Small Great Things

Okay, this post is about Jodi Picoult's books. It's also about "Small Great Things" in particular - which is fantastic, so please read it - but in context of all her books.

Jodi Picoult's books are all topical and thought-provoking... and before you yawn and browse on, they are also immensely readable. You get invested in the characters, you get curious about the story, and when you turn the last page, you sigh with satisfaction at the resolution. 

Reading Jodi's books is time well spent, whether you want to open your mind or just have an enjoyable afternoon.

Blurb for "Small Great Things":

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than 20 years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene? 

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family - especially her teenage son - as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others - and themselves - might be wrong. 

What Remains by Wendy Walker

I truly enjoy this author's books. "What Remains" is no exception - you get a solid twisty plot, relatable characters, and prose that keeps you seamlessly engaged. This is my second Wendy Walker, and I'm diving deeper into the backlist.

Blurb:

Detective Elise Sutton is drawn to cold cases. Each crime is a puzzle to solve, pulled from the past. Elise looks for cracks in the surface and has become an expert on how murderers slip up and give themselves away. She has dedicated her life to creating a sense of order, at work with her ex-marine partner; at home with her husband and two young daughters; and within, battling her own demons. Elise has everything under control, until one afternoon, when she walks into a department store and is forced to make a terrible choice: to save one life, she will have to take another.

Elise is hailed as a hero, but she doesn’t feel like one. Steeped in guilt, and on a leave of absence from work, she’s numb, even to her husband and daughters, until she connects with Wade Austin, the tall man whose life she saved. But Elise soon realizes that he isn’t who he says he is. In fact, Wade Austin isn’t even his real name. The tall man is a ghost, one who will set off a terrifying game of cat and mouse, threatening Elise and the people she loves most.

A Game of Lies

"A Game of Lies" by Clare Mackintosh is the second in her Walsh Detective Ffion Morgan series. I love Clare's writing style, I love the setting, I love her characters, and - most of all - I love this twisty plot.

Blurb:

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they've signed up for.

Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won't just be eliminated - they'll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they'd ever imagined, and they're trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn't supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she's watched on screen, and find out who these people really are - knowing she can't trust any of them.

And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

Titanium Noir

So, "Titanium Noir". Reading it I kept forgetting it's by Nick Harkaway, because the SF whodunnit flavour made me think of John Scalzi's "Locked In" series. This is what you need to know:

• It's really good.
• It's smaller than the author's "Gone away world" - also easier to figure out what's going on.
• It's a fun book.
• It'll make you think.

Blurb

Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he’s surprised by the routineness of it all. But when he arrives on scene, Cal soon learns that the victim—Roddy Tebbit, an otherwise milquetoast techie—is well over seven feet tall. And although he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is ninety-one years old. Tebbit is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically altered elites. And this case is definitely Cal’s thing.

There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to godlike status. T7 turns average humans into near-immortal distortions of themselves—with immense physical proportions to match their ostentatious, unreachable lifestyles. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But these modified magnates are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his own ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any—she is Stefan’s daughter, heir to the massive Tonfamecasca empire.  

As the murder investigation intensifies, Cal begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world.

Ripper by Shelley Burr

Ripper by Shelley Burr is a worthy sequel to WAKE. Well written, twisty, a page turner almost impossible to put down. Lane Holland is fast becoming my favourite book person, I hope to continue getting to know him in future instalments. 

Blurb:

Gemma Guillory knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only.

That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper's trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop.

She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her police officer husband and their marriage to this day and that some of her neighbours are desperate - desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier's reputation as the murder town.

When the tour operator is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma's doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer's wake turns to foreboding, and she's drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland.

Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?

"Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro

"Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro is speculative fiction book that delves into the nuances of what near future could bring. Set in a future both familiar and fantastical, the story centers around Klara, an Artificial Friend designed with exceptional observational skills. Through her eyes we discover a world where technology meets human emotion in unexpected ways.

Ishiguro's novel is a timely exploration of the heart's capacity for affection, the enigma of artificial intelligence, and the eternal question: What makes a life worth living and remembering? 

The reviewers seem to love or hate this book. What do you think?

 

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

I was captivated by the narrative created by Susan Meissner in "Only the Beautiful". The novel weaves together the lives of two women, separated by time and circumstance, yet bound by an unbreakable thread of courage and determination.

Set against the backdrop of California in 1938 and Austria in 1947, the story introduces us to Rosanne, a young woman whose life takes a heart-wrenching turn. Her journey becomes a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the resilience of the heart. Rosanne's ability to see colors when she hears sound adds a unique layer to her as a story character.

In Austria, we meet Helen Calvert, whose experiences during World War II have left an indelible mark on her. Her determination to uncover the truth about Rosanne's fate reveals the depth of her compassion and the lengths she's willing to go to seek justice. 

Susan Meissner writes beautiful prose capable of evoking emotions in the reader. This is a story of love, loss, and the unyielding spirit of those who dare to defy the odds.

Heartfelt.

Uplifiting.

Read it.