Reported by Ambrea
Set
at the turn of the century in Greenbrier, West Virginia, The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb is a masterful retelling of an
infamous legend—and a murder than shook a small town to its core. Shortly after the death of her daughter,
Zona, Mary Jane Heaster visits the county prosecutor and claims the ghost of
her daughter has appeared, saying she was murdered. When an autopsy proves this to be true,
Greenbrier is thrown into turmoil and headlines are awash with stories of the
Greenbrier Ghost. Switching between the
perspectives of Mary Jane and James P.D. Gardner, the first black attorney to
practice law in West Virginia, The
Unquiet Grave, according to our Nevermore reader, is an incredibly
fascinating novel. Not only does
McCrumb’s book draw on the history of the region, it tells a compelling story
that’s sure to leave readers clamoring for more. Our reader highly recommended it to
Nevermore, saying she finished it within a few days because it was simply that
good.
Next,
Nevermore checked out When We Were
Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Christopher Banks was born in Shanghai, but, when he is orphaned at the
tender age of nine, he’s sent to live in England. More than twenty years later, Christopher has
become a renowned detective and he returns to Shanghai to solve the mystery of
his parents’ suspicious disappearance.
But, as the cover points out, “within the layers of his narrative is
slowly revealed what he can’t, or won’t, see:
that his memory...is not unaffected by his childhood tragedies; that his
powers of perception...can be blinding as well as enlightening; and that the
simplest desires—a child’s for his parents, a man’s for understanding—may give
rise to the most complicated truths.”
Our reader said When We Were
Orphans was very good; in fact, she named Ishiguro as her new favorite
author, saying he always published incredible works. Insightful and imaginative, this novel is a
fascinating look at loss, discovery, memory and desire. Our reader highly recommended it.
Nevermore
also took a look at The Discourtesy of
Death by William Brodrick, a suspenseful mystery set in Britain that dives
back into the world of Father Anselm, a lawyer turned monk. When Father Anselm receives a letter accusing
Peter Henderson of murder, he knows he must uncover the truth if he hopes to
expose a killer—and stop a series of dangerous events that will inevitably lead
to even more spilled blood. Our reader
said The Discourtesy of Death was a
fine mystery; however, she noted it was filled with philosophical musing and it
had a penchant to develop slowly. She
offered it to her fellow mystery readers, but she didn’t give it a high
recommendation, saying she “honestly found the [history of the] author more
interesting than the book.”
Next,
Nevermore shared a new book by Kate Rhodes titled Crossbones Yard. In this
series debut, readers are introduced to Alice Quentin, a London psychologist
with more family baggage than she would like to admit. When Alice stumbles across a murder (quite
literally), she finds herself drawn into a murder case that will put her—and
everyone one she’s ever cared about—into danger. Our reader said she’d never checked out any
of Rhodes' novels, but “I will look for more from her.” Crossbones
Yard turned out to be a great mystery story, our reader continued, and the
end was “pretty amazing.” Rhodes' novel
was passed on and quickly snatched up by the next person.
Last,
Nevemore rounded out our meeting with a look at a classic mystery: Murder
on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
The tenth novel in the Hercule Poirot series, Murder on the Orient Express recounts Detective Poirot’s trip on
the luxurious Orient Express as he returns to Belgium—and the unexpectedly
grisly murder that pits Poirot against one of the most ingenious killers he’s
ever faced. Our reader picked up
Christie’s novel, because she wanted to read it before she watched the new
movie. She said it’s the perfect winter
story. “You can feel the cold and the
snow,” she said, noting that the novel is incredibly descriptive and
wonderfully detailed. Thus far, she has
loved reading Murder on the Orient
Express. She’s currently taking
notes on characters and trying to decipher clues, saying, “I’m going to figure
it out eventually.”
