The Demon's Parchment by Jeri Westerson

November 28, 2019

The Demon’s Parchment by Jeri Westerson

Former knight Crispin Guest was convicted of treason and lucky to escape the king’s justice with his life.  Now living in the Shambles, one of the lowest sections of London, Crispin is known as the Tracker, a finder of lost items, lost people, and occasionally lost truths.  It’s not just the poor of London who seek out Crispin’s services, but also the wealthy and well-born, when they have problems that they prefer to keep confidential or away from the sheriff's notice.  Such is the case when Jacob of Provencal, a Jewish physician at the king’s court, approaches him about locating some stolen documents.  Crispin would prefer not to take the job, but clients are few and far between in the winter of 1384, so against his better judgment, he agrees to find the missing parchments.  But as he begins his inquiries, a suspicion grows that the stolen parchments are somehow connected to the murders of several young boys.

This is another solid entry in Westerson's Crispin Guest historical mystery series.  I enjoy how well-researched these books are, and the colorful descriptions that make the reader feel what it was like to live in London in the 14th century.  In this mystery, we learn more about accepted attitudes and misconceptions of the time, especially with regard to Jews.  We also learn that straight-laced Crispin has a friend who is a cross-dresser and works as a male prostitute!

It might sound strange to call Crispin a noir detective since we tend to think of noir as a 20th century concept, but he has all the characteristics of a Mike Hammer or Philip Marlowe:  he's always down on his luck, consistently short of money so he is forced to take cases that he knows he shouldn't, hooks up with the wrong kind of woman, drinks way too much, gets beaten up with regularity, and most importantly, lives by his own code of honor.  The third entry in the Crispin Guest series is based on a historical serial killer case from the 15th century (serial killers are another thing we tend to think of as modern rather than medieval).  As always, historical figures are skillfully and seamlessly interwoven with Westerson's creations.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

November 27, 2019

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

When she is offered a job as an apartment sitter in the prestigious Bartholomew building in Manhattan, Jules Larsen thinks it is the answer to her prayers, a giant “do-over” button to re-start her life.  She has been through a lot of misfortune recently, so it seems like she is going to finally have some good luck.  While the building rules are strict and even unreasonable, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to live at the Bartholomew.  But when another apartment sitter in the building inexplicably disappears, Jules begins to wonder if something more is going on in the building.

I did not hate this.  On the positive side, this is a quick-paced read – I read it in a day.  It’s got a strong gothic feel:  creepy old building, mysterious residents, sudden disappearances, even the wallpaper is ominous (there are similarities to Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby).  It had that “Hotel California” vibe:  “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”  All of the action takes place in less than a week, and since the setting is in an upscale neighborhood in a large city, it was easy for me to visualize the action (I live in Chicago and work in the downtown area).  There is a rather horrifying twist.  This is apartment sitting gone as wrong as it possibly can.

  

But the main character really irritated me.  Jules consistently jumped to conclusions based on very little evidence (Another house-sitter she has met twice not answering her phone?  She must have been kidnapped!  Two people wearing the same medical symbol?  They must be part of a cult!).  Her best friend Chloe keeps telling her that there’s something fishy about the whole deal, that the Bartholomew has a long history of tragedies, and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, but Jules ignores all of the facts.  It’s fairly astounding that Jules is the one who puts the pieces together, since she is on the dim side.

The general format is similar to a number of other recent thrillers:  woman whose life has gone to hell gets an amazing job offer or a chance to turn her life around (Ruth Ware’s Turn of the Key, Jane Cockram’s House of Brides, Gilly Macmillan’s The Nanny).  If you are looking for a quick thriller, Lock Every Door is one of the better entries in this genre.

Severance by Ling Ma

November 26, 2019

Severance by Ling Ma

Candace Chen is an office worker at a publishing company in Manhattan when Shen Fever hits, an epidemic that turns people into non-violent zombies doomed to repeat the same mindless tasks over and over.  As the number of people dwindle, she begins recording photographs of Manhattan in a blog she calls NY Ghost.  When she finally is forced to leave Manhattan, she joins a group of eight other survivors, led by an ex-IT guy named Bob who claims to know of the perfect place for them to regroup and start civilization over.  The place turns out to be an abandoned shopping mall outside Chicago they refer to as The Facility (aka Deer Oaks Mall, probably based on Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg).  When her fellow survivors learn that Candace is pregnant, they elect to hold her prisoner until her baby is born.  Candace fears what their actions mean for her unborn baby and is determined to escape.

Based on the description I wrote above, this should have been a more exciting story than it turned out to be.  There are parallels between the infected zombies’ repetitive actions and Candace’s repetitive tasks at work, her mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s, and the factory workers’ jobs in China.  There is lots of filler about Candace’s life when she first came to New York, also about her jerk boyfriends and co-workers.  While it reminded me at times of Station Eleven, it’s basically the millennials’ search for meaning other than mindless consumerism.  Unfortunately Candace, her friends, and the other survivors are all pretty boring.  Maybe I would have connected more with the characters if I was a millennial.  I listened to the audio version and I found myself skipping ahead through some of the boring parts.

Marley by Jon Clinch

November 24, 2019

Marley by Jon Clinch

A re-telling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol starring Jacob Marley.  Ebenezer Scrooge and Marley meet as boys at boarding school and become business partners for the rest of their lives.  While Scrooge is a penny-pinching number-cruncher, Marley is the schemer who comes up with all of the plots and plans.

While this is very creative and well-written (like Clinch’s novel Finn), I found it disappointing in a number of ways.  Marley comes on the scene as a young man at boarding school, already swindling his fellow students, and the reader learns nothing about his childhood or what made him the way he is.  I had the impression that he was at least a few years older than Scrooge.  Marley is portrayed as purely evil, while Scrooge is cast as Marley’s dupe and not very bright.  They are not friends, merely business associates, who eventually spend most of their time trying to ruin the other.

There are references to A Christmas Carol as well as several of Dickens' other works (David Copperfield, Hard Times, et al) which were fun to spot.  But the ending was depressing and hopeless, as Marley waits to be released from what appears to be hell by the soul of a very good man that he had murdered.  There is no hint of Marley desiring to return to earth to save Scrooge or anyone else, just himself, as usual.  Not recommended unless you're looking for a depressing book.

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

November 22, 2019

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

The second book in the Wayfarer trilogy begins 28 minutes after the first book (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet) ended.  Lovelace, the original AI from the Wayfarer, is in a new body, which she refers to as a kit, traveling in the company of Pepper, Jenks' friend, to her home on the moon of Coriol.  It's a hard adjustment, going from a virtual existence to the limitations of a physical being.

Overall, this is a great follow up to the first book.  My only disappointment is that, while the story features some of the characters from the first book, we don't meet up again with the crew from the Wayfarer.  We do get Pepper’s backstory and how she ended up as a tech pro on Coriol, and Chambers does a great job of imagining what it would be like for Lovelace (now called Sidra) waking up in an alien body.  One of the things I didn’t like:  the predator animal on Pepper’s original planet is a gene-tweaked dog – I would have preferred some other animal, like a beaver/bear hybrid.  Looking forward to the third book, Record of a Spaceborn Few.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

November 16, 2019

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Becky Brandon nee Bloomwood loves everything about Christmas, but mostly the challenge of coming up with just the right Christmas gift for everyone.  Her mother always hosts the family Christmas dinner, but this year, Becky’s parents inform her that they are temporarily moving to a trendy London neighborhood, so Becky will be hosting Christmas in her new house.  Oh, and her vegan sister Jess and husband Tom will be visiting from South America, so Becky has to find a vegan turkey.  Then Becky’s college ex-boyfriend rock musician rents a cottage in the neighborhood which makes Becky question whether she is still cool and edgy. On the positive side, Becky has found the PERFECT present for her husband Luke (even if he insists he wants after shave lotion for Christmas), but to get it, she needs to find a way to join a billiards club that doesn’t accept women members.

The latest title in the Shopaholic series is just the thing for holiday reading and a wonderful antidote to holiday craziness.  Although Becky seems to complicate her life unnecessarily, she just wants to have perfect presents, and for everyone to be happy and enjoy the holiday.  She is so good-hearted that it’s impossible to dislike her.  Curl up with a plate of cookies and a cup or glass of something, and have a good laugh about Becky’s latest plans and schemes.

Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie

November 13, 2019

Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie

Gaius Ruso Petreius and his wife Tilla travel from Britannia to Rome with their baby daughter Mara, at the urging of ex-tribune Accius.  Accius is hoping to marry the daughter of a rich businessman, and when Kleitos, the businessman’s Greek doctor, leaves Rome hastily and unexpectedly, Accius arranges for Ruso to take over his abandoned medical practice.  Ruso is led to believe that there is a thriving practice with wealthy patrons waiting for him, but he soon learns that not only was Kleitos, the previous doctor, deeply in debt, but that his practice has its dodgy side.  Like the dead man in the barrel that has been left outside his door.  In addition, Ruso and Tilla need to procure a nursery slave to look after their daughter so that they can see their patients and have a little privacy, but somehow end up with three barbarian slaves.

But when the businessman collapses after taking a (harmless?) concoction that Ruso has mixed for him, Ruso needs to find out who or what actually killed the man.  And what was really in that bottle labelled “poppy flowers”?  Ruso needs to find some answers ASAP.

I enjoy the Ruso mystery series very much.  The interactions and philosophical differences between Ruso, a medicus with the Roman legion, and Tilla, his British-born wife, are always entertaining.  In addition, the descriptions of daily life in Rome and Britannia and the political maneuverings of Ruso’s former legion colleagues make for an entertaining story.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

November 12, 2019

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The son of a New Orleans fortuneteller, Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student majoring in Emerging Media studies, specifically gaming.  Shortly before the new term begins, Zachary is browsing in the university library when he comes across an old book called Sweet Sorrows which appears to be a collection of short stories.  He begins to read and is shocked to find a story from his own life in the book.  He sets out to discover the origin and meaning of the book, a quest that will take him to an underground fantasy world centering on a magical library.

There is definitely a gaming theme and references to role playing games (RPG).  The player is on a quest or journey, seeking something or someone, or trying to get to a particular place or time.  I play hidden object games sometimes, and it's common for the player's progress to be barred by a locked or blocked door (or gate, window, staircase, etc.).  In order to move forward, the player needs to search the area to find the key or objects that will assist in opening the door, sometimes having to follow instructions on how to use an object.  The player often collects items that may be useful later; unlocks and explores multiple levels; encounters other players or beings who may or may not be helpful, and decide if they are friend or foe; and is forced to choose the right way to proceed.  Players sometimes change identities or assume disguises.

I loved Morgenstern’s first book The Night Circus, also a fantasy, from the first page.  I don’t like circuses, but this was one circus that I would gladly have sought out.  I liked The Starless Sea, her second book, but I didn’t love it.  It’s basically a book-within-a-book (or three books within a book), which usually really appeals to me, and the plot reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (the main character is an everyman thrust into an extraordinary and fantastical situation).  The cover art is beautiful and almost three dimensional.  The story is full of literary illusions, and beautiful and fantastic descriptions of magical places, and in order for the book to make any sense, you have to put it in the context of an elaborate video game.  The storyline is confusing because there are so many parts and so many things that are not fully explained.  For example, the reader is told repeatedly that the pirate, the first character introduced in the book, isn't really a pirate but is actually a metaphor, but the reader is never told what he is a metaphor for.  When you get to the end of the book, you almost need to go back to the beginning and start over.  When the audiobook is released, I may try listening to it.

Hell's Princess by Harold Schechter

November 10, 2019

Hell’s Princess:  the Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter

Belle Gunness of Laporte County, Indiana, was a notorious serial killer known as the Lady Bluebeard.  She would place classified advertisements in Norwegian language newspapers in the Midwest, seeking single men to come and help her run her large farm (oh, and bring all your money, too).  Once the men arrived at the Gunness farm, Belle would rob and murder them, dismembering the bodies and burying them in her pigsty.  Since she weighed around 300 pounds and wasn’t a pretty woman by any stretch of the imagination, it’s surprising how many men were taken in by Belle (the photo on the cover of the book actually bears a resemblance to Lizzie Borden - see the photos below).  While it is unknown exactly how many men Belle murdered, at least 14 of her victims were identified, and there may have been dozens more.

When one of her victim’s brothers notified her that he was coming to her farm to search for his brother, her farmhouse conveniently burned down.  Her children’s bodies were all found inside along with a headless woman’s body.  Even though he never found her head, the local sheriff decided that it was indeed Belle and pronounced her dead, but many people believed she had escaped.  For years afterward, there were sightings of Belle all over the country.

The first half of the book is fascinating, as it recounts Belle’s background and her history as a serial killer, but unfortunately, the last half of the book is mainly speculation about what happened to Belle, and whether or not she really died in the house fire (seems unlikely).  There are comparisons to other serial killers of the age such as the Bender family in Kansas who lured wealthy travelers to their deaths, or "what if" Belle had attracted a fellow serial killer with her ads and which one would have killed the other one first.  More text is spent on the mythology that grew up around Belle, and the industry that sprang from her story (pamphlets, stage dramas, ballads, etc.).  Well researched but I lost interest soon after Belle disappeared/died.

                                                              Lizzie Borden

What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell

November 7, 2019

What Have You Done by Matthew Farrell

Liam Dwyer goes out for an evening of drinking with his brother, has a blackout and can’t remember what he did, how he got home or why he was in the bathtub.  Or where his clothes are.  The morning after Liam’s binge, his ex-lover Kerri is found murdered in a seedy hotel room, and his blood and his fingerprints are all over the room.  As a forensic detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, Liam is called to the scene to collect evidence.  Liam’s brother Sean Dwyer is a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department.  He and his partner are on another case, pursuing a local black gangster named Cutter Washington, who they believe is responsible for the beating death of a local store owner.

Since both Liam and Sean knew the murdered girl, Sean convinces Liam that they shouldn't say they knew her right away, otherwise the detectives assigned to the case would zero in on them and not look for the real killer.  Liam agrees since he can't remember where he was the night before.  Sean and Liam decide to conduct their own investigation, trying to beat the clock before anyone finds out about their connection to the victim.  Liam claims nobody else knows about his connection to Kerri, but is that really true?

This was an entertaining mystery.  While it doesn't have an unreliable narrator since it's written in the third person and from several points of view, almost all of the characters are lying.  I had a good idea who murdered Kerri about 1/3 of the way through the book, but I kept reading to find out how it was done.  There are some flaws but mystery readers will enjoy it.  The cops don't come off very well, since most of them are doing some pretty shady things.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

November 6, 2019

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Chloe Brown is 31 years old, disabled by a variety of ailments which are hard to diagnose (e.g., fibromyalgia) and cause her to be in almost constant pain.  She has a wealthy, supportive family and a job where she can work from home.  Chloe wasn’t always this way – her disability was triggered by a severe illness when she was in her 20’s, causing her to give up most of her life outside her home (grad school, dating, sports, friends).  But after she is almost run over by a car, she realizes that her obituary would be about one sentence long, and she resolves to get a life for herself, even if it’s not the live she had before.  A constant list-maker, Chloe writes a seven-point list of things she wants to experience so that she can feel that she does indeed have a life.

Red is the superintendent/handyman at the building where Chloe lives.  Like all guys in romance novels, Red is emotionally damaged:  he was a successful artist but a disastrous relationship with a socialite caused his career to plummet.  He just needs the love of a good woman to help him find himself (yes, I’m gagging here).

This is a steamy rom-com with a familiar set-up:  the two main characters (Red and Chloe) hate each other on sight but can’t deny the strong sexual pull they feel.  This is sure to tick a lot of boxes for fans of romance fiction, and it is the first title in a new series – subsequent titles will feature Chloe’s two sisters Eve and Dani.  I am not a huge romance reader, but one of the things that I did like was Hibbert’s portrayal of Chloe:  she might have a debilitating illness but she’s smart and determined, she’s snarky and witty, and she wants love and has a lot to give back.

Romance novels are basically fantasy novels where everything works out and there is a happy ending and a lot of sex - this is the main appeal of romance fiction.  They are a little too formulaic for me, and I don’t really enjoy reading about other people having sex (and Chloe and Red spend a LOT of time thinking about sex, talking about sex, and having sex).  Also, like most of the men in romance novels, Red is just too good to be true (if there really were guys like him out there, I probably wouldn’t have stopped dating).  But romance fans are sure to love it.  I am planning on giving a copy to Sofia, my nephew Jon’s girlfriend, for Christmas.

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

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

November 3, 2019

10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

Tequila Leila, a sex worker in Istanbul, has been murdered and her body thrown into a dumpster near the waterfront.  Although her heart has stopped, her brain continues to work for 10 minutes and 38 seconds.  During that time, she recalls her life, mostly through memories of taste and smell.  She remembers her dysfunctional family and the uncle who molested her repeatedly as a child, and how her family disowned her when she ran away to Istanbul.  But mostly, she recalls her five close friends who would do anything for her.  When they learn of her death, the five friends resolve to give Leila a decent burial.

Shafak’s descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of Istanbul make the city just as much a character as Leila and her friends.  I quickly became absorbed in Leila’s story in the first section of the novel.  The second part focuses on Leila’s friends, with a much-needed injection of dark humor.  The last section winds in the final threads and lets the reader know that Leila will never be forgotten by her friends.

Highly atmospheric with wonderfully drawn characters and expressive writing, this novel was shortlisted for the 2019 Man-Booker Prize, and rightly so.  Elif Shafak is a Turkish novelist who is an advocate of freedom, equality and free speech for women.  I highly recommend this for readers of literary fiction.