Edithsbookpicks: CraigJohnson: The Highway Man, Viking, Penguin Ran...

Edithsbookpicks: CraigJohnson: The Highway Man, Viking, Penguin Ran...: Craig Johnson: The Highway Man, Viking, Penguin Random House US, 9780735220898, small hardback, Every once in a while I need an armchai...

Craig Johnson: The Highway Man, Viking, Penguin Random House US, 9780735220898, small hardback,

Every once in a while I need an armchair trip to Wyoming , doing so with  sheriff Walt Longmire and his best friend Henry Standing bear, mysteries created by Craig Johnson – his writing reminds me more and more of my beloved Tony Hillerman Navajo novels.   The books provide the basis for a highly successful TV series, streaming on Netflix but I prefer using my own imagination instead.

The latest novella, “The Highway Man”, has just been published, a modern ghost story set in the Wind River Canyon, slightly outside of Walt Longmire’s normal jurisdiction. The book has all the mystical Native American elements so familiar in Hillerman’s novels.

Patrolwoman Rosey Wayman starts to receive mysterious “officer needs assistance” calls, despite the area being known for its lack of radio communication. What is even more startling, they seem to come from Bobby Womack who died a gruesome death in a fire when patrolling the canyon area.  Her supervisor suspects psychological problems doubting Rosey’s sanity and asks outsiders Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear to look into the matter. The mystical, enigmatic canyon does not fail to pull them both in, contemplating the existence of ghost legend “The Highway Man”. 

Johnson does a great job resolving the mystery with an ending I will not reveal in case you want to check out this atmospheric mystery. 

I enjoyed every page, can't wait to read the next book coming in the autumn already, “An obvious Fact”. 

Edithsbookpicks: Robert Galbraith: Career of Evil, 9780751563597, S...

Edithsbookpicks: Robert Galbraith: Career of Evil, 9780751563597, S...: Robert Galbraith: Career of Evil, 9780751563597, Sphere, paperback Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym JK Rowling uses to write her detec...

Robert Galbraith: Career of Evil, 9780751563597, Sphere, paperback

Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym JK Rowling uses to write her detective

novels, featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, his detective assistant.  I had not read any of the previous two novels preceding this one and decided to check out the third book in the series, taking the thriller on holiday with me. It did not provide the entertainment I hoped for, the book is unnecessarily long winded in my view, an overstuffed sofa according to a reviewer in the Guardian which sums it up perfectly.

The book begins by a severed leg of a women being delivered by  courier to Robin at the agency. Cormoran can remember three men in his life who could be crazy enough to commit such an unspeakable act wishing him harm. Two he met during his days as a police officer in the army, one he had the misfortune to spend his coming of age years with, Whittaker, the creepy partner of his mother, once a famous rock groupie to many rock stars but a drug addict in the end thanks to Whittaker’s influence.  Cormoran and Robin start their investigative hunt delving into the lives of these three men. Throughout the novel, the voice of an anonymous person who is clearly the perpetrator, adds bile to the book. I found the subject of severed limbs, pedophiles, deranged people who are afflicted with an illness wishing to be amputated or having a body part removed ,  their discussions on websites disturbing reading. Several times I thought of quitting, also because I felt the book dragged on too much and could have been edited down, but decided to persevere as I wanted to find out who of the three suspects was the one committing the crime. 

Another string running through the novel are  Robin's doubts about her upcoming marriage, whether to marry her long time fiancé Matthew and her and Cormoran’s changing feelings towards another, the boss-employee relationship is evaporating and developing into much more but none of them seem to have the nerve at this stage to confront their feelings.

"Career of Evil" did nothing for me, I did not become a fan of JR Rowling’s detective novels; this will be my one and only one. 

Nicholas Searle: The Good Liar, 9780241206935, Viking Penguin, Penguin Random House UK

Viking Penguin advertises Nicholas Searle’s “The good liar” as their psychological thriller of 2016. I would not go as far as that but is  a pretty good read if you get over the dislike for the main character, Roy Courtnay which I could not in the beginning.

I hated this son of a bitch from the start; he is a real piece of work, a slime bag, out on the make for wealthy, lonely widows, planning to not only steal their hearts but naturally also their fortune.   The book opens up with Roy dating Betty, the widow of an academic who is looking for a new partner, still quite attractive, a woman accustomed to provide a comfortable life for the right man. Or so it seems.  Before you know it, Roy has moved in with Betty scheming when to make his next move with the help of his side kick Vincent. Her family watches him suspiciously. I found the beginning a bit boring but please stay with it – it all comes together in the end.

Flashbacks to Roy’s life in 1973, 1963, 1957 and 1946. Told in retrospect, fascinating chapters of Roy’s life are opened and leave no doubt; here is a man who has lied his entire life, making a living from being a conman. My dislike of him grew with the number of pages I read, stories unfolding of the lives he destroyed, his lack of conscience and clever scheming, occasionally meeting his own master, like in Lord Stanbroke for example.  The book becomes more intriguing as you go along but really begins to gather speed from page 176 onwards. It is the year 1938 in Berlin, the Nazi’s are on the rise and a boy called Hans and his socialist father Konrad Taub visit the wealthy Schröder family, landowners with 3 daughters, Charlotte, Hannelore, Lili being the youngest.

Anything I would reveal about the story from now on  would give up clues about the direction this novel might be taking.  I sensed the ending but it did not spoil the rest of the book, confirming some shocking developments I had guessed but surprising me with other turns the novel took. The last few pages I personally found a little weak, the thriller becomes more interesting as details of Roy’s and Betty’s past are uncovered. 

Erica Jong:  Fear of dying, 9781782117483, Canongate, paperback

Erica Jong is better known for her “Fear of Flying” which sold millions of copies all over the world in 40 languages, she is the creator of the coin word “zipless fuck” – a synonym during the sexual revolution and feminism in the seventies. This tells you my age of course, I read her as a young woman, a must read in those days.

“Fear of dying”, dealing with much more serious subjects, is written with the same sense of humor and light-hearted tone as in “Fear of Flying”. Those of us baby boomers who have either lost parents already or are dealing with very old parents seeing them in the last stages of their lives, can truly identify with this novel. Many times I found I had had similar thought (although this is fiction) but written very obviously based on some autobiographical experiences. Very ancient parents are not the only problem our New York Jewish heroine Vanessa Wonderman encounters.  The whole book is set in a very wealthy New York East Side enclave and has some fabulous Jewish humor. Vanessa’s husband Asher, the love of her life and soulmate she met and married in her forties after some sexually active years as a single, becomes seriously ill just as her parents are declining and dying, he naturally loses all interest in sex recovering from a life threatening illness. Not wanting to give up entirely that part of her life just yet and needing it very much as a life affirmation, Vanessa signs up to a casual encounter online site leading to some very peculiar meetings with men.  At her side with some sobering adivse is her trusted friend Isadora who happens to be the heroine in “Fear of Flying” – very clever Erica Jong!

Glinda, Vanessa’s wild child daughter, is about to present her with the next life change – Vanessa will become a grandmother soon.

Erica Jong’s novel is light-hearted, funny and yet serious, dealing with very heavy

thoughts and changes in life most of us encounter at one point especially after hitting our sixties.  I loved the book, it really struck a chord with me, and 266 pages read quickly. This is Erica Jong in great form, she tackles the big stuff fearlessly and with much humor, and you really feel more positive and alive having read the book. More of it please! 

The German edition is called "Angst vorm Sterben" by S. Fischer Verlag.  

Edithsbookpicks: Donna Leon:The Waters of Eternal Youth, 978178...

Edithsbookpicks: Donna Leon:The Waters of Eternal Youth,  978178...: Donna Leon: The Waters of Eternal Youth,  9781785150753 , Penguin Random House, William Heinemann, 13.99 L Donna Leon has been my ...