First week of August

I was away for a few days, but still reading.  I read a few books that didn't grab me. One, was a YA novel that I thought involved kids getting taken into a computer game, perhaps Jumanji style. I had put it on my holds list at my local library, and often forget why I put a title on hold, but it is always exciting to read books as they arrive!
This one though didn't involve a computer game, but was rather more along the lines of those Saw movies.  I couldn't finish it. It shall remain unnamed, as I don't like posting really negative reviews. As always, if you want the titles of the books I deride, please post a comment, and I will let you know.

A couple of others were merely started, and didn't grab me.  One book I read and finished around August 8th, is The Lady in the Lake.


I love Laura Lippman's stand alone novels; by the time I discovered here if felt a bit too late to go back to the start of her series, but one day I will do that.  This novel is set in the 1960's in Baltimore. My son recently moved to Baltimore, and I enjoyed exploring it while visiting him. (and, as an aside a certain person has recently commented on Baltimore) thus, it felt a bit more relevant as I read it, than some books might.

Maddie, the main character has recently left her husband and is kind of finding herself.  In that process she makes some dubious decisions, including one involving a ring that leads her to meet a police officer, and that sets in motion a relationship and piques her curiosity in crime, and reporting.  I honestly found her a bit irritating and self-centered at times. Some have complained about the narrative structure of this novel, but I truly enjoyed all of the characters' chapters.  Many of these are only heard from once, but they added to the story, and I think were used to point out Maddie's self-absorption.  She was unaware of contributions others made, or their lives/interests and this structure added to that character trait, as well as to the story overall.

There are two murders and Maddie becomes involved in trying to solve both.  Both are based on murders that did take place in Baltimore in the 1960's. Cleo, the lady in the lake, is one of the characters that narrates some chapters, and I thought that was well done, and a nice contrast to Maddies'.

Overall, while it isn't my favorite Lippman book, I did enjoy it. There's a nice twist at the end.