DEFENDING JACOB by William Landay, 2012.
A 14 year old boy is murdered in a park in a small New England town. The shocking crime rocks the normally peaceful suburban town of Newton, Massachusetts, and the members of the Barber family find themselves involved in it up to their necks.
   Andy Barber's son, Jacob, a classmate of the dead boy, is accused of the crime. Andy, the respected and popular assistant district attorney, is stunned by the accusation, as is his wife, Laurie. As more evidence and facts of the case are revealed, the Barbers' marriage and family begin to crack and crumble. Andy gathers his strength to protect his boy, believing him to be innocent of the deed. Laurie, Jake's mother, comes to realize that perhaps they don't know their son as well as they thought, and recognizes that he could be guilty. And then the secrets--one of which Andy has kept hidden from his own family for many years--keep coming out and tear the family into fragments.
   Landay's keeps the suspense high and the pages turning, with a fast paced narrative that includes some great courtroom scenes and realistic dialogue. His characters are well drawn and believable, he gives an interesting picture of the lives of people involved in a tangled web of accusation, denial, and criminal behavior, and as the secrets are revealed they provide some good surprises.The author's depiction of a town totally stunned by the violent crime and of one family in a heartbreaking crisis is gripping, compelling, and held my interest completely. A great fast read.

MY WORD IS MY BOND by Roger Moore, 2008.
Good readable memoir by the oldest actor (born 1927) ever to play James Bond 007. Moore discusses his childhood in England, especially during wartime, his schooling, how he entered the world of show business, etc., all with a light touch and with some quite humorous anecdotes. He writes very honestly about his interactions with various actors he worked with on stage, screen, and TV--Kenneth More, David Niven, Tony Curtis, Joan Collins, Lois Chiles, Susannah York, Gregory Peck, Lee J. Cobb, Grace Jones, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, etc.--as well as people from other aspects of show business. He peppers his ruminations of his life with funny stories and observations and asides, supplying plenty of entertainment without being malicious or gossipy. He provides an excellent amount of material concerning his experiences on and off the set during his involvement with the Bond films, including his longstanding relationships with producer "Cubby" Broccoli and director John Glen. He interweaves his narrative with information about his four marriages and his children, other business related projects, and his rewarding work as an ambassador for UNICEF (recruited by actress Audrey Hepburn). Although a few times Moore seemed a bit full of himself, overall I found this a genuinely interesting, entertaining, and honestly written memoir.

THE COVE by Ron Rash, 2012.
The Sheltons have lived in the rugged and forbidding cove near Mars Hill in Madison County, NC ever since they came from Tennessee. Even they think it's a dark, gloomy place, and locals believe it to be haunted and dangerous. Many believe the Shelton family is cursed, and that young and lonely Laurel Shelton is a witch. Laurel, however, knows she is waiting for her chance at happiness.
  Hank, Laurel's brother, served his time in France during the Great War, was injured and sent home with honors. His hope is to get the family farm in order and then to marry a local girl. He has already gotten permission from Carolyn Weatherbee's father to marry her. Industrious and protective, he has learned to do most everything on the farm himself, even though he lost a hand during his military service.
  Into their lives come Walter and his flute, found in the woods by Laurel after he's stung by yellow jackets. An attractive and mute young man who wants to get to New York, he plays music more beautiful than even birdsong, wins over the Sheltons (especially Laurel) and becomes a part of their everyday lives. Walter, though, harbors a somewhat dangerous secret. Even though they have their suspicions and questions, Laurel and Hank both like and trust him, and after they convince him to stay awhile, he assists Hank in doing the farm work, and eventually returns Laurel's feelings of love, much to Hank's satisfaction. Their neighbor, old Slidell Hampton, supports and helps them, all the while feeling something is not quite right. Fueled by her concern and her love for Walter, Laurel, helped by the local schoolteacher, Miss Calicut, does some digging into the mystery and comes to her own conclusions.
   Meanwhile, the Mars Hill community, in a fit of patriotism, becomes stirred up by all things German (including books and the local languages professor at the college). News of an escape of a German detainee from the Hot Springs prison camp and a wanted poster goad local army recruiter Chauncey Feith into taking action. Patriotic fervor runs high in the area, even though the war itself is winding down in Europe. As the story progresses and events unfold and secrets revealed, the Sheltons and Walter become the targets of violence, and a heartrending tragedy occurs.
  Rash has penned a thoroughly engaging story about characters struggling to find happiness and some sense of peace in the midst of a terrible time. He uses plenty of period details concerning life in Appalachian North Carolina throughout the story to keep the reader moving ahead, his narrative has a good pace, and he takes his time in drawing out Walter's secret. He excels in creating three dimensional characters the reader can care about and he carefully weaves their stories together in order to paint an interesting and vivid picture of their lives and the results of their actions. Enjoyable and entertaining, excellent storytelling by a gifted writer.
 

THE ORCHARDIST by Amanda Coplin, 2012.
This debut novel is a lush period saga set in the Pacific Northwest at the end of the nineteenth century and it continues forward into the early decades of the twentieth, and depicts how several individuals brought together by circumstances are forged into a sort of family.
   The major character in this vividly written story is William Talmadge, who had moved into the valley during the Civil War, lost his family there, and then remained a fairly solitary figure, tending to and extending his orchards of apricot and apple trees, with help only from a roving band of horse herders. A gentle, quiet sort of man, he asked for little and remained a fairly self-sufficient person for many years. Until one day, when his peaceful existence is shattered by two scared young girls who steal his fruit in the town market and then follow him into the shelter of his orchards.
   Jane and Della are sisters, running from a drug and alcohol addict named Michaelson, and have been living some months in the wild. Talmadge cautiously takes them in and tries to protect them from whatever they have left behind.Their existence in the orchard is kept fairly quiet, except from the local midwife/herbalist, Caroline Middey, who kindly aids them over the course of the story in many ways.The girls, feral and distrusting even of Talmadge's kindness, uneasily hang around, and even give birth on his property, but Della's twins both die, while Jane's daughter, Angelene, survives.Then one day, the harmony in the valley is disrupted when Michaelson and his henchmen show up, leading to an unexpected tragedy that sets off a chain of events that changes all their lives.
  Coplin has written a very readable story about how the compassion in one man is awakened and he learns to care, to open himself to others and their problems, to realize what he's missed, and to live a fuller life with all its accompanying challenges and rewards. She does a credible job with her setting, with period description, adding good details about fruit picking and marketing, the coming of the railroad to the area, life in local prisons, provides a good glimpse of changing times in the Pacific Northwest. Her language is lush and flowing, the narrative moves along at a good pace, and she takes her time with developing her characters. At times it did seem somewhat slow and a bit too lengthy. However, Coplin's sensitive and realistic portrayal of the relationships between Talmadge, Della, Jane, and Angelene were well done and sympathetic, and the wise and motherly Caroline is a real standout. Dramatic and rich with emotion and power, Coplin's novel is an intelligent and engrossing character-driven story.

HEADING OUT TO WONDERFUL by Robert Goolrick, 2012.
Brownsburg, Virginia, in 1948 is a quiet and peaceful village nestled in the beautiful Valley of Virginia. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone knows their place in life. The world is slow paced here, meant to be enjoyed calmly and serenely.
   One day a stranger arrives, carrying with him two suitcases and not much else. One suitcase has personal items and a lot of money in it; the other contains a set of butcher knives. As the townspeople soon discover, the handsome and friendly man is Charlie Beale, and he wants to settle in their peaceful community. He becomes enamoured of some acreage along the river and wants it for himself, as well as employment, which he finds with the local butcher, Will Haislett. The Haisletts, Will and his schoolteacher wife Alma and their six-year-old son Sam, become a huge part of Charlie's life in the village.
   Charlie, a personable and charming character, adjusts to life in the community and learns his way around, helped along by the Haisletts. He enjoys the companionship of Sam, who becomes like a son to him, and Sam finds a kindred spirit in Charlie--they share a love of baseball, dogs, and being outdoors. Along with the dog Charlie purchases and names Jackie Robinson (for the baseball player), they become a familiar sight around town. However, their easy relationship changes from the time Charlie first sees the teenaged Sylvan Glass, wife of the richest resident of Brownsburg--he is certain that the two of them are meant to be together. Blonde and lovely and from a remote area of the county, Sylvan had been bought and paid for by Boatwright Glass, to be his wife and to live the sort of Hollywood/movie star life she's always dreamed about. But once Charlie enters her orbit, events are set into motion that will change the lives of those who dwell in Brownsburg and ultimately lead to a shockingly heartbreaking tragedy.
   Goolrick knows how to tell a story. With his nicely paced narrative, he pulls the reader into a deceptively simpler time that is no more and adroitly makes his characters come to life. His descriptions of Brownsburg and the surrounding landscape are wonderful and add so much to the telling of the story: details of cars, fashions, movies, buildings, the way the farmlands look, the old trees and the river, names of real places in the county, all meld together to create a meaningful atmosphere, a real sense of time and place. His characters are multifaceted and so human, easy to relate to and have feelings for, to be concerned about. I kept reading because I wanted to know what would happen to these people, I had to find out how their stories and conflicts would turn out. His principal characters are well done and believable as people: Charlie, with his desire to belong and his obsession with Sylvan; Sylvan's passion to live her life as something out of a movie; Boaty's greed and jealousy and vulgarity; Claudie Wiley (who deserves a book of her own), the solitary black seamstress who could almost magically sew anything and keep herself aloof; and young Sam, who practically hero-worships Charlie, who becomes a part of Charlie's and Sylvan's illicit affair and who ends up experiencing situations that no kid should.
   Emotional and satisfying, at times painful, part Gothic romance and part nostalgia, with unflinching language and beautiful description and involving characters, it's a tale that has it all: Power, money, grand ideas, golden dreams, lust, doomed love, suspense, growing up, acceptance, baseball. Personally, I found this novel a thought-provoking and moving story about life and relationships in a small town, and a very worthwhile read.
  

On the recommendation of a co-worker, I took home "My Boy Jack" (2007) from the library on DVD. Left it lay for a few days, and then decided to give it a try.
   Produced by the BBC, it contains the high quality that one expects from their productions. This was made for TV, but I was not familiar with it, had not heard of it at all.
   World War I practically decimated an entire generation of young men in Europe. This story, based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling, concerns Kipling's own family and the heartache the war brought to their lives. Kipling, already an established and well known author, lives with his family at Batemans, in the Sussex countryside. From the outset of hostilities in Europe, his almost 18-year-old son, John, known in the family as Jack, is anxious to join up and fight in Europe. Because of his myopia, Jack has been refused by the navy and the army. Jack, a young and somewhat naive sort, not only wants to fight for king and country, but he also longs to be out from under the "smothering" influence of his family, particularly his father. Rud, who serves on a British War Office think tank and is enthusiastic in his support for his only son's patriotic dream, eventually pulls strings to get "my boy Jack" into the Irish Guards. This is a nightmare for Jack's mother and his sister, Elsie.
   With Jack's departure from the family nest imminent, conflicts ebb and flow between the characters, and the film simply draws the viewer into their world and their emotional turmoil. Jack receives a short officer training course and is put in command of a platoon. He comes home to Batemans unexpectedly and reveals he is being shipped out to France, to his mother's horror. At the terrible battle of Loos, enormous losses are reported, and Jack is among the missing. His mother, Caroline, frustrated at not knowing the truth about her only son's fate, forces her husband to use his influence to help find out what happened to their son Jack, reminding Rud that he used his influence to send Jack to war; now he can use it to help find out where their son is.
   The parts are well cast all around, with Daniel Radcliffe giving a good picture of the uncertainties a young, inexperienced and enthusiastic soldier faced during that war; Kim Cattrall as Jack's American mother is marvelous, with her fierce determination and outwardly calm demeanor; Carey Mulligan's performance as Jack's understanding and supportive sister, Elsie, is quite touching, and David Haig gives an intense and imaginative portrayal as the celebrated Kipling, famous for the "Jungle Books," but who was also a father wracked by guilt who was ultimately forced to face the reality that war brings more death and destruction than glory.
   I found this a leisurely paced, unsentimental, entertaining and thought provoking depiction of the devastation caused to one particular family by World War I and their pain and anguish in trying to cope with their heartbreaking loss. The DVD includes interviews with Radcliffe, Cattrall, and Haig (who wrote the play the film is based upon and the screenplay), who provide interesting glimpses into their interpretations of their characters and the times, and how filming certain scenes at Batemans especially were very affecting to them. An excellent and underrated movie.

TWILIGHT AT MONTICELLO: the Final Years of Thomas Jefferson by Alan Pell Crawford, 2007.

  Richmond author Crawford has done a marvelous job of researching a variety of sources (including some never before used letters and documents), analyzing, distilling information, and weaving an interesting and intelligent account of Jefferson's final years at Monticello as a private citizen.
    Crawford's revealing portrait gives the reader a view of Thomas Jefferson that is a bit different from the icon most people are familiar with: an esteemed former president whose greatest desire seems to have been to live a life of quietly industrious and orderly retirement surrounded by loved ones. however, from his return to his home at Monticello in 1809 to his death in 1826, Jefferson found himself sorely tested and his life full of sadness and hearbreak.
   Jefferson's life at Monticello was not one of ease and luxury and pleasure. His surviving daughter, Martha Randolph, with her own troubles regarding her marriage and her relationship with her famous father, as well as with her brood of children, lived with members of her family with her father at Monticello; he enjoyed their company immensely, yet at the same time, they had myriad problems and issues which at times threatened to engulf Jefferson. His life became one of awful family squabbles, alcholism, violence, scandal, and lingering gossip concerning Sally Hemings; massive debts (his own and others) as well as crushing costs of maintaining his gorgeous but deteriorating mansion; illnesses; crop failures; troubles with his "Poplar Forest" plantation in Bedford County, and his own internal struggles with his deeply rooted opinions concerning government and the "hideous evil of slavery." Pell's descriptions of some of the medical treatments for some of Jefferson's health issues is almost nightmarish, and it is amazing that Jefferson managed to live and lead an active life for as long as he did with such care. Jefferson's shock heartache over his favorite grandson Jefferson Randolph's suffering from the attack of a drunk brother-in-law left him shattered and confused, and the reader can feel his anguish. Not at first told when his granddaughter Anne became ill, her death left Jefferson weeping and grief-stricken.
   And yet Jefferson, even burdened by such problems, still managed to be an active political force in advising his son-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph, during Randolph's chaotic governorship of Virginia, in his exhausting work in establishing the University of Virginia, and in encouraging and aiding his good friend James Madison during his presidential term. He graciously received and lavishly entertained many visitors to his home, including the Marquis de Lafayette on his final visit to the United States in 1824. He kept up a busy correspondence with many old friends and colleagues, even happily re-establishing his friendship with the brilliant but quarrelsome John Adams, which continued until their deaths on the very same day, July 4, 1826. The eighty-three-year-old Jefferson's funeral was held on a rainy day and attended by over fifteen hundred people, including a seventeen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe.
   Pell's narrative is smooth, reads well, and is accessible to the general reader. He succeeds in making Thomas Jefferson a very human individual, without lessening the man's greatness. He was a man who lived and breathed life and liberty, encouraged others to do well, attempted to follow his principles to the end, but at the same time had faults and foibles like everyone else. At times Pell's writing moved me greatly to sadness for Jefferson in picturing him as aging and infirm and plagued with worries, and yet Jefferson never lost his indomitable spirit, his charm, and his intellectual mind, even as he lay on his deathbed.
   The author provides sources and notes at the end, but a chart of Jefferson and his immediate family would have been helpful. That said, I found this a splendidly done book and an informative and satisfying read about the last years of one of our nation's greatest founding fathers.
  

BRING UP THE BODIES by Hilary Mantel, 2012.

Henry VIII moved heaven and earth to get the fascinating Anne Boleyn-- divorcing Katherine of Aragon and becoming Head of the Church in England, even executing people. However, once he married Anne, made her his queen, and then she gave him a daughter instead of the much-needed son, he became disenchanted, her sharp tongue and strong personality no longer pleased him. He made up his mind to get rid of her and her scheming family. It falls to his right hand man, his chief minister and secretary Thomas Cromwell, to figure out how to make this happen for his monarch. It's hard to believe that any writer could take this old story and really make something fresh out of it, but I give Mantel high marks for doing so with imagination and creativity.

   A sequel to Wolf Hall, this novel, covering a much shorter period, 1535-1536, traces the series of events leading to Anne's downfall and how they occurred, as told by the now 50 year old Secretary Cromwell. This Cromwell has power and knows its uses, and the story really is about the power struggle between Cromwell and Anne Boleyn. The author provides us with a multi-faceted man, who can show single-mindness and cunning, as well as sympathy and care for those he loves, although I never felt I knew him very well. Mantel, though, knows her subject thoroughly and manages to bring well known Tudor characters to vivid life. Her writing style I found somewhat of a challenge--mostly because of her habit of not using Cromwell's name but "he" instead, which was confusing--but that didn't stop me from reading it.
   This is a dark and harrowing story, full of machinations and manipulations, grasping, greedy and mostly unlikeable people and dramatic, even sinister, events. The author's spin on just how Cromwell was able to oust Anne from the throne to make way for the meek and mild Jane Seymour is eye-opening, definitely informs the reader as to how dangerous and uncertain it was to be a member of Henry's court. It's absolutely fascinating and horrifying how by innuendo, threats, and insinuation that the case is constructed against Anne and the men she was alleged to be intimately involved with: Francis Weston, Mark Smeaton, Harry Norris, William Brereton, and her own brother, George Boleyn--all of whom paid the ultimate price for being associated with her. Even her powerful uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, is no match for Cromwell, and abandoned his niece to take care of damage control for the Howard family. Anne's own father distanced himself from her, as well as most of her court. Others, like the King's oldest friend, Charles Brandon, are happy the upstart Boleyns are being destroyed and watch closely. Friendless, desperate, and miserable, Mantel's Anne is brought down and destroyed. Cromwell has achieved the king's wishes, and he will get his rewards...
   An excellent, intelligent piece of historical fiction, well written and researched. I enjoyed it even more than Wolf Hall, and I will be interested to see how she treats the rest of Cromwell's story in the final volume of the trilogy.

"The Woman in Black" (2012) is one of those sort-of-horror movies that I find more suspenseful and creepy than scary, with a few chills thrown in here and there. I watched this the other night--by myself, even though the tagline says "don't watch it alone"--and I did enjoy it, although it definitely was not that scary to me.
   The story revolved around an old house, Eel Marsh, in a remote village in England that is basically being haunted. Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a young, widowed lawyer with a young son. Kipps is sent to this house by his law firm to settle the estate of its last occupant, and of course, runs right into the whole haunted mess. He realizes that there is a secret in the village, no one wants to speak of it, and that there is someone in the house searching for something, but what? Who is it and what are they after?
   The movie has a fine Gothic atmosphere, great spooky sets, very evocative of old time horror movies, but the scares were very few, mostly involving loud noises. Once Arthur realizes something is wrong here and becomes involved in discovering the truth, it really does become more a suspense/thriller type of story with the audience wondering when he will finally piece things together and what the truth will turn out to be when it's revealed. Yes, there are deaths of children, lots of screams and wails and other noises, strange movements and shadows, scenes in graveyards, a local woman who has bizarre medium-like fits, a barking dog, and so forth, all of which add to the atmosphere of general unsettling creepiness and are in some cases disturbing, but not genuinely scary.
   The flick moved along at a decent pace, and I was interested in finding out the real story, but I did at times get impatient with Arthur at not being quite bright enough to figure things out quickly enough. With help from a local man who had lost his own son once to the woman in black, Arthur finally makes connections, discovers the truth, and tries to rectify the situation. Alas, even though he valiantly attempts to make things right, the end result has disastrous consequences. It was interesting to see Daniel Radcliffe in more of an adult role after all his success with the "Harry Potter" movies, and he does a commendable job with his part.
   This film reminded me of movies like the 1963 version of "The Haunting,""The Innocents," and "The Others."
  

LIONHEART by Sharon Kay Penman, 2011.
Sweeping chronicle of Richard the Lionheart's crusade to re-capture Jerusalem from the Infidel in 1190-1192, better known to history as the Third Crusade or the Kings' Crusade. Although Penman's novel is a dense, sprawling saga with an enormous cast of characters that could be very daunting to many, the author, using her impeccable research and flair for realistic dialogue and creating memorable characters, pulls it all together with her usual distinctive style and storytelling skills and provides the reader with a vivid and fascinating depiction of the era and those who lived it.
   Having read the author's previous novels on the Plantagenets, I was fully prepared for reading this one and anxious to see how she dealt with Richard I and his experiences in the Holy Land. Penman's narrative deftly moves from drafty castles in France to exotic palaces in Sicily to the hot plains of Outremer, giving the reader a wonderful sense of time and place. Her descriptions are lush and vibrant (you can hear the marketplace sounds, smell and taste the foods served at the banquets), she creates memorable scenes (the capture of Cyprus and the siege of Acre stand out), she makes each character an individual (although with such an amazing amount of names, I admit I did have to keep checking her cast list), and she quite remarkably manages to weave together her various plotlines into a whole tapestry. Not being a huge military history buff, I felt that she also kept a good balance between battle scenes and non-military manipulations and maneuvers.
   Penman knows her characters: she gives them foibles and flaws and human attributes, creating real flesh and blood people for the reader to care about. I enjoyed her portrayal of Richard--he strides magnificently through the story as a fascinating and truly multifaceted individual--a combination of courageous military man, caring husband, loyal son and brother, and strong leader who genuinely felt compassion for his soldiers, who led by example, and who believed that they were on God's mission to wrest the Holy Land back for the Christians. She shows him with a great sense of humor and playfulness, and I thought her depiction of his marriage to Berengaria of Navarre was handled very well. The lesser known character of Joanna of Sicily was interesting to me, as well as Henri of Champagne; Eleanor of Aquitaine's appearance was much too brief; Philippe of France does not come off very well, nor do any of the de Lusignans, but none of them are one note characters, she gives them depth and reasons for their actions.
   I learned quite a bit about the conflict in Outremer: between the Turks and the Europeans, the French and the English, the English and the Cypriots, etc. Quite a lot of information, but Penman informs the reader in a nice flowing narrative with a decent pace; I never felt overwhelmed by the amount of detail. Perhaps my only criticism would be that while the Infidel leader Saladin seemed ever-present, he never really came to life for me as a character, possibly because Penman kept him sort of off-stage. But this is a minor quibble. Overall, this was a vastly entertaining novel for me, and I'm looking forward to the author's next installment.

SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo, 2009.

I finished this novel in less than two days. Just could not stop reading, stayed up late at night hurriedly turning pages, and I don't usually do that anymore.
   Set in the Amish country of Ohio during the winter, I got pulled in immediately by the incredibly horrific murder of a young woman. With the discovery of a mutilated body in a cow pasture on a country road, the crime rapidly involves not only local police chief Kate Burkholder, but the entire small community of Painters Mill. The similiarities of the death reminds everyone of a series of murders that occurred locally 16 years earlier by the Slaughterhouse Killer, tremendously brutal incidents that the killer was never brought to justice for. Kate, who survived the terror and ran away from her Amish life to eventually become part of the criminal justice system and return to town as police chief, has a dark secret that involves those murders and the killer. With this new murder, and each one that follows, Kate begins to doubt the events that happened the summer she was fourteen, events that had damaged her whole family and sent her out into the "English" world.
   With only a small police force at her disposal, Kate discovers that she has huge challenges in finding out the truth of the killings, and that there are those who don't believe she is capable of handling the situation, including her own family. As the search broadens and more people become involved, Kate realizes it's only a matter of time before old secrets come home to roost, so she works quickly to discover the truth of these crimes. Help is brought in by members of the town council, several of whom have grudges against Kate. One of these outside cops is John Tomasetti, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, a rogue cop with disturbing issues of his own, so overwhelmingly bad that the OBCI is hoping this case will destroy him. Chemistry soon flares between himself and Kate, but although he is attracted to her, he has questions about what she's hiding. And Kate herself wonders if she can trust him? Tomasetti questions her motives and begins some digging on his own. But in a town terror-struck by a serial killer with a penchant for torture and mutilation, getting too close may not be an option for Kate and John. Who is he? What does he want? And why is he back after so long an absence? When Kate is terminated from her position, the game changes and stakes rise. An arrest is made, damning evidence is found, but it doesn't add up in Kate's mind, and her convictions lead her down a dark and frightening trail from which she may not escape.
   Castillo's novel is compelling, taut, intense, chilling, with horribly brutal descriptions and a lightning fast pace. Rapid-fire dialogue, well crafted scenes, a puzzling mystery, a couple of characters the reader cares about, and a truly edge of the seat climax adds up to a satisfying suspense thriller, the first of a series featuring Kate Burkholder. An excellent summer read.

HER HIGHNESS, THE TRAITOR by Susan Higginbotham, 2012.
A superbly done novel that recounts the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, who became Queen of England for nine days in 1553, and was executed in 1554. Told through the alternating voices of Jane's mother, Lady Frances Grey, and her mother-in-law, Lady Jane Dudley, the reader is provided with a well researched and smoothly written narrative of this ever fascinating episode in English history. Higginbotham, a historian and lawyer, has sifted through the existing historical records and sources, drawn her own conclusions, and has presented a compelling account that is at once familiar and yet gives fresh insights into Lady Jane's disastrous life and times.
  Having read nonfiction works and other novels about Lady Jane Grey, I was curious as to how this author would impart the story, how different would it be. Telling it from the mothers' point of view proved to be an interesting way to tackle it, and as I read further, it became clear that she has created characters that are conflicted flesh-and-blood people, flawed humans who lived and loved and cried and experienced joy and suffered pain as real people. She convincingly dispels several myths: there are no totally one-note, monstrous, power-mad villains in this version (as the Duke of Northumberland is usually portrayed); Lady Frances is not a scheming child abuser here; the extraordinarily educated Lady Jane is more than a child victim, and Guildford Dudley is not a whining mama's boy. She has infused them with such emotion and vitality that I was completely engrossed, and read the story as if I'd never read it before. With her persuasive narrative, I could more fully understand Northumberland's motives, feel Frances' anguish over her husband Harry's actions, sympathize with Jane Dudley's heartbreaking choices, even like Guildford Dudley somewhat and like Lady Jane a little less. Scenes between the married couples are emotional and interesting, and her use of humor and ironic wit greatly adds to the appeal. With multitudes of characters, I feel she did an outstanding job in making so many stand out as personalities. Her treatments of King Edward VI, Katherine Brandon, Lady Margaret Douglas, and the Duchess of Somerset were wonderfully done. One scene that was very touching was the imagined meeting between the Duchess of Northumberland and the Duchess of Somerset at their husbands' graves--very realistic and satisfying without feeling artificial or maudlin. I very much liked her portrayal of Queen Mary; it seemed very true to life, quite natural, and in tune with what is known about Mary's life and reign. Higginbotham integrates historical events with ease, and I appreciated her inclusion of less well known family information in appropriate places: e.g., that Frances had a sister, Eleanor; that Margaret Clifford was also a Tudor heir; that Mary Grey was to marry another Grey (Arthur) as part of the Suffolk/Northumberland multiple marriage pact--which was totally ignored or changed in at least one other novel I read--and so forth. Details like that are interesting to me and can make or break a story sometimes for me, especially with an episode in history that I am so familiar with as a reader.
  Although I enjoyed Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor very much, her version of the story is perhaps more the traditional version, which is fine, but it seems so black and white, with Jane the victim, her characterizations of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk and Duke of Northumberland are as ambitious, power-mad individuals who will not let anyone, not even their own children, thwart their ambitions for the throne, and the reader feels little sympathy for anyone but the highly victimized Lady Jane. Higginbotham is perhaps more adept at shading her characters, bringing out both the good and the bad qualities they possessed, making them more human and more sympathetic and relatable to the reader. I felt less so with Weir's portrayals.
  The author's research definitely is in evidence, she lists her main sources at the end of the book, and her author's note was an excellent read in itself. Any liberties she has taken with the story, as a fiction writer, she explains in her author's note. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly for its readability, factualness, wonderful characterizations, and for providing a fresh viewpoint on the story itself.

THE RICHMOND THEATER FIRE: EARLY AMERICA'S FIRST GREAT DISASTER by Meredith Henne Baker, 2012.

After hearing the author speak at the Library of Virginia, I had such high hopes for this book. It is an important work, as it's really the first complete chronicle of a disaster that shocked and shattered the citizenry of Richmond, Va.  Baker has put together an excellent monograph that definitely fills a void, and she is to be commended for that. I have been interested in the Richmond Theater Fire for many years, have read articles and done some research of my own on the subject and have found it fascinating. But I was not totally satisfied with this effort. Not because the research is flawed; it definitely is not. Baker has pulled together an amazing array of resources and all things considered, has written an excellent monograph on the disaster. Perhaps it was the organization, or maybe it was the writing, or maybe it was just the mood I was in, but the narrative didn't hold my interest beyond a certain point and left me rather unsatisfied somehow.
   On December 26, 1811, the Richmond Theater, filled with over 600 people including children, caught fire during a performance. Many important people, including the Governor, William Smith, politician Abraham Venable, Lucy Madison, a niece of James Madison, and others of all classes and colors were in attendance. Governor Smith and over 70 other people died, either in the conflagration or later from their injuries. It was a horrific tragedy and the worst disaster in America up to that time, and the city of Richmond was never the same afterwards, taking decades to heal.
    The events leading up to and including the fire, and those immediately after the fire, I found most interesting and devoured those chapters. Her depiction of the fire itself was extremely fascinating in its sheer gruesomeness and horror: how the fire began backstage and was not immediately handled; how ladies were hampered by their clothing and folks who sat in the expensive boxes found themselves virtually trapped inside; how people perished from smoke inhalation; windows were shattered for people to jump through, many being caught by bystanders; how people fell to the floor and were trampled or overcome by smoke. Baker's survey of the theatergoers was well done: the personalities that she highlighted were intriguing and good choices--Caroline Homassel, the Girardin and Greenhow families, Gilbert Hunt, Sally Conyers and Lieut. James Gibbon, etc.--but I wish there had been even more about the people involved. Even though Baker claims the list of the dead has expanded over the years and is continuing to be added to, I think it was a poor decision not to include in the volume at least the known list of those who died in the fire as engraved on the monument dedicated soon after the disaster. I wish she had done even more concerning the characters involved, was there not enough information? I would have preferred she expanded her text on the various characters and included more of them, their lives and personal dramas, as that was what I was most interested in. I needed more than what the author offered here.
   I enjoyed the book thoroughly through about the first four chapters, found them very readable and informative, but after that I simply lost interest. The later chapters were full of good information and details concerning the local fire department, sermons preached against theater-going, the drive to build Monumental Church in honor of the dead, and so on, but I simply found that I was not that interested in a lot of that.
   I have always enjoyed nonfiction works that read like fiction. Maybe that's my problem, that I really wanted to read more of a novelistic account of this awesome disaster.When compared with other nonfiction books on disasters like Walter Lord's A Night to Remember or The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough, this book's narrative was just not as compelling throughout nor did I feel the same sense of impending doom as with those books. However, that being said, I would certainly recommend it for anyone who prefers good solid nonfiction with a more academic bent and has an interest in historical disasters.

HERESY by S. J. Parris, 2010.

Billed as an historical thriller, this novel is set in the colleges at Oxford, England, in 1583, a dreadful and chaotic time in England, with a longing for a return to the Catholic faith an ever present danger. The main character, a fugitive Italian monk named Giordano Bruno, is a philosopher, scientist, poet, and magician, and is based on a real historical personage. In Parris' story, Bruno has traveled to Oxford in the party of a Polish prince who has been visiting Queen Elizabeth. Unknown to most of the other characters, Bruno has been recruited by Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, to gain information on the religious practices of the college officials, scholars, and other prominent local people. Bruno's friend, Sir Philip Sidney, nephew of the Queen's favorite Sir Robert Dudley, is also among the party.
   Bruno, considered a heretic and who managed thus far to escape the Inquisition, is in hopes of finding an ancient manuscript that will prove his beliefs that the universe is heliocentric. Clues have led him to believe that a copy of it was recently at the Oxford library before a general purge demanded by the government rid the library of controversial material. Bruno is hoping that somehow the book escaped and is hidden somewhere within the colleges. At first welcomed by the fellows, he soon learns that most of them question why he is among them and several become openly hostile towards him as the story progresses.
   But while Bruno conducts his investigation for Walsingham, a grisly murder occurs in the grounds. Bruno discovers fairly quickly that the academic community is caught up in a dangerous atmosphere that includes an underground network of spies, vicious intrigue, and a possible conspiracy against the queen, involving many characters, including a wealthy young student, the rector's well educated daughter, a nasty looking bookseller, the college librarian, and several other college fellows. More brutal murders occur among the Oxford fellows, and Bruno finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with a fiendish killer. Someone seeks horrendous revenge in the name of faith, but which faith? Who is the real heretic in all this? And can Bruno control his own emotions and save the lovely Sophia, daughter of the college's rector from a gruesome fate? I found this an engrossing read, with plenty of historical interest, a good story with very atmospheric setting, and a relatively fast pace. It worked for me as both an historical and as a mystery.

"The Avengers" (2012): I took my son to see this the other weekend, and we had a great time with it--classic entertainment, good Joss Whedon script, super special effects, plenty of action and humorous banter between the characters. Okay, maybe the character development was somewhat lacking, but the movie more than made up for that in everything else it offered.
   This movie even had a plausible story: Thor's brother Loki is on another power trip, and has found a way to open a door into our world so that alien invaders known as the Chitauri can come through and take over Earth. Loki's prize is the powerful energy source called the Tesseract, but he first takes over the minds of several key characters (including Dr. Selvig) and puts them to work on his plans. Samuel L. Jackson's character Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. escapes Loki and his henchmen, and begins gathering the heroes together to fight the invasion as a team. Unfortunately, the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, the Black Widow, and Thor have to figure out how to work together first. Once that is accomplished, the fun begins, as they battle the invading aliens and their warships over Manhattan. Effects were superbly done, and the actors were really into their parts. Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. did well set against each other and I enjoyed their banter, and Scarlett Johansson was interesting as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Chris Hemsworth makes a great Thor, and Mark Ruffalo did very well as Bruce Banner, "who's always angry." There were great scenes between Iron Man and Thor fighting each other in the woods, with Loki looking on; Black Widow defeating her captors after she's called to work early in the picture; the Hulk annihilating Loki--"puny god," he mutters to himself; the battle over Manhattan with the mechanical lizard like warships slithering around and through the skyscrapers. Lots of action, explosions, chases, fighting--a wonderful feast for the eyes. Excellent entertainment on a Friday afternoon. My son and I both enjoyed it. Joss Whedon did a wonderful job with this movie, and my hope is that he will continue to do more of them.

ANNE OF CLEVES: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride by Elizabeth Norton, 2009.

When I was shelving bios the other day I found this title, shocked that I did not even know a recent biography of Anne of Cleves had been published. She has always been my favorite of Henry's multiple wives--not sure why--Because she was German? Not so pretty as the others? Somewhat socially awkward? She kept her head? I don't really know the reason, but I've always admired her in that she managed to survive her marriage to Henry and to outlive him and all the other wives as well, living long enough to ride along in her stepdaughter Mary Tudor's triumphant procession into London as Queen.
   Evidently, according to a promo in the back of this volume, Elizabeth Norton is writing a biography of each of Henry VIII's wives. If this account is any example, they should be fine for popular reading. In writing this biography of Anne of Cleves, Norton has used a number of primary sources, especially published state papers, and her secondary sources include works by scholars Retha Warnicke, Antonia Fraser, David Loades, and Alison Weir.
   How Anne became Queen of England is well known: Henry VIII, after Jane Seymour's death, began casting about Europe for a fourth wife, and after much looking around and due to political expediency, settled on Anne, a daughter of the Duke of Cleves. Unfortunately, the marriage was not a success for various reasons, almost all on Henry's side. Anne, for her part, realizing her frightening situation as the wife of such a king, agreed to a divorce and was able to live out her days as the "King's sister," receiving the largest divorce settlement in English history. I found the author's section concerning Anne's genealogical connections (especially to Henry VIII--they were distant cousins through the Plantagenets) and Anne's early family life interesting, but I was even more intrigued by what her life was actually like after Henry VIII died. Norton includes accurate details of Anne's relationships with her stepchildren, with Henry's last two wives, Catherine Howard and Katharine Parr, and her somewhat troubled financial situation (especially during Edward VI's brief reign). The idea that she might possibly remarry or move back to her native Cleves made for interesting reading, especially since I had always read that she wanted to remain in England and had no desire to return to Cleves. A helpful genealogical chart, notes, and index are included, and the insert of photographs added tremendously to the text. Agreeably written and fairly brief, I would recommend this as a good introduction to Anne's life. Anne of Cleves deserves a serious and extensive biography, but until that appears, this work is certainly adequate for most readers.

SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kidd, 2002.

This Southern novel has been on my to-read list for a long time, and as soon as I began reading it, I was pulled in. Kidd is a fine writer who knows how to tell a story, is super with her characterizations and dialogue, and really puts some feeling into it.
   Set in South Carolina during the first part of 1964, President Johnson has just signed the Civil Rights Act. Shortly after that event, 14 year old Lily Owens, unhappy with who she is and her treatment by her unlovable father, T. Ray (who blames Lily for her mother's early death), goes into town with Rosaleen, the kind black woman who has raised her. Rosaleen intends to register to vote, but on the way she insults three of the town's racists, and the two females are thrown into jail. Once freed, Lily springs Rosaleen, and the pair take off for Tiburon, S.C., a place known to Lily only from the back of a picture of a black Madonna that Lily found among her mother's things and kept in a box in her room. Once they reach Tiburon, they are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, May, August, and June. Lily, anxious to discover the connection between her mother and the town, manages to insinuate herself into their lives in the hopes of sticking around a while. The kind, rather eccentric sisters protect the two refugees and provide a temporary haven from their troubles.
   August takes the teenager under her wing, and Lily learns about beekeeping and making honey, about relationships and memories and stories and living the life you are given. She and Rosaleen soon fit right into the ladies' routine; they are even invited to the sisters' somewhat unorthodox religious services surrounding the figurehead of a ship, which they call the "Black Mary," and meet other community members who attend their services. As stories are told and old secrets emerge, bits and pieces of information fall into place and the full story is revealed gradually to Lily, who realizes just how important these women are to her life. When the mystery of her mother's connection with these black women becomes clear, it means everything in the world to Lily and her future.
   Kidd has created a beautifully told story, with an interesting plotline, great descriptions of beekeeping practices and honey making, and colorful characters that the reader can care about. I found it enjoyable and homey and comfortable, a good read.

LAST TIME I SAW YOU by Elizabeth Berg, 2010.

  This contemporary novel concerns a group of people who are attending their 40th (and final) high school class reunion. Her cast of characters pretty much includes all the usual stereotypes: jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, etc., each of whom have reasons for attending this last reunion. Divorced Dorothy wants a chance at the class heartthrob, Pete Decker, who is desperately trying to win back his estranged wife Nora; Mary Alice Mayhew, an independent sort usually ignored by her classmates at Whitley High, comes hoping to see a certain someone again; Lester Hessenpfeffer, a nerdy widowed veterinarian, who realizes the person he longed most to see was not who he actually wanted; Candy Armstrong, the blonde beauty who has a painful secret and needs a true friend. It's all about missed opportunities, paths not taken, choices made, and seeking to right wrongs done decades earlier. As these characters and others converge during the reunion weekend and as their old secrets and hidden motives and long simmering desires are revealed and new bonds forged, they learn things about each other and themselves in unexpected and at times surprising ways.
  Berg writes in the easy, breezy style she does so well, providing an entertaining story with characters who are at once familiar and recognizable and thus the reader can connect with them. In their late fifties, Berg's characters have issues with aging, marriage, love, death, a sense of belonging, of being connected with those from their past, and of being understood by those they shared their school experiences with. She has the dialogue down pat; she provides a fine reunion background, complete with decorations and drinks and bathroom chats and all the greetings and the "who is that?" and "whatever happened to...?" types of comments that are prevalent at such an event. Although there's not much depth involved, Berg does tell a good story and offers up some moments of true emotional insight between several of the characters.
   Does all come right in the end? Not necessarily, but for most of the people in this novel, changes do occur, and they are the better for them. An entertaining and at times thought-provoking story, I enjoyed it as a casual light read.

TRUE GRIT by Charles Portis, c1968.
  I remember my grandfather reading this novel when it was first released; at the time it didn't interest me, as I was never a big fan of western stories. I believe I watched the older movie version of the novel that starred John Wayne once or twice on TV and enjoyed it; only recently I viewed it again and then saw the recent remake of the film and realized that the original was actually the more satisfying of the two films for me, even though the newer film hewed closer to the book.
  When a colleague chose the book for our library book discussion group, I decided I'd read it also, but my wife snatched the book and read it first; when I finally got it, it really took hold of me. It's a wonderfully written story that has it all: the wild landscape of the 1870s West, nasty villains, brave lawmen, lots of violence, and a precocious teenage heroine out for justice. Such entertainment! After reading it, I wondered why I hadn't before now.
  The story is relatively straightforward: feisty 14 year old Mattie Ross comes to Fort Smith from near Dardanelles, Arkansas, to avenge the death of her father, Frank, who was shot by a drunken Tom Chaney, who has since fled into the lawless Indian Territory. She hires Rooster Cogburn, one of the local Federal marshals to assist her, because she was told he has "true grit." They are joined by a Texas Ranger, LaBeouf (called LaBeef), who has been tracking Chaney (aka Chelmsford) for murdering a Texas senator. Mattie wants revenge, plain and simple, and she insists she will ride with them, even though they try mightily to dissuade her; she determinedly plunges ahead and manages to hold her own as they travel through Indian Territory searching for clues to locate Chaney, who they discover has likely joined the vicious Ned Pepper's gang. On their journey, they meet an assortment of characters good and bad (including thieves and murderers) and make use of their survival skills to combat weather, rivers, and injuries. After they get too close to their quarry, Mattie accidentally runs into Chaney at the river and is taken captive by him, which leads to the final showdown between Mattie and Chaney, as well as one between Cogburn and Ned Pepper.
  Portis writes with a huge sense of humor and deceptively simple language that rings believably true, his characters are human and vibrantly portrayed, with my two favorites, Rooster Cogburn larger than life in his personality and Mattie a determined, plucky teenager who can give as good as she takes, real standouts among his characters. The narrative flows swiftly and effortlessly, and I found myself involved, totally caught up in their adventure, hoping that Chaney would be caught and justice served. I think Portis was smart to have Mattie tell the story looking back over the years, and while the book's ending was not as satisfying to me as the original film version's ending, it was still well done and effectively tied up the strands of the plot. I would happily recommend it for anyone who enjoys stories of the West, coming of age stories, or a good adventure yarn.

KINGS OF THE EARTH by Jon Clinch, 2010.

Clinch's novel is a stark narrative of life, death, and family in a remote agricultural area of New York State.
   In 1990, three aged brothers, Vernon, Audie, and Creed Proctor live on their family's crumbling dairy farm in the middle of nowhere. It is their family home, they and their sister were raised by their parents on the land, and they still work the farm in the ways their father, Lester, taught them back in the previous decades, but the place is a decaying wreck, the house and barn hardly fit for habitation. Vernon, the eldest, is in charge; Audie, the middle son, is somewhat simple, and Creed, having been to Korea, has his own ideas about things. Their sister, Donna, the youngest child and only girl, has managed to escape the farm by attending school and becoming a nurse, and then marrying a man who had escaped his own father's "muddy onion farm." Donna visits her brothers regularly and tries to help them out, but their pride keeps them in their current situation, milking their cows, raising turkeys in an old school bus, making do with old machinery. It is a bleak and unrewarding life, but they know no other; even Creed, who has seen something of the world during his military service is drawn back to the farm. Donna's son, Tom, bonds somewhat with his mother's brothers, but he ends up using them to further his own business plans in growing marijuana on their place. Tom's father, discovering the marijuana and recognizing a good business opportunity, jumps in to help his son, and unknowingly sets in motion events that lead to tragedy.
   When Vernon, the eldest brother, is found dead in the bed they all shared and the police suspect murder, attention becomes focused on the Proctors and their land. Preston and Margaret Hatch, the men's lifelong neighbors, are sympathetic and supportive of the brothers, even though they don't understand them. When Creed and Audie are actually brought up for questioning by the police, Preston tries to help them, and Donna and her family are drawn in as well. As the story moves back and forth in time, the reader gets a sense of how these three men were raised, how they matured,  why they became the people they are in the present, and the interconnected events that envelope all the characters.
   Overall, it's a story of family ties, and of the bonds that can exist between unrelated folk, told in spare and often harsh language, with stark scenes and realistic characters who have weathered hard times with very little love or emotional warmth. Clinch's descriptions are such that reader can feel the chilling air coming through the farmhouse's cracks in winter, hear the howling winds, and smell the wildflowers in the fields of the countryside. Clinch's uncluttered prose is unflinchingly honest, and provides the reader with a gritty look at a family that even though it suffers and tears at itself from within, the bond of blood between its members remains unbroken. While I can't say I really enjoyed this novel, it's definitely a thought-provoking and challenging story.

SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller, 2012.

Miller provides an absorbing retelling of the story concerning the ancient Greek hero Achilles in her new novel: the story is told through the eyes of Patroclus, Achilles' best friend and constant companion from childhood. Using Homer's work as her basis, she pretty much adheres to the usual version of events, but places her own stamp on them by focusing on the relationship of the two men, with each other and with others in their orbit.
  Becoming acquainted as mere boys when the young prince Patroclus is exiled from his father's tiny kingdom for accidentally killing another boy, Achilles and Patroclus over time become the best of friends. When Achilles' father, King Peleus, sends Achilles to the aged centaur Chiron for his education, Patroclus ends up following and being accepted as a pupil as well. As they grow into young adulthood in the mountainous retreat, learning about warfare and healing and survival, their emotional bond grows as well, leading later to a physical relationship. Achilles' mother, the goddess Thetis, a totally cold and unemotional character who wants to keep her son at a superior level to be worthy of being Aristos Achaion--"best of the Greeks"--has ever had it in for Patroclus and continually tries to come between the two, even resorting to attempted murder of her son's only friend.
   The story turns more familiar when the beautiful Helen is kidnapped from Menelaus in Sparta and taken to Troy, war is declared by Agamemnon, the High King of Greece, and all who are allied must go to fight. Odysseus and Diomedes search for Achilles, as it is known that Troy will not fall without his help. Mother Thetis, knowing all the dark prophecies about her son's life, has hidden him in King Lycomedes' court, dressed as a woman, hoping that he can avoid his destiny, but he is discovered, and he and Patroclus join the war. Achilles leaves behind a son, Pyrrhus, who will later play out his own destiny at Troy.
   While the centuries-old saga of the Trojan War may be familiar to many, Miller adds new dimensions to the cast of characters, and brings forth those who have often remained in the background: the beautiful but hard Thetis, the captive maiden Briseis (who captures Patroclus' heart), the physician Machaon, the kindly and wise centaur Chiron, Achilles' charioteer Automedon, and others are here portrayed in proper context. Some of the more famous appear only briefly: Helen, Paris, Andromache, Priam, etc. I found it refreshing to read the story with the focus on less familiar characters who also took part in the conflict. Of course, at the center of the novel is Achilles, the golden hero, half human, half god, whom all believed was chosen to lead them to victory at Troy and who came to realize after his first battle that "this is what I was born for"; and Patroclus, generous and tender-hearted and un-soldierlike, who loved and supported his comrade, and who with his own actions ultimately found his place in history as well.
   I found Miller's storytelling skills superb; her writing is spare and simple, yet elegant, conveying a wonderful sense of time and place; her characters are full blooded and real; the historical details are meticulously researched. The reader experiences the changing relationship of two young boys that comes to fruition during a horrendous war, the values of friendship and loyalty and honesty, the screams of dying men and horses on the blood-and-gore soaked plains of Troy, the terrific misuse of absolute power, and the violence and brutality of a long ago age. While the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus may be off-putting to some readers, I felt the author handled it in an understated and quite inoffensive way. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Trojan War and who would enjoy a well-told story from a different point of view. I found it a very beautiful rendering of a very old story.

We watched the Coen Brothers' "True Grit" (2010) over this past weekend, and although we enjoyed it, I personally think the older version from 1969 was more emotionally satisfying as a film. Although the Coens' attempt was very successful, and in actuality is said to be closer to the original book (which I haven't read), I had several problems with it, enough that I still like the original version better. The story (taken from Charles Portis' 1968 novel) is basically this: young Mattie Ross' father is shot to death, she comes to town to find the killer,Tom Chaney, and take revenge, and she hires Cogburn to help her. The Texas Ranger LaBeouf joins them and the three journey into Indian territory to track down Chaney, and discover they must deal with other criminals, the elements, and rattlesnakes.
   My major issue with this film is that, even though Jeff Bridges was actually surprisingly good in the role, he can't hold a candle to John Wayne's portrayal of Rooster Cogburn. No way, no how. Wayne took that part and made it his own and is well remembered for it. I know Bridges won an award for his acting in this picture, but I still prefer John Wayne's acting in this over his, and Wayne won his only Oscar for this role. Wayne was the very image of Cogburn, and he magnificently created a larger than life portrayal of the character, with all his foibles and strengths and colorful language. Another problem for me was the ending: it just wasn't as satisfying to me as in the older version. I have read that the Coen film is much closer to the book, and that's commendable, I just believe the older movie has a more satisfying conclusion concerning the three main characters of Cogburn, Mattie Ross, and LaBeouf. This film's ending left me feeling kind of cold and unsatisfied or like a promise went unfulfilled.
  Still, I found it a worthwhile film and I'm glad I watched it. I will say that Hailee Stanfeld's performance as young Mattie was excellent, and she deserves all the accolades she received for her work. She was wonderful to watch on screen, and her interaction with Bridges, Matt Damon (LaBoeuf) and Josh Brolin (Tom Chaney) was believable, interesting, and entertaining. The movie was beautifully filmed, mostly on location, and the Coen Brothers evidently paid great attention to detail. On the whole, an enjoyably diverting film, but for those of us who remember the original movie with a certain fondness, this version just doesn't quite measure up.

THE FOREST LAIRD: A TALE OF WILLIAM WALLACE by Jack Whyte, 2010.

I picked this up solely by the cover art and author recognition, read the flap and was hooked. Whyte is a noted author of historical fiction, and this novel is part of a new trilogy he's writing, "The Guardians," which will concern the Scottish wars for freedom from England. This book concerns the life of William Wallace, known to many from the "Braveheart" film made some years ago.

   Whyte's book shows he has done his research. Not much of fact is known about William Wallace, but Whyte makes use of what is known and other historical detail about Scotland and its affairs in the 1290s to create his portrait of Will and without bogging down the pace of the story. The novel is told from the point of view of Wallace's cousin, Jamie Wallace, who becomes the cleric librarian/priest Father James. When the two cousins are young boys, English attack the Wallace homestead, killing Wallace's parents and sister, Will and Jamie are abused by the English, and then manage to flee and are taken in by the archer Ewan Scrymgeour, who nurtures and helps guide their futures. Eventually, they are reunited with family, educated at a local monastery, and years later they separate to fulfill their destinies: Jamie to be a priest/librarian, and Will to be an archer of uncommon talents. By the time they are young adults, Scotland is in crisis: the Scots king dies leaving a young heiress named the Maid of Norway who is drowned on her way to take the throne; Edward I of England is invited into Scotland to help settle the dispute between the claimants John Balliol and Robert Bruce; even after John is named King of Scots, the English presence remains and creates mayhem and havoc; and there begins a grassroots surge of folk who wish to drive the English out of Scotland and reclaim their freedom. But without a strong leader, there are multiple factions who don't cooperate and thus create more confusion and misery for all the populace. Wallace, meanwhile marries the love of his life, and begins to lead the life of an outlaw and fugitive on the border, his hatred of the English nurtured by such as Bishop Robert Wishart, but determined to remain apart from the fighting as long it stays away from his door and until a strong leader emerges to engage the English. Jamie moves in and out of his life, supportive of Will and his family, but knowing that eventually the chaos that exists in Scotland will have to be resolved and Wallace must help. And then the terrible day arrives with horrific and heartrending force...and Jamie and Will are forced into action.
   Whyte does a wonderful job of making medieval Scotland come alive as a place of great beauty and harshness, with its volatile politics concerning France and England, its powerful lairds and barons, its rising middle class and the poverty ridden peasants. His characters are colorful, vibrant, and realistically portrayed: his hero Will is conflicted, high minded and compassionate, yet also savage, unforgiving, and violent. Highly readable, with excellent pacing and great storytelling, filled with action and savage violence, gross injustice, love and patriotism, this is a hugely entertaining saga of an enormously talented and strong leader of the Scots people who over time became almost a myth and somewhat neglected by historians but who evidently still lives in Scottish memory as a national hero.

I finally saw "Captain America" (2011) last night on DVD. While it's certainly not the best action hero movie I've ever seen, I think that Chris Evans did a credible job as Steve Rogers, the somewhat puny guy who wants to serve his country and fight the Nazis, and ends up becoming an experimental soldier. He's supported by Tommy Lee Jones, who has an important role as Colonel Phillips, and the English Hayley Atwell is pretty to look at as the love interest, although the whole idea that she would participate in the operation as she did in those times came off as a bit unbelievable. Hugo Weaving (with that horrific red face--yuck), is fun to watch as the madman villain who wants to rule the world--he makes Hitler look mild in comparison--and Toby Jones as his sidekick was interesting. I liked the fact that the character who becomes Iron Man's father, Howard Stark, has a major role in this film as one of Rogers' cronies, that added to it for me.
   The plot--was there one? did it matter?--it was basically that Weaving's character, Red Skull, wanted a crystal that contained the most terrible and awesome force ever seen on earth (the occult powers of the Norse Gods), and when he got it, he would go completely into conquering mode and change the globe to suit himself. The transformed Rogers, who has been paraded around as some sort of symbol of United States heroism and freedom, is called upon to battle Nazis and then to stop Red Skull, along with a crack team to help him. Once they discover in fact that Red Skull and his evil organization HYDRA have captured this item and are on the move, they have to lead the fight for freedom and destroy them. Lots of action, explosions, shootings, dead bodies, a real thrilling ride. Although it started out a little slow with the set up, the pace definitely picked up after Evans was transformed into the bulked up soldier-hero who eventually gets his wish to fight for his country. As someone who did not grow up as a Captain America fan--I was more into Superman and Spider Man--I don't have any particular problems with this film that his true fans might. With pretty awesome special effects, a personable hero, a wickedly nasty villain, and a preposterously fantastic storyline, I found it an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. I would say it's worth a watch on DVD when you have a chance.

SERENA by Ron Rash, 2008.

This novel sucked me in completely from the very first page, and I found it very difficult put it down or stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it.
   Set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, the story opens in 1929 with the return of George Pemberton from Boston to Waynesville, North Carolina, bringing with him his bride, Serena. Driven by greed, ambition, and power, and ideally suited, the couple is ready to lead a spectacular and thrilling life. They want to turn the area into a vast timber empire, harvesting the trees and despoiling the valleys and ridges until there's nothing left, and then move on. However, nothing in life is ever so simple, and they find themselves distracted by several issues: the Federal government's desire to create a national forest; the existence of Pemberton's illegitimate infant son; the numerous deaths of workers; the continuous hunt for new investors in their projects; an interfering local sheriff named McDowell, and Serena's tragic pregnancy. The Pembertons use every method available to vanquish all those who stand in their way--bribery, violence, and murder. And when Serena discovers she can never give Pemberton a child of her own, she ruthlessly sets out to murder both his young son and the boy's mother.
   Rash is a wonderful storyteller and brilliant in his writing--his descriptions of the western Carolina mountains are beautiful, the period details of the Great Depression in Appalachia are well integrated, his narrative flows smoothly, the story moves at a good pace. He provides details about timber harvesting, the logging industry, the whole concept of creating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and how it was done, of the Appalachian people and their terrible poverty. His characters are larger than life: Pemberton, the handsome and powerful lumberman who realizes his fatal flaw much too late; Rachel, the young girl who gives birth to Pemberton's only child and then struggles to protect them both; McDowell, the honest sheriff who can't be bought and wants to stop the Pembertons; Galloway, the one-handed flunky of Serena's who protects her and carries out her bidding; old Adeline Jenkins, who takes care of Rachel's baby and pays dearly for it, and many others, some real--like Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil of Biltmore--all brought to life by Rash's pen. But it is the character of Serena that is his most stunning creation--Rash's portrayal is amazing--she is brilliantly intelligent, practical, utterly ruthless, manipulative, and cruel, and at the same time able to show her care for Pemberton, her Arabian horse, her pet eagle, and, occasionally some concern for Galloway and other workers. I found this novel hugely entertaining, compelling, well plotted, with fine suspense and plenty of intrigue, violence, betrayal, lust, bribes, fraud; in short, an absorbing story of two intense and passionate people with a complete willingness to destroy a natural area for personal gain and to crush those who dared go against them. Hard to put down, totally recommend it.

DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by P.D. James, 2011.

I'd never read a P.D. James novel, but the review of this intrigued me enough to give it a try, even though it's a departure from the type of writing she is famous for. I like Jane Austen's novels and will occasionally read one of the many knock-offs, updates, sequels out there, so I was game to try this one. Pride and Prejudice is probably my favorite Austen novel, so I was curious to see how she would do with those characters.
   It's October 1803, and the plot swirls around the death of Captain Denny, which occurs while traveling with Elizabeth Bennet Darcy's sister Lydia and Lydia's husband, the infamous Wickham, to Pemberley the night before the Lady Anne's ball. In the woodlands area of the estate, Denny leaves the carriage after an argument with Wickham, is followed by Wickham--shots ring out and Lydia hysterically drives on to Pemberley. A search party sets out from the house, including Darcy, finds Denny bloodied and dead in the woods, with Wickham standing over him, saying "It's my fault. I killed him." But why is Denny dead? Why would Wickham murder his only friend? Did he do it? And if not Wickham, then who? And why? The rest of the novel concerns the local police investigation, Wickham's imprisonment and trial, the final details and solving of the murder, and the aftermath. The epilogue shed light on what happened later to some of the players, which I found more interesting than the mystery preceding it.
   I found the book as a whole casually diverting, I enjoyed the updating of the well loved characters like Elizabeth, Darcy, Georgiana, and the Bingleys (plus several that James cunningly pulled in from Persuasion and Emma), and James got the Austen tone down right...but the story wasn't as compelling as I'd hoped it would be. When I picked it up, I thought I'd gulp it down quickly, but I discovered it wasn't hard to put down and walk away from. Perhaps I was expecting too much of it, knowing James's reputation, and maybe that isn't fair. The writing is fine and James does keep the story moving, but at times it seemed stretched out, and I found myself quite often unable to keep focussed on the story very well. I found myself less interested in the crime investigation than I was in the familiar characters' lives. And the ending was just rather ho-hum to me. All in all, it's okay for what it is, a light mystery using Jane Austen characters, but not anything to write home about.

 "The Immortals" (2011)--Went with a movie buddy last night to see this at our local second run movie house. If you liked "300" (and we both did), you'll probably like this one, too, although it's really not as solidly entertaining a flick as that one was. It was a no-holds-barred blood and guts movie, great for a guys' night out--it had everything: gut-wrenching violence, blood spattering, martial arts maneuvers, high octane battles, horrendous torture, evil vs. good, even some nudity thrown in. However, the sad excuse for a plot concerns the peasant Theseus, whose mother, Aethra, is killed by marauders of the loathesome King Hyperion, looking for the Bow of Epirus, which will release the Titans from their prison in Mount Tartarus (having been put there after their defeat by the gods of Olympus). The wicked, thoroughly nasty Hyperion wants the bow so he can release the Titans and rule the world or something dreadful anyway, and it becomes Theseus' quest to stop him and thus save mankind from utter destruction. He is helped in his quest by Phaedra, a Sibylline priestess, and the criminal (but brave) Stavros. Not based on any Greek myth I'm familiar with, it had great special effects, bad script, bad story, mediocre acting. So many things wrong with this movie besides its lack of a decent storyline--Zeus killing Apollo? Theseus a peasant? Theseus' mother being brutally murdered? Gods being slain by Titans? The gods claiming they can't interfere with mortals? BAH!! But when there's lots of noise, violence, and fantastic special effects, and it was a cheap ticket besides, who really cares? I will say that after seeing him in this movie, I think Henry Cavill (Theseus) will definitely be up to the challenge of portraying Superman, and hopefully he will be able to redeem himself in that upcoming production for participating in this film.

OH MY GODS: A MODERN RETELLING OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS by Philip Freeman, 2012.

Wonderfully readable renditions of the ancient Greek and Roman myths, stories that have spoken to us for countless generations, reflecting our human hopes, desires, and fears. Freeman writes with great humor and wit, which adds to the general pleasure of reading these stories. The book is arranged in sections like "Gods," "Lovers," "Heroes," and "Troy," and he covers all the well known, popular tales: Perseus, Medusa and Andromeda, Icarus, the Minotaur, Odysseus' wanderings after the fall of Troy, the tragedy of Oedipus, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Argonauts, etc. The author spins the tales with great enthusiasm and contemporary language, and made them fascinating and fun. If you are unfamiliar with the great characters from mythology, this is a fine introduction to them, and an enjoyable read to boot. Freeman includes a character list and genealogies as well.

LOST KINGDOM: HAWAII'S LAST QUEEN, THE SUGAR KINGS, AND AMERICA'S FIRST IMPERIAL ADVENTURE by Julia Flynn Siler, 2012.

A riveting chronicle of how Hawaii came to be a part of the United States. The author has utilized available sources, including letters and diaries belonging to members of the Hawaiian royal family, to create this meticulous, absorbing narrative of the beautiful and calm Polynesian island chain before the arrival of the Americans and how the kingdom was taken over and transformed (not always for the better) by outsiders. With the arrival of the New England Christian missionaries in 1820 to Christianize and educate the native population, eventually Western powers like England and the U.S. began to take notice of Hawaii, and then to insert themselves into the kingdom's affairs. Siler not only discusses the changes that occurred because of this intrusion, but follows the life of Lili'u, born and educated to become the last queen of Hawaii, and presents a clear, well drawn portrait of this last Hawaiian monarch. She explores the various issues with the white planters who took over most of the prime agricultural land in order to grow sugar cane, made enormous fortunes, and became the self proclaimed "Sugar Kings," with their ever-growing influence in Hawaiian matters of state. King David, Lili'u's brother, indebted to most of them, became more ineffectual as a monarch as the years passed.
   By the time Lili'u came to the throne as Queen Lili'uokalani, her country was almost bankrupt, the natives were nearly powerless in their own government, and a few wealthy men were increasingly in control. In 1893 at the instigation of this powerful political group (and against the wishes of most of the native population) American troops landed in Honolulu, deposed the queen and kept her under house arrest. By 1896, with no help forthcoming, Lili'u was forced to abdicate her throne. Although she sought help from other nations (including the sympathetic President Cleveland and the United States) to regain her throne, by 1898, with the concerns of the Spanish-American War at the forefront, the United States under the newly elected President McKinley annexed Hawaii and thus gained a strong foothold in the Pacific. Siler writes movingly of the loss of Hawaiian customs and language, of the natural beauty of the islands, of governmental control taken from the natives and given to white planters and businessmen, of a monarchy haunted and decimated by disease, drinking problems, indebtedness, bad advisers, and ignorance, the ineffectual attempts at restoring power to the Hawaiian people, and the controversies surrounding annexation. A highly readable, factual, interesting, and revealing account of American imperialism in the Pacific and the tragedy it wrought on the island kingdom that became our 50th state.