One fine and four reasonably distracting genre-ish novels...
The Searcher
Tana French
A return to form for French after her over-plotted and unsatisfying The Witch Elm. The story takes its time, with rather little action for the first two-thirds, but a quietly growing sense of dread, a lovely plot twist, and a satisfying finish. Nice.
Blacktop Wasteland
S.A. Cosby
Cosby's getaway-driver-mechanic protagonist Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a compelling character, a Black man with a history, trying to do right by his family and not get sucked back into the life. But the odds are not in his favor, and the results are tough if predictable. What brought the novel down a notch for me is that Bug is way too smart to involve himself with the low-rent low-lifes he gets involved with here. May he find better partners in crime in the sequels.
Squeeze Me
Carl Hiaasen
This one features the usual cast of quirky human and non-human Floridians, Hiaasen's signature blend of humor and action, and a kickass heroine. His fictional version of Melania is believable and appealing, but his Trump and MAGA ladies fall flat– it's mighty difficult satirizing people who in real life are well beyond parody.
A Burning
Megha Majumdar
The lives of three pretty interesting characters collide in Kolkata. A good literary suspense novel, with some culture and politics in the mix.
The Inugami Curse
Seishi Yokomizo
A kind of Agatha Christie drawing room-style murder mystery set in Japan. I'm pretty bad at figuring out whodunnit in whodunnits, but I dunnit in this one. It's... OK.
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