I recall being enthralled by Shadow Divers. Not so much with Pirate Hunters which is an excellent story and presents interesting history, but the dialogue is unappealing to me.
Out of work university instructor gets recruited by insurance company’s investigation agency to track down stolen F. Scott Fitzgerald original handwritten manuscripts by befriending and ultimately beguiling a suspected bookstore owner in fictional Florida coastal town. 3 STARS.
Former detective with photographic memory solves murder cases including those of his family and local school shooting which are related to a single seemingly innocuous event in his past. 3 STARS.
Falsely imprisoned lawyer gets released from incarceration in connection with divulging to authorities the identity of the perpetrator of murdered federal judge and then evolves into an unreliable narrator while on the run from bad people. 2 STARS.
This is a story of two families, including six young children, whose households are broken apart following a moment of marital indiscretion at a party in the 1960s, and consisting of vignettes, each cleverly positioned out of chronological order, that trace the children's intermingled lives over many decades; and this is a story of failed marriages and step parenting, being an adolescent the 1970s, tragedy, guilt, deep complicated connections between blended family members, and the fleetingness of life. 4 STARS.
Bookish young woman coming of age in the roaring 20s in rural Texas described by author and family as homely; parents are superficial and insufferable people; she becomes pregnant by local younger man of Italian ancestry who becomes her husband and whose parents reluctantly take her into their family farm after becoming pregnant and being outcast by her own family; then over a period of approximately 15 years, economic depression, dust storms, ultimately acceptance and love and admiration from her husband’s parents, abandonment by her husband, then really big dust storms, poverty, migration to California, cotton picking, suffering, raising children in stark poverty, grief, hope, and workers rights; this is a relentless novel in which the author pretty much dares you to bet against the main character; she finally finds fulfilling love albeit briefly, followed by even more tragedy and then there is closure. 4.5 STARS.
Recently widowed therapist returns to her alma mater Cambridge to console her niece, who is a student there, and whose close friend had been murdered, more murders ensue; turns out the key to solving these murders requires one to be an expert in Greek mythology and tragedy; and of course the most popular professor on campus who is basically a rockstar is expert in such matters; naturally he is a suspect but the author introduces other characters who might be the perpetrators; this is a story where the super smart cool people are part of some humanities department, and in the final plot twist, the main character encounters a personal Greek tragedy of her own. 3 STARS.
Army MP veteran on a nomadic adventure across the US takes a detour in a southern town where he becomes entangled in a series of gruesome organized crime murder cases which he solves in collaboration with the town's chief detective and police deputy and graphically and entertainingly narrates first person single handed take downs of bad guys. 3.5 STARS.
A small coastal town in North Carolina during the mid 1980s make for an ambitious setting in support of the sheriff running for re-election against the local unlikeable rich good old boy, a murder scene at the local small airport, race relations that factor into the storyline in ways that are unenlightening unfortunately, and an awkwardly positioned unexpected ending. 2.5 STARS
Set just after WWII, some very extremely charming and quirky English Channel Isle characters tell their story of German occupation to a London based writer who is also charmed by them and eventually joins them. 4.5 STARS.
Talented lawyer with history of alcohol benders who, upon completing his latest round of rehab, is recruited by his firm to travel to remote parts of Brazil to locate the born-out-of-wedlock daughter of a media tycoon billionaire in an effort to prevent the greedy efforts of that billionaire’s loathsome but potentially legitimate heirs. 3 STARS
A story that sacrifices a man so the town can be saved from prejudices and so that honest meaningful connections between people can be cultivated; it’s like an allegorical after-school-special for adults; otherwise intriguing mysterious premise. 2 STARS.
Finally got around to reading this one; the hype is/was real! 4.5 STARS.
Unpretentious snapshot of a small cotton farming family and their interactions with Mexican migrant workers and share croppers told from the perspective of a young boy. 4 STARS.
Novella about an endearing and protective security bot who becomes autonomous and bonds with his human team while on a surveying mission on a remote planet. 4 STARS.
