TERMINAL CITY (2014)

Terminal City by Linda Fairstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's been a year since I read Linda Fairstein's Dark Angel and my reaction is the same. The best part of her books is New York City and the historical details she works into the story. In Terminal City, Fairstein continues her winning formula in this 16th entry in the Alexandra Cooper series.

The plot is interesting and the procedural information is fascinating. What I don't like is the way Alexandra Cooper, an assistant district attorney specializing in crimes against women and children, is treated like a child. Perhaps the portrayal is an accurate picture of how women are viewed in her field, but I find it discomfiting to see her demeaned even by those that supposedly care for her.

Bottom Line: If you love mysteries and are curious about NYC's Grand Central Terminal, by all means consider reading this book.

Title: Terminal City
Author: Linda Fairstein
Genre: Police Procedural/Thriller
Publisher: Dutton Adult
ISBN: 0525953884
No. of Pages: 384 pages
Copyright: June 17, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

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

Linda Fairstein is an American author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. Wikipedia

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My Father Shared His Love of Books (Especially Mysteries)

Whodunit (credit: http://www.whodunitphilly.com)

I am currently in the midst of transcribing letters written to me by my father over a period of 35 years beginning when I left home for college in 1963 and ending with his death in 1998 at the age of 80. 

Part of a letter dated June 22, 1980 written to me by my father when he was 62:

This past week we went to a store called Whodunit* where they have nothing but mystery books. Used hardbacks and new paperbacks comprise the stock. Because I have read all of Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey, and P.D. James, I am looking for other mysteries. As you know I have rather limited tastes. Being a confirmed Romantic, I prefer English mysteries. Most American crime stories I find too violent with hard and brash characters and locales which bore me. On the other hand, I have never warmed up to Hercule and Miss Jane so Agatha has gone by the boards.

The man at the bookshop suggested June Thomson and her Inspector Rudd of Chelmsford CID. Have you ever read her? The story I am now reading is called “Death Cap” and is about poisoning by a species of mushroom of that name. The story is pretty good, but I have not warmed up to it as much as I have to other authors that I like. The advertisers are comparing her to P.D. James. If she is young, she may develop into a James. I must admit that as far as interesting writing is concerned, James is hard to beat. Of course, this is without considering Sayers, which I watch when on television but so far have not been enthused about reading. One day soon I expect to give it a go.

At the recommendation of the bookseller, I also bought three other books to try out. One is “Minute for Murder” by Nicholas Blake, who is really the English poet Cecil Day-Lewis. The second is “The Cast of the Gilded Fly” by Edmund Crispin. His hero is Gervase Fen, an eccentric English professor at Oxford, who is the sleuth. And the third book is about the theater and is called “Puzzle for Players” by Patrick Quentin, whose hero is Peter Duluth, an actor it appears, although I have not read the book yet. This is an American story but the book agent assured me it was similar in approach and mood to an English mystery. I shall read it. Perhaps you have read some or all of these but when I am through I will ask if you want them and send them to you.

NOTE: Actually all three authors were using pen names. Was that a conceit used because writing mysteries was looked down on? And Cecil Day-Lewis is the father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
_________________________________________________________________________________

*Whodunit Books
1931 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 567-1478
www.whodunitphilly.com

Whodunit Books has been located in this Rittenhouse area of Philly since 1977 and specializes in mysteries and thrillers. Whodunit also carries many other general titles and many rare copies from local authors. It carries signed and collectable books, all of which are also available online. This is a store to visit if you want to chat with the owner about books in general. Whodunit also has an outdoor table for nice weather and is one of the leading book stores in Philly to get that impossible-to-find book.

Keeping Up with John Green

Although I came to John Green's writing too late and too old to be a 'nerdfighter', I fell in love with The Fault in Our Stars (and John Green) like any of his young army of fans. In fact, so did our entire book group to varying degrees. (You can read my brief review HERE.)

There is an extensive and wonderful article about him in The New Yorker called The Teen Whisperer that you really should read even if you haven't read any of his books at all. If it doesn't entice you to see what all the fuss is about, I'll be surprised.

THE HOUSE GIRL (2013)

The House Girl by Tara Conklin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was intrigued from the first sentence and read the book quickly in just several days. This was a Kindle purchase and the title was chosen for our book group so I didn't know what to expect.

Ordinarily I wouldn't pick up an historical novel, but author Tara Conklin has created two compelling contrasting worlds (one in the past and one in the present) to tell her story. Alternating between the life of 'house girl' slave Josephine Bell and that of fast track lawyer Lina Sparrow makes for a compelling story.

Being a 'house girl' of a childless family, Josephine has been taught to read and has a naturally brilliant talent for creating artwork although most of it is attributed to her mistress.

Lina is handed the opportunity of a lifetime when she is assigned to find the perfect plaintiff for a court case involving reparations for slaves.

How the two stories weave together and eventually become one will keep the reader engaged although the writing is a bit flowery at times.
 
My book group doesn't meet until next Thursday so I may update these comments after I hear what everyone thinks.

Recommended for a solid summer read.

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ONE OF US (2014)

One of Us by Tawni O'Dell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who the heck is Tawni O'Dell and why haven't I heard of her before? Maybe I should pay more attention to Oprah? Apparently a couple of years back one of her selections was the author's Back Roads.

I've read a couple of other Oprah choices and enjoyed them, so I looked a little more closely when I was offered the chance to read One of Us, which won't be available until late this summer.

What initially attracted me to One of Us was that it was a thriller with settings in Pennsylvania, places where I lived or visited growing up. I probably saw the allusions to a similarity with Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl too.

Sheridan Doyle, Danny to his friends, has overcome a difficult childhood and reinvented himself as a highly successful and recognizeable forensic psychologist in Philadelphia; but the minute he returns to his small Pennsylvania coal town to see after his aging grandfather, the past and his insecurities come rushing back.

Although set in the present, it is the connections, lies, and secrets from the past that intrude and drive the story. Lost Creek was the site of the hanging of a group of rebellious miners a century earlier. When a body is found on that site, things become complicated.

Told by two different narrators, we're well into Danny's account when Scarlet's version begins. Their connections run deep into the past. Danny's background is blue-collar while Scarlet's wealthy family has owned the mine for generations. The reader can't help but enjoy the descriptions of the things that these two share in common. Are they really that different?

With a dark, Gothic feel, this psychological thriller is an entertaining page-turner.

Bottom Line: Highly recommended for thriller readers. Crisp writing and some real surprises are served up.

Title: One of Us
Author: Tawni O'Dell
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Gallery Books
ISBN: 1476755876
No. of Pages: 304 pages
Copyright: August 19, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

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

Tawni O'Dell is a bestselling author of four novels including Back Roads, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. Back Roads is currently in development to be made into a film. Her works have been published in over 40 countries.

Tawni was born and raised in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania, the territory she writes about with such striking authenticity. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and spent many years living in the Chicago area before moving back to Pennsylvania with her two children.

(Source: Official website)

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