The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan 401 pages

Yikes.  If you don't like horror, don't read this book!  I got almost halfway through it several years ago and had to stop because it was giving me nightmares.  No joke.  It was really good, though, so I wanted to finish it and finally made the effort.  I only read it at lunch, at work.  It was still very unsettling.  This is not your average vampire novel.  It is desperate and terrifying and the vampires are not even remotely sexy, so forget that nonsense.  I'm pretty proud of myself for making it all the way through, but I don't know how soon I'll be able to tackle the sequels!  I highly recommend this to people who love to not be able to sleep at night.

Prisoner's Base by Rex Stout 209 pages

Listening to Michael Prichard read Nero Wolfe mysteries is like putting on my favorite comfy pants and curling up with a nice cup of tea or glass of wine, depending...  It is one of my greatest pleasures.  This story was a doozy!  A young woman comes to the home of Nero Wolfe and says she wants room and board for one week.  She refuses to give her name or any other information.  If she had arrived any other day, Archie would have turned her away without question, but she has caught him in a mood to needle his rotund employer.  After several other events that evening, Wolfe does turn her out.  Unfortunately, she turns up dead the next morning, which wakens a feeling of remorse and responsibility in Archie Goodwin.  He undertakes to find her killer and ultimately becomes Wolfe's client himself.  This was a great story...as they all are.  I enjoyed it immensely.  If you want to listen to a Wolfe myster, make sure you are listening to Prichard, he does it superbly!

The Hollow Girl by Reed Farrel Coleman 303 pages

Moe Prager an unlikely hero to say the least. Widower, grandfather, stomach cancer survivor, living in a bottle. Although to be fair, his fiancé was just killed in a tragic accident and he did lose his first wife to murder. Not an easy life for anyone. But then an old could have been girlfriend had other things not intervened resurfaces to ask his help in locating her missing daughter and Moe, ex-policeman and sometimes PI lays the bottle aside—sort of— delves into the case, and finds that nothing is at it appears.

The Hollow Girl is the ninth book in the Moe Prager series and the first one I’ve read. I will read the others because Moe is a very real, humble and likeable character; you can’t help but root for him. He never forgets where he’s been and he doesn’t take crap from anyone. He doesn’t quit—although he does take a few detours—until he gets his man. I was highly entertained.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, 384 pages

Alice Hoffman is an author I've always intended to read, but never had so "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" is my first Alice Hoffman book.

The story is primarily set in 1911 in New York City and Coney Island and is a gritty tale of life for the not rich or famous. The two main characters are Coralie Sardie, a young woman with a birth defect that her father exploits and Ezekial "Eddie" Cohen, a Ukranian immigrant who has left the Jewish community he grew up in. Coralie's father owns the Museum of Extraordinary Things, a small museum on Coney Island.

Not surprisingly, Coralie and Eddie's stories intersect. There are some real events that are depicted in the novel, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Dreamland fire on Coney Island. Alice Hoffman is an excellent writer, but I found myself thinking, "I am going to be very disappointed if this ends badly for Coralie and Eddie." Don't worry, it doesn't, but it takes a good while and plenty of sorrow to get there.

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart 331 pages

This book takes place in the near future. America is at war, deeply in debt to China, the National Guard is on every corner and people are rioting in Central Park. Privacy doesn’t exist. Everyone carries an äppärät, a smart phone like device that streams personal info to anyone who wants to know, rates your health, sex appeal—even your performance as a lover—credit rating and so on. All you have to do is point it at someone. Youth is worshipped, everyone is obsessed with death. Enter 39 year old Lenny, out of shape, balding and unattractive who after a semi one night stand—a lot of alcohol was involved—falls madly and instantly in love with 24 year old Eunice. Both are born of immigrant families, both have serious family issues and suffer from a lack of self-esteem. Lenny convinces her to move in with him.

This was a must read because it was a book club selection. Only one member showed up and I have no doubt it was because of the book choice (minus the four members who are out of town). And that’s too bad. Because after several starts and put downs, I eventually got to the place where I read it in one sitting. And it is sad. But more than that it’s scary. Because the scenario presented doesn’t feel impossible. Indeed it feels like we’re on our way already.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Even though only one member attended we had a rousing hour long discussion. And like me she also picked up then put down the book several times before she eventually read it.