Monday, December 25, 2017

Still Life by Louise Penny

Still Life by Louise Penny

I have a tendency to do things backwards and every which way but forward.  I read an Inspector Gamache book, number ten in the series first.  And I loved it.  Louise Penny is a fantastic writer, her words are smooth like butter and a pleasure to read even though they are usually about crime and murder.  Since I have some mystery lovers in book club, I chose Still Life, the first book featuring Inspector Gamache, to hopefully give every one something to love.

I have to admit Still Life started out slowly for me. This book is the introduction to the town of Three Pines and its cast of oddball and eccentric residents. I guess I wanted more from them forgetting that this was their debut to the world.  I needed to be patient.

I'm not going to tell you anything about the plot.  That would ruin everything.  I can tell you there is a murder and Inspector Gamache and his crew from Montreal make friends quickly in the small town in order to gather clues to the crime.  And I will tell you that by the end of the novel, all that I thought  was happening, really didn't and the perpetrators were never who I expected them to be.  All the trappings of an excellent mystery.

Still Life is an absolute pleasure.  It kept me on the edge of my seat and made me want to move to Three Pines to hang out with all the quirky and wonderful people there.  And I can't wait to hear what all my faithful book clubbers have to say about it. I'm checking out the number two book in the Inspector Gamache series from the library next week.


Sunday, December 10, 2017

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Anna Kerrigan is a young woman who is doing her part in the war effort by working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  But she longs for more.  Her father disappeared several years ago without a trace.  Her mother struggles to care for Lydia, Anna's sickly and disabled sister while Anna is the glue trying to hold their lives together.

And Anna wants more from life.  She applies to be a diver at the Navy Yard and the men want nothing better to see her fail. But she turns out to be the strongest diver on the team. Anna is strong and tough when it comes to her personal life as well. She takes us deep into the world of nightclubs run by gangsters.

I haven't read Ms. Egan's other novel that was a Pulitzer Prize winner, but I wouldn't call Manhattan Beach a prize winning novel. It is meticulously researched. The diving scenes make the reader feel as if they are also underwater in a clumsy suit weighing 200 pounds.  As the gangster Dexter Styles faces his almost certain execution, I could see the beads of sweat forming on his brow.  And when Eddie's merchant marine ship sank in the middle of a fierce storm, my heartbeat rose along with their desperation to survive. The pages in-between the griping scenes were not nearly as exciting.

Manhattan Beach is a well written novel, with sharp and engaging characters and an interesting plot.  The lives of the characters are expertly interwoven together. For me the historical backdrop of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and World War II added to my reading pleasure.  This was an enjoyable read but not the page turner I was hoping to find.  

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong First off I have to say I happened on this book by chance.  My sister's name is Susan Leigh Furl...