Other Names For Love by Taymour Soomro

 

This novel is set in Pakistan and follows the life of Fahad and his relationship with his domineering father.  His father is wealthy, having carved an estate out of the jungle and mountainous landscape in upcountry Pakistan.  He is a self-man man, revered by the people in the villages nearby but not as much by Fahad who is a sensitive boy.  He wanted to spend the summer at the shore or at home reading books but his father is worried that he is not tough enough and insists that he spend the summer at the estate.

As the weeks go by, Fahad finds himself entranced by the land and the rhythm of life there.  His father suggests that Fahad spend time with Ali, who already looks like a man at seventeen.  Ali teaches him how to drive and shoot a gun.  They spend most days together and an attraction forms between the two.  

Years later, Fahad is living in London, working as a lecturer and living in a committed relationship with a man.  His mother calls and insists he return home.  She says his father is slipping, the money is gone and they are about to lose the house.  He goes home and is shocked to see his formerly dominant father now weakened by early dementia.  His father insists he is on top of things but the reality is that he has neglected the estate and the businesses and things are at a crisis stage.  Can Fahad straighten things out?

Taymour Soomro was born in Pakistan and Fahad's life is much like his.  He attended university at Cambridge and Stanford and has worked as a lawyer, a professor, a rural estate manager and an author.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was wonderful, his voice in particular bringing to life the father and his bluster.  The work explored what it is to be a man and the relationship between fathers and sons, as well as posing the question of what we as adults owe to the family we grew up in.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Tell by Amy Griffin

 

Amy Griffin had what most people would consider a successful life.  She was married to a man who loved her and they had four healthy children.  They lived in Manhattan and money was not an issue.  Amy had a thriving career and got up every morning to run in Central Park at five a.m.  But something was wrong.

Amy grew up in Amarillo, Texas.  She was the golden girl at school, always the top achiever in grades, captains on her sports teams.  She was popular and everyone liked or admired her.  But somehow she has no memories of that time.

After entering therapy after her two daughters confided to her that they felt like Amy wasn't there emotionally for them but had a wall constructed, Amy had a breakthrough.  She suddenly starting remembering things that happened to her in middle school starting when she was twelve.  She was abused for several years by a coach at her school.  He raped her in various ways always on school grounds until she left middle school and even once when she was sixteen.  He was still there and who knows how many girls he had abused before and after.

Amy went on a campaign to have him held accountable legally.  She also started to confide her truth to various people, starting with her husband and continuing with her sister and other siblings, her own children and her parents.  Each was shocked and felt anger and guilt that they hadn't seen anything, hadn't known anything was wrong.  The golden girl was also the best at stuffing down trauma and hiding everything.

Statistics show that sexual abuse of girls is a huge problem.  Some statistics show that one in four girls is sexually assaulted before she is 18 while others show one in nine.  Regardless, it's a rare woman who can't look back to an instance where a man's hands roamed over her body up to violent assault that has long lasting effects.  Girls who are routinely abused find it hard to form trusting relationships as adults as their abuser was likely a coach, a teacher, a relative, someone in their family's circle of trust.  A man who abuses one girl rarely stops there as the more common pattern is serial abuse of many girls.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers, especially parents and those women who may have experienced this abuse.

No Time Like The Present by Nadine Gordimer

 

The place is South Africa and the time is post-apartheid.  Steve and Jubulile are an interracial couple who met while fighting with the rebels to overthrow the racist government.  Now, they are just another couple trying to live a life.  They have two children a girl and a boy.  Steve is a college lecturer in engineering, Jubulile is a lawyer.  They move to the suburbs where they make friends, some they knew from their rebel days, some new friends.

The couple has different attitudes to the new way of living.  Jubulile was one of the first black women to receive an education and she feels that she needs to take advantage of the opportunities that has afforded her.  Steve has remained closer to his rebel days in his thoughts and is known as the most leftist lecturer at the college.  Eventually, this difference in attitude creates some distance in their marriage.  Jubulile also has differences with her adored father when he continues to support the new head of government because he comes from their tribe even though he has been accused of fraud and sexual misconduct.

Nadine Gordimer is a South African author whose work has won both the Nobel Prize for Literature and The Booker.  She has also had another book longlisted on the Booker Prize.  Her work focused on South Africa both before and post apartheid.  She was also known as an activist and lived and worked during the times of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment and release to become the head of government.  Her work discusses the difficulties of that time and the alienation that both native and white South Africans felt as their country underwent a cataclysmic change.  This book is recommended for literary and historical fiction readers.  

Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

 

This is not how Gail Baines saw her life in her sixties.  She has just been informed that the school where she works is getting a new head and her job has been given to someone else.  She quits on the spot and huffs off home.  Her daughter is getting married tomorrow and she has plenty to do even though she has been left out of the spa day today.  Then her doorbell rings.

She sees Max, her ex-husband, on the porch.  He has a cat with him and he tells her that he can't stay with their daughter as he had planned because her fiancé is allergic to cats.  Can he stay with Gail?  It's the last thing she wants but what can she say?  She hasn't seen much of Max since he moved away after their divorce but she guesses one weekend after all this time won't matter.

Then that night their daughter comes to them in tears.  She found out at the rehearsal dinner that the man she's marrying tomorrow had an affair while they were together.  Should she call off the wedding?  Gail is all for that and is outraged but Max suggests that the daughter go talk things out.  The next morning the wedding is back on and the weekend progresses.

Anne Tyler should be named our author of good feelings.  Reading one of her books is like getting an unexpected bouquet of flowers and her knowledge of people and their quirks is instinctive and forgiving.  Her characters feel like people you've met and their lives are like those of others you've known.  There are surprises along the way and the reader finishes the book with a feeling of satisfaction and that the world is a good place.  This book is recommended for readers of literary and women's fiction.

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French

 

A party is being held.  It's for the fiftieth birthday of Alec Salter.  Under protest, his four children are there, Niall already out of college and working, Paul still in college, Ollie who plans to take a gap year before college and Etty who still has a couple of years before college.  There is lots of drinking and dancing but one guest is missing.  Charlotte Salter is nowhere to be seen.

She is still missing the next morning.  Etty goes to the family's best friends, the Ackerleys.  They haven't seen Charlotte but the older son, Morgan, agrees to walk with Etty along the river.  They don't find Charlotte but instead find the body of Morgan's father, Duncan Ackerley.  It appears he has jumped from the bridge, a sucide.

The police look into the cases but make no progress.  Thirty years later, everyone comes back to the village.  Morgan is now a successful television presenter and wants to make a podcast about the cases with his older brother.  He wants to interview the Salter children who are back in the village to clear the house and move their father into supported housing.  The Salters want nothing to do with the podcast.  The disappearance of their mother has ruined their lives and they don't want to revisit it.  Will the cases finally be solved?

Nicci French is a husband and wife writing duo who have been known for years as producing some of the best work in the mystery genre.  A book by Nicci French is an automatic buy and read for me as I love their intricate plotting and apt characterization of the people who inhabit the books.  This one is no different.  As the podcast unfolds, secrets that have been held for decades are unveiled and new deaths occur.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

The Sewing Girl's Tale by John Wood Sweet

 

In 1793, Lanah Sawyer went out walking with a gentleman.  She was excited, thinking that this might lead to a proposal.  He had told her they would be accompanied by another couple but when they met, he told her the other couple would meet them later and instead he took her to a brothel where he gained entrance, locked her in a room and raped her.  

Lanah was seventeen and living in a Colonial America that prized women's virtue above all.  If they were raped, they were spoiled and their chances of marriage were considered unlikely.  Fathers attempted to make the man marry their daughter, another horrid outcome.  If unsuccessful, the family attempted to hide the crime so that their daughter would not be ruined.

But Lanah Sawyer went another route.  Her stepfather was a boat captain and he and his friends were not fond of gentlemen who often tried to cheat them of wages and tips.  He and Lanah went to a magistrate and filed rape charges against the man, the first rape trial to take place in New York or the country.  Some of the most famous lawyers of the time got involved, including Alexander Hamilton.  Although it took many months, Lanah eventually got retribution but her reputation was stained throughout the new country.

John Wood Sweet is an American author who is also a history professor at the University of North Carolina.  His books have been on early American history and have gained literary prizes.  This book is extensively researched and told in great detail.  The reader will learn about the history of rape charges but also much about New York City and its citizens at the end of the seventeenth century. I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job.   This book is recommended for nonfiction history readers.  

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umigar

 

Bhima has had a life of hardship and despair.  She is illiterate and works as a maid and cook in a wealthy Parsi household.  She had been married and had two children.  But her husband is maimed in an industrial accident and can find no other work afterward.  He leaves Bhima to go back to his home village and takes her son with him.  Without his wages, Bhima and her granddaughter are forced to move to the slums.  Bhima's daughter died, leaving her to raise the granddaughter.

Sera is Bhima's wealthy Parsi employer.  She lives in the house she shared with her husband who has died.  Her daughter and son-in-law have moved in with her and her daughter is about to have her first baby.  She says Bhima is almost like family after decades of service, but she doesn't let her sit on the furniture or eat with the same plates and silverware as the family.  She has helped Bhima with the granddaughter sending her to school.

The one bright spot in Bhima's life is Maya her granddaughter.  She is attending university with the help of Sera and has the chance to live an easier life.  When she gets embroiled in scandal, Bhima is furious.  She and Sera decide how to resolve the situation with no input from Maya.  It turns out that neither woman's life is what she thought and that hidden secrets impact both of them.

Thrity Umigar was born in India but immigrated to the United States where she lives.  She was a journalist writing for many newspapers and has written a number of novels that feature India and its people.  In this novel, the relationship between Bhima and those around her are the foundation of the novel.  Her marriage which failed, her loss of her children, her love of Maya and her relationship with Sera each have formed her and make up her life.  She sees nothing wrong with how she is treated by Sera, nor does Sera, both bowing to the strictures of the rigid Indian caste system.  She handles hardship as it comes and is an admirable character.  This book is recommended for readers of multicultural and literary fiction.

Cry Baby by Mark Billingham

 

Two boys are best of friends and love getting together to play.  One is from a wealthy household and goes to a private school, one lives in the projects and goes to a public school.  But both are without their fathers.  The one from money has parents who divorced while the other boy has a father who is in prison.  The mothers, surprisingly, are very good friends and meet regularly at a playground to let the boys play together.  

On this day, while one mother goes to the restroom, the other takes her eyes off the boys while she smokes a cigarette.  The boys run into the woods behind the playground but only one of them returns.  The other boy has disappeared and later witnesses report him being led to a car by a man.

The police are called and DS Tom Thorne heads up the investigation.  Thorne is distracted by his personal life.  His wife has just left him and is pushing him to get the house on the market.  Thorne is a great detective sergeant but doesn't get along with his boss.  He has pulled together a team of men and women who work together well and they all push to find the boy.  Can they save him?

The Tom Thorne series is one of the top rated mystery/police procedural series in the genre.  I've been working on reading them.  While this one is the seventeenth in the series, it is really a prequel in which Tom Thorne is introduced to the reader.  He is a sergeant not a DCI.  He is just recently separated and dealing with the emotions of a upcoming divorce.  He meets his best friend, the coroner who he shares love of football with but he doesn't know the most relevant things about him yet.  The mystery is chilling as always and Thorne is portrayed with the care he always feels for victims while refusing to follow protocol if he has a hunch to follow.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.   

Audition by Katie Kitamura

 

In this novel we get two competing narratives of  three characters.  There is a famous actress, her husband and a young man.  In the first narrative, the actress has agreed to meet with the young man for lunch as he says he has something to tell her.  As they meet, her husband arrives, sees them and immediately leaves again.  The young man tells her that he believes she is his mother.  She informs him that it isn't possible as she has never had any children.  Yet the man stays around the theatre and in her life.

In the second narrative the young man is the son of the actress and her husband.  He asks if he can move back home for a while as he has gotten a job as the assistant to the play's producer.   The couple agrees and he moves in.  They become a family again and then he brings home his girlfriend who eventually also moves in.  

Katie Kitamura is an American author whose work has received much praise.  This novel is longlisted for the Booker Prize and other works have been longlisted for the National Book Award.  I've been on somewhat of a Kitamura kick lately and this is the second novel of hers I've read in recent months.  The earlier one contrasted to this latest, shows her growth as a novelist and her utter command of the genre.  There is underlying drama and tension in both narratives and it is left to the reader to decide which is true and what the shifting relationships mean in terms of family.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

Red Queen by Juan Gomez-Jurado

 

Jon Gutierre is in trouble again at the police department.  Although he's a closer, he also has little regard for protocol or rules.  This time he let his heart get the better of him and set up a pimp who was beating a prostitute who came to him for protection.  He put heroin in the pimp's car trunk but unfortunately he was videotaped and the video has gone viral.

Antonia Scott may be the smartest person alive.  She had been working for the government in a secret agency that handled sensitive crimes until her work brought tragedy to her home and her husband was left in a coma for the past three years.  She spends all her time at the hospital in his room, hoping against hope that he will emerge from his sleep.

Now the two have been paired to solve the case of an assassin who is committing impossible crimes.  The first is a teenager, the son of wealthy parents who is left in their home completely drained of blood.  Was he kidnapped?  Did something go wrong with the ransom or was this always a plot against the family?  Now the grown daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world has been kidnapped and taken away.  Can Antonia and Jon solve the case before she too is killed?

Juan Gomez-Jurado is a Spanish author and journalist.  This book is hugely successful there and has been adapted as an Amazon Prime Video series.  The characters are fresh, the plot is delivered at breakneck speed and the crimes are engaging.  The interplay between the two main characters is interesting and this novel is the first of three in a series.  I know I'll be reading the rest of the series and I'm grateful to have discovered a new author to me.  This book is recommended for mystery and thriller readers.    

The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins

 

Christopher Hurley, known as Christy, is a traveller.  He loves the outside life, going from town to town with his family.  His group includes his grandparents, his aunt and uncle, his cousins of whom Martin is his best friend and his Da.  He never knew his mother as she died in childbirth.

The group knows it is time for Martin and Christy to take instruction and their First Communion.  That means the group needs to stay in a town for much longer than normal and the boys are actually sent to school for the first time.  Christy is a huge reader and loves the school while he also meets a girl who gives him feelings he has never had before.  Yet there is a mystery he wants to solve.

He found a picture of his mother but she is holding a baby.  If she died in his childbirth, how is that possible?  is this another child, a sibling?  Is it him?  Why won't his father ever talk about his mother? 

Jeanine Cummins is an American author whose best known work is American Dirt.  In this novel, she is able to get inside the heart and mind of a growing boy whose life is different from those around him and holds a secret that even he doesn't know.  It is the best coming of age novel I've read and I've enjoyed all of Cummins' work that I've read.  Christy is a lovely boy who loves his family and life but is intellectually curious and determined to find the truth.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

 

Hai is on the bridge getting his courage up to jump when he hears a shout.  It is Grazina and she calls for him to come to her yard.  Grazina is an elderly immigrant from Eastern Europe and has dementia but still lives alone.  Hai is nineteen and has no where to go or live.  They form a pact.  Hai will live with her and watch over her and she'll provide a room for him.  Their friendship becomes strong over the next months.

They are living in Gladness, which is a former industrial town in Connecticut but now the factories have closed.  There are few jobs and Hai considers himself lucky when he gets one at what's considered the best fast food restaurant in town, something along the lines of Boston Chicken.  There he finds a group of friends.  His cousin, who is autistic works there and is obsessed with the Civil War.  The grillmaster is from the South and wants nothing more than to go home and open a barbecue restaurant.  The owner has dreams of becoming a female wrestler.  There is another young man who is a Russian immigrant.  Together they also form a family of sorts.

Grazina has a son living about an hour away but she seldom hears from him, his wife or her two grandchildren.  He wants to put her in a home so that he doesn't have to worry about her and so he can sell the house for whatever it will bring.  He suspects Hai of having some sketchy purpose in living with Grazina and tries to take her away from Hai.  

Ocean Vuong is a poet who was born in Saigon, Vietnam.  He is also a MacArthur Fellowship winner and has written a best selling novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.  His poetry background shows up in his lyrical writing and the reader will be transported to Gladness.  Relating to Hai is easy as we see what he has done with his life and how he has tried to move on but can't seem to fight the obstacles and poverty he has lived with his entire life.  The love between Grazina and Hai is a sustaining one and it is heartrending when they are torn apart.  This is a new author for me but I'll be reading more by him.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Fever In The Heart by Ann Rule

 

In this compilation of true crime cases, Ann Rule covers several crimes in the Washington area.  The majority of the book covers the case of Morris Blankenbaker and Gabby Moore.   The two were both wrestling coaches in Yakima, Washington, Moore having coached Blakenbaker during his high school days.  Morris was married to Jerrilee, who he courted and won when she was only eighteen.  When Gabby's marriage to his wife fell apart, Morris agreed to let him stay for a while with him and Jerrilee.

That started the issue.  As the days rolled into weeks, Gabby fell in love with Jerrilee and set out to win her  She returned his feelings and soon, she asked Morris for a divorce and married Gabby instead.  But Gabby had issues that had ended his first marriage.  He was drinking more and more and Gabby was a vicious drunk.  Within a year, Jerrilee had left him and returned to Morris.  Gabby was determined to win her back and one night, Morris was shot and killed as he returned from work.

The police suspected Gabby but he had been in the hospital the night Morris died.  Had he paid someone?  Jerrilee didn't return to him as he expected as his drinking and violence had turned her love into fear and loathing.  So around Christmas, another body was found, that of Gabby Moore.  Had someone shot him for some unknown reason?  Had he paid someone to shoot him thinking it would be a flesh wound and bring Jerrilee back to him?  Rule covers the case.

The rest of the book covers several shorter cases in the area.  Rule was known as a true crime writer and many consider her one of the best.  She is best known for having worked with Ted Bundy never suspecting that he was murdering the entire time.  Her book about him shot her to prominence in the true crime world.  I prefer her books that focus on one case but she has lots of these compilations as well.  This book is recommended for true crime readers.  

Lily And The Octopus by Steven Rowley

 

Lily is a dachshund and is Ted's best friend in the world.  They have best friends since the day Ted brought her home from the breeder.  They have routines, daily activities and are each other's emotional support.  Ted is gay and his last relationship lasted several years but ultimately did not work out.  Since then, it's been him and Lily.

But one day, Ted wakes up and sees something on Lily's head.  At first he thinks it is a hallucination but it stays there and continues to grow.  He personalizes it to an octopus and he knows that it is here to take his Lily away.  She is getting older and the vet says they can try surgery but he can't really recommend it.  

Ted is determined to save Lily.  He starts a campaign to kill the octopus, taking the pair of them on a boat voyage to attack it in its natural environment.  Lily continues to be Lily but each day is a little weaker and a few more symptoms appear.

This is Steven Rowley's first book and most readers will be able to relate to it.  Most of us have had beloved pets and if we were lucky, saw them age.  Along with long life is the hardest decision in the pet world, when should we give our beloved friends a pain free exit from this life?  Rowley is an American author and has gone on to success with novels like The Guncle and others.  My favorite of his books is The Editor about working with Jacqueline Onassis when she worked in publishing but this one is much more emotional and hits home.  This book is recommended for all pet owners.  

The Traitor King by Andrew Lownie

 In England, December 11, 1936 is remembered as the date of King Edward VII's abdication of his throne.  He gave it up in order to marry the love of his life, Wallis Simpson.  He was not allowed to marry her and make her Queen because she was a divorcee.  This book tells what happened to the couple after the abdication and their move to France.

It's a sad tale.  The Royal Family ostracized him and even his mother would not see him.  He had no purpose and flitted from one place to another, aimlessly looking for a post where he could be of service.  He was the English top representative in the Bahamas for a while which was an enormous comedown.  He and Wallis were known as German sympathizers during World War II, and the Duke thought he would be the best negotiator England could have.  While he never stopped loving Wallis, she had affairs and treated him scornfully.  

Andrew Lownie grew up in Bermuda and attended university in England.  His work has been in the biography field and this is another example.  I finished the book thinking that England had a good escape from having the Duke of Windsor rule as monarch.  He seemed a dull person, no real interest in education or books or culture.  I believe the second World War would have ended very differently had he been in power during the conflict.  He could be seen as a traitor to his family, his purpose and if he had remained in power, perhaps to the country.  I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.  

 No one would have expected these women to become friends.  Imogen Fortier is fifty-nine, married and lives on an island outside of Seattle.  Joan Bergstrom is twenty-seven, single and living in Los Angeles.  But Joan writes Imogen a fan letter about her food column and sends her a small packet of saffron.  Imogen doesn't know what to do with it and writes back for instructions.  Imogen has been cooking for many years but pretty much the cuisine she grew up with.  Joan is in the midst of international cuisine and encourages Imogen to broaden her horizons.

The novel is told through a series of letters between the two women.  Through their correspondent, we learn of Joan's forbidden love with a man of another culture and Imogen's husband and how as he learns to cook, trauma he has carried for years starts to unwind.  The two women tell each other everything and are each other's greatest support.  Joan even starts to write a food column in Los Angeles.  

Kim Fay is a former travel writer and has won acclaim in the travel and food literature awards.  This book with its unusual format is life sustaining and celebrates both food and the friendship between women.  Both women draw on their friendship to explore new ideas, meals and life situations.  The reader will finish the last page sustained by the joy and friendship possible.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction.

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

 

Jackson Lamb is not the kind of boss you look forward to seeing each day in the office.  That's particularly true if you are an operative of Slough House which means you already did something that ruined your career.  Lamb treats them with sarcasm and disrespect and that's on a good day.  If there is an exception, it's Catherine Standish, who shares the upstairs floor with Lamb.  She is middle-aged and a reformed alcoholic and it's not clear if either of those characteristics are what makes a difference.

When Catherine encounters a man from her past on the street, she wonders for a minute if it is a coincidence.  But she is being kidnapped; the man a soldier of fortune.  When her picture is taken and she is asked who of her co-workers she wants it sent to, she picks River Cartwright, a young impetuous man.  He rushes off to try to save her, not telling anyone else.  

But in the world of Slough House, little is as it seems.  There are layers upon layers behind Catherine's kidnapping and the tendrils reach high into the government.  The other operatives are determined to save Catherine once they discover what is going on while Lamb treats it as just another inconvenience.  

This is the third book in the Slough House series.  It is full of the witty and snide humor that characterizes the series.  Lamb is the sheep in dark clothing who acts as if he could care less but who always has his finger on the pulse of what is happening and who can handle any situation.  It is not until the end of the book that the title gains meaning and it is chilling.  This book is recommended for mystery/spy readers.  

Booksie's Shelves, July 29, 2025

 

It's the end of July and we're in a sweltering summer haze here in NC!  Only two more months of this horrid heat and humidity and fall will be here.  I've read 179 books so far this year so I'm hoping I can make my goal of 300 before the end of the year.  Today was the release of the 2025 Booker Prize nominees and I have eight of the thirteen and will wait on a couple of the rest until they go to paperback or on sale in the United States.  I've just returned from Georgia to visit my family and wonderful grandkids which is always fun.  We're also slowly but surely trying to turn one of our feral cat visitors into an inside cat.  He has been with us for over a year and lately has spent a couple of nights inside.  We're also moving his feeding inside to stop attracting wildlife to the back porch.  We've had raccoons, possums, foxes and a groundhog come in through the cat door.  Here's what's come through the front door and mail:

1. Paradise, Abdulrazak Gurnah, literary fiction, purchased (Nobel Prize winner)
2. Fatal Flowers, Rosemary Daniell, literary fiction, purchased (recommended by Pat Conroy)
3. The Gentleman From Peru, Andre Aciman, literary fiction, purchased
4. The Confession, Jessie Burton, literary fiction, purchased
5. Birding, Rose Ruane, literary fiction, purchased (Women's Prize listed 2025)
6. Reservoir Bitches, Dahlia de la Cerda, literary fiction, purchased (Women's Prize listed 2025)
7. By The Sea, Abdulrazak Gurnah, literary fiction, purchased (Nobel Prize 2021)
8. A Country You Can Leave, Asale Angel-Ajami, literary fiction, purchased
9. Girl Dinner, Olivie Black, horror, sent by publisher
10. The Oyster Thief, Sonia Faruqi, fantasy, purchased
11. One Of Us, Dan Chaon, literary fiction, sent by publisher
12. Enlightenment, Sarah Perry, literary fiction, purchased
13. The Book Of Lost Hours, Hayley Gelfuso, fantasy, sent by publisher
14. Big Girl, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, women's fiction, purchased
15. The River Swimmer, Jim Harrison, literary fiction, purchased
16. The Evening Of The Holiday, Shirley Hazzard, literary fiction, purchased
17. The Hounding, Kenobe Purvis, fantasy, sent by pubisher
18. The Trial, Rob Rinder, mystery, purchased
19. Mr. Peanut, Adam Ross, mystery, purchased (New York Times Notable Book)
20. The End We Start From, Megan Hunter, literary fiction, purchased
21. The Elements, John Boyne, literary fiction, sent by publisher
22. The Killer Question, Janice Hallett, mystery, sent by publisher
23. Sirens, Joseph Knox, mystery, purchased
24. The Confessions, Paul Bradley Carr, thriller, sent by publisher
25. Joseph, Julian Rathbone, history, purchased
26. Sleeping With Soldiers, Rosemary Daniell, literary fiction, purchased
27. The Dust That Falls From Dreams, Louis De Bernieres, literary fiction, purchased
28. A Year With The Seals, Alix Morris, nonfiction, sent by publisher
29. A Dog In Georgia, Lauren Grodstein, literary fiction, sent by publisher

Here's What I'm Reading:

1. Red Queen, Juan Gomez-Jurado, mystery, hardcover
2. The Sewing Girl's Tale, John Wood Swift, historical fiction/true crime, audiobook
3. Spook Street, Mick Herron, mystery, audiobook
4. Cry Baby, Mark Billingham, mystery, Kindle
5. Neuromancer, William Gibson, science fiction, Kindle
6. The Outside Boy, Jeanne Cummins, literary fiction, paperback
7. The Space Between Us, Thirty Umigar, literary fiction, paperback
8. Nights At The Circus, Angela Carter, literary fiction, paperback
9. What Remains Of Her, Eric Rickstad, mystery, audiobook
10. Audition, Katie Kitamura, literary fiction, hardback

Happy Reading!

Buried by Mark Billingham

 Luke Mullen is only thirteen and he's missing.  His father is a former police officer and he's determined to be front and center in the investigation.  Tom Thorne is heading up the investigation.  Luke was seen getting into a car with a woman at the end of his school day.  Is this a woman he has been secretly seeing and he's run off with her?  Is it a kidnapping?  

Luke attends a private school and it's clear that his family has money.  When it becomes clear that it is indeed a kidnapping, Thorne is faced with other questions.  Is this just a money thing?  Or is it also payback from some criminal that the boy's father put away and who has now been released?  The family seems to be keeping secrets, one of them being former criminals who may form a threat to the family.  

In the meantime, other crimes go on.  One of the most newsworthy was the brutal attack and murder of an Asian boy who was beaten and kicked to death one night while waiting for a bus.  This murder happened close to the private school where Luke attends.  Is it connected somehow?

This is the sixth book in the Tom Thorne series.  Tom is feeling his age with a bad back giving him lots of pain and anguish.  He feels like his hands are tied in some ways as it is clear that Luke's father is getting inside information on the investigation from his former police mates and his interference makes everything more difficult.  Tom has a suspicion about what is going on that runs counter to his bosses' ideas and he just wants to be left alone to see if his idea pans out.  This book is recommended for mystery readers. 

The Waste Lands by Stephen King

 

The Gunslingers continue on their journey to the Dark Tower.  Roland, Susanne, Eddie and Jake are connected by Ka.  Jake picks up a companion, an animal that resembles a groundhog but seems to have intelligence and who can talk after a fashion.  As they journey, they encounter a town of people for the first time.  Most are very old and they cannot believe their eyes, that a Gunslinger still exists.  They tell the group what is up ahead.  The main thing is the city of Lud which is full of two opposing cliques and which has continual battles.  That is also where the trains ran from and Roland believes that they need the train in order to transverse the Wastelands.

Lud is a walled city with a bridge.  Both sides want Jake for their own purposes, none of which are good.  He is captured by a slummy man who resembles a pirate named Gasher who takes him into underground tunnels to his master, Blaine the Mono.  Death waits on all sides but the group is able to reunite and convince the Tick Tock Man who is the spirit of the train, to take them on their journey.  He is also evil and intends to kill them until they can win a game of riddles.  Will the group survive?

This is the third book in the Dark Tower series.  Jake and Roland are separated in some ways from the rest as Roland broke Ka to prevent Jake's death in his world and bring him into his own world  But they travel on.  It is interesting to see other people, survivors of the apocalypse that ruined the World and how they differ.  Some are kind and helpful, some are evil and depraved.  The addition of the furry companion is a good one and he provides some warmth in the cruel cold world.  This book is recommended for readers of horror and fantasy. 

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

 

After a disastrous encounter at work in London, Nova Davies has moved to a small village with her fiance which is his hometown.  It's quite an adjustment from London as they are living with his parents until they find a house.  There isn't much to do but she has Steven and his best friend Laura works with her.  Her new boss is wound tight but a good sort as well.

Nova works in community engagement and her job is at the village community center.  She starts a book club and only has a few members at first.  There is Phyllis, an older woman who insists on bringing her smelly bulldog everywhere she goes.  Arthur is another older member, a farmer who is a constant caretaker for his wife who has become housebound.  Then there is Ash, who is a teenager, basically loves sci-fi and not much else and doesn't say much.  Rounding out the group is Michael who has just started and whom no one really knows much about.

At the meeting, Michael gets a text and suddenly jumps up and leaves.  After the book club is over, it's discovered that the money the community raised to get a new roof has been stolen and suspicion falls on Nova who may not have locked the office.  The club thinks Michael may have taken it and when they track him down, they find that his mother has died and the police suspect it could be murder.  Who could have killed her?  They decide to find Michael and hopefully the money along with him.

Freya Sampson is a British author who worked as an executive producer in television before she started writing.  Readers will love Nova and cheer for her to straighten her life out.  Arthur is another sympathetic character while Phyllis provides the comic relief.  They each have secrets and as they get to know each other better, the secrets start to emerge.  I usually don't read cozy mysteries but this one was a delight to read and is recommended for mystery readers.  

The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

 

Corby Ledbetter isn't doing well.  Six months ago, he was married to the love of his life, Emily, their two year twins were thriving and he loved his job.  Then he lost his job as a graphic designer.  The company loved him and his work but they had to downsize and other employees had been there longer or had better credentials.  Now Corby is doing the house husband routine, looking after the twins and Emily is supporting the family on a teacher's salary.  They are both exhausted and Corby is hiding secrets.  Like the one about how he isn't really looking for a job these days.  Like the big one that he's drinking and doing drugs, even during the day while he's watching the twins.

Then the disaster happens and nothing will ever be the same again.  In a moment of Corby's intoxication, he makes a mistake and tragedy occurs.  He is criminally charged and sentenced to three years of prison but even worse, he hates himself and he's afraid the Emily does as well and that she can never forgive what he did.  

While in prison, Corby sees a lot of bad, inmates who terrorized others and guards that bullied the inmates because they could.  But over time, he also finds some good.  There are some guards and prison employees he gets close to.  He is helped by and helps other inmates.  He joins AA and gets his addiction under control.  Most importantly, he has the time to work on himself and get real about what he was doing and if he can make a positive change going forward.  As the days tick down, he makes himself promises about what he'll do when he gets out.  Can he pull it off?

Wally Lamb is an American author who is known for his novels about imperfect people (as we all are) who are trying to get to a better place.  His work is highly celebrated and this one is an Oprah Book Club pick.  Corby is a work in progress and the reader will have to decide if he can be forgiven for one minute of carelessness that changes the world of everyone around him.  Lamb has volunteered for years in a women's prison so the characters and routines of Corby's imprisonment ring true.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.  

The Drawing Of The Three by Stephen King

 

When The Gunslinger, Roland, caught The Man In Black, he told him that he would have to bring three other individuals into his quest for the Dark Tower.  This second book in the series tells the stories of each one brought and how Roland handles it.  

The first of the three is Eddie.  Eddie is a young man in his early twenties and a heroin addict.   He spent his life looking up to his big brother who spent his time as an addict and breaking down Eddie's opinion of himself.  Eddie and Roland meet on an airplane where Eddie is attempting to bring in drugs for a mob boss and Roland helps him evade the law.  When a battle erupts between the boss and others in his gang, Roland is there to help Eddie and bring him back to his land.

The second person is really two people in one.  Odetta Holmes has had a difficult life.  When she was five, a brick fell on her head as she was walking on the sidewalk with her parents.  Odetta was put in a coma and while there, Detta came to being.  Odetta lived a double life; she is refined while Detta is coarse, Odetta is pleasant while Detta is ready to kill anyone she sees.  Later Odetta has another tragedy when she is pushed in front of a subway train and loses her legs.  Roland brings her over as well although Detta is determined to kill both he and Eddie.

The third person is a psychopath.  He is a man who has killed and maimed people for years without being caught or even having suspicions brought his way.  An accountant with a mild look, he is the person who victimized Odetta twice as well as the person who pushed Jake from the first book into traffic where he was killed.  Roland inhabits his mind and eventually pays him back once he knows what part the man plays in the Dark Tower saga.

This was a great book.  I'm being drawn more and more into this story.  There are monsters who are horrendous, and love affairs and the continuing mystery of Roland and his quest for the Dark Tower.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.  

Fresh-Air Fiend by Paul Theroux

 

In this anthology, Paul Theroux writes about various trips he has taken around the world.  Although many identify him as an author who writes about train trips, his preferred method of travel is kayaking or sailing around coastal lands.  In this book, he talks about his trips in Hawaii, Easter Island and Palawan.  He also talks about travel in the United States which was the first I had read of his travels here.  He spends a lot of time in Cape Cod and surrounding areas kayaking and also discusses traveling in Florida.

But it's not all self-travel.  He talks quite a bit about his time in Africa with the Peace Corps and how he started his travel book writing along with the novels he writes.  He also spends time talking about China and a trip he took down the Yangtze River and areas adjacent such as Hong Kong before the handover.

In an interesting ending to the book, he has articles about other travel writers, all of whom he knew.  He discusses Bruce Chatwin, John McPhee, V.S. Pritchett, Graham Greene, William Simpson and Rajat Neogy and it is interesting to see his take on other travel writers and his generosity in talking about them.

I came to know Theroux's writing through his novel, The Mosquito Coast and then started reading his travel books.  He is an American author, although he lived in England for seventeen years while married and raising his family.  He has traveled and written about his travels all over the world and he descries the 'travel' of most tourists who have a tailored experience set up for them by others.  This book is another in his many travel books that readers will enjoy and it is recommended for nonfiction readers who enjoy learning about the physical world around them.   

In A Place Of Darkness by Stuart Macbride

 

The town of Oldcastle is in the midst of a serial killer investigation.  Every two weeks, a couple is targeted.  The victim is tortured and killed horribly and slowly while their partner is forced to watch, this being accomplished by screwing their hands to the kitchen table.  Then the partner is taken away and none of them have been found.

The police are stumped and need some help.  Not in that category in their opinion is the newest member of the team, Detective Constable Angus MacVicar.  MacVicar has wanted to be a detective forever and today is his first day.  But he is not regarded as a plus but rather a huge, bumbling liability as no one has time to teach him the ropes.

Knowing they are above their heads in this investigation, the police ask for the help of a criminal profiler.  When Dr. Fife arrives, it turns out that he is sarcastic and a former native of Oldcastle and a dwarf.  Since no one has any idea what to do with Angus he is assigned to be Fife's assistant.  As the murders continue, the pair start to form a friendship.  They are opposites in every way, size, attitude towards others, willingness to break rules, etc.  Can they solve the murders before another pair are killed?

Stuart Macbride is my favorite Scottish author and a must-buy for me.  This one introduces a new character and readers will quickly fall in love with Angus.  Although he starts off clueless, his innate strength and huge heart make him a real hero and I surely hope there will be more books about him.  This one was a Richard and Judy pick in England and highlights all of Macbride's strengths; engaging characters, gory murders, a surprising ending and a new hero.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.  

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

 

This is the story of a family on a beach vacation and their relationships.  There is the main character, Rocky, and her husband, Nick.  Their grown children, a son who brings his girlfriend of many years and a daughter who is gay and in college.  They are joined by Rocky's parents as well halfway through the week.

Rocky is in menopause and angry all the time.  She constantly rails at Nick and then wants him to comfort her.  She has hidden a huge secret in their marriage for decades and resents him for not 'seeing' her in her totality although she has created the distance with her secret.  She is also suffering from empty nest syndrome.  

During the week, secrets are revealed.  The son and his girlfriend are pregnant and haven't yet decided what to do.  Rocky guesses and then causes a fight between the two by being the first to know, even before the boyfriend.  Rocky's parents reveal family secrets such as the fact that many members of her father's family were killed in WW II by the Nazis.  Her mother reveals that she has a heart condition and passes out on the beach necessitating a trip to the hospital.  And Rocky finally reveals her big secret, although not directly to Nick.  She tells her daughter and he overhears her.

Catherine Newman started as a children's book author but lately has written several adult novels, this being one of them.  The book has gotten a lot of praise but I had a hard time with it as I couldn't relate to Rocky at all.  This is a woman who has everything, a husband who continues to love and desire her, two grown children who are successful and still close to her and loving parents.  Yet she whines and rages and is one of the most narcissistic individuals I've encountered in print.  Her ideas of parenting are far from mine.  I was thrilled as my children grew up and moved into their own lives as I raised them to be independent.  My role as a parent of adult children is to support them when they ask for it but not to intrude and make everything about me.  I was turned off as Rocky reminisces about giving her son sexual advice about specific techniques when he was a teenager.  I can't imagine how Nick endured her constant ranting and blaming him for everything that has ever gone wrong in her life.  This book is recommended for readers of women's fiction but beware. 

Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson

 

Lilian's life isn't going well.  She's in another deadend job and living back at her mother's place, up in a stuffy attic room.  She had thought she would break out when she won a scholarship to a private boarding school in her teenage years, but that didn't happen.  She did find a real friend, Madison, who came from a rich family and was her roommate  But when Madison got into trouble, Lilian's mother sold her out for a cash payout and Lilian took the blame and was expelled.  Lilian and Madison had kept up a loose relationship over the years writing each other sporadically.

So when Madison calls her with a proposition, Lilian doesn't have much going on.  Madison had married a Senator who has designs on being the next Secretary of State.  One thing could hinder his ascent.  He has ten year old twins from his first marriage and their mother has just died.  Would Lilian be interested in moving down to Tennessee and keeping them for the summer?  Madison has a four year son with the Senator so Lilian isn't sure why she needs a nanny for the twins.  That's when Madison tells her the rest.  The twins, Beatrice and Roland, both are spontaneous combustion children and will break into flame when upset. 

Lilian has nothing else going on and she'd love to see Madison again so she agrees.  When she meets the twins, they are almost feral.  Their mother had never sent them to school and their father hadn't seen them since the divorce.  They had no outside friends but had been raised totally isolated in their mother's house.  Lilian is taken aback but emphasizes with them and soon is committed to their care.  As the days go by, Lilian finds ways to help them manage their talent and starts to help them find ways that they can go into society.  The twins start to form a relationship with their little brother as well.  But when their father's aspirations seem to be working out, he wants to send the pair overseas to an institution.  Can Lilian find a way to save them?

I've loved every Kevin Wilson book I've read and this one was no exception.  He explores the idea of dysfunctional friendships.  Madison is a calculating individual, taught by her wealthy father that others are there for what they can do for you.  She has used Lilian since they met and feeds her a little friendship occasionally but Lilian is always the steadfast friend.  He also explores dysfunctional families.  Beatrice and Roland have never known anything else and at first their only loyalty is to each other.  Lilian falls in love with the two in a maternal way she never expected and they form a little family of their own.  The ending is satisfactory and the reader will remember these characters long after the book is done.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction. 

Night Of The Living Rez by Morgan Talty

 

In this anthology the author, Morgan Talty, illustrates the modern life of the Penobscot tribe in Maine.  We see David go from a young boy full of wonder but knowing that he isn't welcome in school or that he has to hide his homelife to him grown up and caught in the throes of prescription drug addiction.  He lives with his mother, grown sister and his mother's boyfriend in a small house on the reservation.  He and his friends play in the woods, paddle canoes in the river and try to hunt down the supernatural beings they have heard about in Native American stories.

But as David grows up, a tragedy in his family leaves him stumbling and uncertain.  His life becomes one of addiction as his friends fight the same battle.  His mother has always had an alcohol problem and his sister fights depression as she gets pregnant and loses the baby.  There aren't jobs and school was never his thing.  But the reader can tell that David has a good heart and does what he can to help his family and friends.

Morgan Talty is himself a member of the Penobscot tribe and grew up there.  This book has gathered many awards and was a National Book Critics Circle Award winner.  I listened to this book and the narrator did a great job, taking us from David's childhood to his old age.   It took me a little while to realize that this was a series of stories but each story unveils another piece of David's life.  We don't learn the details of the tragedy that oversaw David's life until the end of the book when David is telling it to a psychiatrist but it makes everything fall into place.  This book is recommended for literary fiction and multicultural readers  

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

 

This is the first novel in Stephen King's epic series The Dark Tower.  The book opens with two men.  Roland Deschain is the Gunslinger, a man whose childhood was spent training for his task and whose first kill was the man who betrayed his father with his mother.  Roland is chasing a figure known as the Man In Black who is a wizard like figure who has destroyed the world leaving it a shell of what it once was.  Somehow Roland has heard of the Dark Tower and knows that if he can find it, he has a chance to save the world and that the Man In Black has the knowledge he needs.

He meets two individuals that help him.  The first is Alice, a woman he stays with for a short while as he rests and gets ready to take up his journey again.  The second is a young boy named Jake he finds along the way in a barn.  The Man In Black had killed Jake in the other version of this world, the one we would recognize and Roland takes Jake along with him on his quest.  He looks after him but is asked to sacrifice him in order for the Man In Black to give him the information he needs.  

I've been meaning to read this epic series for years and finally decided now was the time.  I like the dystopian feel of the first novel and the hints we get of The Gunslinger's past life.  There are questions of right and wrong, of whether it is better to sacrifice one in order to save the many and the question of whether some individuals are meant to save the world.  I look forward to reading more about these characters and the quest as the series progresses.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.  

Recollections Of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit

 

This is a memoir covering Rebecca Solnit's life from the time she moved to San Francisco fresh out of college to her middle years.  I've been aware of Solnit but hadn't read anything by her and this book was amazing.  Some of the feminist ideas are things that rang very true such as the fact that most women do not feel safe in their daily life to do such things as go for a walk alone or come home late at night.  Women are often denied their voices and often are lectured by men about the women's field of expertise even when the man doesn't know anything about it, something I often encountered as an IT professional.  One thing that was new but made me think quite a lot was the statement that perhaps our society has set the thin woman as the standard because they actually physically take up less room.  I see my friends eating tiny meals or denying themselves food they want and I wonder why we've all agreed to the thin standard..

Solnit spent many years in her first apartment, a small one in the middle of a black neighborhood.  That neighborhood has slowly become gentrified as another group is marginalized and pushed out.  It covers her early writing years and then her growing fascination with nature, especially the West and its landscapes and native people.  We learn about her early writing career and then how she began to make a living at it and became fascinated by the intersection of it with art.  We learn about various jobs she had before becoming a full time writer and how each job informed her writing.  We learn about various artists that she interviewed and became fascinated by.

Sometimes I'll read a book and think YES! and this was one.  As soon as I finished it, I went to Kindle Unlimited and borrowed two more of her books.  The writing style is crisp and she doesn't hesitate to state the truth as she has found it.  Where many men are wrong about feminists is that they believe we don't like men.  We like men, we love men but we don't see ourselves as needing to submit to them.  We'd rather partner our lives with them.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers who enjoy memoirs and for everyone interested in the relationship between women and men.