MANHATTAN BEACH by Jennifer Egan

April 22, 2018

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I confess that I never read the Pulitzer Prize winning A Visit from the Goon Squad by Egan. Its desription as a novel of interlocking stories just didn’t appeal so I came to this book with an open mind. It has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, was a New York Times and Washington Post Notable book and it made many of the best books lists in 2017. So I had high expectations, and it mostly met them.

Manhattan Beach is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, and this book is a historical look at the area. Anna Kerrigan is a young girl when her father takes to a business meeting at the home of Dexter Styles, who lives in a large house on the beach. Anna is mesmerized by the sand and sea, and Styles enjoys her pleasure in it.

Anna’s father had been ruined in the Great Depression, and the family lives in a small apartment. Anna enjoys spending time with her father, but he stops taking her to business meetings and then disappears a short time later, leaving her with her mother and sister. Her sister suffers from some sort of paralysis and brain damage, but Anna and her mother lovingly take care of her.

Years later, Anna gets a job at the Brooklyn Naval Yard during the war, when women are allowed to hold the jobs that only men once held. She sees men diving in the water off the yard and wants to learn to do that, but that is one line women cannot cross. Nonetheless, her boss gets her an interview but the man in charge is more interested in humiliating Anna than hiring her. Much to his surprise, she passes the tests for divers but he still doesn’t want her. She persists, and eventually becomes the first woman diver, repairing ships to help win the war.

Anna’s personal life is a bit of a mess. She lives with a friend’s family, and rarely dates. But one night she goes to a nightclub and finds out that Dexter Styles is the owner. He becomes intrigued with her and their relationship turns the story on its head.

This is a fascinating look at the roles of women during the Depression and the war, and the lives of sailors, politicians, and gangsters and how their lives intertwine. Anna is a terrific character and moves the story along. A very interesting and enjoyable read, especially for book groups.

4/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

MANHATTAN BEACH by Jennifer Egan. Scribner; First Edition edition (October 3, 2017).  ISBN  978-1476716732. 448p.

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IN PRIOR’S WOOD by G. M. Malliet

April 21, 2018

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A Max Tudor Mystery, Book 7 

Malliet presents the 7th book written featuring Max Tudor, the Vicar of his church in the village of Nether Monkslip, situated in a charming rural section of England. Max is quite happy in his chosen role after a career with British Intelligence as an agent for MI5. He is married to a lovely lady, has a young son and is very content with his role in life.

Unfortunately, Max seems to attract murder like a fly to honey and has proven quite a help to DCI Cotton of the local police in solving these cases.

Just returning from a trip with Cotton to help with a case in another town, Max wants nothing more than to relax and concentrate on a sermon he plans to give about the ancient Israeli King David and his lust for Bathsheba. David had committed the sin of sending Bathsheba’s husband to die during a war so that she could be his wife.

Just getting involved in the sermon, the town is confronted with the apparent murder and attempted suicide pact of the wife of the local manor lord. Max is plunged into helping to solve the crime and away we go. It is probably not appropriate to use the term “charming” about a case of murder, but Malliet’s prose brings this adjective to mind. There are no grisly murder scenes depicted, merely statements that these occurred. Life in Nether Monkslip is modern; computers are used, e-books are read and the people are affected when bad things happen.

The novel is a fun read, certainly not deep nor devious, quite satisfying and certainly sure to whet the reader’s appetite for more of these books.

4/18 Paul Lane

IN PRIOR’S WOOD by G. M. Malliet. Minotaur Books (April 17, 2018).  ISBN 978-1250092809. 304p.

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THE DARK CLOUDS SHINING by David Downing

April 20, 2018

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The Jack McColl Series, Book 4

The fourth, and announced as the final book featuring Jack McColl and his love Caitlin Hanley during the period just before, during and after World War I. Book three left Jack in prison in England serving a trumped up sentence and Caitlin leaving Jack in order to stay in post revolutionary Russia to help work on details of the Communist Revolution.

The opening of this novel has Jack offered a pardon if he will go to Russia to spy on members of the newly formed MI5, apparently plotting high level assassination plans. Jack goes and Caitlin is, of course, in Russia. The strength of the book is in Downing’s thoroughly researched details of the world just after the war to end all wars ends. Russia is depicted in the turmoil of a myriad of battles during her revolution between the many factions emerging to try and take power. Lenin has become the head of state and the Russian government’s ability to help it’s people is virtually nil. Scenes of mass starvation, mass murder and a country devoid of any semblance of law and order are painted in plain prose.

Entering into the mix are the supposed planned assassinations of Gandhi and the British Prince of Wales in India by Russian groups. Also Caitlin has married in the period between the books and that is the proverbial sticky wicket between Jack and her getting together again.

Downing has Jack completely disappointed in England for sending so many young men to die needlessly in World War I and undoubtedly this reflects the author’s opinion. The first three books adequately described the carnage engendered by the battles of men using modern weapons against a foe entrenched just a few yards away. The book and the series ends with a climax that reflects Downing’s opinion and is the only possible logical ending. A complete series about a period now more than a century ago. It is certain that Downing will entertain his readers again, and I trust very shortly.

4/18 Paul Lane

THE DARK CLOUDS SHINING by David Downing. Soho Crime (April 10, 2018).  ISBN 978-1616956066. 384p.

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WARNING LIGHT by David Ricciardi

April 19, 2018

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Zac Miller is a long term employee of the CIA who is currently based in London. He is not a field operative, has never “run” someone that is bringing in important intelligence work for the US. His work is devoted to the necessary administrative tasks that are indispensable for the agency to function but never bring in the glory attached to spy work.

The novel opens with Zac on a trip to Paris to meet with a young lady that he already has met and would like to get to know better. Nothing is further from his thoughts than possibly taking on a secret mission and acting as a spy. Suddenly his world changes; a phone call from his boss advises that a man destined for a mission to Iran has taken ill and cannot go. Reluctantly Zac is assigned to go in the other agent’s place, in spite of the trepidation felt by his supervisor.

The plane he boards, destined for the far east, experiences engine trouble, cannot continue on its planned flight, and is forced to land at an airport in Iran. That is where Zac’s troubles start. He takes pictures of the area on his phone’s camera acting as a normal tourist would and is arrested and detained by the Iranian secret police. The why of this is part of the tale spun here.

Where Zac goes, how he does it, are fascinating views of a world in conflict in the Middle East. The research done in describing the action Zac becomes involved in is painstaking and succeeds in delivering a view of a zone that has been in conflict for many years. The statement “an all nighter” is apt but really doesn’t describe what a reader will find happening to him or her once the book is opened. I felt quite satisfied in arriving at an ending logical for this novel, but allowing enough questions to remain to logically expect another novel to follow this one shortly – can’t wait!

4/18 Paul Lane

WARNING LIGHT by David Ricciardi. Berkley (April 17, 2018).  ISBN 978-0399585739. 336p.

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THE MARQUIS AND I by Ella Quinn

April 18, 2018

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The Worthingtons, Book 4

I picked up this book thinking it was a Julia Quinn book! I haven’t read Ella Quinn before and starting this series with book 4 was probably not the best idea but I didn’t realize that until I was already emeshed.

The Worthingtons are a large, somewhat confusing family unless you’ve read the previous books in the series (I assume.) But I muddled through and by the end, I still wasn’t clear on all the relationships but the main story was fine, so I’ll just stick with that.

Lady Charlotte Carpenter was kidnapped, apparently a common occurence in her family and in Regency England, who knew. But Lady Charlotte isn’t your typical British heroine, prone to vapors and hissy fits. She is a level headed young woman who has been trained in the art of lock picking, in how to use a gun and a knife, something else I wasn’t aware of as life skills taught young women at the time. But I digress.

Lady Charlotte is taken to an inn, where she is held prisoner. She is rescued by Constantine, Marquis of Kenilworth, who sneaks her out in the dead of night. But when he gets lost in trying to take her home, they are seen together and he knows her reputation will be ruined. So he announces their engagement, despite the fact they don’t know each other. But Lady Charlotte isn’t so sure she wants to marry the dashing Marquis. She has seen him at the theater in the company of courtesans, and she strongly disapproves.

Kenilworth works hard to woo her, realizing she is the right woman for him and she fights him every step of the way – until she gives in. This is a Regency romance so it is witty and the sex is not too explicit. The kidnapping angle was interesting and the romance was fun, but I would strongly recommend reading these books in order.

4/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE MARQUIS AND I by Ella Quinn. Zebra (February 27, 2018). ISBN 978-1420145168.  400p.

Kindle

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BIG GUNS by Steve Israel

April 17, 2018

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A completely unabashed tongue-in-cheek look at American big business, big businessmen, Congress, the Senate and of course our president. I knew that this book was a comedy when I started it, but the remarks, the actions described and the characters are truly larger and a lot funnier than I expected.

The story opens with the mayor of Chicago desperate to somehow stop the myriad number of shootings and murders going on in his city. He therefore decides to push the Federal government into passing a law making firearms illegal. We know that this would infringe on our second amendment rights to carry and bare arms and commit mayhem to our hearts content so the blow back begins.

Otis Cogsworth, the wealthy owner and CEO of Cogsworth Arms company who we find enjoying a well deserved time out in the Long Island town of Asabogue, feels that such a law would interrupt his continued surge forward to becoming a multi-billionaire. He therefore directs his lobbyist Sunny McCarthy to get a Congressman to present a bill to force everyone to carry a gun. Complicating the matter, Lois Leibowitz, the mayor of Asabogue, and incidentally Sunny McCarthy’s mother, gets a law passed banning guns in her town. Cogsworth retaliates against Lois by financing an election between Jack Steele, a wealthy resident and former movie star, and her.

What happens and who does what to whom becomes the funniest set of circumstances possible. All I can say is that the reader’s stomach will be tender from laughing so much. In the midst of all the serious happenings in the world today, Big Guns should be made required reading as a necessary time out.

4/18 Paul Lane

BIG GUNS by Steve Israel. Simon & Schuster (April 17, 2018).  ISBN 978-1501118029. 320p.

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TRUE FICTION by Lee Goldberg

April 16, 2018

 Ian Ludlow Thrillers, Book 1

Many years ago, a popular author I know told a story about how he was invited by Homeland Security to a retreat with other writers and creatives. Their goal was to dream up scenarios of terrorist attacks on the U.S. so that Homeland Security could be prepared. This was a true story, and I’m guessing Lee Goldberg was also at that meeting or at least heard the story, because that is the premise here, and it’s a really good one.

Ian Ludlow writes spy thrillers and when a man named “Bob” shows up in a limo at his door inviting him to a similar retreat with the CIA, off he goes. A few years later, reminiscent of 9/11 a plane crashes into a hotel in Hawaii, killing hundreds of people. Ian is the only one who knows exactly how it was done because he was the one who dreamed it up. He is on book tour, and realizes that the other authors that were at that meeting with him have recently died and those weird accidents he has just narrowly escaped would have left him dead as well.

Panicking, he gets his author escort, Margo, involved in helping him escape. He is convinced the CIA is after him, and when a driverless Mercedes Benz comes racing down the street right at him, Margo pushes him out of the way and realizes he is serious. Ian takes her to meet Ron Mancuso, former star of a TV series he wrote. Mancuso has gone a little off the deep end, paranoia is his best friend and he is living off the grid. He agrees to help and the race is on.

Meanwhile, the CIA is embarrassed by the attack in Hawaii when a former agent, now heading a Blackwater type private security firm called Blackthorn, shows up at CIA headquarters with a reasonable explanation of what happened and intel on where to find the perpetrators, and has the men in place to capture them – but it goes south and the men are killed. Blackthorn is just moments away from receiving a classified contract outsourcing many CIA operations except for one fly in the ointment – Ian Ludlow.

This is a fast paced story with lots of action, explosions and chase scenes as well as a lot of laughs, my favorite combination. I’m not sure if the all the technology mentioned is accurate and I really don’t want to know – if big brother is watching us all that closely, I’d be terrified.

It is a terrific introduction to a new series, and I can’t wait for the next book.

4/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

TRUE FICTION by Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer (April 1, 2018). ISBN 978-1503949188. 237p.

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THE FIRST FAMILY by Michael Palmer & Daniel Palmer

April 15, 2018

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Daniel Palmer credits his late father Michael Palmer as co-author of this riveting medical thriller. Michael was actually an MD and did write a good many excellent novels based on medically related ideas.

In “The First Family” a strange malady strikes the President of the United States’ son. He suddenly develops episodes of extreme fatigue, unexplained moodiness and sudden violent outbreaks of temper. At the same time a young gifted violinist named Susie Banks experiences a violent uncontrollable outbreak that catches her when she is in the middle of her first public concert. Is there a connection between the episodes experienced by these two unrelated people?

Karen Ray, a member of the Secret Service group charged with guarding the President and his family, does not agree with the diagnosis presented by the President’s physician for Cam who is the President’s son. She calls her ex-husband Lee, a family doctor, to look into Cam’s symptoms. Coincidentally Lee gets to examine Susie who is a patient at a hospital he is working at.

The reader is drawn expertly into a medical problem that has an importance to someone causing murders to be committed in order to keep the victims from being fully examined. Daniel Palmer successfully creates a scenario that keeps the reader riveted to the pages while moving from one suspicious event to another. The ending is one that upon reflexion is the correct one for the characters involved and while is not a fairy tale finale does leave the reader with the impression that this is the way real life would have evolved the events. Daniel Palmer does very well continuing his father’s custom of giving a great read to his readers. Very well done.

4/18 Paul Lane

THE FIRST FAMILY by Michael Palmer & Daniel Palmer. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (March 6, 2018).  ISBN 978-1501180811. 416p.

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THE NEW NEIGHBORS by Simon Lelic

April 14, 2018

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Lelic presents us with a novel that looks at the question of how our childhood and family background affect our adult life.

Jack and Syd, boyfriend and girlfriend, find a house they like in London. It is large enough to satisfy their needs, although cluttered with the items belonging to the previous owner. The former owner had suddenly decided to move to Australia in order to be with a woman he met on line. His house then enters the market in a London suffering from a shortage of homes for sale. Jack and Syd submit an application, which much to their surprise, is accepted by the owner in spite of the couple bidding below the asking price.

The format used in telling the story is alternating sections narrated by one of the two. It is in this way that we find out that Jack is a product of a well-to-do family that is not accepting Syd.  On the other hand, Syd grew up in a home in which her father was a pathological bully, browbeating and stifling her until she moved away. Syd’s younger sister dies of a disease after Syd leaves home.

The initial set of incidents presented in the novel include mysterious footsteps and noises throughout the house leading to the possible existence of ghosts. In addition, Syd meets a young girl from the area who is suffering from an abusive father in a manner that reminds her of her own horrible childhood. Both circumstances contribute to the effectiveness of the book’s plot.

During their individual narratives, Lelic shows how both Syd and Jack react to events occurring when in the house. The move forward for both of them is very well handled and the changes in attitude of both of them are tied to their past. The novel is a fascinating study of past being prologue and character shaped during a period of great stress. The book is very well done and invites a good deal of thought about the meaning of the narrative. An engrossing novel not easily forgotten by the reader.

4/18 Paul Lane

THE NEW NEIGHBORS by Simon Lelic. Berkley (April 10, 2018).  ISBN 978-0451490452. 352p.

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DINING IN by Alison Roman

April 13, 2018

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Highly Cookable Recipes

This book was quite a surprise. I wasn’t really familiar with Alison Roman but last fall I kept seeing this recipe for “Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies” all over social media. So I made them and they just blew me away. It probably helped that shortbread is my favorite cookie but everyone (at least online!) loved them. Then Bon Appetit published an article about it, “EVERYONE Is Making These Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies…So you probably should, too.” And then the cookbook came out.

I wasn’t able to get my hands on a review copy (Clarkson Potter is making it up to me) but when it showed up at my library, I took it home and started playing. Then I ordered a bunch more copies for my cookbook discussion group and shocker of all time, not ONE complaint. Everyone loved it. I’ve been doing this cookbook discussion group since 2012 and I can’t remember another book that was unanimously loved. My library is in Boca Raton, Florida, and trust me when I say people who live in Boca are not known for being indiscriminately nice!

It is a really great cookbook, mostly because the recipes are truly accessible. Nothing takes days to make, a rare esoteric ingredient pops up (my group had a whole discussion on nigella seeds) but for the most part these recipes are easy to source, easy to make and easy to enjoy.

The chapters:

Vegetables
Knife-and-Fork Salads
Fruit Salads
Savory Breakfasts
Grains and Things
Fish
Meat
Sweets

It is also a beautiful book, nice heavy pages are actually sewn into the binding. I can’t remember the last time I saw that, most books today are glued together. The sewing makes the pages lie flat, always helpful with a cookbook. It starts out with the ubiquitous “pantry,” a list of items to have on hand which I generally find helpful. And there are recipes for some of the pantry items, like preserved lemons which I’m very excited about; I have a Meyer lemon tree and it is loaded with baby lemons at the moment.

If you’re a fan of Trader Joe’s “Everything But the Bagel Seasoning” which I believe is a seasonal item, no worries, there is a recipe in this book for a similar product. Some of the basics are really terrific, like the Lemony Tahini Salad Dressing. Easy to make and what I really love is that unlike most salad dressing recipes, this recipe makes enough dressing for a salad, not enough that I have to worry about what to do with the rest.

The stories sprinkled throughout are wonderful and Alison is just adorable. How can you not fall in love with a woman who writes, “When I was about seven or eight, I had a thing for supermarket shoplifting.”

So on to the vegetables – “Roasted Broccolini and Lemon with Crispy Parmesan” is a staple at my house. I’ve made something similar for years, but just squeezed some lemon at the end. This recipe includes thinly sliced lemon that is roasted along with the veg.  When a cookbook author has a favorite recipe, I try and make it and in this case it’s “Butter-Tossed Radished with Fresh Za’atar”.  This is a quick (about 5 minutes prep, 5 min cooking, tossing and serving) and is a really beautiful, unusual use of the lowly radish. I also really enjoyed the “Vinegar-Roasted Beets with Spring Onions and Yogurt” as I had all the ingredients already and had been putting off dealing with the always messy beets. This is a play on the oh-so-popular beet salad with goat cheese, subbing in the yogurt instead and I liked it. A friend made the “Baked Summer Squash with Cream and Parmesan Bread Crumbs” and said her son, who refuses to eat anything green, even liked it.

We are a pasta family (I know, I know, dreaded carbs!) but still, I am in love with Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini. Bucatini, if you are not familiar, is like fat spaghetti with a small hole running down the center and is usually available in Italian markets although I have seen it at my Publix lately. This sauce is made by taking fresh tomatoes, dousing them in tons of olive oil, shoving a bunch of garlic in there (no need to peel!) and slow roasting in the oven for hours. It is one of the more time consuming recipes, but the time is mostly hands off, it does its thing in the oven. The actual prep time is minimal. Best of all, you can do this with your glorious summer tomatoes and freeze them for deliciousness all year round.

Whole-Wheat Pasta With Brown-Buttered Mushrooms, Buckwheat, and Egg Yolk is unusual and delicious. I don’t do egg yolks, but my family loves them and this is super easy. I love buckwheat and it’s one of those things I usually have in my pantry, I make something with it once and then eventually I toss it. I am happy for another recipe that uses it, and there are a couple more in this cookbook; “Decidedly Not-Sweet Granola” (yes!) and “Savory Barley Porridge with Parmesan and Soy,” which I haven’t tried. Yet.

Another internet famous recipe worth mentioning is “Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Fried Onions and Parsley.” Tiny potatoes are steamed, cooled, then smashed flat with a pot or the palm of your hand, then fried – preferably in chicken fat (kill me now) until crisp. They are set aside for a few moments while raw onion goes into the pan until it softens and browns a bit and then it is all put together and nirvana is reached.

There are some really good protein recipes, like “Soy-Brined Halibut with Mustard Greens, Sesame, and Lime” – I subbed cod and arugula and it worked beautifully; “Swordfish-Like Steak with Crispy Capers” is just yummy, and anytime there is a sheet pan recipe I’m in – “Paprika-Rubbed Sheet-Pan Chicken with Lemon” is a keeper.

I know this is a long review, but bear with me a bit longer and let’s talk desserts! The shortbread cookie is the only cookie recipe in the book, but there are other desserts. Plus Roman started out as a pastry chef and her Milk Bar roots show as in “Choclate-Tahini Tart with Crunch Salt.” I haven’t tried the “Luckiest Biscuits in America” yet but I will – biscuits are my nemesis, the only successful ones I’ve ever made are “Evil Cheese Biscuits” from OLD-SCHOOL COMFORT FOOD by Alex Guarnaschelli.  “Blueberry Cake with Almond and Cinnamon” is made with a combination of almond flour and all purpose and is one of those deceptively simple coffee cakes that is just wonderful. There are fruit desserts, “Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups” is just beautiful, “Jen’s Key Lime Pie” and a “Cocoa Banana Bread” that has me intrigued. Finally, the last recipe in the book, “Brown Butter-Buttermilk Cake” is described as “something that tastes like an old-fashioned donut” and is next up in my kitchen.

My only criticism is that I wish there was a photograph of every recipe. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots  of pictures – Roman has a huge Instagram following so knows the value of good food porn, but there are recipes without photos that I would have liked to see.

Obviously, I’m not done yet. All I can say is I love this book and hope you will, too.

4/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DINING IN by Alison Roman. Clarkson Potter (October 24, 2017). ISBN 978-0451496997. 303p.

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