I never really thought about why or how mass transit came into being. It is hard to believe that cities were that congested in the late nineteenth century. Little did I know, the Race Underground awakened a rich part of both Boston and New York's history that lead to the …more building of the underground subways. It was fascinating to learn about the thought process of how they determined what would be the best way to build the subway. I also found it interesting that both Boston and New York did not want to privatize their mass transit systems.
It is hard to believe that tunnels built over a hundred years ago still function today. It is a testament to the workmanship that I don't believe we see any more.
Doug Most did an extraordinary job of researching and detailing out in a thoroughly readable book. (less)

This is such a sad story - For 5 days Memorial Medical Center became an island in hurricane stricken New Orleans. No running water, no electricity - a city totally unprepared for the tragedy that stuck.

My personal take from this book is that Memorial Medical was in no way …more equipped to deal with the massive and extended conditions that be fell them. While I was very sympathetic for the staff of Memorial Medical Center, I felt that something did not seem right. Sheri Fink I believe presented a fair and balanced picture of what happened. (less)

Burial Rites based on the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, In 1829, she was convicted along with two others, of murdering two men and setting a house a fire to cover their crimes. Agnes was the last person in Iceland to receive a capital punishment sentence.

The story …more begins as Agnes is going North to live with the Jonsson family while she awaits her execution. Told simply and straight forward, Kent tells the story of a who woman tries to move away from her poverty and harsh life only to end up in even worse circumstances. There are no surprises in this book, it is beautifully written. (less)

Where Monsters Dwell is a strong debut novel from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke.
Alternating between the sixteenth and present day. Berrke weaves a story of the practice of medieval anatomy with the present day fascination with a rare book The Book of Johannes, which …more appears to be written by a medieval serial murder.
In the present two murders occurs, one at the Edgar Allan Poe museum and one at a famous library in Trondheim, Norway. A connection between the two murders is made and American homicide detective Felicia Stone travels to Trondheim where she meets police inspector Odd Singsaker.
Together, Stone and Singsaker follow the clues to find a serial murderer, who is using The Book of Johannes as a guide murder his victims.
What I liked about this book was everyone is a suspect. Brekke presents well defined characters and a gripping but rather slow paced tale of both serial murderers. For me there was a sense of suspense that kept me reading. While the book is gruesome, I found the characters to be more upbeat than in some the other Scandinavian mysteries. If you enjoyed this book you would probably like James Thompson's Inspector Kari Vaara series. (less)