Chasing Cezanne - Peter Mayle

I tried reading this book years ago and just couldn't get into it - this surprised me because I am a big fan of Peter Mayle's non-fiction writing about his life in France, and in general I like a good art heist story. So, I decided to try again. I had a little more luck this second time around, but still found that the story failed to really hold my attention. The basic story line is that a magazine photographer who takes pictures of the homes and art of the rich and famous, finds himself photog...moreI tried reading this book years ago and just couldn't get into it - this surprised me because I am a big fan of Peter Mayle's non-fiction writing about his life in France, and in general I like a good art heist story. So, I decided to try again. I had a little more luck this second time around, but still found that the story failed to really hold my attention. The basic story line is that a magazine photographer who takes pictures of the homes and art of the rich and famous, finds himself photographing what he believes to be the theft of a Cezanne. As he reveals his find to the home owner and his connections in the magazine art world, he finds that they are not as eager as he to get to the bottom of the problem. His interest takes him sleuthing throughout France as he uncovers a web of art forgery and deception. The writing in terms of the quirky characters reminded me a lot of Alexander McCall Smith - a fun little mystery - and a nice escape to France. Perfect for reading with my latte and chocolate croissant on a Satuday morning.

Vulture Peak - John Burdett (Sonchai Jitpleecheep #5)

After enjoying the first four in this Thai detective series, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Burdett had published a fifth in the series.  Bangkok murder investigator, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, is put in charge of attempting to put an end to the illegal trafficking of human organs.  His investigation takes him all over the world - from Hong Kong to Dubai - as he becomes enmenshed in the world of creepy identical Chinese twins who are mastermining the endeavor.  Along the way, Sonchai's Buddhist principles are tested, and his ex-prostitute wife is back at home driving him insane with worries of infidelity.  One part mystery, one part spiritual guide, Vulture Peak, is yet another clever suspenseful novel filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of Bangkok - I guarantee it'll make you crave a plate of pad thai and a little enlightenment of your own.

The Narrows - Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #10)

This installment of the Harry Bosch series kind of threw me off on my Connelly reading.  It doesn't feature journalist Jack McAvoy, but it focuses on the case he covered in Connelly's novel, The Poet.  The Narrows takes place years after LAPD claimed the Poet had been shot and killed.  But FBI Agent Rachel Walling knows that he's still out there.  She receives the call that he has resurfaced.  Coincidentally, a case invesigated by Bosch as a faked suicide brings the two together to finally bring the Poet to justice.  I like the books that reference cases from other books, and bring characters together.  It's like finding old friends in a new situation (the general reason people like to read books in series, I suppose).  The Narrows was more suspenseful than most in this series, and I did find myself glued to it late in the night.  It did include the typical Bosch frustrations of jumping to the wrong conclusions and trusting and mistrusting the wrong people, but in the end all the ends ties up tightly and I was excited to move on to the next mystery.

Lost Light - Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #9)

I've been on a kick to finish of all of Michael Connelly's novels...mostly because I really enjoy them and I haven't tired of reading one after another, especially these days when my focus isn't the sharpest.  But, of course, there is always the sad prospect that I will run out of his books!  In #9, Bosch, the king of the cold case, finds himsel haunted by the unsolved murder of a Hollywood production assistant.  Bosch is convinced that the murder is linked to the disappearance of $2M from a movie set, but as usual the powers that be don't want Bosch poking his nose into their business and discovering the truth.  Typical Bosch/Connelly - entertaining and a fun way to pass an evening.

Some Assembly Required - Anne LaMott

This is Anne LaMott's musings on the first year of her grandson's life - and what it's like to watch her teenage son and his girlfriend raise their own child.  I read this book during my own son's first year of life - which I thought would make me relate to so much.  Instead, I found LaMott annoying and self-centered.  Perhaps, grandparents reading this book might relate better.  And perhaps parents watching a very yonug child raise their child might relate even better. But, I thought she lacked real perspective - while I know that all parents and grandparents find their children/grandchildren amazing and wonderful, her descriptions of her seemingly average grandchild were so over the top and distracting.  She seemed overly meddlesome in her son's life - though perhaps some of this stemmed from the fact that she was contributing so much to his ability to live in San Francisco as a teenage parent.  I suppose, I should have just appreciated the book for what it was - a grandmother's dotting descriptions of her grandchild, but I just expected more from such an accomplished writer. 

The Poet - Michael Connelly (Jack McEvoy #1)

In The Poet, Connelly takes a break from focusing on the perspective of homicide detective Harry Bosch, and introduces a new amateur sleuth - a journalist by the name of Jack McEvoy.  After McEvoy's twin brother dies from an alleged suicide, McEvoy's digging leads him to believe that there is a serial killer on the loose, borrowing lines from Edgar Allan Poe for his doctored suicide notes.  Stephen King wrote a bang-up endorsement of this novel for the Introduction - claiming that he couldn't stop reading, and that it was a thriller to top all murder mystery thrillers.  I'm a definite King fan, so the endorsement meant something - and maybe raised my expectations a bit too much.  I found the writing in the first few chapters a bit choppy (a bit pulp fiction-y) - and as McEvoy tries to convince folks at every turn that his brother was murdered and didn't commit suicide, I just found the telling and retelling of the evidence tedious.   But, then Connelly did hit his stride, and I thought the story unfolded well.  Unfortunately, McEvoy did a lot of jumping to (the wrong) conclusions, which I found frustrating, and the mystery was revealed a little too rushed at the end (I think in the final 10-20 pages, though I could be mistaken).  This is not the best murder mystery novel of all time, but it's entertaining, as Connelly's books usually are, and it was nice to start a new character and see where he ends up.

A Theory of All Things - Peggy Leon

This is the second book I reviewed for the Saroyan Prize.  It's the story of the tragic Bennett family - sent in varied directions after the suicide of one of their brothers and abandonment by their mother.  As their aging father sucuumbs to Alzheimer's, each child tells their own story, and that of their family, in their own words.  The five remaining siblings range from the brilliant, but socially inept Mark, to the practical sister who stays home to care for their father, to the free-spirited hippie who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant.  While I appreciated the family aspect of this book, there were a bit too many moving pieces for me to really enjoy.  Focusing on three siblings might have made for a better story.  And, at times, it just seemed like too many bad things were happening to all these people.  Leon is experimental in her narrative - telling portions of the story through emails among the siblings.  An interesting portrait of a family, but disjointed at times.