Monday, August 31, 2009

2009 books 176 and 177

Sorry for the radio silence--I've been out of town celebrating my brother's wedding! (And mostly staying w/ my sister, who doesn't have internet.)

Michael Taeckens, ed. Love is a Four-Letter Word
I'm not just saying this b/c I know the editor and one of the contributors, but this anthology is really good! With most anthologies, there are some definite high points and low points, but I genuinely enjoyed all the essays/comics/whatevers in here. Some great writers are represented: Junot Diaz, Linda Barry (though I have her piece in another book, it's nice to see here), Kate Christensen, etc etc. I highly recommend this one. A.

Val McDermid's A Darker Domain
This mystery starts off strong (even though the heroine is soooo formulaic) as a police inspector in Scotland investigates two cold cases from the 80s--one involving a man who disappeared during the miner's strike, the other involving the kidnapping of an heiress. The cases are interesting enough, and the narrative style--lots of flashbacks--works well, but the end is fairly ridiculous. B/B-.

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