Persuader by Lee Child, Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Persuader is the seventh Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child.  Reacher goes undercover into a smuggling ring to extricate a DEA agent whose identity was compromised.  Again, he is the energizer bunny of tough guys, absorbing injury after injury on top of foodless days and sleepless nights.  But so much fun reading!

Flash and Bones is the latest Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan novel.  Set in Charlotte, NC, a man is discovered inside an oil drum, covered in asphalt from the Charlotte speedway.  Tempe works with a local homicide detective and a disgraced former cop, now the head of security at the speedway to discover who the dead man is, and what happened to a young couple 12 years ago.  Despite elaborate terrorist theories, it turns out to be the most mundane reason of all - a young couple from different backgrounds trying to lead their own lives.

A lot of fun NASCAR background for fans.

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell

I've been busy watching hurricane Irene and building a deck.  But I could not put Once Upon a River down.  We are introduced to Margo, the daughter of an illegitimate son of the all-powerful, all-encompassing Murray clan.  They live on a tributary of the Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan.  Margo's mother has left home, and Margo is raised by her loving, but inept, father.  She spends her life along the river.  After a tragic incident during a family gathering, Margo leaves home in her late grandfather's teak boat, and begins a search for her mother.  Along the way, is loved, used and abused by various men. 

Bonnie Jo Campbell has captured a type of person who, while outwardly self-sufficient, is not self-aware.  Her physical travels parallel her mental growth so that she eventually finds herself. Margo's bittersweet story grips you from beginning to end.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

One of 2010's best books, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is the story of the friendship of two boys - one white, one black - in small town Mississippi. The book opens as Larry Ott is being shot in the chest by an unknown assailant. Ironically, he is saved by the town constable, with whom Larry was friends when they were in school. However, when a local girl disappears after a date with Larry, the friends move on. Larry becomes stuck--he reads and keeps his father's garage open, but has no business and no friends--while Silas goes to Ole Miss to play baseball. Now, years later, Silas has returned to town, and the real story finally comes out.
Similar to Dennis Lehane and Lee Smith.

Grammar commentary

I've just been reading commentary from the linguist's blog and a blog named "Motivated Grammar" about the use of "bad" vs "badly".  The consensus seems to be that "I feel bad" is perfectly acceptable American English, with "I feel badly" also being used, but that we shouldn't worry about the difference too much.  Personally, if I am not feeling well (physically), I say one "I'm not feeling well" - "I'm sick" - or "I feel like c___".  I've also noticed that where I work, they write on the board "so-and-so is ill" not "sick".  Growing up, I would hear "ill" in the sense of terminal illness, or "cranky", "out-of-sorts", "mad".  "Sick" was what we were when we had the flu.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Went to see The Help - the movie.  I think they did a very good job with it.  They really seemed to capture the look and feel of Mississippi.  Since I never lived there - I can't be sure - but it sure felt right.  Octavia Spencer as Millie was very affecting.  Her relationship with Celia was the key to the movie - and showed us all how life was very stratified.  Social pressures confined everyone much more than today, but, of course, African-Americans were confined legally and socially.

I have read the book, which was very affecting.  Again, the tone rang true to me.  I was too young in 1963 to be aware of events happening in the greater world.  I am glad Stockett has been able to make me aware of the sacrifices African-Americans made on a daily basis.

The Enemy by Lee Child

The Enemy by Lee Child

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I think this was the best one I've read. It takes place while Reacher is still in the army.



View all my reviews

In Stitches: a Memoir by Anthony Youn, M.D.

Dr. Youn keeps us "in stitches" with the high & low-lights of his path to becoming a medical doctor. He is absolutely charming & humorous. I highly recommend.
Happy Reading!~

The Girl Who Disappeared Twice (2011) by Andrea Kane

Not Kane's first book, but the first one in the Forensic Instincts series.  Casey Woods heads a private investigatory firm that includes a former navy seal and a computer whiz (read: hacker).  Probate Judge Hope Willis 5-year-old daughter is kidnapped from her school.  Hope immediately calls in Forensic Instincts, as well as the local police and the FBI.  Casey's people can take shortcuts that the FBI can't.  The case is further complicated by the fact that Hope's twin Felicity was abducted as a child, and never found.  Woods, her co-workers, and the FBI chase false leads galore until they finally trip onto the correct path.

The writing is a little trite ("Silently, she talked herself down, reminding herself why she was doing this."), but very suspenseful.  The characters are interesting, and the mystery is well-plotted.  I'd have to read her earlier books to tell if she is consistent.

Happy Reading!~

Visit to Northern Virginia

Went to Northern Virginia - Fairfax County - to visit family.  We went to Great Falls National Park where the Potomac River dramatically cuts through the fall line on its way to the Chesapeake Bay.  We had a great picnic of Greek specialties from a local Greek restaurant.  We had tzadziki, hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves, with crackers, cheese, etc.  It was like a tapas menu - a little bit of everything.  Blue Moon & Yuengling round out the meal.

Acceptable Loss (2011) by Anne Perry

A William Monk Novel

Following just after the events of Execution Dock, Monk is called to the body of a murdered man in the mud on the banks of the Thames.  The victim is a known criminal, Mickey Parfitt.  Monk traces him to another ship where young boys are imprisoned and used for immoral purposes.  Hester and Monk have taken Scruff, a mud lark, into their home, and are determined to protect him from further abuse.  Also, they suspect that Rathbone's father-in-law is the financier behind the trade in pornography and abuse of boys.  Hester, Margaret (Lady Rathbone), Monk and Rathbone are at odds in the subsequent case against Mr. Ballinger (Margaret's father).

Perry is a master of the Victorian era, placing Monk, Hester, Margaret, and Oliver among the most severe social issues of the day.  Complex plots, in depth characterization, and impeccable writing make Perry's Inspector Monk novels impossible to put down.

Detective by Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke was a NYC police detective from 1968 to 1991.  When she joined, women made up less than 1% of the New York police force.  Burke was instrumental in paving the way for women in the force.  She worked undercover in the 1970s making drug buys, later worked homicide, then organized crime.  She was shuttled around the department to keep her from making waves.  She battled with, then sued, the chief of the major crimes unit.  She was shot on the street, effectively ending her active police career.  At the time the book was published, 2006, she was actively involved with the police self-support unit, helping police officers who had been mentally or physically traumatized on the job.  She is a brave woman.  The book is impossible to put down.

Jack Reacher

Vacation Reading - I ordered numbers two, three & four of the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child to take on vacation.  I had read some of this series, but not in order.  They are Die Trying, Tripwire and Running Blind.  Unfortunately, I left Tripwire on a bus, only half read.  I'll have to get a copy from the library and finish it.

Jack Reacher is ex-military police investigator who lives on the move - no home, no belongings, no family.  Buys a new set of clothes when the old ones get too dirty.  In Die Trying, Reacher is kidnapped along with an FBI agent from the Chicago streets.  The kidnappers are holding her not because she is FBI, but because her father is a high-level military officer.  The title is apt, because both Reacher and Holly nearly die trying to escape and to prevent a sinister plot to destroy the world.  He is like John McClane in Die Hard - how many times can one man survive near-fatal assaults?  With Reacher, it is a very high number.

In Running Blind, Jack runs afoul of the FBI when women he investigated while still in the army are murdered.  FBI profiler Julia Lamarr is certain Jack is a serial killer.  Of course, it is much more complicated as Jack runs around trying to find the real killer and protect his girlfriend (yes, he has a girlfriend for a time).

Great vacation reads!

Happy Reading!~

Conquistadora (2011) by Esmeralda Santiago

I mostly read this book during my vacation (more about that later). I had heard Santiago interviewed on NPR, and thought the historical, family saga sounded interesting. Santiago grew up in Puerto Rico, and moved with her family to New York City when she was 13. Her two memoirs, Almost a Woman, and When I was Puerto Rican, tell about her childhood in Puerto Rico and her adolescence in New York.
The saga begins with Ana Larragoity Cubillas, a 16-year-old girl of buen familia (good family - middle class). She has been raised in Spain to look beautiful, marry and have children. Instead she marries a young man whose father has inherited properties in Puerto Rico, and determines to go there and run the hacienda (plantation). Starting up a derelict sugar plantation in the 1840's is a daunting task - and Ana is up for the challenge.
The story (plot) is compelling - you want to keep reading to see what becomes of Ana, her husband, her children, and their friends. What new disaster is coming? Hurricane, fire, crop failure, slave insurrection and cholera are all common dangers. The exoctic setting is well done, except that you occassionally feel you are reading from the "Colonial History of Puerto Rico."