Death’s End by Cixin Liu

by Carol2 Comments
Death's End is the conclusion to the fabulous Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. The Trisolarans and Earth are basically at a stand-off, thanks to events in book #2. The "peace" is working well, but of course can't last. Enter Cheng Xin, our main character for this installment. She's a regular, intelligent woman who hops through time, thanks to hibernation, making bad decisions. Maybe that's harsh. She makes decision consistent with her character, but she was more or less put in charge of humanity's fate twice, which seems a little unlikely. it works within the plot, but the story works hard to get you there. Death's End is a tough book to talk about. On the one hand, it's amazing. The scale in time and space that the author is working with is enormous and he makes it believable without making it too easy. There's a lot of science here, I feel like it was explained well enough for me...
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Magical Midlife Dating by K.F. Breene

by Carol2 Comments
I loved the first book in the series and picked up Magical Midlife Dating, #2, almost immediately following. Jessie has decided to stay in Ivy House and take up all the magic powers that includes. She's decided to settle into her new life and apparently dating is part of that. Granted, it makes for some funny moments, but I'm really not sure that's where her focus should be. And, really, we know who she should be dating. Learning new powers is not as easy as it sounds, and although I love Ivy's House's guardians, they are not always the best at helping. Jessie accidentally ends up summoning others for help, but she has no idea who will show up until they get there. These new folks, and another who shows up later in the book, are a good mix, some I liked, at least one was rather sleazy. Magical Midlife Dating had me smiling and laughing and rooting for Jessie....
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Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver

by Carol4 Comments
We know the facts in Anatomy of a Murder from early in the book. The defendant's wife, Laura, was raped by the local innkeeper and the defendant, army lieutenant Frederic Manion, took a gun, went to the bar, and shot and killed the rapist. He reported that he had done so and was taken into custody. It becomes Biegler's duty to try to get him off. The defense? Irresistable impulse, a type of temporary insanity. The story was broken into two parts: the investigation and the trial. The investigation is not a whodunnit , obviously, it was looking at all the players in the story, finding out all the ins and outs, who knew what when, what the people involved were like. The trial was fascinating. The back and forth between the lawyers, the interjections from the judge, the witnesses' statements, and jury reactions all kept me involved in the story. Our defense attorney and the narrator of the story,...
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High Rising by Angela Thirkell

High Rising by Angela Thirkell

by Carol6 Comments
I loved High Rising. Laura Morland is a fabulous character. I appreciate how she looks at the world. She's an author of popular novels set in the fashion world, which she chose because she knew women would enjoy reading about it. She has a pretty clear understanding of the people in her life, both their strengths and weaknesses. Other characters include train-obsessed children, loyal but opinionated servants, devoted secretaries with their own agendas, an unflappable schoolmaster's wife, the village doctor, and several potential couples. We get to see the ins and outs of the characters' relationships, the scheming (in a good way), and the helping each other out. It's just charming and witty. The dialogue is wonderful. The characters have fun talking to each other, if you know what I mean. They enjoy the conversations, they don't just have them. High Rising is a slice of life in this fictional corner of the world. People are ridiculous and silly and...
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A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

by Carol2 Comments
I never appreciated Miss Marple when I was younger. Poirot is flashier, Tommy and Tuppence are funner, Miss Marple is calm and quiet. She's also a brilliant observer and is more than capable of telling the detective on a case everything he is missing and who the killer is. This time around, Miss Marple enter the case because a young maid she trained, Gladys Martin, had been found strangled in the garden of the house where she worked. A couple other members of the household have also been killed, Rex Fortescue and his wife. Thankfully, Inspector Neele knows of Miss Marple's reputation and is willing to accept her help with the case, even if he does sometimes think she might be batty. Rex Fortescue is a ruthless business man with questionable practices. We've got a household full of suspects, several red herrings, and plenty of misdirection. Miss Marple sees through it all though. The plot was well-done, as usual with Christie,...
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Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

by CarolNo Comments
Interior Chinatown merges the storyline of a TV crime procedural, Black and White, with the life Willis Wu. He and his parents live a fairly unremarkable existence in small one-room apartments in Chinatown. Their building is above the Golden Palace restaurant where the show is in constant production. Wu and his parents and most of their community drift in and out of the series, playing interchangeable parts and hoping their big break might someday come. And I think sometimes they work in the restaurant which seems to actually be a business, not just a set. Wu is often cast as as the "Generic Asian Man," and sees himself holding that role in real life too. It's a clever book, with parts written as a screenplay, parts as Wu's inner monologue, and using snippets of true historical documents. But maybe it's too clever. I appreciated the blurred lines between fiction and reality. I understand that America has been harming Asian...
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