The Tense Theatre in The Witch Elm
The Witch Elm is an impressive novel. It’s a riotous exercise in prose and character and suspense whose ending literally left me breathless. But it has one flaw that has disappointed hardcore Tana French fans: a suspect as the narrator. I myself didn’t particularly mind but apparently most longtime fans did. They yearned for her usual complex detective protagonist while lighting up websites with irritated reviews. They were hoping for what they liked, a Dublin Murder Squad personality, and didn’t…
Book Review: Every Single Secret
Last night I stayed up late and finished Emily Carpenter’s outstanding new novel Every Single Secret. It’s a psychological thriller set in Georgia that focuses on an engaged couple, Daphne and Heath, who both have damaged, dark pasts. Heath has violent nightmares, she has anxiety. In an effort to curb his nightmares, Heath suggests they visit an eccentric therapist in the mountains who has an excellent reputation but non-traditional methods. For instance, you check into his mansion for a week…
Death in Provence, a Fun Mystery Romp in France
The book Death in Provence by Serena Kent (a.k.a. Deborah Lawrenson) offers a fun mystery romp set in France. It centers on Penelope Kite, a British divorcee, who buys an old country house with dreams of renovations and dinner parties but instead finds a dead body in her swimming pool. A former forensics doctor’s assistant, Penny embarks on solving the case of why her neighbor was killed while avoiding being killed herself. A Cast of Colorful Characters Early on, we meet…
The Alchemist and Aleksy
My daughter is reading The Alchemist, a classic by Brazilian writer Paul Coehlo, which tells the tale of an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. It’s a mystic story about his adventures that will help you follow your true path. Since our cat Maddie had her spotlight, my daughter read the book beside our other cat Aleksy. He likes to hang out in her bedroom. Our little gray boy seemed to be interested. He may finish reading it before she does!…
