The Missing One is billed as a psychological thriller but by page 218 I’m convinced that the novel is actually about the joys of motherhood and the psychology of toddlers. Debut author Lucy Atkins spends more time on the smell of the protagonist’s small child than she does describing any other element in the novel. And the adjective used most often is “sweet”—sweet ... Read More...
The Word Exchange: A Novel
I've finally been hit by what so many of you have in the last few months- a whopper of a cold that has left me unable to formulate even the simplest thoughts. The Word Exchange just came out in paperback and as it was one of my favorite books for 2014, I'm sharing the review for the second time. A meme (/ˈmiːm/ meem) is "an idea, behavior, or style that ... Read More...
The Jaguar’s Children
There is always some fact in fiction but in The Jaguar’s Children by John Vaillant there is likely to be much more than expected. The story is a simple one in terms of characters and staging because it takes place inside a water tanker truck over the course of three days when it is left in the desert near Nogales, Arizona after stopping due to mechanical problems. The ... Read More...
The Girl on the Train
Take the unreliable narrator format from Gone Girl and multiply it times three and you’ve got Paula Hawkins’ debut novel The Girl on the Train. Three women—Anna, Rachel, and Megan—all pass through the same time and space but each from a very different perspective, varying from sad to what appears to be flat out crazy. For Rachel, being unable to conceive leads to solace found ... Read More...
A Pleasure and a Calling
Invisibility has for so long been the linchpin to my favourite, most memorable moments. Mr. Heming is exactly what one wants in a real estate agent—quiet, innocuous, and well-versed in the pros and cons of a neighborhood or a house itself. He imposes none of his own opinions but merely shares his knowledge and leads the buyer to the perfect house as determined by his practiced ... Read More...
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth
When Kevin’s little brother is killed in a freak accident he and his mother go to her father’s house for the summer to try and recover. Kevin is wracked with guilt about his part in the accident or, at least what his father tells him was his part. His mother is a wraith, the life sucked out of her, leaving her emotionally comatose. Her father lives in Medgar, Kentucky, deep in ... Read More...
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