It was a PD Day on Friday, so I took advantage of the opportunity to work from home that day, and of course today is Thanksgiving Monday, so it feels like I’ve had four days off (well, I was really busy with video sessions on Friday, but I got to sit around in my “at-home” clothes, so it was definitely more restful than going in to work). I’ve got a steaming cup of chai and a delicious Date Bar on this gorgeously bright, sunny, mild morning. The birds are singing (it’s mild enough to have the windows open), the leaves are out in full magnificent colour, and I’m feeling so peaceful and certainly thankful for so many things, today and every day.
Last week I read American Predator: the hunt for the most meticulous serial killer of the 21st century by Maureen Callahan, and it was just so-so. I’m not a huge non-fiction reader, but I have enjoyed some true crime and historical nf titles in the past, so I thought I would take a chance on this one, and I was thankful that it was short. It follows the search for, arrest, and subsequent interrogation of Israel Keyes, a man initially suspected of abducting and killing a young woman in Anchorage, Alaska, but who, after some skillful (and some bumbling) interviewing, is linked to many other crimes and murders throughout the United States over the previous two decades. It was interesting enough at first, and was neither well-written nor badly written, but just average - it met, but certainly did not exceed, my expectations. But it jumped around quite a bit, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I wondered what the point of it was. I guess it was vague and had lots of filler because it was hard to find information about this guy; he seems to be the most famous serial killer that no one has ever heard of. Anyway, if you like reading true crime and are looking for something new, you could do worse than this one, but you could also do better.
And I listened to an audiobook by K L (Kelly) Armstrong, Wherever She Goes, and have to say that I was happy to reach “the last page” of this one, too. I have enjoyed several books in Armstrong’s “Rockton” series, and was quite looking forward to this standalone, but it did not meet my expectations at all. Aubrey Finch is in the midst of domestic turmoil; she and her husband have separated and she fears the loss of custody of her young daughter. When she and her daughter are at the park one weekend, she has a brief conversation with another young woman who is playing with her son. Several days later, as she is jogging in that same park, she thinks she witnesses that boy being abducted, but no one will believe her. Even she is not certain of what she saw, but when more sinister activities take place in her seemingly tranquil suburban community, she is unable to deny her gut instinct and decides to search for this boy on her own. Sounds like an interesting plot, right? Well, yes, it would have been interesting if there weren't so many of Aubrey’s lengthy internal monologues popping up far too regularly throughout the book. And in my opinion, it turned out to be totally unbelievable, too. Maybe as a print book the reader would have been able to skim the monotonous monologues and get to the “good stuff”, but with an audiobook, you can’t skim or skip parts. Anyway, not as good as I was hoping, but also not the worst book I’ve ever listened to.
That’s all for today. Get outside and enjoy this gorgeous day! And have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Bye for now…Julie
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