The Best American Mystery Stories (2017)

 Book 23 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/19 - 2/28

The Best American Mystery Stories (2017)

by various authors

My Opinion

3 stars

In the foreword there was an interesting note that as mystery stories have evolved over time the authors spend much more time on character development now.  To quote, "...we have seen the 'whodunit' and the 'howdunit' pushed more to the side of the road that has become dominated by the 'whydunit'."  

As I do with all short story collections by different authors, I'll write a few things about each story individually but rate the book as a whole.

Puncher's Chance

I liked that the final ending wasn't clear because knowing for sure either way would've felt disingenuous and wrapped up too neatly.  I felt like the characters would be ok with any outcome.

The Master of Negwegon

The author did a great job of creating a full visual experience with few words.  I wish there had been more detail in the final page or two because the mental grappling of what they may have to do was a big part of the story and then it was over with little description.

The Human Variable

The story was hazy and easygoing which made the abrupt ending feel sharp and out of place.  I liked it until the last sentence.

Power Wagon

I felt dread the entire time I was reading that story because it had the undertone of one wrong move throwing everything into chaos.

Williamsville

It was repetitive but descriptive.  The author did a good job setting the uneasiness of the scene.

Abandoned Places

Wow, that was dark.  A tough read because it was so visceral.

Flight

Being in the mind of someone fully aware but unable to communicate is claustrophobic and frightening.  I'm so glad there wasn't a bleak ending.

The Incident of 10 November

It was fine but I wasn't really invested.  The method of communication was unique.

The Man from Away

That was excellent and unexpected.  Men like that are the scariest of all, the ones who just get pushed too far and know rationally exactly what they are doing.  The confrontation at the end was a nice touch because it removed any ambivalence the reader might have about the conclusion.

GI Jack

That wasn't my cup of tea.  Too much witty banter to sift through and I had no idea what was going on.

Ike, Sharon, and Me

The story was fine but felt out of place in a book of mysteries.

Lovers and Thieves

"It was the kind of rain favored by lovers and thieves." is a great opening line.  As for the story, there were lots of twists and turns but I wasn't super invested.

Land of the Blind

It felt short.  Fun and unique way to diffuse the situation.

The Painted Smile

This felt too far-fetched to be wrapped up so neatly.  I didn't mind it while I was reading it but the ending threw me off too much.

Dot Rat

I really liked that one.  Helen was a great character, very unexpected.

The Woman in the Window

It felt really long and there was no ending so I don't understand the point of the story.

The Sweet Warm Earth

Good story but not really a mystery so I'm not sure why it was included.

All Things Come Around

It spiraled out of control so quickly.  Again, not sure what the mystery was but I was invested in the read.

The Process Is a Process All Its Own

There were a lot of words filling this story which I guess makes sense considering his obsession but it led to me skimming a bit.  It was fine.

Night Run

That was bizarre.  The behavior of the main character made no sense and seemed to come out of nowhere (but not in a "snapped" way, more like a "did the story switch authors halfway through?" way).

The Weddings

Book 22 of my 2023 Reading Challenge 

read on 2/27

The Weddings

by Alexander Chee 

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the Inheritance collection available through Prime Reading.  This story was rich in detail and I was immersed immediately.  I didn't know where it was going but I was down for the ride.

The Nineties

Book 21 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/11 - 2/23

The Nineties

by Chuck Klosterman

Summary (via the book jacket)

It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The '90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we're still struggling to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job.

In The Nineties, Klosterman dissects the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the pre-9/11 politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality, the yin/yang of Oprah and Alan Greenspan, and (almost) everything else. The result is a multidimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian.

My Opinion

3 stars

This was full nostalgia for me because the 90s were my formative years (ages 11 - 20).  It was more analytical than I expected it to be at first glance but that's completely my fault for grabbing it based on title alone.  I was a little intimidated by the small, dense print but once it got past the intro, the chapters were broken up into smaller pieces so I was able to settle in and not feel as overwhelmed.

Am I the only one that didn't know the Mandela Effect was named for Nelson Mandela?

It made me laugh when the author talked about That 70's Show and what would happen if they made That 80's Show or That 90's Show since both have happened (80s was a flop, 90s is new but seems to be popular for having the right mix of old familiarity and new characters).

Quote From the Book

"In the pre-Google world, the internet had changed the way people thought about computers and communication. In the post-Google world, the internet changed the way people thought about life."

Zenith Man

Book 20 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on 2/20

Zenith Man

by Jennifer Haigh

Summary (via Goodreads)

Neighbors are shocked when Harold Pardee reports his wife dead. No one even knew the eccentric TV repairman was married. Within hours, horrible rumors spread about what that poor woman must have endured for thirty years. Until the Pardees’ carefully guarded world is exposed.

My Opinion

2 stars

This short story is part of the Inheritance collection available through Prime Reading.  It was fine while I was reading it but the ending was anticlimactic.   

An unexpected bonus is I've now read a 'Z' title for my A-Z challenge which usually takes more effort to find.

The Witch of Tin Mountain

Book 19 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 1/31 - 2/19

The Witch of Tin Mountain

by Paulette Kennedy

Summary (via Goodreads)

Blood and power bind three generations of women in the Ozark Mountains. So does an evil that’s followed them across the decades.

1931. Gracelynn Doherty lives peacefully on Tin Mountain, helping her adoptive granny work her cures. Despite whispers that the women are witches, the superstitious locals still seek them out, whether they suffer from arthritis or a broken heart. But when evangelist Josiah Bellflower comes to town touting miracle healing, full bellies, and prosperity, his revivals soon hold Tin Mountain in thrall—and Granny in abject fear.

Granny recognizes Josiah. Fifty years ago, in a dark and desperate moment, she made a terrible promise. Now Josiah, an enemy, has returned to collect his due.

As Granny sickens and the drought-ridden countryside falls under a curse, Gracelynn must choose: flee Tin Mountain and the only family she knows or confront the vengeful preacher whose unholy mission is to destroy her.

My Opinion

2 stars

I chose this from Amazon First Reads.  It was listed under the genre "Gothic Historical" which is not one I'd heard of but sounds like something I'd enjoy.  I'll have to look into it further.

I liked the writing style and the premise but the book itself felt too long; cutting out some of the extra complications may have helped.  I also couldn't get on board with all the coincidences at the end, although the endings for all the individual characters were very satisfactory.

The 13th Hour

Book 18 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/11 - 2/16

The 13th Hour

by Richard Doetsch

Summary 

At 9pm on July 28, Nick Quinn is given an extraordinary opportunity, a chance to rewrite history and save his wife Julia's life. At 9pm, Nick is being held in jail, accused of Julia's murder. He saw her bloody corpse; he knows that she is dead. That's when a grey haired gentleman presents him with a talisman that allows him to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. With each hour that Nick journeys back in time, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia's real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past have unexpected repercussions on the future. All his good intentions of saving Julia's life may in fact lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have imagined. If he hasn't set things right by the thirteenth hour, all will be lost.

 My Opinion

4 stars

I wasn't sure about the book at the beginning but once I got past the first jump and into the story I was hooked.  Just as I was growing concerned 12 hours would become too "Groundhog Day" like, everything changed and I couldn't wait to see how it ended.

It was a nice touch having the chapters run backward as well (and the author's note mentioning it so the reader knew it wasn't a typo).

It's also a rare treat to read a mystery that stands alone and isn't much of a commitment, although I now see there is a sequel that I will probably read as well.

Quote From the Book

"Lives are set, actions irrevocable, yet Nick was playing chess, running about, moving the pieces on the board of a game already lost."

The Lion's Den

 Book 17 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

The Lion's Den

by Anthony Marra

My Opinion

3 stars

This short story is part of the Inheritance collection available through Amazon Prime Reading.  While this particular story didn't really resonate with me, I liked the author's writing and would probably read him again with a different plot.

Fatal Throne

 Book 16 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/9 - 2/11

Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

by various authors

My Opinion

5 stars

This book is kind of a short story format, with 7 authors each taking a different character (Henry VIII and his 6 wives).  The book doesn't bounce around, other than Henry VIII giving his viewpoint at the end of each marriage; it is chronological with each queen given their moment to shine and then fading away.  The authors fit well together so it's not obvious while reading but it probably did aid the feeling of distinct and separate characters.

This book was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I would've read it in one sitting if I'd had the time.  It made me want to learn more (even though this is a fiction book and the authors admit embellishing) and there wasn't an assumption of any knowledge coming in.  

Nothing to do with the book but the song introducing the queens from the musical "Six" and the rhyme "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived" kept playing in my head.

Humans

 Book 15 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 2/3 - 2/8

Humans

by Brandon Stanton

Summary (via Goodreads)

Brandon Stanton’s Humans – his most moving and compelling book to date – shows us the world. After five years of traveling the globe, the creator of Humans of New York brings people from all parts of the world into a conversation with readers. He ignores borders, chronicles lives and shows us the faces of the world as he saw them. His travels took him from London, Paris and Rome to Iraq, Dubai, Ukraine, Pakistan, Jordan, Uganda, Vietnam, Israel and every other place in between. His interviews go deeper than before. His chronicling of peoples’ lives shows the experience of a writer who has traveled widely and thought deeply about the state of our world.

My Opinion

5 stars

This is the kind of book that doesn't need much of a review.  If you're familiar with the concept and it interests you, this book meets expectations and will not disappoint.

The picture of the little girl holding the kitten made me laugh as I enjoyed thinking what that poor kitty was thinking as it was being loved so tight.  On the other end of the spectrum, the couple deciding whether to raise their child in Africa or the United States and choosing Ghana so that he could think about things other than the color of his skin hit me hard; I think they made the right choice.

Florida Roadkill

 Book 14 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 1/22 - 2/7

Florida Roadkill

by Tim Dorsey

Book 1 of the Serge Storms series

Summary (via the book jacket)

Sunshine State trivia buff Serge A. Storms loves eliminating jerks and pests. His drug-addled partner Coleman loves cartoons. Hot stripper Sharon Rhodes loves cocaine, especially when purchased with rich dead men's money.

On the other hand, there's Sean and David, who love fishing and are kind to animals - and who are about to cross paths with a suitcase filled with $5 million in stolen insurance money. Serge wants the suitcase. Sharon wants the suitcase. Coleman wants more drugs...and the suitcase. In the meantime, there's murder by gun, Space Shuttle, Barbie doll, and Levi's 501s.

My Opinion

2 stars

What.The.Fuck.Did.I.Just.Read?  It's like someone wrote a Mad Libs version of a crime book yet it was well-written in the midst of the chaos.  I feel like I somehow know less about the book after I've read it.

While browsing at the library I saw this series on the shelf and decided to get the first one because a) the first book was available to check out and b) there were a lot of books in the series so it can entertain me for awhile if I enjoy it.  I thought it was a random pick but when I went to Goodreads to log I was reading it, I saw it was already on my 'to-read' list and had been since 2018.  I'm not sure what drew my attention at that time but I'm glad I can knock another book off the list.

This book was frantically insane.  I didn't like it yet it was so original and I laughed at a few descriptions, such as someone being "the only self-inflicted case of shaken-baby syndrome" or the anti-hygiene motorcycle gang.  Plus the methods of death were unusual yet somehow plausible.

Am I a glutton for punishment if I read another one in the series after this one gave me a headache?  I'm so curious how this is a series (and so long a series) when so many people died in this first book.  So I haven't decided yet...right now I just need a nap.

Can You Feel This?

 Book 13 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read on February 5

Can You Feel This?

by Julie Orringer

My Opinion

4 stars

This short story is part of the Inheritance collection available through Amazon Prime reading.  It was absorbing and while I would've read more about how their life continued, it ended at a good time.  I'm glad nothing catastrophic happened.