Short Reviews
I figured it was time to tell you about a few of the books I've managed to finish reading recently. These shorter reviews are fun to write and I hope you enjoy them! I'd love to hear what you've been reading lately too!
The Lost Man, by Jane Harper - I adore Harper's series following detective Aaron Falke in The Dry, and Force of Nature, because the mysteries are twisty and compelling, the setting (Australia) is foreign to me, and Harper writes it so you feel the atmosphere even if you've never been there. I also really appreciate Harper's skill with character development. She's wonderful at creating real people with motives and flaws. The Lost Man takes place in the harshest part of the Australian wilderness where one must carry a load of food and water whenever leaving the house just in case they end up stranded as the heat could, and does, easily take lives. This is where this standalone novel of suspense begins. One brother, who has grown up in this environment, is found dead in this landscape, yet his car, fully stocked, is also found nearby. What follows is a slow burn examination of the consequences of family secrets, isolation, and the compounding force of an extreme environment. While Force of Nature is my favorite of Harper's work, this is a great book if you're looking for suspense with incredible atmosphere.
The Feather Thief, by Kirk Wallace Johnson - I was drawn in by the cover of this non-fiction pick, and am thrilled I listened to it on audio. It covers a non-violent true crime incident that happened in the early 2000's in which a lot of feathers and skins of rare birds was stolen by a professional flute player. Why? Victorian salmon fly-ties use the feathers of exotic birds. If that's not interesting enough to catch your attention, the story of how the author stumbled upon this should get you the rest of the way there. After suffering a severe injury as a result of sleep walking out of a window from PTSD, Johnson finds that the only thing that soothes him enough to sleep is to spend hours fly-fishing. One weekend another fisherman mentions the theft and Johnson becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened and why. He delves into the strange world of Victorian fly-ties and the history of those involved in the crime. This book is well written, compelling, and surprising. I highly recommend it if you're interested in non-violent true crime or micro-histories. It's fascinating!
As Long as We Both Shall Live, by JoAnn Chaney - This is an intense work of suspense, I'll tell you that upfront. Chaney does not mince words and I found her narrative style to be more compelling than other domestic thrillers I've read lately that have a bit of a "trying too hard" tone. Chaney is sharp and harsh in her word choice. This mystery surrounds a death, a disappearance, and then makes you question if anyone has actually died or disappeared and who you think it was in the first place. I enjoyed the mystery and my only issue was that I thought too much of the book focused on unrelated content from one of the detectives lives, and I didn't enjoy spending that much time with him. If you enjoy the domestic suspense thriller genre, this would be one to add to your TBR. It's not as graphic as Gyllian Flynn (IMHO), but it's no walk in the park either, so approach with whatever level of care you need.
Stay With Me, by Ayobami Adebayo - I listened to this on audio and am so glad I did. I would have been so confused with keeping characters straight and would not have been able to even slightly figure out how to pronounce the names. This story is an emotional gut punch but also one I'm glad to have read. It deals with a woman in a plural marriage in Nigeria. It directly confronts the circumstances that brought her to such a choice, and what happens after, and why. It is not an easy read, and these characters experience a lot of loss and suffering. It's a wonderful examination of desire for family and belonging, of sacrifice and the power and motivation behind the choices we make