The great ending of this book made it all the worthwhile to read through all 415 pages. This is the seventh or eighth Horowitz book that I have read and enjoyed. This is the second Horowitz/Hawthorne series book that I have read.
There were so many subplots and turns within this story that the author, skillfully connects and explains at the end. It was a murder mystery, where a cast of about a dozen could have been involved in murdering one of the residents in the community. Everyone had a great motive to see the demise of one of the obnoxious new neighbors in the close community. As I read the book, I could not figure out how the murder investigation would conclude.
An interesting angle of the book is the narration provided by Horowitz in his role as an author and storyteller of this crime. His uneasy relationship with detective Hawthorne is part of another mystery within the book.
The ending of the book is pure genius. So many swerves and plot turns! Just when everyone thinks that they have the answers (or the murderer) the questions change and the plot thickens.
This book would make an excellent beach read for those who enjoy mysteries. I’d love to see this book presented as a movie – – it was that entertaining!
Stoner by John Williams All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Inherit The Wind by Lawrence and Lee The Bridges at Toko-Ri by James Michener Failsafe by Eugene Burdick A Night to Remember by Walter Lord You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis Conspirata by Robert Harris Conclave by Robert Harris In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson Winter Journal by Paul Auster Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf Bright, Precious Days by Jay McInerney The Only Story by Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Talk to Me by John Kenney City on Fire by Don Winslow Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure by Jon Katz All The Old Knives A Novel by Olen Steinhauer Disclosure by Michael Crichton The End of October: A novel by Lawrence Wright The Last Days of Night: A Novel by Graham Moore
I am a voracious reader. This year I have read 64 books so far and I will probably read another 2-3 books by year end. I tend to be picky as to what I read and I am somewhat reluctant to recommend books to others given my “eclectic” tastes. Over 80% of what I read is non-fiction though I did recommend two fiction books that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Here are my Top 10 books of 2021 and two extra recommendations..
I have read many of the Trump presidency books. I find that the one written by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa is the best. Peril also covers the candidacy and early administration of Joe Biden and the comparison between the Trump and Biden administration is compelling. I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker is also excellent and the title is self explanatory as to the story within the book. Most of the book details Trump’s failure with managing the Covid pandemic.
1940: FDR, Wilkie, Lindbergh, Hitler—the Election Amid the Storm by Susan Dunn documents the leadership, judgment and foresight of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the year before we entered World War II. Many Americans wished to remain isolationist and did not want to support Great Britain even as its cities were attacked by German bombers. Wendell Wilkie was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for President in 1940. Wilkie ran an unconventional campaign but unlike many Republicans today accepted the results of the election and supported FDR’s policies about the impending war.
Corruption, bad judgment, mismanagement, suicides, deviant behavior, treachery and Donald Trump, all this and more in Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction. This is a business book that reads like a novel, a huge international bank plagued by scandals.
If you are an Eagles fan, you will thoroughly enjoy Ray Didinger’s Finished Business. Lots of great stories about players, owners and coaches. If you are a basketball fan, Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman about the Los Angeles Lakers team from 1996-2004 is very entertaining and provides some great insights into the rocky relationship between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Amazing how a very dysfunctional team was so successful. For baseball fans, October 1964 by David Halberstam is a bit of a dated book but an excellent read. It covered the 1964 seasons of the New York Yankees (with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yoga Berra) and the St Louis Cardinals (Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Stan Musial). Interesting personal portraits of many of the players were provided. Phillies fans, take note, the Phillies collapse towards the National League pennant is documented!
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher about a crotchety, sarcastic Creative Writing teacher Jason Fitger was very funny. I would keep my wife awake with my laughter as I read the book in bed. Maybe the Fitger character reminded me of someone else who did not suffer fools gladly in his corporate life? I enjoyed the adventurous tales of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell. Interesting stories of the Wild West beyond the fight at the OK Corral.
The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell was an uncomfortable story. It detailed the thinking and strategies about how to close the wars against the Germans and the Japanese. There were two lines of thought. One was to bomb military and manufacturing targets primarily. Second, bomb population centers and destroy the morale of citizens. The decision on whether to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki also created moral dilemmas.
The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova is primarily a story about a woman learning to play poker and also compete (and win) in big money tournaments. The bigger picture contains the lessons that she learns about psychology, luck, focus, risk and control that are useful as to how we conduct our lives, careers, finances and relationships.
Two extra recommendations:
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo (Title is self explanatory. I did not agree with some of her analysis but this book was very well presented and written.)
Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service by Carol Leonnig. Eye opening expose about the management and performance of the Secret Service. Interesting anecdotes about some of our Presidents and their interactions with the Secret Service.
Esot-eric 