Jan 31, 2015

Two Different Reads: Tahoe Blowup by Todd Borg and What Maisie Knew by Henry James

What I've been reading: a thriller and a novel of manners and psychology.

Tahoe Blowup (Owen McKenna #2) by Todd Borg, published September 1, 2001 by Thriller Press. A thriller set in Tahoe - from it I learned a lot about preventing and causing forest fires, besides arson, and the controversy over controlled or non controlled burning. I also learned about rescue dogs, the anthropomorphic qualities attributed to them that may not be so anthropomorphic after all. Dogs do have emotions similar to ours. A good thriller, the second in the series, the books only get better as they progress. There are now about 12 or so.

What Maisie Knew by Henry James, a free ebook on Kindle. I recently witnessed a divorce case and the effects on children, so this novel about a young girl being used as a pawn between two disagreeing parents was particularly interesting to me. Daisy is bandied back and forth not only by her separated and then divorced parents but later on by her stepparents as well. She comes out of it okay, had to pretend sometimes to be more obtuse then she really was, and in the process learns a lot just by observing the behavior of the adults around her. James is a master in the psychological novel. I discovered him later in life (after college, that is) and am a great fan of his.

What books have you finished this week?

3 comments:

  1. Both of these sound good, Harvee. I enjoyed your mini reviews.

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  2. I have not yet read anything by Henry James but I want to sooner rather then later.

    I too love psychological studies in the form of fiction. Some of these great novelists were so good at getting into people's heads.

    The plot of this one also sounds so very interesting,

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  3. What Maisey Knew is appealing to me too. Going to see if it's still free and grab a copy.

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