Nevermore's Favorite Fiction: Buster the Dog, Jana Bibi, The Bookseller & more

Buster’s Diaries:  The True Story of a Dog and his Man by Roy Hattersley is pretty much as the title describes it.  Buster is a Staffordshire terrier/ German Shepherd mix who is adopted from a shelter by The Man. The setting is London in the 1990s, and is based on Hattersley’s real dog that ran afoul of Queen Elizabeth II by when he was accused of killing a goose in St. James Park.  The “memoir” is charming, clever, and sometimes quite shrewd in its observations. Our reviewer said it made for an enjoyable couple of hours.

Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman is a delightful tale of a British woman who has lived most of her life in India.  Her son is anxious for her to come to his home in Scotland, a prospect she finds rather depressing but her teaching job will be ending soon and she will need to find a place to go.  News of an inheritance in a rural area of India sends her in search of a new home.  Delightful characters and the 1960s Indian setting made this a very appealing book, recommended by our reviewer.

Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham follows the stories of three friends in a small Texas town. Trey Don and John are in sixth grade when orphan Cathy Ann Benson moves to town. The three of them form a strong bond, but as they mature, emotions become more complicated.  Then in high school, a prank goes awry and their lives spin off into very different directions.  This is a glorious soap opera, full of drama and plot twists.

Hugo Marston also hailed from Texas, but the former FBI profiler is now head of security for the American Embassy in Paris.  While buying two first editions from his friend Max, the elderly bookseller is kidnapped by at gunpoint.  Hugo finds the French police less than proactive, so he calls in an old friend from the CIA to help solve the case.  The Bookseller  is Mark Pryor’s debut, but is supposed to be the first in a series, and our reviewer found it promising.

Blaze of Glory is the latest Civil War novel by Jeff Shaara. Set during the Battle of Shiloh, Shaara has the knack of bringing history to life by letting the reader glimpse the lives of the officers and enlisted men alike.  This is the first of a new trilogy.  Shaara’s first novel was Gods and Generals, which was a sort of sequel to his father Michael Shaara’s classic Killer Angels.