Category Archives: Blue Rider Press

July 13, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: Siracusa by Delia Ephron

Title: Siracusa by Delia Ephron
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

An electrifying novel about marriage and deceit from bestselling author Delia Ephron that follows two couples on vacation in Siracusa, a town on the coast of Sicily, where the secrets they have hidden from one another are exposed and relationships are unraveled.

New Yorkers Michael, a famous writer, and Lizzie, a journalist, travel to Italy with their friends from Maine—Finn; his wife, Taylor; and their daughter, Snow. “From the beginning,” says Taylor, “it was a conspiracy for Lizzie and Finn to be together.” Told Rashomon-style in alternating points of view, the characters expose and stumble upon lies and infidelities past and present. Snow, ten years old and precociously drawn into a far more adult drama, becomes the catalyst for catastrophe as the novel explores collusion and betrayal in marriage.

With her inimitable psychological astute­ness and uncanny understanding of the human heart, Ephron delivers a powerful meditation on marriage, friendship, and the meaning of travel. Set on the sun-drenched coast of the Ionian Sea, Siracusa unfolds with the pacing of a psychological thriller and delivers an unexpected final act that none will see coming.

Review:

In Siracusa by Delia Ephron, two couples’ vacation in Italy is the perfect recipe for disaster.  Two troubled marriages + one enigmatic, manipulative child + secrets = a vacation to remember for all the wrong reasons.

New York couple Michael and Lizzie join their Portland, ME friends Finn, Taylor and daughter Snow for what should be an idyllic Italian vacation.  Told in retrospect from the four adults points of view, their trip starts innocently enough but it is quite clear that, at some point, things began to rapidly deteriorate once they arrive in Siracusa. While none of the characters are particularly likable, they are certainly colorful and interesting and the sequence of events leading up to the disastrous end of their stay in Siracusa is riveting.

Lizzie is a bit of a free spirit whose writing career is frustratingly stalled.  Devoted to Michael, she knows all of his secrets but she lovingly overlooks his faults.  She is hoping the trip will close the distance that has suddenly appeared between them, but she is still a little drawn to her ex-boyfriend Finn.

Michael is a Pulitzer prize winning author whose latest novel is not going as well as he would like.  He is not at all thrilled with the joint vacation and he spends a good part of his day trying to avoid Lizzie.  Michael is charming and larger than life and he easily captivates both Snow and Taylor during their vacation.

Finn owns a thriving restaurant but he is surprisingly immature and not overly observant.  Fun-loving, flirtatious and laidback, he is a hands-off dad who lets his wife have her way in pretty much every aspect of their life.  The events in Siracusa definitely leave their mark on him and he is the only one who makes any effort to get help dealing with happened while they were there.

Taylor is controlling, obsessive and completely clueless about everything.  She  believes Snow can do no wrong and she is so blinded by love for her child that she cannot (or will not) see how manipulative her daughter is.  Dismissive of Finn, she makes no effort to hide her contempt for her husband and she refuses to shoulder her share of the blame for their dysfunctional relationship.  Of the four adults, Taylor is the least likable and her viewpoint of the events certainly seems to be the most skewed.

Snow is quiet and unassuming but it does not take long to see how sly and manipulative she is.  She takes full advantage of her father’s inattention and her mother’s inability to see through her antics.  Snow is thoroughly enthralled by Michael and it is easy to see how his sudden attention to her leads to her crush on him.  Taylor thoroughly underestimates her daughter while Finn is quietly amused by Snow’s cunning which does not bode well for anyone who crosses her path.

Siracusa by Delia Ephron is a fiendishly clever novel that is fast-paced and compelling.  The characters are deplorable and their behavior is appalling but the plot is so spellbinding it is easy to overlook the unsavory characters.  A sense of foreboding permeates the story right from the very first page and despite the feeling that something pretty awful is going to happen, the conclusion is still incredibly shocking. 

I highly recommend this well-written novel to readers of contemporary literary fiction.

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Filed under Blue Rider Press, Contemporary, Delia Ephron, Literary Fiction, Rated B+, Review, Siracusa

May 23, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: She Poured Out Her Heart by Jean Thompson

Title: She Poured Out Her Heart by Jean Thompson
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Genre: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Length: 426 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

Tracing the complicated friendship of two very different women who meet in college, She Poured Out Her Heart is a novel of remarkable psychological suspense, crafted by National Book Award finalist Jean Thompson.

The night that Jane and Bonnie meet on a college campus sets them on paths forever entwined. Bonnie, the wild and experimental one, always up for anything, has spent the past two decades bouncing between ill-fated relationships, while Jane’s seemingly perfect life, perfect husband, and perfect children have all but materialized out of a fantasy. But these appearances contradict the quiet, inescapable doubt Jane feels about her life. One night, in the middle of her own Christmas party, she steps outside into the snow, removes her clothing and shoes, and lies down in the backyard. When she is discovered, nothing is the same for anyone. As Jane begins to have visions and retreat into a private inner world, Bonnie finds herself drawn inevitably into an affair with Jane’s husband.

Thompson’s mastery of complex emotion begets a novel of desire and the nature of love—who we love, how we’re loved, and, most important, that we reach urgently and always for a higher love, regardless of our circumstances. She Poured Out Her Heart is a finely wrought, haunting story of female friendship and deception, and the distance in between.

Review:

In She Poured Out Her Heart, Jean Thompson explores the intricate bonds of friendships.

Bonnie Abrams and Jane Nicholson have been friends since college and although their friendship has had its share of ups and downs, the two women still remain close nearly two decades later.  After college, their lives go in completely different directions: Jane is married to Eric, a cardiologist, and she is a stay at home mom to their two kids whereas Bonnie has achieved professional success but continues her lifelong pattern of sleeping with unavailable men. Jane is rather shy and unable to give voice to her growing unhappiness while Bonnie is self-confident and quite outgoing.  When life gets too difficult for Jane to deal with, she welcomes the “white” space she disappears into and after one of these incidents lands her in the hospital, Eric and Bonnie find comfort in one another’s arms. When Jane discovers the affair, neither Bonnie nor Eric is prepared for her rather unconventional reaction.

Jane is content to coast through life doing what is expected of her. She is not especially passionate about Eric and she is often overwhelmed by the demands of her children.  Jane downplays Eric’s suggestion she get professional help for her depression  but to avoid conflict, she agrees to see a therapist.  Jane makes an attempt to describe what she is experiencing to her doctor, but since she is not completely honest, she does not receive adequate treatment.  Fast forward a few years and Jane’s coping mechanism takes a dangerous turn and leaves no one in doubt about her fragile mental state.

Although Bonnie puts a positive spin on her dating life, she is growing increasingly unhappy with her single status.  She continually chooses emotionally unavailable men or men with commitment issues, but she cannot seem to break free from this unhealthy pattern.  It takes Bonnie a long time to understand what motivates these poor choices but by the time she figures this out, she is already emotionally invested in her relationship with Eric.  It is not until Jane makes an extremely out of character decision that Bonnie re-evaluates her life but will she truly commit to the changes she has decided to make?

None of the relationships or characters in She Poured Out Her Heart are particularly healthy or happy.  Bonnie, Jane and Eric are deeply flawed and they each have different coping mechanisms for dealing with their problems.  Eric hides behind work, Bonnie drinks too much and Jane is never fully invested in any part of her life.  Jean Thompson does a wonderful job keeping the plot realistic and unique but there is little character growth or real progress overcoming their issues. Despite the novel’s surprisingly hopeful conclusion, the lack of resolution with any of the storylines is extremely frustrating.

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Filed under Blue Rider Press, Contemporary, Jean Thompson, Literary Fiction, Rated C+, Review, She Poured Out Her Heart

February 19, 2014 · 11:57 pm

Review: Deep Winter by Samuel W. Gailey

deepTitle: Deep Winter by Samuel W. Gailey
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Genre: Historical (80s), Mystery/Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In the small town of Wyalusing in eastern Pennsylvania, a woman is found brutally murdered one winter night. Next to the body is Danny Bedford, a misunderstood man who suffered a tragic brain injury that left him with limited mental capabilities. Despite his simple life, his intimidating size has caused his neighbors to ostracize him out of fear of what he may do. So when the local bully-turned-deputy discovers Danny with the body, it’s obvious that Danny’s physical strength has finally become deadly. But in the long, freezing night that follows, the murder is only the first in a series of crimes that viciously upset the town order—an unstoppable chain of violence that appears to make Danny’s guilt undeniable.

With the threat of an approaching blizzard, the local sheriff and a state trooper work through the predawn hours to restore some semblance of order to Wyalusing. As they investigate one unspeakable incident after another, they discover an intricate web of lies revealing that not everything is quite what it seems.

With echoes of Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan and Tana French’s In the Woods, Samuel W. Gailey’s Deep Winter is a richly atmospheric and ingeniously plotted debut, surprising to the final page. It’s impossible to escape this bone-chilling story of deception, where the truth is uncertain and something sinister lurks just below the surface. . . .

The Review:

Samuel W. Gailey’s debut release Deep Winter is a dark, gritty and extremely violent yet compelling novel. The town of Wyalusing, PA is stunned by the brutal murder of Mindy Knolls, but even more shocking is the apparent identity of her killer-Danny Bedford, a gentle giant whose near drowning as a child left him with diminished mental capacity.

Ostracized by most of the townspeople, Danny lives a quiet and mostly solitary life. He and Mindy have been friends since childhood and Mindy can always be counted on to defend Danny from the town’s bullies. They share a long and complicated past with Mike Sokowski, a local Deputy and Mindy’s violent on again/off again boyfriend. Danny, Mindy, and Sokowski’s worlds tragically collide one snowy night in 1984 in a horrific act of violence and the biggest mystery is not who killed Mindy, but what will become of Danny Bedford.

Told from multiple points of view, Deep Winter is a riveting, character driven novel. Of course, Danny is the most sympathetic character and the unfolding events are mostly beyond his comprehension. One of the other likable character is the Lester, the town sheriff. Close to retirement age, he is still sharp as a tack but it takes him a while to piece together the evidence from the crime scene. Called in to assist in the investigation, State Trooper Bill Taggart is an alcoholic who is more of a liability than an asset. Deputy Mike Sokowski is not only at the bottom of the law enforcement barrel, but he is the personification of evil. Alcoholic, corrupt and self-indulgent, he is unrepentant and ruthless as he continues on his unrelenting path of destruction with the help of his spineless lackey, Carl.

Deep Winter is a disquieting read that I found impossible to put down. It is not traditional mystery but there is plenty of action and suspense. The story is desolate, and while it seems like any type of positive outcome is impossible, Samuel W. Gailey ends the novel on a surprisingly hopeful note.

All in all, Deep Winter is an impressive first novel and I am looking forward to Samuel W. Gailey’s next release.

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Filed under Blue Rider Press, Deep Winter, Historical (80s), Mystery, Rated B, Review, Samuel W Gailey, Suspense

November 22, 2012 · 3:56 am

Review: The Empty Glass by J.I. Baker

Title: The Empty Glass by J.I. Baker
Publisher: Penguin Group USA/Blue Rider Press
Genre: Historical (60s), Mystery, Suspense
Length: 331 pages
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In the early-morning hours of August 5, 1962, Los Angeles County deputy coroner Ben Fitzgerald arrives at the home of the world’s most famous movie star, now lying dead in her bedroom, naked and still clutching a telephone. There he discovers The Book of Secrets – Marilyn Monroe’s diary – revealing a doomed love affair with a man she refers to only as “The General.” In the following days, Ben unravels a wide-ranging cover-up and some heartbreaking truths about the fragile, luminous woman behind the celebrity. Soon the sinister and surreal accounts in The Book of Secrets bleed into Ben’s own life, and he finds himself, like Monroe, trapped in a deepening paranoid conspiracy.

The Empty Glass is an unforgettable combination of the riveting facts and legendary theories that have dogged Monroe, the Kennedy’s, the Mafia, and even the CIA for decades. It is an exciting debut from a remarkable new thriller writer.

The Review:

In The Empty Glass, J.I. Baker blends fact, fiction and conjecture about Marilyn Monroe’s death into an intriguing mystery that is full of twists and turns. The story begins with L.A. County deputy coroner Ben Fitzgerald’s arrival at Marilyn’s bungalow in the early morning hours of August 5, 1962. When subsequent reports do not match up with the evidence, Ben investigates the days preceding her death and what he uncovers is as unbelievable as it is shocking.

The Empty Glass is a very unusual yet extremely compelling mystery. The story is told in first person by Ben Fitzgerald and it is a sometimes confusing mixture of past and present events. Ben directs his comments to an unnamed “Doctor” and “you”. This style definitely took getting used to, but as the novel progressed, I became completely engrossed in the story and eventually I had my own conclusions about the identity of the doctor and you.

The mystery surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death is very well done and I greatly enjoyed how Mr. Baker wove together all of the various theories about the events that transpired on August 5th. Most of the historical events are accurate, but there were a few inconsistencies. Whether this is deliberate on Mr. Baker’s part or not is unclear, but in the end, the inaccuracies have no impact on the overall story. The theories presented are plausible and Ben’s investigation explores them all. With so many possible motives for murder to choose from, I was genuinely surprised at Ben’s final conclusion as to reason for her death and the identity of Marilyn’s killer.

There is a surreal quality to The Empty Glass. Ben’s investigation begins normally enough, but it does not take long to wonder if what is happening is actually real or the product of drug fueled paranoia. Is there a conspiracy to suppress certain events and facts about Marilyn’s life and her subsequent death? If so, who is behind the conspiracy? The government? The mob? The LAPD?

The Empty Glass by J.I. Baker is an entertaining read that puts a unique spin on a fifty year old mystery that continues to fascinate the public. Marilyn Monroe fans and mystery buffs are sure to enjoy this exceptional story.

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Filed under Blue Rider Press, Historical (60s), JI Baker, Mystery, Penguin Group USA, Rated B, Review, Suspense, The Empty Glass