Nevermore: Deep Dark Descending, Christmas Hope, Raven Rock, Triple Agent,

Reported by Kristin

The Deep Dark Descending by Allen Eskens took a Nevermore reader on a thrilling and most enjoyable ride.  Homicide detective Max Rupert has a tragic past, losing his wife in a hit-and-run accident.  While still grieving, Max dedicates himself to his job, but what happens when he learns that the accident that took Jenni’s life was not actually an accident, but murder?  Retreating to a frozen lake near the Canadian border, Max must come to terms with the past as he seeks out the person who killed his wife.

Another reader had enjoyed Anne Perry’s No Graves As Yet and found it to be a good murder mystery.  In the spirit of the season, she picked up Perry’s A Christmas Hope, and was somewhat disappointed.  In Victorian England, Claudine Burroughs is unhappily married, but finds purpose in volunteering for a clinic for downtrodden women.  Of course her husband doesn’t approve of this, especially as Claudine is quickly drawn into the murder of a young prostitute during the Christmas season.  Our reader didn’t find much closure in the book, and much preferred Perry’s more vigorous mysteries.

Thinking back to her time working in the United States government, a reader just had to check out Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die by Garrett M. Graff.  Beginning during the Cold War, officials carefully laid plans in order to evacuate many individuals, from the President down to smaller but still important government employees, in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the Capitol.  Using thousands of formerly classified documents and interviewing many current and former employees in the Continuity of Government (COG) program, Graff has plumbed the depths of governmental secrecy and paranoia, and laid it out for the public to see.

The Triple Agent: The Al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby Warrick made another reader think deeply about the wars in the Middle East.  Jordanian spy Humam Khalil al-Balawi managed to make his way to a very high level of al-Qaeda.  Turning to the CIA, he then provided intelligence on the terrorist organization, but eventually betrayed the United States by detonating a thirty-pound suicide bomb, killing seven CIA agents.  Our reader was disturbed by the massive loss of life and so much hate on all sides.

Finally, our last reader enjoyed The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb.  The author retells a story based on historical fact, that of young Zona Heaster who was murdered by her new husband, Erasmus Trout Shue.  Set in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, the Greenbrier ghost has been passed down as a folktale.  While Zona’s death is first deemed caused by a fall down the stairs, Zona appears to her mother Mary Jane and tells her that her death was no accident.  Our reader said that as always, McCrumb researched her story meticulously and told the story so beautifully.

Nevermore: Triple Agent, Sam Houston, Kristin Lavransdatter, more

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began with a serious book: The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby Warrick.  Humam Khalil al-Balawi was a Jordanian who had worked his way to the inner circles of al-Qaeda as well as into the CIA.  Published in 2012 by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Warrick, this chronicles a betrayal of the CIA at a time when they were most focused on avenging 9/11.  Our reader was very surprised by the façade that al-Balawi was able to maintain, fooling even his own father.

Another reader was currently enjoying the story of Sam Houston: The Life and Times of the Liberator of Texas, an Authentic American Hero by John Hoyt Williams.  With only about a year of formal education, Houston read law and passed the bar to become an attorney.  A military man and politician, he held such titles as the Governor of Tennessee, the 1^st and 3^rd President of Texas, a United States Senator from Texas and the Governor of Texas.  Our reader exclaimed about Houston, “What a conman!” and also “A fascinating life.”  Another history buff in the room responded, “You have been too kind to him.”

Kristin Lavransdatter, a classic trilogy written by Sigrid Undset, is about a 14^th century Norwegian woman.  Kristin, a devout Catholic, nonetheless falls in love with Erlend, although she has already been promised to Simon.  Our reader loved the imagery presented in the prose; the snow and the sky seemed so vivid.  Although written in the 1920’s, the books have had periodic resurgences and are popular still today.  Undset received the 1928 Nobel Prize in literature, partially for this Middle Ages saga.  The trilogy is sometimes published separately as The Wreath, The Wife, and The Cross.

Continuing in fiction, another reader enjoyed The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka.  Private investigator Roxane Weary is digging fifteen years into the past to when teenager Sarah Cook’s parents were brutally murdered, and Sarah disappeared the same night.  Sarah’s African-American boyfriend Brad Stockton was convicted of the murders and is still awaiting his sentence of execution.  Our reader said that it was a very good book and that it fooled her because it didn’t end the way she thought it would.

October Sky (aka Rocket Boys) by regional author Homer Hickam has been read and enjoyed by several readers, and also was a BPL Book Club pick in October.  A story of a young West Virginia boy dreaming of space in 1957, Hickam decided that he wanted to build rockets.  He eventually became a NASA engineer, fulfilling his childhood dream.  Our reader said that she loved this book and that there were many poignant moments.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier is the BPL Book Club’s pick for December, but our reader found the classic novel exhausting.  Set in 1832, young lady Mary Yellan is traveling to live with her Aunt Patience at the titular Jamaica Inn in Cornwall.  However, the crossing of the moors with everything black and raining distressed our reader.  Not every book is for every reader!  For a new selection every month, join the BPL Book Club on the 3^rd Thursday at 6:00 p.m in the Frances E. Kegley Conference Room.