A few more books read

Retirement Homes are Murder, by Mike Befeler. I thought this might be a book based on Alzheimer's, but it really isn't. The premise is that a 70+ guy who has just moved into a retirement home can't remember anything that happened in the last five years or so once he goes to sleep. He gets involved in a trying to solve a murder and has to reset his memory every morning. It's a clever premise and this light diversion is well done. A quick read, but fun. Set in Hawaii, and it does have a good sense of place.

I'm Not Scared, by Niccolo Ammaniti. The book opens with a sense of foreboding associated with corn fields. Told from the perspective of the son of incompetent kidnappers, it has a tone of dislocation as the 10 year old main character, Michele, finds the kidnapped boy and figures out what's happening from overhearing the adults. Although the story line is frightening and the author seems to be trying for a sense of menace, the book wasn't totally convincing as the "thriller" it claims to be.

The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian. The writing was nothing special, but it was not intrusive to the story. The story, connecting an assaulted woman with the homeless and with The Great Gatsby, was very complex and the twists and turns really kept me reading. Big twist at the end still has me thinking; I'm not sure the author played fair about that.

Tuxedo Park Mystery

I just finished another cozy mystery...this time set in Tuxedo Park: Dying for Mercy, by Mary Jane Clark. It was fun to be able to see so many of the locations in my mind as I was reading, and to imagine which real places the author was referring to with fabricated names. This was a mystery that had to be set in Tuxedo Park, or a place like it (are there any other places like it?). The story was plot-driven, and Tuxedo Park was as much a character as any of the people were. While the writing was pedestrian, it didn't get in the way of the story, a requirement for something non-literary like this. All in all, it was an enjoyable afternoon's read.

100th Birthday

Can you believe I actually went to Colorado for my grandmother's 100th birthday and forgot a camera? Well, it happened, but fortunately my family came through with many cameras and many photos. This picture of G and me with Gmom was taken just after she had the surprise of arriving at the party room and seeing all of her family there from across the country. Fortunately, her doctor was in the room! We all cried a few tears, I think, but we shared in the comfort of having everyone together. It was a bit of a reunion -- the first time all my sibs had been together since Dad's 75th.