5 star books of 2016

I was hard pressed, especially at the beginning of the year, to find books that I enjoyed. I think some of these books received 5 stars just because I was thrilled to find a book I really liked. My favorite mystery was A Great Reckoning.

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton - a Japanese woman opens her door to a strange man claiming to be her grandson. But she knows he and her daughter were killed when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Told using narrative, journal excerpts, and letters, the story slowly unfolds.

No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd - 1920, four young women are accused of trying to drown a young man from their rowboat. They claim they were trying to rescue him. Inspector Rutledge is called to the case when the original inspector drops dead on his first day. There are only the conflicting stories of the one witness and the women. Thankfully, Hamish, the soldier ghost who haunts the mind of Rutledge is not heard from very much. I always like to see how Rutledge investigates his cases. I enjoyed this very much. Maybe not a total 5 but close enough.

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon - Alex is an alcoholic leading a very carefully constructed life so she can function as a freelance journalist. While interviewing a doctor about his work with comatose patients, she learns about Amy, the victim of a vicious attack fifteen years prior. She becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. Told from various viewpoints including Amy's. I read this straight through.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson - just what the title says, told in a very engaging style. The chapters switch between the journey of the ship and the journey of the u-boat that sank her. Even though I knew what would happen a feeling of dread built up. There are also chapters about President Wilson and a secret British intelligence group.

Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz - Bibi Blair has just been told she has incurable cancer. After a strange experience in the night, she finds she has been cured. Why? She comes to believe it is to save Ashley Bell. But who is Ashley Bell and where is she? Who are the strange people after her? And what are the memories she can't remember? I got sucked into this right away and then two thirds in there was a twist that made me wish I could read faster. I've never read Dean Koontz because I've always thought of him as an author of the supernatural and horror. Although this has a touch of that, I prefer to think of it as suspense and fantasy. This is one you'll either love or hate. 560 pages that flew by.

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny - the 12th Armand Gamache book and the author is still going strong. The books starts with little tidbits of hints of what's to come and just keeps building. Gamache has come out of retirement to become head of the Surete police academy. The corruption he's been fighting has settled even here and he plans to dig it out. But a murder may lay those plans to rest. There's also an old found map, sullen cadets and a mysterious girl woven in.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - Jason Dessen lives a happy but somewhat bland life. Walking home from a bar one night he is kidnapped and knocked unconscious. When he comes to it's to a life he doesn't know. He's in a lab being congratulated for a successful experiment. But his wife is not married to him and his son doesn't exist. Which reality is real? This was a great, fast read. (You must be willing to suspend disbelief in order to really enjoy this.)