The New Policeman, by Kate Thompson

 

Set in present day Ireland, this teen novel contrasts the frantic pace of modern day life with traditional Irish ways, Irish music, folk dancing and beliefs with a twist of magic. One of main character’s J.J. Liddy’s neighbors tells him he must travel to the enchanted land of the ever young where the faeries live to solve a decades old mystery about time itself and his family. I listened to the book on CD and thoroughly enjoyed the musical interludes between each chapter.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, by Julia Flynn Siler

The House of Mondavi follows the fortunes of the California wine family from the arrival of Cesare Mondavi in the United States in 1906 over the next four generations to the forced sale of the company in 2005 to Constellation Brands Inc. Plenty of family infighting and unwise business decisions lead to its takeover. After the death of Cesare, sons Robert and Peter ultimately could not work together, Mama Rosa sided with Peter and Robert left in 1965 to found his own winery. This same pattern of difficult family relations affecting business decisions repeated itself with Robert’s own two sons, Michael and Timothy. An interesting read for wine enthusiasts as well as students of American business.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

The Aran Islands, by J.M. Synge

At the urging of William Butler Yeats, in 1897, at the age of 26, Synge traveled to Ireland’s Aran Islands, located off that country’s west coast near the Bay of Galway. He made a number of visits, living with a family, learning the Irish language, and recording the folk tales and belief, and traditional songs and stories that he found there among the people. They were very poor and depended on fishing in the often stormy Atlantic for their livelihood. A fascinating picture of a vanished way of life that later inspired Synge’s play writing. I listened to the book on CD.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain

The “Paris Wife” in the title is Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. The author largely sticks to the facts of their courtship, marriage and alcohol-soaked life in Paris from 1920-1926. The characters come alive, Hadley trying to make a home, have her own creative life and be a support for Ernest who is combative, self-involved and driven to find his own voice as a writer. Their circle of fellow artists including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound also figure in the story as does Hadley’s “friend,” Pauline Pfeiffer, who became Hemingway’s second wife.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The Case of the Missing Servant, by Tarquin Hall

This is the first book in a new series featuring Vish Puri, head of Delhi, India’s “Most Private Investigators.” A colorful, appealing cast of family and employees help Vish Puri, know to his family and friends as “Chubby,” solve this case. With a strong sense of place, the plot takes us to different locales in India and also works in some of the problems and social issues of the world’s largest democracy. I listened to the book on CD and the narrator was terrific, using Indian-accented English and appropriate voices for the various characters. If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith’s novels, try this one, it’s a winner.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel, by Janet Evanovich

If you enjoy mystery series books, kind of silly, but fun, try the Stephanie Plum books. The author is up to number 19, so they are certainly popular, with a recurring cast of characters that I look forward to hearing more about in each book. Set in Trenton, New Jersey, Stephanie is a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinny’s bail bonds business. In this episode Stephanie is after Geoffrey Cubbin who has absconded with $5,000,000 from Trenton’s Cranberry Manor assisted living facility.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Islands beyond the Horizon: The Life of Twenty of the World’s Most Remote Places, by Roger Lovegrove

The author has been especially interested in birds since his boyhood. After a visit to St. Kilda in the Hebrides Islands off Scotland, he was inspired to write this account of his travels to many of the world’s most remote islands in all five oceans. Descriptions of the wildlife found on each island as well as the changes to the natural history of each place with the coming of humans are fascinating. Plants and animals introduced accidentally or purposefully have in most cases had negative effects on the ecology of the islands. Guam, for instance has had catastrophic changes with the brown tree snakes having killed virtually all the birds in the forests of Guam. Other places are taking steps to protect their wildlife, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, many birds and other flora and fauna still survive and thrive. I recommend this book for the armchair traveler.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh