The Book Review Club (November 2014)

It's November.  I honestly can't believe it. I will not frighten you off with a countdown of the number of shopping days left till the holidays. I will tell you that November is National Pomegranate Month here in the US. Ignorant of this, I nonetheless bought a pomegranate the other day. As per the all-knowing Wikipedia, the pomegranate originated in the area between the Himalayas and Egypt. I'm actually planning to plant a dwarf tree.  And onto books... (there was no graceful way to segue)

I'm sure you remember KELLY HAYES, one of my Denny's Chicks critique partners? Out of the goodness of her heart, Kelly offered to write this month's review. She'd read a good book and wanted to share it with you. Plus, she owes me money. JOKE! She's just a generous person who reads a lot and likes to promote books.  Thanks, Kelly!

THE SECRET PLACE by Tana French
Tana French’s fifth novel in the Dublin Murder Squad Series was like a long-awaited meal, to be devoured and savored all at once.  As soon as I got it, I cleared my reading calendar in hopes that it would live up to my sense of anticipation and high expectations. Well, I have to say, it did. In spades.

After reading the first fifty pages or so I looked up from the book and sighed, wondering if I had the time and patience required for this level of detail. Because, as anyone who has read one or more of her novels  can attest, a flare for detail is one of French’s many literary talents. I reminded myself that my time investment has always paid off before with French’s novels, and went back to my reading.

And that was the last I thought about time investment versus payoff. I was pulled into the darkly rich world of eight teenage girls in an Irish all-girl boarding school, where a popular boy from the neighboring boy’s school was brutally murdered.  

If you’ve read Faithful Place, the third book in the series, you might remember Stephen Moran, the ambitious young detective who assisted Frank Mackey. Since then he’s moved up on the professional ladder and is now firmly entrenched in the cold case division. But he’s not satisfied and when new evidence in the cold case at St. Kilda’s school drops into his lap, he jumps at the chance to work with lead Homicide detective,  Antoinette Conway.

Conway is a tough nut with an inner city Dublin background and an extra large chip on her shoulder about it. She has no respect for these children of privilege, and it shows. Which is one of the reasons she failed to solve the case a year ago.  She spots Moran’s sensitive guy demeanor and decides it might be just the approach she needs to crack this complex case. 

So she sits back and plays silent bad cop while Moran asks all the questions and tries to unpick the web of lies the girls have woven around themselves. And what a tangled web it is. The dynamics and psychological interplay among the eight girls will make your head spin. And you might even feel a chill or two.

I admire French’s many gifts as a writer, but when I realized that this 452 page book spans just one day, I have to admit, I said to myself, “She can’t possibly pull this off. Can she?” When I finished the last page and felt like I’d been through the wringer, just like those two detectives had, I knew the answer. She can pull it off. And she did. 

Dear FCC: Kelly Hayes borrowed this book from the library. I promise she was not compensated for this review. Most definitely not by me! Please do not harass her. It's a real treat for all of when she posts. And we want to have her back again.

 And now....onto the rest of our reviews. Please click through. You won't want to miss a single one!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Sarah Laurence: BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson (MG, memoir)


ADULT FICTION BOOK REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: SO BIG by Edna Ferber

Patti Abbott:  BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French (mystery)

Prairie Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden: CRITICAL MASS by Sara Paretsky (mystery)

Stacy Nyikos: ANCILLARY JUSTICE by Ann Leckie (science fiction)


NONFICTION REVIEW

Jenn Jilks: ALL ABOUT CARPETS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW by Glenn Revere




Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

The Book Review Club (January 2013)

Happy New Year! Welcome to our virtual book club. We meet the first Wednesday of the month. Have been since Feb. 2009, which means we're almost to our FOUR-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Now, that's some dedicated reading and critiquing! Be sure to click through the links under my review. They'll take you to everyone else's reviews. Happy reading. Here's to a great year in books!

FAITHFUL PLACE by Tana French

I feel a bit odd reviewing this book because Kelly Hayes reviewed Broken Harbor by Tana French last September, and Ellen Booraem reviewed The Likeness in November. I generally try to choose a book/author that one of our gang hasn't reviewed with an aim to cover a wider territory. But...it was precisely because of the above two reviews that I picked up Into the Woods, Ms. French's first mystery. That is, picked it up and never put it down. Then, went directly to The Likeness without passing go and onto Faithful Place. That's how much I enjoyed these mysteries. Faithful Place is my fave, thus far.

In a nutshell: Undercover Detective Frank (Francis) Mackey is drawn back into his inner-city Dublin neighborhood when his childhood girlfriend's suitcase and then murdered body shows up twenty-two years after she disappeared. He's gone out of his way for years to avoid this neighborhood along with his dysfunctional family (complete with sibling rivalries, an abusive and alcoholic father, a critical and guilt-tripping mother). Frank was a supporting character in The Likeness. He's smart, acerbic, hard-drinking, witty, and more than willing to bend the rules. Here's an interview where the author explains why she changes protagonists for each book. It certainly keeps the series fresh.

What I loved: I felt like I was IN the story, especially in Faithful Place, Frank's working-class neighborhood. The details, the descriptions, the sights, the sounds, the smells from the dingy neighborhood bars to the rundown apartments to the food to the arguments. All of it was perfect. The characters were so incredibly real. I almost expected Frank to order me a Guinness and plunk it down on my table, warm foam dripping down the side of the mug. Also, I'm a sucker for good dialogue, and it's phenomenal in this book. Perhaps because Ms. French trained as an actress? Look at this: I said, "Kennedy's no mate of mine. He's just a little poxbottle I have to work with every now and then."

What I didn't like: It's small, but Frank's nine-year-old daughter didn't ring true for me. And in a book where the characters jump off the page (to be cliche), well, you can't help but notice a weak one. Still, it's definitely no deal breaker in a book I had trouble putting down.

I'm really looking forward to reading Broken Harbor.

The links below will lead you to wonderful reviews. Please click through. It's a great way to start the new year!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

 Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: THE STAR OF KAZAN by Eva Ibbotson (fantasy, middle grade)

Stacy Nyikos: THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE by Christopher Paul Curtis (middle grade)

Sarah Laurence: THE TRAGEDY PAPER by Elizabeth LaBan (young adult)

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Patti Abbott: TRUST YOUR EYES by Linwood Barclay (thriller)

Beth Yarnall: PLAY NICE by Gemma Halliday (thriller)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS by Hester Browne (women's)

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Linda McLaughlin: AMERICAN NATIONS: A HISTORY OF THE ELEVEN RIVAL REGIONAL CULTURES OF NORTH AMERICA by Colin Woodard


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!