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Breathless

Title: Breathless

Author: Amy McCulloch

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I am terrified of mountains. I don’t ski, I don’t go to Colorado, and I have no desire to climb anything. But I’m a mountain-setting junkie. I cannot believe people pay money to climb. But I’m also in awe of those people because what they do pushes the limits of their entire existence. They are absolutely badass. I read Into Thin Air ages ago and couldn’t put it down. So, when a fiction book with a similar setting comes along, I’m in. And this book was excellent.

From Goodreads: Journalist Cecily Wong is in over her head. She’s come to Manaslu, the eighth-highest peak in the world, to interview internationally famous mountaineer Charles McVeigh on the last leg of a record-breaking series of summits. She’s given up everything for this story–her boyfriend, her life savings, the peace she’s made with her climbing failures in the past–but it’s a career-making opportunity. It could finally put her life back on track.

But when one climber dies in what everyone else assumes is a freak accident, she fears their expedition is in danger. And by the time a second climber dies, it’s too late to turn back. Stranded on a mountain in one of the most remote regions of the world, she’ll have to battle more than the elements in a harrowing fight for survival against a killer who is picking them off one by one.

What I loved most about this book is that the author is a climber herself, so the climbing aspect of the book is authentic. Not only does she nail that, the tension the mountain presents is matched by the horrifying deaths that occur along the way. Of course, climbing deaths occur, but the ones in the book seem suspicious. Cecily makes for a great amateur sleuth. Not only is she trying to uncover the mysteries of these deaths, but she’s also trying to scale Manaslu. This book was great. I listened to a good chunk of it and was hooked from the get-go.

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The Boys From Biloxi

Title: The Boys From Biloxi

Author: John Grisham

Genre: legal thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

John Grisham is hit or miss for me. His early stuff, like A Time to Kill, is great. The Innocent Man was excellent. The Last Juror was awful. So, when I saw this one on NetGalley, I had no idea what version of Grisham I was going to get. And although this one took me over two weeks to get through, it was only because I’ve been so busy at work. I was excited to read more, every time I picked up this book.

From Goodreads: For most of the last hundred years, Biloxi was known for its beaches, resorts, and seafood industry. But it had a darker side. It was also notorious for corruption and vice, everything from gambling, prostitution, bootleg liquor, and drugs to contract killings. The vice was controlled by a small cabal of mobsters, many of them rumored to be members of the Dixie Mafia.

Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground. Keith went to law school and followed in his father’s footsteps. Hugh preferred the nightlife and worked in his father’s clubs. The two families were headed for a showdown, one that would happen in a courtroom.

Life itself hangs in the balance in The Boys from Biloxi, a sweeping saga rich with history and with a large cast of unforgettable characters.

I had to check a few times to make sure this book was actually a novel. It reads like non-fiction, very matter-of-fact. Maybe that’s how Grisham is writing these days, but I couldn’t believe it was fiction. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment, however. There’s not a lot of surprise here. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad. And the Malco and Rudy families are pulled in several directions. Watching it all play out was the most interesting part. I really enjoyed this book and put it up there with his early works.

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Sundial

Title: Sundial

Author: Catriona Ward

Genre: horror

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I LOVED The Last House on Needless Street. It was one of the best books I read that year. Top 10. So, when I saw that Ward had another book coming out, I knew it was going to be one I was going to read. And, even better, I got this one from NetGalley to review. This one wasn’t quite as good as Needless, but I still enjoyed it and will recommend it.

From Goodreads:

All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. Far from her childhood home, Sundial, hidden deep in the wild Mojave Desert.

But beneath the veneer, Rob is terrified for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind.

Running from her past has led her directly back to it — what’s buried at Sundial could never stay a secret forever, and Rob must risk one last trip out there to protect her family, and her future.

I had no idea what was going to happen in this story. Callie seems to be so disturbed. But so does Rob because her marriage is pretty rough. The way she and her husband interact is far from healthy. And when she can Callie get to Sundial, the real story begins. We learn about Rob’s childhood. She tells it in bits and pieces, so the true horror doesn’t come for a while. The best thing about this book is that I never knew what was coming around the next turn. The characters are so unhinged that anything was possible. Ward is 2 for 2 in my book, and I’ll definitely be looking for more from her.

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The Accomplice

Title: The Accomplice

Author: Lisa Lutz

Genre: thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Recently, I read a book with a snarky main character who was absolutely obnoxious. She had no good reason to be as rude as she was. She was wholly unlikeable, and I continually wished for her demise. This book has another snarky character, but it works. Luna has had an extraordinarily difficult life, has a good reason not to trust people, and, even though she keeps people at bay, she’s not rude for no reason. Having her as a main character makes the entire book worth reading.

From Goodreads: Owen Mann is charming, privileged, and chronically dissatisfied. Luna Grey is secretive, cautious, and pragmatic. Despite their differences, they begin forming a bond the moment they meet in college. Their names soon become indivisible–Owen and Luna, Luna and Owen–and stay that way even after an unexplained death rocks their social circle.

Years later, they’re still best friends when Luna finds Owen’s wife brutally murdered. The police investigation sheds some light on long-hidden secrets, but it can’t penetrate the wall of mystery that surrounds Owen. To get to the heart of what happened and why, Luna has to dig up the one secret she’s spent her whole life burying.
The Accomplice examines the bonds of shared history, what it costs to break them, and what happens when you start wondering if you ever truly knew the only person who truly knows you.

I loved that Owen and Luna are best friends and nothing more. There’s no romantic subtext, no googly eyes, no private longing. The twists and turns of the book make sense and even though I was guessing who did all the crimes (there are a few), I always believed the result because Lutz leads you down a plausible path. This is the only book of hers I’ve read, but I’ll definitely be checking out more.

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The Paradox Hotel

Title: The Paradox Hotel

Author: Rob Hart

Genre: science fiction

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I was so pumped to read this book. It sounded like something I would love. Time travel- check. Thriller- double check. Dinosaurs- I’m all in. But man alive, this book was not nearly as good as I hoped. The main character was so obnoxious and mean for no reason and was wholly unlikeable. I appreciate a good snarky character, but she was over-the-top awful. The plot was interesting, but the pacing was way off. The last 10% was full of great action, but it had so many characters and boring plot that didn’t need to exist that by the time I was close to the end, I was begging for anything to happen.

From Goodreads:

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder. Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls. None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders. There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

The premise is ridiculous, but in a fun way, but it didn’t hold up for me. The privatization plot point was absolutely pointless. If this book had just been about January and the reason why she can see things others can’t and her trying to solve the time travel issues the hotel is facing, that would have been a much better book. But there are so many extraneous characters that distract from the best part of the book. January is needlessly mean. She’s not clever with her sarcasm. She’s just so unlikeable. This book had so much potential but was a big disappointment.

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The Ferryman

Title: The Ferryman

Author: Justin Cronin

Genre: dystopia, science fiction

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I LOVE Cronin’s Passage trilogy. It’s one I want to revisit every few years. I’m such a fan that I’ll read anything he publishes. When NetGalley offered this one to me, I jumped on it immediately. Not only do I love the author, but it’s also dystopian, which is my favorite genre. And I can easily say this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I was hooked and never saw all the twists this book takes.

From Goodreads: Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.

Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process–and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming–which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.

Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group–known as “Arrivalists”–who may be fomenting revolution.

Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized–and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth. 

This book just kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. When I was convinced I knew where the book was headed, I realized I was only halfway done. The plot pulls the reader in so many different directions that you are also solving the mystery of just what is going on along with the characters. I’ve read more dystopian books than any other genre, and this one is definitely one of the more unique ones. It’s a mix of 1984, The Giver, and The Truman Show (along with others that I won’t disclose because of spoilers). I loved that the story is told in both first and third-person narrators. Proctor is first person, but the other characters are third, which leaves them in a bit of a mystery. I never expected a shift like this to work, but it was great, and I had no trouble following it. The worst thing about this book is that it’s not out until May, so I can’t make all my friends read it now. I absolutely loved this one.

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Nightcrawling

Title: Nightcrawling

Author: Leila Mottley

Genre: Black and African-American literary fiction

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Sometimes, NetGalley emails me books that it recommends. When I get those, I request anything that sounds interesting. This book fell under this category. I probably never would have read this otherwise. However, it’s now an Oprah Book Club recommendation, so I’m glad I got my hands on it. This book was just so beautiful and heartbreaking and beautifully written. I loved it.

From Goodreads: Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent–which has more than doubled–and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed.

One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.

If your heart isn’t breaking for Kiara in this book, you have no soul. She’s just a child, taking care of a child, doing the best she can. She has the best heart but no means to do much since she is a high school dropout. You want so badly for her to find her way. And she does but not in a way that’s beneficial to her soul. You beg Marcus to step up and be the big brother. You beg the neighbor kid’s mom to see what she’s done to her son. And you beg those who love Kiara to protect her. Not only is the story captivating, the writing is beautiful. This is Mottley’s first book, but I will keeping an eye on her to see what else she creates.

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Haven

Title: Haven

Author: Emma Donoghue

Genre: historical fiction

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I loved Room and think about it a lot. I haven’t read anything else by her, though. So when NetGalley offered this one, I jumped at the chance to grab it. However, it didn’t meet my expectations. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did.

From Goodreads:

In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?

Three men vow to leave the world behind them. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. Haven has Emma Donoghue’s trademark world-building and psychological intensity—but this story is like nothing she has ever written before.

What I did learn is that this story is based on actual history, which always makes a book more interesting, but I wish I had known that ahead of time. Thinking about how people survived back in the seventh century was interesting, but when a book has three characters, the plot has to keep things moving, and this just didn’t. You quickly realize that three people have a hard time sustaining life on an island with few resources is near impossible. I wanted to like this book more than I did. I kept waiting for the aforementioned psychological intensity to occur, but it never did to my satisfaction.

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Hester

Title: Hester

Author: Laurie Lico Albanese

Genre: historical fiction

Thank you NetGalley for this book.

I love Nathaniel Hawthorne so much that I named my first kid after him. No lie. “Rappacini’s Daughter” is my favorite short story, and I love The Scarlet Letter. Anytime I see a book adjacent to Hawthorne in any way, I read it. When I saw this one up on NetGalley, I knew it was one to request, and I’m so glad I was given the copy.

From Goodreads: Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts has forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they’ve arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward’s safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller, the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country’s complicated past and learns that America’s ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel’s story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a “real” American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of “unusual” women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down. 

Just to put any speculation to rest, there is no evidence that Hester Prynne was based on a real person. But it is certainly fun to speculate. Isobel is a great character, and you cheer for her success. The secondary story of the Underground Railroad was excellent and enhanced the depiction of the era well. The secondary characters were rich and believable. I was captivated for the entire book. I really enjoyed this one, even though historical fiction isn’t my genre of choice. But because this was so well-written, I was hooked.

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Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional

Title: Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional

Author: Isaac Fitzgerald

Genre: memoir

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book!

I have known Isaac Fitzgerald for over a decade. I was a founding member of The Rumpus Book Club for several years. Isaac was the co-owner, managing editor, and moderator of our club’s message boards. He was like the fun uncle who had to get on to us every now and then to remind us to move our very off-topic conversations to our community threads rather than the book discussion threads. Through that book club, I made some excellent friends (hi, guys) who have kept in touch, and we read some books every now and then that are meaningful to our group: works by Adam Levin, Camille Bordas, and some upcoming ones by Elissa Bassist and Yuri Zalkow.

Although I got this book from NetGalley ages ago, I waited to read it until my friends could read, also. But, my mistake, I thought it was coming out this week, so I’m a week ahead. No matter. We will all get caught up soon enough. To read something by someone I’ve known for quite some time, although don’t really know at all, was a really interesting experience. I’ve heard Isaac’s voice a dozen times from his Today Show book suggestion segments. Side note: he always recommends excellent books. So, I could hear him coming through my kindle.

There are two types of memoirs. First: My life is so hard (it’s not) and I really need people to understand me (feel sorry for me) and my life of privilege really doesn’t matter (it does). Second: My life was hard (it was), but I take responsibility for my actions and admit, in the grand scheme of things, that I still had it pretty good compared to a lot of other people (because I am white). This book falls into the second category.

Isaac is an excellent writer, but he’s also very honest. This book pulls back the curtain on a lot of dark events of his life. Between having a trauma-filled childhood, never feeling comfortable in his skin, constantly searching for meaning and purpose, and wanting to do well in the world, Isaac lets the reader see what troubles him most. I loved this book. That’s odd to say because Isaac’s life was difficult, so I don’t want it to seem like I’m glad of that because it made for a good story. But I found Issac’s honesty and subsequent healing from all his trauma hopeful for his future. He seems to be in a much better place, which is what we all want for ourselves, no matter what our pasts reveal.