This is a poignant, funny and sometimes sad story of Ellen, a 48 year old living in Vancouver. The story is mostly about the complex relationships between Ellen and her two daughters, her ex-husband, friends, etc. Excellent description of living on the West Coast. Adderson was at WordFest last Fall and so is a new find (for me) for Canadian authors.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20764874-ellen-in-pieces
Another brilliant book about Inspector Arkay Renko in the depths of a Russian mystery: missing people, murder, corruption. The context of modern Russia in winter is perfect. Smith’s first Renko book is Gorky Park; Red Square is also brilliant as is Three Stations but it is worth reading the whole list, in sequence.
A psychological mystery thriller by (for me) a new author. A serial killer abducts a 15 year old girl and keeps her for 39 days but does not kill her. The question of why, in other words classic survivor guilt, plagues her in her adult life. This was better than “After I’m Gone” which is a cold case mystery but both are worthwhile mystery books.
The story of Irish immigrants to NY tenements in the 1920s. Parents and siblings die in a fire so Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian at age 9 is loaded onto the orphan train and sent to the mid-west for hopeful adoption which generally becomes indentured servitude. The story is told as 1929-1943 flashbacks as the 91 year old Vivian is telling her story in 2011 to a contemporary participant in foster care. Parts of the story have a somewhat predictable Charles Dickensian feel, especially of the sad story of hopeless and cruel care at ages 9-10 but overall this is a very satisfying read.
A beautifully written story in the aftermath of WWI, in particular secrets and silence because of with-holding conversations, and the toxicity of internalizing grief. This is a companion story to Itani’s brilliant earlier novel Deafening. Itani is a Canadian literary treasure.
What David Read 