The Silent Speak

The Silent Speak by Val Collins
2/23/21; 276 pages
Val Collins Books

The Silent Speak by Val Collins is a recommended mystery/whodunit.

Aoife Walsh is in a relationship with Detective Conor Moloney. His teenage son Blaine enjoys her young daughter Amy, but is still withdrawn and sullen around Aoife. Conor and Aoife plan to marry after her divorce from her manipulative husband Jason is finalized, but she doesn't want to announce any engagement. She hopes she can have some kind of good, or at least cordial relationship with Blaine, but it currently seems doubtful.

When she hears the horrific news that an entire family has been violently murdered, she is shocked to hear that the two parents were in her book club. The police believe it was a murder-suicide, but the sister of the husband/father is sure that he would never do such a horrendous act. The sister, Lisa, is not getting information or answers from the police so she wants Aoife to investigate. Lisa knows that Aoife is still a part time freelance journalist, so she will give her an exclusive story if Aoife can uncover what really happened. It is an offer that Aoife can't turn down, so she begins to look into the murders.

The Silent Speak is a fast-paced whodunit that can be read as a standalone novel even though there is apparently a previous book featuring Aoife. There are plenty of twists and you will certainly keep reading to see what happens next. There are plenty of suspects as Aoife conducts her investigation and keeps uncovering more and more information that the police apparently may have missed. It becomes even more serious when another death occurs and it is clear that it wasn't a murder-suicide and the murderer is still at large.

This is an enjoyable novel, although there are numerous times you will also have to set your disbelief aside. This would include that a young part-time freelance journalist with a very young daughter would, quite frankly, have the time to do this, uncover new information so quickly, and that she would manage to get people to talk to her so freely. Character development is also light, but that could be due to previous books featuring the characters. It does have twists in the plot and plenty of suspects, though, so it is enjoyable escapism.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Val Collins Books

Missing and Endangered

Missing and Endangered by J. A. Jance
2/16/21; 384 pages
HarperCollins
Joanna Brady Series #19

Missing and Endangered by J. A. Jance is a highly recommended procedural and the nineteenth installment of the series featuring Joanna Brady.

Joanna Brady, the sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, has one of her officers, Deputy Armando Ruiz, shot while he was trying to serve a no-contact order to Leon Hogan. Hogan is shot so an investigation into the shooting begins even while Ruiz is rushed into surgery. Joanna has a feeling that more is involved in the case than what is initially evident, and she fears for the two young children who were on the scene along with Hogan's soon-to-be ex-wife. At the same time Joanna's daughter, Jennifer is at Northern Arizona University for her sophomore year. She is going to bring home for Christmas vacation her roommate Beth Rankin, who has a relationship with her parents. Joanna and her husband Butch Dixon also have two younger children.

While Joanna is closely following the Hogan case as much as she can, Jennifer is increasingly concerned about Beth, who is involved with her first boyfriend via late-night phone calls. She met him online and is clearly besot with him. The problem is that she was sheltered from real life and is incredibly naive. It becomes clear that Beth is in trouble, which opens up a whole other set of concerns.

This is actually my first Joanna Brady novel and I liked it. It is a comfortable procedural that follows a predictable formula. That isn't implying that it is not compelling, it is. The plot is well paced and the two different story lines will hold your attention throughout the novel. Joanna juggles a busy home life with a busy career and does her best to do everything she can to manage both. It must also be said that she has some help to handle her home life.

Obviously, character development has occurred over many previous novels, so, although it was adequate here, those who are following the series won't need more and will like the new developments. There was enough background provided to easily understand the character's backstory and history. I'm certain fans of the series will love this latest novel and for those new to the series it can be read as a stand-alone novel. (I wasn't particularity thrilled with yet another negative portrayal of homeschooling. Get over your prejudice. It works - and surely we've moved past this now, especially in light of the many options currently available and the many parents being thrust into the role of teacher without a lot of preparation in 2020.)

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

The Burning Girls

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor
2/9/21; 352 pages
Random House Publishing Group 

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor is a highly recommended psychological thriller packed with plenty of bait and switch clues.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a widow with a fourteen-year-old daughter, Flo, has been ordered to leave Nottingham and go to to fill a sudden vacancy in the village of Chapel Croft as an interim vicar. The Sussex village has a dark history as the site where Protestant martyrs were betrayed and burned five hundred years ago. There is a local tradition of making dolls out of twigs, which are called burning girls, and leaving them on the church grounds. The ominous atmosphere in the village continues as thirty years ago two teenage girls disappeared and the previous vicar hanged himself in the church. When Jack arrives she is left a welcome package of an exorcism kit with a warning note.

The village is as glum and the atmosphere is as foreboding as the history portends. The cottage they move into is dilapidated, dark, and dank. The town is hardly a relaxing village vicarage post. It is full of strange sometimes hostile characters, horrible secrets covering centuries, odd occurrences, and it becomes increasingly menacing. As Jack begins to meet people and learn more about the village, Flo also meets the locals while out taking photographs, including Lucas Wrigley, a teen with dystonia who's bullied by the others, and two of the teens who bully him.

The plot is perfectly paced in this taut nerve-racking suspense. Tudor does an excellent job slowly upping the suspense, introducing one more clue, another odd occurrence, a further piece of history, a new twist, all while moving her characters through the plot as the tone of the narrative becomes increasingly strained, uneasy, and ultimately dangerous. The increasing tension will keep you glued to the pages trying to follow the clues to figure out who is trustworthy and what is really happening in this creepy village. The threat is real, but where is it coming from? Once you hit the last third of the novel you will not be able to put it down and the scenes leading up to the final denouement will actually surprise you.

The narrative alternates between the point of view of Jack and Flo, which works very well in this novel. The two keep many incidents and information they come across to themselves rather than telling each other everything, or at least some of the more egregious events that occur. This helps increase the tension and sense of foreboding as the novel progresses.

While this is a remarkable psychological thriller, for me the enjoyment of the suspense was marred by the fact that I didn't enjoy the character of Jack and this never really slackened throughout the novel. Flo is a perfectly developed teenager and I liked her character, but Jack kept saying things that were off-putting to me. The two have a believable relationship, although there were some things that seemed unlikely, like Jack not telling Flo about her family background.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House Publishing Group.

The Future Is Yours

The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey
2/9/21; 352 pages
Random House Publishing Group

The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey is a highly recommended tech thriller that explores the realm of time travel and the relationship between two entrepreneurs.

Adhi Chaudry is by all accounts a genius (and on the spectrum) and Ben Boyce has been his best friend since college. Adhi has the theory that a quantum computer can be made that will see into the future. Ben believes in his friend and the two join together to create a startup to deliver the device, The Future. Adhi's job is to develop the technology, while Ben will hustle up the funding. And they do it. They create a prototype computer that can see one year into the future, and the future they glimpse looks bright. Ben is ready to be Silicon Valley's next tech billionaire, while Adhi begins to see changes in the future and becomes concerned.

The narrative in The Future Is Yours is told through written records, mainly a transcript of Ben's testimony before a congressional committee, but also text messages, emails, and blog posts. This epistolary technique works well in the novel as you need to read in-between the lines and infer what may be going on behind the scene that is not being shared. The sci-fi elements of being able to see one year in the future is very intriguing, but The Future Is Yours focuses more on the past and present relationship between the characters and the implications of the technology. (The concept of time travel paradoxes is introduced in a simple manner, especially the effect on free will as in Newcomb's paradox.)

The characters are developed through their own words and actions. It becomes clear that Ben is focused on the wealth and prestige he plans to amass from The Future. Adhi clearly has a conscious and begins to question the moral and personal implications of looking ahead a year in the future and how this alters individual actions and thoughts.

This is a fast read and will hold your attention throughout. The novel does focus more on the human aspect of the story and the relationship between Adhi and Ben rather than the science behind time travel, or in this case glimpsing information from the future. I was fascinated with the idea of seeing information from one year in the future, but also questioned the implications of this information and Adhi does do this even though The Future is his technological invention. Personally, I would have liked to see the paradoxes explored a little more. Ben is all about "show me the money" and becomes increasingly reprehensible as you see he will do anything to see that big payout. This makes The Future Is Yours an interesting psychological and moralistic study of the friendship between two very different men.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House Publishing Group.

The Four Winds

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2/2/21; 464 pages
St. Martin's Publishing Group

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a very highly recommended historical fiction epic set during the Great Depression.

It is 1921 and Elsa Wolcott lives in the Texas Panhandle. She never felt love from her family and longed for something more, certainly love, but also acceptance and a place to belong. At the age of 25, she decides to take a chance, leaving her home one night looking for... something, she meets Rafe Martinelli, a young 18 year-old man who is also restless and the two make a connection with each other. After a few late night clandestine meetings, Elsa is pregnant, her parents throw her out, and she and Rafe are married. She lives on the Martinelli homestead, learns to cook, clean and farm, and to love her new in-laws, Tony and Rosa.

Then the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression hit the Great Plains. It is 1934. Foreclosures are rampant, crops are nonexistent, people are starving, livestock is dying, and the land is blowing away without rain. Elsa and Rafe have two surviving children, Loreda, 12, and Anthony (Ant), 7. Rafe, who has becoming increasingly distant and a hard drinker, leaves one night for California, abandoning his family. The Martinelli's struggle on until a decision must be made. Elsa takes Loreda and Ant, with Tony and Rosa's support, and they head to California to look for steady work and a better life. But California is not the land of milk and honey and the dream is a nightmare. The immigrants, or Okies, are discriminated against and taken advantage of, making their lives even more precarious.

Following in the tradition of Steinbeck's classic, The Grapes of Wrath, the historical time and setting in The Four Winds has been thoroughly researched and masterfully presented. Hannah does an excellent job setting her novel in the time period and describing the hardships they endured. The plot is well paced, covering the hardships in Texas and California and the narrative is compelling. I was engrossed in the story, both in Texas and California. There was no good choice during these desperate times and the whole gritty reality is clearly presented in totality as we follow one woman and her children. The backbreaking work for very low pay as migrant workers in California was heartbreaking and the treatment of these Americans who were just trying to take care of their families was despicable.

Elsa is, ultimately, a strong woman, but she has so much self-doubt and self-loathing that she has to overcome a lifetime of self-debasement in order to become the strong woman she is in the end. Loreda is a horrid teen, but also changes, becoming a mature, confident young woman after she experiences and takes note of the disparity of the treatment of people. When she is told, "They call you names because they don't want to think of you as like them" it was a truth that holds on today when people from the Great Plains are still called disparaging names and put down by people from California, as well as the east coast, with no acknowledgment that we are all Americans and, in light of the pandemic, we all need jobs.

Many of us who had ancestors live through this time period have heard the stories of hardship and sacrifice they endured living through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Some basic things they did during this time as a matter of course have survived right up through my generation. (Washing and reusing all plastic containers, foil, saving anything that might be useful for something.) But we were also taught to work hard without complaint and to put family first. It is a pleasure to read such a well-written novel that shows the self-sacrifice and determination of those who survived the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, in spite of the forces against them.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Publishing Group

Four Lost Cities

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz
2/2/21; 320 pages
W.W. Norton & Company 

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz is a highly recommended entertaining and informative look at four cities from history that were abandoned. Everyone loves a good lost city story, but these cities weren't actually lost, people knew they existed, but they were deserted.

Newitz writes: "Modern metropolises are by no means destined to live forever, and historical evidence shows that people have chosen to abandon them repeatedly over the past eight thousand years. It’s terrifying to realize that most of humanity lives in places that are destined to die. The myth of the lost city obscures the reality of how people destroy their civilizations. This book is about that reality, which we’ll explore in four of the most spectacular examples of urban abandonment in human history." The four ancient cities examined are Çatalhöyük, Pompeii, Angkor, and Cahokia.

Çatalhöyük is a Neolithic site buried beneath two low hills in the Anatolian region of Central Turkey that was founded around 9,000 years ago. People here were settling down into agricultural life after living as nomads. The population was probably between 5,000 and 20,000 for about a millennium. Pompeii is the most well known city. It was a Roman tourist town on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean until the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 and buried the city under a deep layer of volcanic ash. The medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia experienced a slow-motion abandonment and destruction as the city was hit by climate catastrophes lasting a century. The indigenous metropolis Cahokia was the largest city in North America before the arrival of Europeans. It grew from a small village located on the Mississippi River bottom where East St. Louis is today to a sprawling metropolis of over 30,000 people and covered both sides of the river. The many groups of people who composed this city and shared spiritual practices eventually experienced several droughts which changed their practices, and they divided back into their individual groups and left.   

Four Lost Cities is written in a very accessible manner, so even the layperson who is interested in archaeology but hardly a scholar, can easily understand the information Newitz presents. They traveled to all four sites and talked to many of the researchers and scientists studying the sites and they share the new, cutting edge theories and interpretations of what life was like in the cities, before, during and after their decline. And that is the really interesting fact - these cities experienced a slow decline, with the obvious exception of Pompeii, that occurred over decades or longer. People chose to leave the cities, and for good reasons. Each of the cities encountered lengthy periods of political instability joined with major environmental problems.

Personally I found Newitz's focus on the everyday people that built and populated these cities and their functions in that particular society fascinating. It is also refreshing to see the new archaeological focus on how each society likely function rather than observing it through the lens of Western Civilization. All of the observations shared are well-researched. They talked to the experts currently involved with the sites and information is included in chapter notes if you would like to pursue more information.

My review copy was courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company via Netgalley.

The Survivors

The Survivors by Jane Harper
2/2/21; 384 pages
Flatiron Books

The Survivors by Jane Harper is a very highly recommended novel of suspense.

Kieran Elliott, his partner, Mia, and their baby, Audrey, live is Sidney, but have returned to Evelyn Bay, on the Tasmanian coast. He has returned to help his mother pack up the house in preparation for selling it. His father, Brian, has dementia and needs to move into a nursing facility while his mother, Verity, will move somewhere nearby. Kieran and Mia meet that evening with Ash, Olivia, and Sean, at the Surf and Turf, a local eating establishment, where Olivia and her roommate, college student Bronte Laidler, are working. Returning to Evelyn Bay is a rare occurrence for Kieran. Twelve years ago he was involved in a tragedy during a terrible storm that resulted in the death of his brother Finn, and Sean's brother Toby. Olivia's younger sister, Gabby, also died that night. Kieran lives daily with guilt, feeling that Finn and Toby died because of him and there are others that share that sentiment.

The next morning Kieran discovers that Bronte was killed the night before. She was an art student who was exploring the area for inspiration over the summer before returning to school. By all appearances she seemed to be well liked. As her murder is investigated, rumors are swirling around on the community web pages, and secrets are exposed, many locals wonder if her murder has any connection to the deaths during the storm twelve years earlier.

Set on a coastal town where you have to respect the tides, with sunken ships off the coast, a statue dedicated to ship wreck survivors in the water, and dangerous sea caves off the shore, the atmospheric setting feels ominous. Adding to the turmoil is the current investigation and the various people who may be people of interest in Bronte's murder. Harper introduces several suspects and raises doubts on others as the plot unfolds. The writing is wonderful in this carefully plotted and paced narrative. It does start out slow, after the discovery of Bronte's body, but the pace allows you to catch clues and gossip, from now and from the past. The ending moves quickly, intently, and was unexpected until it happened.

Kieran is the narrator of the story and it starts out slow, almost as if it is Kieran who needs to practice calming techniques before continuing to observe the investigation and share details. He does have several times where something is bothering him and we have to patiently wait for what it is he observed and noted subconsciously. Almost all of the characters have this careful, measured attitude where various regrets from the past are cohabitating with grief in the present. Harper excels at creating very well-developed, complex, nuanced, and contemplative characters. Even the minor characters feel real, like real people you'd find in a small town. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but their virtues as well as their flaws are simply there, as is found in anyone, anywhere. There are several scenes where the emotions are so real and so raw it almost takes your breath away. 4.5 stars

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Flatiron Books

Made in China

Made in China by Amelia Pang
2/2/21; 288 pages
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods by Amelia Pang is very highly recommended exposition on China's labor/reeducation camps, human rights violations, and how our consumerism is a tacit approval of the system.

Everyone should read this book. Everyone. And then reexamine their own involvement with cheap Chinese merchandise. Take note that if you buy something made in China it was likely made with slave labor. That should cause you to take pause in and of itself, but it becomes even more crucial to take action if you combine it with the fact that China is the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, and their rates are vastly under reported.

When Julie Keith opened up a package of cheap decorations in 2012, she discovered a plea for help written by the prisoner who made the items. The note was written by Sun Yi who was taken prisoner and put in a reeducation camp/ forced labor camp by the Chinese Communist Party. His crime was practicing Falun Gong with a religious meditation group.

Pang shares the life of Sun Yi, including the horrendous torture he and others endure in the "laogai system" which is the world’s largest forced-labor system. The system is rarely labeled as prisons, rather they call the camps reeducation centers or detoxification centers. No matter the name, they are still forced labor centers where people are sent at the whim of the CCP. The people in forced labor include the Falun Gong practitioners, as well as Christians, Turks, Muslim Uighurs, and Tibetans. Companies who get their products that are made with the forced slave labor from China never receive them directly from the prisons, instead they are exported and purchased through an import-export company system. It also appears that China is now in the business of organ selling. They get the medical information from the prisoners and will harvest their organs. The transplant industry in China is a billion dollar industry.

With modern AI surveillance technologies, the CCP is targeting even more people as they can identify them. Think about this information as you blindly follow any social media platform: "As early on as 2004, China has built the most extensive surveillance and internet censorship system in the world, with currently an estimated one hundred thousand human censors inspecting the web for politically sensitive content and manually deleting posts on various Chinese social media platforms. They are employed not only by state propaganda departments, but also by Chinese companies that have privatized censorship. And then there are the commenters, who are paid to guide online discussions in a pro-government direction. A 2017 Harvard study estimated that 448 million paid comments appear on Chinese social media every year." China is said to be one big modern, technologically savvy labor camp.

This is not an easy book to read but it is vital that people know what is going on in China. If people show any dissent in China, this is how they handle it - imprison them into forced labor. Pang immersed herself into Sun's story and that of other labor camp survivors over three years. Note that according to a 2017 study by the Economic Policy Institute, "China’s accession to the WTO caused the United States to lose 3.4 million jobs. And as manufacturing migrated to China, it created more opportunities for Chinese factories to outsource work to labor camps." What we can do is limit how we spend our money and investigate the companies we buy from because China does respond to financial push back.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Forgive Me

Forgive Me by Susan Lewis
1/26/21; 416 pages
HarperCollins

Forgive Me by Susan Lewis is a highly recommended domestic drama that ultimately examines the power of forgiveness.

Claudia Winters along with her daughter Jasmine are escaping her abusive husband Marcus after he is on trial and begins serving a prison sentence. Her mother Marcy joins the two as all three move to a small coastal town in Northern England and live under their new names. Claudia lives under a constant fear that her husband will send someone to find her and harm her and her family. As the three begin to settle into their new town and make a good group of friends, Claudia still feels apprehensive that she is being watched. And then someone horrible does happen...

Archie Colbrook is in prison awaiting trial and spends his time writing letters to the victim of his crime for his Restorative Justice Counselor. He knows he is guilty and doesn't deserve forgiveness, but he also knows he didn't intentionally set out to cause a person harm. Even when the victim chooses to read his letters, he doesn't expect any forgiveness or a meeting.

These two different story lines unfold in alternate chapters and ultimately the two plots come together and showcase the power of forgiveness, even when it doesn't seem possible. The message is a good one, but the plot is a little less than believable. Setting that aside, it is an enjoyable novel and does provide insight into the Restorative Justice program. It also has an undercurrent of the support and love that can be found within a family and among a close group of friends. It starts out feeling like a thriller, but that is deceptive as it is decidedly a family/domestic drama, however a novel with a theme of forgiveness is always a positive thing.

Some characters are more realistic, believable, and likeable than others. That will quickly be determined and sorted out by the reader. The recovery of one of the characters is definitely heart-wrenching and you will pursue this plot thread closely and wish for a good outcome. The ending is predictable, but ultimately this is a feel-good novel with drama thrown in to keep you engrossed in the story and the outcome.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins

Before She Disappeared

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner
1/19/21; 400 pages
Penguin Publishing Group

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner is a very highly recommended crime thriller. Don't miss this incredible heart-stopping stand-alone novel!

"My name is Frankie Elkin and finding missing people - particularly minorities - is what I do. When the police have given up, with the public no longer remembers, when the media has never bothered to care, I start looking. For no money, no recognition, and most of the time, no help."

Frankie, a middle-aged woman and recovering alcoholic, spends her life searching for missing people long after the case has gone cold. Her new search is for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished eleven months earlier at the age of fifteen. She moves to Boston and finds a job at a bar with an apartment available above it in the rough Mattapan neighborhood where Angelique lived. Frankie wastes no time introducing herself to the family, Angelique's Aunt Guerline and her younger brother, Emmanuel, and letting the Boston PD know she is looking into the case. Frankie is used to having to dig out information and investigate on her own, so the initial resistance from Detective Lotham is expected but doesn't hold her back.

Frankie is unquestionably an extraordinary fully developed new character full of depth, intelligence, and complexity. She has a dark past and is running from her own demons but she faces it all with honesty and tenacity. Everyday is a struggle to not drink while seeking information to bring her case to completion. She sets her personal safety aside as she asks questions and searches for the truth hidden by layers of subterfuge and obfuscation. At the same time Frankie is an unconventional woman. She has a quirky personality and a mouth on her as she says what's on her mind and holds nothing back. The wonderful fact is that all the characters are well-developed and presented as unique individuals.

Adding to the excellent character development is the absolutely perfect and, quite frankly, masterful writing in this un-put-downable thriller. Gardner grabs your attention - by the throat - right at the start and from then on the plot is riveting and spellbinding while the intense pace increases incrementally. The sense of danger is palpable as Frankie looks for the truth.  I simply could not put this novel down once I started it. It can't be denied that Gardner has a gift for writing.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Penguin Publishing Group

The Plague Cycle

The Plague Cycle by Charles Kenny
1/19/21; 320 pages
Scribner

The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease by Charles Kenny is a highly recommended overview of the history of infectious diseases with some discussion of them in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The good news is that recent history suggests "humanity’s response to the new threat can be rapid and effective if we so choose. And that reassures us that humanity in the twenty-first century is in a considerably better position in the fight against infection than earlier generations. Because for most of humanity’s time on the planet, effective responses never came." For most of history plagues and diseases were the leading cause of death. Today it is heart attacks and strokes.

As Kenny points out, humanity is very resilient even in the face of even the most incredible stress created by large scale epidemics, pandemics and plague outbreaks. People lived through numerous epidemics over the years- the Black Death, typhus, measles, small pox,  without resorting to social chaos and throwing morality aside. Agriculture and civilization set off a global firestorm of disease, especially once urbanization started. Before we started taking sanitary practices seriously, the only effective way to exposure to diseases was to quarantine the sick or refuse their entry to your area. Then, once we understood hygiene, it became possible to have more urbanization, which was further helped by medical advancements (sterilized medical treatment, antibiotics, vaccinations, etc.) and the understanding of how to combat infectious diseases.

As our world is becoming more globally connected, it is now more important to address our vulnerabilities to new emerging infectious diseases and potential plagues. For example, we need to address the overuse of antibiotics which has led to a strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The global reaction to Covid-19 showcases the need for international cooperation on several different areas.

As someone who has read many books of various infectious diseases, plagues, and epidemics it should be noted that this is not meant to be a complex or complete history of infectious diseases. It is a nice overview for the general reader who wants more information on the subject and the text flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. It is a well-rounded overview written for the lay person. For more information, Kenny has a bibliography of his sources or look at the notes included in the text for subjects you might want to pursue further. Kenny is the director of technology and development at the Center for Global Development.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Scribner.

Better Luck Next Time

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson
1/5/21; 288 pages
Custom House/HarperCollins

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson is a highly recommended appealing, comedic novel set in Reno, Nevada in 1938.

If wealthy women wanted a quick divorce, Reno, NV, was the answer. As the self proclaimed “divorce capital of the world" women were required to live in the state for six weeks to establish residency and then they could be granted a divorce. The Flying Leap dude Ranch catered to women who needed a place to stay while waiting those six weeks. Ward Bennett, 24 (almost 25), has been working as a cowboy on the ranch where he chauffeurs the women into town or to and from the airport, takes them on trail rides, and helps serve them meals. A good looking young man, he is there as eye candy and to offer the women a listening ear and supportive attitude. His employers and the clients have no idea he actually came from a privileged background in Tennessee and attended Yale for a year, but his family fell on hard times and lost everything in the Great Depression. When Emily, who drove herself to the ranch from San Francisco, and Nina, who is there for her third divorce arrive and become roommates, the two become inseparable friends and rope Ward into acting as their personal assistant, driver, and participating in some of their antics.

The story is told by Ward in 1988.  Dr. Howard Stovall Bennett III (Ward) is now retired and living in a retirement home. When he is asked to identify himself and others from a picture at the Flying Leap, he consents to having the anonymous interviewer record the conversation and thus the story begins of that six weeks in 1938 when Emily and Nina were at the ranch. Of course, life is complicated and a stay at the Flying Leap was an emotional time for the guests but Emily and Nina were memorable. I utterly enjoyed the story presentation as a first person recorded narrative by Ward looking back over time. It allows us to see the events that happened fifty years ago through his perspective and experiences. Ward is a keen observer and honest storyteller as he relates the events in 1938 but also tells stories of this life in the fifty years after that. He is an extremely likeable, charming character. The women were less genial characters as they all tended to be self-centered and self-absorbed, but they are at the center of the impulsive adventures instigated by Nina.

I enjoyed the writing immensely and flew through the pages of Better Luck Next Time. The novel is well-paced and the plot is well-executed. After living in Reno for years, I completely understood the setting and the descriptions so the novel took on a life for me quickly. The story takes a more poignant turn as it progresses and Portia, Emily's daughter shows up. Ward is a well-developed character and we know some of what makes Emily and Nina tick, but since this is through Ward's eyes, they are enigmas at times. The ending was absolutely poignant, touching, and heartbreaking while still providing a measure of hopefulness.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Custom House/HarperCollins via Library Thing

A Stranger at the Door

A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter
1/12/21; 362 pages
Thomas & Mercer
Rachel Marin #2   

A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter is the highly recommended second book in the Rachel Marin series that started with Hide Away (2020).

Rachel Marin received an email from her son's teacher Matthew Linklater on the night he later died in a horrible, painful death manner. In the email he asked her to call him over some concerns he had over some students and their dealings with people who might not have their best interests in mnd. He knew Rachel as the mother of one of his students, but more importantly as someone who has recently successfully worked with the Police Department in Ashby, Ill. as a consultant. Since Rachel is in a relationship with Detective John Serrano, she quickly learned the identity of Linklater. Soon it becomes clear that he may have been concerned about Bennett Brice and his recruitment of at risk teenage boys into his organization YourLife. Things become even more complicated when Rachel's son, 14 year old Eric is recruited into YourLife and a woman from Rachel's past, Evie Boggs, shows up at her door hinting that she should drop the investigation.

The plot is a series of complicated relationships and revelations that seem to increase the threat to Rachel at every turn. She continues to be the same determined, tough, no nonsense woman who says what she means and whose threats should not be taken idly - especially when the welfare and safety of one of her children is involved. While new readers could read this as a stand-alone, it might be best to read Hide Away first. Detectives John Serrano and Leslie Tally return in this novel, although we know more about both of their backgrounds from the first novel. Pinter reveals some more information about Rachel's past, but still not the whole story. I liked the first novel a bit more, but this is still a very good addition to Rachel's overall story. She is still the vigilante protecting others from harm and this time there are a couple of sociopath brothers to look out for.

The chapters are short and the pace is quick, which help keep you glued to the pages to the end. A Stranger at the Door isn't just a page-turning thriller, it also showcases maternal devotion, family bonds, the difficulty of relationships, loyalty, and seeking the truth and justice. The final denouement provides a twist that is heartbreaking, but understandable. You do have to suspend disbelief over Rachel being a consultant for the police with no formal education or background to support this position. I secretly just ignored that detail and accepted she was a vigilante looking out for others.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer.

 

The Effort

The Effort by Claire Holroyde
1/12/21; 368 pages
Grand Central Publishing

The Effort by Claire Holroyde is a highly recommended apocalyptic tale that starts with an end-of-the-world-by comet scenario and morphs to a novel about human nature.

When the 8 km dark comet UD3 was spotted on a trajectory to hit the Earth one of the first people recruited by the U.N. to help with what will be called The Effort is Benjamin Schwartz, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. He and his girlfriend Amy Kowalski are flown to French Guiana in South American to help assemble a team of experts to neutralize the extinction threat. One of the brilliant scientists assisting is China’s Dr. Zhen Liu. The gifted and intelligent UN interpreter Love Mwangi also joins The Effort. The large team is fighting against time and sleep deprivation in order to try and prevent an extinction level event.

At the same time a Coast Guard polar ice breaker is traveling is traveling north right as the comet is discovered. On board is a group of marine biologists, including  Maya Gutiérrez, who are collecting scientific data.. There are two additional passengers invited on the mission. Jack Campbell is a photographer for National Geographic who is tasked with capturing the beauty of the Arctic before it disappears and Gustavo Wayãpi, a Nobel Laureate poet from Brazil who is expected to write about the experience.

The quality of the writing in The Effort is excellent and the novel is well pace to create an increasing sense of tension and danger as the novel progresses. While the pull to read the novel is the end-of-the-world comet, the overwhelming themes become less disaster scenario and more focused on the panic and subsequent breakdown of civilization, as well as the failings of human nature and morality. The novel alternates between following the scientists of The Effort in French Guiana, the other notable main characters, and a myriad of other minor characters. Naturally, the character development was slightly lacking simply because of the sheer number of characters and the limited pages. The Effort almost needed another hundred plus pages to fully develop the characters and follow all their story arcs to the end. Thankfully we do get to follow several characters into the future, but, alas, not all of them which I would have preferred. 

Everyone loves a good disaster novel and The Effort fits the bill. There were a few little niggling details that detracted from an otherwise excellent novel. Holroyde didn't stop herself from including little details, personal opinions, and comments in the narrative that point to the novel being penned in 2018-19. It's always better to leave very current political controversies out of a novel in order to give it some longevity, especially in light of a subsequent pandemic hitting before publication. I have enjoyed many apocalyptic novels over the years and most of them I could easily reread and note that only technological advancements date them to being penned years or decades earlier. (My review copy was downloaded at the beginning of June.) There were also a few characters that we didn't get some closure on and the focus of the narrative sort of switched mid-novel and became more social commentary. But, these were little qualms that most people will easily overlook.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing