Wrap It Up!-Chapter Four

Books For Those Wanting To Solve A Puzzle

My Christmas wish for you is this, as we navigate through another trying year, let books be the gift you choose to give. To others, and to yourself.

May they provide an escape, a perspective on the unconceivable, a lesson in how to do better, to be better, a door into a world of wonder, a glimpse at an everyday hero’s inspirational tale, a reminder that laughter is indeed the best medicine, that words and stories are sustenance for the soul, and in our darkest moments, a soft place to land.

Find a cozy spot, crack open a book and have a wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS MURDERED SOMEONE – BENJAMIN STEVENSON

“Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, it’s just the truth.”

Sometimes it only takes a single sentence, like this one, well placed, in this case as the first line, for a book to grab you hook, line and sinker! Our narrator is also our author, telling his story directly to the reader. But you will be left to wonder whether he is the Sherlock or is he the Watson. I mean let’s face it, in every crime novel you only see the motives of the suspects through the eyes of their inquisitor. The book teases out the backstory of an ensemble of potential reprobates, locks them in an inaccessible location, and then presents a body that can be linked to each and every one of them. What good fun!

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL – ROSE WILDING

New Year’s Eve 1999. Seven women. All of whom have a lot more to worry about than a Y2K glitch. Seven women, inextricably linked by one man. A man whose head is on a table in front of them. Where the rest of him lies? That’s anybody’s guess. Seven women, all with motive, must lie to protect themselves and whoever among them is a killer. This was a stellar thriller that kept this reader constantly on my toes, flip flopping on which motive was powerful enough to drive someone to such extremes. Secretly, I hoped they all had a hand in it…and maybe they did. That’s for me to know and you to find out.

KILL SHOW: A TRUE CRIME NOVEL – DANIEL SWEREN-BECKER

Sara disappeared without a trace on a crisp morning in Frederick, Maryland. Her tragic story soon spiraled into a national obsession and became the centerpiece of a controversial docuseries. Ten years after these events, the people who knew her best are finally ready to talk. Structured like a true crime book, the author delivers diabolical twists in additional to provocative social commentary, never shying away from our insatiable appetite for the consumption of tragedy. A book that is as much an urgent reckoning with the ethics of true crime as it is a tense and chilling mystery.

And a few more…

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers – Jesse Q. Sutanto

Sweet Pea – C.J. Skuse

The Leftover Woman – Jean Kwok