Set in 1985 Ireland, Bill Furlong discovers a young woman locked in a shed on the grounds of the local convent. She's a victim of the Magdalen laundry run by the Catholic Church.
Okay, so sad story, but almost all of it was about Bill and his life and not about the victims. I seriously do not understand the hype around this book. That this was shortlisted for the Booker prize is incomprehensible to me.
1.5 stars.
A portrait of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain growing up with an absentee father and an alcoholic mother. Very sad.
Never would have picked this up based on the title. It was part of a Goodreads challenge.
4 stars.
Hawthorne investigates when an actor is murdered on the set of a movie based on one of his books. He and Horowitz discover the actor had many enemies, but which was mad enough to kill him.
4 stars.
A woman's husband asks for a divorce and the wife's paints herself as a total victim. Second half of the book, from the mistress's perspective shows maybe the wife isn't as pure as she thinks she is. Also, the husband is a jerk the whole time.
I didn't like any of the characters and the "twist" is now such a FMcF thing that I spend the whole first half wondering what's not true. She really needs to write more novels where the twist is not the main plot point. It was great in The Housemaid when nobody expected it, but it's getting pretty old now.
2.5 stars.
Audrey investigates the disappearance of a teenage girl student at the school where she's a guidance counselor. Meanwhile, another woman is imprisoned underground and trying to escape.
And Barry the dog gets to save the day.
4.5 stars.
Teenage Waldo fall for her creative writing teacher, a married man in his forties.
Parts of this were gross and all of the internal dialog was unbelievable. I don't remember being that self-aware in high school. Oh, and the cover art was too suggestive.
Those things aside, it was a fast read and there were parts I enjoyed.
3 stars.
Ana Blackwell is accused of poisoning her ex-boyfriend. She tries to uncover the truth as the police and The Cove pursue her.
4 stars.
