Martha's Spring and Summer 2012 Picks

Fiction

Local Flavor:

 

Rogue Island and Cliff Walk

by Bruce DeSilva

Two detective stories that hit close to home!  Both novels are set in Rhode Island and the main character, Mulligan, miscreant journalist from Providence, interacts with various low-life and vaguely familiar characters throughout the state. Reference to various locales and “Rhode Island types” make these a fun read for the Rhode Islander. Rogue Island treats us to a good facsimile of Rhode Island politics while Mulligan is on the hunt for a firebug in Mount Pleasant; Cliff Walk meanders through a web of prostitution rings, strip clubs and dive bars and the ubiquitous Rhode Island “mob” scene. Both books are enjoyable for the local flavor, though I would not classify either as “high literature”!

Icelandic Intrigues:

 

Ashes to Dust and My Soul To Take

by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

This author has also written just two books, but I would very likely pick up a third, if she writes it! Sigurdardottir takes up bizarre and ritualistic crime scenes and weaves them very nicely with an ongoing personal story concerning the main character, a female lawyer with a bent for crime-solving. While the storyline can become complicated, they are pretty much edge of the seat thrillers touching on the macabre – severed heads, ritual self-mutilation, sex therapists gone awry and what have you, in the Nordic tradition, apparently!

 

Schlock Horror:

 

Suffer the Children, Shadows and The Devil's Labyrinth

by John Saul

A prolific author of what I might call “entertainment reading”, I picked up three : Suffer the Children (his first), Shadows and The Devil’s Labyrinth. Suffer the Children was a gripping, ghostly, intense murder mystery, hard to forget.  The other two were set in private schools with a dark side, somewhat farfetched, but easy to read and still chilling. If you are looking for a twisted escape, most likely any of the novels by John Saul will fit the bill.

Best Medical Drama:

 

Monday Mornings

 

by Sanjay Gupta, M.D.

While I am not prone to reading novels of a medical nature, I had heard some good things about this book. It is classified as fiction, but based quite a bit on the day to day reality of the world of neurosurgeons. I found this book to be as high tension as any crime or mystery novel could be, though the main focus was medical mistakes made by the elite of all doctors. Each Monday morning, these doctors meet to discuss the life and sometimes death decisions they have had to make….the characters come alive and the moral issues raised are very thought-provoking. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed this well-written book about a subject I normally would have avoided.

Best Francophile Read 2012:

 

Sacré Bleu

by Christopher Moore

All your favorite French artists rolled up into one very creative, rather humorous and fun to look at novel. Moore covers the years around Parisian Montmartre (approx. 1860-1890), including all the big names: Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pisarro etc…and creates an intrigue starting with the death of Vincent Van Gogh. It all has something to do with the “sacred blue” paint sold by the wandering paint vendor…bizarre, hardly plausible storyline, but too creative to pass up. This book also features blue print (not as hard to read as I thought), and wonderful reproduction images of many famous paintings as related to various plot scenes in the book. The characters are have real vitality, the dialogue is frequently quite comedic and the historical setting actually rather accurate. The whole book is like a work of art in itself – enjoy!

P.S. When you’re done with the book, you can watch the DVD “Moulin Rouge” (1952 version), depicting the life of Henri de Toulouse Lautrec and his lover. The film also stars Zsa Zsa Gabor. Very entertaining and also true to detail.

Non-Fiction

Antiques, the Amazon and Ferris Wheels:

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider’s Look at the World of Antiques, Flea Markets and Collecting

by Maureen Stanton

The author shadows an antiques pro through his annual activities in the cut-throat world of buying and selling collectibles and antiques. Get an insider’s opinion on how to best profit from flea markets, auctions, yard sales, Ebay, and shows like Brimfield. Tips and tricks of the trade are shared – though, in the end, it seems like a pretty tough way to make a living. You can form your own opinion of the business upon completion of this very interesting book.

Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

by David Grann

This was an absolutely fascinating descriptive book concerning the life of explorer Percy Fawcett ending in the mysterious disappearance of himself and his Amazon expedition party of 1925.  Exhaustive research and a layman’s approach to the subject make this an easy read. At the turn of the century, large parts of the globe were still being explored and mapped – there was huge competition to be the first to cover the Amazon area and also to discover evidence of lost ancient tribes in the area. Percy Fawcett, and eventually his son, as well, mounted several expeditions, financed at first by the English National Geographic Society. Fawcett later became poverty-stricken, yet mounted his final exploration only to disappear forever.  Highly recommended read if the subject suits you.

 

            Devil in the White City: Murder and Madness and the Fair That Changed America

 by Erik Larsen

The “White City” in the title refers to the1893 World’s Fair, held in Chicago. The “Devil” refers to a serial killer who was active at the same era in Chicago. The Chicago World’s Fair (also known as the World’s Colombian exposition – as in Christopher Columbus), was meant to be a successor to, and better than, the Paris World Exposition of 1889, which featured the Eiffel tower.  The author takes you on a high-stress tour of the planning and production of the fair, while alternating chapters treat the story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers working out of Chicago at the same time. Many young women attracted to the glamour of the World’s Fair fell victim to this murderer, posing as a businessman and hotelier.