A Family Business: A Chilling Tale of Greed as One Family Commits Unspeakable Crimes Against the Dead by Ken Englade is the shocking true accounting of the crimes of the Sconce family who ran a funeral home/crematorium in the most shady, illegal way possible. A tale of death, greed, deception, and complete disregard for tradition, decency, and even the law, this book outlines how the Sconce family ran Lamb Funeral Homes as a way of funding their extravagant lifestyles and egos. An illegal side-business of harvesting organs and tissue from the yet-to-be-cremated soon sprouted up, and yet more money poured into their pockets. Eventually the law caught up with the Sconce family, shutting down their illegal operations. Our reader was dismayed at how little prison time the family members, particularly David, faced upon sentencing, stating how very lenient the judge was with David despite the horrific acts that he perpetrated upon the bodies of the dead. An amazing book with a “stranger than fiction” storyline, our reader highly recommends this macabre tale out of mid-1980s California. CD
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich won the 2021 Pulitizer Prize for Fiction amongst many other awards. This fictionalized telling of true events focuses on Thomas Wazhashk, a night watchman at a factory near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Minnesota. Thomas is also a Chippewa Council member who is fighting upcoming federal legislation to strip the tribe of its rights and land. Arthur Watkins was a true-life Republican senator from Utah who in 1953 proposed stripping all American Indian tribes of their treaty statues and assimilating Native tribes into American society. The character of Thomas is based on Erdrich’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, who was the real-life chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band Chippewa Advisory Committee and who successfully fought against Watkins’ legislation. Our reader, who has Native American roots, was deeply moved by this accounting of the thoughtless way in which the Native American tribes were treated by politicians who viewed them as “less than”. She noted the complex, realistic characters that Erdrich creates without being sentimental or presenting an idealized version of the community. PP
Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day is a murder mystery set in Britain during World War II. Bridey Kelly is a disgraced nurse-in-training who has been sent to Greenway, the beloved vacation home of Agatha Christie, to care for children who have been evacuated from London during the Blitz. The gorgeous old home is itself a mystery, full of rooms that are not to be entered, curio cabinets that are not to be touched, and bookshelves full of tomes on murder. The most complex mystery is the other nurse, Gigi, who is unlike anyone that Bridey has ever met in her life. Then a body washes up on the shore of Greenway – a victim of a brutal murder that threatens to engulf both Bridey and Gigi. Our reader, who specializes in books set in Britain, loved this book, highlighting the great, believable characters, and its complicated, entertaining mystery. ML
A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen – America’s Most Damaging Russian Spy by Liz Wiehl is the meticulously researched and written accounting of the exploits of Robert Hanssen, who worked as a spy for Russia for over twenty years. Hanssen was a special agent for the FBI, starting in 1976. By 1979, he was offering his services to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate, and provided sensitive information to them on and off until his arrest in 2001. His activities resulted in the deaths of multiple KGB agents who Hanssen exposed. Disliked and distrusted by his peers (but most damagingly, trusted by his superiors), Hanssen nevertheless rose through the ranks of the FBI who were apparently blind to the possibility that one of their own could be a spy for the Soviets. Ironically, Hanssen was tasked by the FBI to try to find the mole who was responsible for the deaths of two KGB agents who had been exposed and executed – that mole was Hanssen. NH
Also mentioned:
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories from Around the World
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris
Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
A Daughter of the Land by Gene Stratton-Porter
Necessary Motions by Sam Rasnake
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Tracy Flick Can’t Win by Tom Perrotta
How to Raise an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Wild Witchcraft: Folk Herbalism, Garden Magic, and Foraging for Spells, Rituals, and Remedies by Rebecca Beyer
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