Started three, finished two

Finished July 29
In the Woods by Tara French
This mystery concentrates on events near a small Dublin suburb. In the summer in 1984, three 12-year-old friends are playing in and around the woods near their houses, and don't come home for dinner. Much searching is done, and one child is finally found, terrified, with his nails dug into a tree and his shoes full of blood. Neither other child is ever found.
Go forward twenty years, and the child has become a detective on the Murder Squad. He is on the case of a 12-year-old girl whose body was found on the site where the woods once were. As he works on the case, memories of his own past intrude. He searches for links between the two, and hides his connection to the old case. But secrets cannot always be kept.
I enjoyed this one, but found the ending a bit disappointing. The main character was an unhappy one scarred forever by the one event in his past.

Tried and not finished
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
I tried hard to get into this story, where the main female character either kisses a man not her partner or does not kiss him. The story goes off in two different directions, depending on where the kiss took place or not. I found that even though the character is speaking from her own point of view, she seemed to lack depth. She appeared to define herself in terms of others.
I read through the first alternatives, but just found it too much work to continue.

Finished July 27
Momzillas by Jill Kargman
Hannah Allen, her husband Josh and their two-year-old daughter Violet have just moved to New York City, Josh's hometown for his job.
Hannah is from San Francisco, and unsure about how to fit in. Josh's best friend Parker's wife Bee has offered to show her the ropes, and appears very helpful. Hannah still feels like she doesn't belong and Josh encourages her to do her own thing and not to worry too much. But there are rules about applying for schools, and coops and being in the right groups that Hannah does worry about. Also Hannah's mother-in-law seems more interested in the social niceties than her granddaughter, which doesn't help. Hannah tells her worries to her old friend Leigh, now also in New York and connects with a favourite art professor. She also tries to make new friends. The atmosphere described her, and the social world is quite amusing and I loved the glossary given at the front of the book.
I found the main characters realistic, the plot moved at a good pace and the humour was great.
A nice summer read.