Weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? Paste BN’s picks for book lovers include new mystery/thrillers by J.K. Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith) and John Grisham.
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith; Little, Brown, 489 pp.; fiction
Should it surprise anyone that J.K. Rowling has evolved into one of our finest contemporary crime writers?
Think of the dark Lord Voldemort, and the answer is, of course not.
Career of Evil is the third novel in the engaging Cormoran Strike private detective series for grown-ups that Rowling writes as Robert Galbraith, and this time she’s invented a serial killer for the ages.
Who is this sadist? Someone who has knives out for Cormoran Strike and his young assistant (and aspiring investigator) Robin Ellacott, we discover when a package containing a woman’s severed leg is delivered to their London office.
Paste BN says **** out of four. The “best” in the series… “this perfectly paced mystery is packed with surprises.”
M Train by Patti Smith; Knopf, 272 pp.; fiction
The rocker (Just Kids) writes a memoir that proceeds, through countless cups of coffee at tables for one, on planes and in hotels across Latin America, Europe and Asia (and back home to New York).
Paste BN says ****. “A great meditation on solitude, independence, age, a ride-along with the last Romantic standing.”
Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham; Doubleday; 344 pp., fiction
Sebastian Rudd is a defense lawyer with loose morals who works out of a motor vehicle instead of an office. Grisham finds intense drama in the little skirmishes that play out across our legal system every day.
Paste BN says ***. “Deeply engaging and enjoyable.”
Ann Tenna by Marisa Acocella Marchetto; Knopf, 240 pp.; fiction
Graphic novel skewers modern media culture with tale of an online gossip columnist who meets her maker after a car accident.
Paste BN says ***. The “author has a whip-smart and wry sense of humor and shows a serious bit of creativity.”
PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy by William Doyle; William Morrow, 277 pp.; non-fiction
Recounts the history of PT 109, a story of heroism in World War II’s South Pacific starring the future 35th president of the United States.
Paste BN says ***. “Engrossing... has all the makings of a definitive account — the last word on the story.”
Contributing reviewers: Jocelyn McClurg, Matt Damsker, Charles Finch, Brian Truitt, James Endrst