Ache. The beauty and affluence of Baxter Beach in Barbados overshadows the ache and sorrow of the poor who struggle to survive there. In her novel titled, How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, Cherie Jones draws us quickly into grievous loss, inflicted pain and ongoing abuse. We ache for these characters in their pain, as we live with them on the beach. There’s an intensity to this novel that never lets up. These tragic heroes will remain in your mind long after you finish reading the novel.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Phily. Fans of Jane Haddam’s series featuring protagonist Gregor Demarkian will be excited to read the 30th installment, a novel titled, One of Our Own. The former FBI agent serves as a police consultant while living with his wife in an Armenian neighborhood in Philadelphia. The lively cast of characters brings the neighborhood to life. Gregor is asked to assist in a case involving murder in his neighborhood. This finely written novel is an upbeat and hopeful ending to a beloved series and a tribute to the vitality of one Phily neighborhood as a model for every place in the world to emulate.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Myths. In her debut novel titled, Bestiary, K-Ming Chang introduces readers to three generations of women who navigate through a world of myth and reality. If you’re comfortable with a woman growing a tiger’s tail and remain at ease while unsure what’s real and what’s imagined, you’re likely to enjoy this novel. Chang’s writing will appeal to readers who appreciate literary fiction, and the motifs of water, snakes and keys will delight such readers. Personally, I don’t know enough about Taiwanese mythology to appreciate the references, but I found the writing engaging and imaginative.
Rating: Three-star (It’s ok)
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Collectors. The more quirky Jess Kidd’s novel titled, Things in Jars, became, the more I surrendered to her finely written prose. She gives readers a Victorian detective mystery packed with a cast of fascinating, unusual and sometimes otherworldly characters. We see that wealthy individuals would collect specimens of all sorts of unusual things and behave in ways that disturb modern readers. There are curiosities and spectacles that define the time period, and a female detective whose skills are put to the test in this intriguing case.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Kindness. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Richard Osman’s debut novel titled, The Thursday Murder Club. At its core, this is an engaging mystery novel with twists that will satisfy fans of this genre. The complex characters, especially a female detective and four septuagenarians, treat one another with respect and kindness as they sleuth together to solve a case. Osman is often funny and always clever in this novel which will appeal to fans of mysteries and crime fiction.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Hotspur. Readers can feel deeply the anguish of the protagonist of Ethan Hawke’s novel titled, A Bright Ray of Darkness. He is a film actor making his Broadway debut in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, playing the role of Hotspur. His marriage has fallen apart, and he falls easily into self-destructive behavior. He often seems clueless, as Hawke pulls readers into the world of the theater, this play, the actors in a philosophical examination of art and the life of the artist.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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Incisive. There are twelve essays by Joan Didion in a collection titled, Let Me Tell You What I Mean. These pieces were written between 1968 and 2000 and showcase this fine writer’s incisive focus and her concurrent detachment as she presents her views. Her use of language is always a model for aspiring writers, and these essays provide loads of examples of how to write well. Like all great artists, her eye sees something that most of us miss, and that when she shows us what she sees, we can understand better our lives and our world.
Rating: Four-star (I like it)
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