Sorrow Road

Secrets. The fifth novel in the series by Julia Keller featuring protagonist Bell Elkins is titled, Sorrow Road. Fans of the series will enjoy the reprisal of familiar characters, but may find a little less of Bell in this installment than in earlier novels. Keller covers that void with a plot covering two time periods and a broad exploration of the issues of memory and remembrance. Set as always in Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, the location comes alive thanks to Keller’s descriptive language. Readers who like mysteries are those most likely to enjoy reading this novel and this series. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok like it) Click here to purchase Sorrow Road from amazon.com.

The Eastern Shore

Editor. Ward Just uses great skill to balance three key elements in his novel titled, The Eastern Shore. First, he presents readers with a deeply drawn character study of protagonist Ned Ayres, a longtime editor. Second, he sets the contemporary action in a home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and that place provides a physical manifestation of Ned’s inner life. Finally, Just explores the complex issue of privacy, especially in the context of journalism. A formative event in Ned’s early work life relating to privacy has been on his mind for decades, and Just dissects that expertly. That Just achieves this balance in about two hundred pages brought me great reading pleasure. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Eastern Shore from amazon.com.

Christmas Caramel Murder

Novella. The twentieth novel to feature the Minnesota adventures of baker Hannah Swensen is titled, Christmas Caramel Murder. More of a novella that a whole new installment, this book does a flashback from the 19th novel, and contains even fewer recipes than earlier novels. I’ve been entertained by earlier novels in this series because the characters and plot always lead to good feelings, no matter that there’s a murder at the center of the story. Diehard fans will love this novel, but new readers might want to start elsewhere for a full serving of this sweet series. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase Christmas Caramel Murder from amazon.com.

The Girls

Manson. I noticed that I kept getting tired while reading Emma Cline’s debut novel titled, The Girls. Set in 1960s California, the novel takes an intense look at the relationships among young women in a cult based largely on what we came to think of as the Manson family. I realized that I was sated by too much of a good thing. Emma Cline’s prose is so finely structured that I was receiving it as overwrought and would get tired reading good sentence after good sentence. There was a level of detail and a degree of intensity that I appreciated on many pages, but certainly not on every page. I found myself putting the novel aside to read something a bit less intense and with prose that flowed a bit more smoothly. Readers who appreciate carefully constructed literary fiction are those most likely to enjoy reading this novel. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase The Girls from amazon.com.

The North Water

Cold. Ian McGuire’s novel titled, The North Water, made me shiver for many reasons. The action takes place on a whaling ship heading to the Artic in the 1850s, so the physical setting is frigid. The characters present dark and cold elements from a captain considered unlucky by his crew, to a murderer, to a surgeon brooding over his past. McGuire matches his prose to the setting and the characters: sharp, bitter cold, penetrating language. There’s no nostalgia for the good old days of some idealized past as we find in much historical fiction. McGuire presents a harsh time with hard people fighting for survival. On deeper levels, McGuire injects a notion of resurrection that I found was a pathway to escape the cold and darkness facing readers on every page. Fans of finely written literary fiction are those most likely to enjoy this well-crafted novel. A huge bonus was the suspense in the plot which made my heart beat faster, and warm me from the coldness of the page. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The North Water from amazon.com.

Another Brooklyn

Lyrical. Most readers of Jacqueline Woodson’s novel titled, Another Brooklyn, may not identify with the experience of coming of age in Brooklyn in the 1970s. Readers who enjoy finely written literary fiction will identify with, enjoy and appreciate the quality of Woodson’s lyrical prose. I may have read too many books this year about female friendship, but the prose in this novel sets it apart and I recommend it to any reader of fine fiction, whether interested in Brooklyn or not. Where you live is very likely to be another Brooklyn, and reading this novel may help you know that. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Another Brooklyn from amazon.com.

The Devils of Cardona

Intrigue. Fans of action-packed historical fiction may want to consider reading Matthew Carr’s debut novel titled, The Devils of Cardona. Carr presents lots of characters who he places in a complex plot set in the late 16th century in Spain. With the Inquisition as the backdrop, what’s not to like? Protagonist Bernardo Mendoza is a royal prosecutor and his investigation into the murder of a corrupt priest provides the core of the action. I was highly entertained by this novel, especially the scope of the intrigue that Carr examines without letting up on the plot momentum. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Devils of Cardona from amazon.com.