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The Fountains of Silence
by Ruta Sepetys

Interesting but also unputdownable (1/5/2024)

Of the four Ruta Sepetys books that I've read, I would rank THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE as her best. All four of the books bring light to history that is not widely known. But THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE is even more than that. It is unputdownable, a book that I did not want to …more

Small Mercies: A Novel
by Dennis Lehane

Here is some of the best character-driven fiction I have ever read (12/31/2023)

Here is some of the best character-driven fiction I have ever read. Now at the end of 2023, I may be changing my choice for "best of the year" to Dennis Lehane's SMALL MERCIES.

Background: the summer of 1974 in the housing projects of (Lehane's favorite) Boston, Southie to …more

The Christie Affair: A Novel
by Nina de Gramont

twists and turns as told by Agatha Christie's husband's mistress (12/16/2023)

I started THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR with the wrong expectation. I expected this to be a reimagining of Agatha Christie's 11 days when she went missing. While that's true, THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR is even more about Christie's first husband's mistress, Nan. She is really the main …more

Next of Kin: A Novel
by John Boyne

Could be the Best of John Boyne (10/30/2023)

Always anxious to read anything I can find by John Boyne, I wonder how I could have missed NEXT OF KIN for the last 17 years. I think this might be my favorite of his books.

Historical fiction that is also a thriller, NEXT OF KIN is set in England during 1936, when Edward …more

Firekeeper's Daughter
by Angeline Boulley

A Crossover YA Novel (10/20/2023)

FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER is billed as a young adult novel. I'm an adult and YA novels usually bore me. But FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER didn't. As a matter of fact, it kept me reading late into the night. What a pleasant surprise!

Told in first person by the main character, Daunis, …more

False Witness
by Karin Slaughter

Another Excellent Thriller From Karin Slaughter (10/12/2023)

The best thrillers are made up of situation after situation that make the reader wonder how the author can write herself out of it. Of course, FALSE WITNESS does that. I say "of course" because it is another Karin Slaughter thriller, and you can always count on her to write …more

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by Susannah Cahalan

Essential can't-put-it down nonfiction (9/24/2023)

How can a smart and industrious person suddenly be crazy? There are several possibilities, but Susannah Cahalan was lucky enough to be in the right place with the right doctors at the right time. They fixed her. How many other people who were put in psychiatric wards and …more

Between Shades of Gray: A Novel
by Ruta Sepetys

A story that needs to be told (9/18/2023)

In BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, Ruta Sepetys describes how, even as the Soviet Union opposed Germany during World War II, they were ripping people from their homes, taking everything they owned, and exiling them to extreme hardship in Siberia. Her characters are fiction, but the …more

The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese

Fabulous, Lovely, and Not Long Enough (8/29/2023)

This is, in a word, fabulous. How can I adequately review THE COVENANT OF WATER to convey just how fabulous it is? This book is lovely from beginning to end. It's a big one, but, honestly, you'll wish Abraham Verghese had made it longer.

THE COVENANT OF WATER is mostly about …more

Mercury Pictures Presents: A Novel
by Anthony Marra

You may be disappointed (8/10/2023)

Anthony Marra‘s A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA was so wonderful that I read his second book, THE TSAR OF LOVE AND TECHNO, without bothering to first read its reviews. So I was disappointed; it did not measure up to CONSTELLATION. Still, when his most recent book, …more

Happiness Falls: A Novel
by Angie Kim

Amazing (8/9/2023)

I didn't see how Angie Kim could do better than her earlier book, MIRACLE CREEK. But I'm happy to tell you she did. I'm amazed with HAPPINESS FALLS and in more ways than one.

Mia tells the story that begins with her missing father. During her family's search for him, they …more

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin

It didn't grab me (8/3/2023)

Maybe you shouldn't take my word for it; most of the members of my book club liked this book. But I prefer books that grab my attention, and THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT didn't.

I can say this for the book: it is cute. But that isn't enough to grab me.

The Stranger Inside
by Lisa Unger

Not as great as most Lisa Unger books (7/21/2023)

Rain, whose real name is LAHraine but has also been known as Lara, was a journalist who is now trying to make it as a stay-at-home mom. Her husband is handsome, thoughtful, and all-forgiving, so much so that he seems unreal. Rain has a troubled past that affects her even …more

The Writing Retreat: A Novel
by Julia Bartz

Way too slow (6/28/2023)

It was slow going, but I made it to the end. What a disappointment this was! I had read so many good reviews of THE WRITING RETREAT, my expectations were high.

This has a good premise. Alex, a writer, is invited to a writing retreat at the secluded home of a famous author …more

Like the Appearance of Horses
by Andrew Krivak

These men and their family are shaped by war (5/17/2023)

LIKE THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES is the third book in a trilogy. But I cannot compare it to Andrew Krivak's other books because this is the first of his I've read. I had no problem reading it as a standalone, though.

The first main character, as I think of him, is Jozef Vinich. …more We learn about his serving in World War I and are told about his life. But I know from reading other reviews that Jozef first appeared in an earlier book.

A few years after Jozef is back in the US after World War I, Bexhet appears at his door. He is only 15 years old and has traveled from Hungary in search of Jozef. Apparently, he was with Bexhet's mother when she gave birth to him and died. Jozef brought the newborn Bexhet to his grandfather, a gypsy. Bexhet's father is unknown. When Bexhet's grandfather saw that trouble was coming to Europe, he sent Bexhet away. So Jozef takes him in and loves him as a son.

Becks (as they call Bexhet) ends up marrying Jozef's daughter, Hannah. I think of him as the second main character. He is in World War II and serves more than honorably but is jailed as a deserter. We learn how that came about. After 2 years, he is released and goes home. He and Hannah have two sons.

Samuel, the second son, is the third main character, as I think of him. He joins the Marines and is sent to Vietnam where he eventually becomes a POW. Much changes with his family back home. They assume after a year that he is dead. But when he comes home and sees all the changes, he doesn't handle them well. He ends up leaving and, after traveling (accidentally) west, going to see a fellow Marine in West Virginia.

I'm surprised that I wasn't already familiar with Krivak. He really is quite good. So I would have said this is a five-star book but for some problems I had with it.

This is a character-driven story presented in a unique way. He starts with the end of each story, then goes back to tell the story from the beginning and fill in your questions. Sounds like something you won't like, I know, but it somehow works. It might drive you crazy until you understand this presentation style, though.

Krivak is inconsiderate to his readers in some ways.

* Many of his sentences are so long it is difficult to remember the subject and to find the predicate. Those sentences lose their meaning until you re-read them.
* He does not use quotation marks, which were invented to aid readability.
* Some sections are way too detailed and risk losing the reader.

But Krivak is considerate to his readers in other ways. He did something that can aid you considerably and that keeps LIKE THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES from becoming just a three-star book. He provides a list of characters, along with who each is, at the end of the story (or stories as I think of them). I wish all authors would do this.

Read this book in spite of its problems. You should be glad you did. I am. (less)

The Widow Nash
by Jamie Harrison

Enticing storyline but too much unnecessary detail (4/16/2023)

Once I passed page 300, I enjoyed THE WIDOW NASH. Up to that point, it interested me, only. I kept thinking that something was going to happen to grab my attention. And something did. It just took too long.

Dulcy was engaged to her father’s handsome business partner. But she …more

The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes

Unpopular opinion: this didn’t wow me (3/29/2023)

Although it took about 100 pages before Jojo Moyes’ THE GIVER OF STARS was a story, in the end, I liked it. This is historical fiction about packhorse librarians in Depression-era Kentucky. Mainly, two stories are going on, both about particular librarians. Although the …more

Broken: A Novel
by Karin Slaughter

Combination of Grant County Series and Will Trent Series (3/13/2023)

BROKEN is a book in a series I've been reading out of order, and I enjoyed it so much. I've read all of Karin Slaughter's series books out of order, and I've always enjoyed them. No one book depends on another; each can be read as a standalone. That’s the best kind of …more

Exiles: Aaron Falk Mystery #3
by Jane Harper

I hope this is not the end of Aaron Falk (3/6/2023)

EXILES is further proof of Jane Harper’s writing skills. Here is another of her literate mysteries/thrillers. This book will grab you from page 1.

Aaron Falk is again the main character when he visits his friends the Racos to be their son’s godfather. While he spends a week …more

The Survivors: A Novel
by Jane Harper

Are a Missing-Persons Case From Twelve Years ago and a Murder Today Related? (2/26/2023)

It’s not for nothing that Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors. I can pick up anything she’s written and know I’m going to love it. This has been proven true once again by her book THE SURVIVORS.

As with all of Harper’s books, this one is both character- and plot-driven. …more

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