In Memoriam

by Alice Winn

Penguin Random House

    This brilliant novel begins in 1914 and follows two young men, as well as many of their school friends, from their idyllic, upper crust boarding school through the horrific years of WWI. This is beautifully written in spite of the vivid descriptions of the casualties. Poetry, nature and the love that these boys share - in various guises - balance, and enhance, the terrors of the war. It's amazing to see how very young these boys are as they go off to die for their country. 

  

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

 A Thread of Violence

by Mark O'Connell

Doubleday/PRH

    This is a fascinating and disturbing look at an Irish murderer, Malcolm Macarthur who brutally killed two innocent people in 1982. Mark O'Connell tries to make sense of the horrific violence and the man who seems to not completely understand what he's done. Macarthur spent thirty years in Irish prisons and willingly talks with O'Connell after his release, but there is real frustration for O'Connell as he (and we) do not come to really understand why this happened.

    It's very well written and a book you won't easily put down.

If you would like to know more about, or purchase this book, please try your local independent bookstore or this great site: bookshop.org .

 The Other Half

Charlotte Vassell

Anchor Books/PRH

   A very British mystery with a great deal of humor (much aimed at the too riche) and an intriguing cast of characters, each with their own not-at-all subtle flaws. A detective that you can't help rooting for, a very smug and guilty aristocrat that you can't help hate and several wonderfully drawn peripherals.

   A fun read unless you happen to be a British upper-crust, then it might hit too close.

If you would like to know more about this book, or own it, please check your local independent bookstore or this wonderful place - bookshop.org .

 The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

by Leonie Swann

Soho Press

August 29, 2023

    Sunset Hall is a small retirement home for a somewhat odd group who are shunned by the local townspeople (Duck End is the great name for the town) as "hippies". The murders that occur are almost secondary to the wonderful characters. Swann does a great job of telling us just enough about each person's life to leave us satisfied and wanting to know more. This is a brilliant description of aging - laugh-out-loud funny and still terrifying.

    I hope there's a sequel coming as we need to know how certain people develop and how Hettie's hibernation goes.

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please contact your local independent bookstore or this great place - bookshop.org.

The Romantic 

by William Boyd

PenguinRandomHouse

August 15th, 2023

    William Boyd has many enjoyable novels; his latest is a big old-fashioned biographical novel of a man whose life covers much of the 19th century, several names, explorations, criminals, a long lasting love, many different cities and a few major historic events. It's a delightful escape from our world.

If you would like to know more about this book, or purchase it, please try your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org.