Elegy for April

Family. Benjamin Black’s latest novel is titled Elegy for April. Quirke is back. Out of rehab for his alcoholism, Garret Quirke agrees to help his daughter find a missing friend. The writing is taut, with a great plot and well-developed characters. All the family relationships presented in the novel contain insights into these closest of relationships. Black is the pseudonym of award winning writer John Banville. The quality of writing here exceeds that of most mystery novels. The more Banville develops Quirke the more engaging a character he becomes. In this enjoyable installment, he’s almost endearing.

Rating: Four-star (Highly Recommended)
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Known to Evil

Redemption. Walter Mosley continues to develop the protagonist Leonid McGill in his novel titled, Known to Evil. The motivation of private detective McGill is to act in ways that atone for his bad behavior, and it his redemption that becomes a life goal. In some ways McGill is both hero and everyman. Thanks to Mosley’s fine writing, the dialogue seems realistic, the characters are well-developed, and the insights about human condition are profound. The personal circumstances that led McGill to this moment in his life and those of society at large contain a randomness that’s sobering.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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Hitch-22: A Memoir

Separation. Christopher Hitchens has a way with words, and he displays that skill in his memoir, Hitch-22. He’s a reluctant memoirist, and that shows by how much about his life he neglects to mention on these pages. His detachment from his own life seemed to make the book even more interesting. In the six degrees of separation, it seems that Hitchens can make most connections around the world in two or three. The cast of characters mentioned on these pages reads like a who’s who of global and literary affairs of the past four decades. The book also abounds with political theory and intellectual ostentation that will please many readers while alienating others. For me, it was a pleasure to sit back and listen to his life stories told with such finely selected words and to hear him place the greatest emphasis on his own astute and immense intellect and persona.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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In The Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time

Deliberate. Peter Lovenheim took the concept of “up close and personal” and expanded it when he began to explore a proposal with the people who lived on his street in suburban Rochester, New York. Lovenheim realized how isolated he and his neighbors were from each other, how little they knew about each other, so he knocked on a few doors and tried to change that situation. The approach he pursued with receptive neighbors involved him sleeping over at their homes one night and spending an entire day and night with the family. He describes this process and experience in an entertaining book titled, In The Neighborhood: The Search for Community on an American Street, One Sleepover at a Time. As readers would expect, as neighbors came to know each other better, they found ways to care about each other, and act in ways that provided needed support.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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The Imperfectionists

Assembly. If you’re willing to give a debut novel a chance, consider Tom Rachman’s fine offering, The Imperfectionists. With great skill, Rachman presents portraits of characters, each with his or her own chapter, like individual sections of the failing newspaper that draws them together. Rachman paints these portraits with a consistent level of depth across ages and gender so that by the end of the book, I came away with great satisfaction in having spent time getting to know authentic characters displaying a full range of human behavior. Any reader who prefers taking a book in small doses can enjoy these chapters in a leisurely way.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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The Spy

Pacing. The latest adventure novel to feature protagonist Isaac Bell is titled, The Spy, and most readers are likely to enjoy this well-paced book as perfect summer reading. Fans of Cussler will find the usual elements: highly skilled heroic protagonist; something featuring technological innovation; and plot momentum that keeps the pages turning swiftly. The novel is set in 1908 and the spies represent the superpowers of that time trying to build their forces before the first world war. Bell and the Van Dorn Detective Agency encounter a formidable opponent in the spy who is trying to set back America’s naval advancement. Bell again survives lots of close calls that supply the adrenalin rush in this exciting novel.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
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Innocent

Folly. After two decades, Scott Turow has written a sequel to his 1987 debut novel, Presumed Innocent, titled Innocent. A familiar set of characters return, including Rusty Sabich, Tommy Molto, and Sandy Stern. At any age, a distraction into folly can lead any of us astray. Despite his maturity and prominence as chief appellate judge, Rusty Sabich can still submit to folly, and he does, leading to his trial for the murder of his wife, Barbara. Tommy Molto returns as reluctant prosecutor, prodded by his protégé, Jim Brand, who would like Molto’s job. While Sandy Stern is ill, he still performs courtroom virtuosity like no one else. Additional characters include Rusty’s son, Nat, and Anna Vostic, Rusty’s former law clerk. Turow’s writing is outstanding, his plot turns clever, and his fictional insights about marriage and late middle age may resonate with any readers of that age.

Rating: Four-star (Highly Recommended)
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