You won't know who to trust by the time you finish reading Hank Phillippi Ryan's newest stand-alone novel Trust Me (#810). Just when you think you have things figured out in this twisty book, like Mercer Hennessey, the protagonist, everything you believe to be true is stood on its head.
Mercer really needs the money her editor Katherine is offering her to write a true crime book covering the trial of the notorious Boston Baby killer Ashlyn Bryant. No one believes her innocent plea in the murder of her daughter Tasha Nicole. When the toddler's body washes up on Castle Island in Boston Harbor, it takes a while to identify the remains. What is clear, however, is that the child has been murdered. The body turns up in a tattered garbage bag. But who is Baby Boston, and how did she wind up in the water? After Ashlyn Bryant is finally connected with the remains, she has more versions of what happened than anyone can believe. That's why Katherine wants Mercer on the case, following the trial; Mercer has lost her own toddler daughter and husband in a horrible accident, so Katherine knows that the trial will have meaning to her. Who better than to write this particular story? But when the jury acquits Ashlyn in what everyone assumed would be a slam-dunk case, things are only getting started...
Ms. Ryan really knows how to twist the plot and keep the reader questioning what the truth is here. Is Ashlyn really innocent? Or did she manipulate the facts in her favor? When Katherine deposits Ashlyn on Mercer's doorstep to stay with her until the book is complete, is Mercer at risk? Can she believe anything anyone is telling her as she races to finish the manuscript on time?
I found this book hard to put down as the kaleidoscope of facts kept changing. Wow. Keep them coming, Ms. Ryan!
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (#809) came out more than twenty years ago to critical acclaim, yet it still remains relevant today. An American Baptist family goes on a mission to convert the inhabitants of the small village of Kilanga in what was then the Belgian Congo on the verge of independence. The mission does not go well.
Told in the voices of the wife and four daughters of the Reverend Nathan Price, the story of cultural clashes, dysfunctional family and political unrest unfolds from distinctly different points of view. There's the oldest daughter Rachel, blond and vain, a regular Mrs. Malaprop who longs for a normal American teen life. The identical twins Leah and Adah are separated by Adah's brain damage. Leah takes to native ways after failing to connect to her adored father, but Adah does not speak aloud, instead amusing herself with observations of those around her and her ability to read forwards and backwards. Ruth May at five is the baby of the family, headstrong and prone to throwing fits to get her own way. Then there's Orleanna, the abused wife who feels guilty for landing her girls in this primitive place instead of refusing to follow her husband on his unsanctioned mission trip. It's not a pretty picture. In fact, I loathed almost all of the characters in the book, and I think, in some ways, that was Ms. Kingsolver's point.
The Price family cannot function as a cohesive unit, and neither can The Congo. There are so many levels at play here, you could spend days discussing it. It's no better there today than when the fictional Prices tried to conquer Africa for Jesus. It does make you think, though.
Told in the voices of the wife and four daughters of the Reverend Nathan Price, the story of cultural clashes, dysfunctional family and political unrest unfolds from distinctly different points of view. There's the oldest daughter Rachel, blond and vain, a regular Mrs. Malaprop who longs for a normal American teen life. The identical twins Leah and Adah are separated by Adah's brain damage. Leah takes to native ways after failing to connect to her adored father, but Adah does not speak aloud, instead amusing herself with observations of those around her and her ability to read forwards and backwards. Ruth May at five is the baby of the family, headstrong and prone to throwing fits to get her own way. Then there's Orleanna, the abused wife who feels guilty for landing her girls in this primitive place instead of refusing to follow her husband on his unsanctioned mission trip. It's not a pretty picture. In fact, I loathed almost all of the characters in the book, and I think, in some ways, that was Ms. Kingsolver's point.
The Price family cannot function as a cohesive unit, and neither can The Congo. There are so many levels at play here, you could spend days discussing it. It's no better there today than when the fictional Prices tried to conquer Africa for Jesus. It does make you think, though.
Monday, February 18, 2019
The Night Tiger
From the first few pages of Yangsze Choo's novel The Night Tiger (#808), I wasn't sure where this book was going to take me, but I knew it was going to be quite a ride. Set in 1931 Malaya, it chiefly follows the stories of Ji Lin, a reluctant dance hall hostess, and Ren, an eleven year old house boy employed by a British doctor. How their stories eventually intersect is quite a tale.
It begins when two things happen; Ji Lin accidentally winds up lifting a severed finger in a glass vial from an obnoxious customer, and Dr. McFarlane implores Ren on his deathbed to find his missing finger and restore it to his grave before forty nine days go by. Otherwise, the doctor will be trapped on earth, unable to move on.
Romance, mysteries, were-tigers and an exotic setting; what more could a reader ask for in an intriguing story with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns? It's unlike anything I've ever read before and totally engrossing. Highly recommended, with a properly atmospheric cover illustration.
I can't wait to hear Ms. Choo speak at BookMania! in a few weeks, and in the meantime I will be putting her previous novel, The Ghost Bride in my urgent reading pile!
It begins when two things happen; Ji Lin accidentally winds up lifting a severed finger in a glass vial from an obnoxious customer, and Dr. McFarlane implores Ren on his deathbed to find his missing finger and restore it to his grave before forty nine days go by. Otherwise, the doctor will be trapped on earth, unable to move on.
Romance, mysteries, were-tigers and an exotic setting; what more could a reader ask for in an intriguing story with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns? It's unlike anything I've ever read before and totally engrossing. Highly recommended, with a properly atmospheric cover illustration.
I can't wait to hear Ms. Choo speak at BookMania! in a few weeks, and in the meantime I will be putting her previous novel, The Ghost Bride in my urgent reading pile!
Monday, February 11, 2019
Death of an Eye
It's always satisfying to discover a new author whose work you thoroughly enjoy. That's the case with Dana Stabenow's latest mystery Death of an Eye (#807). She's won an Edgar for the first book in her Kate Shugak mystery series, but here she's ventured into new territory: Egypt at the time of Caesar and Cleopatra. The results are promising for her new series.
Tetisheri is the niece and partner of a successful Alexandrian merchant, Uncle Neb. When a woman is murdered late one night, it would seem to have nothing to do with Tetisheri until she is summoned to the palace by Cleopatra. The two shared classes growing up, and Cleopatra is counting on her friend's help to find out who murdered the woman and why. Khemet was, in fact, the Queen's Eye, her personal spy investigating the theft of newly minted coinage from the royal courier's boat in the harbor of Alexandria. Apparently Khemet was getting too close to the truth.
Tetisheri is entrusted with the pendant which identifies her as the Queen's Eye, and sets out with a select few in the queen's confidence including the dashing and enigmatic Apollodorus to find the missing coinage and track down all those behind the daring theft without it becoming common knowledge.
A mixture of political intrigue and a bit of romance are all wrapped up in a cracking good period mystery as the perpetrators and the motives are gradually revealed in a not-altogether satisfactory ending for Tetisheri. Just who was playing whom here?
I look forward to the further adventures of the reluctant Tetisheri!
Tetisheri is the niece and partner of a successful Alexandrian merchant, Uncle Neb. When a woman is murdered late one night, it would seem to have nothing to do with Tetisheri until she is summoned to the palace by Cleopatra. The two shared classes growing up, and Cleopatra is counting on her friend's help to find out who murdered the woman and why. Khemet was, in fact, the Queen's Eye, her personal spy investigating the theft of newly minted coinage from the royal courier's boat in the harbor of Alexandria. Apparently Khemet was getting too close to the truth.
Tetisheri is entrusted with the pendant which identifies her as the Queen's Eye, and sets out with a select few in the queen's confidence including the dashing and enigmatic Apollodorus to find the missing coinage and track down all those behind the daring theft without it becoming common knowledge.
A mixture of political intrigue and a bit of romance are all wrapped up in a cracking good period mystery as the perpetrators and the motives are gradually revealed in a not-altogether satisfactory ending for Tetisheri. Just who was playing whom here?
I look forward to the further adventures of the reluctant Tetisheri!
Sunday, February 10, 2019
The Gown
I was eager to read Jennifer Robson's newest novel The Gown (#806). It's a story centered on the fictitious lives of a couple of embroiderers who worked on the construction of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding gown in 1947 when she was still a young princess and Britain was struggling with the economic hardships and deprivation that followed World War II.
The parts of the novel that dealt with the details of designing and producing the dress in Norman Hartnell's exclusive London atelier were fascinating. If you enjoy watching the modern royal weddings on TV, or visiting museum costume exhibits, or leafing through books of couture fashions of a by-gone age, you will appreciate the insight into how these gowns are fashioned.
On the other hand, if you're reading it to find out what secrets the two main characters keep that are pursued in the present day by the granddaughter of one, you may be in for a disappointment. I certainly was. I could feel my eyes rolling when Miriam (spoiler alert ahead!) turns out to be the Jewish survivor of concentration camp. Of all the stereotypical characters to needlessly insert here! Ann came in as a close second in the "He done her wrong" trope. The fiction here rated no more than a "Meh."
However, it wasn't a terrible book, and it has set me off in search of more information about Norman Hartnell and his design studio. I look forward to discovering more about him, and some close up photos of Elizabeth II's wedding gown with its fabled embroidery.
The parts of the novel that dealt with the details of designing and producing the dress in Norman Hartnell's exclusive London atelier were fascinating. If you enjoy watching the modern royal weddings on TV, or visiting museum costume exhibits, or leafing through books of couture fashions of a by-gone age, you will appreciate the insight into how these gowns are fashioned.
On the other hand, if you're reading it to find out what secrets the two main characters keep that are pursued in the present day by the granddaughter of one, you may be in for a disappointment. I certainly was. I could feel my eyes rolling when Miriam (spoiler alert ahead!) turns out to be the Jewish survivor of concentration camp. Of all the stereotypical characters to needlessly insert here! Ann came in as a close second in the "He done her wrong" trope. The fiction here rated no more than a "Meh."
However, it wasn't a terrible book, and it has set me off in search of more information about Norman Hartnell and his design studio. I look forward to discovering more about him, and some close up photos of Elizabeth II's wedding gown with its fabled embroidery.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Educated
After reading Tara Westover's harrowing memoir Educated (#805), it is astonishing to me that she is alive to actually write this book, let alone to have traveled from an isolated Idaho mountainside to earn a Doctorate from Cambridge University on a Gates scholarship, having never set foot in a public school.
How she accomplished this despite opposition and setbacks from her own family is an amazing story. Grit and determination, plus a well-developed survival instinct all play significant roles. But then, as she points out, she had nothing and no one else to compare her life to, so her extraordinary family living off the grid was her version of normal.
You have to read Tara's story for yourself to appreciate what an incredible person she is. Don't miss Educated. It will make you count your own blessings every day.
How she accomplished this despite opposition and setbacks from her own family is an amazing story. Grit and determination, plus a well-developed survival instinct all play significant roles. But then, as she points out, she had nothing and no one else to compare her life to, so her extraordinary family living off the grid was her version of normal.
You have to read Tara's story for yourself to appreciate what an incredible person she is. Don't miss Educated. It will make you count your own blessings every day.
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