Ripper: the Secret Life of Walter Sickert

I was really looking forward to Patricia Cornwell's "Ripper". I enjoyed her previous book on Jack the Ripper, where she claimed to have discovered compelling evidence that artist Walter Sickert was indeed the infamous killer. I didn't realize this book was basically an update of that one. There was some new information, and since it's been a dozen years since I read the original book I didn't remember every detail, so it was nice to get a refresher. She refuted her critics who claimed she destroyed art in her quest to pin the crimes on Sickert. She talked about some of the bizarre things that have happened to her since she started researching the Ripper, and how she feels compelled to keep searching for the truth. I would love to get Cornwell interested in Kurt Cobain's murder, I think we'd have someone in handcuffs in no time. The woman is doggedly determined, that's for sure. Of course after all this time we'll probably never know for sure (Jack the Ripper, not K.C., I still have hope for him), but Cornwell makes a strong case.

Hillybilly Elegy

I really enjoyed J.D. Vance's story of his upbringing in Ohio, mostly raised by his Mamaw and Papaw, since his biological father wasn't in the picture and his mother was an drug addicted lunatic. He and his sister Lindsay were forced to grow up fast, and learned to live by the hillybilly code of honor his grandparents brought with them from Kentucky. He delved into why the Rust Belt is declining and how we don't need more government programs to fix things (amen, brother) but people need to have the strength and courage to fix themselves. I had a somewhat similar upbringing, although I was raised in a fairly affluent area of Southern California, my parents starting abusing drugs when I was 9, leaving me and my younger sister to shift for ourselves. At least J.D. had a network of relatives as a support system, and he credits them with saving his life. He went into the Marines, went to college, and Yale law school, beating the odds (like I did). It was an important story, I'm glad it's been so popular. I think everyone ought to read it.

The Devil Crept In

I loved Ania Ahlborn's last book, "Brother", so I was really looking forward to this one, and it was great. So much good horror lately! Steve is a troubled ten year old boy living in Oregon. He stutters and is picked on relentlessly both at school and at home by his mean older brother and his abusive stepfather. Steve has one ally in the world: his twelve year old cousin, Jude. Jude disappears one day and everyone in town thinks he just ran away, since he's a known troublemaker. Steve doesn't believe it though, and tries to help search for him. Jude comes back after a few days, but he's changed. He doesn't remember where he was or what happened to him, he's very distracted and keeps running back into the woods, and he's being mean to Steve. The ending was really great, threw me for a loop in the best possible way.

The Naturals; World, Chase Me Down

The blurb on the cover of "The Naturals" says it's "Criminal Minds for the YA set". Being a huge fan of "Criminal Minds" as well as YA books, it seemed like a no-brainer. And it was! I loved it. Cassie is seventeen and recruited by the FBI for a program where they train teens with natural talents to become agents. Cassie moves to Quantico, where she is put up in a house with four other kids close to her age: Michael, who can read emotions, Lia, who can tell if someone is lying, Sloane, who is a whiz at stats and probabilities, and Dean, who is a natural profiler like Cassie. Cassie starts training and learning how to deal with the group of teenagers she's now living with. She and her cohorts beg to help with the current case the FBI is working on, but they are kept on the sidelines, until it becomes clear that the case is somehow related to Cassie's mom's disappearance five years earlier. It reminded me a lot of "I Hunt Killers" by Barry Lyga, which I adored. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
  

"World, Chase Me Down" by Andrew Hilleman was one that happened to catch my eye at work so on a whim I checked it out and I'm glad I did, I enjoyed it. It's based on a real person that I've never heard of, Pat Crowe. In Omaha in 1900, Pat just wants to live a simple life. He wants a nice home for his wife and baby daughter, and to make a go of the little butcher shop he and his partner Billy have opened up. In order to get the start up capital, Pat had to go in cahoots with a local political bigwig, Dennison. The beef baron in town, Cudahy, doesn't appreciate the competition, even if Pat and Billy's butcher shop doesn't really make a dent in his living, and Cudahy has Dennison shut Pat down. Poor Pat loses everything. He and Billy kidnap Edward Cudahy, Jr., and hold him for ransom. After getting the $25,000 from Cudahy Sr. and letting Jr. go, they go on the run, endlessly pursued by Pinkertons and the law. The story was told in alternating chapters of what happened as Pat is nearing the end of his life, looking back. It was nicely done. I wish more authors wrote Westerns, I love reading them but they're not so very popular anymore.