I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

May 8, 2025

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Almost 25 years after graduating, Bodie Kane (successful podcaster and some-time college professor) returns to the Granby School in New Hampshire where she spent four fairly awful high school years, to teach a seminar on podcasting. One of the things that made her time there so bad was when her roommate Thalia was found dead in the school swimming pool. A culprit was quickly arrested and convicted, receiving a sentence of life in prison, but one of Bodie's student isn't so sure and decides to do her podcast project about the crime, which dredges up all sorts of memories for Bodie.

It took me a while to get through this, I kept picking it up and then putting it down to read something else that was more interesting, so the story and the characters obviously weren't pulling me in. A literary fiction cold-case mystery, combining themes of murder, sexual predation/Me Too, the popularity of true crime podcasts, and the effect of social media on all of it. Many of these themes have been worked over at length already, and in books that did a better job of exploring them. The writing and the language are really good but the story drags, and then there is no real resolution, too much is left hanging. Made me remember how awful high school was at times. I don't recommend it unless you are a die-hard fan of the author. I think I may be finished with Makkai.

Boarding school in winter

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

September 30, 2024

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Alfred invites his five closest college friends to spend the weekend at his Alfred Hitchcock themed hotel, free of charge. Alfred has always been a huge Hitchcock fan and collects Hitchcock memorabilia. But something bad happened during their senior year of college (maybe more than one something), and Alfred has waited 16 years to exact his revenge.

This had a good creepy vibe, great for the season: an old house in a college town, converted to a boutique hotel and filled with movie memorabilia, a creepy housekeeper who is always lurking about, plus an aviary full of crows behind the house. All the characters have secrets in addition to being morally bankrupt. There are a couple of good twists that I didn't see coming. I read the author's previous book (Darling Rose Gold, based on the Blanchard case), which had its own squirm factor. Fans of Alfred Hitchcock and psychological suspense will enjoy Wrobel's latest novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Alfred Hitchcock with a Thanksgiving turkey - this photo is referenced several times in the book

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

February 25, 2023

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

After divorcing her abusive husband 12 years earlier, Olivia McAfee and her son Asher live a quiet life in New Hampshire. Olivia has a successful beekeeping business, and her son is a high school senior and star hockey player. When Asher's girlfriend is found dead, Asher is accused of murder. But in the course of the trial, unexpected facts are revealed that point to another suspect.

Picoult once again takes on current topics, including domestic violence, abusive fathers, and gender reassignment/correction. I believe this is her first collaboration with another author for a full-length novel. Like most of her books, the reader is seeking answers most of the way through the book (although I guessed the truth shortly after Lily, the girlfriend, is discovered at the foot of the stairs). The characters backstories are gradually revealed in flashbacks; Lily's story is told backward, from the day of her death to the time she and her mother moved to New Hampshire. Olivia's history with her abusive doctor husband isn't much of a surprise (you never know what's going on inside a marriage), but the episodes of abuse go on longer than necessary - does the reader need to hear about EVERY time Brandon abused Olivia? I also got tired of the teenaged angst (why hasn't he called me? did she break up with me? does he still like me? is she sorry she slept with me? Lotsa drama), and there was a lot of repetition. Really, the book could have been 100 pages shorter without damaging the narrative, and considering how long the book was, there was no resolution with either of the fathers - one minute they're part of the story, and the next minute they're just gone. I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story got more interesting about halfway in. I listened to the audiobook which had two different narrators for Olivia and Lily. 

The parts about bees and beekeeping were interesting, and often had parallels to the story. Mad honey is apparently a type of honey that can make you very sick or affect your mind if you eat it. Personally, I don't like the taste of honey (although I have a honey and orange blossom shampoo from Beekman 1802 that smells divine), and I have a mild allergy to bee stings.

This would be an excellent choice for a book club since there are many topics to discuss. Recommended.

Different types of beehives

Barker House by David Moloney

February 15, 2020

Barker House by David Moloney

Nine correctional officers work at Barker House, a for-profit county jail in New Hampshire.  Both the correctional officers and the inmates' lives are a series of repetitious days, filled with boredom that is broken up by the occasional violent or sexual event.

This novel takes the form of interconnected stories about the correctional officers - some officers appear once, others are recurring characters.  There is a contrast between the dread of incarceration and the dread of freedom, emphasizing the repetitious nature of both states.  Written by a former correctional officer, it certainly doesn't paint a flattering picture of prison guards.  I found it to be somewhat unsatisfying since there is no resolution to most of the characters' stories.  Like many works of literary fiction, the book just ends without really having a plot.  

The writing is evocative and very descriptive.  At times, there is a high level of violence, so this isn't going to be a book that I will recommend to our readers without being sure they can handle the brutality.  

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