Mourning Gloria

Finished August 31

Mourning Gloria by Susan Wittig Albert

This is the 19th book in her China Bayles series. Here, China's husband McQuaid is away on a case and her stepson Brian is at camp, so it's just her, her niece Caitie, and the dog Howard Cosell around. Caitie is helping China in both her home garden and the shop garden, as well as helping at the weekly farmers' market. She's also doing some supervised babysitting for friends. 

After a backyard party where Caitie is staying on to do some babysitting, China notices a house trailor on fire on her drive home, calls emergency services, and stops to see if she can help. When she hears a woman calling for help from inside, she tries to get in, but is injured before she can. The experience haunts her, and she can't stop thinking about the trapped woman. 

Jessica Nelson is an intern at the local paper and on the story. When she hears China's details, she becomes personally motivated. Jessica lost her parents and sister to a house fire, something she is still dealing with. She is motivated and good at her job, so when she disappears after leaving a truncated phone message for China, China gets worried. Worried enough to start following in Jessica's footsteps, except she's involving both the local sheriff, whose territory covers the trailer location, and the town police chief. 

There is an subplot about the relationship between the sheriff and police chief as it becomes more serious. 

We also see how Caitie is excelling at her violin lessons, and growing more confident after her past trauma. 

As there sometimes is, a plant theme is clear here. This time it is hallucinogenic plants which covers many plants from coffee and tea to the titled reference to morning glory. This theme also relates to the plot in multiple ways. 

A good read, as usual. 

Arsenic and Adobo

Finished August 14

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

This is the first in a series set around a family Filipino restaurant in small town Illinois. The main character, Lila Macapagal had gone to Chicago for university and stayed, running a small business with her boyfriend. But after legal troubles with the business and a horrible breakup, she's moved back to Shady Palms, a couple of hours away from Chicago to help in her aunt's restaurant. Tita Rosie's Kitchen is reasonably popular in town, but the local restaurant critic has panned it repeatedly, despite coming back for more. He, Derek Winters, is also Lila's ex-boyfriend, whom she dated in high school, but left behind when she went to college. It seems that he might harbour some resentment. His new stepfather, Mr. Long, is also the landlord of the restaurant and some of its neighbouring businesses. 

When Derek and Mr. Long come for lunch one day and Derek drops dead in his dessert, accusations against Lila and her aunt begin right away. When later evidence adds to prejudice against both Lila and her aunt, she decides that she must do her own investigation to clear herself and her family since the police don't seem to be looking at anyone else.

Her best friend Adeena works as a barista at the coffee place next door, and the two team up to sleuth. They also get the help of aunties, such as Lila's three godmothers, a regular fixture at Tita Rosie's Kitchen, and deep into community gossip. And yes, the small dog on the cover is Lila's dachshund, Longganisa, Nisa for short. 

As she gets to know fellow restaurant owners, old friends and enemies, and a few new friends, Lila finds herself getting better acquainted with her town as well, and liking it more than she expected. 

There is a glossary for Filipino words, including a lot for food given the setting, and several recipes at the back of the book. 

Ten Thousand Saints

Finished August 25

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson

This engrossing novel is set in the 1980s around three young people. I would consider Jude Kerry-Horn, sixteen when the book begins, as the central character. Jude was adopted by Harriet and Les when he was a baby, and they subsequently had another child, Prudence. Harriet and Les are divorced. Harriet lives in small town Vermont and is a glass artist and has a studio in her yard where she blows glass, with a lot of her work comprised of bongs. Jude and Prudence live with her. Les now lives in New York City where he continues his business of growing and selling marijuana. He has a girlfriend who has a daughter similar in age to Jude, Eliza. Eliza's mom has money and they live in a nice apartment in New York City, with a maid. Eliza goes to private school, but has been kicked out of a few schools recently. 

Jude's best friend is Teddy, and the book opens as they are celebrating Teddy's sixteenth birthday. When they return to Teddy's house they find it nearly empty, and it seems that Teddy's mom, Queen Bea, has up and left. Teddy is naturally upset and decides to try to get enough money to get a train into New York City, where his older half-brother Johnny lives. Johnny had lived in Vermont until recently when he went to the city to live with his father. Johnny had been part of a band in Vermont, with two of his friends, Delph and Kram, who are still friendly with Jude and Teddy. 

The weekend of Teddy's birthday also has Eliza coming through their town, and Les has asked Jude to meet her at the train and spend some time with her. The three teens hang out and then crash a party at Tony Ventura's large house, where there is a lot of alcohol and drugs present. Some key things happen there, and after dropping Eliza back at her train, Teddy and Jude go to Jude's house. Harriet finds them outside the next morning, both suffering from hypothermia and the effects of the drugs they'd consumed. This is a turning point for Jude, and things go downhill for a while until he is sent to live with his father. He soon meets up with Johnny and begins hanging out with his group of friends who belong to a sect closely related to the Hare Krishnas, and advocate no drugs, no alcohol, and no sex. Eliza soon joins them, and the males form a new band that begins touring the East Coast. The band is a metal band and soon gains a loyal following. 

This book is a clash of generations, kids coming of age in a time of great change, and music being a force that drives them. The main characters, as well as others in their friend group, are searching for their identity, separate from their parents, but still connected to them in a search for belonging and love. This book took me a while to get into, but then I hard a hard time putting it down. Captivating and beautifully written, this book had me reflecting in new ways. 

I Will Ruin You

Finished July 22

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay

This novel has lots of twist and turn that will keep you guessing. High school English teacher Richard Boyle looks out his classroom window one day and sees a man with what looks like explosives strapped to him approaching the school. He leaves the classroom abruptly, telling his students briefly to alert authorities and protect themselves and runs to try to intercept the man. He is able to avert a major tragedy, but recognizes that there is still a tragedy, and a motivation that the former student had to act the way he did. 

Unbeknownst to him, his appearance on the news triggers another situation, as he is approached by a man who tries to blackmail him based on supposed acts he did years before. 

As one would expect, this has a big impact on Richard, both in terms of thinking of ways to avert the situation or deal with it, and in terms of what this new accusation might say in terms of the actions of the first man in terms of validation. 

Richard's wife Bonnie, a principal at an elementary school is also dealing with a tragedy, the loss of the mother of one of her students. Bonnie's sister Marta, a police officer was involved with the case of the mother's death, and her investigations lead her towards a drug ring. 

As the two cases begin to connect, all involved will find themselves trying to protect those they care about as well as finding the truth. 

This is a novel that took a while to get me hooked, but that did engage me, both with the intriguing plot, and with the characters. 

Sometimes the Wolf

Finished July 16

Sometimes the Wolf by Urban Waite

This dark novel is set in the northwest U.S., and centers around deputy sheriff Bobby Drake. Twelve years previous to the events in the novel, Bobby's father Patrick had been sheriff. Bobby had been away at university. Bobby's mother had been ill, and Patrick had taken to some illegal acts for money. He was caught and convicted, and is now coming out of jail. 

Bobby has agreed, reluctantly, to take his father in for a short time until he gets on his feet. Bobby's wife Sheri is agreeable to it as well. They will give him the room they had prepared for another purpose, which has a single bed in it. 

Bobby has been working with the local wildlife office with a situation involving a local wolf. The wolf has had some interactions with local farmers and has been blamed for some without solid proof, and the wildlife officer Ellie is planning to capture and tag the wolf so that they can track it and be aware of its whereabouts. 

Patrick seems a little wary once out, thinking that other cars are following them, or that people are watching them, and Bobby has put it down as part of the experience of getting out of prison, and not being used to the freedom and open space that now exists for him. 

Bobby also holds a lot of resentment towards his father. He quit university, came home, sold some of the land to save the house, and now lives in that house with his own wife, and works for his father's old deputy, who is now sheriff. 

Soon after his release, men from his past do appear in Patrick's life, and Bobby and Sheri are at risk. The federal agent who has been on Patrick's case from the beginning has also reappeared, and his presence raises other questions. 

This is a dark story, of fathers and sons, of guilt and the weight of it on those close to us, and of revenge. It is a fast-paced story with lots of action and suspense. 

The Chase

Finished August 31

The Chase by DiAnn Mills

This FBI thriller has two main characters.

Kariss Walker is a former television journalist turned novelist. She's written several successful women's fiction novels, but dreams of writing about her true passion, finding justice for those unable to do so themselves. She is haunted by an experience in her past where she was unable to protect someone vulnerable. One case she covered as a journalist was of a young girl, whose body was found, malnourished near an apartment complex. The girl's identity was never determined. This is the case that she plans to base her novel on.

Kariss has gained access to follow an FBI agent to get background information on the world she plans to write about. The agent is Tigo Harris. He has many years of experience, including undercover work, and is currently involved in a case involving gangs smuggling drugs and guns. 

When Kariss is able to get the case reopened, she and the FBI find new evidence that points to the child's identity, and perhaps to new crimes. 

Tigo is very close to his mother, who is dying from a cancer, and this element impacts how he lives his life and sets his priorities. 

Kariss makes a lot of questionable decisions putting her own safety into jeopardy. 

Both characters have families who are strong church goers, but both have distanced themselves from religion. The Christian element in this book is subtle until the end, when it suddenly becomes more evident. 

Ragged Lake

Finished April 30

Ragged Lake by Ron Corbett

Taking place in a fiction place up in the Territories in northern Canada, this book is the first in a series featuring detective Frank Yakabuski. Frank is from the north, but went away for a while and spent some time doing undercover work related to motorcycle gangs in Montreal. He's been back in the north a few years and is considered a seasoned officer. 

Ragged Lake is very remote, with no roads in or out and only a weekly train service, mostly for supplies to a fishing and hunting camp located there. It was once a more bustling place, with a paper plants and a variety of other small businesses that supported the people that worked there. 

When a young tree-marker working in the area checks out a cabin built from scraps, he finds murder victims and immediately heads to the resort to report it using their phone. 

Frank is sent out with a couple of guys to assist with the investigation. It is winter and with the train not scheduled for a few days, he and his officers travel via the rail line by snowmobile, a trip that takes more than one day. 

They find that the report is accurate and that they have a crime on their hands, but there are more questions that come to Frank. Why are these people in the cabin there? Why have the chosen this place to build a home in? Who can he trust? are some of them. 

As we, alongside Frank and in a narrative that is separate and told partly through a written record, discover the connection of these people to this place and its history, the story of the indigenous people who have lived in the area, 

We get a sense of Frank and his character and his past in this introduction to the series. We also get a strong sense of one of the victims here, a young indigenous woman who has had bad luck again and again despite her own strength. 

This made me want to read more of this series. 

Egg Shooters

Finished April 20

Egg Shooters by Laura Childs (A Cackleberry Club Mystery, #9)

This cosy mystery is set in the small town of Kindred in the Midwest. Suzanne Dietz is the co-owner of the Cackleberry Club a diner specializing in breakfast, lunch, and tea. They also put on a variety of special events, many related to fundraising for different organizations in town. The cafe also has two small nooks, one is the Book Nook and it sells books and magazines. The other is the Knitting Nest and it sells a variety of yarn and supplies and has classes.

As this book begins, Suzanne is on her way to the hospital to delivery a hot meal of chili and cornbread to her fiance, Dr. Sam Hazelet who is on shift there. On her way, she is passed by an ambulance. Once she gets there and goes in to the small ER, she and the intake nurse Ginny are surprised by a man dressed in black rushing to them from inside the hospital. He is carrying a black duffle bag and a gun, and they are in no doubt he will use the gun if they challenge him. When he shoots at the chasing security guard and then at Ginny, Suzanne finds anger builds in her so that she comes out swing her thermos at him, and chili explodes everywhere. When she follow him out to the parking lot though, he has disappeared. 

Back at the cafe the following day, Suzanne and her co-owners discuss the crime and the truck heists that have been happening near them as they try to make sense of them. The gunman at the hospital had robbed the pharmacy there and when Suzanne hears about the two first-time drug offenders the local pastor is working with, her suspicions rise. Every little lead that arises, from a compound of ex-military men to a new warehouse rental in town gets Suzanne's attention. 

In between her sleuthing, she helps prepare food for the cafe, catering orders, a fundraisers for the local library, and a specially themed dinner event. 

There is lots going on here, with many red herrings, and some clues that not everyone will pick up on. Suzanne gets herself into some tricky situations with her sleuthing, and makes some bad guesses in terms of suspects. 

The novel includes several recipes at the back. 

I picked up this novel to meet a reading challenge and finished it in just a few hours, so it is a quick read. 

A Silent Death

Finished March 20

A Silent Death by Peter May

This standalone thriller is set around a Scottish police officer, John Mackenzie. Mackenzie has always wanted to be a police officer because his father was one. Not that he really knew his father, who died when he was a child. Mackenzie is a man who is highly intelligent, always curious, and is unflinchingly direct. It is this last characteristic that has caused him the most trouble. It has caused him to be separated from his wife, with her having custody of their two young children, and has caused him to leave his job at the Met. 

As the book opens, he is just starting a new job at the National Crime Agency and is given the task of going to Spain to pick up a prisoner, Jack Cleland. Cleland has been a wanted man for some time, intelligent and wealthy before venturing into the world of international drug crime. His arrest in Spain was a bit of a fluke and opens the book. Cleland has declared vengeance against Christina Sanchez, one of the police officers who arrested him, and is a very dangerous man.

Christina has been fighting her superiors for some time, trying to get the respect and cases that her skills and abilities would normally get her, if she wasn't a woman. She took the assignment that netted Cleland as a favour to a fellow officer, and she soon finds that it was one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

Christina has a beloved aunt, Ana, that she and her sister visit regularly. Ana is deaf and blind, both disabilities affecting her as a young woman. Technology has opened her world to some extent, but she is still often trapped by her limited senses. 

As Cleland escapes custody and looks for ways to exact his revenge on Christina, her family, including Ana, come into his plan. Mackenzie's skills make him a good investigator to assist in the hunt for Cleland, but his personality also means that his choices don't always lead him to make good decisions. 

The setting is a big part of the story, The town of Marvina, on the Costa del Sol, is a small enough place to navigate, with lots to interest tourists. As Mackenzie walks through the town and drives to locations in the nearby hills, we get a real sense of the landscape and the economic reality of the people who live there. 

A fascinating read, with an interesting and complex character at the centre of action. There is lots going on here and the story held my interest until the end. 

Dance of the Bones

Finished November 13

Dance of the Bones by J.A. Jance

This novel brings together J.P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker for a situation in Arizona. Lani Pardee is planning on going on an overnight retreat in the mountains with her 13-year-old godson Gabe. He has been a souce of worry recently for his parents who worry that he is taking a path that won't bring him anywhere good. The night doesn't go as planned, and they end up in the middle of a crime that has been decades coming. 

More than forty years earlier, Amos Warren had mentored young John Lassiter, and the two had a partnership finding and selling historical artifacts. Amos was killed and his body wasn't found for years. When it was, Lassiter was convicted of his murder and is still in jail for it. But a group working to clear his name has begun to dig into the case and the real murderer is looking to cover any remaining tracks and leave the area for good. 

This book ties in a native legend to the story, adding bits of that legend to the beginning of each chapter as it relates to the action in the plot. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the Walker family tree that was also included at the beginning, showing how various characters connected to each other. 

This was an interesting mystery with additional depth from the indigenous content. A good read. 

My copy also had a short story featuring J.P. Beaumont along with his wife Mel.

Tomb Song

Finished July 29

Tomb Song by Julián Herbert, translated by Christina MacSweeney

This novel, a debut novel from this Mexican author, is a tale told in first person by a narrator by the same first name as the author. It moves back and forth in time, between the present, the narrator's childhood and other earlier times in his life. 

Julián's mother Guadalupe, was a prostitute, although she tried to shield her children from much exposure to this life. To escape debt, they moved often, and each of the four children has a different father. In the present Guadalupe is in hospital, near death, and he finds himself resurrecting memories from his past, grappling with his own identity, and dealing with anxieties around being a writer. 

This is a book about the margins of Mexican society, along with the darker issues of sex, drugs, violence, and poverty. Julián is also about to be a father himself, and this adds to his feelings. He talks not only of his life, but also of strange dreams that he has had. 

This is not an easy read, or a happy one, but it is one that is well written and has the feel of experience in his in the author's knowledge of his subject matter. A very original work. 

The Needle

Finished April 29

The Needle by Francis King

This is a short novel about the relationship between two siblings. Lorna, the eldest is a doctor, with the practice located on the lower level of her home. Her partner, Matty, is also a friend, and up until the return of Lorna's brother Bob from Kuala Lumpur three years earlier, had been a frequent visitor upstairs. Bob and Matty don't seem to like each other much, but they aren't overt about it. Lorna, a widow, also has a grown daughter, Edie who visits from time to time. 

Lorna and Bob grew up with a stepfather who entered the picture shortly after Bob was born. Lorna fondly remembers their father, who died of a sudden illness before Bob was born. Bob was a weak boy, fond of telling fanciful stories, until he was sent to boarding school. He returned more silent and shuttered. 

While he lives with Lorna, and supposedly makes a little money from short-lived acting roles, he doesn't share with her. She has no real idea what he does with his time, who his friends are, or much really about his life. He is in many ways as dependent on her as he was when they were young, but much more secretive about her life. 

As elements of his life begin to intrude on Lorna's life, she begins asking questions and learning more about him, learning about things that aren't that comfortable to know. As she learns of his actions, her reaction is also a surprise. 

An interesting, yet unsettling read. 

The Basel Killings

Finished November 20 

The Basel Killings by Hansjörg Schneider

This is the fifth book in the series featuring Inspector Hunkeler, and the first to be translated into English. I think it is also the first series I've read that is set in Switzerland. Hunkeler is a divorced father, with his daughter grown up. He has a girlfriend who is a kindergarten teacher, and she is on a three month sabbatical, spending it in Paris. He misses her, and often spends his evening in a bar not far from his apartment. Besides his apartment in Basel, Hunkeler also has a farm in Alsace, across the nearby border in France. He spends a fair bit of time there, and has an arrangement with a nearby farmer and his wife who look after his place, including the chickens, when he isn't around. 

He's had a case of a murdered prostitute for a while and while he keeps going over the case files, he just can't seem to find a solution to it. 

As the story begins, he leaves the bar one evening to go home, but finds the sudden cold air outside triggers his need to pee, and rather than return to the bar, or go to the nearby billiards hall, where he also spends time, he elects to pee on the potted tree in the nearby courtyard of a bank. The courtyard also holds a bench and he notices an acquaintance sitting there, apparently asleep. He sits near him and begins a conversation, but when there is no reply, he looks closer and finds that the man is dead, murdered in fact, and after being ill from the shock, he calls the police.

Because he is acquainted with the dead man, he is not assigned the case, and in fact seems to be on the outs with the man assigned to it. 

Hunkeler is an interesting character, one who is well educated, intelligent, and knowledgeable, but also comfortable with less refined company, such as those in the bar he frequents. He knows some of the local immigrant community, and doesn't judge himself superior to them. 

He knows the rural police near Basel, as well as those in Alsace where he also lives. He walks a lot, thinking and observing as he does. He is a man who can make connections, who listens to people from all walks of life and accords what they tell him a measure of respect. It is all of this that makes him a good policeman. 

As he digs into the lives of both the prostitute and the man on the bench, he looks for connections, and trusts his instincts. I also learned some history that I hadn't been aware of before. The deliberate and planned work of the Swiss against the Romany through an organization called Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Road). It is very similar in nature to the actions here in Canada around residential schools, but goes even further, permanently separating children from their parents.

We don't see much of his girlfriend here, only glimpses, but we see into Hunkeler's personal life in other ways, and he is a very intriguing character.

The Last Flight

Finished July 14 

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Claire Cook, wife of an influential man planning a senatorial run, has been living with domestic abuse for years. She's tried to leave, and failed. She has a plan now to disappear, with the help of an old friend, but when her plans go awry and she finds herself at the airport headed to Puerto Rico, and another woman strikes up a conversation that offers a different opportunity, she finds herself agreeing to switch identities and flights with Eva and takes her flight to Oakland.

Eva James is also running from her life, and she isn't honest with Claire about what she's running from. She isn't proud of what she's done the last few years, but she hasn't seen another option, and now she fears that her time is running out. Getting a fake ID is proving difficult, and so when this opportunity arises to switch with someone, she jumps at it. 

When Claire lands in Oakland, she finds that the flight she was supposed to be on has crashed, with no survivors. She is stunned and she can't reach the friend who has helped her before. She decides to go to Eva's house and take some time to figure out her next move and there she finds some clues to Eva's real life. 

This is a story of domestic abuse, about the difficulty of getting away from such a situation when you lack the power in the relationship, and about other abuses of power and privilege. 

This was a book that grabbed me and kept me reading to see what happened to both women. It is a book about how things are beginning to change, and people are starting to believe those who speak out against those who would manipulate and use them. A book that makes you think about the bigger issues.

Followers

Finished July 4

Followers by Raziel Reid

This is definitely a type of book I don't normally read. This teen novel is set around a group of teenagers who are on a reality television show in Beverly Hills. Most of them have either money or the illusion of money, and most of their parents are also part of the show. The novel moves from character to character and the chapters are structured to begin with Instagram posts on the character that is the focus of that chapter. They are titled with the Instagram profile name and give the number of followers, and then a few comments that appeared on that profile. 

It begins with one of the young stars Hailey Paley reached the point of a million followers, which she decides to have a party to celebrate this achievement. 

Then we have her cousin Lily enter the story. Lily lives with her mom in a trailer in the Valley and she's just had a bad date, one where she ended up in jail charged with a crime. Hailey's mom has decided this event and her being taken in by the Paley family for a time will help ratings. So Lily is bombarded by paparazzi, met by a team from the show, taken to the Paley house in Beverly Hills and installed in the pool house. Cameras are rolling almost all the time, and Lily must figure out what is real and what is staged, and how she feels about it all. It takes a little ways into the book for Lily to get an Instagram account of her own, and some time for her to find her feet. But she's used to relying on no one but herself, and has a summer job as a lifeguard on one of the beaches, and she has a good head on her shoulders.

Getting immersed into a world of status, money, alcohol, and drugs is a big change, and decoding the terminology of this generation and their social media took me a while. This is a very dysfunctional environment and that becomes obvious through some of the behaviour that we see. A window into another world.

The Story Sisters

Finished March 8

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

This novel tells the story of three sisters, Elv, Meg, and Claire from their childhood into their twenties. The story begins shortly after a defining moment in two of the sisters' lives. Something happened to Elv as a result of her trying to prevent something happening to Claire. This incident was never shared with their third sister, or their parents, but it resulted in Elv creating a fantasy world that had its own language and stories. Elv told the fairy stories from that world to other children, who were enraptured by them, but as the stories became increasing dark, others were scared by the stories and her following began to fade away. Elv too became a darker child, rebellious, entering a world of drugs, sex, and chaos. Their parents separated when the girls were quite young, and their mother Annie was for a time bound by her own loss as a result of their father leaving. 

One constant in the girls' lives was their grandmother, who had homes in both New York City and Paris, and the girls regularly went to Paris once a year, where they had their favourite shops and eateries. They also were close to one of their grandmother's friends, Madame Cohen, a woman who had survived World War II as a young Jewish girl and who had her own secrets. 

As the girls grew older, Meg grew studious and serious and became less involved with her older sister Elv, and there grew a resentment between the sisters, with Claire the bridge between them. But Claire too had her own guilt, over what Elv experienced as a result of saving her, and over what later happened to Meg. It takes intervention from her grandmother and Madame Cohen to save her from her demons and bring her to a more hopeful future. 

For Elv, a better future also required intervention, although it took a long time, and it was Annie and an older man who Annie called on for help that ultimately made the difference as Elv's truth came out and she faced it. 

This is a story of trauma and its long term effects, of sisters and the complex relationship that can develop, and of the power of story. 

The Dog Who Saved Me

Finished January 16 

The Dog Who Saved Me by Susan Wilson

The main character here, Cooper Harrison, is a man still caught up in his recent loss and the feelings he has around that. Cooper was an officer in the K-9 unit of the Boston Police and he had a very special relationship with his partner dog Argo. But in an encounter on duty, Argo was killed, and Cooper was left with what he hopes is a temporary hearing impairment. It hit him hard and his marriage didn't survive it either. Cooper has retreated to his hometown, a small town named Harmony Farms near Boston. He has taken a job as an Animal Control Officer there, working in a small office with one other officer. He is staying in a cabin that he is looking after as part of his rental agreement. But coming back to his hometown isn't easy as there are a lot of memories there and not all of them are good ones. Cooper grew up with an alcoholic father, a man damaged by his own experiences, and lost his mother while he was still a child. His older brother Jimmy bullied him, and grew up to be a man often on the wrong side of the law. 

Now, Cooper's father Bull is a recovering alcoholic, working in the local lumberyard and using his bicycle to get around. He's love to renew his relationship with his son, but Cooper isn't looking for that at all. Jimmy is recently out of jail, and temporarily living with Bull in their childhood home, but he isn't necessarily on the straight and narrow. Cooper's cop instincts sense that and he worries about that and about whether Bull is being taken advantage of. 

But what about the dog? Ah, yes, the dog is a dog that's been injured and left in the woods scared and in pain. The dog is wary of humans, not sure whether he can trust people, and also physically impaired through his injury. When Cooper becomes aware of him, he is determined to find the dog, bring him in and help him. This isn't an easy task, and Cooper is bringing his own baggage to this task. Through his work, he's also come into contact with a woman Natalie who has also started a new life. She is running a horse rescue operation after leaving a city life behind, one with its own losses. 

Lots going on in this book, and it took me a while to get into it, but we really see into Cooper and the things that drive him, and the things that have brought him to where he is, many of them from his childhood. And we see how other in the story are also trying to start over, to be better, to move forward with their lives. A good read.

Last Night

Finished September 30
Last Night by Karen Ellis

This novel could be a teen crossover as the major characters in the book are both in their senior year in high school in New York City. Titus "Crisp" Crespo is a high achiever, and has been held to a high standard by the mother and grandparents that raised him. He is set to be valedictorian of his class in a public school, but the day before he is stopped by a cop and he talks back, and that lands him in jail. He isn't released in time for his graduation. After his release, with his judgement still impaired, an argument with his mother causes him to take off, and he decides to go visit Glynnie, a girl he knows only a little. He'd spotted her on the roof of her building when he was on the rooftop basketball court in jail and decides that he wants to let her know why he was there, that he isn't a bad guy. And thus events are set in motion that will have long-lasting consequences for both of them.
Glynnie is from a well-off family, but she likes to push things, and now isn't the time that she feels like stopping with that attitude. Not with her mother planning to send her to Outward Bound for the summer. Crisp is a good kid, but he also doesn't want to let Glynnie go off on her own into a potentially dangerous situation.
This plot has a lot going on, with gangs, drugs, and even guns. With the two teens in over their heads, they struggle to get out of a very bad situation.
I liked the plot and could see how something like this could unfold, one bad decision after another. One young character pulled at my heartstrings, and I liked the way that things started to turn around for him, a kid in a bad situation through no fault of his own, and with no one really caring that he fell between the cracks.
Although this is a second book in the series featuring police detective Lex Cole, it felt to me that the police were more minor characters here. They did have important roles and you did see some of their personal lives, but they weren't at the heart of things.
A good, fast-moving read that will keep you glued to your seat.

Death of an Addict

Finished August 20
Death of an Addict by M.C. Beaton

This book is part of the Hamish Macbeth series. Hamish is a policeman in the small village of Lochdubh, responsible for a large area of the country around it. The nearest big town, and where he reports into, is Strathbane. Hamish has done well for himself, and turned down promotions several times as he likes where he lives and what he does.
Here, Hamish goes to see a crofter Parry McSporran that he knows is renting out cabins to see how it is going. Two of the cabins are on long lets, one to a young English woman environmentalist Felicity Maundy, and one to a young man Tommy Jarrett who is working on a book. The latter's name sounds familiar and Parry has him do a check to see if the young man has a record. He does have one for possession of drugs, and Hamish goes to talk to him and decides Tommy is being honest when he claims he is clean now.
The day after Hamish visits, Tommy is found dead, with suspicion of an overdose. This doesn't sit right with Hamish and he decides to dig a little, against the wishes of his superiors. His digging leads him to the drug world and has him going undercover with a young female officer, who is superior to him in rank.
As usual, Hamish is quite a character, a man who pays attention to details, but who is a bit naive at times. He gets in over his head a couple of times here, but he learns a lot and uncovers some criminal activity. Blair, the man he reports to in Strathbane is on leave as the whole thing begins and isn't pleased when he returns to discover Hamish is impressing their superiors once again.
As always I enjoy this series and Hamish.

Sorrow Road

Finished May 15
Sorrow Road by Julia Keller

This is the second book I've read in this series set in the mountains of West Virginia featuring prosecuting attorney Belfa Elkins. There are several stories going on here, one reaching far into the past.
In the 1930s, three boys took a ride in car that ended in tragedy. The incident was covered up, but never forgotten by them.
In the present day, a young woman visits her father in a memory care home, trying to get him to take responsibility for the pain and suffering he inflicted on her and her brother when they were young, becoming frustrated at his lack of reaction, but never giving up. Another woman, a childhood classmate of Belfa, has been visiting her father in the same home, and growing more concerned with his agitation. When he dies, she asks for Bell's help in looking into his death.
Bell's daughter Carla has been living with roommates in the city, but calls her and tells her she is coming home, the next day. Bell knows that somethings up, but she treads carefully in questioning her about it, and Carla already has a job interview lined up.
Bell is also considering her boyfriend and where she wants the relationship to go.
With so much going on, and winter storms creating dangerous roads, this book grabbed me and didn't let go.