The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
$14.95

Paperback: 600 pages

Publisher: Vintage Crime / Black Lizard (June 23, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0307454541

ISBN-13: 978-0307454546

Annotation/Flashtalk:

Every year, Henrik Vanger received a framed pressed flower from his niece Harriett; then one year Harriett disappeared and the flowers stopped only to start up again the following year.  Like clockwork the flowers arrive, but Vanger cannot locate his niece and assumes that someone, presumably the killer of his missing niece, is messing with him.  He hires a journalist in an effort to find out what happened to her. 

Summary:

Disgraced journalist Carl Mikael Blomkvist is facing the prospect of jail time after being convicted of libel.  He is contacted by a wealthy Swede named Henrik Vanger and offered asylum at his property in exchange for Blomkvist’s help in discovering what happened in the disappearance of Vanger’s niece over 30 years ago.  The only catch is that Blomkvist is to disguise his investigation under the guise of writing the Vanger family history.   In return, Vanger promises Blomkvist details of his past business dealings with Hans-Erik Wennerström, the man Bloomkvist is accused of libeling.

Before extending the offer, Vanger has Blomkvist investigated by the Milton security firm; the assignment is given to Lisbeth Salander, a young, anti-social, orphan rebel who likely suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. Lisbeth is a ward of the state, and she has her finances entrusted to a trustee.  Her familiar trustee, with whom she finally had reached a good working relationship dies, and her new trustee is not so kind.  He sexually abuses Lisbeth in order to control her and her access to her money.  Eventually Lisbeth reaches a working relationship with him, but in a totally unexpected way. 

Eventually their paths cross and Blomkvist and Salander work together to solve the disappearance of Harriett.  All signs point to a member of the Vanger family, but there just doesn’t seem to be any solid evidence.  Blomkvist’s daughter happens to solve the mystery of a series of numbers, the only thing that seems to tie Harriet’s disappearance to a string of murders going back decades before Harriet disappeared.  Soon the pieces begin to fall into place, and dark Vanger family secrets are revealed.  Fearing that the family secrets will get out, Blomkvist is captured, tortured and about to be killed to keep him silent; Lisbeth races to rescue him. 

Genre/Subgenre: Adventure/Thriller/Suspense/Mystery

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Coral Theif: A Novel by Rebecca Stott

The Coral Thief:A Novel
by Rebecca Stott
$15.00

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (May 4, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0385531486

ISBN-13: 978-0385531481

Annotation/Flashtalk:

Would you trust the word of a beautiful woman who stole your most important possessions?  Can you trust a thief when she says she will return your property, but then suddenly goes silent? Will you risk your career on her word? Find out what Daniel Connor does when faced with the formidable Lucienne Bernard in The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott.

Summary:

Set in post-Napoleonic Paris, Daniel Connor is on his way to study and work at the Jardins des Plantes under the tutelage of Dr. Cuvier, one of the leading naturalists in Paris.  Daniel was bringing with him some coral specimens and a manuscript from his previous professor Jameson.  On the coach ride into Paris Daniel meets a fascinating and educated lady named Lucienne.  Making the mistake of falling asleep, Daniel’s belongings go missing; he can only assume they have been stolen by Lucienne.

When he reaches Paris he attempts to locate her, when he is unable to do so, he reports the theft to the Paris police.  So fascinated by his story, the chief inspector Jagot takes up his case personally. He warns Daniel that Lucienne is a dangerous woman and he must report any contact with to him immediately.

Lucienne does eventually reach out to contact Daniel in order to arrange to return his things; however, their meeting is postponed for an urgent matter takes Lucienne away from Paris.  Just when he is about to give everything up and admit failure Lucienne contacts him again.   She returns just enough of Daniel’s belongings to get him back into the good graces of Dr. Cuvier, whom he has been putting off for over a month by saying he is ill.  Daniel begins work at the Jardines and continues to see Lucienne without a word to Jagot. 

Later Daniel learns of the history between Jagot and Lucienne and what sort of danger Lucienne is in.  Jagot is blackmailing Lucienne and threatening to kidnap her daughter, Delphine if she does not break into the Jardines and steal the Satar diamond.   Together with Lucienne’s friends, Daniel and Lucienne plot a way to secure a safe passage for Lucienne and Delphine out of Paris. 

Throughout the story we are treated with a look into the goings on of post-Napoleonic Paris as the treasures once stolen by Napoleon are returned to their rightful owners, to the debate between evolutionists and naturalists in this revolutionary time of science, and to a diary-like accounting of Napoleon’s own exile.

Genre/Subgenre: Historical Fiction/Science/Romance

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

The Stupidest Angel:A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
by Christopher Moore
$15.99

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: William Morrow; Enhanced edition (November 1, 2005)

ISBN-10: 0060842350

ISBN-13: 978-0060842352

Annotation/Flashtalk:

When Joshua Barker sees Santa murdered the frightened boy is worried Christmas has been ruined.  When an angel appears to grant a Christmas wish to one child, Joshua has the opportunity to make things right – he wishes for Santa to come back to life.  Find out the terror that ensues when Joshua’s wish is granted by the stupidest angel.

Summary:

Pine Cove is a small bedroom community, with its eccentrics, its gossipers, and its share of domestic disputes.  Even the warmth and good tidings of the holidays can’t bring this dysfunctional town much sense of normalcy.  What young Joshua Barker believes to be Santa being murdered is really Lena Marquez accidentally killing her ex-husband Dale Pearson, dressed as Santa, in an act of self-defense.  Joshua runs home where he is visited by Raziel, an angel sent to Earth to grant the Christmas wish of a child; thinking Christmas is ruined, Joshua wishes for Santa to be alive again.  Meanwhile Lena receives help burying Dale’s body from an eccentric, if not insane, helicopter pilot Tucker Case, who has been flying the local area for the DEA looking for marijuana farms. 

In a Gift of the Maji twist, the local sheriff Theo, a pot head, has been growing marijuana to be able to afford a real Asian sword for his former B-movie star wife, Molly; in order to save money to buy Theo the best bong ever, Molly has gone off her medication, and has begun to hallucinate that she really is the B-movie Warrior Babe.  When Theo figures he might be on to something, Tucker, with the treat of exposing Theo’s farm, blackmails Theo into not pursuing Lena as a suspect in Dale’s death.

Unaware, the rest of the community is preparing for the holiday singles party to be held at the local church.  Soon after the party starts, Joshua’s wish is granted.  If only Raziel had been more clear about who he was raising from the dead…

Genre/Subgenre: Humor/Holiday/Christmas

Evaluation: 3-stars.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore
$14.99

Paperback: 444 pages

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; First Perennial edition (February 4, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0380813815

ISBN-13: 978-0380813810

Annotation/Flashtalk:

Have you ever wondered what happened to Jesus between the story of his birth and when the story picks up around 26AD when he his baptized by John the Baptist?  The missing Gospel is finally available, and it’s been written by Levi (also known as Biff) Jesus’ childhood friend.  See what Jesus was like as a teenager and find out how he came to understand that he was to be the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

Summary:

The Bible seems to leave out much of the story of Jesus’ life after about the age of 12 up until the time he is around 26; the lost Gospel that fills in the gaps is finally available.  As a teenager, Jesus is not feeling much like the messiah he is supposed to be.  In Lamb we find out about Jesus’ early and teenage years as he and his childhood friend Levi (who is known as Biff) travel the Orient to track down the Three Wise Men to help Jesus come to understand his true mission.  Biff’s telling of the tale makes Jesus more human than we can ever imagine; "Don't you go believing the messiah never hit anyone.” We learn the origins of why Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas, how the Easter Bunny becomes associated with Easter, and why Jesus feels so strongly about “knock and the door will be opened to you.”  (Luke 11:9 and Mark 7:7)

Genre/Subgenre: Humor/Historical Fiction/Christianity

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

by Aimee Bender    
$25.95

Hardcover: 304 pages

Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (June 1, 2010)

ISBN-10: 0385501129

ISBN-13: 978-0385501125

Annotation/Flashtalk:

 At age 9 Rose Edelstein bit into a piece of lemon cake and she felt all of her mother’s sadness. Food is now ruined for Rose, all taste has been replaced with emotion, many of which leave a bitter taste is Rose’s mouth.

Summary:

At age 9 Rose Edelstein bit into a piece of lemon cake and she felt all of her mother’s sadness. Rose’s new found “skill” has let her in on the secrets and emotions of the world.  It is through the taste of her mother’s cooking that she finds out secrets about her family, including the affair that her mother is having.

The “gift” makes food more of a pain than a pleasure for Rose. She relegates herself to a life of junk food for the uniform and industrial taste of it all.  Her senses are so keen that Rose is eventually able to pick up the terroir  of the ingredients that come together to make up the food she eats.  Her curse or her skill (reader’s choice) follows Rose through adulthood, where she finally finds a way to make some peace of it by learning the art of  cooking from a French couple who own a restaurant and take Rose under their wing.

There is a parallel story about the unusual “gift” her brother Joseph possesses as well, one that has nothing to do with food.  His story seems out of place and extraneous to the novel, except in the sense that the family each has their own gift.

Genre/Subgenre: Fantasy/Magical Realism

Evaluation: 1-star.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman
$7.99

Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages

Publisher: HarperTorch (April 30, 2002)

ISBN-10: 0380789035

ISBN-13: 978-0380789030

Annotation/Flashtalk:

What would happen if the mythological gods of old got into a war with the gods of the 20^st-century? Would Oden, Loki, Eoster and Anasasi lie down and make way for the new American gods -- Television, the Internet and other media? Follow Shadow on his journey to the ultimate battle.

Summary:

The story follows the journey of Shadow, a recently paroled convict as he works as a body guard for Wednesday. Wednesday is going across the state to meet up with some of his old friends, Mr. Nancy, Whiskey Jack, Eoster, Mama Ji, Mr. Ibus and Mr. Jackal. 

The reader is taken across a journey of the American landscape, many of the places are real, such as the House on the Rock, Chicago, Lebanon, KS, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Seattle; other’s are not.  Shadow’s sworn allegiance to Wednesday brings him into trouble many times. He is hunted by the new gods and taken captive so that they can get to Wednesday, only to escape with the help of his dead wife Laura. Shadow continues to be haunted by his dead wife Laura throughout the trip.

Shadow is put at risk again when, unbenounced to him, Wednesday sequesters him away in a town with a serial-killer god making sacrifices of children.  His ultimate test comes when he must hold vigil for Wednesday after the new gods succeed in killing him. Shadow is hung from the world tree, just as Oden was in the original myth. The story culminates is a battle for superiority between the new gods and the old.

American Gods is filled with Norse mythology and is an allegory for the loss of faith in the gods that the immigrants to America brought with them in favor of the new gods of America.

Genre/Subgenre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Evaluation: 3-stars.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge      
by Elizabeth Strout
$14.00

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 30, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0812971833

ISBN-13: 978-0812971835

Annotation/Flashtalk:

 A collection of short stories about life in a small town in Crosby, Maine; the stories are strung together by the common thread of a local resident Olive Kitteridge.

Summary:

The novel is a collection of short stories all linked by the common thread of Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher, living in Crosby, Maine.  It is through these stories that we learn about the residents of Crosby, but we also learn about Olive. The novel delves into the Olive’s relationship with her marriage to her husband Henry, and later how she copes with his life after a stroke.  We find out about her strained relationship with her son Christopher, his first wife, and about the family he builds with his second wife and Olive’s grandchild, so far away from the home she and Henry built by hand for him. 

In the first chapter of the novel Olive warns us that as a pharmacist, Henry knows all of the town’s secrets and how important it is not to spread it as gossip; ironically, the novel feels a bit like we are doing just that, reading about the town’s gossip.  As the chapters pass, we learn there is trauma in the lives of the town’s people of Crosby, and tragedy in Olive’s personal life as well.  This is a novel not just about the human condition, but about life, sanity, insanity and redemption.

Genre/Subgenre: General Fiction/Short Stories/Pulitzer Prize Winner

Evaluation: 2-stars.