Atonement, by Ian McEwan

What makes one novel so-called “good literature” and another not?  Why is one author rated as a “good” author and another relegated to the Danielle Steel column?  I don’t really have an answer but I will say this.  Many of the books I remember the most, the ones that have stayed with me, have been in the “good literature” column.  I like Stuart Woods and enjoy his books but I would be hard-pressed to tell you the plot or characters of Heat or L.A. Times.  Anybody remember what Vincent Lardo’s McNally’s Chance was about?  I read it last year and I’m sure I enjoyed it but it didn’t stick with me.  No such problem with Atonement, the new novel by Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan.  The story begins on a summer day in 1935 at the English country estate of the Tallis family.  Thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis is excited because three of her cousins are coming for an extended visit.  Her older sister, Cecilia, is trying to decide what to do with her life.  Robbie Turner, the son of one of the estate’s workers, is looking forward to going to medical school under the family’s sponsorship.  During the course of that eventful summer day, Briony will do something that will forever change the future for her, Cecilia, and Robbie.  I can’t tell you what she does—don’t want to spoil the plot--but she will be seeking atonement for the rest of this terrific story—which plays out mostly during the time period leading up to World War II and the Dunkirk retreat in 1940.  This book will stay with me because of the fine writing that has carefully crafted wonderful, interesting, complex characters and a memorable story.  A story I’m still thinking about even though I finished this book a month or so ago.  Don't miss it!
 

The Beach House, by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge

The latest trend with best selling authors seems to be co-authors.  More and more, these name authors are cranking out books written with the help of someone else.  And, more and more when I read these books, I find myself wondering how much was written by the hired hand.  Patterson’s latest books, including this one, have been written with co-authors—with mixed results.  Jack Mullen is a young New York City law school student who grew up on Long Island.  Peter, his knockabout younger brother, still lives there and one summer evening he is employed to park cars in East Hampton at a party given by the super rich Neubauer family.   The next day, Peter’s badly beaten body washes ashore on the Neubauer’s beach.  It’s plain to Jack that Peter has been murdered but the Neubauer’s are so powerful they are able to have the death ruled a drowning by accident or suicide.  With the help of his grandfather and several childhood friends, Jack decides to investigate his brother’s death and find proof that he was murdered.  This was one of the better of Patterson’s co-authored efforts but none of these recent books has had the same narrative spark and suspense of his earlier works.  This one had the potential for a spectacular finish but, instead, it seemed rather hurried to me with little in the way of a climax.  More time and fewer cooks might have resulted in a better novel.
 

Grave Secrets, by Kathy Reichs

I didn’t care too much for Reichs last book—I thought Tempe Brennan acted particularly stupid—but this one is better.  Maybe it helps that the story is a lot more interesting.  I don’t remember it getting a lot of news coverage over the years but from 1962 to 1996 there was civil war and unrest in Guatemala and thousands of people were killed or disappeared.  Tempe, you’ll recall, is a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between North Carolina and Quebec. She is in Guatemala on a one-month assignment to help identify the bodies of a brutal massacre that occurred in the village of Chupan Ya in 1982.  While she is in Guatemala, she gets caught up in the current investigation of a possible serial killer of teenage girls.  The case gets more complicated and dangerous when the Canadian ambassador’s teenage daughter turns up missing.  With a Canadian connection, Tempe’s favorite policeman, Andrew Ryan, gets involved--and their personal connection takes an interesting turn that will leave you staying tuned for the next installment in the series.
 

Smoke in Mirrors, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Meredith Spooner lived a wild life as a scam artist and she has died young in a car accident.  After her death, her friend, gorgeous librarian Leonora Hutton, finds out that Meredith has put over a million dollars in embezzled funds in Leonora’s name in an offshore account.  Before Leonora can decide what to do with the money, Thomas Walker comes into her life and demands the money back.  Seems the money was stolen from a college endowment set up by Tom and his brother Deke.  Leonora is happy to give the money back but in return she asks for Tom’s help in investigating Meredith’s death—which seems suspicious to her.  Both Meredith and Deke’s wife, Heather, had been working at Mirror House, the alumni headquarters at Eubanks College, and Heather had also died suspiciously a year ago. Tom and Deke had been unsuccessfully trying to prove murder in Heather’s death so they both welcome Leonora’s help.  Their investigation will lead them to another mysterious death on the campus thirty years ago and put Leonora in grave danger.  This was an enjoyable read with a nice mix of romance and suspense.
 

Daddy’s Little Girl, by Mary Higgins Clark

Back when Ellie Cavanaugh was seven-years-old and living in a small village of Westchester, New York, her older teenage sister, Andrea, was murdered, and Ellie was the one who found her body.  Andrea’s death caused the breakup of her parent’s marriage and she and her mother eventually moved away.  Ellie’s testimony helped put wealthy, young Rob Westerfield in prison for Andrea’s murder.  Now, some twenty-two years later, Rob is up for parole and he wins his release from prison.  The rich and powerful Westerfield family immediately embarks on a campaign to clear Rob’s name and they convince a handyman to come forward with new evidence that casts doubt on Rob’s conviction.  Ellie has grown up to be an investigative newspaper reporter and she is still certain of Rob’s guilt. She decides to return to Westchester to take on the Westerfields and prove once and for all that Rob was correctly convicted.  She’s playing a very dangerous game, though, because a vast inheritance is also at stake.  This is vintage Clark.
 
 

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