The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg
10/27/20; 304 pages
Penguin Random House

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg is a very highly recommended retrospective visit with some of the characters from Whistle Stop, Alabama, made famous in the beloved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987). The novel reminisces about the characters in the 1930s and follows the life of Bud Threadgoode and his daughter Ruthie up to the present. This delightful novel is like going home and visiting your extended family; it's a comfortable visit where we freely talk about the past and hear updates on what happened since.

The novel follows Bud Threadgoode, Penny, and their daughter Ruthie from the past, in the 1930s, up to the present. We get to read Dot Weems annual Christmas letter full of updates about former residents of Whistle Stop. We get stories from the past about Bud's mother, Ruth, and Idgie. We hear stories about Ninny Threadegoode again and Evelyn Couch meets Ruthie and Bud. There are stories about Opal, Sipsey, and Big George. The novel jumps around on the timeline between past and present, just as stories jump back and forth in time at any family reunion. Those who are fans are going to rejoice in this return to the citizens from Whistle Stop.

There is a plot, but it's found in the gentle storytelling following a life, past and present, leading up to the present day. This is a sweet visit to a group of cherished characters. The tone is accepting, positive, encouraging, and affirmative. Even during hard times and struggles, the positive is always there, something that is sorely missing right now. There is something so good-hearted and kind about this novel. In some ways it's presents a nice blueprint for people to follow during hard times. A positive attitude goes a long way during difficult times. These people with ties to Whistle Stop are good folks.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

You Betrayed Me

You Betrayed Me by Lisa Jackson
10/27/20; 448 pages
Kensington
Cahills #3

You Betrayed Me by Lisa Jackson is a highly recommended novel of suspense and the third book featuring a member of the Cahill family.

In the opening a woman has been tazed and left as a prisoner in a tiny house locked from the outside. James Cahill, an heir to the Cahill fortune, awakens in the hospital in Washington State. He's had a concussion and is bruised and beaten with obvious fingernail scratches down his cheek. He's in pain, medicated, and has no recollection of what happened that caused his hospitalization. He does have a vague recollection of his girlfriend, Megan Travers, and some argument. He learns that Megan has gone missing and he was the last person to see her. When a blond sneaks in to visit him, he doesn't recognize her at first. Then it comes to him that she is Sophia Russo, the woman he has been cheating with. Police are looking into his injuries while trying to find Megan. As their investigation continues and the media follows it, it is clear to everyone that James has a provable reputation as a serial Lothario. Then Megan's sister, Rebecca, shows up, trying to find clues to his sister's whereabouts. She was previously yet another girlfriend of James.

The first thing you need to know is that there are a vast number of serial romantic liaisons and encounters in this novel. The suspense does take the forefront, but, goodness, there was a bit too much of the other for me, someone who loves suspense but avoids romance novels. The second thing you need to know is that there really isn't a likeable character here. The third thing you need to know is that You Betrayed Me has a collection of odd characters, twisty happenings, and the feeling that no one can be trusted.

As mentioned, none of the characters are likeable or sympathetic. They are well-developed characters, but It's hard to feel a whole lot of compassion for James, a serial philanderer who has a hard time thinking with his brain. The woman are just as bad, but they are mostly a bunch of opportunists looking at the wealth James will inherit someday. Other characters include Detective Rivers, who has a sort of sixth sense he keeps quiet about, a journalist sure that this story will make her mark, an odd girl secretly spying on James and Sophia, and various towns people.

The writing is very good in this psychological thriller and the suspense created is what will keep you glued to the pages as you try to figure out exactly what is happening. Jackson keeps specifics to herself while slowly allowing more details to come out in the story, but pay careful attention to what she doesn't say and don't let implied facts slip you up. I'm giving this advice, but I got carried away with the story and didn't follow it. I played right into Jackson's hand and was surprised several times with the turns the story took.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Kensington.

The Silence

The Silence by Don DeLillo
10/20/20; 128 pages
Scribner

The Silence by Don DeLillo is a recommended novella about the death of technology.

On Super Bowl Sunday 2022 Max Stenner, his wife Diane Lucas who is a retired physics professor, and her former student Martin Dekker are watching the game and waiting in their Manhattan apartment for another couple, Jim Kripps and his wife, Tessa Berens, to arrive, fresh off their flight from Paris. When all the screens go blank on the flight, it becomes clear that the flight is in trouble. At the same time the grid goes down in Manhattan, rendering the Super Bowl moot. Kripps and Berens survive the crash landing and make it to the apartment through dark streets. There is a discussion about what has happened, but clearly this is a story about the final breakdown of society.

This is a very abbreviated novella with spare dialogue about the capacity of people to handle disaster when all our digital screens going blank and technology ends. Basically, The Silence will cause thoughtful readers to question their ability to survive without all their screens and constant connection to everything and everyone. The cause of this scenario is never explained, but in such a short work the idea is that should it happen, we wouldn't have information right away. There would be no way to find out what happened. We would suddenly have to connect with the people around us.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Scribner .

Where I Come From

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South by Rick Bragg
10/27/20; 256 pages
Knopf Doubleday

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South by Rick Bragg is a very highly recommended collection of personal columns that originally were published in Southern Living and Garden & Gun. This is an absolutely wonderful diverse collection of personal stories and observations presented in Bragg's patented folksy charming manner. As you read you'll smile, laugh, feel nostalgic, and be left with a warm heart and a good feeling. During stressful times, this would be a perfect collection to read one or two columns at a time just to unwind and take a deep breathe before continuing your day.

The seventy plus columns are organized into nine different chapters or categories that are composed of columns which fit into the topic. Don't expect angry, combative, opinionated columns. As Bragg writes in the introduction: The stories in this collection are of the South’s gentler, easier nature. It is a litany of great talkers, blue-green waters, deep casseroles, kitchen-sink permanents, lying fishermen, haunted mansions, and dogs that never die, things that make this place more than a dotted line on a map or a long-ago failed rebellion, even if only in some cold-weather dream.

I enjoyed all of the columns immensely. As with all collections, some of the pieces will resonate with certain readers more than others, but I felt like they were all enjoyable or worthwhile reading. Even if you aren't from the South or have never even visited a Southern state, this compilation touches on several universal themes that can point to similar experiences in almost everyone's life, as well as experiences that are uniquely Southern. This would be an excellent gift.

Let me leave you with a thought about hot chicken from Bragg that had me doubled over in laughter: "It seemed like the kind of thing that could lead to questionable behavior. One day you order some hot chicken; the next morning you wake up with your belly button pierced and a picture of David Hasselhoff tattooed on your posterior. Point me to a prayer meetin’."

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday

House of Correction

House of Correction by Nicci French
10/27/20; 528 pages
HarperCollins

House of Correction by Nicci French is a highly recommended legal thriller/drama.

Tabitha Hardy is accused of murder but she didn't do it - or did she? The body of her neighbor Stuart Rees was found fatally stabbed and wrapped up in a plastic sheet in her shed in Okeham, England. She is accused of the murder and is remanded to prison to await her trial. Years earlier, when she was fifteen, Rees was her secondary math teacher and sexually abused her. At that time she told no one, but she has suffered from the consequences of it ever since. Tabitha has been in a doctor's care and medicated as she suffers from debilitating depression. The day of the murder Tabitha was having a bad day and she really can't remember many events from the day.

When her court appointed counsel recommends Tabitha accept a plea, she fires her and sets out to represent herself in court. She doesn't understand how it works, but she is determined to wade through the evidence and discover what really happened that day, a day that she really can't remember. As the trial nears Tabitha has no real strategy, but she does have a timeline of what happened in the village that day and is determined to not let anyone railroad her.

Tabitha is a well developed-character, which has pros and cons in the narrative. Her rather prickly and combative personality combined with her depression can make her dislikeable over the course of 500 plus pages. That she is also a tenacious character who is determined to cast doubt over her guilt makes her awkwardly appealing when she takes on the prosecutors and the judge. She is totally stressed out but she is also astute and clever enough to catch problems and inconsistencies in the case against her.

The start of House of Correction is slow at the start so readers need to be encouraged to continue with it as it will become more interesting and the pace will pick up. British husband-and-wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, writing as Nicci French, do an admirable job with this novel, which starts out as a prison drama, morphs into a procedural, and then becomes a legal thriller. It all is done so smoothly you wont give it a second thought until you have dropped your mouth open over the twist and finished the novel. After that, you will likely be impressed with what they accomplished in this novel.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

My Favorites

My Favorites: A Collection of Short Stories by Ben Bova
10/13/20; 338 pages
Blackstone Publishing

My Favorites: A Collection of Short Stories by Ben Bova is a very highly recommended collection of fourteen of Bova's personal favorite short stories. All the stories in this collection have been previously published and for this compilation a brief introduction by Bova proceeds each story.  Fans will be reminded why they have enjoyed  Bova's writing for years and will appreciate and enjoy re-reading his favorite stories. New readers will enjoy this diverse introduction to Bova's writing and will likely be inspired to start reading his many novels and other short stories. As with all short story collections, some will resonate with individual readers more than others, but I though that over all it represents an excellent choice of diverse stories. This is a wonderful choice of stories by an award winning master writer.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Blackstone Publishing

Invisible Girl

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
10/13/20; 368 pages
Atria Books

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell is a very highly recommended psychological thriller.

Roan and Cate Fours have had some struggles in their marriage after he had an affair but hopefully that is all behind them now. Cate, a physiotherapist, works from home so she is there for their teenage children, Georgia and Josh, while Roan is a child psychologist. When Georgia phones her, nervous that a strange man is following her, it turns out to be Owen Pick, a thirty-three-year-old man who actually is a neighbor and lives across the street from the Fours. Owen immediately is profiled as a creep by the Fours. They suspect he is responsible for the recent assaults of local women. Owen is a computer science teacher who has recently been suspended following a complaint filed against him by two female students. He strongly denies the accusations. While awaiting the outcome of the investigation, Owen begins to spend time online on incel web forums and begins to follow a very vocal, charismatic moderator.

At the same time seventeen-year-old Saffyre Maddox is following Roan. She used to be a patient of his for her self harming, but he released her from his care saying she was no longer in need of his help. Saffyre knows that he released her without actually getting to the real truth about the trauma that occurred when she was ten, which was the cause behind her self-harming. Saffyre knows Roan is having multiple affairs as she has witnessed his actions as she hides in the shadows watching. She also knows where he lives and has watched his family. Then Saffyre disappears on Valentine’s night and Owen becomes the main suspect.

Invisible Girl is one engrossing, disturbing, atmospheric story that kept me glued to the pages. Jewell kept me hypothesizing while the complex and twisty plot quickly moved along. There are enough twists to keep you guessing. I was guessing and making predictions about what was really happening but all my initial assumptions were proven wrong. The connections between all the characters emerged and the misunderstandings and disturbing twists increased. These characters are all broken people in some way.

The writing is great as the narrative alternates between the point of view of Owen, Saffyre, and Cate. Each of the characters is portrayed as unique individuals and in the chapters they narrate you will know who is talking based on their distinctive character development. Owen is a surprisingly sympathetic, misunderstood character. Saffyre is a unique teenager, a loner with a unique, introspective personality. Cate is still struggling with her suspicions of Roan's faithfulness, but she is also full of self-doubt and doesn't want to look into anything deeper since she is afraid of the outcome. Josh also comes in as a notable character toward the end.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books .