Absent Friends, By S.J. Rozan

Multiple award winner (Edgar, Shamus, Barry, Anthony, Nero, etc) S.J. Rozan, who has specialized in the private eye genre to this point, steps out of her comfort zone to score big with ABSENT FRIENDS. Set alternately in the early 1970s and in post-9/11 New York City, this riveting mainstream novel follows a convoluted stream of corruption and family secrets laid bare when an immensely popular firefighter dies in the collapse of the North Tower. Spurred on by the apparent suicide of her lover and colleague (which she believes to be murder), a reporter for a major daily NYC newspaper finds evidence that the firefighter might not have been as heroic as everyone thought. Her investigation opens decades-old wounds and pits devoted friends against one another in a story that reflects the confusion and angst following the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rozan writes with an easy fluidity that pulls the reader along like the tidal flows of her beloved Hudson River. A resident of lower Manhattan who had to clean the dust of the disaster off her own windows and doorsteps, Rozan offers both a compelling fiction and a personal memoir based on her own emotions during the worst days of 2001. The result is a masterpiece that clearly marks her transition from outstanding genre writer to serious literary author. Highly, highly recommended.

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Rick Helms, Counseling and Advisement

A Dying Fall, By Laura Shea

The eminent Professor Parkinson, medievalist in the Brixton University English Department, has been “dictionaried” as a droll colleage depicts the event. An Oxford English Dictionary took an unscheduled flight from its high place of honor in Parkinson’s office and crash landed on the prof’s fragile noggin. Erica Duncan, a newly hired instructor, is shocked no one on campus–save the tyrannical department secretary–sheds nary a tear. Parkinson was despised, and few of the usually somber scholars can conceal their glee at his comical demise. Thus, Erica initiates an amateur murder investigation that includes members of her own department: a risky endeavor for an untenured first-year instructor. She discovers the motive likely concerns plagiarism, but who copied whom?

Laura Shea’s first novel is a must-read for fans of the academic mystery. What educator can resist fiction with a plotline that contains satiric jabs at the tenure process, the publish-or-perish mindset, as well as petty faculty conflict and jealousy? In addition, she deftly begins each chapter with an apt quotation from Shakespeare, Eliot, Chekhov, and occasionally Cole Porter. On the other hand, Shea commits some first-novel misdemeanors that may disappoint some mainstream mystery lovers. At 186 pages, Shea comes up a smidgen short on character development. In one 12-page chapter, the reader is introduced to the baker’s dozen of suspects and the victim at a department cocktail party. Most readers will want to care more about these characters, but to care more, we need to know more than is provided. Shea also experiments with the tried-and-true detective story formula and concocts an unconventional resolution. While such an ending may take some daring on the part of the author, more than a few readers may feel unsatisfied. Of course the killer is unmasked, but some readers will question if justice triumphs.

2 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Mike Shinn, Disability Services/Academic Learning Center

Wildfire, By Nelson DeMille

After a few unsuccessful starts on several New York Times notable books, I reached for my “junk food” pile, and Nelson DeMille’s latest book, Wild Fire, filled my cravings for a good laugh and some page-turning exciting moments. You know what to expect from DeMille and he delivers: extremely fast paced, witty dialog from beginning to end, a good thriller of a plot, and the assurance that John Corey, the anti-terrorism task force detective will always come out on top, like James Bond or Harry Callahan. Without fail, DeMille includes just enough trashy macho talk to ensure his book’s omission from church group book club reading lists. The topic of Wild Fire was nuclear weapon. DeMille appeared to have done a remarkable amount of research in preparation. By coincidence, soon after I finished the book, the news was full of talk about nuclear threat in the hands of fanatics. That certainly put a real chill in me. Still, if you feel like a change of pace after a serious literary tome, this book is it.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Vicky Tsai, Library Services

Gone, By Jonathan Kellerman

It’s the twentieth time around for Jonathan Kellerman’s psychologist-cum-private detective Alex Delaware, and the old boy’s beginning to look (and sound) a little long in the tooth. Delaware is called in by old friend Milo Sturgis of the LAPD Robbery/Homicide Division when one of Delaware’s former clients is found murdered and left naked on a canyon hillside. Delaware is battling his own demons, as his most recent girlfriend, fellow therapist Allison, who was scared off in the previous title (“Rage”), is still stand-offish. Meanwhile, previous girlfriend and guitar-maker Robin has re-entered the scene, and seems to want something like reconciliation.

The mystery itself is practically non-existent. As in a great many Alex Delaware tales, the villain is apparent the moment he/she is introduced, and the reader has to trudge through almost three hundred tedious pages to see him/her (no spoilers here, guys) brought to justice. While we wait, we are subjected to Delaware’s increasingly irritable musings, Milo Sturgis’s tired ramblings, and a general sense of relief when the whole mess is resolved.

Kellerman’s series started off with a bang in 1985’s ‘When The Bough Breaks’, which was made into a reasonably tolerable movie starring Ted Danson as Delaware and Richard Masur as Milo. About six books ago, we started to get a peek into Delaware’s inner conflicts, based on his relatively unhappy childhood, and began to recognize why he became a child psychologist in the first place. In the last four books, however, revelation has given way to scenery-chewing, and Delaware has become tiresome. How sad.

It seems that, under the pressure from his publisher to squeeze out a new book every nine months, Kellerman has resorted to phoning them in. One constant in ‘Gone’ is Kellerman’s apparent inability to stop writing when the story is over. Long after the villain is uncovered, he just keeps writing, piling on one irrelevancy after another, seemingly to stretch the book to the magic 400 pages (including front and back matter) so often required by marketing departments. Take it from me. You can stop reading when the story is over.

Kellerman has been much more spontaneous and entertaining of late with his spin-off Petra Connor series. Perhaps it’s time to send Alex Delaware and his fatigued sidekick Milo Sturgis on a well-deserved lengthy vacation, and focus on the Connor series for three or four books. This, of course, won’t happen. Ballantine Books knows a marquee author when they see it, and they know that people will buy Alex Delaware novels for as long as Kellerman wishes to keep cranking them out. It’s a shame, really. If you are looking for something fresh in the Alex Delaware vein, you might want to check out G.H. Ephron’s ‘Peter Zak’ series (‘Delusion’, ‘Addiction’, ‘Guilt’, ‘Obsessed’, and ‘Amnesia’). While I often forget for a moment when reading Ephron that this isn’t Dr. Delaware and company, the writing overall is tighter, and the endings infinitely more riveting and compelling.

1 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Rick Helms, Counseling and Advisement

The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works – and How it’s Transforming the American Economy: By Charles Fisherman

Almost everyone has an opinion about Wal-Mart, but Fishman’s book makes a more salient point: we’re all effected by Wal-Mart, whether we shop there or not. Fishman illustrates how Wal-Mart’s buying power has shaped the manufacturing and distribution practices of the companies that sell their products to Wal-Mart, both in positive (increased efficiency) and negative (loss of jobs) ways. As consumers, Fishman argues that Wal-Mart’s singular, powerful focus on “always low prices” has shaped our expectations on what things should cost – and lowered prices for us all – even if we choose not to shop at Wal-Mart. He takes an unblinking look at Wal-Mart’s practices, and provides the reader with substantial facts about one of the world’s most private and tightly-controlled companies. His overall points is that Wal-Mart can use its power for both good and evil, so to speak, but that trouble looms ahead if Wal-Mart’s corporate culture cannot overcome that singular focus on low prices. As a non-Wal-Mart shopper (my husband is from one of the those apocryphal small towns with nothing but a Wal-Mart), I found Fishman’s book a compelling and eye-opening discussion of the meaning of Wal-Mart. As Fishman says, “who knew shopping was so important?”

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By Jennifer Arnold, Library Services

Water for Elephants, By Sara Gruen

This story is told from the point of view of ninety-three year old Jacob Jankowski, a nursing home resident, who reminisces about his earlier years as he waits to attend a visiting circus. Jacob is in his last year of vet school at Cornell when his parents are killed in an automobile accident, leaving him penniless. He walks out of his final exams and happens upon a circus in need of a vet. That he didn’t have the final credentials doesn’t matter, and he finds himself with a job. He is immediately smitten with Marlena, who is the star of the equestrian act. Marlena, unfortunately, is married to the circus boss, a sadistic animal torturer and wife beater. The other main character if Rosie the elephant. The majority of the book is about the circus years during the beginning of the depression. One review that I read spoke of the predictability of the story’s ending, but I didn’t find this true at all. Jacob is an intriguing character both as a nonagenarian and a young man. The ending was both funny and surprising, definitely not predictable. This book should appeal to all ranges of interest. It provides insight into the depression era and the life of the traveling tent circus.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Sallie Jenkins, Library Services

The Places in Between, By Rory Stewart

I was on vacation. I was in downtown Asheville and went into Malaprop’s. As you walk in they have books recommended by the staff. I saw this book and picked it up by impulse.

In January 2002 a crazy Scotsman decided to walk across Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban fell and in the winter! I was expecting him to be killed on the first day. He wasn’t killed, kidnapped, hurt by a land mine, nothing! I was amazed! He was welcomed into homes, given a place to sleep, bread and tea. I literally couldn’t put this book down. I read it in a week. It gives a nice perspective on Afghanistan and the different cultures within the country.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Anne Egger, Library Services

Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, By Stephen Kinzer

Overthrow is a non-fiction book written by New York Times correspondent Stephen Kinzer. While it is non-fiction, double-crosses, clandestine coups, and last-minute invasions litter its pages making it read much like good spy thriller.

During the last century the United States has played a pivotal role in overthrowing a small number of foreign governments, starting with Hawaii in 1893. The fact that Hawaii was included in the list piqued my interest as I had always wondered how this distant land became a part of the US. I’ll let you find out the juicy details on your own but here’s a hint, a large part of the reason the government in Hawaii was overthrown had to do with American economic interests on the island nation. Throughout the book Kinzer chronicles the varying reasons and ways in which our government has staged coups and invasions of other countries and the consequences of these interventions. He determines that in the short-term the United States benefited from these actions, but the unforeseen long-term consequences far outweigh whatever benefits we once received.

This is not a light read. The book deals with subjects that have divided the American public since the invasion and subsequent regime change of Iraq in 2003. But even if you don’t agree with Kinzer’s conclusions it is interesting to hear the stories and learn about the people who were behind each intervention.

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Steve Osler, Library Services

The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer

A fast and good read about a marriage from “the wife’s” point of view. Enroute to Helsinki where he will be presented with a literary prize, Joan rehearses what she will say to Joe when she tell him that she is leaving him. The history of this university couple is revealed from its beginning with their torrid student-teacher affair. The marriage replays the student-teacher motif over and over again for half a century with his dalliances with younger and younger students and his growing fame as a writer. Hers is a life that spins around his. The plot twists and turns until the very last when the reader really wonders who is the teacher and who is the student. Not an O. Henry finish but pretty close. Good book to take with you while waiting in a doctor’s office or in the line at the DMV. It might also be a good choice for a book club. Lot’s to talk about!

3 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Margie Orell, Library Services

The Time Traveler’s Wife, By Audrey Niffenegger

This is by far one of the most interesting and well written books I have read in some time. It is diverse and stunning with desription and with the path it takes you on to follow the sory of a man who time travels back when his wife was a child (when they first “met”) and forward through their entire relationship, marriage and having a daughter of their own.He has no control over this time travelling and this makes for a facinating story. The chronological order of events was a little hard to follow but the book was so intriguing that I immediately reread the entire story after reading it the first time. I simlpy couldn’t put it down and I wanted to try and pay strict attention to the timing of events – only the second time around! I was gobbeling up the rich storyline the first time! The author is an artist as well as a writer and I completely enjoyed the references that were clearly made to different elements of papermaking and to college life in general. It is a keeper and remains in my collection of books I can’t let go.

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Penny Overcash, Culinary

Second Opinion –

This book just blew me away. I don’t want to give anything away but it is a very different subject matter. It is an amazing book that has many threads. The characters are as amazing as the plot. You won’t be disappointed.

4 out of 4 Stars

Reviewed By: Alice Hugi, Disability Services