Good Reads & Views

Billy Summers by Stephen King
Fiction

What it's about: In this (non-horror) noir thriller, Veteran Billy Summers is an assassin-for-hire who will only take jobs where he kills really bad guys. Now he wants to retire, right after completing one last job. As is usually the case, things don’t go quite as planned and he ends up going after the people who stiffed him on his last job. They should have known better…

Reviewers say: "This is another outstanding outing from a writer who consistently delivers more than his readers expect" (Publishers Weekly); “Murder most foul and mayhem most entertaining. Another worthy page-turner from a protean master” (Kirkus Reviews).

Want a taste? " He has no problem with bad people paying to have other bad people killed. He basically sees himself as a garbageman with a gun.” “God doesn’t have a plan, He throws pickup sticks."

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Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Fiction

What it’s about: Frank Drum looks back on the summer of 1961, when he was twelve. Events during this fateful summer greatly affected his family and other denizens of the small community of New Bremen, Minnesota.

Reviewers say: “The small-town milieu is rendered in picturesque detail, accurate down to period-appropriate TV programs, for what becomes a resonant tale of fury, guilt, and redemption” (Publishers Weekly); “A novel that transforms narrator and reader alike” (Kirkus Review)

Good to know: This coming-of-age novel is also excellent on audio. For more from this award-winning author, try his Cork O’Connor mystery series, which is highly recommended.

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The Ludwig Conspiracy by Oliver Pötzsch
Fiction

What it's about: A rare books dealer and an art detective are forced to go on the run when they start investigating a diary, written in code, about Ludwig, the fairytale king of Bavaria, who was declared insane, disposed, and found dead the next day.

Reviewers say: "While readers will find broad parallels with Dan Brown's thrillers, Pötzsch's sophisticated plotting and good use of a real-life historical puzzle place this far ahead of most Da Vinci Code wannabes" (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know: This is very enjoyable on audio, read by the excellent Simon Vance, British accent included. Available from hoopla.

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21 Lessons for the 21^st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
Nonfiction

What it’s about: The author’s bestsellers Sapiens and Homo Deus dealt with the past and the future of humanity, whereas this book concerns itself with the present and immediate future. Great on audio.

Reviewers say: “Harari delivers yet another tour de force” (Kirkus); “This well-informed and searching book is one to be savored and widely discussed” (Publishers Weekly); “Highly recommended for general readers and academics alike” (Library Journal).

Some quotes: “Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely”; “We should never underestimate human stupidity. Both on the personal and on the collective level, humans are prone to engage in self-destructive activities”; “So the best advice I could give a fifteen-year-old stuck in an outdated school somewhere in Mexico, India or Alabama is: don’t rely on the adults too much. Most of them mean well, but they just don’t understand the world.”

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The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
Fiction

What’s it about: For fifty years a group of friends has met for reunions on the island where they all originally met during a school retreat. This time, one of them ends up hanged and DI Vera Stanhope and her team must find out what led up to the murder. Are secrets from the past to blame or are the motives for the murder of a more recent variety?

Reviewers say: "Cleeves crafts a clever central puzzle, then confers remarkable emotional complexity using her keenly drawn characters' advancing age, wistful nostalgia, and thorny shared history. A pinwheeling third-person narrative drives the pace, while Vera's candor tempers the plot's darker elements. Fair-play mystery fans will delight.” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know:  The great Brenda Blethyn portrays the cantankerous but brilliant detective in a series of TV movies, available on dvd.

Marked Man by Archer Mayor
Fiction

What happens: A medical student working on a body that was donated to science discovers that the assumed “natural” death attributed to the cadaver might have actually been murder. Turns out the dead local philanthropist and millionaire wasn’t actually who he pretended to be and Joe Gunther and his team at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation look into the murder and others that follow.

Reviewers say: “it's been clear for quite awhile that Mayor's series--a perfect mix of character, setting, and story--is one of the best American police procedurals going” (Booklist Review); “Mayor matches vivid characters with clever plot twists. This is a perfect jumping-on point for newcomers” (Publishers Weekly).

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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari 
Nonfiction

What’s it about: In this provocative and thought-provoking tome, Historian Harari (author of the international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) discusses achievements of the civilized world in the areas of disease, famine, and war, and speculates on humanity’s evolutionary goals for the future - immortality, happiness, and divinity.

Reviewers say: "Harari paints with a very broad brush throughout, but he raises stimulating questions about both the past and the future” (Publishers Weekly); “A relentlessly fascinating book” (Kirkus Reviews).

Want a taste?  “Every day millions of people decide to grant their smartphone a bit more control over their lives or try a new and more effective antidepressant drug. In pursuit of health, happiness and power, humans will gradually change first one of their features and then another, and another, until they will no longer be human.”

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen 
fiction

Starring: Caterer Claire, who works magic with food; Claire’s sister Sydney, who works magic with hair; and Sydney’s 5-year-old daughter Bay, who always knows exactly where everything belongs.

What happens: The Waverley sisters are long estranged, but when Sydney and her daughter are on the run from an abusive boyfriend, the one place Sydney knows they will be safe is her old childhood home.

Reviewers say: “... the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers” (Publishers Weekly); “Spellbindingly charming, Allen's impressively accomplished debut novel will bewitch fans of Alice Hoffman and Laura Esquivel” (Booklist).

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The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
Fiction

What’s it about: DCI Serrailler has two murder cases to solve when torrential rainstorms unearth two bodies dating back 16 years. One was a missing girl, but who was the other and are their deaths connected? Quality-of-life issues also feature prominently in this sixth outing of the series.

Reviewers say: “Fully realized characters and efficient prose” (Publishers Weekly); "Fans and newcomers to Hill's series … will appreciate the characters' deep humanity” (Kirkus).

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Men in My Situation: A Novel by Per Petterson
Fiction

What it's about: After Arvid’s parents and two brothers perish in a ferry accident, his wife divorces him and takes their three daughters with her. For the next year, Arvid drinks, has many one-night stands, and often sleeps and drives around in his old Mazda, but fails to deal with his grief. Then the oldest daughter, Vigdis, reaches out to him for help and Arvid is finally forced to come to terms with the trajectory his life has taken.

Reviewers say: “Petterson has written a beautifully nuanced, deeply felt, and powerful story of survival” (Library Journal); “Petterson's bracing latest captures the rhythms and anomie of grief…” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know: The narrative style here is almost stream of consciousness writing but with its often simple, yet elegant prose, it accentuates Arvid’s story instead of distracting from it. If you liked the author’s award winning Out Stealing Horses, you should also enjoy this portrait of a life going to pieces.

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