book reviews of literary, mainstream and genre fiction and nonfiction http://www.curledup.com/index.htm Lott is a storyteller of the highest caliber, one who spins his tale from the authentic lives of relatable characters. Twenty-seven-year-old Huger Dillard drifts in indecision since a violent confrontation that has since lingered, unresolved, in his nightmares. Currently without focus, Huger is happy to spend his time ferrying his blind father, Unc, from place to place, indulging the older man’s eccentricities since the fire that took his sight and the life of his beloved wife. http://www.curledup.com/dead_low_tide.htm Arthur Opp used to have a family once, but he doesn’t any more. He used to be a successful professor once, but he isn’t any more. Instead he is a dangerously obese (close to 500 pounds) academic who hasn’t stepped outside his crumbling Brooklyn home in close to ten years. Thanks to online shopping, he gets groceries delivered home and is so huge that he can’t even climb the stairs in his own house, let alone take a walk outside. http://www.curledup.com/heft_moore.htm Examining the notion of male arrogance and hubris, Gottlieb uses the machinations of three characters to craft a suspenseful, eerie tale that centers on the theme of self-identity. Much of the action is set in San Francisco and New York, the novel encompassing the worlds of obsession and betrayal, challenging the beliefs of two men drawn into the seductive collusion of one rapacious femme fatale. http://www.curledup.com/face_thief.htm Barr kicks the action into high gear in this prequel to her Anna Pigeon series. Having just left painful memories of love lost in New York, Anna relocates West as the newest hire of the National Park Service at Dangling Rope Marina in Utah’s Glen Canyon and its jewel, Lake Powell. The solitary Anna keeps her own counsel as she slowly heals from her devastating grief. Sharing an apartment with Jenny Gorman, Pigeon assists in testing bacteria in the lake, monitoring waste levels—not the most glamorous assignment, but one she does with quiet dignity. http://www.curledup.com/rope_barr.htm Delightful, funny, curious and mysterious, Flavia is an 11-year-old with an adult’s wisdom when it comes to poisons and potions but a naïve child of the 1950s, dreaming of ways to trap Father Christmas to prove he is real and plotting against her two older sisters who remain the bane of her life. Times are hard, money is tight, and to keep the family manse from toppling down around their ears, Flavia’s absent-minded, philately-oriented father has hired out Buckshaw to a film crew at Christmas time. While sisters Daphne and Ophelia (Daffy and Feely) hope not for sugar plums but for acting roles, Flavia is enamored of the behind-the-scenes goings-on. http://www.curledup.com/i_am_half_sick_of_shadow.htm Steeping her novel in history, Bilyeau crafts a tale of the perilous times in England. Henry VIII’s Reformation is in full swing, wealthy monasteries plundered for the crown’s treasury, lesser ones awaiting word of their disposition and anticipating closure. A revolution in the north on behalf of the old religion has incurred the king’s wrath, the rebels severely punished as an example to the rest of the country. Margaret Bulmer—wife of John Bulmer, a leader of the rebellion—is soon to be burned at the stake in London for her participation in the revolt, an event drawing excited crowds to view the excruciating death by fire. http://www.curledup.com/crown_bilyeau.htm Many years ago, during happier times, newly married Art and Marion Fowler had honeymooned in Niagara Falls. At the time, the grandeur of the falls and its associated magic seemed like just the right launching pad for a successful marriage. Now, around 25 years later, the couple is back. This time they’re hoping to revive their failing marriage by banking on the seedier side of American commerce that the falls also represent. http://www.curledup.com/odds_onan.htm In Daniel Silva’s gripping spy novel The Defector, Gabriel Allon works undercover as a professional art restorer while hunting down Israel’s most dangerous enemy, the Russian oligarch Ivan Kharkov. Gabriel’s wife, Chiara, would prefer he retire from the business of assassination, but Gabriel prefers to live life on his own terms. He isn’t one to follow the rules. He’s the ultimate heroic “bad boy” doing whatever he wants whenever he wants, answering to no one. The disappearance of Grigori Bulganov, defector and dissident, sets up a story that takes Gabriel from a secluded villa in Italy to the streets of London and foreign intelligence headquarters in Israel. http://www.curledup.com/defector_silva.htm The Chocolate Castle Clue continues the yummy story of Lee McKinney Woodyard and her to-die-for chocolatier shop, TenHuis Chocolade. The shop is actually owned by Lee’s Aunt Nettie, but Lee manages the day-to-day workings of the store as well as the creation of the divine goodies that are dispensed. Lee moved to (mythical) Warner Pier from Texas to help out her Aunt and has found herself happily ensconced in the western Michigan tourist town with great neighbors and friends. http://www.curledup.com/chocolate_castle_clue.htm Now joining the Atlantic Monthly Press list for the first time, Val McDermid arrives with a chilling, high-velocity thriller featuring her immensely popular characters, Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. http://www.curledup.com/win.htm Tweeting curledup.com, curledupkids.com and curledupdvd.com recommendations. http://twitter.com/curledupbooks