An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose #1)

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris is the first book in her alternate history / fantasy / western series featuring Gunnie Rose.

In an alternate history of North America, where other countries (Canada, Mexico, Russia, England) control part of what we know at the United States, Rose works as a gunnie on a crew that transports people between what is once again Mexico (now called Texoma) and New America to the north - across the lawless region in between.

When all goes wrong, she is forced to take a job by two wizards from the Holy Russian Empire (California to Alaska) as a local guide and gunnie while they look for a missing man. She doesn't tell them that she knows exactly what happened to him - she needs the money.

This is a great start to another fun series by Charlaine Harris, best known for her Southern Vampire series that became True Blood on HBO. With a feel both western and dystopian, this is the start of a wonderful series.

Harris, Charlaine. (2018). An Easy Death. New York: Saga Press.

Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World

Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett tells the tale of the Grafton's shipwreck on the Auckland Islands, 285 miles from New Zealand in the year 1864.

Two businessmen in Sydney came up with the idea of a crew sailing to an uninhabited island in the frozen ocean south of Australia and New Zealand, find a rumored mine and fill the ship with wealth. Captain Musgrave, one of the men's nephew, and Francoise Raynal set about finding a small ship and a crew.

Joined by a cook and two seaman, the ship consists of men from 4 nations (England, France, Azores, and Norway), they embark on a get-rich-quick scheme that has them sailing some of the most dangerous waters on the planet.

Making it safely to the chosen island, there is no sign of a mine. To make up some of the revenue expended, the Musgrave and Raynal decide to stop in the Aucklands to hunt seals - something none of them has any experience with - to fill the ship.

A storm dashes them into the rocks of an island made of cliffs - scoured year round by wind and rain. Luckily, the ship remains partially intact, allowing them to make is safely to shore and take some supplies. What follows is a harrowing tale of survival accomplished by putting aside rank and focusing on needs, starting with building a shelter.

Told from survivor journals, and including the history of the Auckland Islands, the tale of the Grafton crew's two years on an inhospitable island is fascinating. The ingenuity of the crew and the ability to scavenge from the ship for materials to alter into tools is incredible. One of the best survival stories I have read.

Druett, Joan (2007). Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books.

The Last Astronaut

The Last Astronaut by David Wellington is a thriller set in space.

After the 2034 disaster, manned space flight was stopped by NASA. Mission Commander Sally Jansen made it back to Earth, but lost a crewmember. She was flayed in the press. Now she lives in Florida, a state mostly underwater, working on a salvage crew. Diving is the closest she can get to the feeling of a spacewalk.

Years later: Sunny Stevens, an employee of a private space firm, comes to NASA with evidence of a projectile flying toward Earth. It is not a meteor, because it has slowed down, putting it on a trajectory for Earth's orbit.

Now NASA is in need of astronauts to meet the possible ship that is hurtling toward Earth. And Sally Jansen is the only hope for a commander.

Joined by Sunny and two others - a scientist and a military officer - Sally must face her fears and fly toward the alien ship. But the company Sunny worked for also has a ship on its way to intercept.

Wellington has written a scifi monster story containing all of the elements necessary for a fun read.

Wellington, David. (2019). The Last Astronaut. New York: Orbit.

Freshwater

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi is a fictionalized novel based on her life, a quasi-memoir, of living as a plural person.

Ada, born in southern Nigeria, is a trouble prone child due to the ogbanje or spirits to share her body. As is typical of Nigerian parents, Ada is sent abroad for college. She moves to United States.

At college a traumatic event leads to one of the ogbanje taking over Ada's body. Asughara protects Ada but also revels at having a physical body to do with as she pleases.

Written with lyrical prose this difficult tale is moving and beautiful. It is the story of loss and reconciliation, of heartbreak, and of merging the disparate parts into harmony. Emezi is a powerful writer who choses words carfully - resulting in sentences that stop your reading in its tracks so you can savor them. I will read everything they write.

Emezi, Akwaeke. (2018). Freshwater. New York: Grove Press.

The Clockmaker's Daughter

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton is a beautiful mystery / ghost story.

In 1862 a group of artists spend the summer at a house in the countryside on the Upper Thames, a house called Birchwood Manor. What is supposed to be a time of creativity is ruined by a murder and disappearance.

150 years later an archivist, Elodie Winslow, receives a satchel found in a closet. It contains a sketchbook and a sepia photo of a beautiful woman. The two do not seem to be related and the satchel is from a later era. One of the sketches in the book is of a house that looks exactly like the house is a story Elodie's mother told her as a child.

Weaving together the two time periods, Morton weaves a tale of mystery, family secrets and a beautiful manor by the river. This is a beautiful story, read it today.

Morton, Kate. (2018). The Clockmaker's Daughter. New York: Atria Books.

4 3 2 1

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster is four stories in one - how one decision could lead to four possible lives for Archie Ferguson.

Born in 1947 in New Jersey, and with twentieth century American history as a backdrop, each of the possibilities branch from one night when Archie is a still a boy when something happens at his father's appliance store. In each version the night is slightly different and branches out from there.

In each version there are overlapping people - family and friends who play a role. In each version Archie chooses a different path based on how his life changed that night. One night that alters how he sees the world.

Auster is a master of a beautifully told story. This one is wonderful to contemplate as it is being read. Read any of his books and you will want to read all of the others.

Auster, Paul. (2017). 4 3 2 1. New York: Picador.

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is a beautiful memoir of a Vietnamese American man finding his way in two cultures, caught between two worlds - one at home and one outside of the home.

When he is small, his mother and grandmother move him to the US, to Harford, Connecticut. His father was an American soldier he has not met. He is called Little Dog in the Vietnamese custom of not praising a good looking child and possibly calling trouble.

His mother and grandmother work hard to make sure he can have a good, American life. His story is largely about the relationship between him and them.

Each sentence packs a punch by this poet author. Covering many real topics throughout the story including race, class, masculinity, sexuality, addiction, violence and trauma, and first love. This is powerful storytelling that also about how to tell stories.

Read this beautiful, difficult story.

Vuong, Ocean. (2019). On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous. New York: Penguin Press. 

The Overstory

The Overstory by Richard Powers is like no other novel you have read - an epic tale where trees are main characters. It is likely the best book you will read this year and will change the way you think.

Via the stories of eight humans, this book tells the story of trees - the roles they play in our world, in our lives and in our future. But do not think this is a science textbook. This is storytelling at its best with great and flawed characters over generations.

I do not want to give anything away so buy your own copy and start reading today!

Powers, Richard. (2018). The Overstory. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Goldenhand (Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom #5)

Goldenhand by Garth Nix is the fifth book in his Old Kingdom series which started with the Abhorsen trilogy. This is one of my favorite fantasy series.

Lirael, the Abhorsen in Waiting, will be in charge of defending the kingdom while Sabriel and Touchstone are on a much needed vacation.

When a message hawk arrives from the South Wall saying that Nicolas Sayre is in trouble, Lirael flies there to find out what is happening.

A Free Magic creature leads her to believe that an enemy she thought was dead is still around.

Goldenhand as good as the original series. Fans waited patiently in the hopes of the series continuing and it was completely worth the wait. Read this wonderful fantasy series.

Nix, Garth. (2016). Goldenhand. New York: Hot Key Books.

Dear Edward

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano is the story of a plane crash with one survivor - a twelve-year-old boy.

Eddie is moving from New York City to California with his mom, dad, and older brother. They are all packed and about to take off on Flight 2977.  Jane Adler is a writer who is moving to Los Angeles to write for a television show. Bruce Adler is a mathematician and homeschool teacher to his two sons.

Told in snippets alternating between the flight and after, Napolitano introduces a cast of characters who are all on the flight for different reasons. After the crash, Eddie goes to live with his aunt and uncle in New Jersey, trying to make sense of his new life.

This is great book. It is both suspenseful because readers know something bad is about to happen and the coming of age story of a boy growing into a man.

Napolitano, Ann. (2020). Dear Edward. New York: The Dial Press.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee is a family epic based on four generations of a Korean family in Japan beginning in the early 1900s.

Sunja, the daughter of an innkeeper in Yeongdo, a small fishing village in Korea, falls for a stranger at the market. She assumes he will marry her, but when she becomes pregnant she discovers that he is already married.

Isak is a minister traveling from the north of Korea on his way to Japan. He seeks out the boarding house that his brother stay in years ago. There he meets Sunja and offers to marry her and take her to Japan with him.

When they arrive in Japan, both are shocked to discover it is not the promise land they were lead to believe. Koreans are required to live in the ghetto. Prejudice controls every part of their lives.

As time passes, the family faces many obstacles. They succeed as well as their station allows. During WWII they find help from a surprising source. Sunja and Isak's sons continue the struggle as the generations continue.

Pachinko is a wonderful book about a minority family in a homogenous country. An instant classic beautifully written. Read it now.

Lee, Min Jin. (2017). Pachinko. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Crier's War (Automae #1)

Crier's War by Nina Varela is the first book in her fantasy series set in the land of Rabu, ruled by the Automae.

When Queen Thea could not have children she offered a reward to anyone who could make her a daughter. This is how the first Automa was Made. She was more than a human - stronger, faster, smarter. Soon Automae where being Made to serve humans all over the land. The came of the War of Kinds, where Automae took over and keep humans as servants.

Now Lady Crier, the daughter of the king is about to be wed to Kinok. This is a political marriage. One designed to pull the power Kinok is growing under the king's control. The king is a believer in Traditionalism - structuring their lives as the humans did. But Kinok's Anti-Reliance Movement wants Automae to stop following the ideas of the weaker humans.

Ayla wants revenge on the king for killing her family. Her goal is to kill his daughter Crier to hurt him. If she can work her way into the castle from her position in the fields, she can get close enough to do it.

Varela has written a great first novel in this fantasy series in the style of classic fantasy. I am excited to continue this wonderfully queer series.

Varela, Nina. (2019). Crier's War. New York: HarperTeen.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow is a beautiful historical fantasy novel.

January Scaller lives in a mansion filled with rare and old things like an over crowded museum. Her father works for Mr. Locke by traveling all over collecting artifacts. Mr. Locke has raised January in his absence with a string of tutors.

In a trunk in one of the rooms, January found a book. She is not sure who left it, but she thinks it may have been a gift to her. It is a kind of biography of a woman and the man who is trying to find her. A woman who seems to be able to travel to elsewhere.

Once when January was younger, she traveled with Mr. Locke to the middle of the country. There she found a door that seems to call out to her to be opened. When she opened it, the place on the other side seemed like elsewhere. Maybe another world. When she told Mr. Locke, he had the door burned.

Now she remember that door. One she sometimes thought she made up. If the woman in the book could find these doors, maybe January can, too.

Harrow has written a beautiful fantasy novel. It is set in the early 1900s and deals with class, race and more within the story of January Scaller. It is a book of wonder, sadness and courage. After reading this, I will read anything Harrow writes!

Harrow, Alix E. (2019). The Ten Thousand Doors of January. New York: Redhook.

Strangers and Cousins

Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen is about a family coming together for a wedding - and so much more.

In Rundle Junction, New York (a fictional town) in the Catskills, Benita and Walter are preparing to have hordes descend upon their family home for their daughter's wedding. Benita is the fifth generation of her family to live in her house - which was once also a general store and post office.

The first to arrive is her great aunt Glad, picked up from her retirement home by Walter. She is 94 years old and lives as much in her memories as she does in the present. Through her we learn of the history of Rundle Junction and the famous pageant of 1927.

Clem their artistic, passionate eldest daughter will not let them help with any wedding preparations. They have no idea what to expect as her friends arrive all week long for the ceremony.

Told through many wonderful, and some annoying, characters this is the story of both family and society. Both the ghosts of the past and the present changes reveal the character of the town and people in general. The sections from the youngest son's point of view are rich and lush as he imagines his way through the jungles of the back yards.

Leah Hager Cohen includes some that other authors would ignore. She is really a master of story telling. This book was a surprise and a delight.

Cohen, Leah Hager. (2019). Strangers and Cousins. New York: Riverhead Books.

The Last Woman in the Forest

The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets is murder mystery in which the main character reaches out to a detective because she has questions about her boyfriend.

Marian Engstrom works with the National Parks on studies. She began her first job in the frozen oils sands of northern Alberta. Working with rescue dogs to study endangered wildlife, Marian falls for her trainer, Tate.

Between studies, employees stay at The Den in Colorado. Training dogs who are on breaks as well, keeping them in top form from the next job. Tate is on another assignment and Marian is at The Den when she hears of his death.

Something does not sit right with Marian and she reaches out to a retired forensic profiler, Nick. Not about Tate's death, but about something he told her that does not add up. Tate says he found one of the victims of the Stillwater Killer, a man who is believed to have killed four women and left them in the wilderness.

Combining a fascinating career in wildlife studies with a brutal serial killer mystery, Les Becquest has written another novel in which the outdoors plays a main roll. Her books are an interesting combination of thriller/suspense and the psychology of both killers and their victims. This is a haunting novel of hope and fear.

Les Becquets, Diane. (2019). The Last Woman in the Forest. New York: Berkley.

Breaking Wild

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets is a story of wilderness, search and rescue, and not giving up.

Amy Raye Latour is hunting elk. She is with two friends in the Colorado wilderness. In late November, rifle season is open, but she prefers to hunt with a bow. First thing in the morning, she leaves with the truck for a day of solitude and stalking.

When she does not return to camp, her friends report her missing. She is off any marked trail, possibly lost or hurt.

Ranger Pru Hathaway of the BLM is an archaeological law enforcement officer, tasked with protecting sites from looting and vandalism. She and her dog spend a lot of time hiking the back country and are both trained in search and rescue.

Alternating chapters between Amy and Pru, this tale of the wilds tells of both women's love for the outdoors, the backgrounds that lead them there and the strength it takes to be alone in the wilderness. This is both a thriller and the story of two lives. A great read. If you are an Anna Pigeon by Nevada Barr fan, this is for you.

Les Becquets, Diane. (2016). Breaking Wild. New York: Berkley.

Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering

Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering by Maurice Isserman is the history of mankind trying to conquer nature. From a man in the first colonies on North America through the present, this history tells of the reasons, the technical advances and the exploration of the higher altitudes.

When a man in the Massachusetts Bay colony wanted to walk up a mountain, the native guides he hired would not join him in the land they believed belonged to the evil spirits. His fellow colonists thought him very odd. He was the first man to climb up Mt Washington, then called Agiocochook.

Filled with familiar names in history, Isserman has written a wonderful book of exploration, covering walking, hiking and climbing. If you are a hiker, this is your favorite book! If not, you will want to ge out in nature when you are done reading. Look for names like John Muir, Annie Peck, John C Fremont, Yvon Chouinard and more.

Isserman, Maurice. (2016). Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering. New York: W W Norton & Co.

A Bookshop in Berlin

A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis by Francoise Frenkel. A true story kept in journals and published years ago, given a second life by Stephanie Smee's English translation.

Francoise Frenkel fell in love with the French language. She notices that there are many French speaking people in Berlin, but there is no place to buy books in French. After many forms and explanitions to government oficals, La Masion du Livre opened in 1921. As Germany changes, Frenkel faces more paperwork and harassment as a foreign, Jewish shop owner.

This incredible tale of keeping one step ahead of the Nazis as she makes her way to safety is the real life story that makes fictional accounts pale. With the help of strangers, family and friends all can be overcome.

Frenkel, Francoise. (2017). A Bookshop in Berlin. New York: Atria Books

The Wild Inside

The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo is a mystery in which the detective learns as much about himself as the case.

Ted Systead is a special agent with the National Parks system. He is a detective that comes in to help out when the local rangers need it.

It has been twenty years since he has set foot in Glacier National Park. As the age of fourteen, Ted was camping when they were attached by a grizzly. His father a killed.

Now a case that looks like a bear attach has his back at Glacier. Not only will he need to solve the case of who tied a man to a tree where he was eaten by a bear, but deal with the memories of his childhood trauma.

Carbo has written a psychological thriller for the main character, embedded into a mystery in a beautiful setting. It is as much a story of man against nature as it is a mystery. This is the first book in her Glacier Mystery series.

Carbo, Christine. (2015). The Wild Inside. New York: Atria.

A Minute to Midnight (Atlee Pine #2)

A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci is the second book in his mystery thriller series featuring FBI agent Atlee Pine.

After intercepting a kidnapper in the process of stealing a teenage girl, and beating him silly, Atlee has been offered some time off. Since Pine is not much for being idle, she decides to work on her sister's cold case.

Pine and her assistant, Carol Blum, head to Andersonville, Georgia. Atlee has not been there for nearly 30 years. As a child, a man came into her room and kidnapped her twin sister Mercy, while leaving Atlee in the hospital with a massive head injury. There has been no sight of Mercy since that night.

Atlee plans to interview her parents friends and anyone else who is still around and may remember something. But her visit seems to have set someone off - as she practically trips over a dead body in town.

Baldacci writes great mysteries and thrillers. Atlee Pine is a determined, focused FBI agent who will never stop looking for her sister.

Baldacci, David. (2019). A Minute to Midnight. NY: Grand Central Publishing.

Treecat Wars (Stephanie Harrington #3)

Treecat Wars by David Weber and Jane Lindskold is the third book in the Stephanie Harrington science fiction series set in the Star Kingdom of Manticore.

Stephanie is the youngest member of the Sphynx Forestry Service, in a position created for her. Now she has been given the opportunity to visit the capital planet of Manticore to attend a training. She has to decide if she should go, and if Lionheart her treecat, can survive a trip off the planet - leaving everything he knows.

Due to a rough fire season, many treecats have lost their habitats. Those left, many ranged bands of destroyed clans, are trying to find a place to settle before the winter sets in. But some other clans, who are afraid of having enough for their own, are wary of the strangers.

David Weber and Jane Linskold seem to have abandoned this series. Only tree books on the early years of human - treecat relations. This makes me sad.

Weber, David and Jane Lindskold. (2013). Treecat Wars. NY: Baen.

Fire Season (Stephanie Harrington #2)

Fire Season by David Weber and Jane Lindskold is the second book in the Stephanie Harrington science fiction series.

Stephanie Harrington was one of the first humans to encounter a treecat - a six legged feline native to the planet Sphynx. Treecats communicate telepathically and bond for life. Now that Stephanie and Lionheart are inseparable their adventure continues.

The Crown of Manticore, the planet that governs the system that includes Sphynx, has approved a study to learn about treecats. To determine if they are a sentient race, and as such, entitled to the rights of people.

A team of six arrives, some with spouses/partners/teenage children, to work with the Sphynx Forestry Service to study treecats without disturbing them. Stephanie will be keeping an eye on them to help protect Lionheart and his clan.

Then the team goes off on its own to study a list of approved sites that treecats have abandoned. And becomes lost in the forest after their aircar becomes mired in sinking mud.

The missing study combined with the higher than average fires in the late Fall season, will keep Stephanie and her friends in high demand, and in high danger.

Weber's young adult series to introduce the history of treecat - human relationships is a great read for fans of the Honor Harrington series as well as fans of science fiction and animals.

Weber, David and Jane Lindskold. (2012). Fire Season. NY: Bean.

The Starless Sea

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is an amazing book! Go buy a copy today, it is that good. :-)

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a grad student in Vermont. He is studying stories, in the form of video games. Since the semester has not officially begun, he has been roaming the fiction section of the university library.

He stumbles across an old book, the spine warn to the point of being blank. Once he starts reading it, he is shocked to find himself, as a child, in one of the stories.

He starts a quest to find more information. Where did the book come from, are there others? He researches some of the symbols used in the other stories and finds a photo of a masquerade ball from the previous year. More searching reveals that this year's masquerade is next weekend.

I cannot say more without spoilers. Fans of The Night Circus, will not be disappointed. There are stories within stories in a magical way that will lead readers to long for a visit. While my favorite books at any given moment depends upon so much, I feel it is safe to say that whatever Erin Morgenstern writes will be at the top of the list!

Morgenstern, Erin. (2019). The Starless Sea. New York: Doubleday.