The Crime Writer. Finished 12-1-14, thriller, pub. 2007

Unabridged audio read by Scott Brick. 9 hours, 50 minutes

Drew Danner, a crime novelist with a house off L.A.’s storied Mulholland Drive, awakens in a hospital bed with a scar on his head and no memory of being found convulsing over his ex- fiancée’s body the previous night. He was discovered holding a knife, her blood beneath his nails. He himself doesn’t know whether he’s guilty or innocent. To reconstruct the story, the writer must now become the protagonist, searching the corridors of his life and the city he loves.

Soon Drew closes in on clues he may or may not have left for himself, and as another young woman is similarly murdered he has to ask difficult questions not of others but of himself. Beautifully crafted and heartbreakingly told, The Crime Writer confronts our inherent fear of what we might truly be capable of—good or evil.

from Goodreads

I am not a fan of amnesia stories but this one was different since it involved a convenient brain tumor, one that appeared in a jar on a counter just a few pages into the book.  Drew goes on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, but this isn’t a courtroom thriller.  Drew doesn’t know if he killed her, but he thinks he could have and sets out to prove his innocence for his own peace of mind.  Along the way the isolated writer makes a few new friends and relies on some old ones as he is pegged for another murder.

I really liked this Los Angeles noir thriller.  Drew was an unreliable narrator because of his memory loss and I could never quite rule him out as a killer.  Was he?  I think it’s worth a read to find out 🙂

I think the perfect narration by Scott Brick helped create Drew for me and his gravelly voice gave the story the bleakness and urgency it needed.

I think this will appeal to fans of noir, unreliable narrators, books about writers and Los Angeles.  I’ll definitely be reading more books by Hurwitz.

The House We Grew Up In. Finished 12-10-14, 4.5/5 stars, fiction, 386 pages, pub. 2014

Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children’s lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they’ve never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in — and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

from Goodreads

I received this book courtesy of the publisher and  She Reads and I was supposed to have my review posted by the end of November.  Well, life happens and I didn’t even finish reading it until a few days ago.  My tardiness is not a reflection on the book because I LOVED IT!  If you like family drama with a large side of dysfunction then this is the story for you.

The Birds, thanks to matriarch Lorelei, are a colorful and life-loving family.  Lorelei loves to savor the beautiful moments and because she attaches these moments to actual objects in her mind the Bird home slowly starts to collect more things than it needs.  When tragedy strikes and dysfunction ensues, the clutter becomes something much worse.  Lorelei, beautiful and sparkly, needy and dark, is powerless as her family starts to unravel. Each of her children affected in different ways by what happens.

I don’t want to give too much away.  There is enough drama for ten families but it was told in such a way that it was both light-hearted and surprisingly deep without ever feeling too heavy.  The Birds are going to stay with me for awhile and possibly help me with my penchant for clutter.

The Imopostor’s Daughter. Finished 10-25-14, 3.5/5 stars, Graphic Memoir, 247 pages, pub. 2009

Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job–interviewing celebrities for a top women’s magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad’s life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he’s not the man he says he is–not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them–herself.

from Goodreads

I’ve read a few graphic memoirs over the years and while they are not my favorite medium I find them a good change of pace and a chance to read a memoir I never would have taken the time for otherwise.  I liked this presentation, thick pages and fun, colorful illustrations.  A memoir is unlikely to be written unless there something out of the ordinary and in this case that something was Laurie’s father.

Laurie’s father was a liar/hot head/bully/thief and as Laurie became old enough to understand that he wasn’t the multi-diploma, Green Beret, spy that she thought he was her life fell apart.  As most young adults with Daddy issues she tried some ill-advised activities until she started to take charge of her life.

I didn’t love Laurie, mainly because I didn’t understand her need to ‘out’ her father in a story so publicly.  I became engrossed in her story but never warmed up to her (at least the graphic her) so this book was both good and bad for me.

I bought this one with my own money.