Delia Owens sets her novel in the Deep South and tells the story in flashbacks. It begins with a murder, and then doubles back to follow the life of the protagonist, Kya. Nicknamed the “Swamp Girl”, she swiftly becomes a courageous heroine who has to fend for herself, after her entire family of six leaves her, one by one. With the help of some friendly “folks” she manages to raise herself, but finds it impossible to open her heart to anyone. She finally falls for a good friend, and later a handsome townie. But when Kya finds herself accused of murder, she begins to loose all hope that she will be able to continue with her life in the swamp . A wonderful debut novel that I found extremely hard to put down…
Author Archive
Where The Crawdad Sings
October 12, 2019Walking Israel
October 9, 2019
Martin Fletcher has penned a wonderful narrative of his two week journey trekking the coast of Israel in the summer of 2008. He thought he knew the real Israel, since he was the NBC news bureau chief in Tel Aviv for many years and had traveled extensively in risky pursuit of breaking news stories. But as he travels from near Lebanon in the north down to Gaza, he discovers many different stories from Israelis and Arabs that live in this vast state. Subtitled A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation, this travelogue is an intriguing look at the many varying cultures inside of Israel.
Guts
October 6, 2019
Raina Telgemeier’s latest novel Guts, received a very favorable review in this week’s NY Times Book Review. It deals with childhood anxiety, and is autobiographical, as revealed in the review and protagonist In fact, the author of the review states that reading Guts caused his feelings to arise about his own anxiety at the same age as the character. It’s comforting to know that there are authors brave enough to share their own vulnerabilities with young readers, in the hope that they will find some kindred spirits and realize that they are not alone with their struggles…
A Trick of the Light
October 2, 2019
Louise Penny has written a whole series starring Chief Inspector Gamache, a high ranking official in Quebec’s homicide division. In this particular novel, he is called to a very small town not even found on a map to investigate a murder involving the art world. Things are not always what they seem, and the Chief and his detectives must find the truth to bring the murderer to justice. I find this series to be very entertaining.
Labyrinth
September 25, 2019
Catherine Coulter has crafted another FBI drama starring the team of Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich. Sherlock loses her memory after an auto accident, but still manages to aid her husband in their latest escapade. Coulter adds some eerie elements to the mystery of who kidnapped the 16 year old girls missing from an area in Virginia, where half the town is related to the other half. Throw in a CIA agent on the run from his colleagues, and you’re on your way to untangling the labyrinth of lies skillfully spun by the author.
