World of Trouble

World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Its two weeks until the end of the world and Hank has the choice of seeing it through in relative comfort with a woman he loves or set out on another mystery--finding his sister. Of course he chooses the latter and we are once again accompanying our intrepid detective into a world that has fallen apart. As we meet characters along the way, we see the pathologies that each turn to cope with the impending doom--pleasure seeking, hoarding goods, taking power in the vacuum left by society's collapse. The more answers Hank finds, the more questions pop up and he races to find the answers--the quest for the puzzle to be put together motivates and consumes him and we witness our boy-scout unravel. Is it important to answer all the questions? Is seeking for justice the ultimate good? Can doing "the right thing" become the wrong thing when it becomes all-consuming? More than just mysteries Winters series delves into the questions of what makes us human and gives our lives meaning. Each book is a quick read and taken altogether a great character study and philosophical musings.

View all my reviews

Countdown City

Countdown City by Ben H. Winters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The end of the world is getting closer and the world is spiraling, but Hank is still trying to solve the problem in front of him. That problem is a friend's husband who has gone missing. Although the detectives have been fired, he is still determined to do what he can. This mainly affords the opportunity for us to follow Hank from place to place as he observes neighborhoods turned into war zones, religious fanatics, hoarders and black market deals, human kindness and human cruelty as resources become scarce and infrastructure breaks down. It boarders on incredulity at times especially when a literal deus ex machina appears at the end, but the plot moves and Hank is just likable to keep us grinding along with him.

View all my reviews

The Last Policeman

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reread this to refresh my memory of Hank Palace. I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first time. The setting of a mystery while the world is falling apart is unique and thought-provoking. An easy read and I followed it with the consecutive books in the series (and I'm glad I did.).

Original review: Hank Palace is one of the last policemen since there is literally a black cloud on the horizon: Earth will be obliterated by an asteroid in 6 months. People are reacting to this news by quitting jobs, fulfilling their bucket list, or giving in to depression and killing themselves. But Palace refuses to do anything other than his best as a detective and the latest suicide doesn't hang right with him. It's a great detective read, and I loved Palace. I will definitely keep tabs on him, at least until he's toast.

View all my reviews

The Calamity Club

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Kathryn Stockett is a great writer. She can write humor, create memorable characters, and hide history in a great story. Still, there is enough implausibility in this story to make it more of a tall-tale than historical fiction. Which I would be ok with if it didn't dress itself up to be pro-feminist when rather it undermines women in lots of ways. The villain is a woman who is portrayed as evil and vindictive despite her disappointments and betrayals. The answer to the main problem is (view spoiler)[opening a brothel, which just subjugates women. If it was so noble why doesn't Charlie and Birdie turn tricks? All of the pros want to leave the profession and even if they are paid more under Charlie and Birdie they are still doing something they don't want to do if they could find a different profession. Why doesn't Charlie remake clothes or Birdie sell her cakes? Sure it wouldn't make as much but they could have everyone keep their self-respect. In the end, the men bail them out anyway. Which is a choice I don't understand that Stockett made if she was going to have the women provide their own solution. Why have Birdie's man dismiss the loan? Or Charlie's ex-lover give her an envelope of cash? And the fact that everyone is against this idea until they find out how much money it makes shows that all the characters are just willing to be bought off . The fact that Garnett doesn't find out with all the advertising going on, the taxis, the college boys and the music really stretches credibility. (hide spoiler)] Also, the build up to the main story is slow and simmering and then it rushes at the end and doesn't resolve some of the main conflicts (view spoiler)[Are they just going to let Frances' husband languish in that institute? (hide spoiler)] I liked the era: I liked Birdie; I liked the exploration of different types of childlessness; I liked the humor. Meg was adorable even if her story seemed to be a little drawn out and arbitrary for her part she played. I wish I liked it more than I did.

View all my reviews

This House is Haunted

 

This House Is Haunted by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is this the most amazing book? No, but it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do which is to have a nanny take a job in a haunted house written in Dickens time and language. Is it plausible? (maybe not). Is it is atmospheric with creepy children and unexplainable phenomena? (definitely yes). Do we have a brave heroine full of quiet strength? (Yes, as much as is permissible in this era). Very enjoyable!

View all my reviews

The Interestings

 

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is trite, I know, but this book was very interesting. A group of campers who name themselves The Interestings become life long friends and we follow them backwards and forward in time through all the vicissitudes of life. One becomes a famous artist (albeit a comic artist), one marries him and becomes a theater director, one has to lay aside her artistic aspirations to make money, and another shuns his gifts because of trauma. Underlying it all is the secret of the most charismatic member who disappears after he is accused of a horrible crime. The novel touches on a lot of different subjects: coming out, depression, autism, generational wealth but its main focus is loyalty. Who do we become loyal to and why? What is true loyalty? What does betrayal look like? Who do we envy and why? Wolitzer seems to point out that everyone has their trials regardless of talent or money but good friends can help us through it.

View all my reviews

But maybe in life, she thought later, there are not only moments of strangeness but moments of knowledge, which don't appear at the time as knowledge at all.

he seemed to be watching it all in third person, neither approving nor disapproving, and unable to affect the outcome.

He felt grateful to have decisions taken away from him for once, and to know he would not be overcome with feeling in ways that were always hard for him to manage.

The Night Manager

 

The Night Manager by John le Carré
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's le Carré, so I'm obligated to like it. But, dare I say, I liked the TV version better? (first season only).

View all my reviews

Shadow meaning identity.  Shadow meaning substance, in a world where Jonathan had become a ghost.

Guns have their own silence.  It is the silence of the dead to come.