vacation reading

in the woods.

tana french.

dublin murder mystery squad.

can i give spoilers?

well, i will.

main character goes into a myopic funk and ruins the whole story. one of the mysteries remains unsolved, which is super frustrating, and the fun relationship between the partners unravels ridiculously.

that being said, i could not put it down and was dying to finish. i did have disturbing dreams.....missing children, murder site, etc. so.... final analysis. it was her first novel.... but i will most likely read her second that takes the female detective's point of view on a new case. i did read the third one of the series and was on the fence about it as well.... so lois, not sure i disliked it but can't say i loved it.

dead until dark.

living dead in dallas.

club dead.

charlaine harris

okay, i read the first three sookie stackhouse books. more vampire fiction..... adult version though. definitely NOT for juvenile audience. i was also on the fence....but then read two more. mostly because you can read them in two days flat with out much mental difficulties AND she creates interesting characters that are funny, witty, and ridiculous. i am a bit embarrassed but then again it was vacation.

shanghai girls.

lisa see

china pre-war to immigrant los angles.

i loved it. so fascinating and well researched. at first i thought i was just reading another amy tan novel, but i found this to be richer in culture and less mother-daughter-relationship heavy. it was actually more the story of two sisters who never fully understand what sacrifices the other had made for their survival. having grown up in souther california, i loved reading about china town and the history of film, food, and culture. again, full of history seamlessly woven into this story.

girl who fell from the sky.

heidi w. durrow.

mystery of "was she pushed or did she jump" is intriguing through out the novel.

such interesting racial commentary.... she is the daughter of a black GI and danish woman. only to be more complicated because she is being raised by her strict african american grandmother.

multiple narrators that all tie together....which must be the new mode for fiction as i have read a number of novels written this way.

definitely a worthy read. wasn't sure it fit my vacation genre but quality for sure.