Monday June 2nd
The Book of Air and Shadowsby Michael Gruber
From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. "In this ingenious literary thriller from Gruber (The Witch's Boy), the lives of two men are changed forever by William Shakespeare and the letters of Richard Bracegirdle, a 16th-century English spy and soldier. Jake Mishkin, a Manhattan intellectual property attorney and a bit of a rake, goes on the run from Russian gangsters. Albert Crosetti, an aspiring filmmaker working for an antiquarian bookstore, finds that life is more exciting than movies—perhaps too exciting. Together, Mishkin and Crosetti travel to England in search of a previously unknown Shakespeare manuscript mentioned by Bracegirdle. Though the pace sometimes slows to allow Mishkin, Crosetti and Bracegirdle to divulge interesting aspects of their personal lives, these digressions only make the story more engaging. The suspense created around the double-crosses and triple-crosses works because of the close connection readers forge with Crosetti in particular. The mysterious murder of a Shakespearean scholar, shootouts in the streets of Queens and an unlikely romance all combine to make for a gripping, satisfying read. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved"
Monday June 16th
The Year of the Fog
by Michelle Richmond
From Publishers Weekly "In this spare page-turner, Richmond (Dream of the Blue Room) draws complex tensions from a the set setup of a child gone missing. Photographer Abby Mason stops on San Francisco's Ocean Beach with her fiancé Jake's six-year-old daughter, Emma, to photograph a seal pup; by the time Abby looks up, Emma has disappeared. Abby, who narrates, flashes back to her growing relationship with high school teacherJake, and sketches its transformation over the course of the search. Emma's mother, Lisbeth (who abandoned the family three years earlier), wants back into Jake's life—even as he is giving up hope on finding Emma. Abby delves into the bereft missing children subculture and into the vagaries of memory. A hypnotist helps Abby unearth promising details of that singular last day with Emma, but the information requires major follow-through from Abby. The book's twist on missing child stories is wholly effective. Richmond develops the principle characters, and Abby's dysfunctional parents make for sharply drawn secondaries, as do local surfers. The book is beautifully paced—one feels Abby's clarity of purpose from the first page. The sure-handed denouement reflects the focus and restraint that Richmond brings to bear throughout. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."
Monday July 7th
Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTAby Ellen Meister
From Publishers Weekly "Cat fights erupt among Applewood's soccer moms in Meister's eager-to-please debut. The local PTA, driven by über-wife Suzanne Podobinski, is raising money to build a small stadium at the elementary school when a location scout, searching for a place to film a movie starring George Clooney, happens into their Long Island town. The PTA quickly dissolves into factious committees, and Meister uses the ladies' competitiveness to delve into the histrionic relationships of suburban housewives: lawyer Maddie Schein has an inferiority complex that's exacerbated when she imagines her chiropractor husband has a crush on his cousin; brash, show-offy songwriter Ruth Moss secretly longs for satisfaction after three years of caring for her impotent, half-paralyzed husband; and mousy Lisa Slotnick, married to a millionaire computer geek, is in for a rocky ride after her alcoholic singer mother shows up. As tension mounts, the ladies cast aspersions, scheme, connive and resort to blackmail (a ploy that comes in handy after Suzanne is spotted in a poolside ménage à trois). The comic book"inspired cover and Lisa Kudrow blurb are the icing on this cupcake of a novel. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved"
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