One-Paragraph Reviews (March/April)

North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo
In this unlikely thriller, Pirio Kasparov, perfume heiress, accompanies a friend--the ex-husband of her best friend--on his lobster boat, which is rammed by a freighter under cover of fog. Why? Best not to ask too many questions! An enjoyable read, especially for beach season, when you don't feel like asking those difficult questions...

*The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna
Duro Kolak has resided in the sleepy little Croatian town of Gost all his life. One day, he sees something unexpected--a strange car at a house that carries a lot of memories for Duro and the rest of the town. Duro befriends the new residents, an English family hoping to make the house their vacation home, but others in the town are not as welcoming, and indeed may be harboring some dark secrets.

*The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
Bean and Liz are used to having to fend for themselves--their singer/songwriter mother doesn't do motherhood very well. When she decides she needs to take some time on her own to "find herself", the girls take it in stride until the day they discover someone has "ratted them out" and called the police; to avoid being taken into protective custody, the girls travel on their own to their mother's estranged family in Virginia. Bad things happen, but also much that is good in this sweet coming-of-age novel.

*The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
In Jewish tradition, a golem is a clay figure that may be brought to life to do the bidding of a master; a jinni (genie) is a similar mythological figure in Eastern tradition. The two come to life in the Mideast, and then come together in nineteenth-century New York in this magical, compelling, very different first novel.

*Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Krueger is best known as a mystery writer, and there is certainly an element of that in this beautifully told story of a minister's son and his family. Tragedy befalls them one hot Midwestern summer, widening the cracks in the family's foundation; the central question of whether their faith will carry them through will compel you to keep turning the pages.

*Benediction by Kent Haruf
The tender portrait of the last days of a dying hardware store owner in a small Colorado town, and a wonderfully crafted tale of the inter-dependent relationships forged by small-town living and the last reckonings brought on by a terminal illness.

*The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley
Another very different first novel, this time set in the hills of Appalachia at the end of WWII. Young Evelyn Roe is asked to work the farm owned by her recently deceased aunt until one of her male relatives can return from the war to take it over. One night during a violent storm, Evelyn discovers a naked, badly burned man half-buried in mud; Evelyn assumes he is a war veteran and takes him in to nurse him back to health, but discovers he is not what he at first appeared to be.

*Maine Readers' Choice Award Short List Title