Death in Ecstasy

 Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh  280 pp.

The fourth book in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn series finds Alleyn investigating the cyanide murder of a wealthy woman during a ceremony at the House of the Sacred Flame, a cultish organization lead by "Father" Garnette. The clues are many but all seem disconnected from each other. The suspects are varied and jealousies and suspicions within the church members abound. There is obvious drug use but the possible source varies widely. Even the discovery of an old chemistry manual that opens to the instructions on how to extract cyanide from household items serves only to add confusion. Of course, the intrepid Inspector, assisted by Sergeant Fox and journalist Nigel Bathgate wrap up the investigation satisfactorily. Alleyn produces droll comments throughout although my favorite line came from the medical examiner during the inquest when he was asked why he had not thought it worthwhile to send for remedies (for the victim) to which the doctor replied "There is no remedy for death."

John Woman

John Woman by Walter Mosley, 377 pages.

Wow, what a weird trip this book is. John Woman, aka Cornelius Jones, aka CC has led an interesting life. We meet him as a teen, he is living with his father, who can't work due to an operation. Cornelius begins working his father's shifts at the silent movie theater so that his father doesn't lose his job. Shortly after this, when his mom has disappeared with her mobster boyfriend and his dad is dying, Cornelius finds himself defending himself and acting in a way that changes his life and his perception of himself. From that moment, he is changed and when his father dies shortly after, he changes his name as well, eventually becoming the title character.
As John Woman, college professor, he attempts to rewrite history in a way that is closer to his understanding of it. Woman must decide what to do about the offers he is receiving from a strange cult-like organization and he must decide how far he wants to go in coming to terms with his past. Multi-layered, complicated and sometimes difficult to process.

Severance

Severance by Ling Ma, 291 pages.

I love post-apocalyptic novels that are less about the grim struggle and more about the nostalgia, and are quietly reflective on the smaller things that were lost, more about the continuity of small sadness after the world has come crashing down. Station Eleven and Colson Whitehead's magnificent Zone One stand out in this sub-genre. And now Severance is there too. This is a character-driven piece of Post-A fiction and Candace is a quiet, likable, and compelling central character.
Candace is rooted in her small apartment in New York, still stuck in the loss of her parents and in the sense that she disappointed them. As Shen fever takes hold, and the world starts falling apart, Candace is left with her job, her photo-blog, and her failing relationship with Jonathan. The book cuts back and forth through time, settling at times in scenes of memory; Candace's parents and their journey to America, and their ongoing battle about staying or returning to Fuzhou, or the recent past with Jonathan, and her work on the Gemstone Bible, or settling into the present with Candace's role as a reluctant member of a survivalist group / low-rent cult, following the not-so-charismatic Bob on his quest to relocate to the mythical and sad "facility" somewhere outside of Chicago. A quietly great book.