Hum

 Helen Phillips "is the author of six books, including the novel The Need , a National Book Award nominee and a New York Times Notable Book. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award. Her collection Some Possible Solutions received the John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Her novel The Beautiful Bureaucrat was a finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A professor at Brooklyn College, she lives in Brooklyn with artist/cartoonist Adam Douglas Thompson and their children" (book jacket). This is her most recent speculative fiction novel. Although this book has received numerous laudatory reviews, I didn't much care for it... maybe because I never had kids. I found the children's behavior obnoxious on many occasions and their mother's mostly passive acceptance of same distressing as well. In other words, I didn't like any of the human characters and couldn't identify with much of the stress in the storyline. Which isn't to say that the story lacks relevance. As the New York Times notes in their review, "Along the way, the story raises many unsettling questions. What is the right role for A.I. in our lives? In a world of so much artifice, what counts as authentic experience? How do we usher our children into a future that we find frightening to imagine?"They provide this opener of the general plotline: "In Helen Phillips’s near-future novel, “Hum,” a family’s dream vacation away from technology devolves into a misadventure with major consequences." The review goes on to provide a much more detailed explanation of the settings, actions, and characters' interactions--with other members of the family as well as with one significant "Hum." They conclude by praising the author, "This sleek ride of a novel further cements Phillips’s position as one of our most profound writers of speculative fiction."

The Los Angeles Times gushes, "“Phillips has given us a lot to chew on, but there is also something comforting embedded in this cautionary tale: an homage to our adaptability, our capacity to love and our willingness, however reluctantly, to embrace the new … Here she urges us not to surrender our power to choose and to resist, but to be thoughtful warriors, deciding for ourselves how we will dwell on our imperiled planet.” 

Here is Kirkus' review and summary: "What happens when the forests are gone, surveillance cameras are ubiquitous, and AI-programmed robots do the work? Set in a future altered by climate change and technology that may feel uncomfortably close at hand, Phillips’ new novel again shows her talent for finding warmth, humanity, and connection within an all-too-conceivable dystopian landscape. The action begins with May Webb, an unemployed mother of two elementary school students, undergoing a procedure designed to alter her features just enough to confound facial-recognition software. (The procedure is performed, as are many tasks in the world of the novel, by a robot with a soothing demeanor called a hum.) For surrendering her face to this experiment, May—whose AI-communication job has recently rendered itself obsolete and whose husband, Jem, has been laboring to keep the family financially afloat working gig-app-facilitated odd jobs—is paid the equivalent of 10 months of her previous salary. She immediately splurges on a three-night stay for the family in the idyllic Botanical Gardens, an accessible-only-to-the-rich paradise of greenery, frolicking animals, and fresh air walled off to shut out the city’s grit, graffiti, litter, and soot. But the family’s perfect vacation takes an unfortunate turn when the children wander off and get lost, setting in motion a string of events that endangers the family’s power to stay together. Writing with precision, insight, sensitivity, and compassion, Phillips renders the way love and family bonds—between partners, parents and children, and siblings—can act as a balm and an anchor amid the buffeting winds of a fast-changing, out-of-control world. A perceptive page-turner with a generous perspective on motherhood, identity, and the pitfalls of 'progress.'”

The Best Lies

This is the 2nd book I have read by David Ellis and it is equally as twisty as the previous book, Look Closer, which won an Edgar Award. I'll start with the cast of characters: Leo Balanoff is a criminal defense lawyer who has crossed the lines more than once in his efforts to see real justice done. When his DNA and fingerprints show up at the murder scene of a notorious and sadistic human trafficker, it looks like he's finally crossed one line too many; Andi Piotrowski, Leo's ex, who is working in the security department of a high tech drug company; Trace, former alcoholic and Leo's brother who is now living and working in Mexico; Chris, an FBI agent struggling to get back in the game by taking down the kingpin of the trafficking syndicate after being sidelined for 2 years while getting treatment for cancer; and finally is Mary, Chris' sister and a detective with the local police department who is anxious to arrest Leo for the murder. Leo maintains his innocence in the murder but has a lifetime of secrets that he is hiding--and he is not the only one living a lie.

Publishers Weekly was less than complimentary in their review of the book, saying the "storytelling gets too tangled, and his characters are too implausible, for this to cohere."

The Change

Kirsten Miller is the author of a popular feminist YA series with Kiki Strike as the protagonist. This is her first book written for adults and, in fact, the three protagonists are all women of a certain age. Here is the summary and effusive review from Publishers Weekly:

"Miller... triumphs with her adult debut about three women who discover supernatural abilities during menopause, which they use to avenge murdered teenage girls in the New York beach town of Mattuck. Just as retired nurse Nessa James becomes fast friends with gym owner Jo Levison, Nessa realizes she can see ghosts again. When she was a child, her grandmother told her she had a gift, and that she'd be called upon later in life to use it, along with other similarly gifted women. Nessa intuitively seeks out unapologetic Harriett Osborne, a former ad executive who was pushed out of her career and now cultivates toxic plants like wolfsbane. Along with Jo, who can summon her fury and channel it into fiery strength, the trio attempt to bring peace to three ghosts Nessa encounters on the beach near Culling Pointe, where the billionaires live. After a client at Jo's gym starts leaving clues about one of the ghosts, the trio is let down by police detectives who make their own motives clear... Miller's book is that rare treat: a suspenseful story with great pacing, memorable characters, and an engaging voice. Fantastic in every way, this fierce anthem against misogyny is a smash."

Kirkus' version offers a slightly different perspective. "Menopause brings more gains than losses for three women in this entertaining thriller. When menopause arrives ... they don’t bother with estrogen therapy or worry about chin hairs. They develop superpowers. Harriett Osborne kicks her high-powered advertising career and her dweeby husband to the curb and lets her gift for botany flourish, growing plants for pleasure and for poison (and to really annoy the head of her homeowners association). Jo Levison is first alarmed by the rage that literally sets fire flowing from her hands—hot flashes with a vengeance—but she learns to channel it and starts a successful fitness and self-defense business. Nessa James’ emerging gift is a somber one that’s been handed down by the women in her family: The dead speak to her, but only the dead who need help...The response from local police is barely apathetic; the cops seem to be protecting someone, or all the someones who live behind gates at the high-priced end of the island. That just makes the trio push harder to find out what’s going on. What they uncover echoes the Jeffrey Epstein case and too many other cases of powerful men exploiting women and getting away with it—or maybe not. The novel takes on serious issues but doesn’t take itself too seriously; there’s plenty of mordant humor, a suspenseful plot, and mostly brisk pacing. Crime fiction, superpower fantasy, and sharp satire about sexism and ageism mesh for a satisfying read."

Booklist raves, “The Change is wry and clever, serious and exacting, and masterfully suspenseful in its conveyance of a deeply profound and feminist message.” The Guardian (U.K) seems to agree. “With a propulsive plot and characters that roar off the page, this is a novel that’s unafraid to take on societal misogyny while being satirical and even funny at the same time.”

If you enjoy this book, you might also consider When Women Were Dragons, Killers of a Certain Age, and/or The Bandit Queens.

The Bandit Queens

I highly recommend this debut novel by Parini Shroff, a practicing attorney in the Bay Area. She takes on some serious themes--caste, spousal abuse, gender discrimination--with what some reviewers have called "laugh-out-loud humor;" whereas, I would say with absurd or dark humor. Set in a poor (east) Indian village, Geeta has become a pariah ever since her abusive husband, Ramesh, disappeared 5 years before. Everyone believes she did away with him to become a "self-made widow." She turns her reputation to advantage as it keeps away unwanted advances from men and she has now joined a small group of women with a microloan to run their own businesses. But even the group members believe she is a successful murderer and so Farah comes to her asking for assistance in killing her abusive husband. That request is followed by a similar one from Priety--all of which pushes Geeta in scary directions. She takes inspiration from the legendary Phoolan Devi, known as the Bandit Queen, who took revenge on those who had degraded and hurt her. She makes an unlikely friend, the widowed village supplier of illegal liquor, Karem, but then costs him his biggest customer, a gangster in a neighboring town. Then, low and behold, her "dead" husband, now blind, reappears in town and wants to reunite with her. At occasional risk of life and limb, she solves her loan group's problems, sends her husband packing, and begins her re-integration into the village life.

Publishers Weekly concludes their review: "Shroff deals sharply with misogyny and abuse, describing the misery inflicted as well as its consequences in unflinching detail, and is equally unsparing in her depictions of mean-girl culture in the village. Readers are in for a razor-stuffed treat." Library Journal asserts that "This is a deeply human book, with women surviving and overcoming in their culture while still remaining a part of it." Kirkus opens their review with "Bonds of sisterhood are forged through murders." And, though not uniformly laudatory, goes on to say, "Still, if you can lean into the melodramatic slapstick nature of it all—villainous characters who pause midvillainy to explain that their nicknames are works in progress; characters who pause mid–hostage situation to wish each other a Happy New Year—the novel will reward you with occasional witty one-liners, tender moments of deep female friendship, and salient truths: 'Because we’re middle-aged housewives. Who’s more invisible than us? We can get away with murder. Literally.'” Readers will appreciate—if not quite be riveted by—this tale of the strength of women in impossible situations."

In a lengthy review, The New York Times opens with “'Women were built to endure the rules men make,' Parini Shroff writes in her debut novel, The Bandit Queens, which covers a litany of grim realities in rural India: ... This might sound depressing, but Shroff manages to spin all of the above into a radically feel-good story about the murder of no-good husbands by a cast of unsinkable women."

I'm including Booklist's review in total because it captures several important points. "Shroff's debut is a darkly hilarious take on gossip, caste, truth, village life, and the patriarchy. Geeta's abusive drunk of a husband disappeared five years ago, leaving her alone and destitute in a small village in India, where rumor has it that she did him in. Her reputation as a woman who "removed her own nose ring" protects her from various unpleasant attentions, and it's not long before other women in her microloan group seek her assistance removing their nose rings. Inspired by Phoolan Devi, "the Bandit Queen," who fought for the rights of women in India, Geeta engages the help of a handsome widower (and black-market liquor purveyor) and takes on a gangster from whom she steals a dog. Geeta inadvertently manages to facilitate a couple of husband disposals before her own spouse reappears, hoping to reconcile with her. As one of her beneficiaries tries to blackmail her and her long-estranged, childhood best friend becomes a source of support, Geeta endeavors to take her life back. A perfect match for fans of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) and clever, subversive storytelling."

NPR's interview with author Parini Shroff is here.

Noir USA: Best of the Akashic Noir Series

Akashic is a publisher, whereas I sought out this collection of short stories because I mistakenly thought that "Akashic" was a particular type of noir, sort of like "Scandi noir" or "southern noir." "The Akashic noir series was launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Since then, there have been 60 original anthologies, all centered on a specific city, region, or neighborhood in the U.S. and abroad. The 37 stories in this collection represent the best of the U.S.-based anthologies (Booklist)." The editor of this collection is "Johnny Temple... the publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books, an award-winning Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction. He won the 2013 Ellery Queen Award, the American Association of Publishers' 2005 Miriam Bass Award for Creativity in Independent Publishing; and the 2010 Jay and Dean Kogan Award for Excellence in Noir Literature (from the book jacket)." "

Library Journal calls this anthology "A must read for mystery fans, not just devotees of Akashic's "Noir" series, this anthology serves as both an introduction for newcomers and a greatest-hits package for regular readers of the series. Broken into six parts, ...the volume contains the best short mystery fiction has to offer...The best of these stories are tightly written character studies with an amazing sense of place, be it San Diego or Pittsburgh, while also concisely examining larger issues such as domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, or gentrification. There isn't a weak story in the collection...Strongly recommended for readers who enjoy mysteries published by Hard Case Crime, as well as for fans of police procedurals. Not recommended for readers who are 100 percent committed to cozies ...but other mystery fans who give it a chance will find much to enjoy."

Publishers Weekly also offered a strong recommendation: "This compendium showcases 37 exceptional stories from 32 separate volumes, in six thematic categories: 'True Grit,' 'American Values,' 'Road Rage,' 'Homeland Security,' 'Under the Influence,' and 'Street Justice'"... concluding "Readers will be hard put to find a better collection of short stories in any genre." 

I found myself not in a place to read all 37 well-written but, indeed, dark stories so I picked out those to read whose authors were familiar to me. "the list of contributors includes virtually anyone who's made the best-seller list with a work of crime fiction in the last decade. Among them are Lee Child, George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, Don Winslow, Dennis Lehane, and T. Jefferson Parker (Booklist)." Also Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Safran Foer, S. J. Rozan, William Kent Krueger, Laura Lippman and Lawrence Block.

 

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Olga Tokarczuk, whose name was totally unfamiliar to me, has garnered some of the highest literary awards, including a Nobel Prize for literature and the Man Booker International Prize. I would recommend listening to the book or perhaps listening while following along in the text, as the Polish names stumped me in my efforts to imagine how they were pronounced. Her works have been translated into over 40 languages.

This summary is taken from the book jacket since I can't imagine doing any better. "In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, [nicknamed by Janina as] Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . .A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?"

Publishers Weekly was effusive in their praise, concluding their review by saying "Tokarczuk's novel succeeds as both a suspenseful murder mystery and a powerful and profound meditation on human existence and how a life fits into the world around it. Novels this thrilling don't come along very often."

Similarly, Booklist lauds the work. Protagonist Janina ( a name she hates) "mounts her own inquiries [but]As the seasons change, Janina finds herself summarily dismissed by authorities and locals alike, all the while maintaining her beliefs that the perpetrators may not be human at all as the action surges toward a gripping conclusion. Mythical and distinctive, Tokarczuk's translated novel erupts off the page, artfully telling a linear tale while also weaving in the metaphysical, multilayered nuances of Janina's life."

I offer these reviews first because I wasn't particularly taken by the book. I could certainly sympathize with some of Janina's views, and probably nobody died who didn't deserve it, but I didn't really like any of the characters nor was I particularly interested in who was doing the killing.  I was somewhat inclined to believe Janina's theories about the killer(s) because nobody else was a plausible suspect, but the ending did surprise me.  

How to Age Disgracefully

This entertaining read from Clare Pooley is centered at a community center that serves the elderly, pregnant women, a daycare center and a veterans group. This is Pooley's 3rd novel after her best selling The Authenticity Project and Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting. "After hiding in her apartment for 15 years, Daphne starts to feel like she doesn’t want to be invisible anymore. On her 70th birthday, she decides that she’ll find a way to step outside for longer than it takes to buy groceries a couple of times a week. It’s time to make friends and, perhaps, find a partner" (Kirkus).She gets dragged into a Senior Citizens Club, which she promptly takes over. During one meeting, part of the ceiling collapses and the town council threatens to shut the place down and sell it, since they "can't afford" to repair it. This will leave several people who Daphne has become attached to in real financial straits and curtail their life choices. Publishers Weekly praises "Pooley's clever and delightfully farcical scenes [that] are laugh-out-loud funny, often thanks to the frank Daphne." 

Booklist offers these enticing comments:  Pooley creates "an unlikely cohort--failed actor/recovering kleptomaniac Art; Ruby, who stealthily knits Banksy-style art installations; Anna, a former long-haul trucker who now rocks a motorized mobility scooter; and Ziggy, a teenage father with a daughter at the daycare, whose mad tech skills endear him to the otherwise prickly Daphne. Throw in a madcap bus ride, a mangy dog, and an audition for a reality TV show, and the result is a lovably quirky, reassuringly wise, and memorably inspiring romp that shatters ageist stereotypes. For fans of Fredrik Backman and Rachel Joyce... Readers seek out best-selling and wily comedic novelist Pooley for just the sort of cheeky break from stress they crave." Kirkus closes their review by asserting that "Fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series will enjoy this delightful romp that on its surface is about senior citizens—whom everyone tends to discount—and others coming together to save the local community center but really is about so much more: aging, love, crime, friendship, making mistakes and living through them, and life’s complicated emotions and choices. A frothy, fun, and well-paced cozy mystery—in which no murders take place."

 

Home Improvement: Undead Edition. All-New Tales of Haunted Home Repair and Surreal Estates

The subtitle suggests this is not a DIY handbook; rather it is a collection of short stories, collected from notable mystery, horror and fantasy writers, and edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P Kelner. This was an enjoyable, diversionary read. I don't usually pick up collections of short stories, so, to remedy that, I started with a collection in a favorite genre. There are some notable authors here whose books I have read: Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, S.J. Rozan as well as many with whom I was not familiar. The plot lines vary widely from accidentally opening a portal to the world of the dead during a home renovation to a really bossy house that makes people do things they don't want to. For a brief description of each entry, go to Kathy Davie's review in StoryGraph.

Cahokia Jazz

I was totally unfamiliar with author Francis Spufford, but I liked this book--if not particularly the ending--I will seek out his other alternate history novel, Golden Hill. Cahokia is the name given to the area along the Mississippi River across from present day St. Louis. Over 80 mounds still remain and further excavations suggested the centralized trading center near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missori and Illinois rivers extended much further out the the main population center. Cahokia was the name of the nearest indigenous tribe when the area was "discovered" by French explorers, in the 17th C, but there is evidence of settlement going back to 600 BCE. The height of the culture was around 1200. "Today, the Cahokia Mounds are considered to be the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico"; it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Spufford's approach is to imagine a history in which native Americans were not all decimated by disease and warfare but, in part, thrived and were strong enough to negotiate a semi-independant status as a city-state within the United States. The city is still a major transit point to the west with trains going to each coast and heavy industrialization with all it's accompanying ills. This is set in the 1920's and the jazz age flourishes here as well with speakeasies, bootleg liquor and rampant corruption. Still the original inhabitants are the governing body and maintain many of their own beliefs, rituals and monuments--most of which have been integrated into a quasi-Catholic religious structure. As in the actual Cahokia, the residents are multi-cultural--primarily American Indian, Black and White--living more or less peacefully although living a largely segregated existence in different parts of the city. Characteristically, if there is money and power to be had, the Whites are scheming to take control and drive out the natives. 

This is the background when Cahokia detective Joe Barrow, a large man of indiscriminate Native origins, and his partner, Phineas Drummond, a seriously bent white cop who served in the Great War with Joe, are called to the scene of a murder atop the Land Trust building downtown. The victim, who turns out to have been a clerk working in the building, is eviscerated in a ritual way that suggests some connection to old Aztec rituals.  The two detectives have very different motives for wanting to close the case. Drummond wants the case closed regardlessof whether or not the actual perpetrators are fitted up for the crime. Joe moves away from the "mentoring" of his partner and pursues the truth, fronting munitions traffickers, a powerful bootlegger, the Native power brokers and the KKK. He fears that if Native Americans are scapegoated as the killers, the Whites will use this as the rationale to overthrow the government.

The world building and the weaving of actual history into the story line are first rate. The setting and feel of the era are richly evoked. And the characters are believably developed with the most significant evolution being for Joe Barrow himself.  Kirkus further elucidates these elements: "Spufford has cleverly thought through all the Risk-board elements of this setup, from Cahokia’s industries, to the intersection of Native folkways and Catholicism, to the city’s various ethnic enclaves... But at heart the novel is a straightforward, smart noir, with Joe torn among his police duties, his sideline as a talented piano player at a local club, an erratic white detective partner, a budding romance, and his own grim upbringing in an orphanage. ... but Joe is an original invention, steeped in complex history—a “Mississippian fusion” of European, American, and Native ideas—and torn over what do for himself, his city, and his culture. A richly entertaining take on the crime story, and a country that might’ve been. 

Reviews have been glowing with Library Journal concluding that "Spufford has written an astounding homage to noir mysteries. A poignant drama-filled novel that his fans and readers of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian will thoroughly enjoy." Publishers Weekly concurs, saying "This richly imagined and densely plotted story refreshes the crime genre and acts as a fun house mirror reflection of contemporary attitudes toward race—all set to a thumping jazz age soundtrack." And Booklist praises, "Spufford... riffs on familiar hard-boiled types (the corrupt cop, the femme fatale) and keeps the plot brisk and violent. But the tune Spufford plays is nothing less than history of an alternative North America, and with his exuberant world building he invites us to consider the notes not played. ...The outcome, suggests Spufford, might be a society just as diverse and dissonant as our own."

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

This light novel from Jesse Q. Sutanto carries a number of important ideas. Raised in southeast Asia, Jesse got her creative writing degree from Oxford (yes, the one in England) and so has the bona fides to bring these cultures together in her books. You'll notice that even the characters in the book come from different cultures with unique foods and customs, but all seem to share the fear of and respect for the formidable "aunties" whether or not they are actually related. 

Here is a plot summary from the publisher, which is pretty accurate. " Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady-ah, lady of a certain age-who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco's Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her college-aged son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing--a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn't know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer. What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?"--"

Library Journal praises, " Sutanto excels at creating lovably flawed characters, the mystery has plenty of twists to keep readers guessing, and Vera's case notes at the end of some chapters add humor to the deductive process.... A mystery with warmth, humor, and many descriptions of delicious teas and foods." Publishers Weekly calls it a "stellar mystery" and concludes their review by saying, "The engrossing plot, which is full of laugh out loud humor and heartfelt moments, builds to a satisfying conclusion that will leave readers eager for more Vera. Sutanto has outdone herself with this cozy with substance." Booklist opens their review with this assertion, "Death shouldn't be funny or sweet or heartwarming, except maybe in a new cozy series starring Vera Wong, the widowed owner of San Francisco Chinatown's rather decrepit Vera Wang's World-Famous Teahouse." They go on to add some details of the plot: "when she discovers a corpse on the floor. The police arrive, refuse her amazing tea, barely investigate, and leave. Vera knows she's looking at foul play, no matter what the authorities insist. Of course, she'll solve the case by gathering (and feeding) the most likely suspects--an alleged reporter, a supposed podcaster, the dead man's wife, and his twin brother. Vera's next deadly installment hasn't yet been officially announced, but the success of Sutanto's best-selling Aunties series certainly points to more tales of murder."

It took me a while to warm up to Vera, but I stuck with it because my friend Anne Z. had given me the book. I am glad I did as it is both a good mystery and a warm-hearted story of unexpected friendships.