*Defending
Jacob by William Landy is a gripping, multiple-faceted story with
well-crafted plot twists and turns. A
14-year-old boy is stabbed to death near his middle school in a Boston suburb,
and Assistant DA Andy Barber takes the case, despite the fact that his son,
Jacob, was a classmate of the victim. But when Jacob become the prime suspect,
Andy is removed from the case and spends the next several months trying to
understand his son and assist in his defense. I thought the work was a worthy
heir of Scott Thurow at his best.
*The
Social Conquest of Earth by E.O. Wilson is a panoramic view of
how a hundred million years of evolution has shaped the history of civilization. The acclaimed biologist discusses how
morality, religion, and the creative arts are biological in nature and defends
his theory that the origin of the human condition is due to group, not family,
selection. In addition to his scientific credentials, Wilson is a talented writer with a sense of
humor that almost kept me engaged through seemingly endless millennia of
evolutionary progress.
*Watergate:
A Novel by Thomas Mallon is a richly detailed, engaging fictional
re-examination of the most infamous political scandal of my lifetime. In the
hands of a master historical novelist, the well-traveled story becomes a fresh
page-turner. Told from the perspectives
of seven characters, we get lots of factual data, gossip and creative invention.
The
Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith isn’t Dostoyevsky, but about a superstar in the "information
retrieval" business. Geiger's clients count on him to extract the truth
from even the most reluctant subjects. He prefers to avoid bloodshed and never
works with children. When his partner Harry brings a client who insists on
interrogating a twelve-year-old boy, Geiger rescues the boy and promises to
protect him from further harm. But Geiger and Harry may become the victims of
an utterly ruthless adversary. Geiger remains superbly competent after being
tortured, shot, stabbed, beaten and almost drowned--you get the picture.
*The
Expats by Chris Palone is a stunningly confident, complex first novel by
an ex-patriot editor. Dexter is offered a job in Luxembourg with a
private bank, and his CIA agent wife Kate (who hasn’t told Dexter about her real job) finds housework and lunches
with other expats boring. Moreover, Dexter's new, uncharacteristic behavior and
the curiosity of friends Julia and Bill raise her suspicions. “Kate's
character, her CIA experiences, and her new life are examined in granular
detail, all of which helps drive an intricate, suspenseful plot that is only
resolved in the final pages.”
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