The Overbooked Bibliophile

 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An abandoned suitcase with half of a body inside it, found in a park in downtown Copenhagen, sets the clock in motion for the frantic search for a brutal killer. The identity of the victim is yet to be determined and while the police try to match the victim to recently reported missing person reports, clues lead Detective Anette Werner to the island of Bornholm, where she teams up with local law enforcement and is also assisted by her former partner Jeppe Korner, who is currently on leave from the Violent Crimes Department in Copenhagen and is working as a lumberjack on the island. As they proceed with the investigation into the probable connection between the island and the brutal murder, positively identify the victim and find out who killed him and to what end, Korner uncovers a lot more than he expected about the people he had been interacting with on a regular basis over the past months– failing businesses, missing money, family secrets, the absconding crimina...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Real-Life Murder Clubs: Citizens Solving True Crimes by Nicola Stow gives us a look into the world of citizen sleuths. Unlike investigators who are actively involved in solving these cases in an official capacity, these individuals/groups work with whatever information is available in the public domain. As the author mentions that while she had initially assumed that she would be meeting people similar to Richard Osman’s characters from his popular Thursday Murder Club series she found that the real-life versions of citizens attempting to solve crimes were “grittier, inhabited by obsessive, intrepid souls who delve into some of the most gruesome cases in true crime history, while seeking justice and truth for both loved ones and strangers.” Concise yet factual and informative, this is a well-researched book. Divided into twelve parts; each detailing the crime/crime scene and the sleuth or group/initiative involved in working on that case. From simple internet researc...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐ Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize Treacle Walker is the first Alan Garner book I have ever picked up. Needless to say, the book being on the Booker shortlist prompted me to give it a try. The story revolves around a young boy Joseph “Joe” Coppock, who has been unwell and wears a patch on one eye for rectification of his lazy eye. One day he meets a rag-and-bone man by the name of Treacle Walker who also claims to be a healer of all ills save for jealousy. Joe acquires a “donkey stone” and an old chipped pot of ointment called “Poor Man’s Friend” in exchange for an old pair of his pyjamas and a lamb’s shoulder blade. These two mystical objects and his acquaintance with Treacle Walker are just the beginning of a series of fantastical adventures for Joe- from meeting Thin Amren, a bog-man who tells him that his trouble with his eyes is “glamourie” wherein each of his eyes shows him different worlds- one that everyone can see and the other that is not visible to others to...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I’m wondering if you still think of her as a monster. I suppose it depends on what you think that word means. Monsters are, what? Ugly? Terrifying? Gorgons are both these things, certainly, although Medusa wasn’t always. Can a monster be beautiful if it is still terrifying? Perhaps it depends on how you experience fear and judge beauty.” The mortal daughter of the sea god Phorcys and Ceto, Medusa is raised by her Gorgon sisters, Sthenno, who treats her as if she were her own child, and Euryale who loves her no less. (”we are one, but we are many”). She leads a sheltered life under the loving care of her sisters for sixteen years until she becomes the object of desire of Poseidon who violates her in the temple of Athene. Athene’s rage manifests in the form of a curse. Overnight, Medusa transforms into a Gorgon – anguished not only by the painful physical transformation but also unable to look at any living creature without it turning to stone. Her transformation into a G...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Narrow Cage and Other Modern Fairy Tales is a selection of short stories written by Ukraine-born Vasily Eroshenko, “A BLIND poet. An Esperantist. A humanist. An egoist. A partisan. An anarchist. A “red” Russian. A “white” Russian. A Ukrainian. A child-like dreamer. A harborer of dangerous thoughts . ..” translated from Japanese and Esperanto by Adam Kuplowsky. A bit of perspective on the author- his life and times- are of vital importance to fully appreciate these tales. I would urge readers to not skip the Foreword (by Jack Zipes) and the detailed Introduction ( by Adam Kuplowsky.) which give us insight into Eroshenko’s life - from his early days to his life and times in Western Europe and Central Asia, Esperantism, his activism and his political leanings for which he was constantly under watchful eyes. Heavy in metaphors and political messages, the tone of these stories tends toward melancholic, dark and depressing. The tales feature interactions between humans, na...

My Rating: 1.5⭐ Steve Galanos and John Goertz met as colleagues during the dot-com bubble in the 1990s. With the threat of the Y2K bug looming large, John’s innovative proposal to develop a solution lands him a promotion. Steve’s initial dislike and resentment toward John grows into an uneasy friendship of sorts that continues after John leaves the company. Over the next few years, John meets Mary (and her friend/colleague/roommate Lauren who was initially the person Steve and John had shown interest in), begins a relationship and finally marries her. Though the foursome finds themselves socializing often, there is an underlying tension that complicates their lives. Under the veneer of friendship we see jealousy, lies, manipulation and constant one-upmanship. Everything comes to a head during John and Mary’s housewarming party in 1999 when a shocking tragedy irrevocably changes their lives. The entire narrative of Dennis Cuesta’s Many Are Invited is presented through Steve’s PoV as he ...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ In the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club series, a ten-year-old unsolved murder (assumed suicide by driving her car over a cliff) of a journalist/co-host of a television news show, has our favorite residents of Coopers Chase Retirement Village- Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron- going all out in their search for old facts, discovering new leads, meeting new people (and reconnecting with old acquaintances) and trying to keep from getting into trouble. Helping them are their friends PC Donna de Freitas and DCI Chris Hudson. To complicate matters for Elizabeth, she is receiving anonymous texts and threats from an unknown nemesis who orders her to kill a former KGB colonel she had connections with during her old days as an MI5 agent, failing which would endanger not only her life but also the life of one of her friends. What follows is an exciting sequence of events involving a multitude of suspects (old and new), the world of television journalism, financial fra...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Audiobook; 5/5 Book: 4.5/5 After losing her factory job during the recession, fifty-six-year-old Cara Romero meets with a job counselor as part of The Senior Workforce Program to qualify for continuation of her unemployment benefits and also receive assistance in finding new employment. Over the course of twelve sessions with her job counselor, Cara shares her life story (and her thoughts and feelings about the significant people and events in her life ) in bits and pieces in mostly one-sided conversations. A Dominican immigrant and legal resident of the United States who came to the country with her son, she has worked hard to provide for her family while navigating through the trials and tribulations of life as an immigrant in her adopted country. Even though she has her share of difficulties- unemployed with no health insurance, having had to pay for recent surgery and unable to make rent (gentrification knocking on the door of her rent-stabilized apartment) and is e...

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ John Grisham’s The Boys from Biloxi is the story of two families- the Malcos and the Rudys –both descended from Croatian immigrants who settled in Mississippi in the fishing community of Biloxi. Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up together in the same community as friends and star performers in Little league baseball but gradually drifted apart as they reached the end of their school years – each of them following in their respective father’s footsteps. Hugh joins his father Lance in their family business profiting from the vice in Biloxi- illegal gambling, prostitution, the drug trade, and owner of several nightclubs along “the strip”. Keith, on the other hand, pursues a legal career inspired by his father Jesse Rudy, an upstanding citizen and honest lawyer who makes it his life’s mission to take down all illegal establishments and the mob bosses who control them. The battle between Jesse and Lance continues with Keith and Hugh - a story of good vs evil, with its share o...

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “All stories are recycled and all stories are unfair. Many get luck, and many get misery. Many are born to homes with books, many grow up in the swamps of war. In the end, all becomes dust. All stories conclude with a fade to black.” The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka begins with our protagonist - professional war photographer, closeted gay and compulsive gambler- Malinda Albert Kabalana a.k.a. Maali Almeida, waking up, dazed and confused, initially assuming his condition to be the after effect of the “silly pills” his close friend Jaki shares with him. However, he soon realizes that he is now deceased (with no recollection of how he died) and is now in the afterlife - a crowded, chaotic place that he compares to a bureaucracy with its long queues and precise list of procedural formalities. He has “seven moons” (translates to seven nights), in the “In Between”, where he can roam free, recall his past life, compl...

My Rating : 3.7⭐ Marple: Twelve New Mysteries is an anthology that comprises twelve short stories, featuring Dame Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple, the much-loved detective, and written by contemporary crime-fiction writers. Varied in approach and setting (including the fictional village of St. Mary Mead, London, the Amalfi Coast, Asia and the United States), this is a mixed bag as is most anthologies. While I did enjoy the collection as a whole, a few of the stories were particularly noteworthy: In Miss Marple’s Christmas by Ruth Ware (4.5/5) the theft of a valuable string of pearls during a Christmas gathering at Gossington Hall puts a damper on the festivities. This story is truly reminiscent of Agatha Christie's signature style in terms of a closed room setting, multiple suspects, and a surprising revelation. A Deadly Wedding Day by Dreda Say Mitchell (4.5/5), has Miss Marple teaming up with her friend Miss Bella whose niece’s wedding becomes the scene of a murder. In The Jad...

 My Rating: 4.5⭐ “How to explain? How to explain to my partner and my best friend that this task, the clearing of Mum’s house, was my last opportunity to say goodbye? How to explain that I needed to show this final kindness to her? How to explain that I needed to sort through each of her belongings alone? That I wanted to make every last decision to do with dismantling her life from the biggest to the smallest without the help or hindrance of others? How to explain that I wanted to put as much love and care into the taking apart of my wonderful mum’s home as had been poured into bringing it all together in the first place?” Almost a year has passed since Jessica “Jess” Baxter lost her mother to cancer. Jess is in the process of clearing her mother's home before putting it up for sale – a difficult task, emotionally draining, and heartbreaking but Jess manages to clear out most of her belongings selecting a few significant items that hold a special place in her heart. However, there...

 My Rating: 4.5⭐ “If you had the power to save the life of someone you loved, how far would you go?” The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy is the story of a father, David Asha, an author who shares the story of how he came to be separated from his son Elliot, in his new book. It is also a story of his son, a boy who loses his father soon after his mother dies from cancer. It is also the story of Ben Elmys, a family friend and colleague of the Ashas, who is responsible for Elliot's care after his parents are gone. This is also the story of Harriet “Harri” Kealty a disgraced police officer who loses her job after being unable to prove her innocence when she is wrongfully accused in a case-related incident . Harri finds a cryptic message in a book she finds in a library sale – a message that leads her to Elliot and his guardian Ben Elmys, a man with whom she once dreamed of a future. Her subsequent investigation into the Asha family and Ben results in her fate becoming inextricably li...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ It has been almost a year since Isabelle Drake’s toddler son, Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night while Isabelle and her husband Ben slept in the next room. Over the last year, Isabelle has been functioning on minimal sleep and has left no stone unturned in trying to find her son – hounding the police who have been unsuccessful in finding any clues, giving interviews and investigating the backgrounds of her friends and neighbors and attendees of the true-crime conferences she attends. Despite her initial reluctance she also agrees to participate in a true-crime podcast hosted by Waylon Spencer, who has been successful in solving a cold case in the past and who was one of the attendees at a conference in which Isabelle speaks about her son’s disappearance. Isabelle's marriage has fallen apart after Mason’s disappearance and her husband Ben has apparently accepted that Mason is never coming home. He has moved on and is now involved with another wom...

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The third installment of Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn Series, The Liar has our conman-turned-lawyer helping an acquaintance from his old neighborhood. Wealthy businessman Leonard “Lenny” Howell’s seventeen-year-old daughter Caroline has been kidnapped and a ransom exchange is about to go down. Eddie, reverting to his old tricks, tries to chalk out a plan to best the kidnapper but unbeknownst to them they are being manipulated and playing right into the hands of the kidnapper. The kidnapper's agenda includes more than just kidnapping Lenny’s daughter and seems to be a step ahead. The tables are turned as Leonard Howell becomes the prime suspect in the disappearance and suspected murder of his daughter leaving it up to Eddie to prove his friend's innocence in court, find out what truly happened to Caroline and figure out who is behind it all. Just before Eddie’s services are engaged by Howell, Eddie receives a subpoena for a cold case file that he inherited when he...

  My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “We tried to forget. We didn’t tell the story. Not the real one. Not ever.” As children, Naomi Shaw and her friends, Cassidy (Cass) and Olivia (Liv) believed in myth and magic. Being raised by a negligent father who was drunk most of the time, Naomi found comfort and companionship in her friends, whose lives were very different from hers. The eleven-year-olds invented games and imagined mythical adventures. One such game was the Goddess Game, where they pretended to be goddesses from Greek mythology. A surprise discovery in the woods, one that they kept to themselves, only fueled their imagination further and their game became more elaborate and intense. However, that summer would change Naomi’s life forever. A gruesome act of violence in the woods leaves Naomi fighting for her life after being stabbed seventeen times and leaves both of her friends traumatized. They identify the attacker, a serial killer who was responsible for the death of other women, who was ca...

My Rating :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “One of the many joys of reading is that the literature of a world far from our own has the potential to alter how we see ourselves.” - Lucy Hannah, Founder of Untold Narratives (from the Afterword of My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird) My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is an anthology of eighteen stories written by women writers based in Afghanistan (some of whom have managed to leave in light of recent upheaval). In simple prose, they tell us stories inspired by the daily lives (some based on real-life events) of those living in Afghanistan. The stories are set in various periods varying from the 1980s to the present day and feature men and women in their homeland as they brave the trials and tribulations of war, political upheaval, poverty, oppressive societal norms, misogyny, discrimination and much more. In the story “I Don’t Have The Flying Wings” by Batool Haidari (translated from the Pashto by Parwana Fayyaz), a young boy, struggles with his gender identity and is punishe...

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Daisy Darker was born with a heart condition, has had to be resuscitated many times in the past and has been told that she won’t have a long life. Her family isn’t quite supportive of her and the only person she feels truly cares about her is her Nana. Daisy’s Nana, Beatrice Darker, illustrious children’s book author and illustrator, is turning eighty and the whole family is gathering at her mansion, “Seaglass” on the Cornish coast, to celebrate. If a palm reader’s prediction is anything to go by, this birthday will probably be Nana’s last. But Nana is prepared and makes it a point to discuss her will with her family – her orchestra musician son and his ex-wife Nancy, their children Rose, Lily, Daisy and Lily’s daughter, Trixie and family friend, Conor. Needless to say, most of her family members aren’t too happy with the way Nana has distributed her considerable wealth and assets. Later that night, Nana is found dead in her kitchen with a strange poem written with li...

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Yes, life always takes the side of life, and somehow the victims are blamed. But it wasn’t the best people who survived, nor did the best ones die. It was random!” Whether you’ve read it or not, I’m sure you’ve heard of  Art Spiegelman's Maus . First and foremost, in 1992, Maus became the first graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize (the Special Award in Letters). Decades later, in 2022, Maus is still in the news, because a school in Tennessee removed the book from its curriculum, deeming it “inappropriate” on account of language and nudity. When a book is controversial/banned, I tend to want to read it more. I hope there are more like me out there (including those kids who are being deprived of the opportunity to learn about it in school! It's a true story of a Jewish man who survived the Holocaust. This is history . It happened!) In his brilliantly crafted graphic novel, the author tells the story of his Polish-Jewish parents, Vladek and Anja Spiegelman,...