Actress, author keynote at NAACP banquet
October 1, 2009Oct. 5
October 5, 2009A Good Night for Ghosts
By Mary pope osborne
Random House, $11.99
What a fun book for Halloween suitable for kids of all ages.
Mary Pope Osborne tells the tale of two irrepressible kids, Jack and Judy, who in 1915 find themselves whisked by the Magic Tree House to New Orleans where they search for Louis Armstrong.
It’s a wonderful tale of ghosts and ghouls in both book form and also read by the author on 2 CDs (Listening Library $14.95). A non-fiction companion co-authored by Natalie Pope Boyce makes a perfect research guide ($4.99).
Happy Halloween.
Lost River
By David Fulmer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25
In Storyville, the famed New Orleans “red light” district, Detective Valentin St. Cyr was depended on for years for keeping crime at bay and the ladies safe. Now, he has taken his favorite lady and moved out of the district determined not to return, and even when a man is murdered on the steps of a brothel he refuses the madam’s request for help.
Valentin is determined to enjoy his new life with his longtime love, Justine. Yet, when the murders continue, he can no longer resist the challenge of solving the crimes. But is he falling into a trap? Our detective soon finds himself alone, accused of murder and believing Justine has deserted him for a strange young man.
One can almost hear the music and envision the sights of the Big Easy in 1913 in this thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
The Ride
By Brian Macquarrie
Da Capo, $26
On Oct. 1, 1997, 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley was abducted, brutally assaulted, and murdered close to his home in East Cambridge, Mass.
Jeffrey, who desperately wanted a bicycle, is lured into a car by two men on the pretense of getting him a free bike. The crime is so horrific, there is public demand, led by the boy’s father, to re-instate the death penalty in the state. But, in this true story, there is an amazing turnaround as Jeffrey’s father reconsiders his view and becomes an opponent of the death penalty.
No matter where you now stand on this issue, you may find your position changing, so approach with caution.
That Old Cape Magic
By Richard Russo
Knopf, $25.95
In this poignant, quirky and occasionally hilarious novel, we meet Griffin, a middle age, ex-screenwriter, now college professor, as he drives down to Cape Cod for the wedding of his daughter’s best friend. Ironically, this is where he and his wife, Joy, honeymooned 30 years before.
In Griffin’s trunk are his father’s year-old ashes, which he’s not gotten around to scattering. He also has the company of his mother via cell phone, who never ceases to comment on whatever he’s doing.
A year later, Griffin and Joy, now in a somewhat tenuous separation, attend their own daughter’s wedding in the same venue accompanied by significant others, while his mother, now reduced to ashes, joins her husband in the trunk of his car. This is Russo magic all the way.
The Devil’s Punchbowl
By Greg iles
Scribner, $26.99
Iles happily brings back Penn Cage for his third appearance, this time as the mayor of Natchez, elected on a platform to revitalize his decaying hometown.
Cage’s approval of five gambling riverboats proves a big success as money and jobs return prosperity to the town. But one boat, the “Magnolia Queen,” operated by two vicious characters, brings something else in addition to casino games – dog fighting, prostitution and murder.
The police who’ve accepted bribes are no help to Penn, who is determined to expose their criminal activities and bring them to justice. A friend working on the boat who’s promised to furnish evidence is murdered, and the lives of Penn’s father, daughter and friend are threatened if he interferes.
There’s plenty action here, even if you skip the dogfights.
