The Glass Hotel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, 301 pages.
Mandel's follow-up to her enormously successful Station Eleven is a quieter book. The tragedy here is much more personal; its scope narrower and involving only of those immediately near
Vincent and her older brother Paul. They were both set adrift by family tragedy in 1994 when Vincent was 13. Paul who had been attending college and had already been in an out of rehab, was already struggling. Paul's actions serve as catalysts for both siblings, bringing Paul futher downward, but sending Vincent into the orbit of Jonathan Alkaitis, a Madoff-like character whose crimes affect many. An intricately constructed and engaging work that moves in and out of time. It's a beautiful book.

The big get-even

The big get-even / Paul Di Filippo, read by Keith Szarabajka, 345 pgs.

Glen McClinton had a drug problem that he was funding by stealing from his clients.  He ended up disbarred and after a prison sentence, is out trying to get his life back together.  He is out one night and saves a guy from an overdose.  Months later, this guy looks him up.  Stan is also an ex-con, actually got out the day he ODed.  Stan is now clean again and recruiting Glen for a big scam to get even with the guy who allowed him to go to prison.  To pull this off, they end up re-opening a lodge that had been closed for years to get their mark to believe the land is worth much more than it actually is worth.  The scam ends up being a lot of work and along the way, there is a quirky group of locals who work for the lodge.  Everyone keeps moving things forward and having a lot of casual hook-ups.  In the end, do they pull off the deal?  You will have to read (or listen) if you want to know.

Razor Girl

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen, 333 pages.
Former police detective, and current health inspector, Andrew Yancy returns in this second novel set among the more ethically challenged citizens of the Florida Keys. While tagging along with his former partner, and hoping to get back in the sheriff's good graces and return to the police force, Yancy meets Merry Mansfield, a specialist in faked car accidents. Merry's specialty gives rise to the title. There's a lot going on in this book, with reality TV stars, mobsters, and, as with Yancy's debut, Bad Monkey, neighbors who want to block the main character's view.
A fun read for fans of Hiassen.