Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Sick grandkids ended my holiday three days earlier than planned, so here I am with my December "happy" reads...

* The Vanishing of Margaret Small by Neil Alexander -4
A lovely read - dual time-line, part mystery, part historical fiction. Margaret is 75 year-old woman who was placed in a long-term institution for children with disabilities. After 50 years or so she is released from the institution and sent to live on her own with a care worker periodically checking in on her. The mystery is that Margaret is suddenly receiving money from an unknown benefactor and she thinks she is getting it from the newly dead singer, Cilla Black, of whom she is a superfan.

* The Guncle by Steven Rowley -5
This was another delightful read! Patrick very suddenly becomes the temporary guardian of his brother's 6 and 10 year old children after a crises. The kids, from CT, must spend a number of months with him at his home in Palm Springs. And he has little idea what to do. The kids call him Gup (for Gay Uncle Patrick) and they all work their way through this period of "now what?". Loved it.

* My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout -4
* First Comes Love by Emily Giffin -3.5

* Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishøi -5
A Christmas tale translated from the Norwegian. Alcoholic father who can't hold a job and is more influenced by his alcoholic friends than he is by his 16 and 10 year old daughters. The story is told from the viewpoint of the rather precocious 10 year old. It should be a sad little book, but I loved it and found heartwarming, hopeful feelings as well. The relationship between the two girls, with and without the father, is wonderfully written. The ending is lovely, a bit fantastical, and from the mind of a 10 year who loves to let her mind wander to far away places.

* Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -5.5
This hard topic (the Magdalen Laundries) was beautifully written with a family man the main character really. He owns his own business and has five daughters. As he delivers coal to the convent, he finds a young girl lying in the basement. No shoes, no coat. It's Christmas Eve and it is snowing. The beauty of the writing, the beauty indeed of the whole story is marred by the fact that you learn that this barbaric punishment is maintained into the 1990's. How does a religion, how does a country allow that to happen for so long!?! He has {spoiler} found a Magdalen laundry where baby's disappear, young girls die or disappear and are treated as less than human. Although two women, including his own wife, have warned him not to get involved because the church is so powerful, he steps in anyway. On finding the same young girl in the basement again after the head nun shows off goodwill the first time, he takes her home to his family. {/spoiler}

* The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams -5

* Flirting with a New Life: a novel by Jill Cullen -3.5
This is an independently published debut by one of our local librarians. I don't want to take anything away from it, it isn't my normal type of read, but it was very cute. Premise: 34 year old writer with a 5 year old son and a husband who decided after 13 years that he didn't want to be married anymore. The storyline is based on her life after 1 year of separation and her first forays into the dating world. Here the author was quite funny and created some delightful scenes of how a date probably shouldn't go!
The book had some "freshman" mistakes (e.g. internal thoughts too often repeated, quite a few periods of angst shared with very patient family and friends) that likely would have been resolved with an editor. I rated it 3.5 rounded to 4 because I have to give credit where credit is due - Ms. Cullen wrote it and ensured it was published. It had more moments of chuckling than groaning. That is more than I have ever done!

* Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King -4

* The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo -3.5
The first in a series, written in 1946 and translated from the Japanese, it was an interesting book to experience but I likely won't read another. Some would read this and be captivated with the tightly contrived murder and resolution. It was too forced for me.

* The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods -5

* Agnes by Peter Stamm -4
This was a hard one to rate and reviews from American readers are not great. BUT. This novel, translated from the German, begins by telling you "Agnes is dead." And then a love story of sorts begins. The unnamed narrator is the male in the love story, an "older" (probably 40) author from Germany who is in Chicago to write a book. He meets Agnes at the library where she is working to complete her dissertation. Later in their relationship (which lasts less than a year) she asks him to write their love story, which he does, starting with how and when they meet. But he takes it a bit further and contrives a future, into which they then try to fit. With bizarre results. It's one of those novels that you finish and think "okay. well, huh. not bad, I guess." And then thinking about it later, there is that moment of "Oh! Yes! That makes sense now."

Nice month Gail! I enjoyed Back To the Garden. Laurie R King is a favorite.

nice month, gail. i liked The Guncle, too and hope to eventually get to the sequel, The Guncle Abroad

Gail, love your detailed descriptions. They really tempt me to try some of these - out of the ordinary ( and happy!) reads for many of them.
Hope the grandkids all feel much better soon.

I was another fan of the Guncle. Good month.

Great month!

I liked My Name is Lucy Barton. I like Strout's writing.

The Lost Bookshop was a 5 star read? I will check it out!

Gail, The Guncle sounds like a hoot. I will look for it.

Your description of Small Things Like These immediately recalled images of a movie preview I've been seeing showing a movie with Cillian Murphy (of Oppenheimer fame) and Matt Damon. I didn't remember the name so I looked it up. Sure enough, the movie Small Things Like These was released in November. I don't think it's made it to Boston yet but I will definitely see it if it does based on your description.

I have The Guncle on my list to read at some point and I think Small Things Like these has been off and one my request from library at least in audio forever it seems. I never seems to become available. I think I should just get the print copy from library. It's a short book I think anyway so don't understand why it should take so long.

Carol, Netflix has the moving for a rental fee of $9.99. Not even to see Cillian Murphy again in action do I want to pay that, but I may give in during January's possible prolonged freeze!

Donna Jo, the book was published in late 2021, won the Orwell Prize in 2022 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize as well. It hit big when Oprah chose it as one of her picks. I bought it after reading her book, Foster, and both are now in my "For the Home" pile.

ChrisQ wrote: "Great month! I liked My Name is Lucy Barton. I like Strout's writing. The Lost Bookshop was a 5 star read? I will check it out!"

Yes, it absolutely was to me. But then a magical realism story about a bookstore would have to be so badly written for me not to love it.

Gail W wrote: "Carol, Netflix has the moving for a rental fee of $9.99. Not even to see Cillian Murphy again in action do I want to pay that, but I may give in during January's possible prolonged freeze!

Donna ..."

I remember I had read Foster too and had put it on my libby audio list for this year but it's never for borrow only for hold. I just have to keep remembering to check on libby because it seems they don't do a email when it's available for you so even when I don't have anything going on libby I have to keep checking because maybe I get it and don't even realize but I seem to think I was something like 40 something on list.