Harper | Book Chatter

The Bookseller
By Cynthia Swanson
(Harper, Hardcover, 9780062333001, March 2015, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

Blurred lines between what’s real and what’s not keep you guessing in this story about a woman’s longing for a perfect life.

The Rest of It:

In 1962, Kitty Miller is a single woman who runs a bookstore with her best friend, Frieda. Although being a bookseller is very rewarding, the business is struggling with its current location, away from the excitement of the city. Additionally, her single status makes for a lonely life. With no romantic prospects in sight, Kitty seems to accept her future as an old maid and for the most part, is okay with it.

However, when she falls asleep at night, she visits an alternate world as Katharyn Andersson, who happens to be happily married with children of her own. Her husband Lars is the doting husband of her dreams and although she is fiercely proud of her children, she worries constantly about her one autistic son. In this world, she seems to be living the life that she’s always wanted. But as soon as she wakes, she is returned to the life she lives at Kitty.

Remember that movie Sliding Doors? In it, the character in essence, lives two different lives but at the same time. This is slightly different because the world that Kitty visits is just a bit into the future, 1963 to be exact. Although the device used to carry Kitty into her alternate world is pretty seamless, sleep, I grew tired of it halfway through, knowing that all she had to do to return was simply wake up. However, the author tosses in a nice little twist to keep things interesting so although the story was mostly predictable, not all of it was.

That said, what I felt was missing, was the tug of both worlds. In the movie Big, Tom Hanks finds it hard to return to his life as a boy because he’s found love in his adult life. I WEPT for him. I really did. Here, I was mildly sad for the character but that’s it. I think the author had all the right ideas, but I needed more emotion to tie it all together. I needed to see more conflict within the character herself and in that sense, she was a little thin.

Also, I bet a lot of readers will pick this one up based on the title and cover alone but very little of it has to do with book selling so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

All Day and a Night
By Alafair Burke
(Harper, Hardcover, 9780062208385, June 2014, 368pp.)

The Short of It:

Steady pacing, a slightly predictable plot but overall an entertaining read.

The Rest of It:

All Day and a Night is part of the Ellie Hatcher detective series. I wasn’t aware of this when I agreed to review the book but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone, which I was very happy to find out.

This time, Ellie Hatcher and her partner J.J. Rogan, are asked by her District Attorney boyfriend, Max Donovan, to take a look at a long closed murder case. The recent murder of a local psychiatrist and the details surrounding the case lead him and his office to believe that the killer that they have in prison, is the wrong guy and that the real killer is still on the loose. Hatcher and Rogan’s task is to take a fresh look at the case to see if anything was missed in the initial investigation.

There are several problems with this. One of which has to do with the fact that they are being asked to work outside of their jurisdiction and any cop knows that taking a speculative look at another cop’s work, is not going to be taken lightly. Plus, most of the crimes took place in the small town of Utica, where everyone knows everybody else. Getting the info they need could be a challenge. To complicate things further, the attorney hired to prove her client was wrongly accused is Linda Moreland. Known for her aggressive tactics, she takes on attorney Carrie Blank to assist with the case, but Carrie is much too close to the case. Her half-sister Donna Blank was one of the victims and although she wants to find the real killer, she questions herself repeatedly, wondering if she is doing the right thing.

Some have said that All Day a Night was very predictable. It was a little predictable towards the end and maybe a tad far-fetched, but for the most part, it was a classic detective story. Burke gives the reader the clues a little at a time and what I especially liked, is that it wasn’t overrun with red herrings. I never felt as if the author was “yanking my chain” if you know what I mean. I also noticed how smooth the dialogue was. Sometimes, in crime fiction especially, I find the dialogue to be a little stiff. Not the case here.

I’ve not read the other books in the series but my overall experience was a positive one. Did you know that Burke’s written ten books between two different series? Have you read any?

Alafair Burke