Broken Harbor - Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad #4)

I read this one awhile back, but just preparing to write this post reminded me how great it was and how much I'd like to read a good mystery right now.  I had the pleasure of reading this one in a hospital bed late at night when I couldn't sleep.  A little scary, but nice to be undisturbed so I could get through the good parts!  I am a big fan of Tana French - I have read the other three books in this "series", but the books don't really have anything to do with each other, except that they're all about detectives in this Dublin Murder Squad - certainly not necessary to read the others before this one. When a father and his two children are found murdered in their home, Mick Kennedy is assigned to the case.  What he thinks will be an easy resolution of course turns into never-ending twists and turns (like all good murder mysteries).  I like Kennedy as a character, and we get some good back story about him and his family when his mentally ill sister comes to live with him during the investigation.  Once again French has managed to weave together a well-written compelling story-line, with interesting characters and enough creepiness to keep me reading but still able to fall asleep at the end of the night.  Can't wait for her next one.

The Invisible Bridge - Julie Orringer

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've found time to update this blog...I believe I finished reading this book back in early October, while I was on bedrest in the hospital waiting for the birth of my twins.  My sister-in-law loaned this one to me, and when I first read that it was yet another book about WWII, I was not too excited.  But, I'm glad I dove in because this was definitely one of my favorites of the year.  At the outset of this book, a young Hungarian architecture student arrives in Paris to pursue his dreams.  While he is Jewish, and the war has begun, he is seemingly oblivious to the potential dangers in store.  He finds a forbidden love in his new city, and makes strange and wonderful friendships.  Slowly, the realities of the war begin to set in, as the young man sees freedoms around him slowly taken away, and a hate group at his school grow in increasing numbers and power.  This story is told in an beautiful and very readable fashion.  It reminded me of Richard Russo.  Toward the end, the book became difficult to read, just in terms of the subject matter, but overall this is a powerful narrative with rich characters.

The Midnight Palace - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Niebla #2)

While this is the second in Zafon's juvenile fiction Niebla series, it has absolutely nothing (that I could discern) to do with the first book in the series.  It focuses on twins, separated at birth, and reunited unknowingly on their sixteenth birthday.  Ben grew up in an orphanage and is just about to set out on his own.  Sheere was raised by her grandmother who hid all information about her birth and her past in an effort to protect her.  With the help of Ben's friends, the two set out to learn more about their mysterious past and the deadly figure that has hunted them all their lives.  Once again, I found this book way too scary for a kid -but again, my scare threshhold is low, and maybe kids like these things.  This book is suspenseful and stretches the suspension of disbelief.  The dark figure that pursues the twins is almost too fantastical, but I did enjoy the mystery of it all - a nice quick read that got me through some tedious time in the hospital before the birth of my own twins.

Happier at Home - Gretchen Rubin

Awhile back I read and quite enjoyed Gretchen Rubin's book - The Happiness Project.  So when I saw that her new one employed many of the same happiness concepts - just focused more on the home, I was eager to read it - and actually places an advanced order on amazon - something this proud libary card holder does for only the rarest of books.  What I appreciate about Rubin's quest for happiness, and her eagerness to share her thoughts - is that she never assumes that what would make one person happy would necessarily work for another - and she intends her book to act as inspiration for all of us to create our own happiness agendas, rather than as a guide for what we should do to achieve happiness.  I also like her regular reminders that we cannot make others happy, and we cannot rely on others make us happy - and that these goals cannot guide our actions.  There was actually quite a bit in this book that I thought would affirmatively not work for me - and I was frustrated on her behalf (though she did not seem frustrated at all) at her husband's often reluctance to participate in her happiness suggestions.  Because I am a firm believer in the adage that "happiness is not a destination, but merely a mode of travel," I liked the reminders this book gave me in general to look for ways in my everyday life to create happiness around me.  While I did read the book straight through - like The Happiness Project, I feel like it's one I'd like to leave lying around to peruse now and again for inspiration.

Office Girl - Joe Meno

One line of the description of this book hooked me, "Nothing takes place during a World War."  Not that there aren't great books that take place during World Wars, but I have read many of them in my time, and I could use a different setting (as long as it's not also post 9/11 PTSD land).  Office Girl, however, was not quite what I was looking for.  It tells the story of "artists" Odile and Jack and reads like a literary version of Zooey Deschanel's quirky too-cool projects.  As the two work menial office jobs during the day, they spend their evenings contemplating the more esoteric - condemning commercial art and making renegade art of their own.  I think I am too old for this book - not that I'm too mature by any means, but just that I find characters in their 20-somethings who are complaining about life and finding themselves to be tedious.  I just want them to get over themselves.  That being said, some of their art was clever and funny.  Overall, however, I found the book a little too hip for my tastes.

Double Dexter - Jeff Lindsay (Dexter #6)

Once again, I've caught up with this series, and reading it always makes me want to start watching the HBO TV series - though I'm not sure I can handle all the gore visually.  This installment finds Dexter back to his old tricks, but this time, it seems he has been observed by someone who doesn't plan just to expose him, but to give him a taste of his own painful medicine.  While Dexter aids in the investigation of a serial killer targeting Miami police detectives, he is simultaneously looking over his shoulder for the killer trying to track him down.  In typical Dexter fashion, I found myself simultaneously rooting for him while also cringing at his internal monologues and the example he sets for his step-children.  A thoroughly entertaining series that I hope will continue.

Turn of Mind - Alice LaPlante

Awhile back, I read a fiction book called Still Alice about a woman with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  I highly recommend the novel, though it is a frightening reality, I found the book immensely intriguing in its portrayal of this degenerative disease.  Then the Stanford Book Club picked this novel - Turn of Mind - a murder mystery also feautring a main character with Alzheimer's.  With recent media attention on the possible connection between Alzheimer's and diabetes, this condition has been much on my mind and with that background, I picked up this thriller.  Written in the first-person, this is the story of former hand surgeon, Dr. Jennifer White, has a caretaker and is watched over by her daughter and delinquent son.  She suffers from Alzheimer's and when he best friend is found murdered - with several fingers severed from her hand - Jennifer becomes a prime suspect.  The book is written in fragmented sections - there are present day interactions such as the repeated interogations by the police in which Jennifer is painfully reminded at each visit that her best friend has been murdered.  And there are fragments of memories from Jennifer's past - descrbing her marriage, her friendship, her practice, and the raising of her children.  Like Still Alice, I found this a very painful and difficult read, while at the same time fascinated by the author's ability to get into the mind of someone with this disease (as realistic as we can ever know that the portrayal is).  In terms of a murder mystery, the plot unfolds nicely with the reader constantly wondering if Jennifer committed the crime, and if she did, whehther she actually remembers doing so.  The end unfolded a bit strangely, and while I want to avoid any spoilers, I'm not sure I was entrely satisfied with it.  But, I loved the writing in this book and the interactions between the characters - a little frustrating at times, but certainly nothing compared to the frustration of having this disease, or caring for a loved one suffering from it.