This weekly update has turned into more of a monthly update…
Recently Finished Books
The Widow of Wall Street
Meyers, Randy Susan
Simon & Schuster, 2017
The Widow of Wall Street is the best of several novels I’ve read recently that deal with the families and fallout from the financial crisis of 2008. The main character is Phoebe, the wife of a man whose dealings on Wall Street go beyond shady. The chapters that are written from Jake’s point of view are the weakest, but give readers an idea of how people justify criminal acts even to themselves. The novel’s slow build-up made me a little impatient as the readers know what’s going on from the beginning, long before clueless Phoebe, but the book’s long time span realistically conveys how a spouse can be oblivious or in denial about the other spouse’s activities, even over a lifetime.
Read The Widow of Wall Street if you like novels about marriages and families dealing with the fallout from a crisis or that delve deeply into one person’s life, mining it for meaning. It was not a favorite of mine, but is worth reading and would make a good book club choice.
Recently Finished Audiobooks
Gwendy’s Button Box
King, Stephen and Chizmar, Richard
Read by Maggie Siff
Simon & Schuster Audio, 2017
Gwendy’s Button Box is an old-school horror novella that fit right in with the Reading in Peril challenge (#RIPXII) I started this month, so I’ll review it in a separate post. Recommended for anyone who wants to dip a toe into horror or has been afraid to try a full-length Stephen King book.
The Late Show
Connelly, Michael
Hachette Audio, 2017
The Late Show introduces a new detective character, a young woman, Renee Ballard, who works the overnight shift on the LAPD. (Don’t worry, there’s still a new Harry Bosch book coming out later this year, too.) Male author Michael Connelly has created a tough female detective, extremely capable of handling herself in a predominantly male world, but the book did disappoint me at one point by having Renee placed in a scene with a criminal that made her appear vulnerable in a way that a male detective character rarely, if ever, is.
A Fatal Winter
Malliet, G.M.
Dreamscape, 2012
Max Tudor, parish vicar and former MI5 agent, is invited to the local castle to solve a locked-room murder mystery puzzle.
Currently Reading
Slade House by David Mitchell (audiobook)
The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (for book club)
For book club this week, we’re also going to watch Practical Magic, and compare book to movie.
Did you know Alice Hoffman has a prequel to Practical Magic coming out tomorrow from Simon & Schuster? It’s called The Rules of Magic.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (#IMWAYR) is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It’s a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever-growing TBR pile! This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at Book Date.
I like the sound of The Late Show. Have a great week.