Nevermore: Midnight Sun, Behind Closed Doors, The Smear, Mortuary Technician, Brothers of the Sea, Eaters of the Dead

Reported by Jeanne 

Nevermore started the week with a review of Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbo, an award-winning Norwegian author best known for his Harry Hole mystery series.  This standalone novel features Jon, a hitman who is fleeing a vindictive employer known as the Fisherman. He finds a sanctuary of sorts in a small village where he also finds himself becoming emotionally attached to a widow and her son.  But Jon—known to the villagers as Ulf—knows that it’s just a matter of time before someone will come looking for him. Our reviewer enjoyed it, and gave it four out of five stars.  He especially praised Nesbo for his ability to create complex characters.

Behind Closed Doors, a debut novel by B.A. Paris, also won praise from its reader.  Grace and Jack appear to the be the perfect couple, but appearances are deceiving in this domestic thriller.  Our reader said it featured a psychopath with amazing nasal abilities—this person could smell fear—and that it’s a good page-turner.

The Smear by Sharyl Attkisson takes a behind the scenes look at how political campaigns, spin doctors, and special interest groups all try to shape the news to influence the public, especially voters.  Our reviewer said that while it was not fast reading, it was interesting.

More engaging was the next nonfiction selection, Down Among the Dead Men:  A Year in the Life of a Mortuary Technician by Michelle Williams. While the book could be a bit graphic at times, it’s a fascinating look at what goes on behind the scenes at a hospital mortuary.  Learning the causes of death, dealing with funeral homes, and some of the more unusual –um—clients make for engrossing reading.  Our reviewer did say that since the author was English a number of British expressions appear in the book but that didn’t detract from her enjoyment.

The 1966 novel Brothers of the Sea by D.R. Sherman is set in Seychelles when a boy and his father struggle to survive. Fifteen year old Paul is saved by a dolphin and the two form a deep friendship. The reader said this was a great book, and it was one of the saddest stories he’d ever read.

Finally, Michael Crichton’s early novel The Eaters of the Dead made quite an impression on one member.  Based on the writings of an Arab traveler around 921 A.D. and drawing from Beowulf, the story revolves around a band of Vikings who have to fight a mysterious monster. Our reader was most taken with the descriptions of Viking life and found the book to be “fascinating.”