Book of the Week: ‘If We Were Villains’
If We Were Villains M.L. Rio 2017, 355 pages Mystery Fiction Oliver Marks was a drama student before going to jail. Now that his parole has been approved, he is the only person who can finally ease the misgivings of the policeman who put him there. Oliver agrees, at last, to tell him the truth. Oliver’s story begins at a small, private conservatory of the arts, where his class of seven drama students have been eating, sleeping and...
Book of the Week: ‘Death Below Stairs’
Death Below StairsJennifer Ashley2018, 329 pagesFiction/Mystery In this charming historical mystery set in 1881, talented young Kat Holloway takes the position as cook in a wealthy Mayfair household of the Rankins. She soon stumbles upon a murder. She cooks delicious meals for the family and numerous servants, with wonderful descriptions of the recipes and ingredients. But she also tries to uncover the motive for the murder and the...
Book of the Week: ‘The Invisible Library’
The Invisible LibraryGenevieve Cogman2016, 330 pagesAdult Fiction/Fantasy Irene is a skilled operative for the Invisible Library, gathering important books from alternate worlds, and returning them to the library for preservation. We meet her at the end of one daredevil assignment, and she soon finds that she is being sent directly off again, to an alternate London, with a new, mysterious and unwanted assistant in tow. She arrives to...
Book of the Week: ‘American Gods’
American GodsNeil Gaiman2001, 522 pages plus additional contentMagical Realism (Fiction) The man called Shadow is due to be released from three years in prison when he is told that his wife has died, and he is sent home early in order to attend her funeral. On the way home he is waylaid by the persistent Mr. Wednesday, and given a job: “You protect me. You help me. You transport me from place to place. You investigate, from time to...
Book of the Week: ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’
Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward 2017, 285 pages Fiction JoJo is the biracial son of young and irresponsible Leonie and incarcerated Michael. He takes care of his younger sister Kayla, helps maintain the family home with his grandfather Pop, and looks over his dying grandmother Mam. JoJo calls his mother by her first name and seems to carry with him a sadness for the woman that used to be and who seems to no longer care for neither...
