The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing an evening dress and heavy makeup, which is now smeared across her cheeks. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry?

The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marple into their home to investigate. Amid rumors of scandal, she baits a clever trap to catch a ruthless killer.

REVIEW:
[The Body in the Library] is one of my favorite Agatha Christie mysteries, one that truly reveals the genius of Miss Marple. The mystery itself is perfect- it has glamorous movie people and the village staples plus a healthy dose of suspicious characters. In addition, it has a deft psychological discussion of guilt and innocence and the power of gossip to ruin lives that would not be out of place in a modern conversation about crime. Highly recommended!

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Cora is a young slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood—where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. In Colson Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman's will to escape the horrors of bondage—and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.

REVIEW:
After reading The Underground Railroad I can see why it won so many accolades. This rich and layered narrative is truly a must-read. The unremitting pain of Cora's life was presented in such a deadpan way it underlined the stark horror of slavery. Envisioning the Underground Railroad as a real railroad gave the whole concept an air of fantasy and power for the reader that I think must echo the way reality of it at the time- spoken about only carefully, treasured for the sliver of hope for escape that it provided. The story is often violent and disturbing and it does not make for a comfortable read, but no story about slavery should. Once I started reading, I could not put it down, and I'm still thinking about it weeks after finishing it. 5 stars.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.

When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself.

Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.

REVIEW:
I wasn't sure what to expect with Ready Player One but I'm so glad I gave this book a try. Though I myself don't play video games, I loved the treasure hunt element of this story, and couldn't help but embrace the 1980s memories that were so central to the plot. Though in some ones this is a terrifying vision of the future where people prefer to exist in the virtual world rather than the real world, still ultimately it celebrates the human connections as critical. It's also a rollickingly fun read. Highly recommended 4.5 stars.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

REVIEW:
Nine Perfect Strangers was an interesting read. Learning more about why each of these nine characters found themselves at this spa/resort engaging in a wellness program was a lovely microcosm of society. The way these stories slowly unfolded was masterfully handled, and each seemed perfectly realistic despite the somewhat overdrawn nature of the problems they faced. This isn't really a thriller, it's more a coming of age story despite the fact that the majority of the characters are already adults. Oddly intriguing, this at times trenchant look at the self-help industry nevertheless delivers a series of happy endings that satisfy the reader. 4 stars.

Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.

Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There’s only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn’t necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who’s always been distant, a wild-child sister in jail and a withdrawn teenage niece as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was, Nora has her work cut out for her if she’s going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family. Balancing loss and opportunity, dark events from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.

REVIEW:
My sister recommended Now That You Mention It and I too found it to be a solid good read though not really what I expected from Kristan Higgins. It took a bit of time to feel invested in the main character who at first I found a bit cold. As Nora's backstory unfolded, however, I found myself cheering for her and so her troubled family. I did find it a bit unrealistic that everyone in town maintained such hostility toward her for winning that scholarship - since she went on to be a doctor while the so-called "golden boy" Luke wrecked his car days later while drunk and high (also causing a permanent disability in his brother), it seems like people should have figured out she was always the better candidate! Overall the storyline was much darker than I expected, and I found the final resolution with Luke to be over the top. Nevertheless, a decent read - 4 stars.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

REVIEW:
The Thirteenth Tale was another re-read for me, one I'm shocked to discover I never reviewed. I read this book years ago and fell in love, not just with the story, but with the way the narrator fell into the story and pulled the reader with her. The language, the pictures it paints, the wreck of Angelfield and the family- they pulled me in all those years ago, and they pulled me in again today even though I knew the twist that was coming. This is a book written for readers, one that recognizes the magnetic pull of a good tale and the need to stay up all night to finish it. I've read Bellman and Black and though well-written, it didn't resonate for me the way The Thirteenth Tale did. I was a little afraid that reading this book again would ruin it- that I wouldn't find the same magic and so would ruin the memory of how good it was. Instead I am again bewitched, again finding it hard to shake off the tendrils of the story. 5 stars.

In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen

World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham’s middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility.

As Ben follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member of Pamela’s family, he discovers that some within the realm have an appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela’s help, stop them before England falls?

REVIEW:
I enjoyed In Farleigh Field though not as much as Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series. This book lacks the humor that makes the series so enjoyable, though it does feature some great characters. I enjoyed the view of WWII on the home front, and thought the key characters were well drawn. The problem for me is the rather abrupt end that doesn't explore at all the motivations of the people who were in fact working against the state as I think that would have been the most interesting conclusion. Everything just wrapped up too quickly which was disappointing as I felt invested in the affairs of the family. 3.5 stars for me.