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Patty F reviewed a book.

“I had not planned to bring this book with me on my vacation, but apparently I needed to finish it. Turns out it is very relevant to my journey towards retirement.

I like the fact that Sarton calls her journal "a" solitude. It is clear to me that each opportunity for solitude,...”

“I had not planned to bring this book with me on my vacation, but apparently I needed to finish it. Turns out it is very relevant to my journey towards retirement.

I like the fact that Sarton calls her journal "a" solitude. It is clear to me that each opportunity for solitude, aloneness, would be and should be very different. It has been true for me. I have gone on retreat several times lately and each time there is something different I need to work on.

Sarton was 58 at the start of this journal. My present age. We are in different places in history and in our own lives. She has coped with trying to establish her own framework for her craft. I have always had work to frame my life, to set my schedule. Soon I will have to do it for myself. I did not do it well thirty years ago, the last time I was unemployed. The question of course is will I be able to do it now?

Much of this journal includes thoughts about women's places in the world. Something we still struggle with, but times have changed. It was fascinating to see the changes of the 1970's through Sarton's eyes.

Glad I read this, need to read more by and about May Sarton. I recommend this book to anyone interested in writing, women or recent history.
”

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Becky S reviewed a book.

“Not as good as the first in the trilogy, unsure if I will go to the next. A decent read, but the story seemed a bit scattered and far fetched. Not as interesting character story lines as Red Hot and Dead. A decent fluff read, but not worth following up on.”

“Not as good as the first in the trilogy, unsure if I will go to the next. A decent read, but the story seemed a bit scattered and far fetched. Not as interesting character story lines as Red Hot and Dead. A decent fluff read, but not worth following up on. ”

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Patty F reviewed a book.

“I downloaded this book for free as one of Amazon's daily deals. I visited Vietnam almost two years ago and I would like to know more about the country and the people. I thought a novel written by a Vietnamese-American might tell me something about both.

The story was fine and I am not...”

“I downloaded this book for free as one of Amazon's daily deals. I visited Vietnam almost two years ago and I would like to know more about the country and the people. I thought a novel written by a Vietnamese-American might tell me something about both.

The story was fine and I am not sorry that I read it. The premise was interesting and the writing good enough to hold my interest. I am not sure that I actually learned any more about the history of Vietnam, but that did not really matter. I fell into one woman's life and enjoyed it while I was there.

I recommend this to folks who enjoy family sagas and to those who like to experience time periods and places that are difficult to actually visit.”

Michael E reviewed a book.

“I liked the dialog and dynamics of small town life in this crime thriller, but those pleasures were inadequate to overcome the seeming stupidity of the plotting. This is the third of this series about an ex-Special Forces man assuming the role of sheriff in his old home town of Jericho,...”

“I liked the dialog and dynamics of small town life in this crime thriller, but those pleasures were inadequate to overcome the seeming stupidity of the plotting. This is the third of this series about an ex-Special Forces man assuming the role of sheriff in his old home town of Jericho, Mississippi (and the first I’ve read). In this one, Colson Quinn spends a lot of time wishing he could divert his sister Caddy from her involvement with an ex-con turned evangelist, Jamey. I was a bit disappointed to experience his largely reactive to the mayhem created by a couple of prison escapees who come to town expecting Jamey to come up with their missing take of an old armored car bank robbery.

Much of the story deals with Jamey trying to start a church in a barn and his and Caddy’s efforts to stand up to the vengeful judgments of town residents over his mysterious role in the death of woman in an alcohol and drug induced haze. The reader never learns enough to draw a conclusion, but we are led to root for his courage and are tempted to believe in the power of redemption and forgiveness. Caddy has a degenerate past she is trying to surmount and is trying to become a good mother for her young child, whose father cannot be identified. Yet they are ineffective to do anything meaningful to foil the bad guys in this tale, no more than the town itself when a massive tornado strikes late in the story.

The bad guys bumble around killing and kidnapping people with little concern about hiding their presence. Atkins tries to give them some trash-talking, humorous flavor in the vein of Elmore Leonard, but the effort didn’t engage me. The corrupt and colorful police chief, Johnny Stagg, plays a major role in this story, but he does not feel very believable to me. Could a bible-thumping town in the South really countenance a policeman who runs a strip club? As Quinn’s permanent nemesis, I suppose we will deal with his downfall on a future date.

I was pleased with the colorful cast of secondary characters that bring some life to the rural community Atkins has created. These include Quinn’s mother Jean, his female chief deputy Lillie, his former army buddy Boon, and the two love interests in Quinn’s life, the town mortician Ophelia and his old high school girlfriend Amelia, now married. I will definitely give Atkins some more chances to find his stride, hungry as I am to find another James Lee Burke or Lee Child.
”

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