UNDER THE HARROW was such a disappointment!

It looks like a short book, but it is longer than it needs to be. Parts 1 and 2 are about the overwhelming grief of a woman whose sister has been murdered. Her grief seems to have taken over her senses. These two parts are full of paragraphs describing scenery. They add nothing to the story and seem to be padding to make the book longer.

I struggled through Parts 1 and 2 and considered many times not finishing the book.

Part 3 is a little better. At least there were fewer useless paragraphs.

UNDER THE HARROW is Flynn Berry's first book. Luckily, I know she gets better. Try one of her later books.

Most reviews of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY say that it's funny. That's why it took me so long to read it. If you, like me, think that books that are described as funny are usually silly or corny or just plain dumb, you should know that LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY is an exception.

So what made me want to read LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY if I thought it would be silly or corny or dumb? Bonnie Garmus's husband was on "Jeopardy" for a few days. Garmus is the author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, and she has an exceptionally smart husband.

Garmus's main character, Elizabeth, is another smart person, a chemist in southern California during the 1950s and 1960s. She fought so much against the prevailing norms of that time, when women had to fight to be recognized in any field but wife and mother, she was finally fired from her job at a chemical research company.

Elizabeth then became, instead, an afternoon television star. It was supposed to be a cooking show, but she also, at the same time, taught lessons in chemistry. She fought for this, and her show became wildly popular.

A blurb on the cover of this book calls it "darkly funny." I think that's accurate. It certainly is not silly or corny or dumb.

The NEW YORK TIMES calls LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY a notable book. This is one of the few times I agree with them.

THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS confirms, once again, why Chris Bohjalian is one of my go–to authors. No two books of his are alike, yet he writes consistently dramatic and suspenseful novels.

First we have the "princess," Crissy, a Las Vegas entertainer who impersonates Princess Diana. But, although she's the title character, Crissy is not the only star. There are also her sister Betsy and Betsy's daughter, Marisa (who you will love).

Although Crissy and Betsy are not twins, they look alike, and they both look just like Princess Diana. These facts are very important to this story.

Crissy has been living in Las Vegas for years; Betsy has been living where they grew up, Vermont. But when her boyfriend moves to Las Vegas for a job, Betsy and her daughter follow. This is her first mistake.

In Las Vegas Betsy meets her boyfriend's coworkers. All carry guns. And she continues to make errors in judgment. Thank goodness she has Marisa.

Marisa is a super-intelligent 13-year-old who grew up in the foster system and was adopted by Betsy only recently. Marisa's italicized thoughts precede each chapter. Before the end of the book, she will impress you.

I highly recommend THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS. In spite of my best intentions, I left a lot undone so I could read it.

Most avid readers have some go-to authors, authors whose books are dependably good, books they know they can safely buy even before they read a review. Joseph Kanon is one of my go–to authors. So I bought a hardcover copy of his book SHANGHAI, knowing that I wouldn't be wasting my money.

This book begins in Germany just before World War II. But it doesn't stay there for long. Daniel, a Jewish man, and Leigh and her mother, also Jewish, bored a luxury liner headed for Shanghai, China, as do many other Jewish people lucky enough to be escaping Germany.

Of course, Daniel and Leigh form a relationship while they are on the ship. During that time, they also meet Yamada, a Japanese man who is a military policeman in the Kempeitai, the Japanese Nazis. Their stories continue after they arrive in Shanghai.

Daniel's uncle, Nathan, lives in Shanghai, and it is with Nathan that Daniel begins his new life. Nathan owns night clubs there and does business with many shady characters. This book has plenty of their violence going on, but Daniel still becomes enmeshed in the business.

Eventually, Daniel is surprised to see Leigh enter one of the clubs on the arm of Yamada. And there begins another line of this story, a complicated one. Daniel is determined to save Leigh from a life she has apparently chosen. Leigh was hard for me to understand right up to the book's ending. I never did figure her out.

Kanon's SHANGHAI is a good book, but I wouldn't say it is one of his best. The storyline isn't as suspenseful or thrilling as his other books. But SHANGHAI still has lots of great dialog, which no one writes like Kanon.

I've read two other novels by Tim Johnston and liked them both, but this one, DISTANT SONS, is his best. It kept me up reading long past my bedtime, and when I sat down to eat, this book came with me. There's a lot going on here, the best kind of mystery, with more than one mystery.

The main character in DISTANT SONS is 26-year-old Sean Courtland, who was the teenage son in Johnston's book DESCENT. He is now a wandering carpenter and has found work where he stopped accidentally. Courtland has contracted for a job in the home of Marion Devereaux, long suspected by some of murdering three boys 40-some years ago. Devereux also has an uncle, now gone, no one knows where.

Another mystery comes with Dan Young, a 29-year-old man who Courtland meets and who ends up working on Devereaux's job with him. Young is from Minnesota and has no vehicle or phone.

As a result of Courtland's experience with his sister in DESCENT, he now sometimes defends women who are victims of men. This is how he meets Denise Givins, a waitress. He gets in a fight with a man who is hassling Givens. And that man doesn't go away; more trouble awaits.

Johnston is not only a great storyteller; he's also a wonderful writer. He's so good you'll even want to read his descriptive paragraphs, the parts you might skip in another book. For example, Johnston doesn't just say, "It was a nice day." He describes the day, simply but beautifully.

This book is a keeper. Loan it but don't give it away.

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED did not meet my expectations. They were too high. That's because of all the awards S. A. Cosby won for this book. I suspect that ALL THE SINNERS BLEED won awards on the basis of its subject matter rather than its ability to grab readers and suck them in (which is what I think is required of an award-winning book).

You will read that this book is about a sheriff who solves a string of murders. And that's true. But the fact that the sheriff is black, the children murdered are black, and the murderer is--well, that would be a spoiler--is also what ALL THE SINNERS BLEED is about.

This book bored me. Therefore, it took me more than a week to finish reading.

When I read historical fiction, I always wonder what is truth and what is fiction. But Marie Benedict doesn't make this clear in her Notes or Acknowledgment at the end of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE. So this is all I know: Agatha Christie really did disappear for a few days and then suddenly show up with no explanation, she really did surf, and she did not really write the "manuscript" alluded to throughout this book.


In the chapters that make up half the book are the supposed manuscript that Christie left for her philandering husband. The main emphasis is on the duty Christie felt she owed her husband. Remember, this book takes place during the 1920s, when many felt that the proper role of wives was to subjugate themselves to their husbands. These descriptions got old and tiresome.

Until nearly the end, every other chapter is Christie's manuscript. Probably that is fiction. The other chapters take place during the disappearance and the hunt for her. This is when we hear about the husband's woes, and this too, I presume, is fiction. But Benedict says she did so much research for this book, some of this must be nonfiction.

My favorite parts of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE are the last chapters, which are not her manuscript but just Christie speaking in first person. In the end, this book is both imaginative, after all, and enjoyable.

I've lived in the midwest and west and have always leaned conservative. But after reading THE CADAVER KING AND THE COUNTRY DENTIST, I know I'd be a liberal if I lived in Mississippi. What an eye-opening book this is!

The "cadaver king" is Dr. Stephen Hayne, and the "country dentist" is Dr. Michael West. The two of them acted as expert witnesses in the majority of Mississippi's death investigation court cases for nearly 20 years. Hayne performed an impossible number of autopsies and then claimed to see whatever prosecutors suspected. West gave unscientific bite-mark testimony to suit prosecutors' suspicions and also pretended to be an expert in a variety of other unscientific areas. And Mississippi courts accepted it all for many years and sent many, many people to prison as a result.

THE CADAVER KING AND THE COUNTRY DENTIST concentrates on two of those cases in particular, both affected by Hayne's and West's testimony. In each case, a three-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Mississippi. Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks were accused of the crimes. They were innocent, but, in large part on the basis of Hayne's and West's testimony, they were convicted and spent many years in jail, Brewer on death row.

So much research went into this very interesting book. I highly recommend it.

THE THIRD WIFE is the best kind of mystery; it involves three mysteries: who is writing horrible letters to Maya, did Maya kill herself or was her death an accident, and who is the woman who seems to be stalking Adrian?

Maya is Adrian's third wife. The book begins with her death when she is hit by a bus (which would be an odd choice for suicide, in my opinion).

Before Maya, though, Adrian had two children with his first wife and three more with his second. They have all been getting along and getting together for holidays and vacations. They still do after Maya becomes the third wife. They all appear to love her. Then Maya begins receiving horrible letters with details that only someone from the family could know. Did this lead to her death?

Then a woman pretends to want Maya's cat after she has died. For a while she keeps reappearing and seems to be a stalker. But she suddenly stops. Adrian searches for her, hoping to get answers.

Lisa Jewell wrote THE THIRD WIFE a decade ago. I was lucky to have found it. You'll enjoy this one as much as you do her later books.

THE HUNTER is Tana French's continuation of THE SEARCHER and its story of Cal, an American retired detective who has moved to a small town in Ireland; Trey, a teenaged girl in that town who is still set on righting the wrong that was the subject of THE SEARCHER; and the rest of Cal's neighbors, most of whom made me wonder at the end of the last book why he did not just leave and still make me wonder if he will. He should.

I've read all of French's books, and they normally rate five stars. But I don't rate THE HUNTER that way for two reasons: first, unlike most of French's books, this one has a slow beginning. Second, THE HUNTER assumes you have already read THE SEARCHER and remember all the particulars of the murder in that book. I did read it but did not remember everything. This was troublesome.

But (and this is a big but) French's writing, especially her dialogue, is as first rate as ever right from the start. You'll never want to give up on this book.

So you'll read about Cal and Trey and their neighbors again, including Lena, Cal's love interest who shares his concern for Trey, and Mart, the neighbor from hell, in my opinion, who pretends to be neighborly.

But there's not much action until another murder occurs almost halfway through the book. Anyone in the town could have done it, even someone from outside the town; the victim, Rushborough, was a despicable man.

Another man the town would like to get rid of is Johnny, Trey's father, who has come back after a 4-year absence, a man who loves no one but himself. He and Rushborpugh had come up with a scheme to sell these people on the idea that there was gold on their land. They were almost successful.

All in all, this town does not seem like a good place to live. I don't understand why Cal doesn't just get out of there. It's a beautiful piece of Ireland but full of trouble. If French continues this series, I think she's going to have to deal with that.

A STOLEN SEASON is my first book by Steve Hamilton. Although it comes in the middle of his Alex McKnight series, it is also my first book in the series. So I can say this for Hamilton upfront: it takes skill to write a book in a series as if it is a standalone. That's how it was for me, no confusion.

But I wasn't entirely happy with A STOLEN SEASON. First, the two main crimes in this novel seem like too much of a coincidence to each other. Even though I decided to just go with this storyline, I still had some problems with it.

Sometimes the story drags. I found myself skipping through some paragraphs, as a result, especially when he describes McKnight unloading boxes of guns.

More than anything, though, McKnight is a terribly frustrating main character. Over and over, he butts in, insists on taking things into his own hands when he should be leaving it to the police. I think Hamilton means for the reader to sympathize with McKnight, and I mostly did. But because he is always looking for trouble, I just wanted to clobber him sometimes. If I were one of his three friends, especially Vinnie, I would steer clear of him.

If you enjoy reading about Michigan, that's a good reason to try a Steve Hamilton book. I liked that about A STOLEN SEASON, although I wish Hamilton concentrated more on the Lower Peninsula, which I am more familiar with.

I've had THE DRIFTER in my bookcase for a while. I put off reading it because I hadn't read a Nicholas Petrie book before and thought I wouldn't care for it. But I was pleasantly surprised for more than 100 pages.

This is the first book in a series about Peter Ash, a war veteran with PTSD who has been living in the mountains because he can't bear living indoors. But now he has come back to civilization to help the widow and two children of a good friend he served with in the Marines.

While clearing debris from under the widow's front porch, Ash finds a suitcase full of money. And there begin, first, the mystery of the money and, then, thrills and suspense as Ash discovers who wants the money, their big plan, and what they'll do to accomplish it.

Petrie does a fine job of setting up the story. He made me wonder why I hadn't read this a long time ago.

As the story progresses, though, it can be annoying that Ash seems to deliberately goad people while they have him at a disadvantage, e.g., when they have his hands tied behind his back. Also, near the end, I found the story dragging probably because of the way Petrie was portraying panic attacks. I have had panic attacks in the past and know that they cannot be managed in the way he describes; you cannot just power through them and become suddenly stronger as a result.

Since THE DRIFTER, Petrie has written other Peter Ash novels. So I wonder, what will Ash do with his life now.

Although THE FOUR WINDS is marketed as a novel for adults, for me it's writing style is more young adult, which is not usually to my taste anymore. That is not to say that this is a bad book. It is just more to my 13-year-old taste, especially since many of the chapters are written from a teenager's point of view. THE FOUR WINDS reminds me of a John Jakes novel I read when I was 13.

This novel begins before the Great Depression. Elsa has grown up lonely and unloved. She later marries a younger boy and moves to his parent's farm in Texas.

Skip a few years now to the time of the Depression. Elsa has two children, and her husband has run away. She stays there on the farm with his parents and tries to fight the horrible drought and dust storms. After her son is hospitalized with dust pneumonia, Elsa and her children move to California. But their life there becomes even worse. Out of necessity, Elsa becomes involved with Communists who want to strike against the field owners, who were not paying their workers enough to feed their children or pay rent.

Prepare for a depressing read from beginning to end. Once or twice a good thing happens, such as when a security guard gives Elsa $5.

I wasn't pleased with THE FOUR WINDS, but you may be, so read other reviews.

Everything Chris Bohjalian writes is very good and exceptional. In the case of THE LIONESS, it doesn't start out that way. But if you keep reading, it does get there.

It is 1964. Katie, an actress, takes her new husband, brother and pregnant sister-in-law, and five friends on a safari in Africa. Almost immediately the group of campers is besieged by Russian men, who kill their African guides but not the Americans. It looks like the Russians intend to kidnap them.

What follows are the Americans' experiences from each of their points of view. Their African porter's POV is also included. All the while you and they wonder whether this is a kidnapping, why, and by whom. Every segment of every chapter has clues, but the clues point in different directions. The mysteries might be solved in several ways.

Some survive, others don't. Each of the Americans is up against not only the Russians but, also, wild animals. You'll see who is tough (and who "the lioness" is).

I let SCHRODER languish on my bookshelf for years before I finally got to it. I didn't know what I was missing. This is a book I can readily add to my list of favorites.

SCHRODER is more than a story of a divorced man who kidnaps his six-year-old daughter for a week. It is Eric Kennedy's (a.k.a. Erik Schroder's) explanation to his wife not only of what happened during that week and why; this letter to Laura also tells her some of his history that he has been hiding from her all along.

Although the name–change explanation sounds implausible, especially since Eric/Erik got away with it for so many years and never adequately explains how he did that, just go along with it. You'll not only love his story; you'll love the way he tells it.

The first thing you need to know about THE LAST FLIGHT is that it is an unputdownable book, and you really will be glad you read it. It's the first Julie Clark book I've read, and now I want to read her others.

Claire is the abused wife of rich, well-known, and loved philanthropist Rory. He is dangerous, and she has so far been unable to leave him.

Eva is a former chemistry major who now produces methamphetamine in her basement. She hates this life but feels stuck in it and unable to escape.

They meet in an airport and trade identities. This is how each can leave her old life behind.

Most of the book is told in dual timelines. One is Eva's backstory; the other tells of Claire's experiences as Eva, her new identity.

The title of this book may lead you to believe that it is about an airline flight. Yet, you won't know for sure if Eva got on that ill-fated flight until the end.

And in the end, will EITHER survive? You'll be rooting for both.

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 end.

18-year-old Daniel and Ana (about the same age) meet when he is visiting Spain with his parents in 1957. Franco is dictator there, and Daniel's father, an oil businessman, has come to make a deal with him. Ana is their hotel maid. Danielle is an aspiring photographer. He takes many pictures of life as it really is for the people living under Franco and his regime.

So you would think these two main characters and their quick romance is what this book is about. But I found the main subject of THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE is really the approximately 300,000 babies who were stolen from their parents and sold to adoptive parents. Sure, we meet Ana's brother and sister and cousin, each with their own story, but they all come down to this, the babies stolen from parents who the government deemed unsuitable, "Red."

Although THE FOUNTAINS OF SILENCE is classified as young adult, as are all Sepetys novels, she is a "crossover" author, and adults as well as young adults will enjoy and benefit from this book.

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 be exact. Everyone's upset about the new bussing plan, that many Irish Americans will be forced to go to schools in black neighborhoods and that many blacks will be forced into schools in their neighborhoods. This background is true.

The story: Mary Pat Fennessy's 17-year-old daughter, Jules, goes missing after meeting with friends one evening. So Mary Pat looks for her, and she's not afraid of anyone. As time goes by and we learn along with Mary Pat what has probably become of Jules, we see how tough Mary Pat can be. And she's just beginning.

During her search, Mary Pat learns of the death, maybe accidental, maybe not, of her black coworker's 20-year-old son. Little by little, she hears about Jules' possible involvement.

Working this case of possible murder is Homicide Detective "Bobby" Coyne. Separately, he and Mary Pat both come to know what really happened. They each are examples of a parent's love for their child. And she is an example of a mother's vengeance.

SMALL MERCIES is great character-driven fiction in part because it also has plot. Plus, I've read few authors who can write a character-driven story as well as Dennis Lehane.

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 character, and she tells the story that is so full of thrilling twists and turns, I enjoyed it more than I ever enjoyed an Agatha Christie novel.

Christie's first husband is spoiled and selfish and wants to dump her in favor of Nan. So your immediate impression of Nan isn't meant to be a good one. However, that will soon change with her story of hardship and romance with an Irish boy/man.

And then there are all the secrets. Four people, including Christie, know what really happened during those 11 days. But everyone keeps her secret because she is keeping their secrets of murder and deception.

As Nan also tells it, Christie, too, has a romance during her 11 missing days. Are her and Nan's romances doomed, or can Nan rewrite the ending?

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 VIII was King of England and then abdicated the throne. At the same time as his birthright was being discussed all over the world, when he might have felt that it was being stolen from him, another man, Owen Montignac, is SURE that HIS birthright was stolen from HIM.

Owen is a member of the upper class and has lived a very palatial life with his aunt and uncle and cousins in a beautiful mansion that he feels was stolen from his father, the firstborn son. That mindset leads to so much trouble! Unlike the king, he refuses to just step aside.

Boyne is critical of the upper class and not only of the Montignacs. Another family in the story, not quite so rich but still upper class, enjoys the lifestyle because the father is a judge. The 24-year-old son, Gareth Bentley, has graduated from college where he studied law. He now sleeps in late every morning and spends the rest of every day doing pretty much nothing at his father's expense. But Judge Bentley finally gives him an ultimatum: get a job or else. Then Gareth meets Owen.

Gareth thinks Owen is his friend so is easily led into Owen's get-rich-quick scheme. As a result, the lives of two families are changed forever.

NEXT OF KIN could be the best of John Boyne. If you, too, missed reading it, grab it now.