The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

Friday, June 28, 2019

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

In December 1943, Leonora (Lulu) Thorpe travels to London to meet with a representative from the British War Office regarding her missing husband, who was captured as a spy while on his way to London and is being held in a German prison.  The couple met and married in Nassau in the Bahamas, where Lulu was working as a society correspondent covering the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She implores them to send a rescue party for him, or to let her go and try to free him, attempting to use information about the Windsors as leverage, but her attempt at blackmail backfires.

Although it's almost 500 pages, once I started The Golden Hour, I couldn't put it down and when I got to the last third of the book, I spent a whole afternoon reading.  Full of actual historical events, this is Beatriz Williams at her best, similar in tone to Summer Wives, another great vacation read (much better than her collaboration with her friends Karen White and Lauren Willig, The Glass Ocean, a romance novel set on the doomed Lusitania).  Take this one to the beach with you or throw it in your luggage for vacation reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in return for a review.

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

June 26, 2019

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

A sweet warm story about a stray cat taken in by a Japanese man.  After living together for five years, Satoru realizes that he needs to find a new home for his beloved cat Nana.  They travel around Japan in Satoru’s silver van, visiting Satoru’s friends to find just the right place for Nana.  The narrative alternates between Nana’s voice, the other animals in the story, and the humans who surround them.  Nana (who is a male cat) is quite an entertaining little guy, making wry observations/comments on the differences between humans, cats, and dogs.  I’m actually a dog person but loved this story about a guy and the cat he loves.

Of course the story isn’t really just about a guy and his cat – it’s about unconditional love, between Satoru and his family, between Satoru and his friends, but mostly between Satoru and his cat.  I lost my beloved golden retriever Luke last year, so I know how an animal can be your best friend, and the bond between the two of you.  Yes, you will be sobbing at the end, but you will also have laughed and taken a wonderful road trip.

Because it’s a very special thing – to have your own cat (or dog) in your home.

How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper

June 25, 2019

How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper

Andrew Smith works for the London public health department, doing property inspections for Londoners who die without an obvious next of kin.  In addition to inventorying their property, he attempts to locate and notify their next of kin or a friend.  Like many of his clients, Andrew is single, childless, with no close family and few friends, living in a small apartment surrounded by his beloved model trains and his Ella Fitzgerald music, and spending his nights chatting online with other model train enthusiasts.  But Andrew has a secret that threatens to unravel when he meets a new co-worker named Peggy.

The main problem is that the plot is silly.  Yes, Andrew has a secret:  he accidentally told his boss during his interview that he is married with two children.  But Andrew doesn’t have a wife or children.  Even though this is a misunderstanding that could be cleared up with two sentences ("My wife left me and took the kids and moved to the States about a year ago.  I didn't say anything because I'm still hurt and upset, and I'd really rather not talk about it."), he chooses to tell more lies to keep his original lie afloat.  He is unable to admit that Diane, the love of his life, died in an accident over 20 years ago, so instead, he fabricates the life that the two of them might have had, complete with two children and a big elegant townhouse.  At various points, he decides he'd rather kill himself or let his smarmy brother-in-law blackmail him instead of admit to his three equally smarmy co-workers that he made it all up.  I also had a problem with the fact that his love interest is a married woman with two children.

Sorry – this book is NOT a read-alike for A Man Called Ove or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, although it might appeal to readers who like Nick Hornby or Rachel Joyce.  Rather than being quirky, the characters are generally obnoxious or just depressing.

I can't get back the hours I spent reading it.  But at least I was able to help out my co-worker Stephanie with a book review that she was supposed to write.

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

Monday, June 24, 2019

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley makes history fun and entertaining!  This is her study of the evolution of the English murder mystery, starting with the popularity of true crime in the 18^th century (public hangings were like festivals, with thousands attending and bringing the family and a picnic along), through the development of formal police departments and the birth of the murder mystery.  She explores the continuing popularity of mysteries from Sherlock Holmes through the Golden Age, up to thrillers and the serial killer trends of the present day.

  

I love just about anything Lucy Worsley does on PBS, so I really enjoyed her exploration of the popularity of true crime and mystery writing.  I listened to the audio version of this book, and even though Lucy didn’t read the book, the reader caught the tone perfectly.

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

June 23, 2019

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepsworth

Just about everybody in this mystery has at least one thing they’re hiding, and you really can't believe anything that they say (the ever-popular unreliable narrator).  Lucy Goodwin has been married to Oliver Goodwin for about ten years.  She never really hit it off with her mother-in-law, Diana (although she did hit Diana once!), and everyone in the family knows it.  Otherwise, Diana is universally loved and admired, so when she is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the spotlight immediately finds Lucy.

Interesting characters and a fast-moving plot kept me turning the pages on this one.  It was a refreshing change from all of the "Girl" and "Perfect" books that have been published recently (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, Good Girl, Perfect Nanny, Perfect Wife, Perfect Mother, etc.).  I highly recommend it for vacation or the beach, or just on the patio with a glass of wine.

Rouge by Richard Kirshenbaum

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Rouge by Richard Kirshenbaum

What a great summer read!  Inspired by the lives and rivalries of the pioneers of the modern cosmetics industry (think Helena Rubenstein, Elizabeth Arden, Madam C. J. Walker, and Max Factor, with a little Avon thrown in).  The two main characters love making money, but they almost enjoy trumping each other even more.

Anyone who enjoys the glamour of old Hollywood and the 1920's and 1930's will devour Rouge.  It's a great read-alike for books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

Thursday, June 20, 2019

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

The library celebrates various heritage months throughout the year, and I always try to read one or two book related to the heritage month theme.  This was one of my picks for Pride Month 2019.

A drag queen named Angel falls in love with a gay man named Hector.  Both rejected by their families, together they decide to create an all-Latino house for other gays and transgendered people from the Harlem ball scene.  The House of Xtravaganza will provide them with the home and support that a family would give them.  The characters are based on actual people and events from the 1980’s ball scene with the specter of AIDS on the horizon.  Heartbreaking in many ways - the people from the ballroom culture lived dangerous lives, often working in the sex trade, and many died young either from AIDS or violence.

If you want to know more about the Harlem ball culture, the documentary “Paris is Burning” is available on YouTube.  It's a little over an hour long and features a number of the characters from the book.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

If The Stand got together with 2001:  A Space Odyssey and had a night of wild sex, Wanderers would be their love child.

Shortly after a comet passes near the earth, certain Americans begin to exhibit signs of a sleepwalking sickness.  Their family and friends are unable to awaken them (when they try, there are disastrous consequences), and the walkers gradually form a group walking west, with the numbers increasing by ten or twelve people every day.  Where are they going?  How can they exist without water, food, or sleep?  More importantly, is it contagious?  Aided by an artificially intelligent computer called Black Swan, a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control race to find answers while trying to combat political agendas, the media, and the conservative right wing.

I got bored around page 300 and started skimming.  Too many unnecessary characters and side plots, too much repetition (white people are bad, religion is bad, conservatives are bad, Republicans are bad, etc.), too many stereotypical characters (e.g., the Homeland Security guy is one step removed from a gorilla, the evil rural redneck who rapes another man, etc.).  The storyline did get more interesting once we got inside the walkers heads. 

(Personal rant:  This is something that I complain about a lot – don’t publishing houses employ editors anymore, and if they do, what are the editors doing?  Editors used to identify the parts of the manuscript that needed to be re-written or cut out.  If you don’t believe me, read Furious Hours by Casey Cep – in the section about Harper Lee, there is a part about how the editors at Lippincott sat down with Lee repeatedly and told her what had to be changed, until Lee did it, and created an American classic.  Wanderers does not need 800 pages to tell its story – a good editor could have cut out about 200 pages without damaging the narrative and made it a much better book.)

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison

Monday, June 17, 2019

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison

Sometimes a minor decision changes everything.  The year is 1885.  After the death of her father, Jessilyn dresses like a boy and changes her name to Jesse, and sets out to find her outlaw brother Noah.  Earning her living as a sharpshooter as she travels, Jesse gets the same high from shooting as she does from a jolt of whiskey.  Noah’s gang are heralded as heroes by the local people, like Robin Hood's men.  When Jesse finally catches up with her brother, she finds herself attracted to a woman gunfighter named Annette.

There are traditional Western elements like gunfights, violence, and the righting of wrongs, but without the traditional western romanticism.  In its place are strong female characters and themes of gender and identity, sexual orientation, and race, while searching for the meaning of family and home.  Will appeal to readers who enjoyed Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry or True Grit by Charles Portis.  (The first 2/3 of the book was fast-paced and gripping, but it lagged little after Jesse joins the gang.)

Furious Hours by Casey Cep

Friday, June 14, 2019

Furious Hours by Casey Cep

When she was 35, Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird and didn’t publish anything else for decades, refusing to publish anything that wasn’t perfect.  She helped her friend Truman Capote with the research for the book that became In Cold Blood, but she wasn’t happy with the idea of a “nonfiction novel.”  Lee became obsessed with the idea of writing an account of a true-crime case that was completely factual, when she heard the tale of Reverend Willie Maxwell, suspected of murdering five of his own family members for insurance money, before being killed himself at a funeral.

Written in three parts (The Reverend, The Lawyer, The Writer), this is an engrossing work of narrative nonfiction that blends true crime with biographical information about the reclusive author of one of the most famous American novels.

The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey.

This is the second book to feature Bombay lawyer Perveen Mistry (the first title in the series was The Widows of Malabar Hill).

Perveen Mistry is one of the few women lawyers in 1920's Bombay.  Perveen is hired by the British government to negotiate with two women in a remote region who live in purdah (seclusion).  The ladies in question are the mother and grandmother of an under-age maharaja, and they are disagreeing strongly about his education.  Perveen is sent to Satapur to interview both queens and other persons such as the boy's tutor and the prime minister, and to try to get them to come to an accord about his schooling.  But when she arrives, she learns that there is more at work here than just a feuding mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.  Full of intrigue, poison, mysterious deaths, and exotic locations, this is a multi-layered mystery that also touches on issues of India's independence, women's rights, and the modern world barging into traditional societies.

For me, this second Perveen mystery was not as strong as the first.  There were some thin places in the plot and far too many minor characters.  Perveen seems clumsy and not as polished as she was in the previous book (and she also seemed to spend a lot of time clomping through the mud).  But the setting, the time period, and Perveen herself are interesting enough to appeal to many readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

Monday, June 10, 2019.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

I finished a great book yesterday, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames.  It's a family epic based on the author's family legends.  The characters are great - the title character Stella really comes to life, and the supporting characters are wonderful, too.  The story starts in Stella's village of Ieovoli in southern Italy where from early childhood, Stella has a number of brushes with death.  Is Stella just unlucky, or are other forces at work?  I was bothered by the casual violence toward women by their fathers and husbands (the men who should have been protecting them) and how everyone just accepted the way that women were treated.  I highly recommend this title.

I received a pre-publication galley from author Juliet Grames in return for an honest review - she was out on a book tour at the time but was still thoughtful enough to have one of her co-workers get the copy out to me.