'The Burgess Boys' by Elizabeth Strout

The Burgess Boys, Elizabeth Strout (2.5)

This book centers around two brothers and their sister and how a tragedy early in their lives influenced their personalities and actions in present day. There are a few things about this book that I didn’t like. Firstly, the main ‘surprise’ seemed rather obvious from the beginning. Secondly, the majority of characters, while having ample time to be fleshed out, still came across as two-dimensional. I do think the story had a timely subject: small towns dealing with the large influx of immigrants. And the author looked at both sides of the issue fairly. Unfortunately, the cartoonish main characters overshadowed some of the more interesting characters (the Somali shop owner, the female minister). I’m surprised this book was a New York Times bestseller, but the author did win a Pulitzer for her other work, ‘Olive Kitteridge’.

'Notorious RBG, The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg' by Irin Carmon & Shana Khiznik

Notorious RBG, The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Irin Carmon & Shana Khizhnik (4.0)

You’ve got to love a book that melds a bigger than life rapper with a stoic and influential Supreme Court justice. Many people are aware that RBG, as she is referred to far too often in this book, has accumulated a cult following among millennials, that she had a close relationship to Antonin Scalia and that she was only the second female justice on SCOTUS. This book brought to life many other things about the justice that were new to me: her accomplishments for women’s rights throughout her career, how thoughtful she was in terms of picking her battles, her ridiculous fitness (she can still do 20 push-ups at 83!) and her wonderful 60 yr relationship with her husband, Marty. I enjoyed reading about her life, both in the court and how she has attempted to find balance (harder once Marty passed away). The form of the book is fun – pictures, tributes and legal writings interspersed with the narrative, all which helped me get through the drier legal bits. I already had a good impression of Justice Ginsburg, but after reading this book I have far more respect for her approach to the law and the other judges.

'Saints of the Shadow Bible' and 'Strip Jack' by Ian Rankin

Saints of the Shadow Bible and Strip Jack, Ian Rankin (3.5)

My friend let me borrow the first book in this review. A few pages in, I realized it was actually the 19^th book (yes, 19^th) in the Inspector Rebus series by Mr. Rankin. Since I had apparently missed so much of the Inspector’s story, I decided to also read an earlier book in the series (due to availability, I went with #4). I’ll start by noting that both books are good detective stories with engaging characters and reasonable plots – not to easy to detect and not too convoluted. The later work is smoother and more interesting, with a better writing flow. It is unique in that it is the second book in which Mr. Rankin has integrated the Internal Affairs hero (Malcolm Fox) from his other book series. An interesting conceit that works very well – a hard drinking, bends the rules detective paired with a teetotaling, erudite IA agent who is paid to follow the rules. Both are likable characters that end up working well together. Though I had to make some assumptions and guesses (why is Rebus no longer an Inspector? What has become of his private life? Was his boss his mentee?), ‘Saints…’ can be read as a stand-alone book and is quite good. Overall I would recommend the Rebus series, though as with all prolific detective stories, they will likely be formulaic. I don’t plan to dip too far back in the series, but I will read a few of the recent ones and definitely pick up the shorter Malcolm Fox series and give it a try!