Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Silent in the Grave is billed as a murder mystery, but it is more about style and relationships than about solving a crime. Julia's husband dies after a seizure at a party the couple were hosting. Her reaction is surprising until we learn how little passion there was in their union. Her relationship with a detective, Nicholas Brisbane, is a different story, which is evident as they start to work together to determine if her husband was murdered and, if so, by whom. The detective work in the plot seems weak. Suspects are dismissed on intuition and clues are found through luck, but the way Julia learns more and more about Nicholas makes the book worth reading. They are drawn to each other's strengths, but fearful as they learn their flaws.

Raybourn's language is wonderful and pulls the reader into the eloquence of the wealthy class in 19th century England. Here is a description of Julia listening to Nicholas play a violin.

His eyes remained closed as his fingers flew over the strings, spilling forth surely more notes than were possible from a single violin. For one mad moment I actually thought there were more of them, an entire orchestra of violins spilling out of this one instrument. I had never heard anything like it--it was poetry and seduction and light and shadow and every other contradiction I could think of. It seemed impossible to breathe while listening to that music, and yet all I was doing was breathing, quite heavily. The music itself had become as palpable a presence in that room as another person would have been--and its presence was something out of myth.

This book is the first in a series. I would like to read more.



View all my reviews

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As its name implies, A Man Called Ove, is about one person, a grouchy old man. (He's 59. I don't see that as particularly old, but the author did.) The other characters are only in the book to let the reader know more about Ove. We learn a little about what motivates them, but not in depth.

I often say a good novel requires at least one character to change over the course of the story. Ove's attitude toward living does change, but not his core personality. Instead, what changes is the opinion of him held by the readers and also, I believe, by the author.

As the story begins, we think Ove is simply an unhappy old man. We watch him contemplating and even attempting suicide. We think he is way too focused on silly regulations and anything that seems out of place. And we find it funny how he believes he can judge people based on the cars they drive. Yet Ove has a history and as it is revealed we learn there is quite a bit more to him than we thought. What we considered odd, even annoying, behaviors have a reason, sometimes relating to his childhood, but most often to his relationship with the love of his life, his late wife Sonja.

Some of the other characters see through Ove. Sonja did before she died and Parvaneh, or as Ove first calls her, the “foreign pregnant woman,” also seems to know what is good in his soul. In the end, Ove's character portrait is far more detailed then we realized and our hearts go out to the life led by this crotchety old man.

I liked the way Backman gradually moved from mocking his character to sympathizing with him, especially with the grief Ove feels over the loss of his wife. I do wish some of the minor characters were better developed, Jimmy in particular.


View all my reviews

Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker

Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Music Boxes is a well-written YA novel with a wonderful twelve-year-old protagonist. The book deals with the relationship between two sisters. Lindsey, the twelve-year-old, has every reason to be jealous of her eight-year-old sister, Bridget. Lindsey loves to dance and is quite good at it, but Bridget is a prodigy on the violin. Their family has moved from Nebraska to New York City to allow Bridget to attend the elementary school associated with Julliard. Meanwhile Lindsey is left to attend dance lessons at a local community center. Here is what she thinks of that option:

Classes at the Community Center didn't count as real ballet no matter how well-known the teacher had been. Community Center meant trash.

Music Boxes is a horror story with a witch whose evil magic revolves around dance and music boxes, two subjects that should interest many readers, especially young ones. Every good horror story has a strong villain and this one has a great one. The tension keeps increasing as the pages keep turning.

However, what I like the most about this novel is how it covers many important topics in a subtle fashion while never straying from a plot that holds a reader's attention. The topics include jealousy between siblings, honesty, trust in one's family, drug use, prejudging people, and the power of love. Yet Music Boxes never feels preachy.

I recommend this novel to readers of all ages who enjoy horror stories featuring young people.



View all my reviews

Wide Awake Asleep by Louise Wise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wide Awake asleep is a novel about Julie, a 49 year-old woman who ends up in a comma after a serious car accident. While asleep, her spirit goes back in time to revisit and change parts of her past life. When she changes things, she affects not only her own life, but the lives of the people around her. This concept isn't new, but Louise Wise makes it unique by having the woman's spirit not only inhabit herself as a child, but sometimes possess others, people such as a social worker, her mother, and an elderly neighbor who was supposed to be taking care of Julie (or Jules, as she was called when she was a child).

The people Julie possesses are not aware of her spirit, but as she pushes them toward actions they might not have chosen, they fight back. Julie has to work to maintain control. Wise handles memories in an interesting, but sometimes confusing way. Julie's old memories fade and new memories take over as the past changes. Meanwhile, the people she is “inside” remember some of what they've been put through, but not all.

The novel, however, is not so much about the concept of time travel and spiritual possession, but rather about the life (or lives) Julie goes back to change. Her own life, before the accident, has its ups and downs. She's a part owner of a successful chain of perfume stores. Although her professional life is going well, her personal life is a series of meaningless relationships. Still, it is the lives of her friends and family that are most in need of repair and many of their problems are due to Julie's misunderstandings.

Like most time travel novels, a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is required of the readers. The only time I had a problem with this was when Julie explained her situation to others. They seemed to accept her story easier than I would expect.

Overall, I felt this was a good read. I would recommend it to fans of paranormal novels.


View all my reviews