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If you haven’t read a Michael Sherer book yet, MISTAKEN IDENTITY would be a good place to start. This is, essentially, a story of a great chase from Washington DC to Wisconsin. That description, though, is a simplification of a novel that presents itself from several different points of view, with more than one pursuit to keep track of. Jenny, a suspended FBI agent, is leaving Washington DC for the home where she grew up in Wisconsin. She has a husband but hasn’t seen him or her family in more than 10 years. You’ll learn snippets of her background throughout the book, but you won’t know her whole story until you get closer to the end. Then there is Dana. She noticed that someone was stealing money from the charitable foundation she worked for, so she made copies of the files and decided to get out of town with them. This is how Dana and Jenny are on the same train. And this is where the mistaken identity begins. Dana is a witness to a murder on the train. But the murderer mistakes Jenny for Dana. So, in his attempt to rid himself of the witness, he and his chauffeur chase after Jenny. Eventually, a couple of Russian thugs join the chase. At the same time, Dana’s former boss,Toby, is after her. So he gets in on the chase, too. MISTAKEN IDENTITY is the second book in a series. The first is STOLEN IDENTITY, but MISTAKEN IDENTITY can easily be read as a standalone.

I predict that ALL THAT WE CARRIED will be one of the winners of the Michigan Notable Books award in 2022. This book not only tells the story of two sisters on a hiking trip in the wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it does a great job of describing the beauty and the dangers of that wilderness. Olivia and Melanie have been estranged for 10 years. They are attempting to reconcile on this hiking/camping trip. Neither is from the UP or familiar with the area they are hiking. So I knew right away that they were asking for trouble. And trouble they sure do find right from their first night. But they find themselves a guardian angel. At least that’s what I decided he must be. Olivia and Melanie cautiously befriend a fisherman. He’s mysterious from the get-go; he knows their names before they introduce themselves. At that point, I thought that ALL THAT WE CARRIED would turn out to be a thriller. But, no, it is not. Still, that fisherman remains mysterious right to the very end. I hope someone in Hollywood runs across ALL THAT WE CARRIED. It would make a great movie, especially if they film it on location, in the wilderness of the UP. In a movie, I would concentrate less on the reconciliation and more on the mysterious fisherman.

Although I don’t believe that someone should waste her time reading a dull book beyond page 50, I continued reading MOTHER MAY I even though it was still boring me at that point. But it did get better around page 90. An old woman kidnaps Bree’s infant son, motivation unknown. Of course, her husband is out of town and she cannot go to the police. I say “of course” because this is so common in mysteries/thrillers, too common and too convenient (for authors). Joshilyn Jackson, the author, lets the reader know early on what’s going to happen with two important characters. That is, the mystery is predictable. As I say, though, the story will grab you beginning somewhere around page 90, if you can wait that long. After Bree tries to follow the kidnapper’s instructions, she finally enlists the help of two people, one a former cop and the other a lawyer. This is when the story gets good, and I applaud Jackson for not doing what too many authors do: insist their main characters keep secrets. (She still doesn’t go to the police, though, but could Jackson have written this book if she did?) The former cop, Marshall, is (another “of course“) in love with Bree. But he is (of course) a master at finding kidnapper and kidnappee. It still wouldn’t be nice, though, if he took Bree away from her husband, would it? Can you predict what will happen? I could. The end, too, is convenient and predictable. Jackson could have stopped sooner.

The first two books in the five-book series by James Herriot are so touching, so lovely that I hated to see them end. These books were written back in the 1970s and are about the experiences of a veterinary surgeon in Yorkshire, England, beginning in the 1930s. Although the stories in the books are fiction, they are, in fact, based on the author's own experiences. I have already read the third and fifth books in this series, but after reading the first two, I wish I had read them in order. While it’s certainly possible to read them out of order and still appreciate them, I think it would have been more satisfying to read them as they were meant to be read.

Don’t believe any fewer-than-four-star reviews of THE WITCH ELM by Tana French. It really deserves five stars for its many layers and thoughtfulness. Maybe they just don’t get it. Toby has always been a lucky guy. Then two burglars break into his apartment, steal a few things, and beat the living daylights out of him. But he lives. So people say he is, again, lucky. The worst of Toby’s injuries is to his head. Some readers may not realize that his limp and other physical manifestations are results of his head injury. But Toby's messed-up brain is also controlling his memory and language skills. Because of all this, Toby is having to deal with a new life. His thoughts are constantly going here, then there, then there. Plus the reader can see signs of PTSD all over the place. But he doesn't look as bad as he is. So this is the Toby who goes with his girlfriend to live with his dying uncle. While they are there, a skull is found inside the trunk of a tree in the garden, and later the police find more. Toby deals with detectives and gradual revelations from his cousins as they insinuate that he might be guilty of murder. He can't remember. While all French's novels are very good, both in characterization and plot, THE WITCH ELM is one of her better ones. It is full of intelligent introspection, and it takes you places you don't expect.

While you will find THE DEARLY BELOVED shelved among many other novels, this one should stand out. It is character-driven, which can be a good sign, but plenty of authors get it wrong. Cara Wall doesn’t. THE DEARLY BELOVED is about four people, James and Nan, Charles and Lily. James marries Nan, a devoutly religious daughter of a minister. Lily reluctantly marries Charles. James and Charles become ministers and preach together for 40 years. Each of these four people is examined over 50 years. Character-driven novels always run the risk of becoming boring. That is partly because they often contain little or no plot. This could be said of THE DEARLY BELOVED, but Wall has included in it topics that other novels shy away from such as discussion of faith in God (and lack of it), living with a mentally deficient family member, and good marriages that endure. Her careful analyses and well-written dialogue will keep you engaged.

What a sweet story! And it’s all true. It wouldn’t be believable if it were fiction. A recovering heroin addict, James, finds a cat on the streets of London. They become best friends. James names the cat Bob, and they go on to experience together a hand-to-mouth life. A STREET CAT NAMED BOB Is James’ account of those experiences until Bob becomes a famous cat on YouTube. James says that, because of Bob, he has changed his life around. Bob gave him a purpose and a sense of responsibility. If you shy away from books about animals because, in the end, they always die, don’t worry. Bob doesn’t die. Also, if you enjoy movies based on books you have read, you’ll be glad to know that "A Street Cat Named Bob” is now a movie.

Rest assured, RUN AWAY is, as all of Harlan Coben‘s books are, a page turner. You can be certain of this even before you begin reading it. So many mysteries are going on here, beginning with Simon’s drug-addled daughter, Paige. How did such a good girl get that way? And why did she run away from Simon? Then she disappears. But hers is not the only story. There are at least four more. And every story involves so many mysteries. This is typical of Coben‘s books, each containing multiple stories with even more mysteries. But all the stories join in the end. Over the years I’ve read all of Coben's standalone books and his Myron Bolitar series. Although it’s true that his books always have many mysteries, I also began to notice that they are now more mature. It seems that, with age, he understands more about the human condition and he writes more about it.

After my initial poor reaction to Lisa Regan’s VANISHING GIRLS, I'm pleased to say that it is an excellent mystery. I now recommend it. When the story opens, Josie Quinn has been suspended from her job as a detective for the Denton, Pennsylvania police force. Yet she involves herself in the cases of some missing girls. This seemed a stretch to me, so I did not have high expectations for the rest of this novel. But Regan proved me wrong. Quinn finds mystery after mystery after mystery. And the case of the vanishing girls, she finds, is convoluted. Almost no one is who they seem to be, most particularly the police. VANISHING GIRLS is the first in a series about Quinn. There are more, so you can binge if you have not already done so.

Although I was pretty sure I would disagree with the majority of other readers who said that THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah is an excellent book, I can now honestly tell you to believe it. I had read two other books by Hannah and was not impressed, so I doubted that she had it in her to write like this. I was wrong. This book has been reviewed so much already, it is sufficient to say that it is a piece of historical fiction that highlights the remarkable women of France when the Germans occupied that country during World War II. The story concentrates on two sisters, one based on an actual person, the other based on the lives of many women in France at that time. So many books have been written about World War II, you may tend to avoid reading more. But this is one you don't want to miss.

Karin Slaughter's THE GOOD DAUGHTER is so absorbing and unputdownable, I cannot recommend it highly enough. So how can this review do it justice? I’ll try. Certainly, the most important factor is that this is both a character-driven and plot-driven novel, not one or the other. Although Slaughter has written plenty of great books with that characteristic, this one may be her best or at least one of. Two sisters, Charlotte (Charlie)13 and Samantha (Sam) 15, and their mother are involved in a home invasion. The mother is killed, and the daughters endure horrors that affect the rest of their lives. Therefore, although the story continues with the aftermath and the sisters’ lives 28 years later, that one event stays with them and affects nearly everything they do. When Charlie and Sam are in their 40s, both lawyers but in different states, they are again brought together. Their father Rusty, also a lawyer, has been stabbed, probably because of a case he is working on. Sam temporally takes over. There has been a school shooting. Rusty’s client is the apparent shooter, and Sam and then Charlie discover more about her and about the case. Can it be somehow tied to their own home-invasion case of years earlier? There is so much more to this story and to the characters, but this is the general plot. Remember, though, that THE GOOD DAUGHTER is character driven as well. They are mysteries as much or more than the circumstances. Do yourself a favor: read this book.

Although ALL THINGS WISE AND WONDERFUL has been out since the 1970s and although this book is the third in a series, it is the first of James Harriot‘s books that I’ve read. I loved it and wonder what took me so long. Most of us know of Harriot's books even if we haven’t read them. They’re classics. He was a country veterinarian in England, and his books are stories of, mostly, his work with the various animals. Plus he also throws in some people stories here and there. In ALL THINGS WISE AND WONDERFUL, while he is training to be a pilot in the Royal Air Force, he remembers his time as a veterinarian during the 1930s. While many readers like myself are easily bored by books of stories, this one is absorbing. Harriot‘s books were best sellers, and people all over the world love him. Now I do, too. I only wish he were still alive so I could tell him.

Lisa Jewell is one of my go-to authors. In other words, I can trust I will like her books before I even know a thing about them. In the case of WATCHING YOU, though, I was initially afraid I made a mistake, that it was just going to be another MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell, a book I did not enjoy. But I should have known better. Yes, it does involve a handsome, charismatic male teacher. And, yes, there is the suspicion that he preys upon young girls. But this is a murder mystery, a who-done-it. The story begins before the text begins, with a picture of an actual diary entry of a student who states she is in love with her teacher. Then the text begins with a murder investigation on March 24 and interviews with various suspects/witnesses on March 25. But most of the book is flashback beginning in January. The flashbacks continue moving forward to March 25. Who had reason to commit the murder? Lots of people. So who did it? It’s possible that you’ll guess it before the end but not likely. Two of the suspects/witnesses are a crazy lady and a lonely boy, who watched the neighbors the whole time. Thus the comparisons to “Rear Window” (although I would compare it to THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.) And thus the title.

One of the best authors I’ve read, John Hart has again written a book to win me over. I feared this might be more like his Johnny Merriman books, which seemed to be experiments that didn’t work for me. But now, with THE UNWILLING, he is back. The story takes place in the 1970s, during the Vietnam war. There were three brothers: one was drafted and died in Vietnam; another, Jason, enlisted, served three tours, came home addicted to heroin, and served time in jail; and the youngest, Gibby, is a senior in high school and determined to help Jason. And, then, there are their parents: the quite strange and unnatural mother, who considers both of her older sons to be dead, treats Gibby (a childish name) like a child, and is rarely part of the story; and the father, a police detective, who seems less unnatural but has also given up on Jason. On the one hand, this is a coming-of-age book. That is, many parts of it are devoted to Gibby and his friends as they deal with their teenage anxieties. But it is his wish to help his brother that propels the story. On the other hand is all the violence. Much of it is VIOLENCE in caps, so much violence that it gets tedious, and I found myself skimming some of these paragraphs. All in all, THE UNWILLING is good. But Hart goes too far with the violence this time. Also, I would have preferred a storyline that did not revolve around the unbelievable "X."

Trivia: Remember Erica Kane’s sister, Silver, on “All My Children”? She was played by Deborah Goodrich Royce, author of FINDING MRS FORD. Review: FINDING MRS FORD Is about two girls in their 20s, Susan and Annie, who become friends while they both work at a women’s clothing store. Together they leave that job for waitress jobs at a disco, which is where their troubles begin. It is 1979. Cut to 2014. Susan is living a cushy life in New England, in a very large “cottage," with two little dogs and a housekeeper. Her life is ideal until visitors from the FBI question it. The first half of FINDING MRS FORD alternates between these two years. In 1979 Susan and Annie become involved with Middle Easterners, and Susan finds she must still deal with them in 2014. Is there no escape? At the end of the first half, right about the midway point of the book, comes a twist. Everyone loves a book with a twist, and this is the high point of FINDING MRS FORD. The second half of the book explains what happened between 1979 and 2014. Although one aspect of FINDING MRS FORD seems implausible to me, the twist along with the circumstances in 2014 make for a lot of suspense. No doubt, this book will make you anxious to read Royce's next, coming in 2021. By the way, the names and places in 1979 suburban Detroit are accurate. I'm just about the same age as Susan and Annie, and I also lived there then.

THE LAST STONE is a difficult book to read for more reasons than one. Mostly it’s the subject matter. Two little girls, 12 and 10, go missing in 1975. In 2018 Lloyd Welch is finally convicted of their murders. It is what happened to those little girls, which Lloyd tells us over and over again, that is a horror to picture as we read. Mark Bowden structures the majority of THE LAST STONE with actual transcripts of Welch's interviews with police over nearly 2 years. They are repetitive, tedious. And for all that, the whole truth is never learned, just enough to convict him. In the end, police can only theorize about what actually happened. So that is how Bowden concludes his book, with the various theories. They are all heartbreaking.

If a book doesn’t grab you by page 50, you shouldn’t feel bad for abandoning it. But SO BRAVE, YOUNG, AND HANDSOME should grab you right away with Leif Enger's typical writing style. However, I found that this book doesn’t live up to its promise. Monte Becket is an author. He has written a bestseller, and everyone is anticipating what comes next. But he doesn’t have it in him, whatever “it” is. So he leaves his ever loving wife and child to join his neighbor, Glendon Hale, who is headed for Mexico. Glendon wants to apologize to the wife he left there many years before, and Monte wants to find "it." What follows are chapter upon chapter upon chapter of unlikely events. This is how Monte gets from here to there, and the heck with his wife and child, who want him home. He ends up in California, where Glendon‘s wife has remarried and settled with her new husband. (It doesn’t spoil the story to tell you that.) The book bored me to tears. I did not care about any one character. The whole thing is just plain silly. It felt like reading a comic book.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX may take some getting used to at first. It is not in a novel's usual format. Taylor Jenkins Reid's intention was to write a novel that comes across as a documentary. But understand: this is a novel, fiction. It took me about a quarter of the book to decide I liked it. Something else that may lead to misunderstanding is the cover. That is a picture of Daisy Jones, but the book is really about the whole band, including Daisy. It would have been nice to see, instead, the back cover of their hit album. Every band member, including Daisy, tells their story. A few others, such as the writer for ROLLING STONE and The Six's manager, also chime in. Daisy is a fabulous singer. The Six is a fabulous band. But, until they get together, neither has a hit song much less a hit album. Together they are magic. But just about everyone in the band, especially Daisy, has problems they deal with. Probably, their biggest problem is all their drinking and drugging. They tell us about what they accomplish in spite of the problems and what brings them down because of them. Somehow, Reid made me like this story a lot in spite of its format that I didn't like at first. I would suggest, though, that she include at the front of the book a list of characters with who each is.

While many people will feel THE EXILES is a five-star book and while I would have felt the same several years ago, my taste has evolved. I didn’t love it. I liked it, but I don’t have the heart to give it just three stars. It was such a nice, if somewhat predictable, story. After Evangeline’s father dies, she becomes a governess in early 19th-century London. But after she has an affair with the adult son of the household, she ends up pregnant and in Newgate prison. From there, she is shipped with other prisoners to Australia. On board, Evangeline meets Hazel, a midwife and herbalist. It is Hazel, not Evangeline, who plays the largest part in this story. But this book is also about a third female, Mathinna. She is an Aboriginal child, taken on a whim to live among white people. I read that this is to be made into a TV series. It is sure to make great television. I won this advanced copy through LibraryThing.com.

Five stars again for Chris Bohjalian. I have read nearly all his books, and most are five-star, some four. This one, THE LAW OF SIMILARS, is a book he wrote nearly 20 years ago. Leland is a deputy state prosecutor. He is also a widower with a four-year-old daughter. For what appears to me to be psychological reasons, he develops a sore throat that just won’t go away. This leads him to Carissa, a homeopath. In short order (ridiculously short order, in my opinion), Leland falls in love with Carissa (or maybe mistakes sexual attraction for love). He is so overwhelmed by this love (attraction) that he ignores all ethics of his profession when she is investigated for the murder of one of her other patients. For a book to merit five stars, it must be unputdownable, and this one is. Even though I say that Leland doesn’t think with his brain, it’s still a darn good read.

Five stars again for Chris Bohjalian. I have read nearly all his books, and most are five-star, some four. This one, THE LAW OF SIMILARS, is a book he wrote nearly 20 years ago. Leland is a deputy state prosecutor. He is also a widower with a four-year-old daughter. For what appears to me to be psychological reasons, he develops a sore throat that just won’t go away. This leads him to Carissa, a homeopath. In short order (ridiculously short order, in my opinion), Leland falls in love with Carissa (or maybe mistakes sexual attraction for love). He is so overwhelmed by this love (attraction) that he ignores all ethics of his profession when she is investigated for the murder of one of her other patients. For a book to merit five stars, it must be unputdownable, and this one is. Even though I say that Leland doesn’t think with his brain, it’s still a darn good read.

THE CAPTIVES is written unlike any book I’ve read before, and I‘m happy that I did. At first I thought it might bore me because it seemed to contain more rambling than action. But I came to realize what you should know beforehand: although there isn’t much action in this book, what action there is is important and is dependent on the rambling thoughts of both the psychologist and Miranda. Pay attention. The rambling should give you a clue. Every other chapter is the psychologist at a women's minimum-security prison who failed at private practice, who seems to have failed at much of what he has ever attempted. Perhaps this is why, when one of his patients at the prison turns out to be a woman he had a crush on in high school, he becomes obsessed with saving her. In every other chapter are remembrances of that woman, Miranda. She seems to have had a normal childhood until her sister was killed in an auto accident. Little by little, we learn of her bad choices from then on and what she did and what she said and what she really intended. The end may surprise you but probably shouldn't.

YOU CAN'T CATCH ME is a novel that is easy to put down, although most of the story is engaging if you accept an unlikely premise. Jessica Williams is a common name, and this story has five of them or so it seems. And one of the Jessicas is trying to scam the others. Another one of the Jessicas ("Jessica 1") tries to catch the bad Jessica ("Jessica 2"). But Jessica 1 tells lots of lies to her lover, Liam, who saved her once and could and would save her again if she would tell him the truth. We learn in the end that she has not been telling us the whole story, either. And what a disappointment the end is! It seems to me a lazy way to tell a story. I won this book through http://www.chicklitcentral.com/.

EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN is about bravery. Most of the book takes place in England at the start of World War II and before the United States joins them. Mary wants to join the war effort right away so is assigned teaching duties. Later she joins her friend Hilda as an ambulance driver. London is a dangerous place to live, and they choose to volunteer for even greater danger. At first I found these chapters to be too young adultish, especially those about Mary's romance with Tom, a school administrator. But the chapters about Tom's roommate, Alistair, after he joins the army are excellent. These kept me going for about 100 pages, until I loved it all. (That is in spite of Mary's strange family. They are very rich. Mary's father never appears. Her mother seems untouched by the war. Neither parent seems to care much about Mary. Sometimes she lives with them, sometimes not. That doesn't seem to concern them, even when she is only 18.) EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN shows us the hardships of the beginning of World War II not only to the English military but also to English citizens. What a relief it is to them when the US arrives.

A PARTIAL HISTORY OF LOST CAUSES by Jennifer duBois had been an unread book in my bookcase for long enough; I finally read it. But I must have expected too much. I remember all the reviews gushing over this book, but I was underwhelmed. So much has already been written about A PARTIAL HISTORY OF LOST CAUSES, I won't summarize it here. But I will say that duBois' writing is beautiful, really beautiful. It should make you want to continue even when the story is dragging. And that is the problem: the story is slow. In my mind, I was urging duBois to get to the point the whole time I was reading the book. Also, there isn’t much depth to either of the main characters. Therefore, points that should be sad or nerve racking aren’t.

Because THE SILENCE is Susan Allott’s debut novel, I am sure she is a new author to you. She was for me, too. But you don’t need to be apprehensive about picking this book for your next read, as I was. It's a safe bet. Maybe the biggest reason is that this is not a simple story. It is multilayered, as the best stories are, but I would say there are mainly three things going on here. First, Isla (pronounced EYE-la), a 35-year-old Australian now living in England, goes back to Australia to look into the police suspicion that her father killed their neighbor, Mandy, 30 years ago. So there’s that mystery, which you’ll learn about little by little, from beginning to end of this book. Second, one of the secrets Isla discovers while she is in Australia is about Mandy’s husband and one of his shameful "duties” as a policeman. This actually is a sad part of Australian history. Third is the issue of alcoholism and its effect on all other issues and families. This is one of Isla's family's secrets. Go ahead and try THE SILENCE. I recommend it and look forward to Allott's next book. Thanks to librarything.com for this great read.

The entire time I read THE DEAD GIRL IN 2A I was seeing it as a movie. The opening scene would be on an airplane, row 2. There, Jake and Clara would meet by chance. Or is it by chance? They each think they recognize the other; they must have met before but do not remember where or when. Turns out both have issues with their lost memories. Clara tells Jake she plans to kill herself. After they deplane in Denver, they each go their separate ways, but you know they’ll meet again. The remaining scenes would mostly be lovely, with the mountains as a backdrop. This is where Clara and Jake find and face their memories. But there are men from long ago, a past neither remembers, who want those memories. I even have a picture of Jake in my mind. He looks just like Carter Wilson, the author of THE DEAD GIRL IN 2A. Clara would be someone a little too thin, which could be almost any actress in Hollywood. Although I see this book as a movie, maybe a limited series on one of the television networks would work better. Someone really should pick it up as one or the other.

During 1967 to 1969, a string of horrific murders took place in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. All the victims were girls in their teens and 20s. And all the murders had other similarities as well. A serial killer was loose in the area, and THE MICHIGAN MURDERS is the story of his apprehension. We see the frustration of the police as more and more murders happen and they are unable to find the murderer. One newspaper even refers to them as the Keystone Cops. A 22-year-old rookie policeman’s report marks the beginning of their focus on one young man. He’s a handsome guy, athletic-looking, and a motorcycle enthusiast. It’s easy to see why girls would want to trust this stranger. This story is true with the exception of many of the names. This was Edward Keyes‘ effort in 1976 to protect many of the people presented in this book. Nowadays, though, we have the Internet. It’s easy to look up. You can find updates and lots of pictures there, along with everyone’s real name.

If you liked Ann Rule's true crime books, you will be happy to read A TANGLED WEB, written by Ann's daughter Leslie Rule. This is the true story of a woman obsessed with a man. She met that man on the computer, and she used the computer to feed her obsession. Shanna “Liz” Golyar and Dave Kroupa met through a computer dating service. Kroupa made it clear that he wanted to stay single and date no one woman exclusively. Golyar seemed to agree. Instead, though, she became obsessed with Kroupa. When Kroupa met Cari Farver through that same dating service, Golyar made an excuse to interrupt them at Kroupa’s apartment. Shortly after that, Farver went missing. And Kroupa came to hate her as she bombarded him with horrible emails and texts. At least they seemed to be coming from Farver. Of course, Golyar received similar emails and texts, supposedly from Farver. And she and Kroupa became closer that way. So began the four-years-long harassment, not only of Kroupa but, also, Farver’s mother and other relatives and friends. Rule lays out all the manipulation, the whole mess, so neatly that it will be hard for you to believe no one figured it out sooner. Why wasn’t it obvious to Kroupa right away? Why didn’t police figure it out when they downloaded Golyar’s cell phone? This story attracted a lot of attention, including from the “Dateline” TV show on NBC in 2017. You can access it on the computer. But you’ll want to read this much-more-detailed book first.

(3.5 stars) The second half of THE NEW HUSBAND by DJ Palmer is what gets this book high marks and great reviews. But you have to be patient when you read the first half and hope that the second half will be good enough to make it worth the wait. It is. (But I rate on the basis of both halves, not just the second.) When this book opens, Glenn has been missing for nearly two years, leaving his wife, Nina, and two teenage kids, Conner and Maggie, to wonder what happened to him and how they could live on the little savings he left. Simon stepped in to woo Nina soon after Glen's disappearance. He has promised to take care of the family financially so won Nina over too quickly. Now Simon wants to marry Nina. Conner likes Simon; Maggie despises him. The first half of THE NEW HUSBAND establishes Simon's obsession with Nina and Maggie's hate of Simon. Although Nina does not ignorantly go along with every one of Simon's sweet-sounding demands, she still cannot see what 13-year-old Maggie does. Admittedly, though, Nina does begin to look into Simon's past before the halfway point of the book. This isn't a complete exercise in frustration. So this goes on for 170-some pages. In the second half of the book, the reader sees just how bad Simon really is. I've said enough. I'll say no more. But I'm glad I read both halves.

If you read Fiona Barton’s previous book, THE WIDOW, and wonder, as I did, if THE CHILD is a continuation of that story, it is not. The two books are connected only by the character Kate Waters, a newspaper reporter. And this is the better of the two investigative news stories. The child in THE CHILD is the skeleton of a baby found buried behind a home being torn down in England. The mystery is: whose baby was it? Kate thinks this is a potentially great story if only she can get to the bottom of it. THE CHILD is the best kind of story, one that is both character- and plot-driven. Along with Kate, you will learn more and more about the characters and come to a conclusion, finally, with the help of science. I also like the treatment of age in Barton’s books. If you think about the main characters in most stories, doesn’t it seem that they are usually in their 20s or 30s? It is as if to say that someone older than that is no longer interesting. So I love Kate Waters. She’s my age.

This second novel by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is even better than their first. AN ANONYMOUS GIRL is can’t-put-it-down good. Jessica becomes involved, overly involved, in a morals study being conducted by Dr. Shields. The study pays well, and Jessica needs the money for her family. So, in spite of some qualms, she continues as a "subject" of the study, which delves into more and more of her life, even after she is no longer A subject but THE subject. Jessica should have followed her instincts. Both Jessica and Dr. Shields tell this story in alternating chapters. Dr. Shields's chapters are written in passive voice. At first the use of this style seems to add to the mystery: Is this Dr. Shields speaking, or is someone else conducting this study with her? Later, though, it is obvious that Dr. Shields is emphasizing the people she is acting on. A third novel by Hendricks and Pekkanen is about to come out. I can hardly wait to read it.

My former coworker liked John Connolly books so much that, even though they are published in the UK about a year before they are here in the US, he couldn't wait to read them so was willing to pay the postage to get his hands on them sooner. I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. If Connolly is really that good, I feel I should be able to jump right into the middle of a series and understand the characters and what is going on with them. THE WOLF IN WINTER is well into the Charlie Parker series. I didn't feel lost. While this novel's beginning is about Parker and his investigation into the whereabouts of the daughter of a homeless man, that soon leads him to a peculiar, even Stephen Kingish, small town in Maine. This town, Prosperous, rather than any single person, is the main character and this is what the book is really about. Connolly mixes fiction with fact throughout THE WOLF IN WINTER. That's good, but sometimes, as a result, this book is a slow thriller. Does "slow thriller" sound like an oxymoron? It really is both. But I didn't mind the slow because it was so interesting.

If you are the type of reader who quits a book after 50 or 100 pages if it hasn’t grabbed you by then, you might regret this in the case of THE ESCAPE ROOM. It gets better in the second half. Most other reviews of this book say that it is can’t-put-it-down good. But they aren’t speaking of the first half. If you can wait 150 or so pages, you really will see why they say that. Sara gets a job in finance on Wall Street. She’s making six figures so doesn’t want to quit even though her coworkers, four of them in particular, are so unfriendly, even nasty. Sara’s story is in chapters that alternate with those of her four coworkers. Sam, Jules, Sylvie, and Vince are caught in an elevator, which they assume is an “escape room,” their employer’s idea of a training exercise. Even though the second half of THE ESCAPE ROOM is better than the first half, most readers will find some difficulties in the latter part of the book as well. The most glaring of these is the impossibility of Sara’s revenge.

VIRGIL WANDER is about inhabitants of Greenstone, Minnesota and about Greenstone, itself, narrated by Virgil Wander. While it is a novel, I wouldn’t call it so much a story as stories about each character. I usually give this type of construction a poor review, but in the hands of Leif Enger, it shines. His writing is delightful. There is no better adjective. And you’ll see the store Virgil Wander puts in good adjectives. VIRGIL WANDER begins with Virgil’s accident, when he and his car end up in Lake Superior. From there he gives example upon example of how this has made him a changed person. You’ll delight in his descriptions of the “new" Virgil Wander's interactions with the people of Greenstone and in each one of their stories.

A book with many great reviews does not necessarily mean you will like it. In the case of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, though, you can believe it. It certainly does live up to all the praise it has been receiving. This is the story of Kya. When she is just a child, her family leaves her, one by one, to fend for herself. (Although a small voice in me kept saying, no way, I chose to just go with it, a good decision.) She grows up in the natural world of the marsh, becoming expert in it, although living a very lonely life. I won’t tell you the story. I’ll let you read and enjoy it as I did. I will tell you that the descriptions of nature are wonderful and that the story involves a murder mystery with a good twist in the end. I wonder, though, if I missed something or if the author, Delia Owens, left an unanswered question. What about Pearl?

Although one third of all book reviews are fake, i.e., they are written either by people paid to write good book reviews or by friends of the author, this is not one of them. You can believe it: MIRACLE CREEK is probably the best book you will read in a long while. Although the book flap says that the main characters are a family and a single mother, the book is actually told from the viewpoints of several characters, and I would say that each of them is also a main character. Simply put, two people die in MIRACLE CREEK, and a single mother is put on trial for the murders. But what really happened? Several characters have chapters devoted to their viewpoints. Turns out that lies and secrets abound among all of them. There are so many lies and secrets that I sometimes lost track. You may end up thinking the no one person was responsible.

Of the four Lisa Jewell books I’ve read, THEN SHE WAS GONE may be the best. She calls the story "bizarre," herself. Laurel and her husband Paul were in their 40s when their daughter Ellie went missing. Ten years later some of her bones are found. So they know she is dead, but for how long? And how did she die? Was she abducted or did she go willingly? By this time, Laurel and Paul are divorced. Paul has gone on with his life, but Laurel cannot. Then she meets Floyd. As the two spend more and more time together, you should be on alert for too many coincidences. Laurel notices them and, before long, she puts two and two together, to her shock and dismay. I won’t say more to spoil a good read except to remind you that Jewell calls this story bizarre.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a five-star book. THE CURRENT by Tim Johnston definitely is one, though. This book is outstanding. When it’s sad, it’s not just sad; it makes you want to cry. And so much is sad. But the story will still grab you and won’t let go, even an incident between Audrey and the bad guy (no spoilers here) that stretches the possible and the probable. There are two mysteries going on here, each 10 years apart. In both cases, girls drown in a river, probable murder or attempted murder. One girl, though, lives to investigate. But there are other stories as well, the stories of the girls’ families and of other families also affected, how they live with what happened. And there’s a heartwrenching story of a sad old dog. Johnston doesn’t waste words. His style is to not tell the reader everything directly. Maybe you will have to reread some paragraphs, but you’ll get used to it.

The last several chapters of AFTER ANNA are so good they’re unputdownable. For many book reviewers, that’s enough for a five-star rating. But the first half of the book, for me, was frustrating to the point it was sometimes difficult to read. Unless I like a book from beginning to end, it doesn’t get five stars. AFTER ANNA is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Noah and Maggie, a happily married couple, at least “before Anna.” Anna is Maggie's daughter. Maggie hasn’t seen Anna since she was a baby, when Maggie’s first husband had her declared unfit and moved with Anna to France. Now Anna’s father has died, and she is back in Maggie’s life. For Maggie, this is wonderful. But for Noah, who was originally happy to have Anna join their family, Anna is not who she seems to Maggie. Noah’s chapters are “after Anna,” that is, after Anna’s murder. He’s on trial. Maggie’s chapters are before Anna’s murder. In both cases, the truth of the matter is obvious and, therefore, the first half of the book is frustrating. But when Maggie travels to Maine with her friend Kathy and her stepson Caleb (yes, Noah's 10-year-old son), the story is no longer predictable and becomes one of Lisa’s Scottoline’s finest. My only criticism is when Maggie talks like a junior high school girl and introduces Kathy more than once as her "best friend.”

ABOVE THE WATERFALL is a literary mystery, above all, literary. It is a character-driven novel with plot. It is poetic, especially in its descriptions of the natural setting in which most of the story takes place. Les, a sheriff, and Becky, a park ranger, are the two main characters in ABOVE THE WATERFALL. They share a love for the natural world they work and live in. But Les also sees the scum of the earth, including methadone addicts and their "labs." Les’s and Becky‘s first-person accounts are in alternating chapters throughout the book.The mystery: who dumped kerosene in a stream, killing trout important to the livelihoods of a resort owner and his employees? This is a beautiful novel. Ron Rash's writing is gorgeous. Although he emphasizes character, he also gives the reader an intriguing mystery his characters deal with, each with their own baggage.

I’m in my 60s, and I just read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN for the first time. So many people told me they loved the book. But they read it when they were youngsters, and I didn’t know how I would feel about it as an adult. After one short chapter I could tell that this is a book I would have loved when I was 11 or 12 years old. But I thought this would bore me now. I kept reading, though. I can’t say I loved it, but I will say I appreciated it quite a bit. And there was a point in the middle of the book when I felt like crying and again at the end. So if you’re an adult who hasn’t read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, I think you should give it a try. Definitely give it to an 11 or 12-year-old. It’s timeless.

I’m in my 60s, and I just read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN for the first time. So many people told me they loved the book. But they read it when they were youngsters, and I didn’t know how I would feel about it as an adult. After one short chapter I could tell that this is a book I would have loved when I was 11 or 12 years old. But I thought this would bore me now. I kept reading, though. I can’t say I loved it, but I will say I appreciated it quite a bit. And there was a point in the middle of the book when I felt like crying and again at the end. So if you’re an adult who hasn’t read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, I think you should give it a try. Definitely give it to an 11 or 12-year-old. It’s timeless.

Although A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE is referred to as a thriller, it really is more mystery than thriller. And what a surprise that it is quite good coming from an author, Nalini Singh, who is known for her many paranormal romances. So this is a departure for her, and I was not expecting it to be so good. She wrote this like she’s been writing mysteries/thrillers for years. She should have been. The story is told from the perspectives of Anahera and Will. They live in a small New Zealand town where everybody knows everyone else’s business, or at least they think they do. Then it almost gets like an Agatha Christie novel when a beautiful young woman goes missing and everyone becomes suspect. I’m sure I will not be the only one who hopes Nalini Singh writes more mysteries/thrillers. I won an ARC of A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE from a Berkeley sweepstakes on Facebook.

Although A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE is referred to as a thriller, it really is more mystery than thriller. And what a surprise that it is quite good coming from an author, Nalini Singh, who is known for her many paranormal romances. So this is a departure for her, and I was not expecting it to be so good. She wrote this like she’s been writing mysteries/thrillers for years. She should have been. The story is told from the perspectives of Anahera and Will. They live in a small New Zealand town where everybody knows everyone else’s business, or at least they think they do. Then it almost gets like an Agatha Christie novel when a beautiful young woman goes missing and everyone becomes suspect. I’m sure I will not be the only one who hopes Nalini Singh writes more mysteries/thrillers. I won an ARC of A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE from a Berkeley sweepstakes on Facebook.

Every time I review a book by Joseph Kanon I say the same thing: he’s done it again. That is not to say the story is the same, but THE ACCOMPLICE is Kanon’s usual historical fiction/thriller with characters in situations I’m sure they can’t get out of but always do. Presentation is always smart dialog, no long paragraphs describing scenery as in so many other novels. This book is, as Kanon’s books always are, excellent. Aaron Wiley feels obligated to find Otto Schramn, a doctor who performed medical experiments on Jews during World War II. It is now the 1960s, and Aaron’s uncle Max Weill, who has been tracking and turning in Nazis since his imprisonment at Auschwitz, has spotted Schramm in Germany but dies soon after. So Aaron deduces that Schramm has left for Buenos Aires and follows him there. With assistance from a German newspaper reporter, an Israeli agent, a CIA station chief, and even Schramm’s daughter, Aaron hunts for Schramm, a monster turned crazy man.