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The last of my summer reads:
The Appeal by John Grisham was a rehash of a couple of his earlier books, combining a corrupt chemical company and a corrupt court system. Not his best.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was a charming yet dark fairytale. It was short and hopefully Gaiman will revisit the lane for a sequel, these characters deserve more exposure.
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler was a meandering look at life and relationships. The characters start out stale and two-dimensional, but grow on you as the story unfolds.
The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro was a well plotted thriller with the bonus of a fascinating glimpse into the art scene.
The Caves of Perigord by Martin Walker was a fanciful look at the earliest human art mixed with his usual theme of occupied France during WWII. Sounds like a stretch, but it works well. Walker is one of my current favourite authors.
Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead (#5 and 6 of the Three Pines series) by Louise Penny were read back to back. I was very annoyed when the investigation in #5 of the series was rushed and wrong and a complete waste of time. The next book re-opens the case and starts over, plus they manage to save the world from terrorists. Yes, it is as lame as it sounds. I want my cozy Three Pines stories back.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer was fun! How can you go wrong with a tween genius ruling the world? Well, not the whole world, just the fairy world.
Never Go Back by Lee Child. There was no suspense and Lee Child obviously phoned this one in.
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie was a bookclub choice and I gave up on it because I was missing most of the religious and cultural references. Shame, since the writing was lyrical and I did want to understand the weirdness.
The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton is a collection of puzzles solved by the wisdom of you-know-who. A bit too much like Sherlock Holmes for me.
Queen Victoria by Lytton Strachey was another bookclub selection. It was very readable, but the focus was on those Victoria interacted moreso than Victoria herself.
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman wasn't for me. I didn't like any of the characters and the parables scattered throughout were annoying.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen described the life of the family of the American ambassador to Germany in the years leading up to WWII and I couldn't put it down. The story was packed with experiences and chronicled the fear and impotence of those who witnessed early Nazi atrocities. This broke the streak of disappointing reads and I'm looking forward to reading his earlier book, The Devil in the White City.
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