Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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Once again, JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith, has written a suspenseful and dark — in truth, absolutely gruesome! – novel that was as fun to read as the first two.  This is the third in this detective series starring Cormoran Strike, the very imperfect, one-legged war hero turned PI.  His assistant/partner, Robin, an equally likable character, receives a woman’s severed leg delivered by courier to her at their shared office, and so this murder mystery begins.

The story is told from the perspectives of Cormoran, Robin and the killer (whose identity is not revealed until the end, but whose intentions and very psychotic way of thinking builds more and more suspense) and each of them brings a very dynamic and very human quality to the story.  You really care about each of them (well, not the killer of course) and you can’t stop reading until you know what happens to each of them.  And in this book, we learn more about both Cormoran’s and Robin’s pasts, which are both tragic in their own ways and really create that much more depth to their characters.

There of course is also an underlying attraction/tension between Cormoran and Robin, who are both determined to keep their relationship purely professional.  They clearly have a mutual respect for each other’s intelligence and finesse and they are a great team.  You can’t help wanting them to get together!

So while this book is not for anyone with a weak stomach, most will enjoy the ride!

Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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You may have seen this movie – I did years ago and really loved it.  But if you want to read something really fun, you’ll try the book!

Nick Naylor has one of the most challenging and unpopular jobs in the country – he is the primary spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies (a lobbying group for cigarette companies) in Washington.  In other words, he is a professional spin doctor who makes his living trying to convince others that there really is no proof that cigarettes can hurt you.  He is generally ok with being unpopular and brushes off his hate mail fairly callously; that is, until, during an appearance on a popular daytime TV talk show, his life is threatened by a particularly venomous caller who appears to be – and ultimately is – a true threat.  How Nick gets through this calamity brings the reader through plot twists that are wickedly and absolutely fun.

The best part of this book, for me, was the writing.  It is full of dark humor, sarcasm and wit.  Nick meets regularly with two other spokespeople (alcohol and gun lobbies), who call themselves the “Mod” Squad – only the MOD stands for Merchants of Death.  Their conversations alone are worth reading!  There is so much self-deprecation and funereal humor that I laughed out loud.

It is a crazy premise for a book, really, but it works – and it works really well! Highly recommend it!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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This is a really fun read!  Clay Jannon takes the reader with him on this very high tech journey into the workings of a very unusual bookstore.  The clients of the store come in at all hours, are generally older, and never actually pay for the books they read.  The books are written in code and Clay really has no idea what this is all about.  As his curiosity gets the best of him, and he delves into the mystery of the code and the store itself, he rouses both himself and Mr. Penumbra to challenge an old, mysterious secret society.

What is great about this book is the writing – it is witty and light and even with the technological descriptions (and I’m the furthest from being techy!) it never slows or lags.  There is suspense and mystery and even something of a romance, but it is always kept light and amusing.  And in its own, very innocent way, it highlights both the strain and the synchronicity of age/wisdom vs. youth/modernity.  There is also an underlying theme of what it means to achieve immortality, but it is subtle and very tenderly woven in.

A great read – summer or otherwise!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Rachel, whose alcoholism has cost her the life she once had with her ex-husband, Tom, watches a couple from her commuter train each day.  Jason and Jess are her idea of the perfect couple and she idolizes them with these Rachel-given names.  Suddenly, when she learns that Jess (really, Megan) is missing, she can’t help but get involved.  As Rachel is sucked in to what becomes a dangerous situation, she learns that alcohol has cost her more than just her marriage.

This book deserves the acclaim that it is getting.  It is an excellent portrait of a self-hating, depressed woman whose life is drowned in drink.  It also builds into a thriller with just enough suspense to keep the pages turning.  The characters are not lovable but they are interesting and complex.  It also keeps you guessing and has a twist near the end that I did not see coming.

Thumbs up!

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Camille, a reporter for a small Chicago newspaper, is sent down to her very small home town in Missouri to cover the story of a second 13 year old girl who is murdered – strangled and found with teeth missing.  It is painful for her to return home, where her ice cold mother and her crazy-wild, half-sister are still stuck in their twisted relationship and where Camille feels like an outsider.  As she gets closer and closer to solving the mystery, she also comes closer to understanding what has caused her her own emotional pain over the course of her life.

While this book does not have the extreme twists and turns that Gone Girl had, it still is suspenseful and has its own black moments.  There is a psychological quagmire in almost every character in the story, and one has to wonder if Flynn believes anyone is ever happy and without pain.  Camille, the main character, for example, is a cutter and gives a fairly realistic picture of how addictive and relieving/shameful this behavior is.  It is also an extremely dark portrait of the proverbial small town, where one either gets “stuck” or “gets out” but that no one actually chooses to live there.

Flynn’s writing is that kind of guilty pleasure — it’s sharp, smart, a not a little twisted — but you have to indulge once in awhile!

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (migrated from bookblogger)

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This was one of those jewels that has you laughing even as you’re reading about a subject that is profoundly serious.  On the surface, the story reads almost like a comical documentary, with the narrative intermixed with comments given by each of the characters who were peripherally involved in the death of a character (this is not a spoiler — this comes out in the beginning, but through the whole story it is unclear who is killed by whom).  On a deeper level, though, the story deals extremely sensitively and honestly with the frightening issue of relationship violence.

Jane is about to move to a new area in Australia near the ocean with her son, Ziggy.  During the kindergarten orientation, an incident occurs with sweet, little Ziggy that initiates a huge divide among the mothers of the class.  As alliances form, each of the characters shows her true colors and the friendships begin.  Jane is initially secretive about her own past, but as she warms to her new friends, she sees that revealing her own story can actually free her of the burden of  it.  She also learns that she is not the only one with secrets.

The characters in this story are remarkably real and 3-dimentional.  The story also has a number of different corollaries, which keeps it moving both sideways and forward and also works to add to the suspense of who is killed and by whom.  And while the underlying message is clear and strong, there is  a warm humor threaded through which kept me loving this book.

Can’t wait to read more by this author!

Leaving Time by Jodi Piccoult (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Once again, one of my favorite authors has moved me.  This story is about a girl named Jenna who is in search of her mother who disappeared when she was 3 years old.  Jenna hunts down a detective and a psychic who are both, in spite of themselves, committed to helping her.  And because Jenna’s mom, Alice, was a scientist who studied elephant behaviors, the reader is also given an extensive education about the surprisingly beautiful and evolved behaviors of elephants.

Jodi Picoult always researches her topics so completely that you always learn so much from her.  But it’s the best kind of learning — it is woven into a fictional story that has so much tenderness and grace that you remember the facts without effort.  There is always a great deal of suspense and twists and turns that keep you engaged until you turn the very last page.

The twists in this story are really zingers, though — just wait till you reach the end!  I for one did not see this one coming!

The Dinner by Herman Koch (migrated from bookblogger)

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This is one of the least enjoyable, well-written books I’ve read in a long time!  Paul, the narrator of the story, is recounting his dinner with his brother and both their wives which, is planned so that they can discuss the situation their sons have gotten themselves into.  As the story unwinds, the reader learns, from Paul’s disturbingly nonchalant account, both his story and his son’s.

I felt compelled to finish this book as the writing was truly solid and suspenseful; however, I did not like any of the characters and it was almost painful to get through.  Reading this book was like not being able to look away from a tragically gory accident – you hate it but you can’t help yourself.

I’d recommend not starting it in the first place!

The Silkworm by Robert Gilbraith (JK Rowling) (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Once again, JK Rowling hits it out of the park with this somewhat creepy, very suspenseful and fun murder mystery.  Our detective, Cormoran Strike (introduced in the first book in this series, The Cuckoo’s Calling) is approached by the wife of an eccentric author because her husband, who is known to go missing for a few days at a time, has now been missing for about 10 days.  This is problematic, mainly because their daughter, who has special needs, requires constant care and she is having trouble managing without her husband.  Even while everyone surrounding the author feels as though his absence is routine, Strike is suspicious and in spite of himself cares what happens to the wife, even as odd as she is herself.

The detective and hero of the story, Strike, is a completely fallible and endearing character whose complicated past keeps him very real, even as he solves a very tangled web of a murder.  His assistant, Robin, also becomes a more prominent character in this book and their relationship is quite tender even as it is innocent.  As always, Rowling manages to write an intricate plot even as she develops wonderful characters.  You can’t help caring deeply about what happens because they become your friends!

I can’t wait for the next one!

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Gilbraith (JK Rowling) (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

This is a fun read!

   Cormoran Strike, an endearingly flawed private detective with a complicated past, is hired by a lawyer named John Bristow, to investigate his sister’s death, which had been ruled a suicide.  Bristow, distraught over his supermodel sister’s death, does not believe the suicide theory and convinces Strike to pursue the real killer.

   In usual JK Rowling form, the writing is crisp, witty, and engaging and each of the characters is so genuine.  Strike, in particular, evokes such sympathy, affection, and respect, as he goes about his cleverly conducted inquiry with a Columbo-like air of feigned innocence.  In going into Strike’s own story, Rowling makes the mystery almost personal and gives it much deeper dimension.

   And of course, as it is a mystery, the story itself runs through twists and turns and occasionally takes the reader completely by surprise.  It actually made me wonder why I don’t read mysteries more often!

   I’d hurry and read this one — it’s a great summer read and it’s already the end of July!