The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. I read Gods in Alabama by this author a year or so ago. Jackson is a subtle writer and writes with a haunting lyricism. She never comes at you directly, never spells it out for you. Evidently, she has enough respect for her readers to trust they will figure things out if she gives them enough information along the way. A few days after I finished this book a friend mentioned that her mother creates a world for herself which is much happier than the reality in which she actually lives. This is a recurring theme in The Girl who Stopped Swimming. My first thought was art imitating life, but I realize we all create our own reality in one way or another, don’t we?
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. I bought the sequel before I read The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo. Larsson has the ability to transform a rather complex plot with a lot of characters into something that’s easy to follow and grasp. I enjoy his books, although I sometimes think he goes off the rail describing rather minor characters, but that’s his style and it successfully works for him. Lisbeth Salander reaches super-hero status and one wonders, is there anything she can’t do? For someone so young she seems to know or have some sort of experience in just about everything. If you can suspend believability enough to get past that, you can enjoy the book.
A Wanted Man by Linda Lael Miller. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book by this author before. A reader kindly compared my writing to hers (a massive compliment) so I thought in case I haven’t read her in the past I should. This book was very easy to read. One thing I like especially is the writing isn’t bogged down with tons of detail and description even though it’s a Western historical. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
The Widow by Anne Stuart. I haven’t read anything by Anne Stuart in quite a while, mostly because I haven’t been reading a lot of romance novels. But I remembered what a talented writer she is and her books are consistently good. This one is no exception.
