The Drowned

by John Banville

Hanover Square Press/ HarperCollins

    As usual, Banville writes an atmospheric, quiet mystery with characters who have more than a few secrets. And, as usual, he refuses to tie it all up nicely for you - the ending is brutal, incomplete and also sad.

    But it's all so wonderfully well written that you can't help but care for all those involved - even the ones you don't want to care for at all.

    A compelling mystery for a chill winter's night.

If you'd like to know more about this book, or Banville's other wonderful novels, please check your local independent bookstore or this wonderful place: bookshop.org

Those Opulent Days                                     

by Jackie Pham

Atlantic Monthly Press/IPS

    While this is listed as a mystery, and there is a death, it is a loving portrait of four friends in French-occupied Vietnam. Each boy is beautifully drawn as they age into their roles in the corrupt society of Saigon and as they struggle to prove an ancient seer's words wrong. The strength of the novel is in its clear feeling for the boys and the torn, difficult city.

If you would like to know more about this novel or own it, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org

Behind the Scenes at the Museum            

by Kate Atkinson

Picador/Macmillan

    This is an older title, Atkinson's first, and it is a gem. The question of memory is particularly profound; it's about families, the world's events upon them, and the ties that bind.  It's also very, very funny.

If you'd like to know more about this novel, or own it, please check your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org

Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Dunne 

by Katherine Rundell

Picador/Macmillan

    You don't need to be any kind of scholar to enjoy this wonderful book. Perhaps because Rundell writes often for children (don't miss Impossible Creatures), there is warmth and humor in this biography of the poet John Dunne and the great depictions of the times he lived in.

If you'd like to know more about this novel, or own it, please check your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org