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Two brothers tramping on trains looking for day work find themselves at the beginning of a revolution. Spokane Washington in 1909 is a violent place where crooked cops, striking miners and other workers organizing, hired thugs and wealthy business owners all mix. Soon the brothers are on the wrong side of a jail cell. Who and what is right changes almost by the minute as each side is bent on justice and power. The language is a stunning mix of John Steinbeck and the Northwest adventures of Jack London. The characters include a vibrant mix from the two passionate brothers searching for a fair place in the world, a pregnant outspoken activist with a Joan of Arc gift of raising an army and a vaudeville performer with a heart of gold. This story takes absolute violence and injustice and sets it against love, loyalty and human kindness. A totally character driven historical masterpiece. 4 1/2 stars 
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A bad breakup and a close encounter with a gun totting nut make it an easy decision for Alex to leave the city and take up a study of wolverines in remote Montana. She is staying at an abandoned ski resort that has seen better days with only a ghost or two for company and the nearest town is just out of reach. Soon she discovers that not everyone is happy that she is there and studying the wolverines. Danger is everywhere and the pristine wilderness that offers her solitude won't hide the threats not from a wild animal but a two-legged one. Starts off with a bang (literally) and gives delightful descriptions of Montana and all its glory. Fans of Paul Doiran, BEARSKIN and C.J. Box will enjoy. 4 stars  This is a fly on the wall look at one young woman's journey into not just therapy but group therapy. It is difficult to bare your soul to one person even knowing that they are a professional so I can't imagine what it would take to tell your innermost fears with six total strangers and then have them offer praise, criticism , and scorn. Once she was fully involved she actually joined two groups. Christie Tate offers equal parts joy and terror at being disassembled publicly but in the end came out whole. The group and her therapist even dissected her ongoing relationships and that says much about her faith in Dr. Rosen. I think it will draw some to consider therapy for themselves or it will freak them out completely. People who have experienced therapy or enjoy living vicariously through other's experiences will enjoy this memoir. 3 1/2 stars  1942 New York is not the place you would expect to find a thriving detective business run by a woman and her new ex-carny female assistant. Ms. Pentecost has taken on some tough cases but now her health is failing and she needs someone who isn't afraid to get dirty, play rough or get squeamish around a little blood. She gets this and more in WillowJean - Will Parker. Together they take on the case of a wealthy woman killed after a troubling seance at a party she was hosting. This is a smart, well written detective noir with a nod to Mickey Spillane. If you are looking for a dark crime novel that moves past the gorgeous misunderstood blonde, the detective with the fondness for scotch and gorgeous blondes and the tidy wrap up of the whodunit then this new dynamic duo is the cat's pajamas. 4 1/2 stars  A delightful frolic in apple orchards and beyond the private boarding school for refined young women- not! It really is a clever book about a book that gets noticed by female students of a boarding school resulting in more than a couple of deaths which becomes the fodder for another book which spurs a movie. It all started when a Montana woman's memoir ended up in the hands of impressionable young women who form a club for Plain Bad Heroines. The teachings of this book provoke all kinds of free love and a rebellious nature in these women. Strange happenings, stranger deaths and all that rebellious thinking just encourages others to question what really happened at Brookhants and to write more about it and make a movie. This hefty genre blending novel contains delicious wit, horrific scenes involving garden plants and yellow jackets and very inventive footnotes. I dare say, dear reader, that Emily M. Danforth's adult debut will make quite an impression. It is just plain bad fun. For lovers of Lyndsay Faye's JANE STEELE and UPRIGHT WOMEN WANTED- you will devour this. 5 stars  An all encompassing view of all things bone. How does an infant's shinbone measuring 3 inches long end up at about 18 inches long in most adults? What happens when you get a stress fracture? These are just some of the questions you might have that will be answered along with many more body miracles that you might have just taken for granted. Half of this book is devoted to the historical background , innovations in science and some odd places where you would find old bones. The other half is scary but true science of how it all works in humans and the animal world. Scary but true information about a subject that all of us can relate to. Science and health geeks will enjoy plus it will give you lots of interesting facts to bring to the next family dinner table. 3 1/2 stars  Such an informative and fun romp through all those things we see and use every day yet never give a second thought. Spike Carlsen takes complex systems that get water and power to us as well as getting rid of the waste we leave behind and explains them in easy to understand and entertaining bits. You will never look at a highway sign, manhole cover or even a squirrel quite the same way again - now go for a walk. Fans of Bill Bryson and trivia games will be delighted and find themselves sharing interesting tidbits from the "Hacks and Facts" sections. 4 stars  Iris and Summer are identical twins whose bodies mirror each other both outside and in. Their multiple familied father passes away leaving a will that rewards the huge paycheck to the first born child with married parents. This creates a sick race by each family to grab the cash. Summer marries wealth and seems to have it all but Iris watches silently from the sidelines as her own marriage has fallen apart. A last minute plea to sail Summer's yacht from Indonesia home leaves Summer and Iris alone on a sister road trip. When an accident happens (and you knew it would) one sister is left with a unique opportunity. Just how far would you go to live the perfect life? What if it wasn't as perfect as you thought? This is a thrill a minute classic devious family scenario for fans of SUCCESSION. Everyone is playing games for a sizable fortune but prepare yourself for a gut punch ending. 4 stars  There is nothing better than a good Irish brogue warning but Cal has no intention of heeding it. He is a retired, divorced ex-Chicago cop who has run away to remote Ireland and is intent on living a quiet life remodeling the rundown house he bought. HIs biggest worry should be the rooks waking him early or if the little village store has the cookies he likes but instead he falls shoulders deep in a mystery of a missing boy and mentoring a teen who has nothing to lose. Before he knows it his quiet life is gone and the townspeople don't like him poking his nose where they feel it doesn't belong. The audiobook was magic to the ears and would make a perfect companion on a long road trip. 4 1/2 happy ears!  You have to love an author who blasts books with unreliable narrators in a book with unreliable narrators. A psychologist and his new wife haved moved back to his home from the city. He rents space in an old home where Annie listens to his patients secretly through the air vents upstairs. He is keeping secrets and then goes missing during a storm and his wife is frantic. Then the book flips on a dime and becomes something much more sinister. A Stephen King book on steroids that plays mind games with you and you happily go along with it - brilliant. Fans of smart thriller with yes, unreliable narrators will enjoy this twisted tale. 4 stars  |
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