The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

I have followed Marie Benedict since her first novel. She is a native Yinzer and often speaks at events here in the 'burgh. In February she spoke about her latest book, The Queens of Crime. It was a fascinating lecture about how she became interested in the real life disappearance of an English nurse, May Daniels. With maps, photographs, and newspaper clippings, she detailed how she became invested in using the real life mystery as the basis of her fictional one. 

Set in 1931, the novel features the 5 Queens of Mystery writers from the Golden Age: Dorothy and Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. They are a part of a London group known as the Detection Club, made up mostly of men. They feel that they are just as able to write and solve mysteries as their male counterparts and so embark on solving a real life one. The actual disappearance and investigation was actually reported by Sayers and her journalist husband. Nurse May Daniels and her friend Cecelia traveled to Bourgoune, France. They traveled by ferry from Brighton England, intending to take advantage of French shops and food. However, Daniels mysteriously disappears, after seemingly having an upset stomach, and being approached by an unknown man while sitting on a park bench. She does not return with her friend. Her body is found months later in a pool of blood.

The five queens of crime travel to France to retrace her journey and interview those who might have come into contact with Daniels. The police seem reluctant to pursue the case that they believe is one of a drug addict. In their investigation the women began to piece together another woman's disappearance that is connected with London men, the Williams father and son, and a theatre producer, Alfred Chapman. When they establish an hypothesis as to what actually happened, they concoct a plan to entrap the murderer. 

With a cavalcade of characters, the mystery unfolds to its conclusion, complete with red herrings. I had to keep myself from finding newspaper articles about the real mystery so that I didn't spoil the end of this tome.  This was a delightful read that combined mystery and historical fiction. The personalities of the mystery writers shines through as they each have a different tack to solve the case. I have not read any of Marsh, Allingham, or Sayers' works previously, but the novel has given me a new set of detectives to read. 
 

None Of This is True by Lisa Jewell

Generally characterized as a suspense novel, None of This is True, can be at times a good read, a frustrating read, and a depressing one. The novel opens as Josie Fair and Alix Summer, a podcaster, meet each other at a restaurant where each was celebrating her 45th birthday. They discover that, not only, were they born on the same day, but also the same hospital in London. Using this, Josie integrates herself into Alix's life by coming up with an idea for a podcast based on Josie's life. She indicates that having reached the age of 45, she is about to move on from her loveless marriage and family. 

Alix embraces the idea and begins a series of interviews with Josie. As she discovers more about Josie's life, she feels it necessary to meet Josie's husband, Walter, and to learn more about Josie's daughters, Roxy and Erin. Roxy ran away while she was still in high school and Erin is a gamer, who stays in her room, eats nothing but soft or baby food, and has ADS. Alix is also not without strife in her marriage as she deals with a husband, Nathan,  who has a drinking problem. After an awkward dinner party at which Nathan is a no-show, Josie decides to confront Walter about her plans to leave. She then appears at Josie's doorstep, beaten and tattered. 

Alix offers Josie a room for the night, but Josie has different ideas and stays with her. During this time the reader gets an inside glance at some of her odd behaviour. She borrows Alix's makeup and clothes. steals a bracelet, and stashes a key underneath the mattress. These are the actions that lead to the suspense of what is really the background story of Josie and what are intentions for Alix and Nathan? 

The narrative is interspersed with clips from a Netflix documentary, complete with interviews with the main players, as well as the podcast interviews Alix conducted with Josie.  As the title suggests, the reader knows that someone is lying and the truth will be hard to ferret out. The end has some interesting plot twists that make for an explanation of the actions of Josie, Walter, Roxy, and Erin. A quick read for the month of January and one that will keep you turning the pages until the end.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

This novel by Moyes was a bit different than her previous trilogy, Me before You, in that it really explores the relationships among women. The issue that gives the title its context is that a very middle class London women mistakenly picks up the wrong bag at the gym that belonged to a very wealthy New Yorker. Nisha, the American has a pair of very expensive Christian Louboutin red heelsin her bag, which Sam, the Londoner, discovers when she reaches for her shoes as she changes out of her flip flops on her way to a work meeting. The event sets into motion the moves that both try to recover their own bag and the shoes that were in them.

Despite their differences in background and monetary status, it becomes obvious that both women are desperately trying to hold their lives together. Nisha is a trophy wife whom her husband, Carl, is trying to shove out of their marriage and Sam is trying to hold it all together with a husband who is living in a depressed state and who, as breadwinner, is fighting a misogynistic boss who is looking for every reason to fire her. In addition she is a supporting friend to Andrea, who has been battling cancer and mother to Cat, a nineteen year old who has maturity beyond her age and can give a voice to her mother. 

After the mix-up at the gym, Nisha returns to the luxury hotel penthouse where she finds that Carl has locked her out holding her clothes, credit card, and passport hostage and is served divorce papers. As she is ejected from the hotel, she is befriended by Jasmine, a housekeeper there and is given a chance for employment. She has to clean toilets, which is a foul task to a woman used to the finer things in life. When Nisha is evicted from the budget hotel in which she had been staying, she moves in with Jasmine and her daughter, Gracie. A cold, self-centered woman, when confronted with her present circumstances, Nisha begins to soften a bit as she has to rely on others. 

Sam is beyond wit's end as she tries to deal with her boss and her husband as she is watching her marriage deteriorate. When Nisha confronts her at work and accuses her of stealing the shoes, Sam's boss has the ammunition that he needs to fire her. Eventually, the two become set on finding the shoes that Cat has delivered to a charity shop and alliances and friendships are formed as Andrea, Jasmine join the alliance. 

This was a complex novel that had at its heart many themes that are so important to the women - friendship, treatment of women, and contrition and change. The characters are well developed and layered. The reader witnesses how they change and how they influence change around them. It is complex and even thought there are some predictable and implausible happenstances, it is a great read.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

The Secret Book of Flora Lea was just the kind of book I needed to take to Physical Therapy. It was engaging and a not too difficult read. In addition, it took place in London and was set at the time of World War II, time and place among my favorites. The novel has two timelines, one in the 1940s and the other in the 1960s.

Hazel and Flora Linden live in the Bloomsbury area of London with their mother. Their father has gone off to fight in the war and was killed in faulty engine fire while in training for the RAF. As the war rages, orders are given to evacuate the children from central London. The two sisters are sent to Binsy, Oxfordshire to be billeted with Bridie Aberdeen, a loving and caring woman who is also a single mother to her son Harry. In order to comfort her sister, Hazel creates stories centered around a fictional place, called Whisperwood. It is their secret and no one else is privy to it. Tragically, one day when Hazel, Flora and Henry are near the river in Oxford, Flora disappears. She was left alone sleeping and when Hazel and Henry come back to the river bank, she is gone. A massive search is conducted and she is presumed to have drowned.

Flash forward to 1960s in London to find Hazel working at a rare book store. For most of her life she has pursued what had actually happened to Flora. It haunts her day and night.  She is taken aback the last day on the job at the book store before she moves on to another job at Sotheby's. In the books for her to process to add to the store's collection, she opens one by an American author entitled Whisperwood and the River of Stars. How could someone know about the secret kingdom. Surely Flora is still alive and somehow the author has heard the story from her. 

She takes the book home with her and shares the story with her boyfriend, Barnaby. Inadvertently a couple of the illustrations get ruined, and her guilt about stealing the book gets the better of her. She decides to return the book, knowing that she could be arrested for stealing it and losing her job. 

The novel then morphs into a mystery about the missing Flora and how Hazel plays detective to find her. It becomes a page-turner, for sure as Hazel revisits all those who may have come in contact with Flora - Bridie, Harry, Kelty, and four nurses who often babysat the girls. She contacts the author of the book, Peggy Andrews, who travels from Cape Cod to London to become part of the adventure.

It is a captivating tribute to the power of storytelling and its magic. Throughout the book Bridie tells stories as does the journalist, Dorothy Bellamy,  who is writing about the children of Operation Pied Piper. those who were evacuated. It is also a novel following your heart and listening to what it sees for your future, especially when it comes to love.

 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

The selection for our February book group was the debut novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. It was hard to tell to what the title referred, but at first glance, we anticipated a more culinary offering than what was the actual focus of the novel. 

It is really a story of relationships, self-identity, coincidences, and a bit of mystery. Benny and Byron, sister and brother have been estranged for a number of years. They are brought back together by the death of their mother, Eleanor,  who leaves them a tape that she recorded that shed light on her life and a black cake. It was also a means to illuminate the trouble that begins the book when she was a small girl, Covey grew up on a Caribbean island in the 1950s. Her mother had left her and her father, driven away by his drinking and gambling. Covey and her best friend, Bunny were swimmers and enjoyed the waters together. In order to settle debts, Covey's father, Lin, arranges a marriage between Covey and "Little Man" Henry. From the wedding day on, the book details how Covey escaped and found a new life in London, where she went to meet the real love of her life, Gibbs Grant.  

The first part of the book was rough going for me as I tried to sort out the characters and their relationships to each other. When the tape recording revealed the true identities of the characters, it became much more enjoyable and ended up being a real page-turner. Wilkerson masterfully weaves the characters and their relationships together for the reader. As she does that she also amalgamates the themes of feminism, resilience, racism, homophobia, friendship and family ties. The chapters were short and both time-shifted as well as locality-shifted. Once the characters' true identities were revealed, it was not difficult to follow. The solution to the mystery was revealed slowly, but resolved in the last chapter, as was disposition of the black cake

A good and interesting read. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

In between book club books gives a good time to try to catch up on the TBR shelf. This always leads me back to whatever Daniel Silva books are there. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman  is a bit of departure from Silva's general M.O. There are no political stances, no threats of destroying world peace or any of the major nations, nor any international spy missions. What it is is a intriguing look into the world of art dealers, forgery, and some Ponzi schemes. 

Gabriel Allon, former head of Israeli intelligence has retired to Venice with his wife Chiara and his twin children. She has taken a job as the head of the Tiepolo Restoration Company and Gabriel has become the stay at home father while he recovers from the bullet wound that nearly killed him in The Cellist. Of course, if he remained in retirement, there would be no novel. Having received a call from his friend and London art gallery owner, Julian Isherwood, he sets off on the trail of a major art forgery ring that is operating from Berlin to Spain to the United States. After Isherwood receives a letter saying that a painting that he recently sold was a forgery and the woman who sent the letter was killed, there is only one person whom Isherwood would call. 

As the novel intertwines art history, forgery, and danger, Allon sets out a trap by creating forgeries of Grand Masters. Through a complicated series of events, especially sting operations involving Sarah, her husband Chris and some old arch-enemies of Gabriel, the investigation of the murder reaches a climax on the tarmac of a Long Island airport. 

Silva creates intense drama in his books without feeling the necessity of long-winded descriptions. It is interesting that he has shifted the focus of the novel to more of an art perspective and take Allon away from his intelligence job at The Office. This was a fascinating narrative into the real world of Gabriel Allon. It will be interesting to see how his character further evolves in the next novel, The Collector. 
 

The Cellist by Daniel Silva

The best laid plans are often sidetracked by life's interruptions. Because our book club was canceled for April, I felt I had ample time to read a number of books before the May book club. However, IT,  happened and my free time, airplane, and travel time were usurped. 

It took me a bit longer to finish Silva's 2021 book than I had expected. Drawing on many characters from past novels, The Cellist takes place as the world is in the grip of the pandemic. There are countless references to lock-downs, masks, and COVID-19.

The book begins, as many of his do, with the very suspicious death of Viktor Orlov, a close friend of the Israeli intelligence commander, Gabriel Allon. The body is discovered by Sarah Bancroft, who had worked with Allon in previous novels and is now working at Isherwood Fine Arts. When she finds Orlov at his desks, she strongly believes that he was poisoned by some sort of nerve agent. Her connection to Orlov was in regard to money she was to collect for the restoration of a painting the gallery had sold to a Russian oligarch.She  In a very convoluted way, this leads to the introduction of the cellist in the novel's title - Isabel Brenner, who works for RhineBank, AG in Germany as a money launderer. Allon devises a scheme to find Orlov's killer and recruits Brenner to become his prime operative. 

From a London, to Geneva, to Zurich to France, Jerusalem and even Wilmington, DE, Silva whirls the reader through a maze of banks, concert halls, museums and villas as he delves into the money laundering schemes of Russia and its wealthy leader, Vladimir Putin. The novel's culmination is at the January 6th Insurrection in Washington, an ending that Silva completely rewrote having been an eyewitness that day while being in Washington on business.  One of the hallmarks of the Gabriel Allon and Silva books is how closely they are tied to the geopolitical real-world events. This was no exception and provides the author a virtual soapbox from which he can deliver his political views, which are quite critical of the 45th president and his followers. The author's notes at the end of the book are illuminating and indicative of the research that Silva does for his novels.

This wasn't one of my favorite Allon books, but a good read, nonetheless. It is my intent to finish the 2022 novel before his new tome is released in July, 2023. Too many books and not enough time.

 

 

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Upon the recommendation of a couple of my trusted literary friends, I picked up the first in the Maisie Dobbs series, published in 2003. What a treat it was to read something not required for a book club or lecture series. 

In 1929 in London, Maisie Dobbs is in business as a private investigator. She has been hired by a man who suspects that his wife is carrying on an affair with another man. In following the woman, she finds herself in a cemetery and watches her lay flowers on the grave of a man whose headstone only reads Vincent. Vivid memories cascade into Maisie's mind and Winspear uses it as a flashback technique to give Maisie's backstory. 

The daughter of a Frankie, a costermonger and eventually a groomsman, Maisie was sent to live with Lady Rowan Compton, a wealthy philanthropist  to add to some income for the family. Maisie's work ethic and intelligence was recognized by Lady Rowan and she offered Maisie the opportunity to be tutored by Dr. Maurice Blanche. He also is impressed with her propensity for learning and encourages and prepares her to take the entrance exams for Cambridge. Maisie enters Girton College at Cambridge and makes friends with Priscilla Everndon, who introduces her to Captain Lynch. At Priscilla's urging and as a result of losing a close friend to a bombing during the war, Maisie enlists as a nurse and is deployed to France. As it would happen she reconnects with Captain Lynch and they fall in love and he proposes.  

Between the flashbacks and the present time, the story of Maisie becomes clear and her detective skills, honed by Dr. Blanche lead her to uncover the mystery of Vincent and so many other young wounded war veterans. Throughout the present day scenes the reader is plagued by the question as to what happened to Captain Lynch and is grateful for the reveal at the end of the book. 

Winspear's Maisie series is now on book 17. The series has been touted as in the mystery genre, but there was more introduction of the main character in the first book than mystery. I will be anxious to read book #2 to see how Maisie is developed as a private investigator and solver of mysteries. 

 

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva

Daniel Silva is my go-to author when I want a well crafted, complex, entertaining, and mind expanding novel. With the coronavirus lock down, it has been good to read some books that have been on the to read shelves for a few years. Because Silva books are not short novels, one needs a block of time to really digest and enjoy them. 

In The Other Woman, Silva builds on his previous Gabriel Allon stories. This time he assembles his team to ferret out a mole within the MI6 bureau in London. He pulls in much of the story of Kim Philby, who was a double agent for the British Intelligence. Silva interweaves the fictional characters, including a daughter of Philby into his novel to provide the thrilling escapades of a new mole in the intelligence venue. 

The book's premise to aid with the defection of a Russian agent in Vienna ends tragically and Allon is blamed publicly for the blunder. In order to save his reputation and that of the Office, he becomes aware of a traitor who has ingratiated him/herself into the intelligence agency of a foreign service. The key to the operation is an elderly woman, who in Andalusia is writing her memoirs, The Other Woman. 

With his sometimes rival Graham Seymour, the two embark on a quest to find the mole that has been supplying the Russians with sensitive information. They set their sites on Alistair Hughes, who was the MI6 head in Vienna. They realize that this was the impression that the Russians wanted to give and so the two plod on. They pour over file after file until they realize the Philby connection. With that knowledge, they launched a plan that would uncover the mole's identity and bring him/her into custody.

As in all of Silva's novels, the twists and turns keep readers on the edge of their seats. He is so gifted in the way that he allows Gabriel Allon to showcase brilliance and resilience. To detail any more of the plot, would be to spoil it for those who want to read it for themselves. The reader sits on the fence between dying to know what will happen and not wanting the book to end. A must read for all spy novel fans.

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

In one of the most complex books that I have read, Warlight is the latest of Ondaatje's novels. I had looked forward to reading it from the time Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures announced Ondaatje was the speaker for the last 2020 lecture. Its subject matter concerned two of my favorite topics - World War II and London. 

Narrated by Nathaniel, the book opens with the statement:

“In 1945 our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals” 

It snags the reader in what would seemingly be a tome of young children and their existence in the post war London years. But it, like a good part of the book, is merely a fragment of a puzzle that poses a challenge for those who try to piece it together. When Nathaniel (age 14) and his sister, Rachel (age 16), are left by their parents, to go to live in Singapore where the father has been promoted to run a Unilever office. Their mother, Rose, entrusts their keeping to a friend, Walter, whom the children name The Moth because he is so quiet. With The Moth running some shady business, the children are virtually left on their own. The first half of the novel relates their lives there as they meet and interact with other adults who comprise The Moth's group of acquaintances, including the Pimlico Darter (Norman) and Olive Lawrence who is an ecologist and ethnographer. Despite some criminal leanings The Darter becomes a surrogate guardian to Nathaniel as they smuggle dogs into London for illegal racing as does The Moth to Rachel. The two grow up quickly as they experience life in London, all the time wondering where there mother has gone. Nathaniel works for The Moth at the Criterion, a banquet hall where he meets Agnes, named for the street where she lived and who is first sexual experience. When a kidnap attempt is made on the two children, the realization that there is something more to the disappearance of Rose. 

In the second part of the book, Nathaniel, now a grown man, reflects on those years, his mother's whereabouts, and the covert activities that kept her at a distance from her children. Working at the British Classified Archives, he discovers documents that help him discover what Rose's part was. Ondaatje reveals bits and pieces of that action to the reader over the course of the second half chapters. There are clues and innuendoes that need to be assembled before a clear vision of Rose's life is understood. A seemingly unimportant incident of a thatcher falling from the roof of Rose's parents home escalates into a critical time in her life. 

Warlight references the light that, even tho dimmed, guided emergency traffic in London during World War II. But it also takes on an added meaning of the secrecy and shrouded surreptitiousness of espionage, smuggling, codenames, and interrogations. This is not a book for the faint of heart, but for those who appreciate the complexities of a nuanced novel that reveals its own secrets in measured increments.   

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

The third novel by Edugyan is a remarkable piece of prose that should be on everyone's reading list. It chronicles the life of enslaved George Washington Black on his journey from childhood to manhood and the injustices he suffers for being a black person. 

The novel opens in 1830 when Wash is eleven years old and is working on Faith Plantation in the Barbados. His life is one tortured by the master and mentored by a woman, Big Kit, who nurtures, advises, and comforts him. One evening Wash is called to be a house slave and it is there he first meets Titch Wilde, the brother of his master and whom we come to find is an abolitionist. Something about Wash impresses Titch and he asks to have the young boy help him in his new project. From there a partnership is formed and with since Wash will be the right size for experimentation in his new invention, the cloud cutter, a hot air balloon. He becomes impressed with Wash's artistic talent and the two become more and more dedicated to the study of nature and the world beyond Barbados.

The adventures that fill the novel are instigated by an horrendous accident involving the balloon, the suicide of a member of the Wilde family, and the realization that Wash will never be safe on the plantation. The maiden voyage of the balloon is fast tracked and Titch and Wash escape the island. From there their journey is by boat to Virginia, then to Canada as Titch looks for his father whom he has been informed is still alive. All the while Wash is being pursued by a bounty hunter who wishes to take him back to Barbados. His further journey is to Nova Scotia where he meets Tanna Goff and her father, Geoffrey, a zoologist. They are impressed by Wash's drawing and enlist him to do the illustrations for Goff's book. Then to London, where he discovers his heritage and Morocco to search for a benevolent friend. 

Washington Black is a magical read. The brutalities of slavery are addressed, the miracles of nature described, and the fragility of freedom confronted. If it were not for a review in our local paper right before Edugyan's appearance in Pittsburgh, I probably would not have picked this book up. If I had not, I would have been missing something very special. Unfortunately, the author was not going to sign books the evening of the lecture, but the bookstore that handles the sales of authors' books had agreed to swap my unsigned copy for a pre-signed one. What a fortuitous happenstance that when we arrived at the hall, Ms. Edugyan was pre-signing the books and we were lucky that she offered to sign ours.

Her lecture was one of the best that we have attended. She is articulate, erudite, and engaging. I have put her other 2 books on my TBR list.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

This book has sat on my "to read" shelf for a few years because of the reviews that had been published and the reputation of Ian McEwan. I was spurred to finally make time to read it after I watched the movie. I then recommended it to the Gables Book Club for the March meeting. 

McEwan has a penchant for hooking his readers from the very first sentence in a book and On Chesil Beach  is no exception.

They were young, educated, and both virgins on this, their wedding night, and they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible. But it is never easy. 

The novella takes place in 1962 on the wedding night of Edward Mahew and Florence Pointing at a hotel on Chesil Beach in Dorset in southern England. It is a shingle beach that is characterized by the curve of the land and the arrangement of the pebbles by wind and rain.  It is there they will enjoy the wedding night and a stroll on the beach drinking wine and examining the pebbles. 

Providing some comic relief to the tension that the reader fills building is the description of the waiters and the dinner ordered. There was no real room so the waiters stayed and observed as the two tried to eat the melon, plates of beef, cheese board and trifle. But it was not to be finished as the couple midway through made their way to the four-poster bed. 

In a scene that was a bit reminiscent of Ravel's Bolero, sensual and innocent the reader stands witness to what surely will be a night of bliss. Edward fumbles with Florence's dress and, ultimately, decides to proceed without removing it. But the thought of intimacy so frightens Florence that she bolts from the hotel room in a desperate move to avoid being suffocated by the act and heads to the beach. After a time, he follows and the two engage in a conversation that evolves into argument as they both admit that they are so in love with each other. 

Intermixed between the action of the wedding night, McEwan writes beautifully crafted chapters of the details of Florence and Edward's meeting and courtship. The reader is mesmerized by his words and sentence structure. It is with these chapters that we understand more about the two young people and the worlds from which they came - she from a privilege family but with an abusive father, he from a middle class and hardworking one in which his father has had to assume roles as mother and father since a traumatic accident to his mother. 

At the book's conclusion one is left with a feeling of poignancy and regret for Edward and Florence and the thought of what could have been. Again, the book with all of McEwan's artistry surpasses the movie. Read and enjoy.  

Cometh the Hour by Jeffrey Archer

At the conclusion of the previous novel in the Clifton Chronicles, Mightier then the Sword,  the verdict in the Lady Virginia Kenwick vs. Emma Barrington libel case was about to be read. The accompanying cliffhanger was the mysterious suicide note of Alex Fisher, MP. As the reader would expect the note would be a double edge sword: it could exonerate Emma, but could also ruin the political career of Giles. At a family pow-wow, it was decided not to disclose the contents of the note. And the reader is left to wondering what exactly it did say. 

Lady Virginia is one of the most scheming villains of any novel which I have read. In the installment she is facing being disowned by her father, which would cut off her monthly allowance. This would severely hamper the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed. She needs to figure out how to secure the money that is need to keep her in her comfortable life. And so she cooks up a preposterous scheme that involves a U.S. politician, engagement, and pregnancy. 

Harry Clifton continues to work to free Anatoly Babakov. This story line has contributed to some of the most dramatic of the novel. Emma Barrington is brought into this thread as she is called on to support Babakov's wife. 

Sebastian's life seems to be back on track after coming to terms with Samantha's marriage and Jessica's school life. He has an ally in Dr. Wolfe, head of the school who keeps informed as to Jessica's life there. Jessica is a delightful and precocious child and provides a bit of humor in an otherwise serious book. Sebastian meets Priya, an Indian woman, and falls head over heels in love with her. However, her parents have a different idea of what her future looks like. 

As in all of the Chronicles, there are twists and turns and suspense enough to make the reader hasten on to the last in the series.

Mightier Than the Sword by Jeffrey Archer

Opening the 5th installment of the Clifton Chronicles is the IRA planted bomb on the MV Buckingham. The reader was left hanging at the end of Be Careful What you Wish For as to how many passengers would die and how much of the ship would be destroyed. 

 Much of the novel centers around Harry Clifton and his devotion to the release of Anatoly Babakov, the Russian author who has been imprisoned in Siberia for writing a book on the real Joseph Stalin, Uncle Joe.  His visit to the North Side of Pittsburgh was descriptive and spot on. Entrusted with the knowledge of where to find the sequestered book Harry finds himself in a precarious place from which he must extricate himself.

Emma Clifton continues on as chairman of Barrington Shipping in the troubling times after the IRA bombing. She continues to work diligently to keep the company afoot despite the machinations of Lady Virginia Fenwick who is fiercely determined to cause the demise of the company and Emma.  In order to do this she files a libel suit against Emma. This action permeates the pages of the book and the result of the trial is the ultimate cliffhanger.

Giles Barrington's political career as a member of the House of Commons cruises toward defeat as he, while still married, has a torrid one night stand with an interpreter in Berlin. The consequences of his action has far-reaching effects into not only his life but also his country's security. Was Karin to be his love or is she a spy for the Russian government. 

Much of the novel centers around the banking and stock world of Farthing's 
Bank with Sebastian's mentor's death. The takeover by Adrian Sloan and his dealings with Lady Virginia push Sebastian out. The plotting on both sides keeps the reader on her toes sorting out how each will out maneuver the other. The love story of Sebastian and Samantha illustrates the conflict of idealism and the desire to pursue monetary rewards. She haunts him and he pursues her to what seems the ends of the earth, only to find out she has been harboring a secret from him.

The decisions each person makes in the course of these novels have far-reaching repercussions. They are page turners and, of course, end in cliff-hangers. Storytelling at its best.

Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer

The fourth installment of the Clifton Chronicles, Be Careful What You Wish For, picks up right at the end of #3. It resolves the cliffhanger, which I had suspected all along. The continuing narrative takes the readers into the 1960s as the Cliftons and Barringers expand families and their shipping business.

Although wary of committing to the building of a luxury liner due to the increased efficiency and popularity of the airline business, the company does enter into contracts for the construction of one in Ireland. As one can imagine that process is fraught with delays and sabotage instigated by one Juan Pedro and Diego. Much of the novel deals with the machinations of stock trading that leads to the composition and recomposition of the Board of Directors. 

In another parallel story, Jessica, Emma and Harry's adopted daughter is accepted to the Slade School of Art. She meets and falls in love with Clive Bingham. The two announce their engagement and both families are exceedingly happy. However, enter Lady Virginia Fenwick, a friend of Clive's mother, who manages to poison the occasion. Her revelation of Jessica's parentage brings on dire and tragic consequences. 

To reveal much more of the plot would lead to major spoilers. As is typical of Archer, the novel ends with another cliffhanger. The Barrington ocean liner, Buckingham, is about to begin her maiden voyage when the party is infiltrated by IRA terrorists. As the bomb explodes, the novel ends. Archer's next book in the series will illuminate what actually happened. 

The Clifton Chronicles is an addictive series that keeps the reader engrossed. Is it sometimes predictable? Yes. Is the action sometimes unrealistic? Yes. But the enjoyment is still there and I anxiously await the time when I can get back to the series. 

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

How wonderful it is to finish a wonderful book and the same night hear an intelligent and articulate author speak about it. I must admit from the initial articles that I had read about the book, I was a little hesitant to dive right in. It seemed that in addition to being a contemporary set novel Exit West involved a bit of fantasy and suspended reality. It was good that I put those thoughts aside. 

Saeed and Nadia are the protagonists in the novel. As Hamid explained at the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures talk, he was certain that Saeed would be the main character, but as the book progressed, that designation really alternated with him. It is up to the reader to determine the status of each. Saeed and Nadia meet at a class in corporate branding in an country and city unnamed in the book It is "the city of their birth."  Their relationship grows amidst the violence and terror that overtakes that city. Nadia is an outwardly strong willed woman who has left her parents' home and lives by herself. Saeed, on the other hand, is an inwardly strong person who is devout and resides with his parents. He vows to be chaste until marriage in spite of Nadia's overtures. They talk of travel and adventure and what the dreams of the future.

Mohsin Hamid signing my copy of Exit West

After Saeed's mother is shot by a stray bullet, the two realize that it would be best to leave their native country, even if it means leaving Saeed's father behind. With homage to C.S. Lewis and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the two, with the help of an agent, pass through a black door and find themselves on Mykonos in a refugee camp. They decide to play tourist until Nadia has a fall and they meet up with a nurse who shows them another door. Passing through it brings them to London. The arrive at a mansion that has become home to Nigerians, Guatemalans, Indonesians. Nadia is energized by these migrants, but Saeed seeks out other refugees from his native land. It is apparent to the reader that the once destined to be married couple was experiencing growth in their character that would pull them apart. They work on a construction site as they listen and prepare for the nativists to begin a full scale massacre of the refugees. Their final move brings them to Marin County, California. They are honest with each other about their feelings and beliefs while living in a shantytown. 

Hamid builds the two characters' personalities with an amazing craft. Although both are very strong people, they exhibit that differently. Both characters change throughout the course of the book, but in an expected way, not veering from the deep-set fundamentals that make them individuals.  

Central to the novel is the theme of migration and Hamid explained this in his lecture. "We are all migrants through time," he remarks. And it is the right of people to migrate. When that is impeded, there is sure to be an autocracy. But Hamid is a hopeful person and one. Through their journey Saeed sees it as losing the past, but Nadia as looking to the future. So much more could be written on Exit West. It is one of those books that resonates in your brain as you reflect on what you have read. Definitely, one of the best books I have experienced in a long while.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Oh, what a fun read this was! Eleanor Oliphant is a character that one is not likely to forget soon. The combination of wit, mystery, empathy, and tragedy all come together in this novel set in London in 2017. 

Eleanor is a 30 year old account specialist for a firm in London. Her life is very routine as she goes to work Monday through Friday and a reclusive weekend with a bottle of vodka, Chianti, and a pizza that she picks up on her way home from work. On Wednesdays she has her weekly chat with Mummy. But then on her way home one day she and a co-worker, Ray, come to the rescue of a man who has passed out on the street. They accompany Sam to the hospital and develop a friendship with him. They meet his family and are treated as hero and heroine. They even are invited to family birthday parties and weddings. 

 Eleanor has some secrets, one that would explain the scar on her face. Because of her desire to keep to herself, she is totally clueless as to social situations. She knows little about buying clothes or style whether it is make up or hair. As the novel is written in the first person, the reader is privileged to know Eleanor's thoughts. She is smitten, as a teenager might be, with an aspiring rock musician, who is nasty and untalented. Her attendance at one of his gigs throws her into the depths of darkness. This forces Eleanor to face her past and to work through those events that have so shaped her personality and life. 

 The players are well-developed and for the most part quite likeable. Ray is a compassionate and caring person despite his eating and smoking habits. Eleanor's boss, Bob, cares about his employee and keeps her best interest about the company's. The setting in London evokes mind pictures of transport by the tube, shopping at Tesco, and British description and humor. 

There were times that I felt like I was watching This is Us. Breadcrumb clues were dropped all along the way that were to give the reader more of an idea of the life of Eleanor Oliphant. In the end Honeyman reveals to the reader and to Eleanor what has happened to her. There, as to be expected, a very surprising twist at the book's conclusion. A wonderful and satisfying read and a character who could possibly see a sequel. 

The English Spy by Daniel Silva

I finally had the chance to read/finish The English Spy by one of my favorite authors, Daniel Silva. This is the 15th book in his Gabriel Allon series and may be one of his best. Allon is the renowned art restorer who is about to take over as Chief of the Israeli secret intelligence service. His wife Chiara is pregnant with twins and he is enjoying some quiet work as he awaits their birth.
But the reader knows that this will not last. A yacht explodes with the future queen of England on board. This act precipitates a world wide manhunt to find the killer. It doesn't take Allon long to figure out that the man behind the act is Eamon Quinn, the chief bomb maker for the IRA. It would seem at first that this is a crime against the crown, but the real story evolves that it is merely a way to "out" Allon and his friend, the former British commando, Christopher Keller. Quinn is committed to avenging the role they played in uncovering the blackmail plot the Russians attempted in order to control the North Sea oil rights.  Keller was also known to Quinn from the days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and was present at the bombing in Omagh that killed 29 people.

From London to Belfast to Vienna to Portugal to Hamburg and back to London, the 3 play a cat and mouse game of intrigue and terror. If the reader has been to any of the cities that appear in Silva's books, s/he knows that his research is spot on. You can picture the street scenes, the airports, and even some of the restaurants. In The English Spy Silva calls on many of his characters ( Madeline Hart, Grahaham Seymour, Uzi Navot, Ari Shamron, and Eli Navon) from previous books to aid him in his pursuit of Quinn. To divulge any more would give away plot lines and the twists that Silva weaves into his books. Suffice it to say that this author can write and thrilling, page turning, and provocative book. Next summer's installment can't come soon enough. 

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Historical fiction is a genre that I love. In my comfort zone are books about England, the Civil War, turn of the Century U.S. and Europe, and World War II. Tracy Chevalier brings me out of my comfort zone. Girl with the Pearl Earring, Falling Angels, and Virgin Blue were not in these time periods, but got me hooked on Tracy Chevalier's novels. Her style is readable, her books well researched, and her integration of history and culture make for a wonderful reading experience.

Remarkable Creatures has been on my "to read" book shelf for a number of years. I recommended it for January's book group and we agreed to read it. It recounts the story of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot who were significant figures in the collecting and identifying of fossils on the southern coast of England, specifically, Lyme Regis at the turn of the 19th century.  Elizabeth was of fairly high class society whose position in life is diminished when her father dies and her brother inherits the family wealth and property. She and her two sisters are made to move out of London to a more affordable cottage by the sea. She spends her leisure time walking the beach looking for fossils. It is there that she meets the young Mary who also has a keen interest in fossil collecting. Mary was of a much lower class in society, her father a carpenter, who struggled to make enough to support his family. Her mother was forced to hold the family together after her father's death. Also helping to support the family and Mary was her brother Joseph. 

In a world where women's rights were diminished and even non-existent, Mary Anning was not given credit for her incredible discoveries. Although she discovered the first ichthyosaurus that is still on display in the British Museum of Natural History, she was denied that credit. Chevalier introduces actual personages into the novel and gives a bit of a background in her afterword. Also, the reader is treated to many details of English life and mores. She references Jane Austen and her penchant for the detailing the society of Assembly Rooms and refined class. 

Perhaps the most thought-provoking theme was that of what fossil really was, not in the scientific senses, but what its implications were in the realm of religion. Darwin and the survival of the fittest theory were not known at the time. It seemed impossible at that time that God would allow His creatures to die off and become extinct. The implication of that theory was troubling to the early 19th century population. 

I am not a science minded person, but Remarkable Creatures was a thought provoking and pleasurable read. Now on to the other Chevalier books that are on my "To Read" shelf. 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The theme of unreliable narrators in popular fiction continues in The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The novel has held the top spot on the New York Times list for 12 weeks and rightly so. It was a page-turner, psychological thriller, and mystery rolled into one. 

The novel is narrated by three women - Rachel Watson, an alcoholic who travels daily on the train from Ashbury to London every day, divorced from Tom Watson; Anna Watson, Tom's new wife and mother to his child, Evie; and Megan Hipwell, a former art gallery owner and nanny to Evie. As Rachel rides the train everyday she becomes immersed in a fantasy world as she passes the same houses and people on her commute, including the home of Megan and her husband Scott whom she names Jess and Jason. But then Megan disappears and all the characters are entwined in an eddy of conflicting facts and circumstances.

The narration shifts back and forth among the women and perplexes the reader as to what is real, what is imagined, and what is less than accurate. It reveals deceptions and interrelationships that are frightening and abusive. Back stories are brought to light and illuminate some of the motivation for actions of the players. In our book club discussion, one member likened the novel to a Hitchcock move, especially Rear Window. Hawkins also creates a bit of confusion with the timing of each woman's narration. In one chapter Megan is present and narrating only to be followed a few chapters later as a missing person. It is a technique that can be a bit perplexing, but effective in the way that it intensifies the narrative. In the end, all the characters are suspect and the reveal and resolution are startling and unpredictable.

The Girl on the Train has been compared to Gone Girl for the psychological manipulation of the reader. Like Gone Girl  it will be a successful move. But read the book first. It is not to disappoint.