The Lioness

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian
5/10/22; 336 pages
Knopf Doubleday

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian is a highly recommended historical literary fiction novel set in Tanzania in 1964.

Katie Barstow an A-list actress, and David Hill, her husband, have chosen to bring a group of family and friends to accompany them on a photo safari to the Serengeti for their honeymoon. Included in the group are Billy Stepanov, Katie's brother, and his wife Margie; Reggie Stout, Katie’s publicist ; Peter Merrick, her agent; Carmen Tedesco, her best friend and actress, and Felix Demeter, Carmen’s husband; and Terrance Dutton, Katie's recent co-star. A list of the large cast of characters is included in the front of the novel which can help readers keep track of the many players in this drama.

The vacation/safari starts out lovely until a group of Russian mercenaries kidnaps members of the entourage, killing the guides. They keep guns trained on their hostages, who are divided up into different groups while they load them into different Land Rovers and drive them away to a group of huts where they are tied up. No one is safe and not everyone is going to make it out alive.

As a character driven drama, the exceptionally well-written narrative is told through the point-of-view of individual characters in their own chapters. These chapters are opened with Hollywood gossip columns or stories and then follow with flashbacks, background information, and events from the current horrific situation as experienced by that particular character. We know the inner thoughts of these people and learn their strengths and weaknesses. This background information also can point to the motive for the kidnapping, although the complete reason is explained at the end. There is violence from humans and from wildlife in the Serengeti.

While a wonderful addition to the selection of historical literary fiction and character driven dramas, The Lioness will actually make a more impactful and powerful movie than novel. As a novel, while compelling, it also moved a bit slowly. Visually sometimes facial expressions and looks exchanged by characters or directed toward a character can express a volume of words. Background stories can also be covered quickly with flashbacks. The only real question would be how much of the violence would be shown.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday via NetGalley.

Overboard

Overboard by Sara Paretsky
5/10/22; 400 pages
William Morrow
V. I. Warshawski Series #21

Overboard by Sara Paretsky is the highly recommended 21st book in the private detective series featuring V.I. Warshawski.

V.I.'s dogs get loose during a walk and discover an injured and unconscious teenage girl hiding in the rocks along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The girl regains consciousness enough to only utter one word, nagyi, before the paramedics whisk her away to the hospital. The girl isn't identified before mysteriously disappearing from the hospital. As V.I. looks into her disappearance, a whole host of corrupt individuals, including cops,  come out of the woodwork and start harassing her. Soon it becomes clear that V.I.'s life is in danger too.

There is a whole lot going on in this latest installment of the long running series. As expected at this point, after 20 previous installment of the series Paretsky has her formula for writing V.I. Warshawski novels down pat. The action, new information, complex plot, and twists hold a reader's attention, keep the pace quick, and the plot compelling. Everything in the plot isn't necessarily believable, but it all does lead to a conclusion that will satisfy fans.

Since this is a series with many previous installments V.I. and all her associates are well-known characters to many people. Those trying the series for the first time can likely keep up with the plot and all the characters, but at this juncture it might be best to have with some familiarity with them before starting the latest novel.

Adding to the action is the pandemic featured front and center in the plot, which many people can do without now. Also as expected, Paretsky makes her political views clear. It is clear that it was written in 2020, but it will be published in 2022. Time has passed. Considering the current climate it would have been a wiser choice to just choose to write an exciting thriller and keep personal political/social views to themselves as it diminishes and dates the novel. 3.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of William Morrow.

The Murder Rule

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan
5/10/22; 304 pages
HarperCollins

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan is a highly recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Maine law student Hannah Rokeby has set her plan into motion. She has transferred to the University of Virginia for a semester in order to join the Innocence Project which looks for new evidence in cases where convicted individuals profess their innocence. Once in, she orchestrates an offer for her to join the team working on freeing Michael Dandridge, who has served 11 years for the rape and murder of a woman. Her alcoholic mother, Laura, has feared him for years.

The narrative alternates between Hannah's current actions (in 2019) and excerpts from Laura's 1994 diary. In 1994 Laura was working as a maid at a hotel in Seal Harbor, Maine. She became friends with wealthy Tom Spencer and also knew Tom's friend Michael Dandridge who was staying with him in the family vacation home. It is a slow build up to answer questions and disclose what is really happening but it becomes clear that Hannah has joined the Innocence Project and finagled a way onto the team trying to save Michael's life for a completely different purpose. And the team discovers unexpected information that surprises everyone.

Hannah is very self-contained, focused, and clearly has a goal in mind, a goal she is willing to lie and manipulate in order to reach. She's not particularly likeable. Readers won't know her end game until they are already invested in the plot. Clues and additional information are gradually revealed in the even pace narrative that gradually becomes more intense, accelerated, and dangerous as it races to an explosive, twisty ending.

What begins as a mother and daughter story changes to something else and McTiernan does an excellent job leading the reader down one path while clearly changing the direction multiple times. There are a few plot threads that leave questions unanswered and not everything is completely believable, but there is no doubt that this is a compelling novel of psychological suspense that will hold your attention to the end.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

Denver Noir

Denver Noir edited by Cynthia Swanson
5/3/22; 288 pages
Akashic Books 

 Denver Noir edited by Cynthia Swanson is a very highly recommended collection of fourteen short stories set in the Denver area.

This is part of Akashic Books international noir series that launched in 2004 and now is at over 100 volumes. The volumes are all set in a specific city, feature a local writer as an editor, and then have fourteen new stories by local authors. The volumes showcase a broad variety of styles from authors included and take place in neighborhoods across the city. A basic map of the city/area is included with the silhouette of a body indicating where individual stories take place. As a fan of procedurals and detective stories it was fun to read the wide variety of talented writers found in this latest edition to the international noir series

The collection is presented in three parts and writers included are:  David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Twanna LaTrice Hill, Cynthia Swanson, Erika T. Wurth, Peter Heller, R. Alan Brooks, Amy Drayer, Mark Stevens, Manuel Ramos, Barbara Nickless, D.L. Cordero, Francelia Belton, Mathangi Subramanian, and Mario Acevedo.

The wide range of styles and diversity of the selections (including a graphic story) are well selected. As with any short story collection some of the selections will resonate more with readers than others and not every story will appeal to all readers. All in all, however, this is a strong collection with a good variety of stories and styles. Denver Noir is an excellent addition to the series.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Akashic Books via Library Thing.

 

One for Sorrow

One for Sorrow by Helen Fields
3/3/22; 384 pages
Avon Books/HarperCollins
D.I. Callanach #7

One for Sorrow by Helen Fields is a highly recommended police procedural and the seventh book in the D.I. Callanach series.

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach take on a case that requires all hands on deck as a bomber seems to be targeting/taking specific people hostage and then using them in the crimes. The bombs are also resulting in the deaths of investigators and emergency medical personal. While investigating the current bombings they need to try and uncover why this is happening and find some clues or evidence that link all the victims to the individual responsible.

In alternate chapters titled "Before" that are set back in time before the current situation, the relationship between a young woman and her boyfriend is examined. At first these offer a bit of relief from the tension created by the current investigation, but soon they also take a chilling turn.

Turner is taking this case very personally and is out for justice no matter the personal cost. Each new situation created by the bomber places all the team members present in a dangerous, precarious situation. Clearly these bombings are personal to the perpetrator too.

While the tension is high in the investigation in the present, clues can also be found in the chapters set in the before chapters. The alternating story lines work well in this novel as each have their own separate plot and clues while they become more anxious and suspenseful. Both lead to an explosive ending. The writing is excellent and the pacing is taut and brisk.

As my first book in the series, One for Sorrow can be read as a stand alone procedural. I think it would help with backstory to have read others in the series, but I didn't experience any real problems following the plot due to a lack of information about the characters. I was not as invested as long time readers in Turner and Callanach's relationship, however, and don't have all the information on the team members.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Avon/HarperCollins.

Magpie

Magpie by Elizabeth Day
5/3/22; 336 pages
Simon & Schuster

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a highly recommended domestic psychological thriller.

In the first half of Magpie Marisa and Jake move in together and plan to start a family immediately. Even though Jake's mother, Annabelle, doesn't approve of Marisa, Marisa is sure they will have a happy life together. With money being tight they decide to take on a renter, Kate. It appears to be a great idea until Marisa notices that Kate seems to be pushing personal boundaries and is overly familiar with Jake. Marisa begins to feel threatened by her and is concerned about what her future plans are involving Jake and their baby. The second half of Magpie totally turns the plot upside down as it is told from Kate's point-of-view.

Suffice it to say that not much more can be said about the plot without spoiling it. I will mention that experienced readers are likely going to have some of their very early plot twist predictions come true and I'm not completely comfortable with one of the plot devices used. I can also affirm without any hesitation that predictable or not, the writing is quite good and Day does create a whole lot of tension while keeping the pace fast. The novel starts out rather slow but the switch changes things. The ending is a bit over-the-top, but will keep you glued to the pages. 3.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster via NetGalley.

Our Little World

Our Little World by Karen Winn
5/3/22; 352 pages
Penguin Random House

Our Little World by Karen Winn is a highly recommended coming-of-age drama.

Sisters Bee (Bourka) and Audrina Kociss have always been close until recently. Audrina, a year younger than Bee, is pretty, outgoing, and the favorite of everyone, including their parents. While Bee struggles to fit in it seems Audrina does so effortlessly. Neighborhood mothers take turns driving the kids to school and to either the club or the lake during the summer. It is July of 1985 when Max and Sally's mom's takes them all to Deer Chase Lake in New Jersey. This is the day when four-year-old Sally goes missing and changes everyone's illusion of safety and stability. Audrina and Bee's relationship becomes strained and distant under the stress of the disappearance and Bee's move into seventh grade, as well as a secret Bee is holding. 

Our Little World is an excellent, well-written, even paced character driven novel coming-of-age drama that examines the complicated relationship between sisters and in families. This is the story of loss and lost innocence as the sisters grow up. Bee is our narrator and tells the story of their complicated relationship, secrets unspoken, harsh words exchanged, and how envy and trauma asserted themselves and changed things. All of the characters are depicted as realistic, believable individuals with flaws, strengths, weaknesses, and secrets.

Winn excels at setting Our Little World during a specific time and place. Those who knew the 1980's will immediately recognize the time period and little tidbits of descriptive information the clearly set the novel in the '80s. Readers will know at the start that Audrina is going to die, but how, when and why won't be answered until much later in the novel. The disappearance (and presumed murder) of Sally changes everyone's life in some way as it is the major occurrence in the first part of the novel that propels the plot forward toward the second part of the novel, which focuses on Audrina.

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