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Reviews by Anne G. (Austin, TX)

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The Antidote
The Antidote: A Novel
by Karen Russell
The Antidote by Karen Russell (2/5/2025)
In her signature, slightly off-kilter way, Russell again takes us into a world where things are not quite as expected. It is 1930s dust bowl Uz, Nebraska and the town has been decimated by the howling winds and blowing topsoil, frightened by the found bodies of missing …more
Gator Country
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades
by Rebecca Renner
Gator Country (11/20/2024)
“Our centuries of war with the swamp have shown that when we attack nature, nature will fight back, and both humans and nature will lose.”

In this fascinating tale of an undercover sting operation to stop alligator poachers and protect the natural population in the …more
The Adversary
The Adversary: A Novel
by Michael Crummey
The Adversary by Michael Crummey (12/16/2023)
"There was an exuberant air of relief about the outports and plantations on the shore and the Christmas festivities in Mockbeggar resumed the tradition of dismal anarchy they were known for."

When reading the words put down by a poet one can be pretty sure each one is chosen …more
Day
Day: A Novel
by Michael Cunningham
Day by Michael Cunningham (10/8/2023)
Morning, May 5, 2019–we meet a family involved in their morning routines. We learn that the five of them have nearly outgrown their apartment in Manhattan and in some ways they also may have outgrown the relationship that holds them together. They are Dan and Isabel, …more
Devil Makes Three
Devil Makes Three: A Novel
by Ben Fountain
Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain (8/30/2023)
Matt Amaker has just about reached the break-even point with his dive business operating off the coast of Haiti. When Aristide falls to a military coup things take a drastic turn. Matt reimagines his business into a treasure hunting venture that explores old, underwater …more
Banyan Moon
Banyan Moon: A Novel
by Thao Thai
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai (5/12/2023)
Ann has established herself as an accomplished illustrator with a loving boyfriend but things are falling apart when she learns her beloved grandmother Minh has died. She returns to her home in Florida and to her estranged mother Huong. The book tells the backstory of each …more
The Wager
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann
The Wager by David Grann (2/22/2023)
If David Grann's name isn't enough to draw you to this book perhaps the subtitle will push you to give this one a try.

The 1740 ill-fated sailing of the Wager on a challenging mission was compounded by a rickety vessel, a mutinous crew, raging illnesses, and an abundance of …more
Homestead
Homestead: A Novel
by Melinda Moustakis
Homestead by Melinda Moustakis (1/12/2023)
Marie and Lawrence are both living with traumas from their pasts but a single day after they meet at a bar in Anchorage they have agreed to marry and homestead on the 150 remote acres Lawrence has claimed. In 1956 Alaska is still a territory and the parcel of land has …more
The God of Endings
The God of Endings: A Novel
by Jacqueline Holland
The God of Endings (10/9/2022)
"Is life in this world a gift or a curse?"

This is the question readers explore through the character who we first meet as Anya. As a young girl she is being taught by her father the art of stone carving. When he dies, leaving her orphaned, she is rescued by her grandfather …more
Palace of the Drowned
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
Palace of the Drowned (2/28/2021)
Frances (Frankie) Croy is 42 and a novelist with a somewhat declining reputation after publishing four books. Upset by a particularly scathing review and a rather public outburst Frankie escapes to Venice where she is staying in a borrowed residence— Palazzo d'Affagata ( …more
The Personal Librarian
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
The Personal Librarian (2/9/2021)
Belle da Costa Greene is a librarian at Princeton University when she is approached by a patron of the university recommending she should interview for the newly created position of personal librarian to J P Morgan. Morgan is creating the Pierpont Morgan Library and is …more
The Lost Man
The Lost Man
by Jane Harper
The Lost Man by Jane Harper (11/13/2018)
This book opens with a dead body and proceeds with a strong sense of foreboding. Add in the Australian outback where harsh conditions and hundreds of miles separate landowners and you've got the first hundred pages of Jane Harper's The Lost Man. Brothers Nathan, Cameron, …more
The House of Broken Angels
The House of Broken Angels
by Luis Alberto Urrea
The House of Broken Angels (2/9/2018)
One of my favorite authors has a new novel about a big, unruly, multi-generational Mexican American family on the eve of their patriarch's final birthday.

Here are a couple of quotes that I think really reflect the beauty of the writing in this book:

"La Gloriosa was up …more
Lola
Lola
by Melissa Scrivner Love
Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love (3/4/2017)
Early in this book I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading about drugs, gangs and hard living in the banger neighborhoods of Los Angeles. However, something about Lola's character kept me going. And gradually I fell in love with Lola--the good, the bad, and the cold …more
Mercies in Disguise
Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them
by Gina Kolata
Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata (11/4/2016)
This was a fascinating explanation of a little known disease that is described as being somewhere between Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The decisions to be genetically tested seemed agonizing and the consequences of living with the outcome of the testing even more so. Adding …more
Lady Cop Makes Trouble
Lady Cop Makes Trouble: Girl Waits with Gun #2
by Amy Stewart
Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart (5/9/2016)
It is fun to once again visit the world of Constance Kopp and the jail in Paterson, NJ. These stories are so fun because of the characters but also because they are largely based on real events. I love reading the author's notes at the end almost as much as the story.

In …more
The Shore
The Shore: A Novel
by Sara Taylor
The Shore by Sara Taylor (5/24/2015)
Cover copy on The Shore compares it to David Mitchell and Jennifer Egan and while I can understand those comparisons it is uniquely its own thing. In the beginning of this non-linear novel I was trying desperately to remember who each character was and to whom they were …more
He Wanted the Moon
He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter's Quest to Know Him
by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton
He Wanted the Moon (2/6/2015)
It is very powerful to read the words of a man in the depths of a psychotic episode. At moments sounding very rational and at others he is completely lost. Mimi Baird at 75 years of age is finally able to acquaint herself with the father she lost to mental illness. Reading …more
The Last Enchantments
The Last Enchantments
by Charles Finch
The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch (11/5/2013)
Will Baker leaves NYC and his fiance to spend a year at Oxford for grad school. What ensues is a telling of Will's personal life. He makes friends, meets women, goes to parties and bars and from all indications does very little studying. This is the ultimate coming of age …more
Through the Evil Days
Through the Evil Days: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery
by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer Fleming (9/1/2013)
I've read and enjoyed the entire series of books set in Millers Kill featuring Rev Clare Fergusson and Chief Russ Van Alstyne. I love these characters and the case solving companionship shared by them. In a new twist both Clare and Russ find themselves in trouble they never …more
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