Wish You Were Here

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
11/30/21; 336 pages
Random House

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a highly recommended novel of two alternate realities set during the pandemic.

Diana O’Toole is an associate specialist at Sotheby’s and knows she and her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, will soon be engaged. They have planned to leave NYC for a two week vacation to the Galápagos in March of 2020. Just before they are scheduled to leave, Finn breaks the news that he can't take the time off from the hospital due to the pandemic. He encourages Diana to go without him, so she does and is subsequently locked down on an island with little to no WiFi access. She ends up having a woman offer her a place to stay. Diana proceeds to make friends with the locals and even manages to see and experience the local sites. While there some of Finn's email messages get through and she reads about how overwhelming and trying his experiences are while working at the hospital in NYC during the increase of hospitalized Covid patients. Then something happens and Diana's perception and reality completely change.

There is no question that Picoult can write novels that will hold your attention from beginning to end and introduce some contemporary penitent on-topic subject in them. It's what she does best and she is known for her issue-driven plots. This time out it is Covid. Wish You Were Here is an emotionally complex, perceptive, and though provoking novel as it covers several issues. The first half of the novel is a stark contrast from the second half, and is also a very different narrative although some of the issues occur in both the first and second half. Characters are well developed, flawed individuals but sympathetic and vulnerable in both halves of the novel.

The twist in the middle of the novel changes everything and makes it a vastly different novel from the first half of the book. Variations of the big twist in the novel have been done numerous times before this in TV shows, books, and movies. Certainly it was a shocking surprise, but also an eye-rolling experience as it has always been in every other time it has used. The new variation on this well used plot device was setting the story during the pandemic and lock down. (It was too soon for this novel and quite frankly most of the novel read like pandemic porn to me, someone who was working throughout the whole lock down.) 

Most fans will love it, and it would make for lively book club discussions, but for others this may not resonate as much as some of Picoult's other novels.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Ballantine Books.

Last Redemption

Last Redemption by Matt Coy
11/30/21; 320 pages
Oceanview Publishing
Rick Cahill #8

Last Redemption by Matt Coyle is a very highly recommended classic PI novel and the 8th in the Rick Cahill.

Rick Cahill, the hard boiled PI from La Jolla, CA, finally has his life heading toward a quiet, satisfying life. He and his fiancée, Leah Landingham are thrilled that she is pregnant with their first child and he is doing background checks for companies rather than field work, which pays well and keeps him out of danger. When he is then informed that he his current headaches are due to CTE, he keeps it a secret for the time being. It still seems like a safe job when his best friend, PI Moira MacFarlane, asks him to watch her son, Luke, from a distance to make sure he doesn't violate a restraining order against him. But this very simple surveillance job changes rapidly when Luke disappears, his boss is found murdered, and the trail of information is becomes increasingly complicated very quickly.

Last Redemption is an excellent PI novel. The writing is exceptional, the case is compelling and complicated, and the danger increases with every page. The plot moves at a fast pace and the action picks up along with the tension. Rick ends up putting his safety at risk again as the danger increases as each new piece of information is questioned and uncovered. Once you start reading Last Redemption it will be hard to put it down.

Rick Cahill is a great character and with each novel he continues to experience more growth and advancement as an individual. The great news is that you can appreciate this novel without reading previous books in the series, but once you do read it, you will want to read the other books in the series. If you enjoy hard boiled PI novel, then you have to start reading Matt Coy's Rick Cahill novels.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Oceanview Publishing.

Parabellum

Parabellum by Greg Hickey
10/10/21; 356 pages

Parabellum by Greg Hickey is a highly recommended literary crime novel.

In the opening, we know the crime that will happen. There has been a mass shooting at a beach in Chicago and after we are observers to some of the aftermath, Parabellum then follows four different characters who are potentially suspects for a year leading up to the tragic incident. The four characters who could be the suspect are not named, but are identified by a general description. They include: an apathetic computer programmer; an ex-college athlete with a history of hits to the head;  an Army veteran turned Chicago cop; and a despondent high school student. The narrative switches between the lives of these four characters as each chapter counts down to the future shooting.

Reducing the characters to descriptions of their inner battles and anxieties with their mental health rather than providing them name somehow dehumanized them, even while we learned about their most personal struggles and why they could potentially be the shooter at the beach. Most of these characters will generally elicit your sympathy as you understand that their inner turmoil and struggles are real. The inner psyche of each person is exposed as are their concerns and anxieties. They are developed as characters, which helped with the felt lack of not knowing their names.

The writing is excellent, which sets the novel apart. The characters and the plot are all presented in a realistic, factual manner. Although there was some uncertainty at the beginning, ultimately the structure of the novel did provide compelling interest in the characters and what would ultimately be revealed. Admittedly, the unique approach to keeping the characters nameless until the end didn't completely work for me, but I appreciated the approach more once I continued reading and the pages began to fly by as I wanted to know what would happen to these injured people. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the author.

Glimmer

Glimmer by Marjorie B Kellogg
10/19/21; 496 pages
DAW

Glimmer by Marjorie B Kellogg is a recommended character driven climate science fiction novel set in NYC in 2110.

Rising sea levels, superstorms, and a changing climate have left much of the city  wrecked and/or flooded. Those who could fled the city. The survivors left behind have banded into their own social support structures called dens. Members of the dens live on the upper floors of buildings and work together to find supplies and food, while protecting each other. Glimmer, a name she gave herself after she lost her memory, is a young woman living in this dystopian future. She is part of one of the oldest dens, Unca Joe, and has her friends and support system there. It is an unpredictable life, but every now and then Glimmer senses that she recognizes something from before. But when it seems that another group is planning some attack against her den perhaps she does need to consider a change.

This is a character driven novel above all else and it succeeds in that regard as the characters are fully realized and placed into this dystopian future. They are not, however, relatable or very engaging. The world building is very good also. However, it is also a very slow, tedious, even paced novel that takes a certain amount of determination to continue reading. I started and stopped this novel three times before I made myself finish it. In the end it is okay, but there have been better cli-sci-fi novels with quicker paces that will provide the same message. 3.5

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of DAW.

National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 3rd Edition

National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 3rd Edition
11/2/21; 752 pages
National Geographic

National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 3rd Edition: Featuring More Than 1,000 Species With the Most Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume edited by Jonathan Alderfer, Jon Dunn is a very highly recommended desk reference guide to every bird species found in the continental USA, Canada, and Greenland. Think of this guide as an encyclopedia of birds. The guide opens with the Table of Contents listing the page number of the birds by families. The introduction follows and provides an overview of the additional information provided in this updated guide by ornithologists and artists. This includes updated range maps. The contents follow the latest taxonomic sequencing and naming conventions adopted by the American Ornithological Society as of July 2018. The introduction also includes information on plumage variation, feather topography, and abundance terms and codes.

For anyone interested in ornithology, National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 3rd Edition is a wonderful reference guide. As expected the artwork is impeccable and finely detailed. The entry for each bird family provides points of identification based on structure, behavior, plumage, distribution, taxonomy, and conservation. Then the individual genus and species are presented covering identification and plumage distinctions based on gender and age, feather topography, as well as the bird in flight. Similar species are presented, as are the voice calls and songs. There is a status and distribution map and a note on the population. Included at the back are two pages on birds found in Greenland and Bermuda that are not from Canada or the USA. Following that is the list of contributors with a brief biography of each, the credits for illustrations, art and photographs and a detailed index.

After receiving the guide, I immediately put it to work identifying a hawk who decided to eat a lunch of raccoon on a deck post at my house. (It was a Krinder's Red Tail Hawk, sometimes treated by some as a subspecies, kriderii.) The illustrations were perfect and helped me enormously. And yes, the voice was a husky scream, shee-eeee-arrr. Then I was off identifying another bird from a photo (Golden-Crowned Kinglet). The National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 3rd Edition was an ease to use.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of National Geographic for TLC Book Tours.

 

The Mark

The Mark by Matt Brolly
11/23/21; 332 pages
Thomas & Mercer
Detective Louise Blackwell #4

The Mark by Matt Brolly is a highly recommended police procedural and the 4th novel in the Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell series.

DI Louise Blackwell of the Weston-super-Mare police force is called to investigate a man who is found unconscious with a symbol branded on his arm. The victim, Sam Carrington, who is unconscious at the hospital, was staying at a local drug rehab house. The next night a second victim, Poppy Westfield, is found branded on her thigh with the same symbol. Then Andrew Thorpe is found dead, branded on his forehead, and Louise knows she has someone who is targeting people to brand them for some reason and she must find the connection and stop the perpetrator.

While Louise is giving her whole attention to the case, she is also dealing with several other personal issues. After the death of her brother, she is caring for her niece along with her parents. Also returning is her nemesis the corrupt and scheming DCI Finch, whose ongoing bad behavior may be catching up to him, unless he can bring Louise and others down first.

Even though this is the 4th novel featuring Louise Blackwell, The Mark can be enjoyed as a stand alone police procedural. There is enough back story given to easily follow the pertinent facts that matter in this current novel, and this is a compelling and engaging investigation. The opening scene will immediately horrify you and grab your attention. The pace continues to move quickly throughout the novel, as clues are provided along with several twists.

Louise is a determined, intelligent and interesting character. Her flaws are also presented in the plot, which makes her a realistic and sympathetic character who will elicit your support as she handles the investigation.  Along the way there is further character development as the novel progresses. There is a surprising twist at the end that will put the next novel by Brolly featuring Louise Blackwell on your reading list.

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

She Never Left

She Never Left by CM Harris
11/25/21; 400 pages
HarperCollins

She Never Left by CM Harris is a so-so supernatural tale.

Jane and TJ are cousins who return to their hometown for a 20th reunion. By this town are dense woods called "the thicket" filled with a fungus that glows and can actively effect and infect humans. There is also a stalker named Lincoln who has had a crush on Jane since high school. The novel is filled with the two facing trauma and addictions from their past and the cause of their problems, something that might still be operating today and getting worse. 

Chapters alternate between present day and twenty plus years earlier. There really never is any good reason produced for attending a 20th high school reunion in a creepy small town that you were happy to leave and where people seem to disappear on a regular basis, unless it is the psychedelic mushrooms. One of the most glaring problems with the whole novel is that all the characters talk as if they are still in high school in both time lines. This is more a science fiction tale and a drug trip rather than a mystery about disappearing people from a small town. Normally I can enjoy science fiction, but this wasn't quite it.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via NetGalley.