I find a good book to be a refreshing break. I won’t say enough that the coming presidential election cycle is worse than the last one, and that the consequences are dire. But as much as we all need to be alert, we also need a hiatus from the screaming hyenas on network talk shows.
I am by no means a voracious reader, but would like to share my list, and would love to hear more about yours.
Nonfiction:
While Idaho Slept is a true crime book by private investigator J. Ruben Appleman. I have not read any of his other works, but like millions of Americans, want to know more about the murder of four University of Idaho students in 2022. This was a very informative book, and Appleman makes sure the reader gets to know each of the victims personally. While there was widespread criticism of the Moscow Police Department’s seemingly slow approach to apprehending a suspect, Appleman as an investigator takes us inside their thought process and the steps they took to avoid blowing the investigation. It’s certainly a viewpoint you should consider. He also writes about the online sleuth community and some of its prolific voices. Ever head of Betty Bullhorn? I hadn’t either until I read this book. Some who live in Idaho and who’ve followed every detail complained that there was nothing new here, but that’s true of a lot of true crime books. This was written for people who wanted to learn more, not for those who already know it all. The book was published with the suspect still awaiting trial, opening the door for Appleman or other true crime authors to pick up the mantle and write a follow up after the trial.
The Last Story: The Murder of an Investigative Reporter in Las Vegas, by Arthur Kane, is another true crime published before the accused killer’s trial. It chronicles the career and killing of Jeff German, a reporter who owned every beat in Las Vegas for more than 40 years before he was killed, allegedly by a public official whose toxic office environment German had exposed in 2022. By way of disclosure, I knew Jeff German somewhat as I was a TV reporter who worked across the street from him throughout most of the 80’s. Even then, in his late 20’s to early 30’s, he kicked ass. And kept doing that until the day he was killed. I know that Kane, German’s colleague at the Las Vegas Review Journal, worked very hard on this book, but I personally did not like it and think some of the reviews by his industry colleagues are generous. All humans, even admired legendary reporters, have faults, and it’s fair game to talk about them in such a book. But here’s my beef: Kane went pretty deep into that area, overwriting about what he called Jeff’s foibles to the point where at the end of the story, a reader who may not have heard of German before his murder, is left with the feeling that he was a petty and pathetic character. And I don’t think that was Kane’s intent. He also at times makes it more about his own career than German’s and goes into long detail on some things that could have been more briefly explained. As true crime bios go, those are minor flaws, but the character issue is bothersome to me. Read it if you want, but I told my husband that, “I read this book so you don’t have to.”
Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy delivers on the title’s promise. It’s written by Brian Stelter, who appears on rival networks, but he avoids petty jealously and simply documents Fox News’ faulty reporting on the 2020 election, and why they were forced to settle their case against Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping $787 million. Your jaw will drop, and it should, when you read about how some of the Fox News hosts and hostesses knowingly reported falsehoods -- and amazingly, most of them still have jobs there. I applaud Stelter for not only meticulously documenting the facts, but also for being a good writer. This is a compelling read.
Fiction:
The Women by Kristin Hannah is just beautiful. It tells the heroic story of nurses who served in Vietnam. You’ll laugh and weep for the women, especially Frankie McGrath, who is the resilient strong woman we’d all want to be. Vintage Hannah, it is well researched to the point where it’s a very real portrayal of the time period and how Americans felt about the war and those who served. It’s right up there with The Nightingale, which up to now was my favorite of Hannah’s always epic books. If you don’t read anything else this summer, don’t miss out on The Women.
Parallel Secrets is a darned good mystery with a budding romance woven into the story, a formula for a great book. There are many twists and turns. I often figure out the “who-done-it” long before it is revealed in other mysteries, but didn’t in this case. The characters are compelling and the writing is so polished, it’s hard to believe it is the first book written by M.L. Barrs. I am glad to know it won’t be Barrs’ last book as I’ve read that a sequel is in the works.
Summer is a good time for romance and I am having one with David Slone, a personal injury attorney created by author Robert Dugoni. I actually found out about Dugoni when I checked, “A Killing on the Hill “out of my local library. That’s a charming and suspenseful book about a dogged Seattle print reporter, exposing public and police corruption in 1933. It was so well written that I wanted to find out what else Dugoni had written, and that’s when I met Slone. So far, I’ve read three in the series of five – The Jury Master, Wrongful Death, and Bodily Harm. I’ve read many legal thrillers; it’s a genre I prefer, and some of them have been series about the same protagonist. Usually, at least one will jump the shark and be a bit of a dud, but Slone just gets more interesting as Dugoni gets to going. There’s plenty of courtroom drama, tragedy, and danger for readers to get wrapped up in. I have the next in the series, Murder One, on hold at the library. Lest you think Dugoni is one dimensional in writing the Slone legal series, he’s also written a couple of good detective series and I am just beginning to dabble in the Tracy Crosswrite series, having just finished Her Final Breath. He brilliantly captures the life of a homicide detective, and yes, a male author can aptly write from a woman’s point of view! You often hear people say of a good book that “You can’t put it down.” True that for Dugoni’s work!
What reads do you recommend?
コメント