March Read: Murder Road by Simone St. James

 

Oh, Simone St. James did it again. Managed to fascinate me while giving me the creeps. She is one of my favorite authors, and I have read every one of her novels, all the way back to discovering her first paperback during my bookseller years a loooong time ago. I'm thrilled she's getting the attention she deserves and becoming more popular with every new novel. 

This one will make you unwilling to drive down a dark, empty road by yourself for quite some time. It takes place in 1995, and starts out with April and Eddie Carter; two newlyweds on their way to a resort for a short honeymoon. It's late at night, and April wakes up in the front seat and discovers Eddie has become lost, and doesn't quite know how he got lost. But lost they are, late at night, on a lonely road with no one in sight. 

Until they see a young woman running down the road, begging for help. There is something very, very wrong with the young woman, and the road. A big black pick up truck comes roaring down the road, chasing after Eddie and April and the injured young woman in the back seat. They get to the town of Coldlake Falls just in time to escape from the black truck, but unfortunately the young woman dies at the hospital. The police are looking at Eddie and April, covered in blood, and in a bit of shock. Strangers in a small town; a dying woman in their back seat. They're forbidden to leave town as the police investigate, and that's where things really take off and get interesting. 

Eddie and April's backgrounds are messy and they both have kept secrets from each other. But murderers they are not, and they become determined to figure out what happened on Atticus Line Road that night. It wasn't natural, what they saw in the back of that black truck...

This is a small town with some eerie back story--hitchhikers found dead, murders unsolved, whispers of strange occurrences on Atticus Line Road. So many unsolved murders on that road, and the police are suspicious of anyone who comes through town. 

Will Eddie and April figure it all out and stay safe and out of jail for a crime they didn't commit? As they unravel the pieces of the puzzle, it becomes clear just why they were drawn to Atticus Line Road that night. It's one heck of a twist!

Anyone who loves eerie thrillers with a definite nod to creepy ghost stories will be all on board with this latest from Simone St. James. I love how her characters are always flawed in some way, and find themselves caught up in bizarre and ghostly events that require them to be stronger and braver than they've ever been. To believe and accept the unbelievable, because it's the only explanation. 

Loved it! Not surprised. I'm never disappointed with this author. 

Rating: 6/6 for a novel that will keep you patiently on the journey with Eddie and April as pieces slowly fall into place. A great ghost story about revenge, redemption, family, and leaving the past behind for a brighter future. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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March Read: Murder Road by Simone St. James

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

 

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Well this book took me a bit to get through to the end. Mostly because it broke my heart over and over and I had to read it in bits and pieces. 

I've heard so much about this book--tons of rave reviews, and even a few friends telling me about it. So I bought it last month and have been reading it since May 1st. Some books I can sail through; others take me a bit. This was a "take me a bit" kind of book. It's heavy. It's not a happy ever after. And even for the first 100 pages, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake and it wasn't a book for me. 

But I kept with it, and wow, what a powerful, haunting novel. It's a bit of a thriller, murder mystery, and a family drama all rolled into one. It reminded me of Jane Harper's novels-the desolate feeling I get when I read them. 

In a nutshell: Duchess and Robin Radley are two young kids who live with their mother, Star, in the small town of Cape Haven, California. They are dirt poor. Walker is the town Chief of Police, and he's a childhood friend of Star. He watches over her and the kids and tries to ease their burden as best he can. Vincent is, after 30 years, being released from prison for the murder of Star's younger sister, Sissy. He struck her with his car and drove off, unaware he'd killed Sissy. Vincent was only fifteen at the time. Now he's 45 and being released from prison, back to the town where he grew up. Star, Vincent, and Walker were fast friends and had a special bond. 

Duchess is a fierce 13 year old--she's sassy as hell, tough as nails, and protective of her mom and brother. But she is only a child, and it's exhausting to read about Duchess constantly working to keep Robin cared for, and food on the table. 

Vincent returns home, and shortly thereafter, tragedy strikes again with devastating shockwaves felt by Walker, Duchess, and Vincent. Nothing but tragedy in this novel, over and over. Just when you get slightly comfortable that Duchess will find some peace, wham! fate strikes. 

I can't tell you anymore. You'll have to read it yourself. It was such a good story; it will remain with me for a long time. I don't even know what else to say. Read it, if you can!

Rating: 5/6 for a haunting exploration of family, actions and consequences, love, and paying for past sins. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

 

I've read Rachel Joyce's novels before, and I know I am always in for a quirky tale that hits me hard in the heart when I'm least expecting it. Her latest didn't disappoint, and I loved everything about it. 

It's 1950, and Margery Benson is in her late 40's, single, and teaching home economics in post World War 2 England. She has no family, and has settled into a pretty sad and lonely life. One particular day, a student draws a picture of Margery, and once Margery sees the drawing, she loses it. She snaps, walking out of the school, quitting her job, and going home. She decides to leave it all behind and pursue her one dream-a dream from childhood that she stuffed deep down and decided would never happen. Her dream? to travel to New Caledonia in pursuit of the legendary golden beetle. Does it exist? Who knows? But Margery is determined to find it. She advertises for a companion to help her in her quest, and lively, quirky Enid Pretty is her last hope to pull off her adventure. 

Enid isn't exactly what you'd want on a trip to New Caledonia-a place that's full of jungles, rain forests, mountains, and all sorts of danger. Even Margery isn't in the best shape to undergo an arduous trip, but her mind is set and she's not going to give up. As Enid and Margery travel by ship to their destination, they get to know each other and a friendship slowly forms in between a whole lot of rocky situations. Just who is Enid Pretty? What is she running from? 

Margery is delightful, and you can't help but admire her persistence in what looks like a completely foolish endeavor. Enid is a bit of a mystery, and she's so different than Margery you wonder how they could ever become friends, let alone go on an adventure that is both thrilling and dangerous. Yet Enid's story slowly unfolds, and you see how alike both women really are, and how both have dreams that neither is willing to let go. This is a travel tale, an adventure, a story of two women who become dear friends, and a tale of pursuing dreams. It's never too late! 

I so hope this becomes a limited series somewhere on TV. I would recommend this novel to book groups, and pretty much anyone else! I'll be passing my copy onto friends for sure. The author has some extras at the end of the book that you're sure to enjoy. Definitely one of my favorite novels of 2020. I've left a lot for you to discover as you read it--I can't give away all the good stuff! 

Rating: 5/6 for an unlikely adventure and friendship between two women who seem very different but are actually quite a lot alike. I'll confess I got a bit teary-eyed a few times and it left me thinking about Margery and Enid for quite some time. 

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book. 

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Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Heather Webber has written more than twenty-five novels-most of them are cozy mysteries and light romances. However, she has found her sweet spot in her previous novel Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, and her newest novel, South of the Buttonwood Tree. I can't say it strongly enough how much I enjoy novels imbued with magical realism. 

This is not a sequel, but a stand alone novel about Blue Bishop and the people she calls family. Set in the small town of Buttonwood, Alabama, Blue is a children's author and illustrator, and has a series of books about a bunny that have made her famous. However, her family name has made her infamous in her hometown. Blue and her sister, Persy are the only two left in the Bishop family; her brothers all died tragically and under unhappy circumstances, her father left the family and died; her mother Twyla willed herself to death after losing her sons and husband. Growing up with little money, the family did what it could to survive-often getting into trouble with the law. Blue, however, stayed on the straight and narrow (except for that one incident in high school). She's been working hard and saving money so she can start the process of adopting a baby. It's what she's wanted for so very long. 

Blue has a gift: listening to the wind, and following it to find lost things. But there remains one thing that is lost that she needs to find before she can move away from the town that has caused her a lot of heartache. So every day she walks the woods to the Buttonwood Tree, searching for that lost thing. This time, she hears a baby crying, and finds a newborn tucked under the tree, with a button from the tree saying "Give the baby to Blue Bishop" tucked in her blanket. 

Everyone knows if you ask the tree a question, it will answer with a wooden button and one sentence of advice.  If you don't follow the tree's advice, you're doomed to unhappiness. 

Blue's dream seems to be coming true-a newborn baby girl left specifically to her. Quickly arranging guardianship, Blue names the baby Flora. While gossip swirls around town and the police investigate the appearance of the baby, Blue's close circle of friends celebrate with her. However, there is Ginny Fulton. She despises Blue and the whole Bishop family, and she will do what she has to in order to take the baby away from Blue. Ginny's daughter, Sarah Grace, is unhappily married, and her husband and her mother both want her to have a baby (the unhappily married part is a secret). She doesn't want one, and knows that Blue will make the best mother for Flora. She has a secret friendship with Blue, and doesn't understand why her mother loathes Blue so much. 

Sarah Grace has a few secrets of her own, too. Big secrets that may damage her father's run for Governor. Sarah Grace has her own business-flipping houses, then renting them to folks who don't have much money. Sarah Grace has the most interesting gift: she can hear the houses talking to her. They tell her all kinds of things-the history, the happiness, the sorrow; they let her know what's wrong with them and who is invited to stay. And she wants the old Bishop house. It is calling to her. 

There are a few other people in Buttonwood who have some special gifts, too. I'll let you discover that. There's also quite a few secrets, and some are doozies! Will Blue get to adopt Flora, or will the town turn against her? Will Sarah Grace find her way out of her unhappy marriage? It seems as though baby Flora has stirred the pot, and set in motion a whole lot of truths that need to be told. There's romance in the air, too for more than one character. It always seems that life's changes all come in a flurry,  and that is definitely the case for Blue and the folks in Buttonwood. 

I absolutely loved this novel, even more than the Blackbird Cafe. Alice Hoffman's earlier novels, along with Sarah Addison Allen's novels are similar to Heather's, and I'm so glad to have found another author who write magical realism that I enjoy so much. Step into Buttonwood, Alabama, and discover the Buttonwood Tree. 

Rating: 5/6 for a novel that had a few surprises, and a lot of warm characters. Believe in the magic. Perfect for a reading session in a hammock. 

Available in hardcover, audio and ebook. 

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South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar

This novel actually arrived in my mail a few weeks ago, thanks to HarperCollins Publishers. It was a welcome surprise, and gave me the chance to read a new author that hit it out of the park with her first novel, If You Knew Her. Her second effort--wow, it really does sit with you for some time after you've finished it. 

The plot is fairly simple: Meg and Grace. Mother and daughter. Meg takes care of Grace full-time; Grace is almost eighteen and has lived most of her life as a very ill young girl. She's in a wheelchair, has a feeding tube in her stomach, and suffers from seizures, food issues, headaches... you name it. Meg has spent years taking Grace to doctors and specialists, getting her every bit of care she can find. Both Meg and Grace are beloved by the small town of Ashford, in Cornwall. Folks around there see Meg and Grace as their own, and are fiercely protective of them. 

The novel begins with the horrific murder of Meg, in her home, in her bed. Grace is missing. Jon, a journalist who wrote an article about the two women that riled up the town and made him a pariah, hears about the murder and can't help but drive over to see what is going on. His article questioned why Grace's father Simon wasn't allowed to see his daughter. Meg has told everyone that Simon is abusive and crazy, and pushed her down the stairs. Everyone in Ashford agrees with Meg, and Simon is never allowed to see Grace. Jon, reeling from the effects of the article on his marriage, still feels on edge about the article, and knows something just isn't right, but doesn't know what. 

Cara, the young woman who finds Meg, has known Meg and Grace for most of her life. She befriended Grace when they moved in next door, and even though Grace was a few years younger, Cara felt a bond with Grace. She was always amazed at the obviously close relationship between mother and daughter. Except in the last few years, Cara has gone away to school, and seen less and less of Grace. She's haunted by the idea of Grace being kidnapped and without her vital medications. Is she still alive? Who took her? Everyone believes her father Simon did it all, and there's a manhunt out for him. Meanwhile, the whole town gears up for a search effort, with their minds already made up that Simon must be the murderer. 

Cara and Jon meet, and between the two of them, they slowly start to pick up little clues, and the whole novel is the two of them putting the puzzle together. It's sharp observation, going over and over the little bits of information they do have, and following their instincts that lead them to resolving the disappearance of Grace, and the murder of Meg. It's quite the twist at the end.

It took me a bit to get into the story. Everyone, seriously, is a disaster. Jon's marriage is falling apart, he's sleep deprived, has to stay on the down low so no one recognizes him as "that reporter". Cara is traumatized by finding Meg and her guilt for not being there for Grace. Simon is nowhere to be found, but his story is one of a troubled man driven mad by grief. The whole town is under the spell of Meg and Grace, and ready to paint Simon guilty without any shred of evidence. 

I figured out really quickly what exactly was going on with Meg and Grace, but that's only part of the puzzle. It's a big part of the puzzle, but there's much more to it. Slowly, the story gathers steam and then races along towards a conclusion that will keep you thinking about all of it long after you've finished the book. I'm still putting it all together a day later. Definitely a good thriller!

This novel will be out  in the U.S. on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020 in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook. 

Rating: 4/6 for a thriller that seems fairly simple at first, but has many layers that will have you working along with Jon and Cara to figure it all out, and wow--an ending that packs a wallop. A big thanks to HarperCollins for the advanced reading copy.  

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Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar

Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen

First read for September is done! I do like to read about true crime; usually I prefer to read forensic books about how crimes are solved through analysis, forensics, and good old fashioned smarts. However, this one is a bit different, in that Billy Jensen doesn't use forensics, but Facebook and Twitter to help solve crimes. 

Billy is a journalist, and for years he wrote about murders that remained unsolved. He partnered with Michelle McNamara, the author of I'll be Gone in the Dark, who sadly died suddenly before her book was finished. Michelle was obsessed with finding the serial killer she dubbed The Golden State Killer. Billy worked with her on a few crime podcasts and shows, and formed a firm friendship. Crushed by her sudden death, he turned his grief into action. He decided that he would pursue the killers of unsolved crimes after the police had given up. 

In this non-fiction crime tale, Billy talks about a few of the cases that began his new career as a crime solver. Each one of them is heartbreaking. Once case involved a Polish immigrant who became the only other murder in New York City on 9/11. Another involved a man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was hit so hard by a stranger he fell into a crosswalk unconscious, and was subsequently run over by a taxi cab and killed. All captured on cameras. But not so easy to identify the killer and bring him to justice. Billy used a new crime solving tool: Facebook. Paying for ads, he created Facebook posts and targeted them to audiences that were near the areas the crimes took place. Sometimes he was successful, sometimes not. He realized he had to do more than just put the word out, and hope someone, somewhere would help. 

This was a very interesting read, especially concerning the use of social media, and the evolution of DNA testing and finding killers based on something brand new: tracing them based on family genetics via Ancestry and 21 and Me results. And this..this was how the Golden State Killer was finally caught, two years after Michelle's death, and many years after raping and murdering dozens of people and terrorizing a city. We are in a new era of crime fighting and soon new tools will be available that will make it even harder for criminals to hide. Crowdsourcing to fight crime is happening, thanks to social media. 

Now I've got an itch to check out a few true crime podcasts. I am horrified and disgusted at the disregard of human life so many people show; there is another part of me that is grateful there are people like Billy Jensen out there who work tirelessly to solve what was previously unsolvable. Thousands of murders go unsolved each year, but solving even just one brings closure to those left behind, and justice to those who died at the hands of others. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Rating: 3/6 for a behind the scenes look at the evolving science of crime solving through the lens of journalism. Crimes that are haunting, and the people who take it all on to provide answers for families left behind to grieve. 

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Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

When She Woke is not a new novel; it was first published in 2011. But, as I've said before, a book is new to you if you haven't read it yet, no matter when it was published. I've seen this book around for years; knew a general sketchy outline of what it was about, and didn't have any interest in reading it. Anything that involves a futuristic America that has women's rights severely diminished is an immediate "no thanks" for me. There is something in me that reacts in a very visceral way. But, I chose this for a book group, and that forced me to read it. It's taken me a few weeks, when it should have taken me a few days. I had to read it in chunks, and I promised myself I wouldn't read it before I went to bed. I wasn't looking forward to reading it at all. 

That being said, I am glad I read it, but I will confess I now have to read something fun and light, because the subject matter was not easy for me to swallow and left me a bit broody and down. A quick rundown of the plot:

It's a future America where religion and government are no longer separate, and a bizarre plague rendered many women infertile until a cure was found. Unfortunately for a lot of women, it was too late and they didn't regain their fertility. It created a crisis, and abortions were outlawed and considered a felon. Too much money for prisons and criminal care drove the government to the brink of ruin, so instead of locking criminals up, they are now "chromed"--they are literally turned a color according to their crime: red for murder, yellow for misdemeanors, blue for child molesters and rapists. They spend 30 days in a cell, TV cameras live feeding their every move to the world, where people can watch from the comfort of their homes. Once released, they are on their own, to survive until their sentence is up and they are no longer chromed. If they do not visit the authorities to be "rechromed" every so many months, they slowly start to go crazy and usually end up dead. Sounds like fun, right?

Hannah Payne is a red; her crime is murder of her unborn child. She had a secret abortion, because she was having an affair with Aiden Dale, who is the new Secretary of Faith for the U.S. government. A married man, deeply faithful, he falls in love with Hannah and they secretly meet for two years before she discovers her pregnancy. Knowing she can never name the baby's father (which would be demanded of her once her pregnancy became known), she secretly aborts the child and gets caught, tried, and convicted to 15 years as a chromed person. Reds are particularly harshly treated by the public; women are seen as easy prey and are often raped and murdered. 

Hannah at first seems to be someone who can't cope with the loss of her family, her friends, and her life as she knew it. Her love for Aiden is still strong, but she knows he is lost to her. She undergoes some pretty harsh treatment, and instead of breaking her, she begins to find her inner strength and begins to question her whole life before her sentence. Did her parents do the right thing, raising her the way they did? What would she do if she was free, in Canada, where they don't chrome people? Can she leave everything behind in Texas and make it to Canada and freedom?

I've read a lot of reviews about this novel, and many people thought the book sputtered out a bit at the end after a strong beginning. I didn't really feel that way; I was focused on Hannah growing and finding herself and her purpose. It will be interesting to have a discussion with my group about this. The story is told through Hannah's experiences, so you don't exactly know what anyone else is feeling or their motives. It's a definite take on The Scarlett Letter, but enough differences to make it interesting. 

Rating: 4/6 for a novel about women's choices over their bodies, one women's journey from shame and public humiliation into a fierce strength and the courage to survive on her terms. 

Available in paperback, large print, audio, and ebook. 

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When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

Reading a Classic: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I've realized for me, reading classics pretty much came to a halt after college. So many new titles to read, I just didn't have time for "the old stuff". Twenty-four years later, I still don't read classics. Shame on me. While high school was full of the usual suspects: The Scarlet Letter, Huck Finn, Pride & Prejudice, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451; college added a few: Frankenstein, Beloved...it seemed to be more of a movement away from older classics and a move towards new writers and what at the time weren't classics, but now after 20 odd years, are classics. I just didn't get to read everything I should have, and would have liked to read. 

I hope to change that going forward, and make more of an effort to look back at what I've missed and add a classic into my reading choices every once in awhile. In Cold Blood is in this month's read simply because I had to read a novel that was written the year I was born for a book group.  It was a toss up between this and Valley of the Dolls.  I did buy both, and I plan on reading VOD this summer. I was born in the middle of the 1960's; when Vietnam was raging, the Beatles were famous, and people were either protesting or, like my parents, raising kids and living a very middle class life in the burbs. I don't remember any of it, and only vaguely recall Nixon as President. I was busy playing outside and looking at National Geographic magazines at  home (I think pretty much every middle-class family had a subscription to Nat Geo!).  Loved the pictures, couldn't read just yet. 

So onto In Cold Blood. It's a book I handled hundreds of times while I worked at the bookstore; shelving it, putting it on summer reading tables; finding it for customers. I knew the basic story, but it was always "one day I'll get to it". Never intrigued enough to actually read it. 

My first night starting the book, I was hearing Truman Capote in my head. As I got closer to the night of the murders, I put it down and went to bed. Up again in the wee hours of the morning, I had to search the internet and find more about the Clutter family and why Capote wrote the novel. It is, after all, a true crime story; so why not a non-fiction book?  Simply because, while it is based on a true incident, there are enough speculative conversations and what is clearly a fictional scene at the end to make it fiction.  So if you're looking for this book in a bookstore, or in a library, it will be in fiction. 

What I found in my short spurt of research made the book that much more interesting to me.  Capote spent years on this, interviewing everyone in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas; interviewing the two suspects: Richard "Dick" Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, and even spending time in the Clutter home. It became an obsession for him, and caused a sensation when it was published.  

Here are the bones of the story: On November 15, 1959, the Clutter family: Herb, his wife Bonnie, and his teenage children Nancy and Kenyon were bound, gagged, and brutally shot to death in their home. Herb, a rancher, had not only been shot, but his throat slit. An outstanding community member, Herb had no enemies and no one could figure out why anyone would harm the Clutter family. The phone line had been cut, and it looked like robbery was the motive. Everyone in Holcomb knew Herb never had cash on him; he paid for everything with checks. A prosperous rancher, he put everything back in to the ranch, and lived simply. 

The only clues left were bootprints-one in Herb's blood. Police had little to go on, and it looked like this might end up being an unsolvable murder. It's hard to remember this was a time before the advances in forensics we have today, so I had to cringe when folks burned the blood stained mattresses and couch ONE DAY AFTER THE MURDERS. What?!

Dick and Perry, however, take up most of the novel. Leaving Holcomb, they end up driving to Mexico, and then wind their way back through Miami, Kansas, and Las Vegas in the six weeks after the murders. The two of them are ex-cons, out on parole. You don't know what exactly happened that night until both men are arrested in Las Vegas, and Perry confesses on the ride back to Kansas. Four people murdered, for $40, a radio, and binoculars. But who did the shooting? Perry confesses to killing Herb and Kenyon, but claims Dick shot Nancy and Bonnie. They had heard about the Clutter ranch, and that Herb kept $10,000 in a safe at home, and decided they were going to rob it, and leave no witnesses. They came prepared to kill. The complete lack of emotion and regret is astounding. Yet while reading about these two criminals, I was struck by Capote's attempts to make them pitiful and sympathetic. They became the focus of the novel, and the Clutters, I felt, were quickly relegated to the background.  We never get to know the Clutter family much at all; and for that reason, I can see why the two surviving Clutter daughters (neither lived at home) were so upset by this work, and to this day, have not granted interviews and do not discuss their family tragedy. 

Capote's writing is, however, masterful. His spare, unemotional writing reflects the coldness of the murderers, and the Kansas winter; wind sweeping over the plains, and cold, quiet nights. He sees the unwinding of a small town, as people move away, become less trustful, and absorb the enormity of the murders. 

I'm interesting in watching the movie Capote, which takes place during the In Cold Blood years. There is a new documentary about the Clutter murders, produced in 2017 called Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders.  I haven't been able to find it to watch it, but I will! 

So, what did I really think of this novel? It took me over a week to read it, because I was filled with dread in the first 25 pages.  I just didn't want to read about the murders. I put it down, then picked it up again and read it through. Dick and Perry are cold blooded, unfeeling killers, and no bad childhood or mental diagnosis will ever make me feel differently about them. It was an interesting crime novel, and I'm glad I read it. I loved Capote's writing style, and now I understand just what lies in between the covers of a book I've held in my hands so many times.  I think it would make a good book group discussion, and I'm sure it has, many times. For crime fiction or non-fiction crime fans, this is considered the first fictional non-fiction crime novel, and set a standard for the genre. 

Rating:  4/6 for the suspense of the novel, and the writing of Truman Capote. I felt the Clutter family were mostly ignored, and Capote's obsession with the two killers was foremost in the novel. I'm not telling you how the two were finally caught and arrested. Read it and see. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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Reading a Classic: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Tru and Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri

 It's very true I haven't read much children's fiction this year. I saw this book and, knowing a little bit about Truman Capote and Harper Lee's childhood friendship, I thought this would be a good read to include in my Christmas picks for December.  It is the continuation of Tru and Nelle, but you don't need to read that in order to enjoy this tale.  

I read the author's note after finishing the book, and learned that most of the people in this novel were actual real-life folks in Truman and Nelle's lives. Set in 1935, just a few days before Christmas, Tru is a runaway, hitching a ride on a train from his military school in New York to Monroeville, Alabama.  He had moved to New York with his mother and step-father, preferring the bright lights of New York City.  But once his mother was granted full custody after a bitter divorce, Truman finds out he's in the way, and shipped off to a military school where he doesn't fit in at all.  He decides he can't take it anymore and hops a train, getting back to his friend Nelle and his family:  Jenny, Big Boy, and Sookie.  He's welcomed back with open arms, but isn't there very long before bad things start to happen around Tru.  Suddenly homeless, his family ends up staying with Big Boy's family on their farm for Christmas.  A mysterious murder happens, and Nelle--trying to be helpful for her father, A.C., ends up creating a disaster when she notices two black men hanging around near the murder scene.  

While Christmas is approaching quickly, Tru and Nelle are struggling to find the meaning of Christmas, and the hope for justice to be served after it becomes quite clear the two men are not guilty of anything but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But the South in 1935 is no place for justice when it comes to race, and A.C. has his one and only criminal case in Monroeville, defending the two men.  

Through all of this turmoil, Tru and Nelle are rediscovering their friendship, evolving in their love of storytelling, and struggling with their identities--neither one is a typical tween and they don't fit in anywhere.  But Christmas has a special pull, and the love of family and friends means a lot in a time of despair and racial injustice.  

I really did enjoy this novel.  I thought it was a good balance between what the climate was like for 1935 Southern America--so many people with nothing, the KKK, racial tensions; but still that important pull of family and sticking together. Of being a good neighbor, of taking that one extra step to help, be kind, and understanding.  Tru and Nelle's struggle to move their relationship from a childhood friendship to a young adult friendship is something most of us have had to go through with dear friends we've know for a long time.  And justice.  As A.C. tells Nelle, sometimes the most important thing we can do is to be a witness to events, even when we can't do anything to prevent the outcome.  

This is a young reader novel, but very suitable for adults and teens, too.  Truman Capote's memoir A Christmas Memory is still available in bookstores and libraries.  

Rating:  4/6 for a novel about Truman Capote and Harper Lee's childhood friendship, and one special Christmas.  

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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Tru and Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri

The Dinner by Herman Koch

It's a good thing I finished this book at home tonight with a freshly poured glass of wine at my side.  Why?  Cause this is the kind of book that makes you say "holy crap!" and take a fortifying sip of wine when you've read the last page.

This book has been reviewed by many--either people love it and are horrified by it at the same time, or they find it terribly "boring" and stupid.  

I am one of those who find it incredibly disturbing and well written.  The story starts out pretty simply:  a man and his wife are meeting his brother and his sister-in-law for dinner at a posh restaurant one night.  Why?  To discuss their teenage sons.  What for?  You find out.  And you're disturbed.  

But you're also disturbed by Paul, the narrator and one of the brothers.  He's carried a loathing for his brother Serge most of his life--and now Serge is in the running to be the next Prime Minister--if he wins the upcoming election.  And seeing Serge and his wife Babette through Paul's eyes; well yes, they are asses.  He's a brash, annoying man, and she's a wife who just goes along for the ride.  Claire, Paul's wife, is so much more than Babette.  

But then you start reading more of the book, and you start to get that feeling in the pit of your stomach.  That feeling that the narrator (Paul) isn't quite what he seems.  Neither is his wife.  Neither is his son, Michel.  

And then you read enough to figure out that it's much, much worse than you thought.

I can't tell you anymore.  It would give it all away.  Just know that this book will make you incredulous, angry, and appalled at the character's conversations during dinner.  I'm not a parent, so I can't say for sure what I would do in these circumstances.  But I'm pretty darn sure I wouldn't be nodding my head in agreement with Claire and Paul as they discuss  their son and nephew over dinner.  I found myself saying "WHAT? THE? HELL?!" out loud quite a bit during my reading.  Good thing I was home alone.  

I understand the buzz about this book.  None of the characters are likeable.  Not at all.  You'll see.  But read it.  You WILL need to discuss this with someone else.  Wow.

Rating:  8/10 for a compelling look at middle/upper class society, how we feel about less fortunate people, adoption, adopted children, crime, and taking a horrible situation and turning it into an acceptable one in your mind--not a good thing.

Available in hardcover and as an e-book.

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The Dinner by Herman Koch