"The Man in the Picture" by Susan Hill

I've probably picked up this little book a dozen times or so. It was sitting on our "New Fiction" shelf when I came in to work Saturday, and I picked it up again, this time to shift it to our regular Fiction section. It had had its time in the sun, so to speak. Well, I really looked at it this time, and having just finished "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters, I found myself in the mood for yet another eerie ghost story. Plus, this is really a short story, so I knew it wouldn't take long to read.

It's not a bad little book, I'll give the author that. But I would say that it's not really "a ghost story" as the subtitle claims. This is much more a tale of a lover scorned and the ultimate revenge taken by that same woman, not only on the man who scorned her, but on his entire family. Indeed, so strong is this woman's hatred towards those who are happily in love, the painting affects even those not related to the original ill-fated couple.

The action takes place in England and is told from a few different views, that of a former Cambridge student, Oliver; his former professor and now old friend, Theo Parmitter; the Countess, who originally received the painting as a wedding "gift"; and finally a surprise narrator, who wraps up everything nicely and also indicates that the story is probably far from over. (Sort of like scary movies where they leave themselves open for a sequel or two or ten!) The writer has a way with words, and indeed, I felt as if I could see the painting myself in some places. But it's never made entirely clear just exactly how the painting works, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good because you can imagine pretty much whatever you want; bad because at times it seems a bit silly.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this book, most likely on a dreary, rainy afternoon when one wants a light entertainment to kill an hour or so. It's not really a "new" story as such; we've seen this sort of ghostly tale before. But it is well done, and I'm considering finding other works by the same author.

"Sock" by Penn Jillette

First off, I must admit that I had no idea Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame had written a book. I was very happy and excited to find this - it meant a book for my hubby to read and I really wanted to read it myself. And, as is usual of strange writing, we had very different opinions about said book when we were done. Namely that hubby really liked it, and I was really disappointed by it.

The story is a basic murder-mystery on the surface. A police diver (the guys that fish corpses out of the water) is doing his duty yet again when he pulls out the body of a former girlfriend. Struck by her death, he decides to investigate and find her killer. He enlists the help of a mutual friend, and they take off to track down the bad guy, thus avenging the girl.

Except this being Penn, nothing is normal here. First off, the story is not narrated by the diver but by his childhood toy, a sock monkey. The diver is referred to as "Little Fool" by Sock through the entire book, and at times, I almost felt like Penn was referring to me, the reader, in the same way. Reading the rantings of Sock made it very, very hard for me to get through this book; while the plot is basically an A-to-B-to-C, it doesn't feel that way. The monkey makes comments about anything and everything, very much like a stream-of-consciousness point of view. And just about every single paragraph ends with a reference to a pop-song or some other catch-phrase from pop culture, which was a bit disruptive in my opinion.

Penn is making comments about lots of things in this book, but probably the biggest one is about the existence of God. Yeah, I know - it's there, trust me. It's just not an overt way to make the commentary, and I think that it gets lost in the jumbled rantings of Sock. Overall, I found the characters to be difficult to relate to, the plot to be a bit thin, and Sock to be just outright annoying. I wish I had enjoyed this book as much as my hubby. He kept telling me to keep in mind who wrote it, which does explain a lot. But it doesn't make it a good book.

"Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris

Having read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins about a year ago, I was interested in this very tiny book when it came across the front desk at work. Would it be possible, I wondered, for an author to make basically the same argument that Dawkins made in so few pages? Would this author do a better job of it, i.e. not alienate the very audience he sought to persuade?

The answer is pretty much yes. Harris isn't saying anything new here, but he does take a different approach than Dawkins, which I frankly appreciated. I had really wanted to be able to recommend the full-length book by the scientist, but after slogging my way through it, I was so put off by his heavy-handed, and ironically, holier-than-thou approach that I knew I'd never tell anyone to read that book. This slim volume by Harris, however, just might fit the bill for those interested in the argument "Is there a God, and if so, do we still need to believe in him in the 21st century?"

I thought Harris was much more even-handed in his approach to the argument and also much more respectful of the very Christians he's trying to reach. I also thought that it was smart to write it as a "letter" - this should only take an hour or two to read, no more than that, which also means that he doesn't beat the topic to death. He makes his point, backs it up with several examples, and concludes the letter in a respectful, succinct manner. I very much liked some of his examples of why he's an atheist, too; at one point he reminds us that it wasn't all that long ago that humans believed in gods such as Zeus and Poseidon. Of course, if you admit to still believing in those gods in today's modern world, you're considered a kook. He wonders if someday we won't look back on this time and shake our heads at all the people that continued to believe in a god, be it God, Allah, Buddah, etc. He's not shy about casting doubt on all organized religions, and he also points out that Christians tend to be very intolerant of others' religious beliefs, not a very "christian" attitude in his opinion.

Overall, it's a good little book, one that will definitely make one think. Will it change any one's mind? That I doubt. People tend to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the proof or lack thereof to the actual validity of that belief. I think it would take a personal conversion of sorts, lots of them, before the world changed enough to please Harris.

"Crooked Little Vein" by Warren Ellis

"Burned-out private dick Michael McGill needs to jump-start his career. What he gets instead is a cattle prod to the crotch. The president's heroin-addicted chief of staff wants McGill to find the Constitution—the real one the Founding Fathers secretly devised for the time of gravest crisis. And with God, civility, and Mom's homemade apple pie already dead or dying, that time is now. But McGill has a talent for stumbling into every imaginable depravity—and this case is driving him even deeper into America's darkest, dankest underbelly, toward obscenities that boggle even his mind."

Well, this certainly is one weird story. The main plot is McGill trying to locate and obtain this alternate Constitution, the one that when read aloud to people makes them do, well, pretty much whatever you want them to do. The chief of staff states that the president wants it located so that they can start holding town-hall-type meetings, read the book, and get people to go back to the way things were, the "good old days". The sexually repressed days is more like it. Never mind that the COS is a raging heroin fiend, never mind the scary way he shows up everywhere that McGill goes, and never mind that it might not be in everyone's best interest to go back to the days of the working Dad and stay-at-home Mom with the two kids, dog, and white picket fence. McGill is offered a lot of money for this mission, and he's really not in a position to say no.

He's not alone on this weird quest, either. He meets Trix, a rather flamboyant poly amorous researcher (where he meets her is one of the books weirder scenes); the two hit it off and he "hires" her to be his assistant. She tells him he needs her because he's probably the most un-hip person she's met in the last decade. True - McGill isn't known for his wild and swinging ways. And he's going to need someone like Trix to navigate the crazy trail of the book, ranging from Godzilla-obsessed dorks to a wild Texan to....well... let's just say there were things in this book that I sort of wish I didn't know about.

But when all's said and done, is this a good book? Um, yeah, I guess I'd say it is. While it is definitely out there and on the uber-weird side, I thought Ellis's writing was good. Good characterization, tightly written plot (even if it is on the out-there side!), and a nice resolution to the story. This is his first "regular" novel; he's the author of several graphic novels. I would gladly pick up another book of his, but this time, I'll know to put my mental seat belt on before I open the cover. It's definitely a wild ride!

"Dead and Gone" by Charlaine Harris

This is the ninth book in Harris's Southern Vampire series, and much as I love Sookie and Harris, I think the series is starting the inevitable downhill slide. Don't hate the messenger, people! It always seems to happen at some point, especially once a series gets insanely popular and/or hits the magic number 7 - after the seventh book or so, they just don't seem nearly as good as they once were. Sigh. Perhaps Harris is running out of ideas, or perhaps she's just too busy with the HBO series True Blood; I don't know. But this offering was not of the same quality as others in the Sookie series.

Things start off with a bang, almost literally. The weres, following the lead of the vamps, have decided to come out, and there are the usual mixed emotions after the big reveal. Several of the weres are relieved not to have to hide their true nature anymore, while others are nervous about their friends and family. With good reason, as one peripheral character is injured almost immediately. Sookie is at Merlotte's when the reveal occurs on live TV; her boss, Sam, and another were change in the bar to show people that weres are just like everyone else. Most are surprised but pleased by the news, all but waitress Arlene, who's been cozying up to an ultra-zealot group of vamp/were/anyone-different-than-us haters.

Soon after the reveal, Crystal, Jason's wife and Sookie's sister-in-law, is killed and crucified in the bar's parking lot. There's a lot of confusion over whether she was killed for her wanton ways (her cheating ways were well-known to most of Bon Temps) or for her were nature; it could be a possible hate crime. There's a pair of FBI agents in town wanting to recruit Sookie for her telepathic abilities (which she doesn't admit to, of course) and they immediately take over the crime scene. Sookie is scared and worried for her brother, as most will assume that Jason killed her for cheating on him. But Sookie knows that Jason would never do that, not when Crystal was pregnant with his child...

Eric is back in full force and basically wants to lay claim to our gal. She's not happy with his heavy-handed ways, but due to a big power shift in the vamp world, she might have to put up with them to keep herself out of the new head honcho's hands. Oh, and there appears to be more than one person out to kill her, too. She's evidently become a pawn in the fairie war between her grandfather and another leader. What's a girl to do?

Well, in this book, a lot. And I think that's where most of my complaint comes in - there is just way, way, way too much going on here. There's the possible hate crime of Crystal's murder, which really and truly probably should've been the focus of the book. Add to that the Eric stuff, the fae stuff, the FBI stuff, and it's just a mish-mash of plot lines. My other big complaint is how violent this entry is. Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against violence in and of itself. But these books haven't really been about that sort of thing, not to this extent. I don't know if Harris is setting up stuff that will be good for HBO down the road, or if she just thought this was a dark time in Sookie's life and the writing should reflect that. OH! And there's a very weird and distracting scene with Sookie's ex-boyfriend, Quinn, one that I'm not really sure was necessary. Again, I don't know if Harris is trying to keep him in our minds with a possible return to the canvas, or if she caught so much flack from the unceremonial dumping he took in the previous book that she wanted to soothe some ruffled feathers; either way, it just didn't work for me.

While I'm disappointed in this book, I haven't given up on the series, not yet. However, having said that, I think I'm only willing to read one more book like this before I start looking elsewhere. I have really enjoyed Sookie's story, but I'm not willing to stick with it if the writing is headed downhill. Here's hoping that Harris leaves the TV stuff to the TV folk and concentrates on what got her to HBO in the first place.

"Dog On It" by Spencer Quinn

I originally picked this up for my hubby, who is always needing another book to read. Claims "his" authors just don't write fast enough to keep him happy. He devoured it and kept telling me how good it was, how much he liked Chet, etc. Imagine my surprise when we got the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly here at work, and there in Stephen King's column is a list a "beach reads" - and there's "Dog On It"! Well, if Steve-o liked it that much, I knew I had to try it...

Chet is a dyed-in-the-wool good dog. His partner is Bernie Little, and together they are the Little Detective Agency. Chet was supposed to have been a K-9 dog, but something went wrong near the very end of his training. Chet is a very, very good leaper, and he's not entirely sure what happened, but he thinks he remembers blood... Anyway, he and Bernie are a team, and they're about to get a case that will test their abilities and then some.

Bernie is contacted about a missing teen by her mother, simply distraught over her daughter's disappearance. Only thing is the girl shows up pretty fast, so Bernie has his doubts about what really happened; he believes the girl was out with a boy and just doesn't want her mother to know. Plus there's the bag of pot that Chet found in her room - add one and one and they pretty much come up to two. Except that Bernie is contacted by the same woman again within a few days, hysterical and crying, saying her daughter is gone again and this time it's been more than just a few hours and she just knows something bad has happened to her. Bernie is reluctant to help again, but something just isn't adding up. He agrees to take the case, and after interviewing a few people, including the girl's father (divorced parents, don't ya know), he really smells a rat. Chet, of course, accompanies him everywhere, much to several peoples dismay, but Chet is smart, and Chet is his partner after all. Just when it seems like maybe the girl is OK and nothing bad has happened, it all falls apart, leaving both Bernie and Chet in danger.

OK, that's a pretty simplistic version of the plot, but that's as much as you're going to get! I was impressed by this book, and I can see why King recommends it for the beach (or wherever it is you vacation). It's cute, it's an easy read, and it's actually fairly well-written. Chet is our narrator, and I have to admit, I was totally believing it. I've never read any of the stories told from the animal's point of view before; they always seems too cutesy or corny. This one hits the mark, making Chet almost seem human but giving enough info to prove he's not. For example, Chet's attention wanders quite a bit, much like my dog's used to. He's distracted by movement at times, and he loves smells, describing them in intricate detail, much like I'd imagine a real dog would if it could talk. He and Bernie make a great team, and lucky us, this looks like it's going to be a series. I sure hope so - I'll take a journey with Bernie and Chet any day. Check it out!

"Hands of Flame" by C. E. Murphy

This is the third book, and possibly the end, of the Negotiator series by Murphy. (I highly doubt it's the end, though, as she has a forward in this book that makes it sound like she really wants to come back to this series!) I thought this was a very good ending to the trilogy, and if you haven't read the other two already, I'm going to tell you right now to go read them. Really, you have to read them before jumping into this book - there's just way too much history to start here.

Margrit Knight is still embroiled in the world of the Old Races in her final days at Legal Aid. When we last saw her, she'd asked Alban, her romantic gargoyle, to give her some space and time to figure things out. Unfortunately, Margrit doesn't have very much of either; she was instrumental in the death of a djinn, and the Old Races still believe you cannot kill one of their kind without consequences, namely your own death. There's also a territorial war brewing down on the docks as the djinn and selkies vie for leadership of the underworld that was once held by the dragon Janx. The dragonlord is licking his wounds in the tunnels held by Grace O'Malley, and she's none too happy to have him there. Eliseo Daisani, the vampire, is about to become Margrit's boss, but he's hiding a very, very big secret of his own, one that may turn the Old Races against him.

There's a lot going on here, of course, and it's all good. There are new characters introduced as well as the appearance of old favorites. And there are so many loose ends that I can't imagine Murphy won't go back to this series after writing a few installments of the Walker Files. Keep in mind that that series started as a trilogy as well, so there's definitely hope that we'll see Grit and her gargoyle again. I certainly hope so. I'd love to be able to give you more of a plot, but honestly, I just can't do that without giving too many things away. Trust me when I tell you that The Negotiator Series is a well-written from all angles - plot, character development, and just the right touch of romance. And remember to look up once in while...