THE SWALLOWS (2019)

The Swallows by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me forever to read The Swallows. I was first drawn to the story by the boarding school setting, but the cacophony of voices telling the story in first person was a challenge. And although the story was darkly humorous, it was rather unpleasant. Relevant to the #MeToo conversation, the boys take and share revealing pictures of girls and rate sexual encounters. The battle eventually turns into a war where no one is left unscathed.

FIRST LINE: "Some teachers have a calling. I'm not one of them."

THE STORY: Alex Witt reluctantly takes a job teaching creative writing at an elite Vermont boarding school where her parent's friendship with the Headmaster means her recent past will be overlooked. 

It starts with a simple writing prompt from Alex Witt in her effort to get to know the students. When the answers raise disturbing questions, Ms. Witt suspects there's more going on at the school than the faculty wants to see.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I am always attracted to a story that takes place in a boarding school, but apparently I wasn't the only reader who found the book slow going (It took me over two months to finish.) Filled with anonymous notes and secret meetings, Lutz pays homeage to spy novels with a reference to Magnus Pym, a double agent in a book by John le Carré. The actual writing is sharp and funny. And, by the way, swallow has many meanings. One is "a female agent employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes." You can guess at the others.

I enjoyed her earlier book, The Passenger, a thriller, but I'm not familiar with the Spellman series.

BOTTOM LINE: Some reviewers loved this book, some reviewers did not finish reading. The amount of frank sexual description may be too much for some readers.

Disclaimer: A copy of The Swallows was provided to me by Ballantine Books/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher:  Ballantine Books (August 13, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1984818236
ISBN-13: 978-1984818232

Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling author of the six books in the Spellman series, Heads You Lose (with David Hayward), and How To Start A Fire. Her latest offering is the thriller The Passenger (March, 2016 from S&S).

Lutz has won the Alex award and has been nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. Although she attended UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, the University of Leeds in England, and San Francisco State University, she still does not have a bachelor's degree. Lutz spent most of the 1990s hopping through a string of low-paying odd jobs while writing and rewriting the screenplay Plan B, a mob comedy. After the film was made in 2000, she vowed she would never write another screenplay. She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York. .(from Amazon)

Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Both Good Reads and NetGalley ask readers to score the books they are reviewing on a one to five star scale. I've decided to do away with using that information on my blog. Here's why.

When I was younger I was reluctant to sing because I thought I wasn't as good as the other people in the room, in the world. Then I met a teacher who suggested that everyone had something to offer. It reminded me of the library rule that says "Every reader their book. Every book its reader."

I started wondering why I had to number rank the books I read. I had one author friend be taken aback because I only gave his new book 3 stars rather than the usual 4. It was more violent than I can handle these day and yet it is the book that will garner him many new readers.

Of course, there will be books I like more than others; and if I feel a book is poorly written and plotted, I don't need to read or review it at all.

I'd prefer to write about the delights and what the author has achieved.

What do you think?

August was a Lovely Month

No, not the title of a book. Just an excuse for not having posted for a while.

In the meantime, I have been reading but very slowly. I'm working on a review of Among Others (Jo Walton), currently reading The Color of Water in July (Nora Carroll), and just added Eileen (Ottessa Moshfegh) to my Good Reads list.

What Happens When You Read A Lot?

I just came across a blog posting which discusses some of the issues I have been thinking about concerning reviewing which I do for books and stage plays. It seems that I find it more and more difficult to embrace either as openly as I might once have. I have often found myself changing my mind after 'a little reflection' as one respondent commented. Were my expectations too high?

Read this post from Socratic Salon called "Can You Keep Raising the Bar for Books"  and let me know what you think.

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.

PRECIOUS THING (2014)

Precious Thing by Colette McBeth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

PRECIOUS THING, a marvelous thriller, could be this year's GONE GIRL. First time novelist Colette McBeth has carefully crafted a roller coaster read that slams to an end.

Rachel and Clara have known each other since school days always pledging to remain best friends, but terrible secrets lie just below the surface of their relationship.

In school Clara was the girl everyone wanted for a friend, but she chose dumpy, unhappy Rachel. The world has changed and Rachel is now a successful news reporter with a boy friend and a happy life. She has tried to reach out to Clara but been rebuffed.

Things begin to go awry when Rachel shows up to report on the disappearance of two people who turn out to be Clara and Rachel's boyfriend.

Some suspension of disbelief may be necessary; but in general this is a clever, well-written, psychological story with some surprising twists and turns.  

Bottom Line: Great writing pared with a narrator, who may be unreliable, draws the reader into a web where truth is always just beyond one's grasp. If you liked GONE GIRL, you will enjoy PRECIOUS THING. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Title: Precious Thing

Author: Colette McBeth

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

No. of Pages: 304 pages

Copyright:April 10, 2014

ISBN:  1250041198

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: NetGalley

Disclaimer: An advanced copy of Precious Thing was provided to me by Minotaur/Net Galley for review purposes.


Colette McBeth was a BBC TV News Correspondent for ten years. She lives in West London with her husband and three young children. She attended the Faber Academy Novel Writing Course in 2011. PRECIOUS THING is her first novel. (from the author's website)

Thoughts About Reviews

As I've spent more time visiting and reading other book blogs, I've thought perhaps I should begin writing more formal reviews. Now I am rethinking whether I want to do that or not. In the past, my comments have been personal impressions of the things I've read. Using a structure takes the joy out of the process for me.

Therefore, I am going to go back to my original, random style.

FOAL PLAY (2013)

Foal Play: A Mystery by Kathryn O'Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 “Fire Chief Colleen McCabe enjoys working with her men at the firehouse and sharing a home with her border collie Sparky. But when a dead body washes up on shore, she knows trouble has arrived in Corolla.”

Bottom Line: Recommended for cozy readers everywhere!

As a young girl I loved the seashore, horses, and mysteries, so Foal Play was a natural choice for my reading list for a month in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I was lucky to receive an advanced reading copy (ARC) from the author.

Kathryn O'Sullivan's mystery is being published as a result of  winning the Malice Domestic/St. Martin’s Minotaur competition for Best First Traditional Mystery novel, and that's where I first heard about it.

All the expected elements are present to make this a very readable cozy: a great location, a slue of amusing characters, a handful of possible villains, a winning amateur sleuth, and the horses. There are, however, a couple of shocks I didn't expect in a cozy.

Did you know about the threatened herd of Spanish mustangs on the coast of North Carolina? I didn't. And there really is a Corolla, North Carolina as well as a Whalehead Club and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. If you're like me, you'll be looking for pictures and more information. Road trip, anyone?

If this doesn't turn into a series for author Kathryn O'Sullivan, I will be very surprised. By the time I got to the hilarious funeral service scene in the church, I knew this would make a  great caper movie too. It's great fun.

Having a woman as the Fire Chief of a small town in a tourist area, opens up all kinds of possibilities. Did I mention she and the Sheriff seem attracted to each other?

Make sure you get your copy when the book lays down in May so you can take it to the beach this summer. You won't be sorry.

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

Title: Foal Play

Author: Kathryn O’Sullivan

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Minotaur (May 7, 2013)

No. of Pages: 272

Copyright: 2013

ISBN: 1250026598

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Advance Reading Copy

"Kathryn O'Sullivan is also an award-winning playwright and creator of the Western Web series Thurston, and a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. She lives in Virginia with her husband, an award-winning director and cinematographer, and their rascally rescue cat, Oscar."

Three Overdue Reviews

 

It isn't because I didn't like these books. In fact I enjoyed them all. It's just that I am on vacation and it's hard to discipline myself to put my thoughts together.

Foal Play by Kathryn O'Sullivan is a cozy mystery that will be released later this spring; Home Fires by Margaret Maron, a traditional mystery, was published in 1998; and finally The Blackhouse, a riveting mystery by Peter May, his first in the Lewis trilogy.

There does seem to be a theme here but usually I read more randomly.

You are invited to check back and see when I get these reviews written and posted!

Wish I Could Write Reviews Like This

Kirkus Review Posts Top Books of 2010

 Every librarian knows where to find the important reviews and Kirkus is one of a handful of sources. They have just posted their top book lists for 2010. If you're looking for some good reading to add to YOUR list, check it out HERE.

Having just discovered Louise Penny, I was pleased to see that Bury Your Dead was in the top ten mystery list!


"Founded in 1933, Kirkus reviews more than 500 pre-publication books each month, including fiction, nonfiction, children's and young-adult books.  Our reviews are a trusted and authoritative decision-making tools, crafted by specialists selected for their knowledge and expertise in a particular field."