The Final Case - David Guterson

 The Final Case - David Guterson

She and he read

Brief summary: A young girl adopted from Ethiopia by a fringe Fundamentalist Christian family has died and there is evidence that she has been abused.  An octogenarian attorney takes her case.   He is no longer able to drive, so he enlists the help of his writer son who has given up writing.  

Don’t approach this book expecting a riveting political thriller. Yes, there is a court case, but there are also observations of family, aging, perversion of religion, racism and the all too familiar attributes of our culture today that embrace permanent states of outrage or cling to conspiratorial thoughts.  The author had a lot to say; a lot of “grist for the mill”.  I’m not sure on a first reading that I got it all, for there is a veritable smorgasbord of food for thought in this novel.

He also read the book and liked it....until it started meandering away from the case at hand.

*****

The Silent Sisters - Robert Dugoni

 The Silent Sisters - Robert Dugoni

Publication Date: Feb 22, 2022

She read

This is the last of a trilogy; I have read all three. I started reading them because I really enjoy Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series; he does know how to spin a good tale.

Charles Jenkins, retired CIA agent, is called back to duty yet another time to return to Russia to try to rescue the last two of the Seven Sisters, Russian women raised from childhood to spy for the Americans. 

Spy stories are not my favorite, but once again Dugoni lured me in with an easy to follow, suspenseful, engrossing, fast read, albeit a bit violent.   As with many stories in this genre, I found some of the action a bit of a stretch and a little too convenient, but enjoyed this read, Although this can be read as a standalone, reading The Eighth Sister first will provide much more context. 

*****

American Shoes - Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke; Garrett Turke

 American Shoes - Rosemarie Lengsfeld Turke; Garrett Turke

She read

Publication Date: Feb. 15, 2022

Based on the true story of the co author,  Rosemarie (Rosel) is the daughter of German immigrants.  She is born in New York; an American citizen.  In the 1930s, the family returns to Germany to visit her dying grandfather. After World War II breaks out, Hitler will not allow German nationals out of the country, so Rosemarie and her family must wait out the war there.  After the war, the United States would only allow American citizens and Jews into the country, so fifteen year old Rosemarie is separated from her parents and younger sister as she returns to the US to live with a distant aunt and uncle.

As Rosel embarks on a journey across the Atlantic and back to America aboard an ocean liner redesigned for troop transport, the horrors of the Nazi Germany of her childhood are revealed through her daily nightmares, an effective literary technique.   

The perspective of this book is a bit different; it is of the German citizens who did not support Hitler and the toll the madman’s actions took on their lives as they lost their homes, were displaced, survived bombings, forced conscription, refugee camps. Rosel must be particularly careful to hide the fact that she is actually an American. 

Beautifully written by Rosemarie and her son, American Shoes exposes the evil that can exist in the world, as well as the heinous aspects of war.  I had the feeling the book was written with teens and YA readers in mind. It is a tough story but there is so much to learn from it.

The past two years I have read a lot of books that focus on the effects of World War II; I have enjoyed all of them and think they are giving us a message for our times.  If only we would heed it. As I was reading, certain passages resonated:“lies spreading for years….like a plague”  “people were quick to believe anything that explained their misery or lessened their fear””people were quick to blame anything and anyone””how can people succumb to such blatant lies”.  Without spoiling too much, when I read  the postscript, I found some of the same feelings: “If we are not careful, what happened in Germany could happen here”. 

*****

Black Orchid Girls - Carolyn Arnold

 Black Orchid Girls - Carolyn Arnold

She read

Publication Date: Feb. 10, 2022

This is the fourth in Carolyn Arnold’s Detective Amanda Steele series.  It is the first one I have read.  Although it does make reference to past cases and personal history, I felt enough background information was provided so that it worked well as a standalone.

A college student, Chloe,  is found dead in a state park, killed very early in the morning.  She has been stripped of her clothing and possessions, posed, and a black orchid placed on her.  Amanda Steele and her partner, Trent Stenson, are on the case.  Was the perpetrator someone close to Chloe or is there a serial killer at large? 

This was a fast, engrossing read.  Amanda is a bit of a flawed character, but the death of her husband and daughter a few years earlier has had its impact on her. And, by the way, she is trying to adopt a young child, Zoe,  orphaned after her parents were killed in an earlier story. I did have some questions about the partners’ procedures (really, interviewing two persons of interest together?), yet it remains a decent police procedural.  

I don’t feel compelled to go back and read the prior books in the series, but am looking forward to the next one.  And, I wonder if the spark that was hinted at between Amanda and Trent will ignite, or will they remain supportive friends and partners……

****

Violeta - Isabel Allende

Violeta - Isabel Allende

She read; he is reading

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

I’ve read a few novels by Allende, and I think this is my favorite.  It was wonderful.  Although, I do have to say, I really liked the first and last third of the story; the middle third sagged a bit for me.

Violeta is a 100 year old woman looking back on her life.  She was born the year of a pandemic and died the year of one.  She charts her life, along with the political, social, and cultural history of her country, and, in a way,  the world. Allende is a skilled storyteller, and she is at her best when weaving the history of the various Latin American countries into the personal narratives of her characters.

Beautifully written, engrossing; I highly recommend it.  

Incidentally, if you are not familiar with “Operation Condor”, you might want to Google it either before reading the book or when you reach that point in your reading.  Very eye opening. 

(He hasn't finished reading it yet; but really likes it)

*****

Joan is Okay - Weike Wang

 Joan is Okay - Weike Wang

She read; he is going to read

Publication Date: Jan. 18, 2022

I really liked this book. I can’t quite describe why, but I really liked it.  Joan is born in America to Chinese immigrants who return to their homeland when she attends Harvard. She is an introvert;  reclusive, content in her single, childless life, and dedicated to her job as an attending physician in New York City.  The book, among other areas, delves into the  life of immigrants, racism exhibited toward Asian Americans, mourning for lost parents, and the emergence of the Covid pandemic.  It is amusing, poignant, profound, and, unfortunately, a very fast read. 

*****

Hotel Portofino - J.P. O'Connell

 Hotel Portofino - J.P. O'Connell

She read

Release Date: Jan 18, 2022

This is an unusual book because there has been a miniseries made about it apparently before the book has been released! Touted as “perfect”  for fans of Downtown Abbey  and The Crown, I get the DA comparison, but not TC so much.  I’d like to add it has a little bit of Hotel DuLac thrown in and maybe even The Durrells.

Here we see Brits abroad running a hotel in Portofino in the 1920s. Much of the help has been imported from the UK, with locals mixing in for some tasks.  The guests include Brits and Italians of some stature, along with a few shady characters. All of this set within the looming menace of Mussolini, the Black Shirts, and Fascism.

There is decent character development, romantic entanglements, black mail, theft, and some other intrigue. Some characters are endearing, others grotesque.  It was an enjoyable read, and I wonder if there will be a sequel.  

****

Buried in Secret - Viveca Sten

 Buried in Secret - Viveca Sten

She read

Publication Date: Jan. 11, 2022

This is the tenth in the Sandhamm Murders series; it is the first I have read.  Although it was OK as a standalone, there was constant reference to something that occurred in the past (I assume in a prior book).  It was not fully explained, and I would have liked to know more about it, especially since it had such an impact on one of the main characters.

The remains of a skeleton are found when excavating on a small island.  As the police look into missing persons cases, there are two possibilities. I liked how the story focused on the personal lives of not only the two possible victims, but also the professional personnel involved in the case.  I also liked how the details leading to the disappearance of both missing persons  was interwoven through the book, slowly unfolding. I did not like the character, Nora, at all…self destructive people always annoy me.

This was an engrossing read.  Once it got going, after about 60%, I couldn’t put it down. Although this takes place in Sweden, I didn’t see it as classic “Nordic noir”. It didn’t have that cold, dark, bleak, foreboding quality.  It was much lighter, set in the summer by the sea. There was some social criticism as relates to police cutbacks, but that is certainly not unique to the Nordic countries and I have read that a lot recently both in American and British books.  

I do look forward to reading the next in the series; I hope that Nora will have recovered from her recent troubles and will be presented as a stronger, healthier individual.  If I ever find the time, I may go back and read some of the prior books in the series. 

*****