God's Country by William Kent Krueger 5

 

"You are who you always were. You have never been one thing. No human ever is. We are the lion and we are the lamb. We are the rock and we are the wind. We are the creator and we are the destroyer. You are no different."

    -Henry Meloux's advice to Cork

God's Country is the 22nd novel in the Cork O'Connor series and I have read, and enjoyed, them all! I had anticipated this one so long, I actually bought it for Kindle because I would have been on a longggg waitlist for a library copy. Maybe the first eBook I've ever paid full price for.

In this installment of the series, Cork sets out on a family trip (just the men and boys) into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. After a short time, signs of violence are noted, and Cork sends the family members home to summon law enforcement. Knowing his long-time friend, Cordell Bishop, is leading this suspicious group, Cork feels he must be in danger and so sets out to find and hopefully rescue him.

He finds the Kennedy brothers have basically kidnapped Cordell and are trying to force him to help them find their late father's stash of something apparently quite valuable. It is a dangerous choice Cork makes when he decides he must help his friend. As he gets to know the brothers, he faces not just his own survival instinct but also inner turmoil about how to treat the captors. He can't help but think of something Henry has mentioned before, an Indigenous saying: "There are two wolves constantly battling in the human heart. One is love, the other hate. Which one wins the battle? The one you feed. Always the one you feed."      

There are so many quotable passages in this book, it was hard to choose one, but I think I have started almost every Cork O'Connor blog post with wisdom from Henry Meloux. This time I included two. I am always in awe at Krueger's powers of description, making me wish I could see "God's country" in Minnesota, although not in the canoe trip he depicts in this novel!

Another thriller from this author, I rated it a 5 even though it wouldn't be among my favorites. This is the first in the series where I thought the end was a cliffhanger. Now we have to wait for book 23 to know how Cork handles his angst!

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe 3

 

"For five years, the Brettlers had spent an inordinate amount of time poring over the mystery of Zac's death, and their diligence had exposed, at least partially, a matrix of power and secrecy and corruption in contemporary London, a dimension of their own city that they had never recognized before now."

I recognized this author's name when I began to see this title on the Bestseller List. I had read 2 of Keefe's nonfictions---Say Nothing and Empire of Pain. Both were captivating and I gave them high ratings. I am giving this one a 3---it made me want to finish but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the other two. There were so many characters to keep track of and so many were evil. Much discussion of the financial world and corruption left me cold, not to mention an unsatisfying ending.

I think between the subtitle: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth and the quote above, you have a short summary of this true crime.story. Zac Brettler is the 19-year-old son of Rachelle and Matthew Brettler who has been leading a double life and getting mixed up with some dangerous characters. Zac is caught on camera pacing the patio of a luxury apartment some time before his body is found in the Thames. Keefe writes "A lot of people in London have a story like this---about a body in the Thames. Every year, thirty or so bodies are retrieved from its waters." Guess that explains the title.

Zac's death was thought to be suicide but the people who knew him best did not believe it. The investigation was far from thorough leading the Brettlers and this author to keep searching for clues.

A Heartbeat at My Feet by Kristin Judd 5

 

"Listen: I've mentioned that, as a dog, human relationships often befuddle me---they're overly complicated ridiculously intricate. Consider, dogs, for example. Consider, if you will, me: I either love someone, or hate them, or am indifferent altogether....

But when you get right down to it, when I love someone, I love them without ambiguity. That's how it is with dogs. But human relationships? Dio Mio...love between humans can be as clear as a muddy pond."

       -Cicero, from the novel

Unexpectedly this was one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while. I generally do not read romances, and this one contains that element but much more. I am rating it a 5---well-written and so light and entertaining.

Josie Ballard is a young woman hurt by a philandering husband who takes off on a long-dreamed-of trip to Italy. Meanwhile, a "snobbish terrier of indeterminate breeding" named Cicero is wandering Pompeii, mourning the loss of his precious owner, Giorgio. When the two meet up, it seems a match made in heaven, especially when they are led to Hugo, Giorgio's estranged son. Can you say serendipity?

The chapters alternate between Josie's perspective and Cicero's narratives, which are very humorous. Made me laugh out loud at times.

I recommend this endearing story.

The Good Neighbor The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King 4

 

"His signature value was human kindness; he lived it and he preached it, to children, to their parents, to all of us everywhere who could take the time to listen."   -from the Epilogue

I am quite a fan of Fred Rogers. I have seen the film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" twice. My husband and I visited the Rollins College campus near our Winter Park home where we saw the wonderful statue of Mr. Rogers, a famous alumnus of the school. (see picture) I had enjoyed some of his telecasts of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood back in the day. He visited our Presbyterian church 20+ years ago and was so kind and friendly to our granddaughter who was with us.

Fred Rogers was so much more than a TV personality. He was a talented musician and composer, a puppeteer, an ongoing student of child development, an ordained Presbyterian minister, a writer and the founder and host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" for over 30 years. He won numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Above all, by all accounts of coworkers, employees, friends, family and acquaintances, he was a wonderful man---one in a million! I have often said that people today should do more channeling of their inner Mr. Rogers!

I have rated the biography a 4, not exactly a page-turner but very informative. It was inspiring to read of Fred Rogers' effect on people he met, both children and adults, and even Koko the gorilla.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig 4

 

"Oh dear, Old Bean. Listen. You are at the end of your life and the start of your death. Your life flashes before your eyes. You linger where you are meant to linger. On scenes that provide as a whole, a complete representation of your life. But then, when the time comes, you get on board the Midnight Train and keep on chugging along the track. You don't stick around. Because as I told you, you can't be there when your living self falls asleep. You get on the train and then you wait for eternity."

    -Agnes Bagdale explanation to Wilbur Budd

I wasn't sure what I thought of this book at first; I don't read fantasy often. This one is pretty fantastical with Wilbur Budd dying near the beginning and then essentially travelling the Midnight Train through his life. I loved Agnes, Wibur's ghostly guide on the trip. Her philosophy of life provided so many profound quotes, I had a hard time picking one. Mostly because of this, I have rated the book a 4.

This is not an easy journey for Wilbur since he has to revisit some troubling times and some major regrets, particularly a broken relationship. Agnes keeps warning him not to make changes to the past lest it keep him from eternity but in the end, he can't resist.

Here are only a few of the passages I found so meaningful:

Music had a way of threading through decades like nothing else. A song, after all, was a needle pulling the thread of time, stitching disparate moments into something whole.

There were days in life that rolled by and were never really thought of again. And then there were days that were so beloved or important that they contained inside them everything that came after. Russian doll days that were always inside the expanding future.

Nothing ever just happened, realized the Ghost. Even the most reckless action was a consequence of what had gone before, just as every loud mistake in the world was the product of some quiet and secret pain.

Does any person in their youth truly appreciate the time they live through? Doesn’t the mundane starch of reality always turn to sugar with memory.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout 3

"So blind we humans are---so blind. To each other and to ourselves, moving through life as though through shadows, putting out a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone. And maybe we have, as Artie did with Rhonda Lazarre that day. But mostly we travel through life unsighted, grasping only the smallest details of one another's selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see."      -from the novel

The Things We Never Say is a short book, about 200 pages, with long chapters, only seven. I have rated it 3 since I liked it somewhat, didn't love it.

Living in coastal Massachusetts in 2024, Artie Dam is a high school history teacher, a popular one. As a former teacher myself, I found his relationships with students impressive. However, Artie hides a lot of emotions from others---loneliness, discontent, depression, even suicidal thoughts for a time. A potentially life-threatening accident changes him. Then he learns a family secret that throws him for a loop.

The time setting was interesting---presidential election 2024. Artie's reaction was similar to mine. "The election came and went. Half of the country was stunned, the other half jubilant."

Artie and I were in the former half. 

Basically, I found the book well-written but a downer.

The Guardians by John Grisham 5

 

"This can be a dirty business. We are forced to deal with witnesses who have lied, police who have fabricated evidence, experts who have misled juries, and prosecutors who have suborned perjury. We, the good guys, often find that getting our hands dirty is the only way to save our clients."

            -Cullen Post, from the novel

This is my third Grisham novel in a row. Might not have happened if The Guardians had not been a June Page Turners selection and had The Testament not been the best available in the cruise ship library. Of the three, I liked this one best for a couple of reasons. It reminded me of Framed, a nonfiction by Grisham and a co-writer, Jim McCloskey who heads up an innocence project of his own. I found it fascinating, if disturbing. Also, The Guardians is partially set in Central Florida where I live with mentions of familiar places like the Orange County Court House, a skyscraper in Orlando. I rate it a 5, definitely a page-turner.

Cullen Post is a former criminal defense attorney turned episcopal priest turned innocence lawyer. He works with a nonprofit, Guardian Ministries, out of Savannah. The novel focuses on two of his clients, innocent men falsely imprisoned: Duke Russell dangerously close to being executed in Alabama and Quincy Miller 20+ years in prison in North Florida for a murder he did not commit. Post puts in an incredible number of hours and miles on his old car traveling from prison to prison and finding and interviewing people involved in the original verdicts.

I can only hope there are numerous guardians like Cullen Post in America trying to right some terrible wrongs. Our U.S. justice system is far from just for some Americans, especially people of color and those without resources.