Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly #19

 This is a Bosch story. Harry is working a cold case dealing with a serial rapist, nick named the ‘Screen Cutter.” At the same time, he is tasked to find an heir to a billionaire who is close to death and hopes to leave his fortune to a child he has never met.

As with all Harry Bosch stories, the details make the case. I listened to the audio version and having Titus Welliver, the star of the television series made the story so much more engaging. Can’t wait to find more stories.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

 After discovering Kristin Hannah, I immediately went in search for another of her stories and was not disappointed.

This story deals with a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from PTSD. In an attempt to ease his stress and mistrust of society, his family agrees to move to Alaska once an army buddy wills them a parcel of land.

The family moves but finds they are lacking in so many ways. For those who have not lived in the wilderness, the family must learn quickly to ready themselves for the long, dark winter. They find a community ready to lend a helping hand, but nothing can prepare them for the isolation and the long winter nights. Both mother and daughter must learn to deal with the explosive and violent actions of the veteran in a land that gives no second chances.

The story explores the dark areas of families, choices, and consequences while at the same time explores hope, love, and family. An exceptional story!

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

 I had been hearing a lot about this author and her latest novel, so decided to give it a try. She has found an ardent fan.

The story deals with the dust storms of the Texas panhandle during the depression and the fight for fair wages in California. It follows Elsa, who is unloved and unmarried at age 25. When she has a fast affair with a local farmer, Rafe Martinelli, she is left pregnant and expelled by her family. The Martinelli’s take her in and together fight against the land, weather, and depression of the 1930s. Eventually, Elsa must leave Texas for the bountiful of California, but she and her family find themselves despised and treated as less than human as they struggle against the greed of the cotton growers.

I was transported to another world, one only glimpsed at through dry history books. The author brought this era alive to the point. I felt the constant need to drink water during the dust storms of 1929. This is a story of human resilience, equality, fairness against the forces of nature, the struggle of the classes and the greed of some people.

I listened to the audio version of this story and the narrator helped to bring this story to life. The emotion she expressed in the reading pulled at your heart. I am already reaching for Ms. Hannah’s other novel, The Great Alone, also narrated by Julia Whelan.

Naida by Scott Overton

 Imagine if you not only saw an extraterrestrial being, but it became part of you. In Naida, the author poses that question in a realistic and thought-provoking manner. Discovered in a remote lake, Michael is both fascinated and terrified of what is now part of him. The two individuals must learn the ways of each other to survive and the fate of the human race hangs in the balance.

The story creates an intriguing suggestion that we might not be all that different to other species that might exist elsewhere in the universe. Friend or foe, destructor, or savior. Can humanity keep an open mind or will our own base character of violence and that of the imagination of Hollywood influence it?

This story was a fantastic page turner as we did deep into these complicated, yet normal feelings when we ask ourselves, “What is really out there?”