Fiction Review: A Solitude of Wolverines

I took advantage of the seasonal R.I.P. Challenge and Series September event to finally read a book I have heard wonderful things about: A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson. I first heard about this series on the Book Cougars podcast and bought this first book for my husband. I thoroughly enjoyed this outdoor thrill ride.

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter is attending a wetlands dedication ceremony near Boston when a man comes through the crowd shooting. He is particularly focused on her, since she discovered the bird that cancelled the development slated for the area, which resulted in him losing his job and home. Alex escapes unharmed but deeply shook up. When an old professor calls later that day to ask if she could fill in at the last minute on a wolverine population study in the mountains of Montana, Alex is only too happy to leave the city and get back to the wilderness, where she feels at peace. She's been hired by the land trust that purchased over 20,000 acres of wilderness. It was the site of a ski resort that had its heyday in the 1930's-60's. Now, Alex is staying alone in the spooky old resort (think The Shining kind of vibes) when she's not backpacking through the beautiful mountains and forests on the land. She sets up "traps" with meat to capture photos of the elusive and solitary wolverines, in the hopes of finding some living on the property. From her very first day in Montana, though, Alex experiences both covert and very open hostility and threats. Ranchers, hunters, and trappers are not at all happy about this land being designated as conservation land. Alex meets a few welcoming people nearby and in town (26 miles away), but as the threats and danger ramp up, she is very much on her own on the property, trying to fend off increasingly violent threats and protect the animals on the land.

I thought I'd enjoy this novel because I enjoy most thrillers, and I love the outdoors and nature, but it surpassed even my high expectations. It's an original premise, a thriller with a wildlife biologist at its center, and Henderson is an excellent writer who carries it out beautifully. The thriller is action-packed, right from the very first pages when Alex is shot at to the breath-taking climax. The mystery here is a good, twisty one with surprises that I never saw coming, and the suspense is fast-paced. That gripping story is set against the gorgeous backdrop of the Montana mountains, with plenty of stunning descriptions of the natural world and fascinating information about wolverines, as Alex proceeds with her study. The characters here are fully fleshed out; Alex is a likable three-dimensional character that I came to care about and was rooting for. This outdoor adventure thriller has it all and kept me riveted from beginning to end. I can't wait to read book two, A Blizzard of Polar Bears, which I also bought for my husband last year (see the pattern here?).

309 pages, William Morrow

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Montana

R.I.P. Challenge

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

It's Monday 9/25! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

I am just now back from a 10-day period of three separate trips! It's been a whirlwind, and we're glad to be home, but we had a lot of fun.

Last weekend, we drove to Connecticut to stay with my mother and her husband, help them out, and enjoy their company. And, even though it seemed a little crazy, we left their house about noon on Sunday, drove through NYC traffic, got home at about 4 pm, and turned around and left again! After quickly unpacking, showering, repacking, and having a quick dinner with our son, we hooked up our camper and went to our favorite waterfront campsite at Elk Neck State Park in Maryland, less than an hour from home. It was pouring rain, but by afternoon the next day, the rain ended, and we enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful two-night camping trip. I just love being near the water!

 

Within the park, we walked to the Turkey Point Lighthouse, on the Chesapeake Bay. It rained again on us, but it was still a nice walk with beautiful views.

 

After a relaxing evening and campfire, the next morning we walked down to the little private beach on the Elk River (which feeds into the Chesapeake), very close to our campsite. Then, we packed up and came home to do laundry and clean up. 

Two days later, on Friday morning, we drive to northern New Jersey to a lake house I rented for us and our sons and their girlfriends (one girlfriend had surgery recently so couldn't make it). Friday evening was beautiful, and we crammed in all our outdoor activities: kayaking, enjoying the deck, and having a fire in the firepit. We also saw the most magnificent sunset I've ever seen!

By morning, the rain had started, and Tropical Storm Ophelia sat right on top of the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region for the past three days! But you know what? It didn't matter. We hunkered down in our lovely rental house, played games, ate, talked, and laughed a lot. It was a very relaxing weekend and such a treat to just hang out with our family. My heart feels full. They all left yesterday afternoon, and my husband and I drove home today (through more rain!).

__________

On the Blog

 Movie Monday: Air - We were both very entertained by the all-star cast; clever, funny writing; and '80's setting and soundtrack.

TV Tuesday: Daisy Jones and the Six - I loved the book, and my husband hasn't read it, but we both thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation about a '70's rock band and its damaged lead singers.

Nonfiction Review: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard - my book group was engrossed by this gripping story of President Garfield and his assassination, by a talented author of narrative nonfiction.

__________

On Video

Friday Reads 9-14-23 (The Last Policeman, Countdown City, Destiny of the Republic)

Behind the BookTube Tag - a short video about my YouTube channel: content, subscribers, comments, and future plans

Friday Reads 9-22-23 - my most recent update on what I'm reading

__________

 What We're Reading

I am reading for the R.I.P. Challenge and for Series September this month.

This is a two-week catch-up:

I finished Countdown City by Ben H. Winters, book 2 in his The Last Policeman trilogy. This is a unique mystery series about a (now retired) police detective still working cases even though the end of the world is quickly approaching. A giant asteroid is barreling toward Earth, with no way to stop it. Many people have reacted by "going bucket list" or otherwise running away, but Hank Palace still feels a commitment to police work, even though his city's police department is now run by the Department of Justice, with no investigation work going on. In this novel, his childhood babysitter, Martha, calls him  to ask him to find her missing husband. In a world with so many missing people who have just left their real lives behind, how will Henry possibly find this one man? It's a classic mystery/detective story set against a unique backdrop, and like the first book, this one was excellent. My husband and I will both read the last book of the trilogy.

This weekend, I finished reading A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson, the first book in her wilderness thriller series featuring wildlife biologist Alex Carter. Alex has been living in Boston but is feeling suffocated by the city (and upset by the end of her long-time relationship with her boyfriend). At the opening ceremony for a new wildlife refuge she helped to create, a shooter comes after her and others for stopping the development project slated for the area. So, when her old professor calls to offer her a position conducting a population study of wolverines in northern Montana, she's thrilled, even though she has to jump on a plane that night. She starts to feel better being outdoors on the huge plot of land that used to be a ski resort. But not everyone is happy about the land being protected or about her presence there, and the threats begin almost immediately. The setting and information about wolverines was fascinating, and the action kicks off right from the first pages in this gripping page-turner! I can't wait to read book two, A Blizzard of Polar Bears.

And I just started reading Bang by Lisa McMann, book 2 in her Visions trilogy. I read book 1, Crash, earlier this month. Lisa McMann is an old favorite author of mine (YA series Wake, standalone Cryer's Cross, and middle-grade series The Unwanteds, links to my reviews). This YA paranormal thriller trilogy is another engrossing hit! In the first book, sixteen-year-old Jules was experiencing strange, terrifying visions of a horrific accident where a snow plow hits a restaurant, and the whole place explodes. Her vision--which she saw everywhere--ended with eight body bags in the snow. She had to figure out what was going to happen, and where and when, to try to stop the tragedy before the visions drove her crazy. Now, in book two, someone else Jules knows is seeing different--but equally horrifying--visions, and the two of them are caught up in the same kind of nightmare again. As with McMann's other books, this trilogy is fast-paced, unique, and completely engrossing.

 

On audio, after finishing Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (my review at the link) for my book group last week, I chose Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie, since it fits for both the R.I.P. Challenge and Series September. Luke Fitzwilliam is traveling to visit a friend. He sits near an older woman on the train, who introduces herself as Mrs. Pinkerton and is quite chatty. She tells Luke that she thinks a murderer is at work in her quiet English village of Wychwood. Luke doesn't put much credence in the woman's wild stories of multiple suspicious deaths or her prediction that the local doctor will be next. Soon, though, Luke reads in the newspaper that Wychwood's Dr. Humbleby has died ... and that Mrs. Pinkerton was killed by an automobile in a hit and run. Luke goes to the village to investigate. I'm not very far into it yet, but it's a great set-up for a twisty Christie mystery.

My husband, Ken, got into the spirit of the season and the R.I.P. Challenge by reading The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian (my review at the link), a novel I've been telling him to read for years! He very much enjoyed this creepy story of a sleepwalker who goes missing in a quiet Vermont town. Bohjalian's novels are always a hit!

Ken brought And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (my review at the link), another one I've been telling him he'd like, with him this weekend, but I don't think he read much. He's just read about the set-up, with ten people receiving a strange invitation to spend a weekend on an island. I think this closed-room mystery is one of Christie's best!

I was able to catch up with our son, 29, in person this weekend for a change! He's been busy caring for his girlfriend after her surgery, but he's enjoying the Art of the Adept series by Michael G. Manning. He finished re-reading book 3, Scholar of Magic; book 4, Disciple of War; and is now reading the newest book, #5, The Wizard's Crown.

 __________

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week?

Nonfiction Review: Destiny of the Republic

My neighborhood book group met last week to discuss Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard. I've mostly been reading fiction for the R.I.P. Challenge, but with that subtitle, this nonfiction book fit the darker themes of the challenge! We all very much enjoyed the book and had a lively discussion.

Most people, myself included, know very little about the 20th president of the United State, James A. Garfield, because he was only president for six months in 1881 and spent the last two of that bed-ridden. Here, the author provides a dual narrative, of both the president and his assassin, along with some fascinating history about medicine and inventions of the time. Garfield was a remarkable man who was born into poverty but went on to become well-educated and work in academia. He graduated from law school, worked as an attorney, and was a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Afterward, he represented Ohio in Congress, though he had no intention of running for president until a unanimous vote at the Republican National Convention made him their nominee. Meanwhile, a man named Charles Guiteau was becoming more and more delusional, thinking that he was an important, powerful man who helped get Garfield elected and then getting angry when he wasn't appointed ambassador to France. Madness is definitely the right term for this man who eventually shot Garfield in the back in a Washington train station. Garfield didn't die of the shot, though. He died of horrible infection after a power-hungry, ignorant doctor insisted he be the president's sole caregiver. Alexander Graham Bell even got involved in trying to save the president's life, but Garfield died in September, leaving Chester A. Arthur as the new president.

I knew absolutely nothing about Garfield when I started this book and not only learned a lot but was gripped by the story right from the start. The author weaves together the dual narratives of Garfield and Guiteau, including their early lives, Garfield's rise to the presidency, and some of the key turning points that fed Guiteau's delusions. I was especially riveted by the account of the Republican National Convention in 1880: it took hundreds of votes to come to consensus and ultimately, Garfield was nominated in spite of insisting he didn't want to be (two things that would never happen today!). Along the way, the author also provides fascinating historical details about inventors of the day, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, and Dr. Joseph Lister, who first applied Germ Theory to medicine and discovered ways to prevent infection during and after surgery. All of these various threads eventually come together in a perfect storm that doomed Garfield. I listened to this book, and the audio production was excellent, pulling me right into the story from the first chapter. My book group gave this book an average rating of 8 out of 10, so it was a hit with almost everyone. For another engrossing historical story from Millard, our group also enjoyed River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. 

368 pages, Doubleday

Random House Audio

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Nonfiction Reader Challenge - History category

Literary Escapes Challenge - District of Columbia

R.I.P. Challenge

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (there's also an audio sample at the link).

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 
  

TV Tuesday: Daisy Jones and the Six

Last December, I read Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (my first novel by the popular author), and it surprised me in a good way. So, when the TV adaptation was released this spring, my husband (who had not read the novel) and I watched it together. We both enjoyed the show very much, and it was fun for me to see the characters and music come to life on the screen.

It's the story of a 70's rock band, from it's humble beginnings in Pittsburgh to its skyrocket to fame in California to its sudden, unexplained demise. But it's also the story of its two lead singers who were both passionate, charismatic, damaged people: Billy Dunne and Daisy Jones. As with the novel, the story is told in hindsight, as an oral history of the famed (fictional) band, based on interviews with its members and other people who were involved. So, from the very beginning, you see the band members as they are today, talking about their propulsive rise to rock icons. The whole thing began with Billy Dunne, played by Sam Caflin, and his brother, Graham (played by Will Harrison) pulling together a band in their hometown of Pittsburgh with their friends. Their band was called the Dunne Brothers, and after playing some local and regional venues and slowly growing over the course of six years, they were noticed and invited to record their first album. The band's members had changed a bit over the years, finally comprising Billy as lead singer, Graham on lead guitar, Warren (played by Sebastian Chacon) as the easy-going drummer, Eddie (played by Josh Whitehouse) as the ever-resentful bassist who wanted to be lead guitar, and keyboardist Karen (played by Suki Waterhouse). After moving to L.A. and being renamed The Six, they recorded an album and went out on tour, living the wild rockstar life. Billy, in particular, got out of hand, with excessive drinking, drugs, and women, in spite of his beloved (and pregnant) wife, Camila (played by Camila Morrone), back home. Meanwhile, a young girl who had named herself Daisy Jones (played by Riley Keogh) grew up in that world of rock and roll, first as a groupie, but with dreams of being a star herself. Eventually, their mutual manager, Teddy Price, played by Tom Wright, brought Daisy's raw songwriting and singing talents to The Six, and there was instant chemistry between Billy and Daisy. Billy, though, was reformed by then and fully committed to Camila and their daughter. That passion and tension are at the heart of this band, as Daisy's inclusion takes them from moderately successful to global superstars.

It was really fun to see this novel as a TV series because while I was reading it, I kept wishing I could hear the music, which is at the heart of the story. The casting here is excellent for all of the characters, but Sam Caflin and Riley Keogh as Billy and Daisy really make their larger-than-life roles feel real (Riley is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, so charisma and musical talent run in her family). The show is filled with catchy, original music; the band's full album, Aurora, is brought to life in recording sessions and scenes on stage. The story encompasses both the personal lives of the band members as well as the band's meteoric rise to fame, with spotlights on Billy and Daisy. My husband and I were both fully immersed in this fictional rock band's story and enjoyed going along for the ride.

Daisy Jones and the Six is available on Amazon Prime.

Movie Monday: Air

Last weekend, we decided to watch a movie, and I suggested Air. My husband said, "I really don't have any interest in a movie about sneakers." I told him I didn't either, but I'd heard it was a good movie. So, we popped some popcorn and watched it! We both enjoyed this entertaining movie with an all-star cast very much.

Air is based on the true story of how the concept behind Air Jordans revolutionized the athletic shoe industry and changed Nike from being last among its competitors in basketball shoes to the undisputed leader (not to mention earning many millions of dollars). In 1984, Rob Strasser, played by Jason Bateman, is working in marketing in the lagging basketball division of Nike. Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, works in a unique position in the group, as a talent scout, going to high school and college games around the country, looking for upcoming new talent to convince them to wear Nikes on the court. Nike is losing this race, though, with most pro basketball players wearing Converse or Adidas shoes. Then Sonny spots a young Michael Jordan and sees something special in him, something that no one else has noticed yet. The basketball team at Nike usually chooses three or four players to sponsor, but Sonny goes to Nike CEO, Phil Knight, played by Ben Affleck, and convinces him to spend their entire budget on this one young, inexperienced player. When Jordan's agent won't work with him, Sonny goes right to the center of power: Michael's mom, played by Viola Davis. Sonny shows up at their house and talks with Michael and his parents, just asking them to hear him out. They agree to come into Nike to hear their pitch (over the complaints of a very angry agent!). Now Nike needs something spectacular to lure the Jordans to Nike. Sonny comes up with the wholly new idea of designing a shoe around Michael Jordan and works with shoe designer Peter Moore, played by Mathew Mayer, to make it happen. The rest is sports and pop culture history!

In case I wasn't clear up front, I have absolutely no interest in televised sports, basketball, sports icons, or athletic shoes. But I loved this movie. That top-notch cast is paired with great writers (and the incredible true story) to create an engrossing, gripping drama. In spite of not really caring about the subject matter, my husband and I were both rooting for the team at Nike and got caught up in the excitement of their ground-breaking approach. Sonny, with his enthusiasm and vision, is an especially likable character. And the nostalgia here is wonderful! The 80's clothes, cars, TV ads, and setting are backed up by an awesome 1984 soundtrack. We were thoroughly entertained by this compelling movie.

Air is now streaming, available on Amazon Prime.

It's Monday 9/11! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Last week was pretty hectic here, just packed full of medical appointments for me (nothing unusual--just everything scheduled at once).  So, I didn't do a whole lot of fun stuff, though I managed some short walks. This weekend, we went out for breakfast Saturday (a rare treat because of my immune issues) and had takeout dinner with good friends in the evening. There's nothing like old friends to lift your spirits!

It looks like fall, but it was 95 degrees that day!

I waited so long for September, and last week, it was high 90's and humid all week! We got big storms all weekend, and it's still raining, so it should finally be cooler and drier after this.

 

Stormy skies this weekend

We have a LOT going on in the coming weeks: visiting my mom this weekend, coming home Sunday and immediately leaving on a 2-day local camping trip (squeezing it in to enjoy the nice weather), then a lake house we reserved next weekend for us and our sons and their girlfriends, then friends visiting from Australia, and our 34th anniversary at the end of the month. Whew. It will be busy but with plenty of fun.

__________

On the Blog

 Fiction Review: Afterland by Lauren Beukes - fast-paced, gripping sci fi thriller about a mother and son on the run 

2023 Big Book Summer Wrap-Up - a record #BigBookSummer for me and for the overall challenge! 60 participants, a giveaway winner, and my own list of Big Books finished, in print and on audio.

__________

On Video

Big Book Summer Challenge 2023 Wrap-Up - the video version! I recap both the entire challenge and also my own Big Book Summer, with a quick overview of each book. 

Friday Reads 9-7-23 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to

__________

 What We're Reading

 

With Big Book Summer behind me, I turned my attention to the R.I.P. Challenge #RIPxix, to read darker books in fall. After all those 400+ page books this summer, I started with a quick read, Crash by Lisa McMann. She's an old favorite author of mine (YA series Wake, standalone Cryer's Cross, and middle-grade series The Unwanteds, links to my reviews). This YA paranormal thriller is another engrossing hit! Sixteen-year-old Jules is experiencing strange, terrifying visions of a horrific accident where a snow plow hits a restaurant, and the whole place explodes. Her vision--which she's seeing everywhere--ends with eight body bags in the snow. She's worried it's some sort of premonition, but the hitch is that the restaurant in her vision is owned by her family's nemesis. They both run competing Italian restaurants, and there's some sort of family feud going back generations. How can Jules warn them? And who would believe her? As always, McMann has created real-feeling characters, dealing with some serious issues (depression, suicide), while negotiating weird paranormal phenomenon. It was gripping, and I have book two in my R.I.P. stack for fall.

Now, I am reading Countdown City by Ben H. Winters, book 2 in his The Last Policeman trilogy. This is a unique mystery series about a (now retired) police detective still working cases even though the end of the world is quickly approaching. A giant asteroid is barreling toward Earth, with no way to stop it. Many people have reacted by "going bucket list" or otherwise running away, but Hank Palace still feels a commitment to police work, even though his city's police department is now run by the Department of Justice, with no investigation work going on. In this novel, his childhood babysitter, Martha, calls him out of the blue to ask him to find her missing husband. In a world with so many missing people who have just left their real lives behind, how will Henry possibly find this one man? It's a classic mystery/detective story with a big twist.

On audio, I had to take a break from my R.I.P. books to listen to a book for my neighborhood book group, but it sort of fits the theme! I'm listening to Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (which won an Edgar award, so that definitely counts for R.I.P.). This is a nonfiction book by an award-winning writer. My book group previously read--and loved--her book River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey (and my husband enjoyed it, too). This book is about President Garfield, of whom I knew absolutely nothing! It's a fascinating book, with dual narratives of both him and the man who assassinated him. It turns out Garfield was a pretty great guy (and President). The historical details are really interesting here as well.

My husband, Ken, is reading Open Season by Archer Mayor, book one in the Joe Gunther series, a mystery series set in Vermont. He's enjoying it so far.

 

Our son, 29, recently lost his job and was pretty upset, so he's immersed himself in some favorite series as he restarts his job search. After finishing Arcanist, book 12 in the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour, he flew through book 13, Footwizard, book 14, Hedgewitch, and book 15, Marshal Arcane. Now, he is rereading an old favorite series, Art of the Adept of Michael G. Manning because Manning just released a spin-off series! So far, he's reread book 1, The Choice of Magic; book 2, Secrets and Spellcraft; and is currently reading book 3, Scholar of Magic. I'm glad some favorite authors/series are providing him with comfort and fun during a difficult time.

 __________

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week?