One of the hottest books of 2021 is great.

Though the writing is average … AND the book could have been shorter … the PLOT is excellent. It kept me going. I didn’t see the twist coming until close to the end.

… “The Plot” is her gutsiest, most consequential book yet. It keeps you guessing and wondering, and also keeps you thinking: about ambition, fame and the nature of intellectual property (the analog kind). Are there a finite number of stories? Is there a statute of limitations on ownership of unused ideas? These weighty questions mingle with a love story, a mystery and a striver’s journey — three of the most satisfying flavors of fiction out there.”

— The New York Times

Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book.

Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written―let alone published―anything decent in years.

When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then…he hears the plot.

… When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that―a story that absolutely needs to be told. …

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Another excellent murder mystery in the Cork O’Connor series.

The author was inspired by the true story of Dennis Hale, sole survivor of the wreck of a ship called the Daniel J. Morrell on Lake Superior in 1966.

In the novel, a similar ship wreck survivor plots revenge on who he thinks was responsible the disaster — wealthy industrialist Karl Lindstrom.

At the same time in Aurora, Minnesota (population 3,752), there is brewing controversy between Lindstrom’s logging company and the Anishinaabe tribe who consider the old growth trees sacred.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series about DC Smith, a brilliant veteran cop near retirement age.

But For The Grace is #2 — and I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much.

The writing is skillful, with some dry British humour.

But DC Smith himself was not nearly as likeable.

DC Smith is assigned to the suspicious death a woman who lived in a retirement home. DC is masterful in his interview techniques.

One theme is assisted suicide which is still illegal in the time of the book.

It’s a good book but not a great book. The ending, in particular, I found disappointing.

Joe Pickett novel #12.

Finally.

A book featuring fan favourite antihero Nate Romanowski.

In 1995, Nate was in a secret black-ops Special Forces unit abroad when his commander did something terrible.

Now high up in the government, his commander is determined to eliminate anyone who knows about it, and Nate knows exactly how he’ll do it—by striking at Nate’s friends to draw him out.