Mark Schiffer
A deep-dive into the published diaries of a Swedish immigrant in England the early 20th century. There's a mystery (actually 2). I found it all to be a bit fussy and the plotting didn't add up to too much. Still really enjoyed the fictional world it created, could easily imagine revisiting Asta's Book and bumping it up a star.
I did read/listen to the magnificently performed audiobook during a trip to Denver for a funeral so like it was kind of a lot. Still was a solid Rendell either way though, just not my favorite one.
The brief for this one is always stated as “David Copperfield in opioid Appalachia,” and, uh, it is. Past a certain point I couldn't put it down, the narrative voice is appealing too which goes a long way toward making an otherwise bleak family saga readable. It's hard to describe the actual events in Demon Copperhead without spoiling the narrative, simply because so much of the novel's actual engaging qualities come from the serial qualities retained from the source material. This book could easily be used in an AP English class to teach narrative structure and the impact of style and voice on tone and theme.
So, Cortez is in Tenochtitlan, and there's a whole lotta colonialism going on. But things are also super trippy and expansive. Cities are floating, hallucinogenic mushrooms are in the water supply, and Monteczuma is absolutely rockin' it. I normally have a somewhat difficult time reading books without quotation marks for dialogue and You Dreamed of Empires was no exception to this, but GOD DANG this book rules so much.
I've been meaning to read Cornell Woolrich for a minute so I read “I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes” and “And So To Death.” Both of them were absolutely GODLY “wrong man” stories. Will without question be checking out more of Woolrich's work, especially since I'm a sucker for a sad gay.
Just read The Boy Who Cried Murder, god what an absolute ripper of a suspense story.
Don't Look Now rocked my world last year so I thought I might read Rebecca. Couldn't get the audio of it though so Jamaica Inn seemed like it might be worth a try. Good god almighty, this book rocks. A woman moves to a barely functioning inn owned by her aunt and terrible uncle on the Moors, and so many things happen. It's dark, romantic, and thrilling. So many twists! Fully blindsided me at various points. The setting felt so vivid, if you ever want to feel like you've been walking through terrifying rainy English countryside while experiencing insane things ya gotta read this book.
An “up-all-night” story set on Halloween in a lightly fictionalized 1980s NYC, which happens to also be part of the 87th Precinct series. Perfectly interwoven murder mysteries, robberies, and parties create an abundance of incidents allowing for Tricks to be move quickly. Though it's crass and violent it's an easy recommendation. I could imagine rereading this one.
Odd, occasionally glacial, but in the end incredible epistolary novel. Truly curious to see how it's going to work as a film, totally worth a read if ya like anarcho-humanistic weirdo historical fiction like Pynchon. Took me a bit to get through some of the bits but the narrative is super easy to follow and enjoyable as hell, loved the dedication to maintaining ambiguity through it all.
Lost me a bit at the end but otherwise this is a pretty perfect investigative crime story, pared down to the bare essentials. As always it's such a pleasure to stomp around Paris in the rain with Maigret while he eats, smokes his pipe, and drinks so much beer. It's obvious Simenon knew these neighborhoods backwards and forwards, and the setting as always is so welcoming and enjoyable to read about.
My first McBain, but not my last. A quadruple homicide in a bookstore is investigated by a team of cops. Shades of Wahloo and Sjowall's The Laughing Policeman are present, but this came out years before. Supremely economical and efficient storytelling all in the service of what for me was an immaculately realized murder mystery/thriller. This could easily be bumped up to 5 stars if I read more and it turns out to be a standout of the series.
I don't know, I guess I read biographies now. Patricia Highsmith was a wild, supremely complicated person who directly antagonized seemingly everyone she was personally or professionally associated with at some point. Super problematic and difficult figure. But man, this overview of her life and work sure made me want to read more than the two novels I've read by her. The way she apparently wove her overall mental state and experiences into her fictional worlds was so fascinating to read about. It seems like diving into her diaries and letters would also be worthwhile, based on the (ample) bits that are present here.
A big, meaty family story packed with incident and feeling. I've been knocked out with COVID this week and something like The Bee Sting was exactly what I needed. Alternating POVs from each member of the family with steadily smaller and smaller chonks for each of them. The audiobook really made this a seamless and unputdownable experience. Shades of A Little Life, I Know This Much Is True, that kinda thing, so BE WARNED. My BOTY.
The Bee Sting is a story that we use to gloss over the most important thing in our lives, which we will never ever talk about.
Pretty wild collection of vignettes in the life of a woman searching for her family. Cults, the 60s, transistor radios in cabins communicating with the dead(?), all kindsa weird stuff. Clowes usually gives me a stomachache and this is no exception, but there's also no denying that this is a solid achievement.
Some mildly messy plotting and a few too many names weren't even to keep this from going down like soup on a cold day. I've been pushing through a lot of personal bleakness the past few days and the Baroness turned out to be just what I needed. Various individuals with varying degrees of grotesqueness whirl about on a block in London. Dogwalkers, con artists, dealers, museum gift shop employees, abusive exes, and a murderer on the loose. Sadness, anger, fear, hope, and connection!
Maigret stomps from one house in the woods to another, and uncovers a scheme involving organized crime, con artists, and moidah! Some great action scenes, and a wonderfully dark atmosphere inside the houses. Makes sense that this one is kind of a classic. Would love to see the Renoir adaptation sometime.
This collection of 1960s diaries really made me fall in love with the overall voice and persona of Simenon. Pretty sad because it's mostly about the eventual failure of his marriage, which happened several years after this book was published. The result is that there's no real catharsis to that “arc” which runs through the memoir. But, like, that lack of catharsis is in itself a feeling? Pretty fun to read about Simenon's annoyances with interviewers, publishers, award committees, like everybody he met except for Henry Miller? Who among us hasn't been there amirite? I really enjoyed the audiobook and could easily imagine relistening to it.
