Death in the Spires

Death in the Spires by KJ Charles, 272 pages

Almost a decade ago, the murder of gregarious Toby Feynsham tore apart a close-knit group of friends at Oxford. Why? Because one of them did it, but nobody ever was prosecuted for the crime. So when identical notes claiming each surviving friend a murderer arrive at their places of business, one of them, Jem Kite, loses his job due to the notoriety and decides to spend his suddenly free time tracking down not only the letter-writer, but also the murderer.

Told both in "present day" 1905 and flashbacks to the friends' time at Oxford in the 1890s, this historical mystery is complex and compelling, and a look at how privilege plays out in school, life, and even murder investigations. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. 

The It Girl

The It Girl by Ruth Ware (2022) 422 pages

Hannah has working class roots and finds it exciting to have gotten into Oxford. Her suite-mate, April, comes from a wealthy family and takes it as a given that she is at the school. The other freshmen in their group are Will, Ryan, Hugh and Emily. April is the It girl of the title, the glue that keeps the others together. She's beautiful, rich, charming, and quite a drinker, but can write a decent paper with enough of a supply of pills to keep her awake. She's quite pushy and insistent. She also plays some horrid practical jokes. 

When April is murdered during the spring, Hannah and Hugh had just seen one of the university's porters leave the area near the girl's suite. He had been rather creepy all year, and because no one else was around, the porter was convicted of the murder. Ten years later, after Hannah learns he died in prison, she starts having doubts that he was the murderer. By this time, she's married to Will (who had been Hannah's boyfriend at Oxford) and six months pregnant. Money's tight. Will doesn't want her to start asking the others about who else could be the murderer, but Hannah can't NOT do it. As she reconnects with the other students, the stakes grow higher. Will is her husband. Hugh is a plastic surgeon, Will's best friend. Ryan had a stroke in his twenties and is recovering with the help of his lovely wife and small children. Emily is an academic, sharp and practical. Is the murderer one of them, or could it be someone else at the university?

The story is told from Hannah's point of view, flashing back and forth from "before" to "after." I thought I was on top of the clues, keeping up with Hannah, but was floored at the end!

Shortest Way Home

Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg (2019) 352 pages

Pete Buttigieg, currently the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, but also a Democratic candidate for the presidency, presents his life thus far in this candid memoir. He's young‒just 37‒and is very service-oriented with a large resume of life experiences (administrative, military, consulting, volunteering) that have all contributed to his skill set. He speaks of his political successes and failures and what he's learned from them. He also speaks about being gay, his decision to come out to his parents and the community at age 33, and how he met his husband. I wanted to read his memoir to see whether I think he'd make‒later, if not in 2020‒a statesman that could make our country move in a positive direction. I recommend this book.

Educated: A Memoir

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, 334 pages.
An absolutely riveting account of the author's live growing up in an isolated home on a mountain in Idaho. Westover's parent's are super-devout Mormons. Maybe theirs was moreof a sort of a family-only splinter group, since Westover's father seems to disagree with everyone about what it is, precisely, that God wants from his flock.

Westover is a compelling storyteller, taking the reader past the edge of comfort, as she recounts scenes of violence and tragedy she encountered in her family life. Early on, I found myself hoping that Westover was another James Frey, making up the horror out of whole-cloth, or at least exaggerating, but that seems not to be the case, and I was soon caught up in the story, believing it all, especially as family member started telling their own versions of the same stories.
A great read.

Gun Street Girl

Gun Street Girl: a Detective Sean Duffy Novel / Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle, 313 pp.

The fourth in the Detective Sean Duffy series; these audiobooks, wonderfully read by Gerard Doyle, have been my car companions for months now.

In this title:

An affluent middle-aged couple is found shot to death; the adult son turns up shortly afterward, an apparent suicide.  Simple enough, but to Duffy's experienced eye, the dead parents' crime scene looks too professional.  Something just doesn't add up, and Duffy is determined to get to the bottom of it.  He's a little busy, though, what with MI5 pressuring him to leave the police force behind for good...


In all Detective Sean Duffy novels:

checking under the BMW for mercury tilt bombs
a fabulous supporting cast, including Sergeant Crabben (Crabby), Duffy's dour Presbyterian sidekick, and attractive neighbor Mrs.Campbell, perpetually horny because her husband is either away or depressed
an encyclopedic display of musical knowledge
a shocking amount of alcohol consumption, even for Ireland
hilarious dialogue
a terrific sense of place