Sworn to Silence

This is the first book I've read by Linda Castillo who apparently intends to write other episodes with the same protagonist, Kate Burkholder. Burkholder was raised Amish near Painters Mill, Ohio, and only left after a rape and a self-defense murder sent her off the deep end. She was shunned and ran away to the big city, but eventually found her footing, worked her way into law enforcement, and took a job back in her home town as chief of police. In this book, a serial murderer has resurfaced. She thought the person responsible for the first series of murders 16 years ago was the man she had killed as a young woman, but the MO is identical and so Kate is now uncertain--did the man she shot really die? Her siblings, who also knew of the death and were sworn to silence by Kate's parents, are dragged into Kate's conundrum about finding out if the man she shot is really dead before she brings in outside law enforcement agencies to help solve these new killings. The murders are absolutely grisly so if that isn't something you can stomach, stay away. But the character is engaging, place is well established and the plotting will keep you on the edge of your seat. And you get a little love interest, fairly predictable, in the end.

The Sorceress

This is the third installment in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by folklorist Michael Scott (you need to read The Alchemyst and The Magician -- in that order before you read this) and I had imagined that it would be the end of a trilogy. No such luck! The Sorceress is Perenelle, Flamel's wife and she doesn't really figure any more prominently in this volume than in the previous ones. Nevertheless this is a fun read. All the action takes place in just a few short days, and nothing less than the continued existence of the humani (that's us) is at stake. The Dark Elders are bound and determined to re-assert dominance over the earth and they have summoned and collected every imaginable monster of myth and legend to move forward their plans. The first task is to get rid of Nicholas Flamel who is desperately trying to protect and train the "twins of legend", aka Josh and Sophie, who thought that they were just two ordinary teenagers living with an aunt in the bay area while their parents were on an archaeological dig. Now Sophie has mastered two of the elemental magics and Josh is learning as well. They battle the evil forces with their growing powers, with enchanted swords, and through sheer determination. Perry is trapped on Alcatraz with a whole array of creatures intent on her demise, the ghost of an old Spanish explorer who is trying to protect her, and a giant spider and a crow goddess who have become unlikely allies. Immortals in the employ of the Dark Elders have also been sent to kill her. Consequently, she is unable to assist in the action taking place in England as Flamel tries to reach the ley lines at Stonehenge that will return them to San Francisco before they are captured or murdered. William Shakespeare, Billy the Kid, and Machiavelli are just a few of the immortals who round out this colorful cast of characters.

Abide with Me

Written by Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me tells the story of Tyler Caskey, who has come to be the minister for the small town of West Annette in upper New England. He loves God and his congregation, his wife and their daughters. But his wife does not take to small town life or to the confines of being a minister's wife. She spends more money on clothes and make-up than Tyler earns, refuses to socialize with the townsfolk, and then has the audacity to get cancer and die. Tyler goes from grief to depression, while his older daughter, Katherine, becomes mute and angry. His congregation also loses its way as his sermons become repetitions of old work rather than inspirations flowing from Tyler's former sense of grace and goodness in the world. Negative rumors about Tyler's behavior and his suitability as a father and minister are started as people imagine slights based on his unresponsiveness. People act badly and then pull themselves together. We are reminded that everyone has feet of clay and yet most of us are capable of tremendous compassion. The beautyof this book is in the small descriptive details, the pacing, and the ordinarinous of life made significant.

Dog Stories

I've been on vacation and reading just for fun. My sister-in-law handed me a couple of books where dogs figure prominently: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Edgar Sawtelle introduces us to one family that for several generations has worked to selectively breed and train dogs that are highly intuitive in relation to their humans. Edgar's grandfather started out selecting promising dogs through chance encounters, based on stories (e.g., the tale of the Japanese dog who came back to meet his master at the train station for years after the man had died), and occasionally from respected kennels. The dogs were then bred and trained for an extended period of time before they were sold. They were tracked for their entire lifespan and reports of their behavior helped refine the breeding program for what became known as the Sawtelle dogs. Young Edgar, his father was also Edgar but went by Gar, is in early adolescence for most of this story; although we do hear of his early years. He was born mute, but not deaf, and has his own special dog that grew up with him, Almondine. From several perspectives--including that of the dogs--we learn of a family's devotion to creating an extraordinary group of dogs, and about the relationships between the family members, and between the dogs and the people. Edgar's father dies suddenly and his paternal uncle, Claude, who has recently re-entered the picture, begins to take over the running of the kennel and Edgar's mother's affections. Edgar is extremely intuitive in his own right and has an encounter with his father's ghost during a rainstorm; his father points Edgar to evidence that Claude killed him. Edgar's attempts to prove the murder have disastrous consequences and he runs away with several of the younger dogs; however, he can't stay away from his mother and Almondine. I couldn't stop reading the book. It is beautifully written, occasionally the phrasing and descriptions are just exquisite. But it is also the second "Oprah" recommended book I've read (She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb was the first) with such an irredeemably grim ending that I am swearing off reading anything on her list--again. One evil person is allowed to manipulate and then destroy everything good this family created. I guess that means I don't like books that offer no glimpse of hope.
Racing in the Rain, on the other hand, is infinitely hopeful, although bad things happen to one of the protagonists, and the narrator dies in the end. This is also a family story, about Denny Swift, an aspiring and gifted race car driver, his wife Eve, whose parents think she has married beneath her class, their daughter Zoe, and Enzo the narrator. Enzo happens to be Denny's dog but is at heart a philosopher who firmly believes the Mongolian legend that a dog who is ready to leave his dogness behind will be reborn as a man. He saw it once in a documentary on TV, which he watches during the day to learn how to be a person in his next life. There is a lot about car racing, but it is all tied to how one lives life with integrity and awareness. I loved this story. Don't be deterred by Enzo's death; he has learned what he needed to learn in this lifetime and he is happy to go.