Like Mother, Like Daughter - Kimberly McCreight

 Like Mother, Like Daughter - Kimberly McCreight

Pub. Date:  July 9, 2024

She read

Kat, a fixer for a law firm, is estranged from her daughter, Cleo and getting a divorce from husband Aidan.  Trying to mend fences with her daughter, she coaxes her into coming for dinner. When Cleo arrives, she finds the dinner burning, a broken glass, Kat’s bloody shoes, and her mother missing.  Oh, but there is so much more to this story…..

There is a lot going on in this book and sometimes it seemed all over the place.  There are multiple characters and different POVs as well as transcripts of therapy sessions, journal entries, text messages, and legal filings. Various timelines move back and forth but are not difficult to follow.  A couple of different storylines centering around Kat give the reader a number of possibilities as to who might want to harm her.  There are almost as many red herrings here as pickled herrings found in a jar in a delicatessen!

The denouement went very quickly and at least one loose end was left hanging.  Despite this, it was an engrossing, fast paced read.

Thanks to #netgalley and @aaknopf for the DRC. 

***

The Burning - Linda Castillo

 The Burning - Linda Castillo

Pub. Date: July 9, 2024

She read

This is the 16th in the Kate Burkholder series.  Kate, formerly Amish, is police chief in her small hometown in Ohio in the middle of Amish country.  When an excommunicated Amish man is found burned at the stake, Kate must unwind his history by interviewing the normally reticent members of that community.  When suspicion falls on her brother, Kate is told to stand down in the case.  Of course, she persists in pursuing the  murder,  knowing that the powers that be are pursuing the wrong line of inquiry.  Along the way, some early history of the Anabaptists is revealed to possibly be a key to the crime and Kate and her new husband’s lives are put in danger. 

Although I have only read three installments, I really like this series.  Well written, with good character development and a solid plot, it is an engrossing, thrilling read. Kate is a strong, well adjusted female protagonist who does seem to get herself into dangerous predicaments. If you are new to this series and expect a cozy mystery, be forewarned that there are a few brutal scenes in it. 

 Where else can you find a police procedural, mystery, a thriller, and insight into the Amish culture? I do recommend this series and look forward to the next book. This book would work as a standalone.

Thanks to #netgalley and  @stmartinspress #minotaurbooks for the DRC.

*****

Pitch Dark - Paul Doiron

 Pitch Dark - Paul Doiron

Pub. Date: June 25, 2024

She read

This is the 15th in the Mike Bowditch series.  I have only read one other so  far.  This one will work as a standalone.

Mike is a Maine Game Warden Investigator engaged to Stacey, an EMT. Mike’s assistance is requested when he is notified a questionable stranger has gone missing while searching for the reclusive and secretive man who lives deep in the woods while building a log cabin for an acquaintance of Mike’s wife and father in law.  When he learns the recluse lives with his young daughter who is never seen in town and doesn’t attend school, his interest in the man deepens.  What is he hiding?  And, thus he is off on a menacing, dangerous and thrilling hunt in the north Maine woods and neighboring Canada.  

I like this unique take on a police procedural featuring a game warden investigator.  It is fast paced and engrossing with lots of action.  An atmospheric read, Doiron conveys a good sense of place and danger.  Bowditch is a great character.  Persistent, he tries to respect the rules, can often be brash and annoying to others, displays a good sense of humor.  Some of the situations and actions are a bit over the top, but that does make for a good thriller.  

I have added this series to my list of must reads. 

Thanks to #netgalley and  @stmartinspress #minotaurbooks for the DRC.

****

Meli & Mac:Rendez- vous with a Flamingo

Meli & Mac - Elena Joannides

She read

Meli and her brother Mac are about to embark on an expedition when they meet a flamingo who has lost his way.  He is seeking the Shrimp Extravaganza and they help him.  Mac has a magical bag that contains all sorts of items to assist them in their quest.  Along the way, learn some French expressions as well as find out how flamingos get and retain their color!

This is a sweet book and a fun way to introduce children to some of the French language.  Of course, the adult reading it aloud will have to know (or look up) how to pronounce the French words! There are some additional French expressions at the end.  It is a colorful book, beautifully illustrated.  

Thanks to #netgalley and @literallypr for the digital copy.

****

Death in Bacton Wood - Ross Greenwood

 Death in Bacton Wood - Ross Greenwood

Pub. Date:  May 3, 2024

She read

This is the next installment in the Norfolk Murders series and can be read as a standalone. The plot is labyrinthine…  people buried alive, organized crime, drug use, immigrants, human trafficking, a possible “bent copper”, revenge….what do they all have to do with each other?  And on a personal level will DS Ashley Knight realize that the fellow officer she is seeing is a poor choice for a romantic dalliance and will she cut him loose?  

A solid police procedural, I like this investigative team with their close personal relationships and sarcastic humor.  The criminals in this installment are quite malevolent and their crimes abhorrent while the writing pulls you in in this engrossing, can’t put down read. 

If you enoy police procedurals featuring capable female detectives, you can get in on this series from the beginning as this is only the third book.  I have read two of them.  While this story is grittier than the prior one I read, this author/series has been added to my “must read” list.  

Thanks to #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for the DRC.

****

Long Island Compromise - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

 Long Island Compromise - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Pub. Date:  July 9, 2024

She read 

A Polish Jewish immigrant escaping the Holocaust comes to New York where he eventually accumulates wealth by opening a factory. When he dies suddenly, his son, Carl is called back to the family compound on Long Island to run the business. In 1980, Carl is kidnapped and held for $200,000 ransom which is paid.  The kidnapping haunts Carl for the rest of his life, as well as affecting his three children, Nathan, Beamer, and the soon to be born Jenny.  And thus the novel embarks on recounting the lives of the siblings, as well as those of the generations that came before, the after effects of the kidnapping and the guiding influences of their wealth.  

Cleverly written with touches of wit, the story gets mired down at times with almost a stream of consciousness accounting of their lives and in particular their self loathing. Both historical and contemporary, it is a long novel (almost 500 pages) that touches on American Jewishness, the privilege of wealth, inherited trauma, self sabotaging , family dysfunction,  women’s roles. There is a bit of a fairy tale ending and it will be interesting to see what readers think of it. I think this is a book that many will love and about which others will be less enamored.  

***

Thanks to #Netgalley and #randomhouse for the DRC.

A Refiner's Fire - Donna Leon

A Refiner's Fire - Donna Leon

Pub. Date: July 9, 2024

She read

This is number thirty three in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series and I have happily read all of them. 

Leon is an excellent writer, sharing wit and wisdom and capturing so well the the pulse and rhythm of Venice.  Not the Venice that the hoards of day trippers experience, but the real city of the Venetians who reside there. It is a joy to read such a literate writer whose books touch on philosophy, classical literature, political science, history, justice. Her books transcend one genre…they are police procedurals, mysteries, literary fiction.

The cases, while always intriguing, are almost secondary to the wonderful characterizations, musings and observations of life, especially Venetian life, by Brunetti. It is always so nice to visit again with all the familiar actors, flamboyant Signora Elletra, strong and wise Paola, philosophical Guido, comical Patta, capable Griffoni, loyal Foa.  

The plot of this installment involving the “baby” (underage) gangs trying to wreak havoc on the islands of the Veneto intersects with Brunetti and Griffoni’s interaction with an acclaimed hero from the suicide attack on the Italian carabinieri headquarters at Nasiriyah during the Iraq War twenty years ago. My only hesitation with this story is that I would have liked to have known what happens next for one of the characters. I don’t want to say any more as I don’t write spoilers, but if you read it, you will know who I mean.  

Leon conveys so much what Venice is all about....the politics, the cynicism, the decaying beauty.  I feel that Brunetti and his family and associates are old friends.  Last time we were in Venice, I passed by the Questore fully expecting to encounter him and stopped at his favorite bar for a coffee.  Leon's books make me want to return to La Serenissima. 

*****