A miscellany of mysteries & a graphic novel

How the Dead Live by Derek Raymond
This was a bit slow starting out but once you get used to his writing style he’s great! I love the way he says so much in so few words:
It’s the capacity of knowing that’s the real agony of existence; maybe we would all of us be more honest without knowledge.
I’m looking forward to reading more of him. He died in 1994 and there are only 5 in this series so I might actually get to read all of them.

Epileptic by David B.
This is my very favorite graphic novel! It is an incredible story of growing up with an epileptic brother, plus a look at the medical crazes in France of the 70’s. It is complete fascinating!

A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees
Teacher Omar Yussef is working with the UN to investigate the imprisonment of a UN teacher in this, the 2nd in the series. As well as a great mystery, Beynon Rees teaches you so much about Arab culture and customs. This is a great series!

Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman
This is a mystery story that takes place in Sarajevo at the height of the war. Our police detective, Vlado, investigates a case of stolen artwork which involves entanglements with the government, the UN and the military. Very exciting!

Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas
Detective John Blake investigates the murder of his high school girlfriend which leads him into the world of strip clubs and mobsters. Nominated for an Edgar and Shamus award for best first novel.

Above Ground by Don Easton
Jack Taggart (Cpl. in the RCMP) seeks vengeance after an innocent man with his name is killed & his infant child is paralyzed by a vicious drug dealer. This is a satisfying, tough read full of danger and which questions “what is justice?”

Reviewed by Julie

Good Eats!

The Organic Food Shopper’s Guide by Jeff Cox

If Michael Pollan’s books In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma inspired you to change your eating habits, you will find that this book is a good resource to have. Cox starts out with a chapter called “Why Buy Organic Food?” in which he spells out the benefits of organic versus conventionally produced food. Then it’s on to chapters devoted to groups of foods, further broken down by individual type. For each type of food Cox provides information on growing season, varieties, how to determine freshness, tips for storage and preparation, and some simple recipes. He winds it up with a chapter at the end called “Kitchen Staples,” where he discusses such items as coffee, chocolate, and cooking oils. Cox also provides resources for learning about and locating organic foods. This is a good primer for those just venturing into organic foods and a handy reference for the more experienced shopper.

Reviewed by Macaire

Spies and a thriller

The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst
Alan Furst and I share an obsession with the Spanish Civil War. His last two books are set in the late ‘30’s, when the Spanish Republic was desperately hanging on in the fight against Franco and his Fascists, a fight the republicans eventually lost. But Furst’s books The Spies of Warsaw and The Foreign Correspondent are not about that war. In both of them the protagonists are resisting the Fascist threat that is menacing all of Europe, not just Spain. They are fighting the good fight, risking their lives trying to subvert the Nazis, which as we all know was a futile effort in the end. Nonetheless, they are heroic in the manner of true heroes. They are ordinary people putting their lives on the line to fight evil. Furst writes intelligent and compelling spy fiction. His characters are thoughtful and very human, with human failings. He mixes in just the right amount of romance, creating relationships that are believable but that don’t swamp the plot.
Alan Furst's website


City of Thieves by David Benioff
Kolya is the grandson of a Cossack who likes to quote passages from Russian literature and Lev is the son of a Jewish poet who was taken from his home by the secret police and never heard from again. They are an unlikely pair. They meet when they are arrested in wartime Leningrad, Kolya for desertion from the army and Lev for plundering. The NKVD colonel in charge who can order their execution, gives them a reprieve, offering to trade their lives for a dozen eggs, needed for his daughter’s wedding cake. This would seem to be a simple task, but for the fact that the city is under siege by the German army, and the inhabitants are starving and turning to cannibalism. As Kolya and Lev search the city and beyond for the eggs, they are affected by the horrors of war they witness and those they hear about. In spite of the cold and the hardships and the seeming impossibility of their task, Kolya never loses his optimism and his sense of humor. This is a book with a lot of heart. Benioff has created a memorable character in Kolya.
Interview with David Benioff

Christopher’s Ghosts by Charles McCarry
I picked up this book because it was described as a spy thriller. When I started reading it, it seemed to be something different, and at first I was disappointed at the lack of action. I almost abandoned it, but I’m glad I didn’t, because I was irresistibly drawn into the lives of the characters and the horror of their situation. In 1939 16-year-old Paul Christopher, son of a German mother and an American father, is living in Berlin with his parents. SS officer Stutzer, who has an obsession with Paul’s mother, harasses the boy and his girlfriend, harassment that ultimately ends in a sadistic act. The second part of the book is a traditional spy thriller, which has Christopher sneaking around East Berlin. I enjoyed this part, also, more so because he so carefully set up the situation and the relationships in the first part.

Reviewed by Suzanne

Crime and Something Completely Different

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas
An ex-detective investigates the suicide of a friend. This is fast-paced hard case crime with a surprise ending. Exciting!

Cross by Ken Bruen
Many of the characters in this story have heavy crosses to bear including our hero Jack Taylor. Bruen is always good and this one’s no exception!

Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover
Chicago P.I. Ray Dudgeon has been hired by Hollywood to protect a locations scout who happened to see something he shouldn’t have. Winner of many awards, this book has a great sense of place, fully developed characters and is very suspenseful. This one’s truly a winner!
Sean Chercover's website

Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins
This is the first Ms. Tree novel ever, before this she was a comic book heroine. This book is as incredible, as short and as entertaining as a comic book. A quick, fun read!

What Burns Within by Sandra Ruttan

I knew this book would be good because she dedicated it to Ken Bruen.
Buildings are burning down, little girls going missing and women getting raped all at the same time, literally. It’s a tough case but the RCMP (this is Canadian after all) solves the puzzle. This is one you can’t put down!

And now for something completely different…

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

A melodrama in the best sense of the word this novel is full of tragic stories, grandiose emotions and star- crossed lovers. Not my kind of thing normally but I did get into this one.


Reviewed by Julie

A Reader Recommends a Favorite Author

I've been trying to get through the many books I have bought and have stacked up around my house! I finally got to Can't Wait to Get To Heaven by Fannie Flagg, and I'm sorry it took me so long! Fannie's writing style is easy, her dialogue is real, and there were parts that made me laugh out loud. Her characters are real and believable and you can easily picture each person and situation. I fell in love with Aunt Elner and all the other characters. I think the characters are so believable because we probably know someone just like each one.

This is the story of what happens when elderly, feisty Aunt Elner who insists on living in her own house independently climbs up the ladder to pick figs one morning despite her niece's nagging that she not do this anymore. She suffers a mishap that takes Aunt Elner, her family, and the whole town as well as the reader on quite a journey.

This is a fun, easy, nice read. It's not deep but it's just a fun book with a sweet story.

Reviewed by Patty

The New James Bond and other thrillers

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks
Bond is back! I was intrigued by this book because I'm a James Bond fan, though of the movies, not the books, and because Faulks is a fine writer. His novel Birdsong is one of the best WWI novels around, and my book discussion group read On Green Dolphin Street which is set in the Cold War period. There are aspects of that book that still haunt me.
I couldn’t wait to find out what Faulks would do with the popular hero, and he does Bond proud. Thriller readers may find it a little slow to start, but once the action takes off, it's terrific. I loved his characterization of Bond, and the ending left me smiling with satisfaction.
I read in the Times of London that a lot of diehard Bond fans are disappointed by the book, but my advice would be to lighten up and enjoy it!
Interview with Sebastian Faulks in the London Sunday Times

In the Woods by Tana French

Dublin detective Rob Ryan & his partner investigate the disappearance
& murder of a 12-year-old girl. Twenty years earlier, Ryan and two friends
disappeared in the same woods. Ryan reappeared days later with blood
in his shoes and no memory of what happened. No trace of his friends
was ever found. Ryan is certain the cases are linked. This is an excellent
police thriller. Some parts of it were so creepy that when I was at home alone reading it I found myself looking over my shoulder. French won the Edgar Award for the best first novel for this book.
The Likeness, the sequel to In the Woods is due out in July ’08.
Edgar Award Nominees and Winners

The Accident Man by Tom Cain
Samuel Carver is a hired assassin (but he only kills REALLY BAD people!) who contracts for a hit on (he thinks) a terrorist. He later finds out he was set up, and his actions caused the accident that killed Princess Diana.
This is a fair to middling thriller. It's departs from the thriller model by having bad things happen to the hero, who at the end is pretty much a mess. I think perhaps the author left the hero in such a bad state because he's planning a sequel. The book definitely came through with exciting action, although there was too much sappy romance for my taste. I will happily read the sequel, if there is one, because I want to find out how the protagonist gets his revenge.

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber
This quirky novel belongs to that genre called "literary thrillers" and is cram-jammed full of sub-plots, deceptions, stories within
stories, double crosses, movie lore, Russian mobsters, Jewish gangsters, an
ex-con priest, forgeries...it’s dizzying but fun. Jake Mishkin, who narrates, is a
philandering but charming intellectual property lawyer. The plot revolves
around the search for the manuscript of a lost Shakespeare play – written
in the bard’s own hand. It’s incredibly complicated and silly at times and totally addictive. Gruber's latest is The Forgery of Venus.

A travel book, noir crime fiction & something completely different

Long After Midnight at the Niño Bien by Brian Winter
The author spent 4 years in Argentina during which time he fell in love both with the country & with the tango. He made me fall in love too. What better could you ask from a travel writer?!

Priest by Ken Bruen
Bruen’s way with words is exceptional. In addition to the wonderful first line is another great one: “My existence had become so haphazard, the odd had become the norm.” Bruen’s great!


Queenpin by Megan Abbott
Winner of the 2008 Edgar for best paperback original, Abbott’s Queenpin is a return to the noir fiction of the 50’s but with a feminine twist. She has truly nailed the atmosphere and speech of the early noirs. Lots of fun to read!
http://www.meganabbott.com/

Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks
A reviewer classified this as “Florida noir erotica” which is a very good description of the book: lots of sex and a great crime tale. It is addictively engrossing!
http://www.vickihendricks.com/

The Blonde by Duane Swierczynski
The plot is rather incredible but the book keeps up a relentless pace. It’s a fun ride!
http://secretdead.blogspot.com/

And now for something completely different… I will listen to books that I normally wouldn’t read so I listened to My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I wanted to see what her books were like because she is very popular right now. I’m glad I listened though instead of reading this book because, in my 15 min. trips to and from work it’s hard to work up a good cry. Reading this book has to be a real cry fest. The story is incredibly sad but it is also thought provoking. The audiobook is very easy to listen to and keeps you hanging on to every word.

Reviewed by Julie