [is]'sick of everybody and everything...There’s some deliciously dry humor...but the surreal aura doesn’t really develop into anything substantial or comprehensible. Readers are left with a Moshfegh-like vibe, but without a strong character or story. This one is safe to skip."

Two Nights in Lisbon

This twisty mystery by Chris Pavone was chosen by my mystery book group and had me guessing until the end. And the ending has made me and others in my book group feel like we need to re-read the book to see how the author tricked us about so many things. Kirkus Reviews delivers an admirable intro duction to the plot and provokes potential readers' curiosity. They conclude by saying, "This high-stakes drama grabs your attention and doesn’t let go." Publishers Weekly likewise gushes that the book is a "superior, elegantly crafted yarn."  The New York Times is more positive about the author than the book itself and concludes with these comments about Pavone and his writing: "this smart, calculating author remains many notches above others in his field. He is worldly and inviting when it comes to the book’s mostly European settings. His book captures a vacation’s escapism even as its heroine feels walls closing in."

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Based on my less than enthusiastic reaction to All the Light We Cannot See, I wasn't too excited about reading my book group's July pick--the new 600+ page novel of Anthony Doerr's. And in fact the first 300-400 pages were a real struggle to keep reading. I had heard several people say the first half of the book was hard but the 2nd half made it worth while; that wasn't my experience. Although well-crafted in many ways, it's not a book I would recommend or say that it added value to my life. It's like he did all this research on the three time frames (Turkey/ Ottoman Empire in the mid 15th C, more contemporary U.S., and the future. His characters are largely children and his explanation about why that is so from this interview with him is very enlightening. 

Of course, unlike me, many of my fellow book group members, as well as most of the major reviewers ( NYT,  NPR, The Guardian, Kirkus, etc.) were effusively positive about this book. But the Washington Post's review is more in line with my reaction. Here is their conclusion:

Any one of these stories — except the sci-fi tale, which has a moldy “Twilight Zone” funk — might have made a compelling novel. But Doerr has not only packed them together, he’s put them in a blender and then laid out the bits in a great scramble, as though his own book were a textual puzzle as complicated as the ancient Diogenes codex.

“'What really matters,' one of the many insightful children proclaims, 'is that the story gets passed on.' Yes, libraries are awesome, and we all love books. But the artificial convolutedness of “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is not enough to confer any additional depth on Doerr’s simple, belabored theme, a theme that thumps through the novel insisting that every character kneel in reverent submission.

What’s worse, julienning these disparate plots saps them of their natural drama, and no amount of grandiose narration can pump that tension back in. The fall of Constantinople inches forward so deliberately you’ll think you’re dragging the sultan’s great cannon along the ground by yourself.

That problem becomes even more acute in the contemporary sections. While Zeno and the children are practicing their theatrical adaptation of “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” an eco-terrorist slips into the library carrying a homemade bomb equipped with a cellphone trigger. It’s a terrifying setup, but the scenes are laboriously sliced almost into individual breaths. Had I known the cellphone number, I would have dialed it myself."

Sweet Revenge

Every once in a while, when I need a break from heavy duty or very dark books, I will pick up something like this book from Diane Mott Davidson--predictable yet fun mysteries featuring Goldy Schultz, caterer extraordinaire who lives in the mythical Denver bedroom community of Aspen Meadow. We jump into Goldy's life in the middle of the holiday season when her schedule is jam packed with the usual assortment of wealthy, demanding, and irascible customers. As usual, murder intervenes when former district attorney Drew Wellington is murdered at the public library while Goldy is setting up a staff holiday party.   

Kirkus gives this one a lukewarm review but notes that the recipes are worth investigating. Publishers Weekly, on the other hand, says that Davidson is "at the top of her form" in this 14th entry in the book series, concluding that "Readers will happily sink their teeth into Goldy's latest case and come away hungry for more."

Every Cloak Rolled in Blood

I have long been a fan of James Lee Burke, but haven't read anything in a while. This book is technically part of his "Holland Family" series. Burke conveniently offers a family tree so you can figure out where the protagonist of this book, 85-year-old Aaron Holland Broussard, fits into the scheme of things. Aaron is a successful author who has recently lost his daughter, Fannie Mae, and lives alone on his ranch in Montana. He is so bereft that he beckons his daughter back from the other side--and that's just the beginning of this ghost story. While his daughter is trying to protect him from both the living and dead, there are malevolent spirits that are committing horrendous crimes in the present day. Broussard teams up with a much younger Native American woman, Ruby Spotted Horse, who is also a state trooper and the keeper of a gate that is supposed to contain the evil spirits (the Old People). Much of the story revolves around the atrocities committed by certain cavalry commanders against Native Americans on the very land where Broussard's ranch now stands. But there is also corruption aplenty among the living. Kirkus concludes that the book is "Less mystery than history, less history than prophecy, and all the stronger for it." Publishers Weekly also recommends the book, saying "this is one of those extraordinary crime novels that feels more like real life, with incidents and people that aren’t obviously connected piling up in the protagonist’s life, rather than a neat set of clues pointing to a culprit. Once again, Burke uses genre fiction to plumb weighty issues, both social and emotional." Specifically, Booklist notes that "Burke rolls together the driving themes that have dominated his work--the inescapable presence of evil, the restorative power of love, the desecration of the planet, humanity's long slouch toward Armageddon--into an intensely, heartrendingly personal exploration of grief."

The Love of My Life

This book by Rosie Walsh will keep you guessing until the end. I felt like it dragged out the big reveal far too long. However, reviewers were much more complimentary. The Washington Post's Maureen Corrigan calls this a "masterful domestic thriller with a doozy of a plot,"  and I totally respect Ms. Corrigan's reviews. Corrigan goes on to say, "a classic example of the “I married a stranger” domestic suspense plot — with a twist. Usually, the partner with a secret triggers suspicion in us canny readers early on. ...But, Emma Merry Bigelow, the enigmatic heroine of Rosie Walsh’s “The Love of My Life,” seems so funny, warm, compassionate and kind that we readers root for her — even though we learn fairly quickly that she’s living under an assumed name and harbors a host of other secrets, something her adoring husband, Leo, doesn’t know about. Walsh just may have written the first domestic suspense novel in which the deceitful spouse is also a genuinely nice person. Maybe." Emma is an "intertidal biologist" and husband Leo is an obituary writer, which is how he discovers that the woman he is still madly in love with after 7 years of marriage isn't who he thought she was--at least not entirely.  He begins digging and fears he has uncovered infidelity and a criminal background. But it's not what he thinks.

Similarly, Kirkus calls the book "a propulsive thriller with heart that will keep readers guessing." Publishers Weekly calls it a "heartbreaking thriller" and agrees that it gets off to a slow start, but concludes  that it " builds to an emotionally raw yet satisfying conclusion."