One for the Money,” by Janet Evanovich

FM’s ratings:

1.      Premise 9

2.      Prose 8

3.      Plot 9

4.      Characters 8

5.      Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)
I have been curious about this author and this series for a long time, having heard a lot of good things about them.  All true!  No, it’s not a literary masterpiece; doesn’t try to be.  But it is an outstanding bit of entertainment and escapism, which is exactly what many of us are looking for in a novel.  The formula here is that we start with a person whose life is pretty ho-hum - which is how most of us perceive our own lives – and then that character suddenly finds him/herself in an exciting, dynamic situation; which is exactly what most of us think we would prefer (until, of course, our lives are being seriously threatened!).  Stephanie Plum is extremely relatable, though many of the other characters are somewhat stereotypical, especially the “bad guys.”  The author takes time to show Plum actually learning how to use a gun before she magically becomes adept with it.  Smart.  The use of humor, as with so MANY of my go-to authors, is superb.  This is definitely another series that I will continue with, though not necessarily in the order they are written

Here’s the December line-up! 

“The Naming of the Dead,” by Ian Rankin [12-3-16]

“Six Geese A-Slaying,” by Donna Andrews [12-10-16]

“Twelve Drummers Drumming,” by C. C. Benison [12-17-16]

“A Highland Christmas,” by M. C. Beaton [12-24-16]
“The Christmas Train,” by David Baldacci [12-31-16]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by Khaled Hosseini

Atif Khan's ratings:

1.      Premise 9.5

2.      Prose 8.5

3.      Plot 9

4.      Characters 8.5

5.      Overall 8.5

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

The book is awesome. I wept a bit while reading because few situations were very hard to imagine, made me more than nostalgic. It's a story of how miserable life women had lived in Afghanistan. The hardship of lives of women. Their sacrifice towards their children. Problems due to male dominance. But in the end, it shows everyone is not same whether entire race, caste, creed, communities and sex. It also shows a beautiful love story and the bond and relationship shared by two women. Moral: Love never dies.

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 8

2.      Prose 7

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 9

5.      Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

The premise, as Atif describes it – the hardship of life for women in Afghanistan, (especially in wartime) – is the primary feature here, and the treatment is superb.  It’s a difficult premise upon which to base a novel; important as it is, the “entertainment value” is all but dispensed with.  This is made up for by superb characterization in my opinion, though Atif rates that somewhat lower than the other areas.  And if you like your fiction reading to be relevant to real issues and with historical significance, you can’t do better than this novel.  We both rated the prose lowest (though still relatively high) because, I think, it reads as if it was written by an author for whom English is not the primary language … which is exactly the case, of course!  But with that in mind, the prose is rather well done.  Overall, the “8” rating means I recommend it, with reservations for those who like lighter, happier reading.  The harsh realities of this narrative do indeed bring tears, as Atif points out, to anyone who cares about equality and peace in this world.  Thank you, Atif, for recommending this book!

Here’s the December line-up! 

“The Naming of the Dead,” by Ian Rankin [12-3-16]

“Six Geese A-Slaying,” by Donna Andrews [12-10-16]

“Twelve Drummers Drumming,” by C. C. Benison [12-17-16]

“A Highland Christmas,” by M. C. Beaton [12-24-16]
“The Christmas Train,” by David Baldacci [12-31-16]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Gulliver’s Travels,” by Jonathan Swift

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 7

2.      Prose 8

3.      Plot 6

4.      Characters 5

5.      Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

When I rate classic works from long ago, I try to keep in perspective how relatively undeveloped literature was at the time they were written.  And yet, it seems to me that many of those authors set the bar too low just because they could. I probably should have rated this a notch or two higher overall, but I kept sensing that Swift was capable of so much more.  Whereas Defoe went too far in detailing life stranded on an island in “Robinson Crusoe,” there was a lot of glossing over of the storyline here in favor of what passed for social commentary, as interesting as the social commentary is.  I remember having heard that Swift’s satire translates very well in many instances to modern situations, being just as applicable today as it was during his time.  There are several good examples of this, including the following:  “I desired that the senate of Rome might appear before me, in one large chamber, and an assembly of somewhat a later age in counterview, in another.  The first seemed to be an assembly of heroes and demigods; the other, a knot of pedlars, pick-pockets, highwaymen, and bullies.”  [Note the so-called “Oxford Comma” after the word “highwaymen” which in common usage, being the next to last item listed, is often omitted.]  What I hadn’t expected here was how akin to Science Fiction/Fantasy much of this work is.  Or that the prose would be so much more polished than Defoe’s.  The premise itself wasn’t so much “ahead of its time” as it was eccentrically whimsical, like “Alice in Wonderland” or “The Chronicles of Narnia.”  But I wouldn’t recommend it to a young reader – the more subtle aspects of the satire would be completely lost on them.  It is, however, one of those great works that I’m embarrassed to have waited so long to finally read!

“Tickled to Death,” by Joan Hess

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 7

2.      Prose 8

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 7

5.      Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This one is not quite up to the standards of most of Joan Hess’ works.  Sure, Claire Malloy is a fun first-person narrator, as always.  The rest of the characters are too wooden, just not all that interesting.   The twist near the end of the murder victim not being dead after all is a great idea, but it doesn’t pack the punch that it could have.  There’s just not much tension in this story, even at the end.  As a whodunit, it works just fine, but the entertainment value falls short.  Not to worry; there are plenty of really good Hess novels waiting in the wings!