Review of THE DYING LIGHT by Ann Cleeves (New Release)

 4 Stars

This well-crafted police procedural is the fourth in the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn.

Venn and his team are called upon to investigate the death of 17-year-old Lottie Cauldwell whose body is discovered in the swimming pool of the holiday home belonging to the family of her friend Hannah Armstrong. Shortly thereafter Hannah’s body is also discovered. Both the locals in the small community as well as vacationers are interviewed. It is not long before connections emerge between several people and the Armstrong family. Secrets and secret hostilities are uncovered. Even the victims had secrets. Was the motive for the murders personal or, since Paul Armstrong, Hannah’s father, is a well-known ambitious politician, was the motivation political?

I enjoyed another visit with Venn and his team. Though Matthew still has insecurities in his personal relationship, he is becoming more confident as an investigator. He’s intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic, and calm. He’s a steady team leader willing to admit mistakes and to give credit to others. Jen Rafferty and Ross May are becoming more skilled as detectives. In particular, May’s maturity is highlighted: in the past he was eager, over-confident, and impatient whereas now he’s learning patience and realizing that he isn’t always right.

There is a claustrophobic atmosphere. The region is experiencing a scorching heatwave. Then it’s obvious that people are keeping secrets. Added to this are tensions between the local villagers and in-comers, wealthy Londoners like the Armstrongs buying up properties for holiday homes. Because of Paul’s high profile, there’s media attention and pressure to solve the case expeditiously.

There is a sufficiently large cast of suspects with potential motives to keep the reader guessing. As one would expect, there is misdirection. At the end, even Venn admits to making mistakes in his theorizing. The author plays fair; though there is misdirection, the clues are also there. The resolution is very plausible and may leave the reader wondering why s/he didn’t see it from the beginning.

I find this series is getting better and better, and I look forward to returning to Devon to follow Venn and his team during their next investigation.

Here are links to my reviews of the previous three installments in the series:

The Long Call: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2019/09/review-of-long-call-by-ann-cleeves-new.html

The Heron’s Cry: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2021/09/review-of-herons-cry-by-ann-cleeves-new.html

The Raging Storm: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-of-raging-storm-by-ann-cleeves.html

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of DOG DAYS OF PLANET EARTH by Theresa Shea (New Release)

3.5 Stars 

This book explores a number of environmental, social, and political issues.

In 1985, Trevor Westmore, a former veterinarian, is released from Leavenworth Penitentiary after serving a 25-year sentence for murder. A guard gifts him a German Shepherd puppy named Libby. The two drive from Kansas to California where Trevor’s parents live. He buys a house and opens up a dog kennel. He meets Laura Fenway, the local veterinarian, and is immediately attracted to her. But will she want to have anything to do with him once she learns about his past? Then Trevor learns that Laura also has secrets which could jeopardize his long-awaited freedom.

Trevor is a likeable character. When the details of his crime are revealed, it’s obvious that his harm was unintentional, though he was certainly selfish and naive. Even before his prison time, he had a difficult life because of his military experiences. He struggles with adapting to a new world after having been incarcerated for almost half his life. I could not help but become a cheerleader for Trevor as he takes positive steps forward. Because I was invested in his future, I found the ending unsatisfying because of its lack of closure.

The novel certainly shows the bond between humans and dogs. Because Libby is dependent on him for her needs, Trevor is forced to act responsibly. Providing her with a routine gives him a routine as well. For example, he knows that a puppy needs to be exposed to new situations so, even though he doesn’t want to, he takes her for a walk. If he feels depressed or full of self-pity, Libby’s unconditional love and trust draws him out of his emotional slump. She definitely eases his re-entry into society by connecting him with other people.

A number of issues are examined: nuclear testing and its long-term effects on human health, chemical spraying in agriculture and its effects on animal health, the military’s abandonment of servicemen harmed during their service, the penal system, animal testing and abuse, and the difference between law and justice. I think that too many issues are touched on because some of them overshadow the plot and slow down pace. Certainly the discussion of crop spraying and its effects on mammalian mortality rates goes on and on. A focus on one or two subjects would be preferable.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel: Trevor’s time in prison, military service, and the events leading up to his murder charge. The romance element interested me less, especially once the animal rescue missions are introduced. With regard to the latter, readers need to be forewarned that animal abuse is described in detail, detail which will be upsetting to everyone but especially animal lovers.

The book will leave readers unimpressed by human nature because it depicts many examples of stupidity, self-centredness, selfishness, short-sightedness, moral bankruptcy, and cruelty. I wish for a more positive ending than the arrival of dawn.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of BAD INFLUENCE by Will Carver

 4 Stars

This is a psychological thriller with lots of social commentary.

Alyssa and Less (Alessandro) are college students living in Los Angeles. Less describes them as “both mixed-up. We’re both kind of directionless. We’re both what-the-hell-are-we-going-to-do-with-our-lives kids.” Loners, their friendship is what defines them: “Our friendship is one of the only truly real things that either of us has. It’s genuine and it’s deep. And, in our eyes, at least, unbreakable.”

The two become involved in phrogging, living secretly inside strangers’ homes. The duo choose the luxurious homes of influencers and pop stars. They enjoy the thrill until things go awry when they target the home of Paige, a fitness influencer, who discovers them. And because Paige has allowed reality tv producers to install cameras in her house, everything that transpires thereafter is filmed.

Alyssa and Less are interesting, well-developed characters. In many ways they are irresponsible and I could not condone some of their choices like party-crashing and phrogging. Their justifications indicate a self-centredness: “It’s fun. Nobody gets hurt. Nobody that matters” and “We don’t have to steal anything. Nobody will get hurt. It’ll just be a bit of fun. It’s wholesome, really.” Like most young people, they don’t consider the possible unintended consequences of their actions: “they hadn’t really thought about it enough. They only cared about what they wanted, how they were feeling, right there and then.” But we also get to see their positive qualities. Alyssa appreciates what her mother does for her and shows love in how she cares for her grandmother. Less understands his mother’s sadness and so forgives some of her actions: “We’re both struggling but she’s been at it a lot longer than I have and she can’t see a way out.”

The book is a satirical look at social media culture. It examines the lives of influencers, hungry for attention and fame, who curate their lives for their followers. One wannabe influencer takes several photos to get the right one: “Capturing a real, spontaneous moment has never taken so much planning.” Paige, another influencer, realizes that she has lost herself, her identity, to her performance: “Paige wants to be herself again. The way she was before all of this. When she was innocent and naive.” Influencers must perpetuate “the veneer of perfection” and keep posting interesting content or they will lose their followers. She is addicted to validation; there is “something intoxicating about the notification of a new fan.” The irony is that she has no real friends: “A million followers and nobody to be close to. She’s so lost. This job has taken who she was.”

For Alyssa, Less, and Paige, one can feel some sympathy. There are, however, two characters who are so morally bankrupt that it’s impossible to feel anything but the utmost of contempt. Edie and Tammy are producers of reality tv shows, what is called “car-crash television. Shows where they can manipulate a situation. Manufacture a scene and pass it off as reality.” To say they are ruthless is an understatement, focused as they are on “Spinning gold from the darkness of humanity. Profiting from misery.” They are successful because they understand that an audience requires conflict to remain interested so they manipulate their contestants: “they know the best way to manipulate you. They know what incentives to offer to get you to play ball and they know what buttons to press in order to push your emotions in the directions that will ensure you are watched and ratings will increase.”

Even if you’re not interested in becoming an influencer, there’s a warning in the book for anyone using social media: “Plastic has got nothing on the internet. Everything you think and then type is out there for the world to see, forever. Forever.” Information or an opinion shared “is out there forever. Whether it’s right or wrong.” Even deleted postings are not gone.

The style of the book is appropriate to its content. It mimics the style of social media communication, using hashtags, influencer content, tailored ads, numbers of likes and followers, and online commentaries – all that you would see scrolling on your phone or tablet.

I enjoyed the novel. As expected in such a tale about deception and manipulation, there’s a lot of suspense and many twists, though the author does provide subtle clues. If something strikes you as odd, pay attention! But it’s the social commentary that stands out for me; it emphasizes the shallowness of social media culture and how what we see on screens is very different from reality. The book is entertaining, topical, and thought-provoking.

Review of EXIT PARTY by Emily St. John Mandel (New Release)

 4 Stars

This novel explores parallel worlds, specifically two versions of life in the United States following its collapse.

The first part, titled “A-Side” begins in 2031 in Los Angeles. Ari Waker, 48, recently released after an 18-year prison sentence, attends a party with her roommate Gloria. This proves to be an unusual house party: a woman named Nico appears and she seems to be a double of Gloria; the doppelganger of another guest addresses Ari as Ibari, a name on Ari’s ID but one she never uses; and Kareem Fayed, the host, disappears. Later, after following Ari’s somewhat peripatetic existence, the novel moves ahead to the 2060s where we catch up with Ari, and both Gloria and Nico.  

The second part, “B-Side,” takes the reader to the world from which Nico came where she lived with her husband Kareem and their two children, Marlowe and Samir. Ibari Waker, Nico’s best friend, is a detective with Service, the surveillance department of the State. We learn about life in this alternate world, the cause of Nico’s disappearance, and subsequent events.

Ari and Ibari are the two characters whom the reader gets to know best. They are not the same person but they share similar traits. They do not trust others and both show a propensity for stepping beyond boundaries. In different ways, they both long to live in a different kind of world. Both are complicated characters and not always likeable, though they also have redeeming qualities.

Nico is an interesting character. She remains a vague character in “A-Side” but is developed further in “B-Side” when we learn more about her life. Her actions in the first part make more sense once we know more about the life she left behind; her role in Sebastian’s life mirrors the role she obviously misses from her other life. On the other hand, the Kareem at the party and the Kareem married to Nico are foils in many ways. The fact that characters in the two worlds are not just copies or total opposites shows that the author gave careful thought to character development.

At one point Ibari makes an observation: “Strange to think there weren’t just two versions of me, and two versions of Kareem and Nico and possibly everyone else, but two versions of our country. There was a world where my homeland had fractured into disarray, and another where my homeland had closed like a fist.” Inevitably, the reader wonders whether chaos or control is preferable.

In Ari’s world, the US has fractured; there are some city-states but “Most territory was contested. There were militias everywhere, flashes of gunfire at night. The skirmishes were constant but stopped just short of all-out war. The combatant groups were innumerable, militias forming and breaking apart in complex and ever-shifting allegiances. Gun runners passed through the towns like smoke, shadows moving over the landscape. There was constant migration.”

Ibari’s world is a totalitarian state reliant on surveillance. There are identity cards, neighbourhood permits, facial recognition technology, random interrogations, and drone surveillance. The State will do whatever is necessary to maintain peace and harmony. Ibari acknowledges that “One of the more exhausting aspects of life in a surveillance state is that anyone can be surveilling you at any time, including the person whom you are yourself surveilling.” Anyone critical of the State might be sent to prison or to a black site or to a work camp. A person who runs afoul of the State can become a ghost: “not entitled to a home, or health care, or the protections of the law, or a social security number, bank account, credit, or entry into most spaces.”

Neither world is appealing. In different ways, both have people living in fear. What is noteworthy is that, given the current state of affairs in the US, both versions are not far from reality. What I found frightening is that both worlds are possible, and that is probably the author’s point. The one note of hope is Kareem’s comment that “’no country lasts forever.’”

I enjoyed the book, though I did find “A-Side” rather slow-paced compared to “B-Side.” The novel certainly provides a lot for the reader to ponder. I’ve only mentioned one of the many subjects examined; other topics explored are marriage and parenting, and the power of art.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of THE LAST TENANT by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir (New Release)

 4 Stars

This is the sixth book in the Forbidden Iceland series and, like the others, a compelling read.

The remains of a young woman and a baby are uncovered at an abandoned farmhouse. Detective Elma Jónsdóttir, her partner Sævar, and her boss Hörður of West Iceland CID investigate to determine the identities of the deceased and how they came to be buried together, though they were clearly buried years apart. The woman is eventually identified as Sólrún Sveinsdóttir. Her disappearance had been believed to be a suicide but evidence now shows she was murdered.

There’s a second plot focused on Karitas Sól, a young single mother who moves to Akranes with her four-year-old son Bessi. She rents a basement apartment from Baldvin, an eccentric older man. He befriends Karitas and her son, but some of his behaviour worries Karitas. She meets Kristófer, a young man who lives next door, and the two become romantically involved. But then she learns that Sólrún, the murdered woman, had connections to both her landlord and her neighbour. Can she trust either of them?

As in the previous novels, Elma’s personal life is also part of the story. This time, Elma and Sævar are experiencing some relationship difficulties. Though they live together with their young daughter Adda, Elma knows that Sævar is keeping secrets from her. She thinks he may be seeing another woman. I enjoy these glimpses at Elma’s personal life, but I appreciate that they don’t overshadow the investigation.

Elma is a very likeable protagonist.  As always, she continues to show her intelligence and determination. Even when she has strong suspicions but no supporting evidence, she doesn’t hesitate to confront a person she suspects is guilty of a crime. She’s not perfect and that makes her authentic. She attends a party and reveals some information about the case and then is “tortured by self-recriminations” and has difficulty forgiving herself for what she perceives as negligence.

As I’ve mentioned in my reviews of previous books in this series, the author is a master of misdirection. I know to expect that in her books not everything is as it seems. Besides those of Elma and Karitas, the perspectives of various people connected to the case are given. These people harbour secrets and/or behave strangely, so there is no shortage of suspects. I identified a suspect and then thought I was proved to be correct, but I was wrong. I’m pleased that the one person I thought from the beginning was innocent is indeed so. But then there was someone I never suspected! It speaks to the writer’s skill that I was fully engaged in trying to solve the case as I read.

Readers looking for a meticulously plotted police procedural with engaging characters and a lot of psychological suspense need look no further.  Though the book can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the books in order. All have received 4 stars from me.

Review of THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans

 4.5 Stars

I kept coming across this title but didn’t pay too much attention until I learned it won the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. As suggested by the title, it’s an epistolary novel in the vein of 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, a book I loved which is even recommended to the protagonist.

Sybil Van Antwerp is a septuagenarian who retired from her job as a chief clerk to a judge in 1999. She is an inveterate letter writer; the novel includes letters written between June 2, 2012, and February 8, 2020. She writes to, among others, Felix, her brother; Rosalie, her best friend and sister-in-law; Fiona and Bruce, her adult children; Harry, the teenaged son of a former colleague; Theodore, her neighbour; and authors of books she’s read. Occasionally replies are included. There’s also a series of unsent letters to an unidentified recipient; these serve almost like Sybil’s diary. Sybil states that “the letters amount to who I am,” but advancing vision problems threaten her well-constructed life.

The novel is a character study because the reader gets to know Sybil’s personality. She’s fiercely intelligent and inordinately stubborn. She’s prickly. She’s speaks her mind, though always politely. And she’s capable of great love and generosity; what she did for Felix and does for Harry show these traits in abundance. Some of her epistles had me laughing out loud and others left me heart-broken.

Sybil’s letters are well-written. She admits, “It takes patience to say exactly what one means, to think of the right word. Sometimes I write a draft and mark it up, then write a clean copy to send.” (The last letter, more of an attempt than a draft, reveals so much about Sybil and her struggles.) It is also clear that the letters serve as a way of avoiding personal contact; she herself admits, “by conducting the most intimate relationships of my life in correspondence, I have kept, since I was a child, a distance between myself and others. I think it’s true the letters have insulated me, have been a force field.” Given her experiences, her need for distance is understandable.

Sybil freely offers opinions and advice to others but is not always given to self-reflection or accepting advice. When her best friend writes to her on August 20, 2017, to give her some advice about repairing a relationship, Sybil does not respond until September 18, 2018, over a year later. Her personal growth, though slow, does become obvious as evidenced in her reaching out to people like Fiona, Hattie, and Theodore. She acknowledges her failures and tries to make amends for past mistakes.

The novel is not plotless. Through the letters, we learn about Sybil’s life, including the great tragedy which shaped her life, her legal career, an unexpected family history, and the possibility of late-life romance. The letters also reveal her secrets, regrets, and overwhelming guilt.

I loved the book. Perhaps some of my enjoyment derives from reading about a woman who, like me, is “caught in the wretched web of aging.” Though I tend to rely on digital communication like everyone else these days, I love receiving hand-written cards. And I liked the many literary references: several of the letter writers exchange titles of books they’re currently reading. I highly recommend this novel.

Review of LOVE, AFTER ALL by Ewald Arenz

 4 Stars

I’m not a fan of romance novels, but this poignant love story won me over.

Clara Wagenbach, in her late forties, is a photographer who has just lost her job. Elias Kornfeld, in his thirties, is an actor. The two meet by chance when Elias’s girlfriend Vera arranges for them to view the cottage Clara is selling. The attraction between them is immediate and mutual and love blossoms as they spend time together. Fate, however, intervenes. Clara is offered a job in another part of the country and then Elias falls ill. Elias mentions that “Love was like a soft metal. It had to be honed in everyday life until it was both supple and firm.” Will their love survive?

Both characters are well-developed so feel authentic. Clara is independent, strong-willed and uncompromising; because she has been hurt in the past, she has built a protective wall: “She’d never wanted to open the door to herself to anyone.” Elias is charismatic but seems to use his acting skills in his personal life: he pretends to be happy though he feels he is in the wrong life. He seems afraid to totally commit to a relationship.

The perspectives of both Clara and Elias are presented so the reader gets to know them intimately. We may not agree with their decisions and choices, but we understand them. For example, Clara’s husband died of cancer and so her reluctance to open up is understandable. Considering the state of her marriage when Paul died, she vows, “If I ever love again, it will be completely and forever. No more compromises. Not with myself and not with the other person. And if that can’t be done, then it can’t be done.”

This is a book about mature love, not a young love. There is an age gap which particularly concerns Clara. They are not Romeo and Juliet and so cannot be rash since they both have adult responsibilities: Elias has a daughter, and Clara’s mother has dementia and her father suffers from paranoia. They have careers which are important to them.

Clara and Elias meet in the spring and every chapter includes some description of springtime which mirrors their developing relationship. Just as new buds form and flowers blossom, so does their love. And when there are problems between them, Clara notices “the trees were just plain green. That was how she felt. Yes. Alive. But not blooming.”

At one point, Elias quotes, “’Nothing is more various in its forms than love.’” The novel examines different types of love besides the romantic passion between Clara and Elias. There’s the love between siblings (Clara and Jan), the love of a parent for a child (Elias and Jules), and the love of children for parents (Jan and Clara’s care for their mother).

I do have a couple of quibbles. I had difficulty accepting Jan’s interference in Elias’s treatment. He speaks to him about test results though Elias is not his patient and then proposes a course of treatment without first consulting Elias’s doctors. I understand his motivation, but his actions are so unprofessional. I also didn’t understand why Clara receives the call from the care home at the end since she’s not an appointed guardian.

I’ve read the other novels by Ewald Arenz which have been translated into English: Tasting Sunlight and One Grand Summer. Though Love, After All is not my favourite of his, I do recommend it because it, like the others, shows exceptional emotional depth.

Here are links to my reviews of these other novels.

Tasting Sunlight: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2022/06/review-of-tasting-sunlight-by-ewald.html

One Grand Summer: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2024/07/review-of-one-grand-summer-by-ewald.html