A rare luxury-grown up books!

 I've allowed myself a little latitude over the last few weeks, to read some grown up books for a change.  They were lots of fun and I hope you'll like these as well!

The first one is called 'What Happened to the Bennetts?" by Lisa Scottoline.  I've read several of Lisa's other books and they are always well thought out and surprising mysteries.  This one was no different.  The book opens with a family returning from field hockey game.  Jason Bennett, the dad is driving, his wife is giving advice, his daughter, the field hockey player is making snarky comments while on her phone and his son is whining.  Typical family outing.  Until they notice a car in the rearview mirror that doesn't seem to want to let them go.  After a completely horrific act of violence, the family is whisked away to the witness protection program, in spite of their protests.  I could keep telling you the plot line but it would be mean to reveal any more of this tightly woven story or lose any of the surprising plot twists along the way.  It has commentary on the legal system, the justice system and dealing with grief.  If you like mystery stories, you're going to love this one.  I couldn't put it down.  

And here's the book trailer!

The second one is called Horse by Geraldine Brooks.  I love her books too and so I was super excited to see it come up in my Netgalley feed.  Brooks typically writes books that are based on historical research like March (about the Civil War) or Year of Wonders (about a plague).  This one also follows that pattern, but it's about a racehorse commonly known as Lexington.  It's told from multiple points of view from 2019 to the 1800s.  The storytellers are slaves, college students, scientists, artists, and art dealers.  You can see this is a complicated book, but in the best possible way.  There is commentary about racism, slavery, ethical treatment of animals, the art world, and the horse racing industry.  It is well researched and each of the characters feels like someone you know (or you wish you could know).  Like many of her books, it's hard to see at first how things fit together, but that's part of what makes the story just wonderful.  It was a compelling read and I know a lot of people are going to really enjoy it.  Look for it!  It's coming out soon.

Here's Geraldine Brooks talking about her book.