The Dry: Short & Sweet (Adult)

The Dry by Jane Harper

A good start to my reading year! This mystery is a slow-moving one -- the murder has happened at the start of the novel, and the rest is spent with the police as they follow leads and uncover clues -- but I liked the sense of place Harper establishes (the hot, dry small-town feel of Kiewarra) as well as the characters and their relationships and history. Falk was an enjoyable protagonist to follow, as he has a good heart and really cares about others, but at the same time, seems to find it difficult to open up to them. I did find the reveal of the current-day storyline to be a little unsatisfying, but I found the past storyline to be gut-wrenching and horrifying (spoiler, highlight to read: the abuse that Ellie endures from her father is sickening, and I wish the end of the book had delivered justice for her. However, sometimes justice doesn't happen in real life, so I guess I can't expect it every time in fiction either.). I will definitely look into what else Jane Harper has published!

4 shooting stars.

Short & Sweet: The Silence of Bones

The Silence of Bones by June Hur

1800s Korea and the persecution of Catholics was an entirely new setting/topic for me, and I appreciated learning about it through the eyes of Seol, who was an engaging narrator. I did find it hard to keep track of all the characters and their connections throughout the story (I wish there'd been a character list provided!). There was a long section in the middle of this book that dragged, but the ending made up for it, pulling things together and feeling finished without being overly happy or artificial. While the middle lulled, the intensity ratcheted up in the last several chapters, making it hard to put down at that point. 

All in all, a different sort of historical murder mystery from most of the offerings in YA, and well worth the read as long as you are willing to be patient.

4 shooting stars.

The Lifeboat: A Rambling Review (Adult)

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

This was a book that kind of quietly crept up on me without me exactly realizing it. I found it initially quite slow-paced, and there's a certain tedium to the constrained nature of the characters' situation -- stuck in a lifeboat, day in and day out, with only each other and the occasional fish for company. There are a lot of characters, and I confess I had a hard time keeping track of who was who; a "cast of characters" list at the beginning would have been helpful. Certain characters come to the forefront as the story goes on, though, the most ambiguous (and yet most interesting) being the narrator herself, Grace. As a reader, I felt distant to Grace, never quite feeling like I understood her entirely. I believe this was a conscious choice on the author's part, to keep the reader guessing about Grace's motivations and character. It felt, even to the last page, as though there were secrets Grace wasn't telling anyone, even the reader. She's a character who you are not entirely sure you want to root for, and yet somehow, she wins you over anyway. Her matter-of-fact nature, her apparent honesty and at times bluntness -- juxtaposed with the sneaking suspicion that actually, she may not be all that honest -- makes for a narrator who entices the reader to dig deeper to try to figure her out. 

This is certainly more of a character study than an action-filled story, although there are moments of tension, particularly in the latter half of the book. I did find the climax scene somewhat unrealistic, and had to suspend some disbelief there (spoilers in white, highlight to read: I have a hard time believing that none of the men, who were all on Hardie's side, even tried to stand up for him against Hannah, Grace, and Mrs. Grant. Hardie's being overpowered and thrown overboard and no one doing anything to try to stop it seemed unlikely). 

This is not a flashy story; those looking for a fast-paced thriller will be disappointed. Those who don't mind enigmatic characters, an uneasy atmosphere, and being left with more questions than answers might find a real hidden gem here.

4 shooting stars. 

Short & Sweet: An Anonymous Girl and The Wife Between Us

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I polished this one off in a day! I was pulled in right from the get-go and then by the end couldn't put it down. A compelling, gripping psychological thriller where you're not sure who to trust and the truth is continually being questioned. I really enjoyed the themes of social psychology and ethics/morality woven throughout. The style of switching between Jessica's and Dr. Shields' perspectives was excellently done; their voices were distinct and Dr. Shields' chapters in particular were written in a clinical, 2nd-person/distant-1st-person that worked really well to convey her unsettling personality. I felt a little mixed about the ending; I thought that one part of it was very fitting in a thematic and storytelling sense, whereas another part kind of took me aback. Spoilers, highlight to read: the fact that Dr. Shields committed suicide by taking Vicodin felt like it made sense from a storytelling perspective. However, I'm not entirely sure how the reader is expected to respond to how Jessica behaves in the last conversation she has with Thomas. She's been the character the reader has been rooting for, so I felt a little upset with having her essentially blackmail Thomas. It certainly drives home the point that no one is 100% "good".

4.5 shooting stars.



The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Good, but not as gripping or cleverly plotted as the other book I read by this writing duo, An Anonymous Girl. I guessed at one of the big twists early on, and just generally I'd say this one was fairly predictable. Towards the end it does get pretty hard to put down, though! The villain in this one is so despicable that it is very easy to root for another character (being deliberately vague here so as not to spoil, lol). And there was a reveal right at the end that I didn't see coming! Also, a very weird relationship dynamic that is hinted at but not fully explained left me still with questions... Spoilers, highlight to read: what was up with Maureen? What kind of twisted brother-sister relationship do they have? Creeeeeeeepy...

3.5 shooting stars.

I Am the Messenger: A Rambling Review

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

This was not the right book for me. I didn't particularly like Ed -- he made some very poor choices, and the way he just went right along with the "messages" demonstrated a certain lack of independent thinking. Plus, he tended to "intuit" a lot based on nothing, which seemed pretty ridiculous to me. I also felt like his inner thoughts and realizations were quite dramatic and pretentious, and that he and his friends sometimes talked in a much more poetic, "deep" sort of way than people would in real life.

The ending was a real cop-out, honestly. I kept reading (skimming, really) because the mystery was really what was keeping me from DNF-ing it. And after all that, the reveal was not worth it. Spoilers, highlight to read: If I interpreted it correctly, it was a "meta" sort of concept where the author was inserted into the story and he was the one sending Ed all the messages. Which, what? *shakes head* I did not read that whole book for that kind of an ending, sorry.
I mean, sure, the message about reaching out to others and helping them was good, I can't argue with that. (I can certainly argue with Ed's method about doing that in some instances, however.) But it doesn't make up for the other issues I had with the story.

2 shooting stars.

 

Short & Sweet: Blackwood

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

This was such a weird story. I liked some aspects of it — Miranda and Phillips were likeable characters with a cute romance, and the set-up of the mystery was kinda creepy — but I feel like it became more of a muddled slog towards the middle. Some of it just got too over-the-top in what seemed almost like a parody of horror elements, and then one part of the villainous plot was just foiled so easily. Also, everybody who learned about the existence of magic/alchemy/whatever-you-want-to-call-it accepted it too quickly. Where were the modern-day skeptics to be found?

2.5 shooting stars.

 

Short & Sweet: The Light-Keeper's Daughters

The Light-Keeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol

Seriously, so good. The storytelling style really reminded me of Kate Morton's books (which is a huge compliment), complete with tragic storylines that are dramatic but grounded in characters that feel real. I did find some of the events/connections rather convenient, and the explanation for the mystery at the end a bit of a stretch that raised some questions (spoiler, highlight to read: Emily and Elizabeth were old enough to talk by the time the illness came along; wouldn't Emily have been super confused when she was suddenly being called "Elizabeth" instead?), but overall, I was just captivated by this slow unraveling of a mystery set by the icy waters of Lake Superior. This is the kind of story that just hurts your heart.


4.5 shooting stars. 

Short & Sweet: The Fever and Alias Grace

The Fever by Megan Abbott

About halfway through this book became pretty hard to put down! As the mysterious events unfold, the writing becomes more and more unsettling, with the style being sort of reminiscent of magical realism at times, making you question what is real and what isn't. I do wish that the ending had explored more of the purported cause of the events (spoiler, highlight to read: I feel like it would have been helpful for there to have been more details about the theory that the symptoms were due to mass psychogenic illness). Things feel like they get wrapped up awfully fast, and not as satisfyingly as they could have been. Nevertheless, Abbott adeptly conveys the mood of panic and paranoia that the community is swept up in as more and more young girls start showing alarming symptoms.                                                                                                                                                                   4 shooting stars. 

                                             

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

A fascinating re-imagining of the real-life Kinnear-Montgomery murders. It's a bit slow-moving as Grace begins relating her tale to Dr. Jordan, but soon picks up, and I easily became sucked into the story that Atwood weaves.

4 shooting stars.