Sort of an odd duck. I don’t think it was ALL due to me just having seen “Evening” before I started reading this, but the time it takes place in felt confused. It FEELS like it’s the ’50s or ’60s, very formal, the wife part of a “society” family, the way the murder took place, the writing of letters, the lingering on of CJ’s spirit: all felt very “old,” belonging to the time of Capote and “In Cold Blood.”

But then there are references to snowboarding, and photo shop and Mailboxes, etc. = so it’s supposed to be contemporary. I never really got over this tonal imbalance and really felt much of the plot and the characters would have worked better in THAT time rather than THIS one.

Did enjoy the epistolary drama, the lead’s plan to break the murderer’s heart. The ending reminded me of a very specific part of “Evening,” but I don’t want to give anything away. If you’ve seen that and read this, shoot me an email (link below “Say What”?), I’d love to know if anyone else noticed this particular resonance.

So I was in a bookstore to pick up the second Kim Harrison book and they didn’t have it, but I found this book instead.

Mercy Thompson = mechanic AND “walker” (can shape shift into a coyote), brought up in a pack of werewolves and involved with another one in her current locale. Has to enlist the help of a local vampire and a local witch to solve this mystery.

Whipped right through it, couldn’t put it down. So with the Harrison books, and the Terry Goodkinds I started earlier, somehow I have now gotten myself involved in THREE fantasy series. And then there’s Proust where I’m ready to read Book 4, and the Vidal novels of Empire where I’m ready for #2… I just don’t have the kind of reading time I want!!

A bounty hunter witch quits her job to go solo, in cahoots with a vampire and a pixie, and winds up on the run for her life. Gotta love it when the heroine is flawed enough for you to be worried about her at the same time you’re rooting for her. Very enjoyable start to a series: really liked the pixies vs. fairies bits, and the old shaman across the street…

So apparently there was an online BBC series that began the story of these characters; however I did not find that you needed to have read it to understand and enjoy what goes on here. Two siblings find that on their grandfather’s death they have been appointed the “Protectors of Albion,” mystical defenders of England. 19th century London, feels very Dickensian in its descriptions, but set in Jane Austen’s society world. Ghosts of some of England’s historical heroes (Lord Admiral Nelson, Lord Byron) are their helpers, as well as a vampire (yay!), and Protectors from other lands. Very engaging and personable. So many well-rounded characters, you’re sure to find someone you want to root for. I’ve already got the next in the series waiting in my pile!

(Yes, it’s THAT Amber Benson.)

Pretty intriguing premise: Grace’s husband vanishes on what she assumes is one of his regular “missing for 3 days, returns like he’s never been gone” jaunts. So she keeps up appearances, pretends he’s at work, or traveling, messes up his clothes to fool the cleaning lady, lies to her/his parents, etc. Yet this time, it’s not three days or three weeks or…

Yet not only does her deception seem to be working incredibly well, others report citings of Laz, or emails. Is he really gone for good, or…

A lot of good stuff in here — plus it’s a good New York/Chicago book with lots of landmarks and reminders from both cities.

I think I picked up this paperback after Goodman’s more recent book “Intuition” started being reviewed all over the place. And as to why I decided to read it now, I guess Michael Chabon’s latest got me in the mood for random outbursts of Yiddish (and/or Hebrew) and explications of Talmudic law!

The plot was somewhat meandering (no big climax at the end) and predictable — surely all intelligent people must struggle at one time or another with belief and the irrationality of restrictive religions — but the intelligence and integrity of the writing kept me interested.
Elizabeth was a wonderfully written character, I really enjoyed thinking through her thoughts.

And if you yourself are now in the mood for some yiddish, how about a list of ways to incorporate Yiddish into bedroom talk, via Josh Berg, a friend of a friend.