One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Crutchley

This book follows what I find to be a common formula: an (arguably) unreliable narrator, and two different timelines: one in the 50s and the other in the 2010s. So we get bits and pieces of a mystery about a missing girl in alternating chapters. 

Our narrator is 82-year-old Edie (or 15 years old in the 1950's time-line). As a child, Edie is an outcast. She's poor and has an unusual home-life, as her mother performs seances. Edie meets Lucy, the mayor's daughter, and they become friends. While Edie adores Lucy and finds her life glamorous in many ways, Edie knows Lucy's love-life is a mess. While the handsome, popular boy is enamored with Lucy, she only has eyes for a much older, married man.

As an 82 year-old woman, Edie struggles with the onset of dementia. Thinking she sees Lucy one day sets her on an obsessive search of her own mind to remember what happened the day Lucy disappeared.

What works for me in this book is how Crutchley portrays Edie's dementia...how we see things from her perspective. Edie might say something that seems nonsensical to anyone else who doesn't know what she's thinking about at the time. But it makes sense to us, because we are privy to her thoughts. But that's not to say Edie is simply misunderstood, she's still suffering from dementia. So she might think she's in the 1950s timeline when it's 2018. But knowing that makes her responses make sense. 

I also like Edie's mother, who we don't really know is a fraud or not. There are definite indications that she is, but also indications she isn't. Is she accidentally right some of the time? Or does she have the gift of third sight without knowing it or fully understanding it? In some ways, she's like 82 year-old Edie. Not always making sense in the moment, but time has a way of bringing things together. 

While it's a good book, it wasn't one I couldn't put down. And much like those with that formula, it's fun in the moment and an easy read, but not one of my year's best. 

The Hidden Hand or Capitola the Madcap by E.D.E.N. Southworth

FLAMES AND FURIES!

Get ready for hundreds of pages of exclamations, ejaculations, and interjections! But really, there is a lot of ejaculating in this book. 

The Hidden Hand was originally published in the 1850s in serialized form, but later published as a book in 1888. This is an overly dramatic, noir-styled, mustachioed twirling romp in which the characters only seem to speak in all caps and exclamation points. And to give you a feel of the writing, I will be ejaculating several times throughout this review.

HOITY TOITY!

The book is named for Capitola, our brave and bold heroine. She is independent and bucks societal norms. And by page 100, I was thinking we hadn't heard much about her.

PISH! TUSH! PSHAW!

The book is also about an old curmudgeony man who adopts Capitola after learning of her from a woman on her deathbed. 

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE! 

And we learn about several others whose lives are so intermingled you might need a venn diagram to parse them out, but it all comes together in the end, if only because of a series of strange coincidences.

POOH POOH, NONSENSE!

There are of course villians, soliloquies, and plenty of humphs. 

HEAVEN OF HEAVENS NO!

And if you are short on how to describe people, this is your book.

YOU ARE A PERFECT DRAGON! A GRIFFIN! A RUSSIAN BEAR! A BENGAL TIGER! A NUMIDIAN LION!

Despite the constant ejaculating and age of the story, it was surprisingly easy to read. But after reading over 300 pages, I think it's safe to say, this is not my genre. While I'm proud of myself for finishing it and reading something completely out of my wheelhouse, I'm not sure this is a book I'd recommend given all the other options out there. 

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon

This is a classic beach or vacation read, with I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes but. You know, I say that, but I haven't read that actual book. I might have watched the movie a looooong time ago though.

Ok, there are major differences probably. But we have a group of friends, including Emily, who lost their friend Vanessa one fateful night at her family winery conveniently high up on a treacherous ocean cliff. At Emily's suggestion, several years later, the friends reunite. 

Emily's motives aren't completely benevolent. Sure, she wants closure, which she doesn't feel she has, especially since she thinks she saw Vanessa recently at a coffee shop. But as a way of dealing with the tragedy, Emily, who is a writer for a popular sitcom, is also working on a manuscript of the fateful weekend. But, and this may surprise you, Emily's recollection of the events might not be entirely accurate. And she thinks her friends might be able to fill in some of the details. So she needs to get everyone together to figure out what happened...and to finish her manuscript, which, by the way, we have the pleasure of reading as a stand in for some of the chapters. I guess it's a variation of the multiple perspective narrative trope. 

But these women weren't really all that close, it seems. And besides not being the best of friends, they're not the most likeable either. So when they spend a weekend reuniting, you also get to experience the "ugh, I don't really like these people, why am I spending a weekend with them?" vibe. 

But don't get me wrong, it's not terrible, but it's not super memorable either. It's one of those books that you read when you want a light thriller to pass the time. At least we spend this weekend in a high-end winery in a quaint town and are oft encouraged to relax and enjoy a glass. And while it's not essential to get through the book, it might take the edge off and help pass the time. 

Sundial by Catriona Ward

We all have roots - and good, bad, or something in the middle, there's always something to learn from them. Whether it's understanding why you are the way you are, or recognizing that history is repeating itself and trying to stop that, or even trying to glean new information that might help you moving forward, it all comes back to where you began. And for Rob, that's Sundial.

Rob grew up with her sister on Sundial, a ranch where their father and his wife hosted college students that ran experiments designed to influence dogs' behavior via an implanted chip in their brains. There's really no good way to transition from that last sentence, so I'll just say that living isolated on the ranch, home-schooled, and only peripherally interacting with the students, Rob's experiences inform her views as an adult. And when she starts noticing disturbing behavior from her daughter, Callie, Rob feels it's necessary to take Callie to Sundial, to teach her about Rob's upbringing. Oh, and to dig up (literally and figuratively) family secrets that she thought she had left behind.

The cover shown here says Stephen King found the book terrifying. It's not quite as literally terrifying as it is figuratively. Let's just say I'm not sure I would reach for this book first, if terror is what I'm looking for. It's more mystery, some thriller, and a little bizarre. But honestly, I feel like there are other mysteries that are more mysterious, other thrillers more thrilling, and other premises more deliciously bizarre than what is offered here. 

This was a slow-burn for me. It took me awhile to get into, and I have to admit, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed Ward's other book, The Last House on Needless Street. I didn't feel as invested in the characters in this one. Maybe Ward was too successful in making them unlikeable, so I didn't care as much about them, which, unfortunately, affected how I felt about the book as well.

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

If you haven't tired of The Girl on the Train, or Gone Girl, or The Woman in the Window (which, to be fair, I haven't read), and even Ghost 19, then this is your book! Female narrator? check. Possibly unreliable? Check check. Voyeurism? Triple check. Timeframe shifts from chapter to chapter? checkity check check check. Twists and turns? Hopefully you'll think so like I did - but I'm not one to try too hard to figure things out. I'm just along for the ride.

This one takes place at...wait for it...a lake. The cast of characters was mercifully small enough that I was able to keep track of everyone pretty well. There's the supermodel wife, the aloof husband, the spiraling widow, the dead husband, the hot guy, the helpful neighbor, the cop, the supportive best friend, and the annoying mother. While I feel, for many reasons, this book is formulaic, this is the second book by Riley Sager that I've read that has managed to completely surprise me. Again, not so difficult to do. 

What I liked about this book is that I didn't want to put it down. I liked the characters and the setting. I actually appreciated the detail Sager went into regarding his main character's alcoholism. While I can't speak from experience, so I'm not sure how accurate the depiction is, Sager's descriptions of her physical and, really more emotional cravings and how consuming they were were eye opening to me. Hell, I probably should have listed bourbon as an additional character in this book, given its prominence.

While this might not be the most realistic tale at the end of the day, it's a fun, quick read.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

So I wasn't a fan of Horrorstor and had no interest in reading more of Hendrix's books, but I couldn't help grabbing How to Sell a Haunted House. I'm not even sure why. Honestly, I think it was just the cover. I mean, maybe we just got off on the wrong foot with Horrorstor and needed a second date to figure out if the chemistry really worked or not.

This may come as a surprise, but this story is about a haunted house. But even worse, it involves puppets and dolls...I think FlimFlamingo's description of "puppet gore" is appropriate. And it doesn't matter if they meant it ironically or not, the effect really is the same, which is to say it's horribly funny. 

What I liked about this book is that it kept me reading and wanting to go back to it when I put it down with the added bonus of ticking a lot of classic haunted house buttons for me. And it had the right amount of campiness - an issue I had with Horrorstor. One of the best chapters involved a funeral with overly zealous puppeteer attendees. And Hendrix knew the genius of this scene, as he reprises the funeral at the end of the book in a fun way that was reminiscent of Michael Rogalski's Horrostor illustrations - one of the best things about that book.

So I'm on the fence about Hendrix, I didn't really care for Horrorstor, but I liked How to Sell a Haunted House. I wonder if the issue is that I didn't quite get Hendrix's humor. Maybe he's an acquired taste...? I guess I'll have to pick up another one by Hendrix to break the tie and decide if we'll keep dating or not.

Ghost 19 by Simone St. James

If The Woman in the Window and the Exorcism of Sara May had a baby, it might be something like Ghost 19...something like. I haven't actually read the Woman in the Window, but I saw the movie with Amy Adams and then I saw the even better The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window with Kristen Bell, so I know what I'm talking about.

Hear me out. We have a woman...who is afraid to leave her house...who watches the neighbors from her window...and maybe there's ghosts...and it's a period piece...all packaged in a novella (those last three are Sara May resemblances, fyi). 

What I liked was the story as a whole and how it came in a quick read. What I didn't like was the era the story was written in. The story takes place in 1959 and it's obvious. I suppose if you're going to go out of your way to set a tale in 1959, you'd want details that make the clear, but I just found things like the name Trixie, or references to taking "bennies" distracting. And the dialogue seemed old-timey and dated. Take this exchange, for instance, "You think you're an artist? Goddamn you, Ginette, You're fooling yourself! You're no goddamned artist, and you never have been - you're a hack."  And then there was this, "My diagnosis is that you've had some over excitement of the hysterical kind. It happens sometimes with unmarried women." 

It reminds me of an old movie that's overly dramatic, so much so it's not realistic. I don't know, maybe it's a noir thing and that's what St. James was going for. I'd be curious to know if there was a particular reason she chose that year.  

While I found the setting more distracting than anything, I'll admit that overall, it was a story that kept my interest, extra points for being short and sweet.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

This was a quick, fulfilling read and based on it, it makes me want to read Catriona Ward’s other novels. The House on Needless Street is her most recent, published in 2021. It’s one of those books that you're better off going into blind, which kinda makes for a tough review, but I'll do my best. Suffice to say, there's a murder and the story revolves around it. It's a story told from multiple viewpoints, including a cat's. And I have to tell you, when it comes to the cat, I am here for it.

The story centers around Ted Bannerman, a man haunted by his past, his mother, and little green men in the attic. Ted lives with his Cat, Olivia, and their daily monotony is broken up by occasional visits from Ted's daughter, Lauren. There is clearly a dysfunctional dynamic between Ted and Lauren, who have a love/hate relationship with each other. And while I'm not sure dysfunctional is the first word I'd use to describe Ted's relationship with Olivia, the fact that she talks (at least to us) and quotes the Bible isn't normal. And when Lauren isn't visiting and Olivia isn't doting in Ted, there are occasional visits from Ted's deceased mother. 

Ward's tale is a cross between horror, mystery, thriller, and ghost story. Her characters aren't particularly likeable (except maybe the cat), but I found myself wanting to keep reading to figure out what the hell was going on. It's an exploration of how horrors like abuse and murder damage our psyche and invade our mind - how the ghosts of the past continue to haunt and manifest themselves well after the dust settles. At its heart, it's a story of how people deal with pain and trauma, and Ward does it in a captivating way.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

It's been a year since I've completed a book (not including ones I've read with my 7-year old). An embarassingly adult book-free year. I've started a few, but either wasn't interested enough to finish them (I'm looking at you Crazy Rich Asians), or, really, just not interested enough to start any new ones either.

But I'm happy to announce my dry spell is over and Lock Every Door is the book to quench my thirst. This is the third book by Author Riley Sager, which is a pseudonym for journalist Todd Ritter.

On a side note, while not an entirely new phenomenon (as it's not uncommon with romance novelists apparently), in an article for the Atlantic, Sophie Gilbert explores the relatively increasing number of men using female or androgynous pseudonyms in the thriller novel genre. The Guardian also has an article about this for the curious, which also delves into the apparent phenomenon of the appeal of violent books to women.

But it makes me wonder if I would have even noticed if the book said Todd Ritter instead of Riley Sager, or if Gone Girl would have been just as popular if it had a male author attached to it? Would a reading of Lock Every Door be different for me if I scrutinized the female protagonist's perspective, knowing it's written by a man?

In all honestly, though, I didn't notice. Which I guess is what Sager wants, right? At least I didn't have any of those eye-rolling moments like I did while reading Michael Bussi's book. That man is seriously obsessed with boobs.

But back to Lock Every Door, which was an easy and quick read. And, while I'm not sure it's going to be the best book I read this year, I'm intrigued enough that I'd check out his other books. 

His story is a modern mystery about Jules who is down on her luck and looking for something to jump start her stalled life. When a paid apartment sitter job in a historic, posh, New York building opens up, it seems too good to be true. But newly jobless, boyfriendless, and basically homeless, Jules makes the obvious choice. What follows is part mystery, part thriller, and part suspense as we follow Jules' journey to understand if the Barthalomew is truly infamous or unfairly suffers from a bad reputation.

While I guessed one twist, the book ended up turning well beyond that. Ultimately, I was satisfied with the ending, as well as the book's execution. It was a good choice to pull me out of my shell and get me reading again.

If you like the book, Paramount TV has put Lock Every Door into development. I could see this going either way, we'll have to see.

Come Closer by Sara Gran

This is a sinister story that you can read in just a few hours. It's about Amanda, who is happily married with a great job as an architect. As strange things begin happening to her, she can't quite figure out if it's her, or something else. Like the tapping she constantly hears at home (it's the pipes), or the strange incident at work (must have been a practical joke).

But as things get more sinister, Amanda finds herself consulting a book on demon possession she's sure was sent to her by mistake. And each time she consults the checklist of symptoms, her score creeps higher and higher.

I wouldn't describe this book as scary, so much as eerie. Sara Gran pulls you in right away in this short, densely packed read.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Okay, guys. I'm going to tell you the biggest secret I've discovered so far for 2017...It will get you reading more books, faster than ever. Read on if you want your mind blown...it's...audiobooks.

Okay, so maybe I'm a late bloomer on this one. But for real, y'all, this is a game changer. Just like cell phones, Myspace, Facebook, insert-anything-technological-here-that-I-discovered-years-after-everyone-else was. But hey! I just used a gif.

Besides the few audiobooks I've heard on road trips, this was my first non-vacational audio book for my listening pleasure around the house, at work, in the car, at Target...you get the idea. So while one of my new year's goals is to have a book, and not my phone, in my hands more, I consider this an ideological, if not technical, win. And anyway, Big Little Lies isn't the newest book on the block (2014). But it's recently gained traction, with an HBO mini-series coming in a few months.

I also don't know if Caroline Lee is just a particularly good narrator, but she captures the tone and personality of each character in a mind boggling way. And since everyone has an Australian accent, well, there's that.

On its face, we have a book about "kinder moms," as they're called. Or mothers whose kids will be starting kindergarten at the local school. Our setting? A beach town in Australia, where stay-at-home-dads and working mothers are more of a novelty than the norm. At the very least, it's a label worthy of attachment when talking about someone. And oh, is there plenty of that. If you're not one to tolerate idle chatter, busybodies, and speculative gossip, there's also an erotic book club, schoolyard bullying, and a murder investigation.

But wait! Stop that eye roll and hear me out! This book isn't as annoying as it could be. Moriarty tackles cliches and neighborhood drama with humor and complexity. She unfolds her characters much in the way you would get to know someone. We get a superficial perspective at first, maybe learn a thing or two, and then move on to someone else's story. But as the book progresses, you get one more tidbit about someone that changes your opinion about them. Much as you might realize a first impression about someone was completely wrong.

That was my reaction, for instance, to Madelyn, an overly assertive, opinionated kinder mom with a flair for drama. At first, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle her, even on the printed page. She's the kind of person that makes her presence known whether you like it or not, and who relishes the awkwardness of confrontation. She ended up being one of my favorite characters, because despite her propensity for stilettos and online shopping, her wit and sarcasm are spot on, and her personality not as shallow as it seemed.

Like Madelyn, Moriarty's other characters are deliciously complex and fully developed. Even her supporting cast is written clearly and distinctly, so that you really have an idea of who you like, don't like, and even hate to like, by the time she's done with everything.

Another thing I liked about this book is how Moriarty so perfectly captures how our outward actions and appearances don't always reflect our intentions or inward thoughts. She'll have someone fret over a look received after what she thought was a friendly smile, or describe how people join a race for a cause, when the real cause is their own waistline. Her characters say things, but mean others, and do things that are misinterpreted. She creates cringeworthy situations with a surprising ease that will make you laugh, and probably relate with a little too well.

And at its heart, Big Little Lies has a message. Moriarty takes the topic of bullying and tackles it from so many perspectives: on the schoolyard, at home, verbal, physical, in kids, in adults. Her style is so casual, you might not realize, until something happens to someone, how much you cared about them. And the way she writes about domestic violence is heartbreaking and eye opening.

I've heard Moriarty isn't a one-hit wonder, too. Her other books, like What Alice Forgot and The Hypnotist's Love Story are probably worth checking out. And I think I eventually will. Who knows, maybe it will be sooner rather than later now that I've discovered AUDIOBOOKS!!!

Follow You Home by Mark Edwards

I birthed a little person recently. So reading is about as much a priority as wearing a shirt right now. However, I have a lot of "down" time in the form of rocking and feeding said little person. So a free book on my Kindle was in order. Enter Follow You Home. It was on my Kindle. It was free. I didn't have to wear a shirt. Done.

I got through this book in two days, which is record time for me. I don't know if that says more about the book or more about the amount of feeding and rocking I was doing in those two days. This psychological thriller is about two young travelers, Daniel and Laura, who are experiencing Europe, until they get to the scary, sinister part of Europe (that would be the eastern bit). There (in Romania), they experience the Thing That Must Not Be Spoken Of and quickly end their trip.

Back home in London, Daniel and Laura try to go about their daily lives. But their once close relationship dissolves as each spirals into their own living hell in trying to deal with What Happened.  As Daniel tries to get over the loss of Laura, he experiences strange things, things he can't help but wonder might be connected to the fateful trip. Meanwhile, Laura not only withdraws from Daniel, but her grasp on reality seems to be slipping away.

Two stories in one, Edwards slowly reveals what happened to Daniel and Laura in Romania while simultaneously unfolding the resulting horror they both encounter back home. He keeps you guessing, is it something supernatural? Is it something depraved? Something real? Something imagined? And he unfolds both stories in such a way that there were times (usually in the middle of the night) where I was too creeped out to read (and I still got done in two days!).

Overall, this book was a great package. It was quick, captivating, and a bit scary. I'd be interested to read more of Edwards' other thrillers, shirt or not.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rachel rides the train every day. And every day she passes the same homes and people going through their same routines. Until one day, something changes. What Rachel sees alters the trajectory of her life that is already complicated with a divorce and alcoholism.

Anna is a stay at home mom. Although her life seems simple, she lives in the shadow of her husband's ex-wife, struggling with raising her two-year old daughter and keeping her sanity while trying to maintain a happy marriage.

Megan shouldn't have a care in the world. She is free to work on her art and has a loving husband. Although she loves him too, for some reason that just isn't enough for her. And when she goes missing, the lives of these three women converge.

Three women, three points of view, all telling the same story. Although I was able to guess the "whodunnit" aspect of the book (and I'm usually not great at that), I felt Hawkins put enough mystery and twists and turns to keep things intriguing and moving. While I didn't particularly like her main characters (probably intentional on her part, though), I felt she made them interesting.

I would be remiss if I didn't address one point. That's the whole Gone Girl comparison. We have multiple narrators, a missing girl, diary-like entries, and unlikeable characters. So how do the two face off? IMHO The Girl on the Train edges out her competition. I didn't have to press the "I want to believe button" like with Gone Girl and, in general, I was more engrossed in the story. While I wouldn't say to skip Gone Girl, if you had a choice between the two, I'd go with The Girl on the Train. 

Black's Beach Shuffle by Corey Lynn Fayman

I had the opportunity to meet with Corey Fayman one afternoon. We sat at a small cafe in Little Italy and talked about books (duh)  and writing. I was interested in knowing how someone just *decides* to self-publish a book...or two. I was also curious about what, if anything, lay on the horizon for Rolly Waters.

Waters is a private investigator living in San Diego. When he's not searching down runaway teenagers or spying on cheating spouses, he's playing gigs at local events with his band. When his latest gig ends with a body floating in a pool, Waters finds himself involved in a case more far reaching than his usual PI repertoire.

If on its face this book is a whodunnit, at its heart it is a peek into Fayman's love of music and San Diego. It's clear Fayman lives in San Diego, based on details throughout the book, from where Waters drives to what he's eating at two in the morning. Being an SD native myself, I knew exactly who Waters was, his scene, and how he lived. The SD references are so detailed, I wondered at times if it would alienate some readers, but ultimately, it's something that makes Fayman's writing unique.

Fayman also doesn't hold back with the music references. Not only is he a San Diegan, but he's a musician as well, as is clear from his characters' hobbies to their names. If you're a music fan, you'll get a kick finding all the little eggs Fayman has hidden.

While mystery isn't really my genre of choice, the book was a quick read and kept me entertained. Extra bonus points for giving it an SD noir feel. Kinda unexpected. I think I'll give his second book, Border Field Blues, a try.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

We all know that once you see something, it's not only burned into your retina, but also your mind.  And by trying to not imagine a pink elephant, what the first thing is that comes to mind.  Is it also possible then, that once I know a book is written by J. K. Rowling, I will always compare it to Harry Potter?

The answer is fuck yes.  EVERYTHING gets compared to Harry Potter.  All other YA books I've read?  Not as good as Harry Potter.  The coffee I had this morning?  Not as good as Harry Potter.  That dress I want to buy?  Won't make my hips look as good as Harry Potter.  You get the point.  That series has been burned into my mind, heart, and soul.  I cannot and will not unremember it.  Does Rowling even stand a chance against herself?

Maybe she knew the answer...maybe she anticipated this inevitable proclivity which we all have.  And maybe that's why she wrote The Cuckoo's Calling under a pseudonym.  Because she knew assholes like me would never forgive her for writing *just* another novel.  I think her prologue says it all, "Unhappy is he whose fame makes his misfortunes famous."  Freudian slip of the pen much?

So how to proceed now that I've compromised any semblance of neutrality?  I'll just get on with it.  I didn't find the story compelling,  I didn't like the characters, and I didn't buy the ending.  This was a book I read for the sake of finishing, so I could move on to another book.

My first complaint, her characters.  Mean, selfish, or boooooring.  Sure, some people are pricks, but really?  THAT many people?  Everyone we meet, even our protagonist, is a prick.  His sister?  A prick.  His client?  A prick.  Everyone else in the book?  Pricks.  Every one.  I wanted to avada kedavra all their asses.  The only character I wouldn't call a prick is Robin, our detective's wingman secretary (her fiance though?  You guessed it).  The problem with Robin was she's as interesting as a Kardashian sex tape.

Another complaint is the ending.  I felt like Rowling left some loose ends unaddressed.  And the only reason I was surprised by the ending is because it just didn't make sense.  Sure, she offered a one sentence explanation, but I don't buy it.  I also don't feel her trail of bread crumbs would have led many readers to the right conclusion without a lot of blind speculation.  But then again, I'm not a detective like Cormoran Strike.  And then again, Rowling's only an author, (sniff).

To be fair, murder mysteries aren't my genre of choice.  True, I went into it with high expectations, which can be a buzzkill for even above average performances.  But really, I think a great story can rise above its genre, or age group, or expectations.  Isn't that what we loved about...well, you know.