End of Story

End of Story (2006) by Peter Abrahams. Ivy Seidel dreams of becoming a writer. Low on money, she takes a job teaching creative writing -- at a maximum security prison. She soon develops an affinity for a prisoner who, she suspects, is not guilty of the crime he was jailed for. As she begins doing research in an attempt to prove him innocent, her own life spins gradually out of control. Grade: B+

Christine Falls

Christine Falls (2006) by Benjamin Black. Quirke, a Dublin pathologist, catches a colleague altering the death record of a woman who died in childbirth. Slowly, without police powers, he uncovers a decades-long conspiracy with links to Boston. Along the way he steps on the wrong toes and is badly beaten. A good read. Grade: B+

We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2003) by Lionel Shriver. Kevin is a monster, which is what makes this a tale of horror. Written by his mother, Eva, from the first person point of view, the book tells the story of how Kevin grows from a troublesome infant into a mass murderer by the age of 16. It starts off a little slowly, but by the end it reaches a horrifying momentum that makes it can't-put-it-down reading. Grade: A-

Team of Rivals

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005) by Doris Kearns Goodwin. After being elected as president, Lincoln did a remarkable thing: He named his chief rivals for the nomination to his cabinet. Though all at first resented him, most came around to respecting and loving him as the great commander-in-chief that he was. As history, as biography, as political analysis, this book ranks among the best I have read. Grade: A