Gone to Dust
by Matt Goldman
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A murder scene obscured with the dust from hundreds of vacuum cleaner bags opens this clever and compelling mystery set in a Minnesota January. Nils Shapiro is a private eye hired by his former police academy classmate, now a detective in the suburban Minneapolis police department ill equipped to solve this particular crime. The victim was a divorcee with no enemies and a boyfriend too self-involved to kill her. Political aspirations, a mystery woman, an FBI investigation, the frozen landscape, and pursuit of red herrings all interfere with the aggregation of clues as Nils befriends an array of characters and suspects, and manages his beautiful ex-wife. The resolution of the murder surprises and satisfies. Matt Goldman’s experience as a stand-up comic, playwright, and TV writer show to advantage in this debut novel’s wit, the story’s pace, and his hero’s charm. There is second Nils Shapiro mystery to look forward to in 2018.
If you like chilly Scandinavian noir and classic gumshoes like Philip Marlowe, this is for you.
Reviewed by Alene
Tagged: Detectives, Fiction, Minnesota, Mystery
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living
by Louise Miller
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After accidentally setting her fancy Boston workplace on fire, pastry chef Livvy flees to Vermont where her best friend helps her get a job at the local bed and breakfast, turning a temporary escape into something more. Livvy’s tetchy new employer has a hidden agenda: to regain blue ribbon status in the annual apple pie contest. Gradually, the directionless orphan and her trusty dog are drawn into the town and grow involved with its denizens. Her best friend gets pregnant and needs Livvy to stay close by. Her chef colleague develops a crush on her. The local contra dance band has an opening for her and her banjo. When Livvy’s path crosses that of the kindly neighbors’ prodigal son, her connection deepens. She takes a few wrong turns and has to find her way back from another instance of flight before she finds her happy ending. Pastry descriptions will require a bakery jaunt to make it through, and readers can bake their own blue ribbon apple pie from Livvy’s recipe.
This is a fun read for romance readers as well as folks who don’t think they like romance
Reviewed by Alene
Tagged: Baking, Cooking, Fiction, Romance
A Dangerous Age
by Kelly Killoren Bensimon with Teresa DiFalco
[Book]
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For the past twenty years, four Manhattanites have met weekly to discuss career changes, cocktails, classes, and connections. Now in their forties, Lucy is a former model and dilettante writer married to a famous artist; Billy is her childhood friend, a currently unemployed food and wine expert; Lotta is a Swedish art gallery employee and party girl; and Sarah is a socialite aspiring to social media and reality show fame. Over the course of one summer, Lucy receives an impossible assignment while her husband prepares for a comeback show, Billy explores supper club subscriptions as a source of income, Lotta descends into a drug fueled breakdown, and Sarah attempts to raise her profile enough to seduce a casting team. Along the way, the friends get together as a group to check in, and in pairs to dish on the others. Bensimon weaves together the tangled threads of their four stories to produce a conclusion that exhibits the drama and immediacy of a reality show in novel form.
Fans of Sex and the City and the Real Housewives franchise will enjoy the rarefied atmosphere, as well as readers and viewers of Gossip Girl and the like.
Reviewed by Alene
Tagged: Fiction, Friendship, New York City
