The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

 The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill  286 pp

After dropping out of law school, Theo heads to her brother's house in Lawrence, KS to write a novel. Theo and her brother Gus are originally from Australia. While looking through the town for a good place to write, she finds a combination bar/coffee house called Benders.  While writing there, she meets Dan Murdoch, a fellow author who has already been published, and they become friends. When she finishes her novel, she begs Dan to introduce her to his agent and to submit her novel.  He originally says "no."  Not finding Dan at Benders one day, she heads to his house to look for him.  When she enters, she finds Dan dead.  Of course she touches him and gets blood on her so when the police come and she's washing her hands she looks suspicious.  Enter Gus who is a lawyer and his friend Mac, an investigator (who has a bunch of end-of-the-world preppers as family).  What happens next is a combination spy/assassin/conspiracy theory story including a cult like following of Dan Murdoch who blames Theo for his death.  Each chapter begins with a conversation between conspiracy theorists that is very 1/6.

This is a totally different type of story than The Woman in the Library but still about books.  I really had to take time to think about this before I gave it any type of rating on either Goodreads or in Net Galley.  There were many clever ideas in this story (which I can't talk about or you would be spoiled).  Some might say these were too cute.  In the US where January 6 will be talked about for years, the conspiracy theories will ring true.  While I know "preppers" exist, it is interesting to think of people who are so crazy about an author that they would become violent upon hearing of their death (even in the case of murder).  While I enjoyed this story, I would say there may have been too many weird things piled up on each other for me to love it as much as The Woman in the Library.  3.5 stars rounding up to 4 for creativity.

The Widows of Malabar Hill

 

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey, 385 pages

Mystery! History! Lots of fascinating female characters! Great descriptions of food and culture! What's not to love? I admit I judge books by their covers, and this one made me want to know more. I'm so glad that the cover of the book did not deceive.

This is the first of a series inspired by the real-life first female lawyer in India. Perveen Mistry finds herself entangled in assisting three widows in understanding and agreeing to their inheritances. The widows were the wives of one man and they follow strict rules forbidding any contact with men. Perveen is soon drawn in to their lives and their stories. The narrative moves between 1921 Bombay, as Perveen is working for her father's law firm, and 1916-1917 as Perveen's personal story and tragic past are revealed. Perveen's history shows another side of how Zoroastrian women in India lived, and I found her story as compelling as the experiences of the Muslim widows in 1921.

The descriptions of the city of Bombay with its diverse population and fascinating culture, food, and architecture, as well as the experiences of women of the time and the uneasy relationship with the British colonialists make this a great read. Add a compelling mystery and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I can't wait to read more!

Bonfire of the Vanities

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, 659 pages

Sherman McCoy imagines himself a Master of the Universe, spending his days making multi-million-dollar bond trades, or, as his wife puts it, collecting golden crumbs.  Larry Kramer is an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx, Jewish by birth but Irish by vocation, his heavy caseload and meager pay compensated for by fantasies of power and virility.  Peter Fallow is a reporter for the City Light tabloid, struggling to stay sober long enough to write a story that will justify his continued employment.  All of them are desperately trying to find, keep, and increase their place somewhere in the heap of humanity that is 1980s New York, the capital of the world.  In their persons, the worlds of finance, politics, and the press collide, though in the end their defeats seem to possess more dignity than their victories.

In 2007, The New York Times published a retrospective on Wolfe's debut novel in which it crowed that "the New York of 'Bonfire,' to a degree that might well have shocked people in 1987, no longer exists."  It is true, of course, that street crime in New York is far below the flood crest of the '70s and '80s, but street crime - as opposed to the fear of street crime - plays only an incidental part in The Bonfire of the Vanities, and the last decade has certainly witnessed a resurgence of social unrest and tribalism, complemented by an outrage culture endemic to social media and epidemic in the press, so that we seem more than ever to be living in Bonfire's jungle.  For proof, one need only compare the treatment of Sherman McCoy by a fictional tabloid with the treatment of the Duke Lacrosse players by the actual New York Times.  The same Qoheleth who informs us that "all is vanity" also reminds us that "there is nothing new under the sun."

Son of a Bitch

Son of a Bitch by Jason B. Sheffield  382 pages

I enter a lot of book giveaways. It’s so much fun to get an email telling me I’ve won or that the book simply shows up in the mailbox.  This is one of the books. I was intrigued by the synopsis; it sounded a little different. The cover art didn’t do much for me, but a book about a bitter son defending his super bitch of a mother caught my attention.

Crater “The Dragon Lady” Scales is a Mafia lawyer, as tough as the wiseguys are. But now it’s her turn to sit in jail after being caught giving a client a blowjob while she was supposed to be conferring with him about his defense.

And speaking of defense, her defense lawyer is her estranged son, Benjamin Scales. Fifteen years ago they had a major falling out and been in contact in all that time.

I really, really, really wanted to like this book. But, and you knew this was coming, I just couldn’t care about the characters. From the opening scene, I was put-off by them. I put this book down several times, picked it up several more times, but one night I found that I didn’t’ care what happened to either Carter or Ben.  Therefore, Son of a Bitch receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Shark Skin Suite

Shark Skin Suite by Tim Dorsey, 322 pages

The Sunshine State's favorite  killer and Florida history fanatic, Serge Storms, has found a new calling or at least a new temporary obsession. Serge wants to become a lawyer. Given the fact that he is a wanted criminal going to an actual law school and getting a degree is out of the question, Serge becomes a freelance "fixer" whose job is to handle some of the more legally dubious problems that come with trials and lawyers. Meanwhile thanks to her determination and expertise Brook Campanella is offered a position at a prestigious law firm and offered whats supposed to be an easy win as her first case. Since this is a Tim Dorsey novel nothing is exactly as it seems as lawyers go missing, banks are foreclosed on, and new evidence is constantly being stolen to be introduced in typical Hollywood fashion.

Another good Tim Dorsey novel with all of the twists and craziness that I've come to expect from his work. The only thing that I felt this book was lacking compared to previous books was the creative deaths and high body count, although given the beginning that is easily excused.