Five hot new books to read this month
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January 2014 book reviews
Battle scars
In 1917, Angus discovers his brother-in-law is missing in the trenches of France. Unable to bear his wife’s sorrow at the prospect of losing her brother, the gentle Nova Scotia fisherman enlists in order to try to find him. Expecting to serve as a cartographer from the safety of London, he’s instead thrust onto the front lines as an officer, watching his men die pointlessly and falling into despair. Back home, his wife and son struggle with running the family business in a time of privation and conflict in their own village. P.S. Duffy deftly navigates the grim reality of war with fully realized characters and illuminating details of fishing life and trench warfare. —Kristene Quan
The Cartographer of No Man's Land, P. S. Duffy, $22.
Life classes
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage is a new anthology from award-winning novelist Ann Patchett. Twenty-two personal essays and non-fiction stories previously found in the likes of Vogue and the Wall Street Journal are structured so that they chronicle Patchett’s life and increasingly reveal her character. In her reflections on her relationships and experiences (such as the time she tried out for the LAPD), Patchett shares valuable life lessons. For the aspiring writer, there are wonderful tidbits about Patchett’s process, including how she used to have to win a game of solitaire whenever she sat down to write. — Dominique Lamberton
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett, $20.
Little saint
Set in the Anglo-Saxon territories that eventually became Britain, this richly detailed novel is pre-pre-pre-Tudors, but it’s a must for fans of courtly intrigue. Hild is a little girl with an uncanny gift for observation. She is destined to become a saint who will help convert England to Christianity. In this evocative, imaginative read, Nicola Griffith narrows the focus to Hild’s early life as a king’s seer and, intriguingly, depicts how women helped shape kingdoms. — Stacy Lee Kong
A dark deed
In this chilling ghost story, it seems at first as though Will Bellman has been blessed. His talent and fortune are boundless — until everyone around him begins to die, including the people he loves most. Does it have anything to do with a split-second decision he made as a young boy, when he killed a black rook with a slingshot? Bellman is pursued by a mysterious stranger in black whom he eventually meets at the fresh grave of his dead wife, where he’s presented with a disturbing proposition. — Janet Ho
Bellman & Black, Diane Setterfield, $25.
Witch hunt
After a gruesome murder rocks a quiet English town to its core, troubled teen Corrine Reeves is charged with practising witchcraft — and committing the crime. Twenty years later, DNA evidence reveals she may not have acted alone. Private investigator Sean Ward sets out to dig up the truth, and what he uncovers may change the town forever. A chilling read from the queen of noir, Cathi Unsworth. — Lora Grady
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