The Crossing Places and The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths. My friend recommended Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway mysteries to me (thanks, Judith!) and I very much enjoyed the first two. In fact, when I finished the first I went right on to the second, and was tempted to move on to the third as well; I’m going to see if my library has the rest. Ruth is an archaeologist who specializes in bones and lives on the edge of a salt marsh in which she had her first successful dig. She’s an academic who teaches at the nearby university in Norfolk. In the first book, she is contacted by a detective, Harry Nelson, who has found some child’s bones in the saltmarsh and thinks they might be those of a child who went missing a few years ago. When Ruth examines the bones, however, they are from the iron age – her area of expertise. She and Nelson become friends of a sort, and she gets involved in his investigations, often sharing in his discoveries and in the danger. They are quick reads – there’s not a huge amount of detail, but they are interesting and fun, and Ruth is refreshing. She’s single and chubby and is happy to spend an evening with her books, her wine, and her cats. It was also interesting to hear what Ruth explains about the iron age and the accompanying myths and ways of the area.
Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry. This was a moody and sad read, yet was hard to put down. The book begins with Nora taking the train out to the English countryside to visit her sister, Rachel, with whom she is very close. When she gets there, she discovers Rachel’s gruesomely murdered body. She stays in the town in a state of shock and works with the police to try to figure out who killed Rachel. Soon some of the police begin to treat Nora herself as a suspect. It’s a really moving exploration of grief and jealousy and the complex relationship between siblings. I highly recommend it.
Shrill by Lindy West. Lindy West started writing editorials for the New York Times a few months ago, and I’ve been very much enjoying what she has to say, so I thought I’d read her book of essays. She is wonderful at conveying her viewpoint: her arguments are always really impressive and clear and biting and funny. I found that I’m more interested in her political topics than I am in the topics of this book, however, which were basically fat acceptance/pride, and misogyny in comedy. The essays were also biographical, and that aspect I enjoyed. She is appealingly witty.
The Dry by Jane Harper. This was a good read; it’s a thriller/mystery that takes place somewhere in the country outside of Melbourne, Australia. Aaron Falk returns to his hometown when his childhood best friend is thought to have killed his wife and son and then himself. His friend’s parents don’t believe that he did this, and since Aaron works as a policeman with an expert in financial matters – and Luke, the friend, was having financial difficulties – his parents think Aaron might be able to discover the truth. Aaron starts working off the record with the local policeman, who also suspects something is amiss. There’s a lot of going back and forth from the past to the present. It’s a very backwoods place, and Aaron and his father were driven out of the town due to the death of a friend of his when he was a teen, so a lot of people are upset that he is back. It’s interesting, suspenseful, and well-conceived.
Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo. I thought I had read this before, and was re-reading it so that I could go on to read the newer Everybody’s Fool, but as it turns out, this was my first time reading it. I had gotten it mixed up with either Bridge of Sighs or Empire Falls. At any rate, it’s a very “old-school” kind of novel about a small town in upstate New York that has fallen on hard times (in the eighties). The main character is Sully, who was played by Paul Newman in the movie (which my sister tells me I saw with her, but I also have no memory of. I think I need to start taking some gingko biloba). Sully is a charismatic man in his sixties who lives hand to mouth and is both lovable and highly exasperating. He rents some rooms from the elderly Beryl Peoples, a retired 8thgrade teacher, with an acerbic wit. It’s a very long book that takes place only over two or so weeks. Sully goes about his days and we meet everyone he comes across. I looked forward to reading my daily 25 or so pages and joining Sully in his world. Now I’m on to Everybody’s Fool.
1 comment:
Glad you liked the Elly Griffiths books -- they are good summer reading, which is when I read them. I have also read Under the Harrow and found it quite sad. I have been invited into the neighborhood book group and am currently reading Martin Marten by Brian Doyle, a Portland writer, who sadly, recently died from a brain tumor. I love this book, he creates a whole world of characters -- both human and four-footed -- that the reader grows to care about very much. They all live on Mount Hood, which on a clear day is a glorious sight.
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