THE BURNING (MAEVE KERRIGAN #1) (2010)

The Burning:  by Jane Casey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you're a fan of UK-based mysteries and thrillers (think Tana French), the discovery of Jane Casey is a delightful surprise! The Burning is the first in a series of several books featuring Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan, all now available in the United States.

From the intense opening when we fear for the life of a young woman, the author cleverly constructs a story that is part police procedural and part psychological thriller.

A serial killer dubbed 'The Burning Man' is responsible for four violent deaths in London. The police are scrambling for clues to stop the reign of terror against single young women.

When Rebecca Haworth's body is discovered, D.C. Kerrigan suspects a copycat murder and sets about learning all she can about the young woman's life.

Alternately told by D.C. Kerrigan and Louise, Rebecca's best friend, some other literary tricks to flesh out the story. Fast-paced, intelligently written, with characters you care about, Jane Casey has been added to my list of favorite authors. (I just requested The Reckoning, book #2 from my local library.)

Bottom Line: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Title: The Burning
Author: Jane Casey
Genre: Police Procedural/Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Minotaur
ISBN: 1250006600
No. of Pages: 368 pages
Copyright: August 30, 2011 (American Edition)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

JANE CASEY was born and raised in Dublin. She is a graduate of Oxford with a masters in philosophy from Trinity College, Dublin. Her first book, The Missing, was published by Ebury Press in February 2010. It was shortlisted for the Irish Crime Book of the Year. This was quickly followed by The Burning (November 2010), The Reckoning (July 2011), The Last Girl (2013), and The Stranger You Know (2014). She lives in London with her husband James Norman, a criminal barrister, and their son. (Wikipedia)

Book Blahs :(

So do you ever suffer from the Book Blahs as blogger Jennifer K labels the ailment? I know I do, so I was relieved when I found this posting on her site. Not only does she recognize the malady, she has some pretty great recommendations for How to Beat the Book Blahs.

FINAL CURTAIN: AN EDNA FERBER MYSTERY (2014)

Final Curtain: An Edna Ferber Mystery by Ed Ifkovic
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here we go again. Another book re-imagining the life of a real person. I am not a fan although this mystery featuring famous writer Edna Ferber is gracefully executed.

When Net Galley offered me a review copy, I was tempted because the mystery takes place in Maplewood, New Jersey where Edna has agreed to take part in a professional summer stock production of her play (written with George S. Kaufman) The Royal Family. Edna is a charming amateur sleuth.

Set in 1940, the author adds interesting historical facts and creates fascinating characters. The four other books in the series each feature a different time period and famous person. Final Curtain goes on sale June 3, 2014 from Poisoned Pen Press.

Bottom Line: Recommended if you enjoy historical mysteries featuring literary figures as crime-solvers, try this cozy series.

Title: Final Curtain: An Edna Ferber Mystery
Author: Edward Ifkovic
Genre: Cozy historical mystery
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 1464202923
No. of Pages: 250 pages
Copyright: June 12, 2014
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review. 

Edward Ifkovic taught literature and creative writing at a community college in Connecticut for over three decades. His short stories and essays have appeared in the “Village Voice, America, Hartford Monthly”, and “Journal of Popular Culture”. A longtime devotee of mystery novels, he fondly recalls discovering Erle Stanley Gardner’s ‘Perry Mason’ series in a family bookcase. (from Poisoned Pen website)

In Good Company Book Club

Taken at our very first meeting November 2012!

A couple of years ago, my friend Laura and I discussed the idea of a book group. We got together, tossed some ideas around, and the In Good Company Book Club was born.

We remain small with usually 6-8 showing up for dinner at In Good Company, a local restaurant that puts up with our shenanigans and gave us permission to use their name! In some ways it's a women's night out, but we do talk about the books we read and some of those discussions are passionate.

Last Thursday everyone but me had read Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Book Club got cancelled several times this winter and I had moved on and read Donna Tartt's The Gold Finch instead. We all get to choose titles over a year and we don't berate anyone for not being prepared because usually we are. Besides the friendships, I have read more widely and been able to share books I love with others.

This morning, a friend shared a New York Times article (March 22, 2014) with me and I wanted to share with you. It's called Really? You're Not in a Book Club?

So are you in a book club? What is your book group reading? Are you interested in what other book groups chose to read? I would love to know your thoughts!

SHIRLEY: A NOVEL (2014)

Shirley by Susan Merrell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you've ever read a Shirley Jackson story (The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, etc.), you are unlikely to forget it.

Against my better judgment, I accepted the invitation from Net Galley to read an early edition of Susan Scarf Merrell's second novel due out June 12, 2014, which is described as imagining a young fictional couple moving in with the real author and her family. The description of the book as a 'psychological thriller' sounded interesting.

Original in its concept, Shirley: A Novel is about obsession. I would not describe it as a psychological thriller. The young wife, Rose, wants to be and have what Shirley Jackson has no matter the consequences. Her academic husband, Fred, is enthralled with his mentor Stanley Hyman, Shirley's husband. During their time with the author in Bennington, Vermont around 1964, their daughter Natalie is born, and our unreliable narrator tells her tale.

First let me say, that I have avoided reading what is called 'fan fiction' although Susan Scarf Merrell's book seemed special in several ways.

The majority of reviews beginning to appear are enraptured with the book, but one person wrote about some of the things that bothered me. Check out The Fictionalization of Shirley Jackson by Hope Leman.

Whose story is this to tell? How would you feel is someone decided to write a story about your parents, your family, making things up that may or may not be fact and adding fictional elements that the wide readership will have no way of knowing to be true or not. The family had four children, whom I believe are all living . Stanley Hyman, who was a well known figure, is portrayed as a drunken leech. Our heroine Rose is suspicious that Shirley Jackson was involved in some way with the (true) disappearance of a young woman who may or may not have been one of Stanley's students.

Because I 'read' this book on my Kindle, it was interesting to see how many passages I highlighted and how many times I bookmarked a page and put the book down. Susan Scarf Merrell's writing is highly descriptive. I am usually proud of the fact that I am able to intuit a wider vocabulary that I actually possess but I was constantly looking up the meanings to words in this very literate work.

Bottom Line: RECOMMENDED with reservations. This book will not appeal to everyone although I think it will generate favorable reviews and possibly spark a renewed interest in the works of Shirley Jackson.

Title: Shirley
Author: Susan Scarf Merrell
Genre: Literate fiction
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
ISBN: 0399166459
No. of Pages: 288 pages
Copyright: June 12, 201
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Susan Scarf Merrell is an American author specializing in the novel, short story, and essay. A graduate of Cornell University's College of Arts & Sciences, Susan Scarf Merrell received her MFA from The Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College and currently teaches in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reader Reviews Vs. Reviewer Reviews

Huffington Post recently shared an article that was of great interest to me. I have been writing this book blog for seven years without any real, concrete guidelines. I read what I want (mostly) and write more about how the experience affects me. This makes me feel mightily guilty sometimes. Occasionally I've attempted to be a little more disciplined but it doesn't last.

Then I read this article. It clarified a lot of things for me. Rachel Thompson wrote Reader Reviews Vs/ Reviewer Reviews: Is There a Difference? with authors in mind but it is instructive for a wider audience.

HIDDEN (2014)

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although HIDDEN is Canadian author Catherine McKenzie's fourth novel, it is the first time I have read her work and I was most impressed.

First sentence: The last thing I had to do that day was fire Art Davies.

Within a carefully constructed structure, her writing is clear and moving. I love all the allusions to things in modern everyday lives. It strengthens how we relate to the story told by three people: Jeff, Claire, and Tish. And lest you think that might be confusing, it is not. The author places subtle markers at the beginning of each new section that immediately identify where the story is picking up. It is almost seamless.

The other thing I loved about HIDDEN is that it twists and turns and doesn't necessarily go where the reader expects while dealing with issues of relationships, family, secrets, and regrets.

Bottom Line: This is definitely a worthy addition to what I call 'literate chic-lit'. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Title: Hidden
Author: Catherine McKenzie
Genre: Literate chic-lit
Publisher: New Harvest
ISBN: 0544264975
No. of Pages: 304 pages
Copyright: April 1, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Kindle Edition Offer

DISCLOSURE: Got a free copy through Kindle Prime.

Catherine MacKenzie, A graduate of McGill University in History and Law, practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine's novels, SPIN, ARRANGED, FORGOTTEN and HIDDEN, are international bestsellers. HIDDEN will be released in the US on April 1, 2014. She is currently seeking a new one-word title so she can write her fifth novel. And if you want to know how she has time to do all that, the answer is: robots.

EMPTY MANSIONS (2013)

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr. 
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As I grow older, I seem to find more inspiration in works of non-fiction. The research and depth of exploration in books like EMPTY MANSIONS have the ability to make me question what I thought I knew about the world.

On the other hand, I don't think there IS another book quite like EMPTY MANSIONS. Why didn't I love history when I was in school? How did the teachers manage to make it so dry and unappealing? Here it is a page turner, non-fiction that reads like fiction.

EMPTY MANSIONS is a modern day fairy tale. It begins with the magical tale of W.A.Clark and how he amassed his incredible fortune in copper mining and ends with the death of his daughter Huguette at the age of 104 in 2011. The eccentricities of Huguette's life and how the fortune was managed and spent is as fascinating as it is distressing.

And what about those empty mansions, bought and abandoned? They are the stuff of imagination and exploration. How many dreams have been filled with room after room of delight?

What is amazing to contemplate is that Huguette was witness to everything from the sinking of the Titanic (the family had tickets for the second sailing) to the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11. She lived her life as a recluse and ultimately spent her last years in hospital. And everyone wanted something from her. That something was money. Obscene amounts of money.

Bottom Line:  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Title: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Author: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345534522
No. of Pages: 496 pages
Copyright: September 10, 2013
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Hardback copy loaned by a friend who knew I wanted to read it.

Bill Dedman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, an investigative reporter for NBC News, and co-author of the No. 1 bestselling book "Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune." Wikipedia

Paul Clark Newell Jr., cousin of Huguette Clark and grand nephew of Senator William Andrews Clark (Huguette's father), is one of the few persons admitted into regular communication with with the reclusive Huguette in the last 20 years of her life. (Source: Amazon)

View all my reviews

MURDER ON THE HOOF: A MYSTERY (2014)

Murder on the Hoof: A Mystery by Kathryn O'Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of my favorite things is to have a new book in my hands (or on my Kindle). Considering how terribly cold and snowy it has been, I was more than excited when I received an advanced reading copy (ARC) of Kathryn O'Sullivan's sequel to FOAL PLAY. After all, the setting is once again a picturesque North Carolina beach village and it's August!

Using the Wild Horses of Corolla as a center piece, both stories feature Colleen McCabe, the Fire Chief and her budding relationship with Sheriff Bill Dorman. Throw in a host of eccentric locals (this time involved with putting on a community theater production to raise money for the horses), a famous actress in town to film a movie, a couple of unexpected deaths, and you have a delightful beach read. (The book goes on sale May 6, 2014.)

Much like the popular television program MURDER SHE WROTE, O'Sullivan's storytelling is on solving the puzzle. But while Cabot's Cove doesn't actually exist, Corolla and its horses are real. Road trip anyone?

You can read either book as a stand alone, but I suggest starting with FOAL PLAY, which was published as a result of winning the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition last year. These are quick reads and we're all going to be waiting to see what the author comes up with next!

Bottom Line:  Recommended for cozy mystery readers!

Title: Murder on the Hoof: A Mystery
Author: Kathryn O'Sullivan
Genre: Cozy mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1250049466
No. of Pages: 272 pages
Copyright: May 6, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: ARC from author

DISCLOSURE: Disclaimer: The author and I share an alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University's theatre department.

Kathryn O'Sullivan is a playwright, co-executive producer/creator/writer of the multi-award-winning Western web series THURSTON (www.thurston-series.com) and a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. She lives in Virginia with her husband, a director and cinematographer, and their rascally rescue cat, Oscar.  Her play MOVING DAY will be published in "The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2014" by Smith & Kraus, Inc. (Source: Good Reads)

THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD: A NOVEL (2014)

The Weight of Blood: A Novel by Laura McHugh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the small Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, Missouri, outsiders are perceived with great distrust. The safety of everyday life seems to be maintained by ignoring the secrets everyone carries unshared.

The suspense begins with the first sentence: "That Cheri Stoddard was found at all was the thing that set people on edge, even more so than the condition of her body."

Lucy is appalled that no one questioned what had happened to her friend Cheri who was missing for a year before her body showed up. Feeling guilty that she too left questions unasked, Lucy begins to wonder what happened during that missing year.

Lucy's quest expands to include others who have disappeared in the past. One was her Mother.

Will her questions bring the answers she longs for or will the truth be more than she can stand?

Laura McHugh has a light touch with a gruesome subject. She knows just how far to go without alienating the reader. There is doubt and uncertainty about what might be true. Adding to the suspense the author weaves first person account's of Lucy's story in the present day with her mother's tale twenty years earlier.

As Lucy uncovers more and more secrets, other character's narratives are shared, until all the pieces are revealed. It's a complicated form but McHugh pulls it off brilliantly.

Partly a coming of age story, partly suspense, partly about what family and friendship means, Laurie McHugh writes a great story in a setting she knows and writes about beautifully.

Bottom Line: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Title: The Weight of Blood: A Novel
Author: Laurie McHugh
Genre: Suspense, mystery
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
ISBN: 0812995201
No. of Pages: 320 pages
Copyright: March 11, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

Laura McHugh's debut novel will be published March 11, 2014. It is based on a true crime that took place in Missouri where she lives with her husband, children, and large furry dog. She is currently at work on her second novel.