Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson

DEATH AT THE SIGN OF THE ROOK by Kate Atkinson is a novel featuring Jackson Brodie and was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for September. Ever curious to meet new characters and knowing Atkinson’s strong reputation, I asked for a preview of this recently published book. I felt as though it meandered quite a bit and was not all that surprised to see a Booklist review which concluded: “A lack of background about Brodie could make this confusing for new readers, but it's a treat for fans of the series.” I hope to go back and start at the beginning of Atkinson’s series about Brodie as this is well-written. Interested readers will find more positive insight from professional reviewers at NPR, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

WE SOLVE MURDERS is the latest mystery offering from Richard Osman, author of the acclaimed Thursday Murder Club series. In this new series opener, Amy Wheeler, employed by “security” firm Maximum Impact, is working as a bodyguard for Rosie, a free-spirited author who is threatened by a Russian oligarch. It turns out that several deaths of online influencers have occurred and are linked in some fashion to Amy, making her a suspect and putting her in danger. Initially, I found this particular Osman mystery to be quite confusing and difficult to follow as some characters were introduced with little context. Eventually, though, Amy requests the help of her father-in-law, Steve, who is an ex-cop and a widower set in his ways. That’s when the travel (from Ibiza to Santa Lucia to Dublin to Dubai) and adventures really begin for Amy, Steve and Rosie! Named a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for September 2024, WE SOLVE MURDERS also received starred reviews from Booklist (“a screwball comedy writ large, in which plot points get lost at times”), Kirkus (“another lovable group of unwitting investigators”), and Publishers Weekly (“Osman pulls off the tricky task of making his leads both zany and human”). If you like your mysteries seasoned with a large dash of humor, this is for you.

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The Trap by Ava Glass

THE TRAP by Ava Glass, while perhaps not quite as harrowing as earlier thrillers in this series (Alias Emma and The Traitor), is still highly entertaining. Emma Makepeace poses as Anna Case, an executive in the energy sector, in order to get close to a Russian oligarch, Nick Orlov, who lives in London and has recent ties to the Russian intelligence community. The majority of the action takes place in Edinburgh, site of a G7 Summit where political leaders plan to issue sanctions against the Russian government. A plethora of national security resources, including MI5 and MI6, plus the “Agency” for which Emma works, are involved with planning and protection against a possible assassination. One of the more appealing aspects of the latest novel from Ava Glass is the introduction of “Mack,” a Scottish cop who partners with Emma and just might be involved in future exciting assignments. THE TRAP received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“In the crowded field of contemporary spy thrillers, this series continues to lead the pack”). 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE by Anna Johnston requires an ability to believe in coincidences, but this clever debut provides an entertaining read even if the premise is a bit far-fetched. Eighty-two-year-old Frederik Fife is widowed and destitute when he walks by the river one day and is mistakenly assumed to be Bernard Greer, a nursing home resident. His adventures in another life including befriending the residents like Albie (who has dementia and thereby ironically sees Fred/Bernard as his own long dead and much-loved brother named Fred), extroverted Patricia, or gentle Ruby and staff members like nurse Kevin, activities coordinator Linh, or troubled caregiver Denise. Through his natural display of kindness, Fred ends up having a positive impact on many of the other characters. The story is quite humorous in places although Johnston probably over-relies on similes (“yet the moment had been bittersweet, like tasting a Tim Tam for the first time only to be told you can never have another”); plus, she struggles to make the reactions of Hannah, Bernard’s daughter, seem realistic. Like Catherine Newman, Johnston describes grief as “love with nowhere to go” and many parts of this text are quite poignant (“he let the memories sneak out of his tear ducts and roll down his cheeks”). THE BORROWED LIFE OF FREDERICK FIFE was a LibraryReads selection for September 2024 and received a starred review from Booklist (“This touching narrative explores themes of community, family, and the redemptive power of new beginnings”).

Devil in the Stack by Andrew Smith

DEVIL IN THE STACK by Andrew Smith is subtitled “Searching for the Soul of the New Machine.” This text received a starred review from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly, but I initially found it very difficult to read. The prologue discusses coding and shares some firsthand experiences but does little to scaffold content for the remainder of the text. The author’s intent and main argument were not outlined, although he did comment: “from certain angles, life could appear to be getting worse in eerie proportion to the amount of code streaming into it” and “the software being written by a remote community of coders was reshaping society more dramatically than any technology since the steam engine.” I read further and liked learning about resources like freeCodeCamp, but struggled to embrace Smith’s writing style, jumping from one, albeit interesting, interview or interaction with an expert to another. I think he was trying to tie loosely related ideas together, perhaps like Mary Roach, but her work is more accessible and more entertaining. The Times Literary Supplement review recently described DEVIL IN THE STACK as “dense, prickly and rewarding” – give it a try and decide for yourself. 

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan

THE CLIFFS by J. Courtney Sullivan features an old, possibly haunted, house near Awadapquit, Maine. The other main character, a young woman called Jane, used the abandoned house as an isolated refuge when she was a lonely high schooler. She soon left town for college and ultimately found a “dream job” as an archivist specializing in women’s issues at a Cambridge Library. Over the years, she introduces her future husband to the house when they visit her mother and sister, who work together in the resale field and both of whom struggle with alcoholism. Then, at 38, Jane ends up back in Awadapquit, with both her marriage and career in jeopardy due to her own overindulgence with alcohol (“Sometimes the tragedies of a person's life didn't happen neatly, single file, one at a time, but all at once, so that it was impossible to know how you felt about any part of the whole.”). At that time, the new owner hires Jane to learn more about the house’s history and her capable research was my favorite part of the book. Sullivan expands upon Jane’s findings about the sea-faring captain who built the house; she devotes entire chapters to his wife and her maid, giving each a voice in describing their lives. Readers also meet the next owner, a talented artist who experienced a family tragedy. And there are even sections on the Indigenous people who named the area. Sullivan has included numerous threads – spiritualism and mediums (“…bodily death is not the end of consciousness. It is merely the passing of the soul into another plane.”); the Shaker religion; abuse and misuse of historical artifacts; women’s roles over time; alcoholism’s impact across generations; and modern-day entitlement. Both The Washington Post and The New York Times (“This skillful novel makes the case that knowing what came before offers us our best chance to truly understand our connections to one another, and what we owe to the land we inhabit.”) also reviewed THE CLIFFS which received a starred review from Kirkus and was the July 2024 Reese’s Book Club selection.