Salt Lane by William Shaw. This is the second mystery of his that I have read, and it focuses on detective Alex Cupidi from the previous book. It’s another mystery set on the Kent coast, and the land there plays a central role. It was very well written, and I liked that he continued on with Detective Cupidi, who is still dealing with her teenage daughter, as well, in this book, as her mother and a past lover. It is suspenseful, and Shaw has a great eye for detail. I recommend.
Bloody Genius by John Sandford. I can never pass up a new Virgil Flowers mystery: they are always so well paced and quietly entertaining. This was a good one. Instead of getting sent to the outer bits of Minnesota, in this one Virgil is in Minneapolis at the University, trying to solve the mystery around the death of a professor in the library. Virgil is as methodical and laid-back as ever, and slowly, eventually, puts all the clues together. It is fun.
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. I loved the first Olive Kitteredge book, and was so happy to discover that Strout was writing another one. Like the first, it is really a book of short stories based in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Some are directly about Olive, but in many she just makes a brief appearance. I think Olive is such a brilliantly conceived character. She is always completely Olive, and always a delight. In this book, Olive is aging and dealing with the infirmities that come along with. She’s trying to fix her relationship with her son, and continues on doing her quiet good deeds while never thinking a thought that goes unsaid. It was delightful and beautifully written, and soon I will read it again.
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow. I finally submitted to the buzz and got this book, and it was a much more enjoyable read than I thought it was going to be, based on the subject matter. Farrow wisely chose to make the book about his pursuit of the Harvey Weinstein story, rather than the story itself. Of course the story is worthy, but focusing on how he investigated it, the interviews he got, and how he was stymied at almost every turn by NBC was really fascinating. Not to mention disheartening. It is a fast, smart, and astonishing read.
Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver’s nonfiction voice, and I hadn’t read this collection of essays, so was looking forward to it. And it was good – and many of the pieces I quite enjoyed – but she wrote a lot of them in response to 9/11, so they are very much from that specific time period. Her quirkiness can get a bit preachy at times.
