January Wrap-Up: Book Reviews and Recommendations

January Reads: Chills + Thrills, and a Trip to Suburbia

The surprising part of January: I read 4 books.

January felt like a marathon. Not the kind of marathon that you’re proud of, that you trained for. Rather, the kind of marathon you forgot to train for so your hip hurts by mile 8, and by mile 13 you’re in so much pain that you’re cursing yourself, your decision to not train, and the fact that you decided to run in the first place. The kind of marathon where you celebrate crossing the finish line only because it means you never have to run again.

Ok. Maybe that’s extreme. But January felt really long. We had Omicron, and negative degree weather for most of the month. On top of that, I had end-of-semester grading, start-of-semester planning, and a two week stint of distance learning with one day’s notice. Whew.

Reading happened wherever time allowed. On a slow Saturday morning, or in the 30 minutes before bed after an exhausting day. It wasn’t always a given this month. But squeezing in a few pages when I could allowed me to read about two more books than expected.

The theme of this month: Chills + Thrills. The cold days called for thrillers, so this January wrap-up will cover three thrillers. There’s one outlier, a women’s fiction novel that takes place in suburbia. The books I’ll be reviewing in this post:

• The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
• Where The Grass Is Green And The Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger
• The Maid by Nita Prose
• Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Synopsis

A groups of friends from Oxford days gathers at a remote cabin getaway in the Scottish Highlands for New Years Eve. An incoming snow storm means they won’t be able to leave (and no one will be able to enter) for days. As the days slowly pass and the snow progresses, the scandal and the secrets unravel. When someone shows up missing and murdered, the question is: who among them is a killer?

Review

What I love most about Lucy Foley’s books is how reminiscent they are of an Agatha Christie. She uses all the classic mystery novel techniques from red herring to multiple guilty characters. In a perfect novel, this concoction leads to ample amounts of suspense and a real ‘whodunnit’ vibe.

While I enjoyed reading The Hunting Party, I definitely think The Guest List (click the link to check out my full review) did it better. The red herrings in this one were a little too obvious and so were the clues. Once I’d reached halfway, I was pretty confident I knew who the killer was (and…I was right!).

Not my favorite book of the year, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. I’m looking forward to Foley’s next release, The Paris Apartment, which comes out on February 22nd this year! (click here to pre-order your copy)

Rating

Synopsis

Where The Grass is Green and The Girls Are Pretty is a prime example of quality, suburban mom chick-lit. The story follows Peyton, Sky, and Max as they navigate the falling out of a recent college admissions scandal. Peyton grapples with telling the truth or maintaining her perfectly curated life. Her sister, Skye, tries to find purpose as a stay-at-home mom living life in the school drop-off lane. Max, Peyton’s daughter, attempts to discover who she is and what she truly wants out of life.

Review

In case you didn’t know, Laruen Weisberger is the genius behind The Devil Wears Prada. While I’ve never read the book, the movie had a large part in my coming-of-age story. A couple of years ago I picked up Weisberger’s book When Life Gives You Lululemons and I was an immediate fan.

I love women’s fiction, especially if it tackles suburbia. Until 18, I lived and breathed suburbia. Fiction that chooses to tackle it always picks up on the perfected front and hidden struggles that often lie among the curated lives of families that make up the neighborhoods.

Told from the perspective of all three characters, the reader gets to step into the lives of Peyton, Sky, and Max. Multiple perspectives allow emotion and empathy to fill out the storyline in a way that the reader can’t help but feel. I love that each character is unique in their struggles and their approach to life. Together, the three characters represent an array of issues that many women face: purpose, aging, parenting, growing up, independence, regret, shame, adult friendships, and the list goes on.

While Where The Grass Is Green And The Girls Are Pretty tackles many topics, I never felt like the book was trying to do too much.

Peyton is endearingly stressful. Max is creative and bold. Skye is inspiring and graceful.

My only qualm: at times, the story felt too drawn out. The ending made me cry though, which made up for the parts that felt long. I’m so glad I decided to pick this one up!

Rating

Synopsis

Molly Gray likes things to be in a state of perfection. That’s why she’s so good at being a maid at The Regency Grand Hotel. She loves stocking her maid trolley, and cleaning up after the esteemed guests. She lives life by a set of rules instilled in her by her recently deceased Gran. Though Gran is gone, her rules and voice continue to guide Molly, teaching her how to interact with others and how to interpret emotions. Molly is “different” from other people, and sometimes this prevents her from making genuine connections with people. In fact, it’s because of her differences that she is being blamed for the murder Mr. Black, VIP guest of The Regency Grand. As Molly attempts to prove her innocence, she learns the meaning of friendship and the importance of accepting people for who they are.

Review

The story itself isn’t a bad idea, but I take issue with how Molly is crafted. Have you read Eleanor Oliphant? In case you haven’t, Eleanor is like Molly. She’s different, and because of this has a hard time connecting with people. Both characters are unable to take social cues, carry on a conversation, or interpret emotion.

The issue? Both Molly and Eleanor are made to be “different” by having stereotypical autistic traits/characteristics.

Now, maybe Molly really is on the spectrum, but we’re never told that as readers. We’re only told that she’s different from others. I love to read novels with strong representation of important matters. I would love to read a book that features a main character who also has autism to represent those in our lives who have autism; I just want the author to come out and say it.

Using the stereotypical traits and then simply labeling the character as “different” doesn’t feel right, and seems like a wasted opportunity for needed representation in literature.

Overall, The Maid is a quick and easy mystery if you’re in the mood for something lighter, but the representation of Molly’s character felt stereotypical and missed the mark on a great opportunity for the representation of individuals with autism. No spoilers, but there were a few disturbing bits of information near the end that also influenced my review.

Rating

Synopsis

11 years ago, the first woman went missing. Just a few weeks later, Meredith and her daughter Delilah disappeared. Now, Delilah has returned home, and the stories of Shelby and Meredith slowly unfold.

Review

After my first three reads of the month, I was worried that the month of January was going to be a let down. Nothing stopped me in my tracks or made me want to stay up past my bedtime to try and finish the book. Until Local Woman Missing.

You guys. I love this book.

The novel is written through multiple points of view, beginning with present-day Delilah’s story. In part 2, pieces of the mystery are patched together through three different perspectives: 11 years ago before Meredith’s disappearance; 11 years ago just after her disappearance; and now, after Delilah has returned. The three narratives are engaging and add suspense. With each chapter, the reader gains new insight and clues, and I often couldn’t wait to get back to each character’s story. Different perspectives help shape the story, and the book would be flat without them.

Not only does this book provide all the chills + thrills, it also manages to critique women’s healthcare and the nature of middle-class suburbia. While the critique on women’s healthcare felt at times a little too informative and research-y, it added a unique theme that’s not often touched on. Overall, I appreciated it’s addition.

While I haven’t read any Harlan Coban, I’ve watched the Harlan Coban shows on Netflix (Stay Close + The Stranger). This kind of reminded me of that style — different character perspectives and timelines that all come together at the end.

Rating