Rosamund Lupton, SISTER
When Bee’s sister Tess goes missing in London, Bee return home from New York to help find her. When Tess is discovered dead from knife wounds, both the police and the rest of the family are convinced that she committed suicide because of her recent miscarriage. Bee, however, is convinced that it was murder because her sister loved life too much to take her own.
Told from a surprising point of view and filled with blind alleys and misdirection, this is a fine mystery novel that also focuses on the love between siblings and a woman’s journey to self-awareness.
Amy Stuart, GIRL WAITS WITH GUN
This story takes place at the beginning of the twentieth century when Paterson, New Jersey was dominated by a handful of families who owned the silk mills, a primary source of employment. Based on a true story, Stuart gives us a fictionalized account of what happens when the scion of one of these families runs his automobile into the carriage of the Kopp sisters. Refusing to pay for damages, he embarks on a campaign of intimidation against the sisters, not realizing what a formidable trio he is attacking led by Constance Kopp.
This is a story of the underdog standing up to the powerful, and it also shows the slowly growing strength of the labor and women’s movements. A skillfully written book with strong characters, it is well worth reading.
Colin Cotterill, SIX AND A HALF DEADLY SINS
This is the tenth book in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series. They are set in the nineteen-seventies in Laos. In this book, Siri is the now retired National Coroner of Laos who receives in the mail a traditional northern Laotian skirt with a finger stitched into the lining. Thus begins a scavenger hunt that takes Siri, his wife, Madame Dang, and his friend Civilai into the north where they get involved with drug dealers, an invading Chinese army, and an old enemy bent on revenge.
Although I have preferred some of the earlier books in the series more, this has Cotterill’s signature humor, his wonderful evocation of life in Laos, and an intricate but honest plot. If you have not tried a book in this series, I would urge you to do so.
