Monthly Archives: May 2009

Lee Child, “Gone Tomorrow”

Posted on May 28, 2009 by carolwallace

I’m slightly concerned about Jack Reacher. I know it’s presumptuous of me — the guy has shown me, over the course of 13 books, that he is supremely capable of taking care of himself. Or of me, or of any … Continue reading →

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Deborah Crombie, “Where Memories Lie”

Posted on May 25, 2009 by carolwallace

What does it mean for the classic English procedural mystery that two of the best practitioners of the genre are American? Elizabeth George is from Huntington Beach, California and Deborah Crombie is from Texas. This makes me imagine them as … Continue reading →

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P.D. James, “The Private Patient”

Posted on May 24, 2009 by carolwallace

We mystery junkies depend on our fixes. Most of our favorite writers crank out a book a year, and for the most part this is a comfortable, steady relationship. We know we’ll get a few hours of diversion and perhaps … Continue reading →

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Junot Diaz, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”

Posted on May 21, 2009 by carolwallace

This is way outside of my normal range, and getting into it was a chore, I have to admit.  It was clear from the start that Diaz has an enormous tool-box as a writer. I’m still in awe at the … Continue reading →

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Mary Anne Shaffer, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”

Posted on May 12, 2009 by carolwallace

At first The Guernsey Literary etc. etc. reminded me of Helene Hanff’s 84, Charing Cross Road. Epistolary narrative based on love of books, featuring England after the war… you’ll admit it’s close enough.  Shaffer’s book, though, is fiction, so she … Continue reading →

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Sara Gruen, “Water for Elephants”

Posted on May 10, 2009 by carolwallace

Much as I loved Sara Gruen’s Riding Lessons and Flying Changes, I knew they were on-the-job training. After all, there’s Water for Elephants perched on the New York Times best-seller list. And well-deserved. People clearly love this book, and Gruen … Continue reading →

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Eva Rice, “The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets”

Posted on May 7, 2009 by carolwallace

Yesterday I walked past a rain-drenched lilac tree and stopped to smell it.  The sweet scent took me back (smells will do that) to the spring of my seventeenth year when I spent hours roaming around my hometown drowning in … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, historical fiction, literary fiction | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Sue Grafton, “T is for Trespass”

Posted on May 2, 2009 by carolwallace

Sue Grafton is such a professional. Could she possibly have known, when she wrote A is for Alibi 20-some years ago, that she was going to work her way through the whole alphabet? Did she know that her formula would … Continue reading →

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