S is For Silence by Sue Grafton

Latest in Kinsey Milhone alphabet series…. I haven't read her for almost 10 years I think. I actually just found an old startup book journal from 2001 with the last two alphas I read, stopping somewhere around J I think. In this one, she does the complex, interwoven past/present plot exposition. Trying to solve a disappearance / potential murder of a woman in a small town. Seems that almost everyone could be a suspect, or have knowledge of what really happened at the time of the crime 30 years earlier. She weaves the current day detective work of series start P I Kinsey Milhone with intermittent chapters through the time machine back to the few days prior to the disappearance. Each flashback is from the point of view of a different character who could potentially have a motive and the opportunity to either murder the victim, or run off with her. Like a couple Agatha Christie novels, so many people seem likely that you start to wonder if several of them had a hand in it. As it turns out, several folks were quiet because they were covering up other deep, dark problems. If you like this series, or the concept of a pretty good female detective story, the alpha books from Grafton are okay. This one is better than the average of her work. Ultimately, an escape for the weekend, or airplane read.

Reflex by Dick Francis

Read/Heard weekend of Mar 21-22 09, on long drive.
I am a huge fan of Dick Francis. His mysteries have good pace, interesting twists and are always tied in some way to the world of Horse Racing. When I read him, I always enjoy his precision and succinct phrasing. He can create great characters, give them appropriate accents for their status and geography in the UK, and do it all without wasting words. This book is one of the very good ones as he weaves multiple threads of mystery together, while also building a romantic relationship for the protagonist in the process.
The main character has a peculiar upbringing and unusual combination of skills. He is a middling steeplechase jockey, who also learned photographic skills, which are key to unraveling one of the multiple mysteries.
One mystery involves finding a lost sister at the request of his estranged, wealthy grandmother. In the process, he must work back through his own unusual upbringing, and along the way, appreciate the peculiar chapters that made him the person he has become. Another mystery involves looking into the death of a racetrack photographer (using a 'Reflex' camera) and the ensuing burglaries and attacks on the dead photographer's wife and the destruction of their home. Ultimately, he weaves 4-5 complicated stories together, keeps them interesting, and in order.
I listened to the audio version which is always a treat as the British reader does an amazing job of shifting voices for the huge cast of characters. Kept me awake on a very long solitary drive, fortunately finishing the last tape a half hour from home.

Joker One by Donovan Campbell

Donovan Campbell joined the USMC after graduating with honors from Princeton. He wrote this book as a firsthand account of his second tour of duty in Iraq, his first as an Infantry Platoon Leader. His style is detailed, without overdoing the details. Much like Nathan Frick's book "One Bullet Away" from several years earlier, Donovan describes the process of pulling together a team (under some unusual time pressure) and then adapting to an unexpected level of insurgent violence when they were sent to Ramadi. Moreso than Frick's book, which is a tremendously compelling firsthand account of leading the "point of the spear" in the assault on Baghdad, Campbell's book explores the feelings and emotions of one of the toughest war situation our troops have faced. Without being unnecessarily graphic, Campbell describes the emotional tension of bringing peace and order to Ramadi, without support or the slightest recognition from the local populace. The emotional and spiritual details are as gripping as the details of the battle tactics. Not for the lighthearted, but the best insight into going to war in this era.

The Shack by William P. Young

Better than usual book about a "tangible" encounter with God in the Christian concept of Three Persons in the Trinity. Certainly thought provoking for me as a spiritual exploration of the Trinity, it has a tough mystery to solve that allows the principal character to be "processed" through conversations with these three unique characters. For conservative, tradition-based Christians, the license of having for example a large, ebullient African American woman as "God the Father" (a la a similar character in The Matrix) might be too much. But, the main character wrestles through personal pain in a process that would be familiar to most psychologists. Found it readable and less "pop religion" than other books of this type. If someone is wrestling with pain, it might give some inspiration. Unfortunately, some of the circumstances in the plot might not be worth exploring for some readers.

Sea Wolf by Jack London

Recommended by someone after hearing about my interest in the Vendee Globe, an around the world solo sailing race just completed by 11 sailors. A Jack London classic discussion of a wealthy, prim office type falling from a boat in San Francisco Bay, then ending up on a seal boat and being toughened by serving under the maniacal captain, Lars Wolf. In fact, there is not a lot of insight into sailing and the challenges of rigging and manning a sailboat until about 3/4 of the way through the book. But, the character growth and the philosophical debates between Lars and his shanghaied educated crew member are well worth the read. The romance that develops and the ultimate ending are tied to the time of the writing, but still a very good classic novel. This was a book that I had in print and on Audio tape (unedited) so I could listen during my workouts. I became addicted to the audio version and enjoyed finishing the book with the tapes.