Synopsis: Upper East Side bond trader mows down Bronx “honor student” and New York City freaks out. Review: Oh, how I love Bonfire of the Vanities! I have read it several times, most memorably rereading it in the first month after I moved to New York City, way back in 1995. I don’t know that I could ever tire of reading it, because I’m always astonished by how deep Wolfe takes you into every single little nuance of the story. And it’s funny how the…
Synopsis: A murder mystery set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, featuring a veiled police officer, an American woman whose husband has gone missing, and the secret history of the Koran. Review: Not impressed by City of Veils, which aims to be a Da Vinci Code for Islam. Conspiracies, coincidences, and religious stereotyping combined with a lackluster plot just didn’t work for me at all. Many thanks to Little, Brown for the review copy.
Synopsis: Three Cambridge students working with the blind daughter of a famous novelist have their lives disrupted when one of them disappears. Review: In her other life, Emily Winslow is a well-respected crafter of puzzles, and that expertise shines through in the intricate plotting of The Whole World. Through the use of multiple points-of-view, Winslow creates a layered mystery where it’s nearly impossible to figure out what really happened–but when you learn the truth, it all makes perfect sense. I loved the Cambridge setting and…
Synopsis: In a steampunk fairyland, a charming criminal mastermind dogged by bad luck ends up battling a beanstalk of epic proportions. Review: Calamity Jack is a graphic novel sure to delight brainy teens in search of a cool story with fun characters. The illustrations, by Nathan Hale, have whimsy and solidity in marrying pixies and steel beams, yielding an anachronistic delight. The story, by Shannon Hale and husband Dean, has all the wit, emotional depth, and creativity that you’d expect from her. I don’t really…
Synopsis: A lonely young man sells his soul to the devil so that he will grow tall, but it’s his troubled sister who falls under the sway of the occult. Review: The Killing Doll is an odd little book, with more horror elements than can usually be found in a Ruth Rendell crime novel. I’m used to the pettiness of her characters, but usually there are one or two who engage me. I really didn’t connect to any of these people, and was glad when…
Synopsis: A love affair turns murderous during a voyage among desolate Arctic islands. Review: No Night Is Too Long was not my favorite Barbara Vine. While I found the central murder to be wonderfully original, I didn’t care for the characters and felt like some of the plot was a bit too contrived. The book appears to be out of print, so someone will get a lucky treat at my local thrift store this week!
Synopsis: Convinced her sister murdered their stepfather, a young woman unravels when her relationship ends while her sister’s flourishes, and she wonders whether she should finally tell. Review: The Water’s Lovely is one of Ruth Rendell’s quieter books, with a fineness to it despite the emotional (and sometimes physical) violence that lurks in most of the relationships. While most of the characters have deep emotional flaws, some of them are appealingly good, even brave and admirable, and that’s what kept me really engaged in this…
Synopsis: An MP arranges a kinky, consensual abduction for his mistress, but when a chance car accident takes her life, he chooses to keep silent, with devastating results. Review: Everything is connected–except when it isn’t. In The Birthday Present, Barbara Vine follows a scandal-that-wasn’t over the course of four years to show how a secret poisons everyone it touches, and how unrelated events can become part of a story because they appear to fit. The story is told mostly by Rob, brother-in-law to Ivor Tesham,…
Synopsis: Fresh out of jail and trying to go straight, ex-bodyguard Jimmy Boone’s curiosity is piqued by a mauled pit bull, leading him to a cache of counterfeit money, a pissed-off stripper, and a conman looking to retire at any cost. Review: I wasn’t sure that I would like This Wicked World, being that I typically prefer British crime novels written by women to American crime novels of any kind. It did not take long for me to get totally sucked into the book, however,…
Synopsis: When wannabe journalist Dixie Nguyen stumbles into the story of a lifetime in the boys’ locker room, he risks everything, including his place on the football team, to bring down an albino drug lord–who happens to be another high school student. Review: Sophomore Undercover is written in a breezy, comic style that will definitely appeal to readers, especially boys. I wasn’t so into it myself, because I found the plot really frustrating from the get-go. Dixie makes some assumptions that send him down the…