January-February Books

            

*The Crossing by Michael Connelly has Harry Bosch coming out of a retirement forced by enemies within the LAPD to help his half-brother (The Lincoln Lawyer) defend a client whose DNA was found on a rape/murder victim. Perhaps the client has been framed for murder, so Bosch secretly teams up with former partner Lucia Soto to investigate possible corruption inside the LAPD. While not his best effort, nobody does procedural details better than Connelly.

*A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler takes us across three generations of the Whitshanks, their shared stories and long-held secrets, “all the unguarded and richly lived moments that combine to define who and what they are as a family." Abby and Red are growing older and it is time to make decisions about how best to look after them, and the future of the house so lovingly built by Red's father. After 50 years as a writer, Tyler still has the talent, wisdom and patience to turn out an excellent book.

I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright is the script for the acclaimed one-man show exploring the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite and celebrated antiques dealer who successfully navigated the two most oppressive regimes of the past century, the Nazis and the Communists. I had trouble following the print version of the play, but in the Ensemble’s production, John Tufts flawlessly navigated the 30 roles and make it understandable and enjoyable. 

*The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee is the story of how a traumatized college graduate, a lonely housewife and a burned-out mother of three endure the challenges of their respective demons and families in the face of unexpected consequences within their American expat community in Hong Kong…” a beautiful, transporting novel about motherhood, marriage, and friendship.”

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by cognitive psychologist Alexandra Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. Imagine being able to smell every bit of open food in the house as well as sadness in humans. Sometimes a little slow going, but Scarlett asked me to read this so I could be more understanding of her needs.

Marry, Kiss, Kill by Anne Flett-Giordano sounded like a great concept: a Santa Barbara murder mystery set during the Film Festival written by a successful TV writer and the pick of a Graduates book club. It could have been good, but wasn’t.   The local color was okay, but characters were one-dimensional and as lovable as Ted Cruz, the plot unbelievable and the dialogue too clever by half.

*Saving Sophie by Ronald H. Balson is about an ordinary attorney from Chicago-until his wife dies, his young daughter is kidnapped, and he becomes the main suspect in an $88-million-dollar embezzlement case. Jack is on the run, hoping to rescue his daughter from her maternal grandfather (a suspected terrorist in Palestine) before he is arrested.   Balson writes an engaging story with believable characters and even weaves some well-done history of the Israel-Palestinian history.

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham is the popular writer’s alternative to The Lincoln Lawyer. Sebastian Rudd works out of a customized bulletproof van, a heavily armed driver who is also his body guard and paralegal. He takes on clients other lawyers won't even consider: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult, who is accused of molesting and murdering two little girls; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house.  While not his best work, this is vintage Grisham and an enjoyable read.

The Guilty by David Baldacci is the 4^th novel about government assassin Will Robie that  “straddles that line of edgy, high-concept suspense, augmented with a bit of the political thriller, and deep character studies.” Collateral damage in an assignment impacts Will’s legendary skills and he takes a leave to help his estranged father who has been indicted for murder in Texas. This a different tack for Daldacci, has a more personal, introspective tone but is still engaging.

November-December Books

The Avenue of Mysteries by John Irvine is a “sprawling, imaginative tale about a writer whose life’s journey has all the qualities of a modern Dickens novel.”  Irvine is a talented writer but this is far from his best book.  I haven’t been able to finish it but will try again next year.

*X by Sue Grafton is “Perhaps her darkest and most chilling novel.” Featuring a sociopathic serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes. Kinsey Millhone quickly identifies the killer but take some time to review past cases, reintroduce the loveable characters in her circle and drop a few almost current tidbits about Santa Barbara before building a case to bring the villain to justice. NPR’s Maureen Corrigan says, “Makes me wish there were more than 26 letters.”

**The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George is a literary apothecary, a floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine where Monsieur Perdu prescribes novels for the problems of life--for everyone except himself. After 20 years of mourning a lost love, Perdu unties his barge and travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books with a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef. “A charming international best seller that believes in the healing properties of fiction, romance, and a summer in the south of France."

The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz who attempts, unsuccessfully, to pick up the mantle of the late Stieg Larsson. In this follow-up to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest finds genius-hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist teaming up to confront a dangerous new cyber threat to the free world. There’s lots of review of Larsson’s previous books in a lumbering story with the plot being largely developed by long conversations with the key players instead of a description of the events as they unfold.

See Me by Nicolas Sparks, the best male writer of ‘chick lit’ is predictably charming but far from his best effort. Colin Hancock, a young man with a destructive past who is focused on keeping his life on course to become a teacher.  His monis regime of work, study and exercise is challenged by Maria Sanchez, a hardworking lawyer, her immigrant family who is nervous about his tattoos and police record.  Despite attempts by her former lover and a cynical police detective to derail their romance, their inherit goodness prevails.  

*Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford is another in this year’s parade of “witty tales about high-society wannabes…” Reminiscent of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth and the more modern Primates of Park Avenue and Luckiest Girl Alive, NY Times reporter Clifford’s debut is a “relentlessly fascinating story of old money and callous ambition.”  Yes, it is chick lit and beach reading, but still insight and good fun.

September-October Books

Memory Man by David Baldacci introduces Amos Decker, a former football star with perfect memory who can’t solve his own family's murder. He leaves the police force, loses his home, and winds up on the street, taking PI jobs as they come. After a school massacre, Decker becomes a consultant for the local police and the FBI where he amazes everyone with his keen observation and insight while connecting his own loss with the school shooting. 

The Murderer’s Daughter, by Jonathan Kellerman, “master of the psychological thriller,” introduces Grace Blade to his loyal readers.  Master psychologist by day, seductive adrenaline junkie by night, Grace has a very dark past that unfolds, along plenty of weird characters, violent action, and amazing coincidences in a well-written, but predictable, manner.

Sit! Stay! Speak! by Annie England Noblin is reminiscent of books by Mary Alice Monroe, Allie Larkin, and Holly Robinson. This debut novel tells the modestly interesting story of a Chicago refugee and the rescue dog that helps an outsider in the Ozarks make peace with the past. Quaint southern colloquialisms, a couple of good recipes and a competently written plot make for a pleasant airplane read.

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black was described as having “shockingly good writing.”  I couldn’t disagree more…maybe the worst book I’ve read this year.  Two violent serial killers had (very) bad childhoods and a self-destructive detective who is obsessed with the case, along with victims, past and present, have endless deep, dark internal soliloquies that pass for psychological insight.  Black is a pseudonym for British writer, Glen Duncan, who has every reason to be ashamed to put his real name on this disaster.  How did he get so many writers to give it wonderful reviews?

*Fear of Dying by Erica Jong is a “delightful look at what it really takes to be human and female in the 21st century.” Jong deals with the “afternoon of life” by taking readers through a romp with online hookups, female friendships, children grappling with adulthood and parents negotiating with death. Not on a par with “Flying” but still shows the talent of a major writer.

*Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years by Thomas Mallon captures the crusading ideologies, blunders, and glamour of the still-hotly-debated Reagan years.  Moving from the political gridiron of Washington, the wealthiest enclaves of Southern California, and Iceland, where the U.S. president engages in two almost apocalyptic days of negotiation with Mikhail Gorbachev. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are spared Mallon’s acerbic, insightful fictional conversations that seem utterly in character with the key political players of the era. 

Between You and Me: Confession of a Comma Queen” by Mary Norris, long-time copy editor for the New Yorker is a clever, chatty review of basic (and arcane) grammar. She addresses those vexing problems in spelling, punctuation, and usage―comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom," "that" vs. "which," compound words, gender-neutral language. Norris concludes, "The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around." 

 The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson takes on the myths and misconceptions along with the out-sized reality of the man Johnson believes was Great Britain’s greatest leader.  The current mayor of London portrays  with wit, passion, and a bit of hero worship “a man of contagious bravery, breathtaking eloquence, matchless strategizing, and deep humanity.”