"One Kick" by Chelsea Cain ~ Explosive!

SUMMARY :

From the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thrillers: The first in a nail-biting new series featuring Kick Lannigan, a young woman whose complicated past has given her a very special skill set.

Famously kidnapped at age six, Kick captured America’s hearts when she was rescued five years later. Now, twenty-one, she finds herself unexpectedly entangled in a missing child case that will put her talents to the test.

Trained as a marksman, lock picker, escape artist and bomb maker by her abductor, Kick could not return to the life of the average young girl after her release. So, in lieu of therapy, she mastered martial arts, boxing, and knife throwing; learned how to escape from the trunk of a car, jimmy a pair of handcuffs, and walk without making a sound—all before she was thirteen.

Kick has trained herself to be safe. But then two children go missing in three weeks, and an enigmatic and wealthy former weapons dealer approaches her with a proposition. John Bishop uses his fortune and contacts to track down missing children. Not only is he convinced Kick can help recover the two children—he won’t take no for an answer.

With lives hanging in the balance, Kick is set to be the crusader she has always imagined herself. Little does she know that the answers she and Bishop seek are hidden in one of the few places she doesn’t want to navigate—the dark corners of her own mind.

A heart-stopping, entertaining thrill ride, One Kick announces the arrival of a blistering new series by a stunning talent in the thriller realm.

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Simon & Schuster
Pages:  320
Series:  Kick Lannigan Series Bk 1
Genre:  Thriller/Mystery/Suspense
Author:  Chelsea Cain
Website:  http://www.chelseacain.com


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Chelsea Cain is the author of the New York Times bestselling Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell thrillers Heartsick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart, The Night Season, Kill You Twice, and Let Me Go. Her Portland-based thrillers have been published in twenty-four languages, recommended on the TODAY show, appeared in episodes of HBO’s True Blood and ABC’s Castle, been named among Stephen King’s top ten favorite books of the year, and included in NPR’s list of the top 100 thrillers ever written. According to Booklist, “Popular entertainment just doesn’t get much better than this.”

CHECK out her website for a link to a Goodreads giveaway!!!  http://www.chelseacain.com


THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

It's after midnight and I've just finished another Chelsea Cain novel much to my delight.  She's a long time favorite thriller/suspense novel writer who never fails to give a great "ride" for the money.  Chelsea is one of those authors who calls you to pick up every book she writes because you know you're going to get consistent thrillers that speed along and are gripping.  "One Kick" is no exception to this rule.  I'm excited to have this introduction to a new set of characters and a new series.

Loved, loved the story here of a young woman who is a grown up "rescue" from a child kidnapping.  The details of what she went through in her transition back to "normal" are exceptional and believable.  They add a broad dimension to this thriller based on finding two children who have also been kidnapped. 

Kick Lannigan is a wiry and wild protagonist who is worthy of a series of her own.  I absolutely love her.  Beautiful and brilliant, she is also physically powerful and; yet, psychologically vulnerable.  A startling combination for a potent storyline.  Her strange relationship with John Bishop adds that sugar and vinegar aspect to the plot that's pitch perfect!  These two are dynamic and fun to read about.

I couldn't put this book down all day until I'd finished it.  I think you'll love it if you're interested in a fast-paced suspense novel.  Great storyline with fascinating characters.

5 stars                    Deborah/TheBookishDame

"A Killing of Angels" by Kate Rhodes

 

SUMMARY :

The first death looked like a suicide. But someone had tucked a picture of an angel and a handful of white feathers into the banker's pocket before pushing him in front of a train. A killer is stalking The Square Mile—the financial district in London—an avenging angel intent on punishment. But why these victims? What were their sins?

Psychologist Alice Quentin swore she'd never get involved with police work again. Her duty is to the living, not the dead. But she owes Detective Don Burns a favor. He was the one who would sit for hours when the last case they worked on together had landed her in the hospital. That case had clearly taken its toll on him, and his career, too. So when he comes begging for help, how can she refuse?

In order to find the murderer, Alice and Detective Burns must dig deep into the toxic heart of one of the major financial centers in the world. A place where money means more than life, and no one can be counted innocent.

 

A Killing of Angels is the second book in Kate Rhodes' Alice Quentin Series.

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Published by:  St. Martin's Press
Pages:  336
Author:  Kate Rhodes
Genre:  Suspense/Thriller
Website:  http://www.katerhodes.org


SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

KATE RHODES was born in London and lives in Cambridge, England. She completed a doctorate in American literature, then taught English at universities in Britain and the United States. She is the author of the novel Crossbones Yard and two collections of poetry and has received a number of honors and awards for her writing.

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

I decided it was time to take myself off the steady diet of historical fiction for a while and picked up a suspense/thriller by the relatively new author, Kate Rhodes.  She is the author of the well-received book "Crossbones Yard" of last year, which I have and can't wait to delve into very soon.  I was happy to have read this one; and, although it wasn't among the best of its kind I've ever read, I do recommend it for an easy afternoon of suspense.

The story itself kept me guessing all the way through and I love that.  I really couldn't figure out who was killing all the bankers of the Angel Bank and leaving the beautiful angelic pictures and feathers behind.  The main character, psychologist Alice Quentin, was engaging and very likable.  I could read about her every day.  She really kept the novel moving for me.  I thought the detective she was working with was somewhat a wet noodle at times, but very intriguing... I look forward to more from them in this series.

There were some glaring flaws in the book, sadly.  The main one that kept gnawing at me was the constant referral to hot weather.  It seemed on every page we were dripping wet with sweat!  I really disliked this element in the writing.  A couple of references would have been enough as it didn't add to the plot at all.

I also detested the detective's side-kick, Taylor, who was a conceited lout.  Supposed to be, but more prominent in the story than I cared for and not very subtle throughout or imaginative.  If one is supposed to be an idiot, he should have been more creative!

Aside from those two issues, I found the story flowed well and I enjoyed it.  I would absolutely read another of her books; and, as I've said, I'm set to read "Crossbones Yard" asap. This is a good read.

3.5 stars                     Deborah/TheBookishDame

"Moving Target" by J.A. Jance- Author Interview

SUMMARY :

“Jance adroitly combines well-rounded characterizations and brisk storytelling with high-tech exploits, arson, kidnappings, and a shootout for an entertaining and suspenseful addition to this solid series.” —Booklist

 

“This extremely interesting story has the reader traveling across the globe for a good dose of thrills. . . . Great characters make this new story one of the best she’s written in her entire career. Enjoy!”

—Suspense Magazine

 

Upon embarking on a trip to England with her longtime household assistant and right-hand man Leland Brooks, Ali’s greatest concern is helping her friend face his long-estranged family.  Yet, she soon finds herself investigating violent crimes spanning two continents and eras—as vicious attacks unfold in Texas and an unsolved murder from 1950s Bournemouth—Leland’s hometown—resurfaces.  Near Austin, Lance Tucker, an incarcerated juvenile offender and talented computer hacker, is set on fire and severely burned while Ali is investigating Leland’s father’s murder in England.  The two cases at first seem unconnected and faraway, separated by time and an ocean—until Ali nearly fatally veers off of an English roadway at the mercy of an unidentified man interested in Lance Tucker’s computer hacking skills, especially those involving the “dark web.”

 

 

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

 

Published by:  Touchstone

Pages:  352

Genre:  Suspense/Thriller

Author: J.A. Jance

Website:  http://www.jajance.com

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

 

 

J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, as well as four interrelated Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota, and brought up in Brisbee, Arizona, Jance and her husband live in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.

Biography

Considering J. A. Jance's now impressive career -- which includes two massively popular mystery series and status as a New York Times bestseller -- it may be difficult to believe that she was initially strongly discouraged from literary pursuits. A chauvinistic creative writing professor advised her to seek out a more "ladylike" job, such as nurse or schoolteacher. Moreover, her alcoholic husband (a failed Faulkner wannabe) assured her there was room in the family for only one writer, and he was it. Determined to make her doomed marriage work, Jance put her writing on the back burner. But while her husband slept, she penned the visceral poems that would eventually be collected in After the Fire.

 

Jance next chose to use her hard times in a more unlikely manner. Encouraged by an editor to try writing fiction after a failed attempt at a true-crime book, she created J. P. Beaumont, a homicide detective with a taste for booze. Beaumont's drinking problem was clearly linked to Jance's dreadful experiences with her first husband; but, as she explains it: "Beaumont was smart enough to sober up, once the problem was brought to his attention. My husband, on the other hand, died of chronic alcoholism at age 42." So, from misfortune grew one of the most popular characters in modern mystery fiction. Beaumont debuted in 1985's Until Proven Guilty -- and, after years of postponing her writing career, Jance was on her way.

As a sort of light flipside to the dark Beaumont, Jance created her second series in 1991. Inspired by the writer's happier role as a mom, plucky small-town sheriff Joanna Brady was introduced in Desert Heat and struck an immediate chord with readers. In 2005, Jance added a third story sequence to her repertoire with Edge of Evil, featuring Ali Reynolds, a former TV reporter-turned-professional blogger.

And so, the adventures continue!


Interview!!!!   Many thanks to Ms Jance for this private interview...

1)            Tell us something about yourself, please.  How do most people describe you?

 

I've always wanted to be a writer and a storyteller.  Not being allowed in a Creative Writing program in college on account of being a "girl" was a bump in the road but not a roadblock.  In the past thirty years I've penned 50 books, 49 of them mysteries.  Because of that, people often refer to me as "prolific."  I would rather be called "productive."

 

2)            Briefly, from where did the idea for your novel germinate?

 

Leland Brooks has been part of Ali's life for seven of the eight previous books.  I've always wondered about his back story.  Moving Target gives me a chance to explore that.  And an article I read about the Dark Web turned into the Lance Tucker part of the story.

 

3)            Who first told you you could write well, and how did it affect you?

 

As a high school sophomore, I was enrolled in Latin II.  As an extra credit assignment, I wrote a paper on Servius Tullius, one of the five kings of Rome.  The handwritten paper came back to me with an A+ written in red in the upper right hand corner of the first page.  At the bottom of the final page, also written in red, was a note from my teacher that said, "Research worthy of a college student."  That note from Mr. Guerra was the first hint in my life that maybe, just maybe, I might be college student material.

 

4)            Which contemporary authors do you most admire?

 

J.K. Rowling, Ann B. Ross, Jo Nesbo, Lee Child.

 

5)            Who are your favorite classical authors?

 

Charles Dickens.

 

 

6)            What was your first book as a child?  What’s your all-time favorite book?

 

Smokey the Crow was the first book I read on my own.  My all time favorite?  The Wizard of Oz.  While reading that book in second grade I was fascinated not so much by the wizard hiding behind the green curtain as I was in Frank Baum, the man hiding behind the words.  From the moment I read that book, I wanted to be a writer.

 

7)            Read any good books in the past 6 months?

 

I just read a Department Q. book, The Purity of Vengeance, by Jussi Adler-Olsen

 

8)            What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

 

Working in the refreshment stand at the Fort Apache Drive-In in Bisbee, Arizona.  I was fired for waiting on the kids who were first in line rather than the grownups who were standing in line behind them.

 

9)            What’s your earliest memory?

 

We moved to Arizona from South Dakota in early 1949 when I was four.  It was 28 degrees below zero on the day we left the farm.  A team of plow horses had to pull the car through the snow to get us out to the road.  I don't remember any of that.  We bought the house in Bisbee and moved into it in March.  There was an ornamental iron fence that ran all around the yard.  My first memory is from the day we moved into the house.  I was hanging on the fence, looking up into a clear blue sky, and feeling the sun all over my body.  I've been in love with the desert ever since.

 

 

10)          What’s your most treasured possession?

 

The battered copy of The Treasury of the Familiar that once belonged to my father.  When I was growing up, on long evenings, both winter and summer, before television made it over the mountain pass and down through the canyons to Bisbee, our whole family gathered in the living room or out on the front porch to listen to our father read from that treasured Treasury.  The Wreck of the Herperis, Horatius at the Bridge, The Song of the Shirt, It was Six Men of Indostan.  The words may be in my head, but in my heart I hear them in my father's voice.

 

11)          Are you working on a new novel?

 

Joanna Brady # 16 is due out this summer.  I'm doing editorial work on it right now, and I'm writing next winter's Ali Reynolds book.  So far Ali # 10 is unnamed.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions for us, Ms Jance.  Your books have kept me up many a night!

 

THE BOOKISH DAME'S NOTE :

This is Jance's 50th  suspense/thriller!!  I think it's very worthwhile taking a look at this winter!

Favorite Books of the Year 2013

Rounding out the year, I took a leading from one of my favorite bloggers, Kathy of Bermudaonion , and thought I would let you know what my favorite books in several categories were.  I'm just going to give a quick list with a couple of pictures to jog your memories.  You can search for the full reviews if you take a notion, by checking out the "search" tool to the left of the page.  :]

MOST UNUSUAL
The Returned by Jason Mott
The Sleeping Dictionary by Sujata Massey
The Offering by Angela Hunt

FAVORITES IN FICTION
Cartwheel by Jennifer du Bois
Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Guests on Earth by Lee Smith
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates
Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg

HISTORICAL FICTION
The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman
Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara
Blood Between Queens by Barbara Kyle
Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd

THRILLER/SUSPENSE
Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie
Jeffrey Deaver's new story collection!

YA FICTION
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Beta by Rachel Cohn

NON-FICTION
Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman !!!
Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage...The Titanic's First Class Passengers...by Hugh Brewster

AUDIOBOOKS
Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Good House by Ann Leary
The Mothers by Jennifer Gilmore

WEIRD, WISE AND RECOMMENDED, TOO
The Uninvited by Liz Jensen
Tampa by Alissa Nutting


Hope you find some good ones here!  It was a great year for books, and obviously I couldn't name all the ones I loved reading.  Let me know if there are any  you particularly thought were great this year or that I left out...     Deborah

Audio Books~ November 2013

SUMMARY :

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.




I TOOK A NOTION to collect some audio books for listening over the next couple of weeks.  I have a love hate relationship with them.  First of all, I see them as a convenience more than a pleasure...  When I grab one, it's usually because I want desperately to read a certain book, but can't find a way to fit it into my otherwise slammed schedule. 

I tend often to find the narrator's voice grating.  Rarely do I find it fits the tone of the book.  When it does, it's really a slam dunk.  When it fails badly, it can completely ruin a book for me.  Usually, it's just a tinnitus in the background that I can learn to live with after a couple of chapters.

It's a wonder to me when I come across blogs and vlogs with those who spend a good deal of time "reading" audio books.  Where do they listen to them?  What are they doing when they listen?  I find it unbearable to just sit still and listen.  I have to be doing something.  The times I've traveled and listened to a book on CD have been the most rewarding to me.  I also knit, do needlework and quilt while I listen.  I really do wonder what others do...

Audio books are a sort of necessary evil to me.  I love the convenience of them, and their being available as a sideline when I can't get time to read the book I've had on a long list.  I applaud the good they do to a community of booklovers who may be unable to get to books or read them otherwise. 

This week, I've been tasting a couple and thoroughly enjoying myself.  I'll just share them in summary here and say that I recommend them highly.  :]

SUMMARY :

The brilliant new novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time

 

No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.”

 

But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of  prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

Winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for Best Novel

OVERVIEW:

"It is 1940. France has fallen. Bombs are dropping on London. And President Roosevelt is promising he won't send our boys to fight in "foreign wars." "But American radio gal Frankie Bard, the first woman to report from the Blitz in London, wants nothing more than to bring the war home. Frankie's radio dispatches crackle across the Atlantic Ocean, imploring listeners to pay attention - as the Nazis bomb London nightly, and Jewish refugees stream across Europe. Frankie is convinced that if she can just get the right story, it will wake Americans to action and they will join the fight."

 "Meanwhile, in Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Iris James hears Frankie's broadcasts and knows that it is only a matter of time before the war arrives on Franklin's shores. In charge of the town's mail, Iris believes that her job is to deliver and keep people's secrets, passing along the news that letters carry. And one secret she keeps are her feelings for Harry Vale, the town mechanic, who inspects the ocean daily, searching in vain for German U-boats he is certain will come. Two single people in midlife, Iris and Harry long ago gave up hope of ever being in love, yet they find themselves unexpectedly drawn toward each other."

 "Listening to Frankie as well are Will and Emma Fitch, the town's doctor and his new wife, both trying to escape fragile childhoods and forge a brighter future. When Will follows Frankie's siren call into the war, Emma's worst fears are realized. Promising to return in six months, Will goes to London to offer his help, and the lives of the three women entwine."

Alternating between an America still cocooned in its inability to grasp the danger at hand and a Europe being torn apart by war, The Postmistress gives us two women who find themselves unable to deliver the news, and a third woman desperately waiting for news yet afraid to hear it.


 

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY?

WHAT DO YOU DO WHILE LISTENING?  Just curious....


Deborah/TheBookishDame

"Cartwheel" by Jennifer duBois~Author Interview

SUMMARY :

Written with the riveting storytelling of authors like Emma Donoghue, Adam Johnson, Ann Patchett, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Cartwheel is a suspenseful and haunting novel of an American foreign exchange student arrested for murder, and a father trying to hold his family together.
 
When Lily Hayes arrives in Buenos Aires for her semester abroad, she is enchanted by everything she encounters: the colorful buildings, the street food, the handsome, elusive man next door. Her studious roommate Katy is a bit of a bore, but Lily didn’t come to Argentina to hang out with other Americans.

Five weeks later, Katy is found brutally murdered in their shared home, and Lily is the prime suspect. But who is Lily Hayes? It depends on who’s asking. As the case takes shape—revealing deceptions, secrets, and suspicious DNA—Lily appears alternately sinister and guileless through the eyes of those around her: the media, her family, the man who loves her and the man who seeks her conviction. With mordant wit and keen emotional insight, Cartwheel offers a prismatic investigation of the ways we decide what to see—and to believe—in one another and ourselves.

In Cartwheel, duBois delivers a novel of propulsive psychological suspense and rare moral nuance. No two readers will agree who Lily is and what happened to her roommate. Cartwheel will keep you guessing until the final page, and its questions about how well we really know ourselves will linger well beyond.


PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Random House
Pages:  363
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Author:  Jennifer duBois
Find Author:  http://www.jennifer-dubois.com
Also available from Random House Audio


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Jennifer duBois’s A Partial History of Lost Causes was one of the most acclaimed debuts of recent years. It was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction and the Northern California Book Award for Fiction, and O: The Oprah Magazine chose it as one of the ten best books of the year. DuBois was also named one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 authors. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, duBois recently completed a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. Originally from Massachusetts, she now lives in Texas.

 

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR :


A Bookish Libraria is pleased to be able to host Ms du Bois in this small question and answer guest spot.  Thank you for coming on board with us today, Jennifer.

1)      Briefly, from where did the idea for your novel germinate?

 

Cartwheel’s themes were loosely inspired by the case of Amanda Knox—the American foreign exchange student tried, convicted, and then acquitted of murdering her roommate in Italy. What fascinated me about that case was the way it seemed to animate opinions that were sharply divergent, but often similarly confident. Lots of people looked at Amanda Knox and saw someone who seemed obviously guilty, lots of other people saw someone who seemed obviously innocent, and much of the time these assessments were inflected by feelings about a range of broader issues: gender, sexuality, American entitlement, anti-American resentment, class, privilege, etc. I liked the idea of using a totally fictional landscape to explore the ways that different people can look at the same person or situation and come to radically different conclusions. 

 

2)      What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

 

I’ve had a lot of weird jobs. During college I worked in the coat check at the Wang Center in Boston, as well as at a couple of movie theaters—one time I served popcorn to Robert Reich (big thrill for a political science major). I got to be a runner for NBC during the Democratic National Convention of 2004, which was a lot of Swiffering of trailers and taking of sandwich orders and was somehow enormously fun. I’ve written several AP exam guides, usually under incredibly punishing schedules, with jokes that tend to get weirder and darker the closer I get to a deadline. I was writing one of those the week my father died, which was pretty surreal. In graduate school I spent a summer grading short essay tests written by sixth graders about the various characteristics of bald eagles. That was after being rejected by Cold Stone Creamery, I think for insufficient enthusiasm—I’d forgotten about the singing for tips thing when I went to the interview. It was 2009, so those were dark days.

 

3)      What’s your most treasured possession?

A bird music box I listened to every night when I was a child.

 

4)      Are you working on a new novel?

Yes! It’s set in New York City, mostly in the 1990s.

 Can't wait to read this new book, Jennifer.  And, I think those jobs of yours sound  weirdly amazing.  You've had some strange contacts in your life!  Lots of good fodder for books...   I truly believe we're going to be hearing more and more good things about "Cartwheel" in the coming months, as well.

Thanks again for stopping by and chatting with us.

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

"Cartwheel" is a book written with razor sharp style.  It's spellbinding. While it's a novel loosely based on the Amanda Knox trial, it's more a study of the behind the scenes peoples involved.  I can't tell you how absorbing this story is.  It left me holding my breath, thinking about how even the smallest words we speak can be twisted and turned to mean something else in the hands of someone who might have another agenda.  There is a horror to this that's underlying "Cartwheel."

Jennifer du Bois writes like she's lived inside the minds of her characters.  The story spins madly as the truth of what happened to cause a young American girl kill or not kill her room mate is attempted to be uncovered: hashed and rehashed, tossed and turned by all who love and hate and don't even know her.  And the simple act of a cartwheel becomes a pivotal point upon which so much importance is held in the balance.

While we get sketches of the Amanda counter part, Lily, in the book, the characters highlighted and who enthralled me were her parents, her sister, and the Argentine Prosecutor.  The psychological study of these four people is profound and detailed.  I felt I was privy to their deepest thoughts and ironic feelings.  Jennifer digs deep in her study of them.  This is the most comprehensive picture of a family under crisis, and the primary target of a pre-trial (Lily) that I can ever remember reading real or imagined.  It's genius.  Lily is a curiosity as well as a victim in the story...a revolving door upon which others pit their own imaginations, discoveries and feelings.

Aside from all this, Ms du Bois is no slouch when it comes to the American language.  Get out your dictionaries.  I found it one of the few books I've had to!  Her use of the vernacular is sparkling and so refreshing in a world of the urbane.  Truly, there were some vocabulary words here that kept me on my toes, happily.

This is a book you won't want to wait to read.  It's a book to purchase and keep on your shelf to read again.  I see some awards in the future...

5 stars                 Deborah/TheBookishDame