Jane Harper is well known for her clever mystery novels which include outstanding character development and detailed development of her setting - and this book certainly does not disappoint readers with regard to either. This time she takes us to South Australia's wine country, the Marralee Valley, where the annual Food and Wine Festival is just underway, and Aaron Falk, the friend of a local vineyard owner, shows up to star in his third novel by Harper. In this book we see real character development in Falk, as he not only fulfills his investigative role, but also steps outside it to engage in a personal relationship. Readers will enjoy seeing him in this light.

There are many characters in this novel for him to interact with, and early on I began to write them down as a means of remembering each and to focus on their connections to one another. This broad cast makes the buildup of her mystery a bit more tedious than usual, and if there is a weakness in the plot, I believe this is it. As usual, there is much detail, both for setting and characters, but with such a large character list, and a week-long festival, the plot bogs down somewhat.

The last third of the novel makes up for this in every way, however. We have all our questions answered, the is mystery solved, and Aaron Falk's character is more fully developed than ever. The books conclusion is satisfying and exciting in every way - including an interesting shift in writing style I have not seen the author use previously.

This book's mystery simply felt as if it took a bit longer to resolve than her previous works, but it is well worth the time spent reading.

Metropolis, the clever title of B.A. Shapiro's newest novel, contains two elements which I have enjoyed in her earlier works: many and diverse characters, and the element of mystery and suspense. In this novel, the Metropolis is not a city, as the title might suggest, but the name of a storage warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to which each of her characters is, in some way connected. And yes, it is the element of mystery which connects them all to the warehouse, but somehow the psychological build up, the mystery in this novel is lacking, and I was able to guess the outcome when only three quarters of the way through the book. Add to this, characters which I often found lacking in development which made their action and interaction often unbelievable. The result - for me - is a Metropolis which is less clever and exciting then I had hoped.

I asked to review this book after being drawn to it by its title, yet having now completed it, I am sorry to say it has left me wanting. The premise of the book is clear - its plot definitely worthy - and the author frequently demonstrates some skill with language. However, the pacing of the novel, the development of its characters, and, at times, the confusing movement back and forth, between past and present, left me wondering who exactly is the intended audience of this piece. While I wanted to know and understand Daniel, and to some degree I was able, that degree was simply not deep enough nor consistently maintained throughout my reading to compel me to want to care. I put the book down after reading a third of the way through, and I picked it up sporadically until I completed it. Sometimes language was a barrier, sometimes sentence variety - from short to long, from rich and poetic to bland and vague. But even more than that, at its outset, the reason for the whole novel, Daniel's understanding of his youth, and he and Aubrey's adolescent relationship in a small north Florida town, lacked structure or detail or drama enough to make me really want to connect to him from its very beginning.

I came to this novel knowing that I would like it - for it is about an era and a famous English author - both of which I I am dearly fond. As Miss Cassandra Austen arrived at and settled into the vicarage in Kintbury in 1840, I, too, very happily settled into a novel about that famous author's older sister. Hornby moves back and forth in time, using letters written by Cassy and Jane to develop his plot, and while I found these charming, it was here that I also found the plot mechanism to be a bit weak. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Hornby's take on family life of this era, his picture of the relationship between the two siblings, and as a bonus, his clever inclusion of a bit of mystery - all to be enjoyed with a good cup of tea!

I have only known Jacqueline Woodson as a children's or young adult writer, the winner of the Newberry Prize in 2014 for Brown Girl Dreaming. When her new novel, Red to the Bone, became available at my library, I grabbed it, and I am ever so glad that I did. Now I will certainly go back and find Another Brooklyn, her first adult novel which,, in 2016, was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction. This latest novel, Red to the Bone, is not to be missed.Tthe story of a young girl, Melody. Each chapter is told in the voice of a different family member, father, mother, grandparents, and Melody, of course, and jumps time, sex, race, and many other issues. How one writer can capture the mood and nature of so many possibilities and personalities, their pride, their joy, their pain, with age and sex and race an religion posing no barrier, is hard to imagine, but Woodson more than successfully manages this. These people are so real, their stories so vital, that in spite of possible vast differences, they relate so very clearly to all our lives. Woodson's prose, infused with subtle poetry, rings and carries the reader the a river through their history, and in the end, hope not only rises, but as Woodson says, "gleams." This is a powerful read and clearly elevates this author's literary status.

Creatures, though not a lengthy novel, was a difficult read for me. While the final few chapters manage to raise the overall tone and mood somewhat, there is not much happiness to be found here. Early on we learn that Evie is to be married, but even that bit of joy is dampened by the fact that her intended is possibly lost at sea. Set on an island and against the vastness of an entire ocean, action here focuses on the details of Evie's turbulent youth. It is her account of lost or lack of family and love that drives the narrative. Like the ocean itself, her story ebbs and flows - at times incoherently - and for sure with too much focus on drugs, alcohol, and free sex. The result was, for me, a plodding, dismal narrative that I was happy to see come to an end.

Admittedly, I was unfamiliar with Rawi Hage before seeing this ARC listed on BookBrowse. What appealed to me was the title. I anticipated learning more about Beirut's Civil War. And even after reading the summary provided, I still assumed the book would provide me with more history and details of this 15 year conflict. Unfortunately, not much. I found myself putting the book down often to search on line for what I had truly hoped to gain from reading Beirut Hellfire Society.

Was there a plot? I'm not sure. Pavlov, the son brought into the Hellfire Society after his father's death, spends most of his time NOT bathing, smoking, talking to a dead dog, and watching the funeral processions of those killed during the war. A strange cast of characters parades in and out of his home, but why? Well, to smoke, drink, and have sex, of course. I thought as a member of the Hellfire Society, Pavlov might have a little more work to do.

Between time spent on the internet actually reading about the Civil War, I found myself rereading chapters of the book trying to understand what I was missing. I certainly got the tragedy part, but missed the comedy altogether. Perhaps I just don't understand dark humor. Was I supposed to laugh? Because I didn't-not once.

I appreciated some of Hage's profound statements on death and the destruction caused by war, but, unfortunately, that was about it.

Mr. Boyne is such a great storyteller that I was compelled to read this in one sitting! It is the story of a wannabe writer named Maurice Swift - who not only shares his last name with another famous Brit/Irish writer, Jonathan Swift, but Mr. Boyne has used one of that writer's most notorious writing techniques to fill the pages of his tale of Maurice - that being irony! This is a dark tale of the writing and publishing world; it is so engrossing that you will want to read it quickly if only to find out how much the main character manages to get away with. Once I finished, I could not help but wonder if some of it might possibly be true!

I so looked forward to this new book by Kristin Hannah because her previous title was so rewarding and satisfying. Unfortunately, this one is far from that - at least for me. The repetition in this book is unbelievable - how could an editor have allowed this to pass? In addition, many of the events in the book are simply too far-fetched to actually occur under the circumstances. Too much happens in too short a time or space. There are brief segments where the prose literally sings, and once I arrived at that point I took a deep breath and hoped I had passed the worst - only to be disappointed again and again. The publishing house fell far short on this one, I feel. Either that or I am asking myself who really wrote Kristin Hannah's great World War II novel of a short time ago.

This is an interesting book in so many ways - the plot line shifts from the past (1950) to present day and back again from chapter to chapter, characters are many and varied, topics such as war, politics, history, geography (South Dakota), nature, and farming are all woven into the work along with an aura of mystery and unrest. There is so much here that makes me think this should be a great read - and yet I failed to find it that way. From the beginning, there is a sense of mystery in this novel, and usually all of the components that resolve that mystery and bring the plot to a climax are present at the beginning of a work - whether the reader recognizes them or not. In this novel, however, something seems to be missing. The characters who appear to be the focus of this work, Cal and Betsy Kusek, are missing in action far too early, and those with whom we are left, their son and daughter, seem to lack development from the book's very beginning. Finally, the author introduces a character very late in this work, one who is not connected in any way to those she has presented throughout, and this reader felt as if suddenly a new novel had begun. I was entertained by this book and I learned some interesting things from the historical and geographical fiction, but I found that I was continuing to read more to discover how the author was going to get this all put together than for the genuine pleasure or cleverness of the work. I thought this book contained many good aspects, but these are not organized in such a way as to make it a great read for me.

While not truly relevant to this discussion, I will say here at the beginning that the rating of Very Good for this novel does not begin to express my feelings about it. Also, I have just finished reading the discussion critics offer about the length of the book - and I have to say I agree with the bottom line in those comments - length has no bearing whatsoever on impact here. While I am still trying to digest this book and express - to myself most importantly - what it is about, I can say immediately it is one of the most beautiful, spare, reverent, poetic, yet - in spite of its title and what that implies - universal books I have ever read. It is a true gift, very honestly spoken, and in an almost convoluted way, so full of hope for the soul. As Lucy, herself says in concluding her story, "All life amazes me." This book and it's message, its language, its structure, and its author - just for starters - will do the same for you, I feel certain.

I love the writing of Joshilyn Jackson, and her characters and plots, usually what I describe as quirky and active, seem even more so here. For this reason, I was not sure how I would take to this book - the first few pages were stranger than usual. But I am so glad that I persevered. The diverse and deep themes of this book, delivered in frenzy and flashback, take us from southern culture to Karma and may appear dichotomous at times - but in the end - and surprising that ending is - Jackson delivers to her readers one of her richest works in so many ways - one that is truly the opposite of what most everyone who reads it will expect but all will find deeply enlightening and satisfying. So much to think and talk about here.

From the title of this novel, the reader know from the outset its ending. As a breast cancer survivor, I was not sure I could see it through. Several times I put it down, not wanting to face what had to be coming - but I am ever so glad that I went back to finish. This is a rich and rewarding book in oh, so many ways. The characters are so well developed, and though Rabbit is seriously ill, through flashback her character is very strongly developed. The theme of family and friends is developed throughout in honest and realistic terms, and this reader found herself becoming part of both groups. What I love the very best of this book though is the author's strong affirmation for both life and death, and the indelible link between the two. This is a beautiful, rich, and rewarding story in more ways than you can imagine. Read it as a gift to yourself.

This is the first book I have read in a long while that completely captivated me from the first sentence. The mood and voice of this book is so intimate, the reader is engaged immediately. And what are drawn into? - a tragic family tale, a young protagonist , his coming of age adventures in a beautiful Appalachian setting that creates an aura of mystery and possible disaster and destruction. This is a book the author says took him several years to create, but you will not want to put it down for a moment once you start reading, and when you finish, you will miss the world it took you to and the people who inhabit that space. I think this may possibly be the best book of 2015.

In First Frost, Sarah Addison Allen takes us back to the setting of her first novel, Garden Spells, to Bascom, North Carolina, where once again we are under the charm of her protagonists in that novel, Claire and her younger sister, Sydney - the Waverly sisters. The novel's title, combined with a Halloween setting, lends itself perfectly to the magical realism Addison so cleverly weaves into the lives of both girls and their families. But this time, she broadens their circle and provides, through the introduction of a stranger, "an old man...something magnetic about him", a more complete picture of this quirky family, both past and future. This is a happy homecoming to my first introduction to this writer and these people and setting - I felt as comfy and cozy in this book as I did in her first - in spite of its title! Read it in the middle of winter - it will warm you!

It was with some luck that I was sent this amazing book by Jane Smiley to read for this web page. It arrived at a very busy time in my year and I feared I would be unable to meet my commitment. But once I began reading, I could not stop. In fact, I have read the book twice now and have even listened to sections of it. This is the first book in a trilogy about the Langdon farm family from Iowa that will cover 100 years - the first volume is from 1920-1953. Here we meet Rosanna and Walter and their six children, parents and in-lawsand immediate friends. We experience, literally, daily life on a farm in Iowa and watch the changes and growth in not only people but aptitudes, attitudes, nature, and so much more. When I first began reading this book, I couldn't get my mind around it. It seemed too simple in many ways. Characters were not as fleshed out as I thought they might be and events seemed somehow random or disconnected from one another. The more I read, however, the more deeply I came to care about and connect with these people and their land. This is a book filled with such depth it is almost impossible to grasp it immediately. The seeming innocence of these people is initially apparent, but the longer I read the more Smiley's writing style became apparent - symbolism, foreshadowing, character and setting detail and development, all were fuel to drive my reading on. This is a book that could be discussed well into the night by a book club. It is hard now to wait for the second book that is promised in the trilogy - perhaps yet this year. I recognize that this review is sadly lacking - but the book is that good - there is so much depth in so many areas of this book - best just to go to the book discussion and jump in.