Damage

John Lescroart is the best-selling author of more than 20 books, but I had not read any of them until his most recent book, Damage. Published in January 2011, this novel kept coming up in my amazon recommendations, so I decided to give it a try.

Ro Curtlee is a dangerous convicted rapist/murderer but he comes from a powerful San Francisco family. He wins a retrial on a minor technicality and his family is able to use their connections and wealth to get him out on bail. When a witness from his first trial is killed in a house fire, the police immediately suspect Ro, and they and the DA's office are determined to get Ro back in jail. After another fire kills the wife of the original jury foreman, the police are even more convinced Ro is out to eliminate those connected to his case. But is their judgement clouded by anger and the desire to get Ro off the street?

A fast-paced and enjoyable thriller that keeps you guessing, unless you read the end first, which I have a bad habit of doing! John Lescroart is an author I will have to catch up on.

Once Was Lost

In Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr, the summer heat seems to be the only constant companion in Sam’s life. Her mother is in rehab and her father, big time pastor for a small town, is always busy. Everything has fallen apart, a fact that is cemented for Sam when fellow church member, 13-year-old Jody, goes missing. The whole town is under investigation, and Sam begins to find comfort and confusion in Nick, Jody’s older brother. Many lines and characters are tested and exposed throughout the disappearance; all of which come together brilliantly in the end.

For those of you, who loved Sara Zarr’s novel Sweethearts, get ready for another read with the same amazing depth. The story is full of questions about faith, family and life. This novel shows us a world shaken into awareness as weaknesses are revealed.

Faithful Place

In Faithful Place, the third book by Tana French, undercover policeman Frank Mackey finds out if you really can't go home again. In 1985 Frank prepares to the leave his lower middle class Dublin neighborhood
with his first love Rosie Daley. The two 19-year-olds were to meet after midnight and leave for London on the next ferry. Rosie never shows up.

Frank becomes a policeman and stays as far away from his dysfunctional family as possible. Then in 2007 he gets a phone call from his sister Jackie. An abandoned suitcase has been found in a derelict house. Frank  goes to investigate and finds the suitcase is Rosie's. Soon a body is found at the same location. Frank
begins to suspect one of his family was involved in Rosie's disappearance.

The character of Frank Mackey isn't likable. He's pushy and selfish. His redeeming feature is his love for his 9-year-old daughter Holly. Frank badly wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly and he's willing to do whatever it takes to himself and anyone else to find out. The novel is a gripping, intelligent story of family trauma and lost love. Give it and the author's other two books a try.

Also by Tana French: In the Woods and The Likeness

Killer Pizza

Teen horror books have been a request at our library, so when I saw a review for Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor, I ordered it for our library. I happened upon it again recently when I was looking for a book to read on my breaks, so I decided to give it a shot.

Toby McGill is looking for a job to avoid the boredom of nothing to do all summer. The only place that will hire him is a new place called Killer Pizza, but that's perfect for Toby because his secret dream is to become a celebrity chef.  However, he gets more than he bargained for when he finds out Killer Pizza is actually a front for a secret monster-hunting organization and he has been hired to do much more than make pizzas...like save his town from a guttata attack.

This book was fun and suspenseful and the short chapters make it a good choice for reluctant readers. There's little gore and the "horror" is pretty tame.

Something Maybe

If you like Sarah Dessen novels, Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott is the book for you! She even says so herself, “The best love story I’ve read in ages.” Something, Maybe takes the reader into the life of the infamous Hannah Jackson, a girl who’s stuck in her parents’ legendary shadows. Hannah’s father, an aging reality TV show star, has little to do with her daily life, only calling on her when his show’s ratings are down. Her mother broadcasts a web show straight from her house; reliving days as an actress on the popular TV show Cowboy Dad. If that wasn’t enough, Hannah is also pinning after her longtime crush Josh, while trying to fend off goofball Finn. Elizabeth Scott creates a world that seems entirely believable. The problems Hannah struggles with are relatable even if both your parents are insanely normal.

The Girls of Murder City

In 1924 Chicago, "girl gunners" ruled newspaper headlines. Women were murdering men at alarming rates, and getting away with it. In The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago, Douglas Perry writes about two of these cases and the journalist turned playwright inspired by them. Beautiful Beulah Annan and stylish Belva Gaertner were the most popular inmates of Murderess' Row, and were both charged with shooting their lovers to death. New to the city, Maurine Watkins was a small town girl hoping to land a spot as a newspaperwoman covering the crime beat. She would later go on to write the play Chicago, based on Beulah, Belva, and the other women of Murderess' Row

This book sat on my pile a solid month before I finally started it, but it was worth the wait. Both entertaining and informative, The Girls of Murder City received starred reviews from several publications. If you like reading about crime in the Jazz Age, I would also recommend The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum.

Mystery Book Club/Book of the Month

The Library's Mystery Book Club will meet at 6:45 p.m. May 12 to discuss mysteries by Alan Bradley. Bradley writes the Flavia de Luce mysteries featuring an 11-year-old aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. Set in 1950s  England, this series is engaging and witty. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first in the series, is also our May Book of the Month. Copies are on display in the library so stop in and get one!

Started Early, Took My Dog

Started Early, Took My Dog is author Kate Atkinson’s fourth Jackson Brodie novel.    The semi-retired ex-policeman, part time private investigator  has come back to his old hometown of Leeds, England to search for the biological parents of a young Australian woman.  But Brodie can’t find the couple in any database, nor is the adoption on record.  While searching Jackson comes upon a man abusing a small dog in a park.  He punches the man in the stomach and takes the dog.

The second main character is Tracy Waterhouse, a retired policeman. She’s in her fifties and has taken a part time job as a security guard at a mall.   Tracy sees a young woman yelling at a small girl while dragging her through the mall to the bus station.  Following the pair outside Tracy impulsively asks “ How much for the kid?”  The woman takes the money and leaves Tracy with the little girl!    Soon Tracy is planning a life raising the four year old Courtney in France. 

The third portion of the book deals with Matilda “Tilly” Squires ,and elderly soap opera actress who works with Jackson’s ex-girlfriend.  Tilly is in the first stages of dementia and keeps forgetting her lines.    What do Jackson, Tracy and Tilly have to do with each other?  Their paths will cross before the book is finished.   Atkinson layers the storyline and time periods with skill and weaves it all together in the end.