Recommended

The Paris Hours

~ noveltherapy

Set in 1927 Paris, The Paris Hours follows four different characters through one day: Souren, who is an Armenian refugee and puppeteer; Camille, a French country girl who becomes secretary to Marcel Proust; Guillaume, a struggling painter hounded by a loan shark; and Jean-Paul, a journalist and war veteran who is trapped in his own sad story. Their seemingly separate stories weave together in the end.

While this could be categorized as historical fiction, it is not at all genre historical fiction. Rather, it is more of a literary novel with a historical setting. (Think: A Gentleman in Moscow.) George’s previous novel, Setting Free the Kites, was exceptional (highly recommend!) and while this one is very different, the writing is just as luminous.

I did think the novel was uneven at points, and the ending — crowded with historical figures, like Hemingway and Josephine Baker — seemed a bit contrived, but overall I was spellbound by the writing and captivated by the well-drawn cast of characters. I highly recommend The Paris Hours, and I can’t wait for Alex George’s next novel.

The Dog Stars

~ noveltherapy

The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller

Who reads a novel about a deadly pandemic in the middle of a deadly pandemic? I do, I guess. I’m a big fan of dsytopian fiction, and also a big fan of Peter Heller’s most recent book, The River, so when I discovered that a few years back he’d written a dystopian novel, naturally I needed to read it.

The Dog Stars follows Hig, who has survived a flu pandemic that has killed most of the world’s population, including his wife and unborn child. He lives in an abandoned Colorado airfield with his dog and one other survivor, as they navigate the dangers of their new world. Hig deals with his grief and contemplates the value of living when so many have died.

I enjoyed this book a lot, though I found it uneven in parts. The stream of consciousness style of story-telling was not always easy to follow. Also, Heller does not use punctuation for dialogue — a choice that I find very annoying and unfortunately increasingly common — which sometimes confused me. It took me awhile to get into this novel, but I was much more engaged in the story by the last third of the book.

Recommended for fans of dystopian fiction and for fans of Peter Heller, who brings a literary approach to his novels regardless of the subject matter.

Long Range

~ noveltherapy

Long Range, by C.J. Box

This is the 20th novel in Box’s series featuring Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden. This series is reliably good, but as with other series, there have been a few books recently that veered off of Box’s successful formula and as a result weren’t quite as satisfying. Happily, Long Range is very good, and could easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

In Long Range, Pickett is caught up in several different mysteries: a bear attack outside of Jackson Hole, the murder by sniper of a local judge’s wife, and threats made against his friend Nate Romanoski. Most of the series’ usual, favorite characters appear in this novel, and the Wyoming locations are well-done and interesting.

This series is one of my favorites, in part because of the Wyoming setting but also because the game warden angle is different and interesting. Joe Pickett is a likable protagonist, who seems like a pretty regular guy. Box does such a good job with this series. He’s a good writer, but he also really knows Wyoming, and it shows. As always, I recommend that you start with book #1 in a series and move forward — BUT this series is very accessible so I think you could start with this book without too much trouble.

Recommended!

Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes

~ noveltherapy

This was a very entertaining and thought-provoking quick read about parent/teacher/student high school drama, and the collateral damage that it can cause. Liston Heights High School will seem very familiar to many: privileged but stressed-out students, over-involved parents, and teachers and administrators walking on egg shells.

I hate to admit it, but the high school theater angle hit very close to home, though I think that would be true if it had been about the volleyball team or the debate team, or any competitive endeavor. Both of my children have been involved in the arts (one in musical theater and the other as a classical ballet dancer) so I know this world well, and I know how hard it is to find the right level of involvement — you want to support your kid’s dream but you don’t want to become “that mom.” Also, our school, like most public schools, relies on the time and money provided by parents — it’s essential to the survival and viability of most programs. Yet, how do we balance that necessary involvement with being too involved and too invested? These are tough questions and I don’t have the answers, but as a parent I think it’s important to think about these things.

Recommended!

Running Out of Road

~ noveltherapy

Available March 24, 2020

Thanks to Daniel Friedman, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. In Running Out of Road, elderly retired Memphis detective Buck Schatz must come to terms with his own mortality, his wife’s serious illness, and the pending execution of Chester Marsh, a man he put on death row decades ago.

Buck’s story alternates with the transcript of a podcast by a journalist who is fighting to stop Marsh’s execution. The podcast attempts to investigate the circumstances of Marsh’s arrests and confessions, as well as to give a platform for his appellate attorney to detail his arguments against the death penalty. It’s an effective device that allows Friedman to show alternative opinions about justice and retribution.

I really enjoyed this novel, in part because Buck Schatz’s character is so irreverent and so cranky, but yet touching at the same time. The contrast between the earlier scenes with him as a young detective and those in the present, where he is physically and mentally frail, are poignant and sometimes heartbreaking. Friedman also does a good job here showing both sides of the death penalty debate, while at the same time telling an engaging story.

This is the first novel I’d read by Daniel Friedman, but it won’t be the last! I enjoyed this book so much that I’m planning to go back and read the earlier Buck Schatz books. I’m glad to have discovered this series.

The Girl from Widow Hills

~ noveltherapy

Available June 23, 2020

Thanks to Megan Miranda, Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel.

As a young child, Arden Maynor was famously and miraculously rescued after being swept away into a storm drain. Years later, in a new town with a new name, she is trying to live an anonymous life, when she begins sleepwalking again. Suddenly, her life is thrown into chaos and she is in danger. What really happened to her all those years ago? And who is coming after her now?

The Girl from Widow Hills is a well-executed thriller which kept me eagerly turning the pages until the end. The plot is very well done — I was surprised throughout — and the writing is also quite good. I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy thrillers and I very much look forward to Miranda’s next book.

The Sun Down Motel

~ noveltherapy

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Available February 18

Two young women, thirty-five years apart, are caught up in the mystery surrounding a haunted, isolated road-side motel in Simone St. James’ The Sun Down Motel.

I very much enjoyed St. James’ previous novel, the Broken Girls, but I liked this one even more! Creepy ghosts, cold-case mysteries, and good pacing make this novel a real winner. I had a few nit-picks with it, which I won’t detail here because I don’t want to give away any of the plot, but they didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Highly recommend! Put it on your list!

A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World

~ noveltherapy

About one hundred years after the world as we know it comes to an end, Griz and his family survive in isolation on a remote Scottish island. When a stranger arrives and steals Griz’s dog, Griz impulsively goes after him, chasing the thief into the dangerous unknown.

I’m a big fan of dystopian fiction and so the set-up of this book appealed to me. Overall, I liked it a lot, though there were places in the middle of the book that seemed to drag. The story really picked up in the last quarter or so of the novel, though, and the ending was very well done. This book is not Station Eleven or The Stand, but with that said, I recommend it to people who are fans of this genre.

The Other People

~ noveltherapy

The Other People, by C.J. Tudor — Available January 28, 2020!

Thanks to C. J. Tudor, Random House – Ballantine, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. I was so excited to read this book, as I have loved Tudor’s previous two books (The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place). I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint!

I don’t want to summarize the plot too much so as not to spoil it, but basically this is an engaging thriller that starts with a man’s frantic search to find his kidnapped daughter. There are some spooky/supernatural/Stephen King-like moments in this novel, but not quite as many as The Hiding Place (which was very Stephen King like!). The characters were well-drawn and engaging, and the plot was clever and complicated, but ultimately believable.

This novel hooked me immediately and kept me turning the pages until the end. There were some twists at the end that I did not see coming, and some of those worked better than others. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. Tudor has become one of my favorite thriller writers and I can’t wait to read her next book!

Highly recommend, especially for fans of Stephen King and/or Dean Koontz.

Where the Lost Wander

~ noveltherapy

Where the Lost Wander, by Amy Harmon

Put this on your to-read list for 2020! Available April, 28, 2020.

Thanks to Amy Harmon, Netgalley, and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. Set in 1853 on the Oregon Trail, Where the Lost Wander is a wonderful story of hardship and love. I don’t read much historical fiction but I loved this novel from the first page and was sad to see it end. Highly recommend, especially for fans of historical fiction.