The strength of the novel is in Francesca’s voice. Her memories of the hardscrabble town clawing to the side of a mountain are vibrant. The characters were drawn with a sharp, dark charcoal pencil — impressionistic in style but specific and bold.
REVIEW: She Left
It’s a better than average thriller, with a smart protagonist and a cracking mystery. There are psychological complications, a dusting of clues, well-drawn characters and a quickly moving plot.
REVIEW: The Murders in Great Diddling
Every once in awhile you read a book you wish you had written. This is one of them. Great Diddling lies somewhere in the English countryside between the Father Brown tv series, the headquarters of the Thursday Murder Club, and Cabot Cove.
REVIEW: Wordhunter
When the mayor’s daughter disappears, the local police ask for Maggie’s help in analyzing the notes left by the abductor. Her professor, and law enforcement, think she can offer insights they are missing. She acts as an unofficial profiler considering the perpetrator’s vocabulary and choice of phrasing.
REVIEW: Swimming Pretty
Swimming Pretty is not just a book about what we now know as synchronized swimming. It follows the throughline of women earning the right to be swimmers at all — recreationally and competitively.