Weekly Reading Thread: May 1-6

Last week I finished Find Me by Alafair Burke. This review on Good Reads summed it up better than I could: “This reminded me of a Law and Order episode in book form. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and even by the end I still didn't have all the players straight. Who's that again kept popping into my head throughout the entire book. The ending did not wow me at all. Not great, not terrible.” 3/5 stars

Now I’m reading The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth. So far so good.

Last week I finished Exit by Belinda Bauer.
From the Amazon description:
Meet Felix Pink. The most unlikely murderer you'll ever have the good fortune to spend time with.
When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he's there to perform an act of charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath . . .
But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police - after making the biggest mistake of his life.
Now his world is turned upside down as he must find out if he's really to blame, or if something much more sinister is at play. All while staying one shaky step ahead of the law.

This was a fun read - just quirky enough to keep the subject matter light. I would consider reading other books by this author

I have started: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard.

This one is set right at the start of the Pandemic, in Dublin.
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?

The story is told over the three timelines, and each part adds something to the puzzle. I am going back and forth with what is going on: we find out early that Oliver has 'a past', there is a journalist who thinks she knows who he really is, and Ciara is hiding something as well. It really has me intrigued.

I decided it was time to read a 3-book serial killer series that I’ve been wanting to read since 2018.  It was recommended by my niece and I’m sorry it took me so long.  It was an awesome 5-star series for me.


A KILLER’S MIND (‘18 - Read ‘22 - 5 Stars) (Book 1 of 3 Zoe Bentley Series) BY MIKE OMER : 5 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  Three Chicago women have been found strangled, embalmed and posed as if still alive.  Doubting the finding of the local PD’s profiler, the FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate.  Zoe quickly gets off on the wrong foot with her new partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray.  Zoe’s a hunter, intense and focused; Tatum’s a smug maverick with little respect for the rules.  Together, they must descend into a serial killer’s psyche and untangle his twisted fantasies or more women will die.  But when the contents of three inconspicuous envelopes reveal a chilling connection to gruesome murders from Zoe’s childhood, suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted.  
REVIEW:  First book by this author for me.  Liked the author’s writing style.  Keeping me intrigued hearing both sides, the investigators and the killer.  Writing made me feel I was part of the investigation.  Lots of dialogue which I love.  Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way.  Best serial killer book I’ve read.  I jumped right into book 2.


IN THE DARKNESS (‘19 - Read ‘22 - 5 Stars) (Book 2 of 3 Zoe Bentley Series) BY MIKE OMER : 5 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  An on-line video of a girl clawing at the ceiling of her own grave could be the worst thing FBI Forensic Psychologist Zoe Bentley has ever seen.  Perhaps even more disturbing is the implication of the video’s title “Experiment Number One”.  Zoe and her partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray work as fast as they can to find the monster behind the shocking video, but soon another one shows-up online.  Meanwhile, a different murderer is on Zoe’s mind.  Rod Glover has been tormenting her since childhood and his latest attack is a threatening photo of himself with Zoe’s sister.  As Glover’s threats creep toward action, Zoe’s torn between family and duty.
REVIEW:  I jumped right from book 1 to this one.  Continues right where book 1 left off.  Another great serial killer read.  The tension just never lets up.  I found it hard to go to sleep some nights because I was holding my breath and anxious.  Loved the continued interaction of the main characters.  I moved right-on to book 3.
 

THICKER THAN BLOOD (‘20 - Read ‘22 - 5 Stars) (Book 3 of 3 Zoe Bentley Series) BY MIKE OMER : 5 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  A murderer who drinks his victim’s blood? FBI Forensic Psychologist Zoe Bentley and Special Agent Tatum Gray thought they’d seen it all, but this young woman’s barbaric murder is especially hard to stomach.  They didn’t expect to work this case but vampirism aside, the murderer’s MO is identical to that of Rod Glover - the serial killer who’s been pursuing Zoe since childhood.  Forensics reveals the murder to be his work but not his alone.  
REVIEW:  Just had to finish this trilogy altering reading books 1 & 2.  I continued right away with book 3.  Same pace and great writing as his first two books in the series.  Not a fan of vampirism but didn’t take away from a great series overall.  I’m going to miss these characters.  

Last week I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - I loved it.
I am currently reading The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth. I'm not enjoying it so far, unlike her other book I read, The Good Sister, that pulled me in right away.

Our Easter was last Sunday, and it turns out that it was a Super Spreader event, so I’ve been down with Covid this week. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve read:

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle. This is for my IRL Book Club, and I was charmed by the story of a Jamaican immigrant to Great Britain, who as a lonely widow, becomes involved in a Campaign Against Loneliness. While it took a weird turn, it was still sweet and “Curmudgeon Lit.” 3/5 stars

The Road to Golgotha by Christine Rogers. I read a couple of stories a day – they detail the last week of Christ’s life and bring out different characters. My recent read of The Divine Comedy dovetailed in with this book when I realized that the author had used parts of Dante’s conception of Hell in one of her stories. A very good read for Holy Week each year. 5/5 stars

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. I read this along with the 100 Days of Dante series and I am really thankful that I did as otherwise, it would have been completely opaque. A canto every other day, with explanatory notes and a lecture was a great way to read this classic and one that greatly enhanced my understanding of medieval Western Christianity, history, and theology. 5/5 stars.

Two are Better than One by Carol Ryrie Brink. I read this – and all – of Brink’s books as a kid over and over (I don’t think that the children’s section of my county library was very big,) but hadn’t gone back in a long time. It was an interesting story and was didactic, but a fun read. Definitely not my favorite of her books. 3/5 stars.

Memphis by Tara Stringfellow. Just published, I’ve heard some very good interviews with Stringfellow. Interesting historical fiction about Black women living in Memphis – from the wife of the first Black police detective – who was murdered by his own men (and an ancestor of Stringfellow,) her daughters and granddaughters. There was a deeply unsettling violation in the early chapters that was described in detail and reverberates throughout the story, but I did wish I knew to skim that part. That, with a bit of dragging at the end, caused it to be 3.5/5 stars.

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. I loved the way that reading, and books are interwoven in this story about a Erdrich’s actual bookstore in Minneapolis, which is haunted by one of the customers, and the impact this haunting has on an employee there during 2020. She addresses Covid, lockdown, the George Floyd murder, and the riots all in these pages. 4/5 stars.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. The Queen of England goes into a mobile library when out walking the dogs one day. She becomes a voracious reader. It was a re-read, and while it was sad, it is also very amusing and very funny. 4/5 stars

I read Booth by Karen Joy Fowler, which I think was recommended here. This is a novel about the family of John Wilkes Booth, told from the points of view of his siblings. The Lincoln assassination doesn't take place till near the end of the book--most of the story is about the trauma and dysfunction and also the genuine love of the family from the 1830s to the 1860s. It was a fantastic book, lots to think about as far as sibling relationships, loss of children, alcoholism, mental illness, and the lead up to the Civil War. I really recommend this one, especially if you like historical fiction.

I also read Scrublands by Chris Hammer, another Pea recommendation. I didn't like this one as much as I hoped. It's a mystery--a reporter comes to a small dying town in Australia to do a story on the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting where a priest shot five men outside his church on a Sunday morning. The reporter, of course, begins to uncover some of the hidden reasons for this tragic event. I felt the story moved too slowly, and I didn't care much for the main character. The atmosphere was good, though, you could almost feel the heat and drought and isolation of the town.

Thanks for the recommendations, Peas! I requested from the library or got as a Kindle Unlimited about 5 books mentioned here.

My most recent was disappointing: A Matter of Will by Adam Mitzner. It starts off great; five out of five stars...but then, the ending is rushed and tied up in a neat little unrealistic bow and I HATED that.

My daughter's new boyfriend's favorite author is John Steinbeck, so I have decided I should revisit him. I am starting with East of Eden; it put me to sleep last night! Not sure I will continue right now as it is a physical book (not kindle) belonging to my daughter...so, no deadline to return. I have a Sally Hepworth waiting for me at the library that I think I'll do instead.

We are going through a lot with our disabled and incontinent German Shepherd, so I have been having trouble getting into a reading or doing the things i ususally enjoy. I read 50 or more pages, tnen try something else. I may try 4 books before finding one to read more. I can't read anything over 250 pages as I just don't have the attention span. I am listening to The Damage and it's so long. It's pretty good though.

I can't believe I read 3 new books and re-read one book this past week!  I've been listening a lot.  

The first book I read was Us Against You by Fredrik Backman.  This is the 2nd book in the Bear Town series.  I finished Bear Town last week and absolutely loved it, so I started this book directly after Bear Town.  While I didn't like this book as much as the first one, I'm still in love with this author and the little hockey world he has created.  I will definitely still read the 3rd book when it comes out.  4/5 stars

The Next book was a re-read The Midnight Library.  Several talked about this book last week.  I first read it in the beginning of 2021, but it is this month's pick for my book club, so I was wanting to re-read it.  I loved listening to the audiobook.  I'm excited to go to book club and hear the discussion.  I like that this book really makes you think about the choices you have made in your life, but big and small.   4/5 stars


The 3rd book I read was One True Love by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  I've really enjoyed every book I've read by this author.  I enjoyed this book, but if you haven't read any others by this author, I liked Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo much better than this book.  I'm not crazy about a lot of angst in books, and this one had a little too much for me.  The main character also made some pretty dumb decisions throughout the book that annoyed me.  3.5/5 stars

The last book I read was The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks.  I know a couple of you have also talked about this book.  I really enjoyed it.  It kept me guessing throughout the book.   Ultimately I had it mostly figured out by the end, but I enjoyed how the story unfolded and the ending.  4/5 stars