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Showing posts with the label Alafair Burke

Books Bulletin

 "The Note" begins with a stranger. Three friends are vacationing in the Hamptons; they have identified a parking space in a crowded area. They wait for the other car to back out. But--suddenly--a third car emerges. The driver of the third car *steals* the parking space. Worse, he seems to smirk at the friends as he walks away. Appalled by this uncivil behavior, the three friends hatch a plan. They will leave a note on the stranger's windshield; the note will say, "He is cheating on you. He always cheats." This will cause turmoil in the stranger's relationship. Don't get mad, get even. Later, on the news, a story interrupts "our normal coverage." A man in the Hamptons is dead--murdered. As the three friends watch, they realize that this corpse is the stranger who stole the parking space. It's clearly important to come forward, share details with the police. But each of the three friends would prefer not to admit to immature behavior. One is...

Thanksgiving Books

 I think Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to be immobile; this year, I can even mention my two tiny children as an excuse for remaining in the house day after day -- after day after day. A monastic Thanksgiving means that you need many pulpy novels (and a few twisty TV shows). In the novel category, I have a few works by Alafair Burke and by Kathleen Kent -- and, in the TV category, I'm considering "Prodigal Son" and "Only Murders in the Building." Back to Alafair Burke...Ms. Burke came to my attention through Laura Lippman and Michael Connelly. Burke's break-out novel, "The Ex," has Penn Station falling prey to a horrible massacre sometime after 9/11. The gunman is a kid -- and it seems that his single dad allowed him to read far-right garbage and to collect ammunition for many years. A big twist: Someone then murders the father of the gunman. Because a Penn Station spouse -- someone who lost a wife in the massacre -- happens to be caught in f...