June Book Club: The Searcher

Our June book club will meet in person on Sunday, June 8 at 2 p.m. and on zoom Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m.  We’ll be discussing Tana French’s first Cal Hooper novel, The Searcher.  All are welcome – message us on facebook for a zoom link or other info if you’re from Ann Arbor.  Description from goodreads: Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he’s bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever. Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch. Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door. read more

Best of the Last Decade

Reading all kinds of lists about the best crime novels of the past decade, I, of course, being incredibly opinionated, felt I needed to chime in.    Looking through this list one of the things that stick out, as far as my favorite reads are concerned, are a very specific sense of time and place.  Sometimes place is pre-eminent , sometimes time, sometimes both.  These books also contain some of the loveliest writing and most indelible scenes, things that remind me of why I love to read.  So in alphabetical order, my favorites of the last decade or so: read more