John's 2024 Fall Challenge

[John]

Hot Apple Cider (13)

H: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
O: The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
T: The Judge's List by John Grisham (Genre: Thriller)

A:
P:
P:
L:
E:

C: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Vanghese
I:
D:
E:
R:

[John]

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
(Letter H in the 2024 Fall Challenge)
★★★★

-Vanessa Chapman is an attractive famous artist who purchases the isolated home wtih a studio on Eris Island to create her sculptures and paintings. The reader learns in the opening chapters that Vanessa has died leaving her oeuvre to a foundation. Her habitually unfaithful husband disappeared 20 years ago.

-Grace Haswell, physian and self-perceived "ugly duckling", is befriended by Vanessa after Grace treats her for an accident. When she became ill Grace lived on Eris full time to take care of Vanessa. She relishes in feeling needed.

-James Becker, curator for and expert in Vanessa Chapman's work, is asked to investigate a recent discovery of a human leg bone in one of Vanessa's sculptures, which brings him to Eris Island to investigate Vanessa's remaining work and detailed journals and letters.

This character study reminds me of some of Agatha Christie's works with its isolated setting, inclement weather, and detailed characters. Although I enjoyed this mystery and psychological thriller, I thought it was more predictable than her debut novel, The Girl on the Train.

[John]

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Vanghese
★★★★★ and ❤

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6772720149.

[John]

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
★★★

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6228701293.

[John]

The Judge's List by John Grisham
★★★★

The Judge's List by John Grisham
★★★★

If you are a fan of John Grisham or legal thrillers, I would recommend this one, the second of the Lacy Stolz series. This legal thriller centers around Lacy Stoltz, a veteran investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. When she receives an anonymous tip about a respected judge who may be involved in a series of unsolved murders, Lacy is drawn into a complex web of revenge.

For my complete review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6762052178.