The Clock Work Dynasty

This is the newest book (2017) by our local (Portland, OR) science fiction/ alternative history writer Daniel H. Wilson, who has written several previous books, mostly robot related.  There is a good overview of what he has written on Wikipedia. He is certainly qualified with a PhD in robotics and masters degree in artificial intelligence. This novel alternates between an historical journey, beginning in 1700's Czarist Russia, and a present day Pacific Northwest thriller. The action begins with the revival of two human-like mechanical beings--a young girl and an adult man (Elena and Peter)--by the Czar's "mechanician." When Peter the Great dies, his wife, Catherine, vows to destroy these abominations and so begins their life on the run, so to speak.
In current day Oregon, June Stefanov is an academic anthropologist who studies these ancient machines and is about to make an astounding and life-threatening discovery. As these characters' lives collide, nothing less than the fate of the human race is at stake.
I felt the pace of the book was slow to get started, but eventually I was drawn into finding out the origin story of these mechanical beings, who continue to evolve themselves, and are hiding in plain sight. This review from Publishers Weekly pretty accurately sums up my reading experience. My curiosity is piqued now to check out some of his more futuristic novels such as Robopocalypse.
Positive review available from Kirkus, and excerpts from an interview on OPB.

The Plover

Loosely, this is a sequel to Brian Doyle's Mink River (see my post on that title), only in that the main character in this book was also a character in the earlier one. Declan O'Donnell has left his land life and all its associated trials and tribulations behind, supposedly, by setting out on his small 30 foot fishing trawler, The Plover, for destinations unknown. But the universe still has lessons for Declan to learn and on that big, wide, and not very pacific Pacific, he encounters a remarkable array of people who come to be passengers, pursuers, and teachers. The first addition to the crew is a sea gull who apparently abandons ship and then rejoins The Plover. But this is no ordinary gull, being one of the Golden 13 beings who can make magical things happen, and she does. This is magical realism at its quintessential, lyrical best, for Doyle is a master of the language and loves nothing better than to play with it in dialog, lists, rants and description. Next up to join is an old friend of Declan's, Piko, and his disabled 9-year old daughter, Pip. They are both nearly washed overboard in a storm, and here I might say that, of course, the Pacific ocean is a character, as are all things in nature where Doyle is concerned. He eventually accrues the minister of almost everything from a small island nation who was set adrift at sea to die, a young man who escaped persecution in eastern Europe, a Polynesian woman who has lost her daughter, and an enemy who desires to destroy him and his ship. As always, this is a complicated tapestry of tales, at times easier reading than at others. There are things I love about this book, but as with Mink River, it is necessary to consume it in small does to avoid exhaustion. There is a very nice review by Kirkus here.
By comparison, two of his other books were much more easily digested and most enjoyable reading; my posts for those are at The Grail and Martin Marten. And if you EVER get a chance to go hear him speak or do a book reading, don't miss out. He is a funny, passionate, engaging speaker and you will laugh and cry along with him.

Breaking Blue

Author Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and has also written several prize-winning non-fiction books, as well as several works of fiction. He will be the first author to visit Bend as part of the library's "Author! Author!" series. Here he provides a narrative account of an investigation into the oldest open murder case in the state of Washington, that of Newport town marshall George Conniff, which took place in 1935. The current Sheriff of Pend Oreille county, Tony Bamonte, while writing a history of the county's law enforcement for his master's thesis, uncovers evidence about Conniff's murder by black-market butter thieves that suggests Spokane policemen were involved, and covered up for the killers.
When Bamonte sought their help with his investigation into the cold case, Spokane PD were non-responsive and uncooperative; they wanted nothing to do with a "do-gooder" cop who is willing to go against the brotherhood (even though he was investigating the death of a law enforcement officer) and bring bad publicity to the Spokane police department in the process. But Tony is dogged and tracks down the few remaining witnesses, the murderer himself, and--amazingly--the lethal weapon, which had been thrown into the Spokane River over 50 years ago. His obsession brings closure to the children of George Conniff, even though he fails to get an indictment against the murderer, former Spokane detective Clyde Ralstin. However, it costs him his marriage of 25 years, and his job.
Evocative descriptions of Depression-era Spokane and eastern Washington, and of the dying towns of more current day eastern Washington as the mining, timber, and cement industries fade away.  This is true crime clothed in a readable story that fleshes out characters, motives and settings. If you enjoy the work of Erik Larson, are a true crime aficionado and/ or are a local history buff, you will enjoy this book. Additional reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, New York Times.

The Alpine Traitor

This part of the "Emma Lord" series by Mary Daheim that is set in the fictional town of Alpine, somewhere out Hiway 2 towards Stevens Pass in Washington state. Having lived in Seattle 18 years, I was attracted because I like reading books set in surroundings I might recognize and I had heard positive reviews of this author. I would say this is competent but not outstanding. I found little things irritating like the fact that the sheriff, Milo, never walks, strolls or ambles, but always lopes out of the room. Not being really sure what that looked like, I checked with dictionary.com and found that, although usually applied to quadrapeds, it can apply to a person and conveys "with a long, easy stride." OK, fair enough, but pick another verb to use once in a while.
To the plot. Apparently, Emma Lord had a son, now a priest in his 30's, with a married man, Tom Cavanaugh. When he left his wife, who was mentally unbalanced, Tom and Emma renewed their relationship and were on the verge of getting married when he was killed. That was about 5 years ago. Emma is the owner of the town's weekly newspaper and has about 4 people working for her. Out of the blue, she receives a call, ostensibly from the husband of her deceased fiance's daughter, making an offer to buy the paper. According to this caller, the Cavanaugh children and their spouses want to buy the paper because they are expanding the newspaper empire left to them by their father, Tom. Emma is adamant that she is not interested in selling. Then this person turns up dead. Except it turns out he wasn't really the person he claimed to be, and said husband is alive and well. Meanwhile though the Cavanaugh children and spouses have started converging on Alpine. Emma makes efforts to talk with them but this seems to go nowhere. One of her employees is the next to be shot, although not killed. The plot is complicated by yet another revelation that someone is not who they claim to be. There are certainly a lot of colorful characters and I suspect if you read a number of these books, they would get to seem like old friends. However, there was not enough appealing about this book to send me in search of more in the series. Recommended only if you don't have something else you would rather read.

King of the Mountain

I only know M.K. Wren from reading her post-apocalyptic novel, A Gift Upon the Shore, so was surprised to find that she has a whole series of mysteries with a PI protagonist named Conan Flagg. Flagg also owns a bookstore on the coast of Oregon, and he is loathe to leave it just now, but his friend, Lise King, has pleaded with him to join her family for her father's annual birthday get together at his lodge in the mountains east of Portland. The trip brings together wealthy timber man A.C.King, his relatively new and much younger wife, and his 3 sons, at least two of whom appear to have some significant conflicts with A.C. Part of the annual celebration involves A.C. and his sons hiking up the mountain to camp out overnight.  One son is staying behind at the lodge, ostensibly with an injured ankle. Conan is invited to join the camp out, and it is only A.C.'s snoring which wakes Conan and sends him wandering out of camp to look at the stars, minutes before a landslide buries the campsite and--presumably--A.C. and two of his sons.  Conan races down the mountain as a freak blizzard moves in and barely survives hypothermia in getting back to the lodge to deliver the sad news. Conan is sure he heard a separate explosion moments before the landslide started and he thinks this is an elaborately plotted murder, not an accident of nature. That means somebody at the lodge is involved, and Conan means to find out who. Everyone has a motive--most of them centered around money. If you enjoy reading books set in the Pacific Northwest and like a decently wrought mystery, this would be an enjoyable choice.

Mink River

I won't pretend to be as talented as author Brian Doyle, but to give you a flavor of the book, I will alter my approach a bit. Lyrical. Tedious. Microscopic view. Unusual perspectives. Enticing. Provocative. Occasionally exhausting. Dense. Beautiful. Whimsical. Philosophical. Magical. Heartbreaking. Satisfying. Rich. Consume in small doses. Braided.
Characters primarily reflect either First Nations heritage (No Horses, Worried Man, Cedar, Maple Head) or Irish (Owen, Declan, Grace, Red Hugh). A coastal town in the Pacific Northwest where fishing and logging are in rapid decline. Every being has a story, including Moses the crow, whose caretaker, a nun, dies early on. Every being tells their own story, including the river. People are compassionate, evil, wise, a little mad, foolish--but ultimately engaging each and every one. The Department of Public Works is run by Cedar and Worried Man who have taken the department's role to new heights--now being concerned with the well-being of all people and places in the town. There are simply too many stories that weave in and out to try and summarize. So read it for yourself.