Somethin’ to Holla About
“I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Hear! Hear! Jane. Not that I measure Christmas success by the quality of books I get—that might be considered borderline obsessive—but I’m so pleased with the library additions I received this snowy December. Wanna hear about a few? Let’s start with the darling, the aficionado, the two at twenty-seven brainchild, my girl Rae’s perfectly wrapped hardcover under the tree. She sent me British-born Jess Kidd’s latest, The Night Ship. We discovered Kidd together, the last time we were in Londontown. I’ve since seen The Night Ship on Barnes & Noble’s Top Ten Best Fiction of 2022; I wasn’t surprised, are you? Rae picks winners like Renior picked flowers. Love her.
My longtime friend, K.P., sent me a novel I’m currently listening to on audible and absolutely lovin’. Can’t wait to blog about Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. I’ve got an Appalachian Elegy in my ears and it’s giving my imagination somethin’ to holla about. Melly gave me a fat B&N gift card, so I bought myself Jenna’s recommend: The Cloisters along with the book I gave Rae: I Must Betray You. Something tells me we’ve got some star-studded reviews headed your way. So be sure to look ahead!
In the meantime, I finished one of “The Best Mysteries of 2022.” I chose a mystery on purpose. (Not sure how any book could adequately follow The Marriage Portrait, so a different genre seemed like a good idea.) Maybe Sharee’s heard of Ashley Flowers, the “Crime Junkie” podcast host. Her debut novel All Good People Here was entertaining. The Junkie’s protagonist is a reporter named Margot Davies, who can’t shake the need to solve a cold case involving her childhood friend, January Jacobs. (January’s character was obviously inspired by JonBenet Ramsey.) There were plots twists throughout. Flowers found ways to keep things interesting, but there were moments of predictability for me. I can’t say that for the book’s ending. Unlike some reviewers, I thought the ending worked. I totally agree with this thought: “In a genre overrun by gratuitous violence against female characters, Flowers has applied everything she has learned from her own investigations to create a thriller that doesn’t shy away from the truth about violent crimes but doesn’t celebrate or forgive them either.” That being said, if you’re itchin’ for a thriller, I’d go with The Maid ahead of All Good People Here.