Visitation Street

Neighborhood. I was entertained by Ivy Pochoda’s novel, Visitation Street. In some respects the most completely developed character in the novel is the setting, the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. Pochoda develops a reader’s understanding of Red Hook through descriptive language and through the wide cast of characters she presents as they pursue their hopes and dreams in this neighborhood. Using the mystery genre as the backdrop for displaying Red Hook in all its complexity, Pochoda led readers through various dead ends in trying to figure things out. Beyond a mystery, I read this novel as a story of redemption, and on that level, I was more satisfied. Readers willing to explore what a well written debut novel has to offer should take a look at this one. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase Visitation Street from amazon.com.

Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge

Meandering. There are two types of stories in the collection from Peter Orner titled, Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge: short and shorter. I enjoyed reading both types. Orner has the skill to present wit or devastation in just a few paragraphs. We don’t ever find out the complete life or story, but we get the condensed essence. Orner meanders from one time period and place to another in this collection. Each story includes finely written prose and cohesion. No matter how short the story, I consciously paced myself to read only one story at each sitting. I wanted to absorb what Orner did in one story before I started to read another. Readers who enjoy a wide range of short stories are those most likely to savor this finely written collection. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge from amazon.com.

Blackberry Pie Murder

Comfort. After a lot of installments in a fiction series, I find that I either keep reading and overlook ongoing faults, or stop reading the series because I anticipate that nothing new will happen. Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series is one that I am willing to keep reading. In the latest installment, Blackberry Pie Murder, all the familiar characters are back, and glacial progress is made in their slow-moving relationships. All the familiar plot elements return: Hannah discovers a dead body, cookies and other sweets are made, and recipes are presented for readers to try out at home. I read this series as a brief diversion, especially when I’m looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth, both in eating and in reading. I’m comfortable with approaching these novels with low expectations from a reading perspective, and high expectations for good cookies. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Blackberry Pie Murder from amazon.com.

American Romantic

Portrait. Readers who appreciate fine writing and who like the development of complex characters who embody the nuances and contradictions of our human condition, are those most likely to enjoy reading Ward Just’s latest novel, American Romantic. Just presents the life of Harry Sanders, a career diplomat. The formative events in Harry’s life took place when he was assigned to Vietnam in the early 1960s, when he was in his twenties. He finds love with a German woman, Sieglinde, but she abruptly leaves the country without saying goodbye. He goes on a clandestine assignment into the Vietnamese jungle, and comes away from the experience with scars both physical and psychological. Years later, he marries and his diplomatic career advances, but the effects of Vietnam, both love and tragedy, remain vivid in his life. Were there still romantics in the latter part of the twentieth century? In Just’s portrait, Harry is a romantic, and a complex, fully developed complex character. Readers who like that in a novel will love this finely written book. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase American Romantic from amazon.com.

Runner

Sprint. Fans of action thrillers will delight in the way Patrick Lee begins his novel, Runner, with immediate pulse-quickening action, and most readers will like the way he maintains a quick pace right to the very end of the book. Sam Dryden, a widower and retired special forces operative, finds himself running during the night when an eleven year old girl, Rachel, crashes into him in the dark. As the exposition unfolds, readers learn of Rachel’s special skills, and how competing government contractors are working to develop methods for mind control. All Sam’s expertise comes into play as he tries to protect Rachel. I read this novel swiftly and was entertained throughout. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Runner from amazon.com.

Bread and Butter

Tension. Michelle Wildgen grabbed me in the first few pages of her novel titled, Bread and Butter. She whetted my appetite to read more about this cast of characters who work in restaurants. When the youngest of three brothers returns home after a short life in academia and other pursuits to open a new restaurant, the stress and tension in relationships among the brothers takes center stage. Wildgen captures sibling relationships with great skill in the early parts of the novel. By the middle, the exposition slowed, and all relationships involved stress and tension for a variety of reasons. Just when my attention began to drift, Wildgen spiced up the narrative and brought the novel to a satisfying conclusion. Those who work in restaurants will know better whether she represents that crazy worklife with accuracy. For me, I was satisfied with this finely written presentation of contemporary life and relationships. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Bread and Butter from amazon.com.

The Case of the Love Commandos

Identity. Fans of character-driven crime fiction are those most likely to enjoy reading Tarquin Hall’s latest Vish Puri novel titled, The Case of the Love Commandos. Readers of the earlier books in the series will enjoy the reprise of the familiar cast of characters, and the way in which Hall presents with a sharp eye for detail contemporary issues of life in India. In this outing, there’s an exploration of caste differences, genetic testing, rape, corruption and murder. Both Puri and his mother continue to use their skills to get to the bottom of what’s happening. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Case of the Love Commandos from amazon.com.