mysteries, thrillers, and horror...oh my

A big THANK YOU shout out to the fine folks at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest for hosting and feeding us this morning!  The next RART meeting will be on Wednesday, December 9th at 9am at the Hoover Library for a discussion of nonfiction in the very broad topics of history, biographies, and social issues.  Today we met to scare ourselves with mysteries, thrillers, and horror novels.  A spooky time was had by all!

In attendance:
Holley, EOL
Terri, VH
Mary Anne, Central SH
David, Central Fic
Kelly, SR
Samuel, SR
Jon, AV

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Eight year old Merry Barrett is *pretty* sure her sister Marjorie is faking it but as the doctors are unable to halt or even slow Marjorie’s descent into madness and her father begins to talk about devils and demons, contacting a local Catholic priest for help, Merry becomes unsure.  Adding to the chaos, her financially strapped parents agree to be filmed for The Possession, a hit reality tv show.  From there, things become increasingly confusing, scary, and dangerous for Merry and her family.  As a writer interviews a grown up Merry about those long ago events, it’s difficult for Merry and the reader to distinguish between reality and reality television.  Goosebumps abound!  Content alert: cursing, sexual violence, terror
Holley, Emmet O’Neal

The Voices by F. R. Tallis

The summer of 1976 is the hottest on record when Christopher Norton , his wife Laura, and their infant daughter Faye settle into their new (to them) Victorian fixer upper.  They’ve sunk all their cash into making this their home but the edges of life quickly begin to fray.  It begins with the baby monitor: the flat crackle of silence broken first by a knocking sound.  Then come the voices.  Laura is terrified, but Christopher is intrigued.  A composer of film soundtracks by trade, he soon abandons his work for the project of a lifetime – a symphony incorporating the voices he records late at night.  Laura begins having nightmares about a shadowy room full of bloody instruments of torture resounding with the cries of her own child and begs Christopher to stop his project.  Of course he doesn’t, and the voices are free now and demand to be heard.  Content alert: sexual situations, violence

GENERAL DISCUSSION: (from the website) “Movie Morlocks isthe official blog for Turner Classic Movies. No topic is too obscure or niche to be excluded from our film discussions.”  There have been several intriguing posts about horror movies this month.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

“But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser.”

---Sherlock Holmes in “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Doyle quotation above kept occurring to me as I listened to The Little Stranger.  The idea of what can happen in isolated locales is a motif of literary forms from the “cozy” mystery to the nightmarish horror novel. Stranger is somewhere in between: if you imagine a haunted house novel written by Rosamund Pilcher you’ll have a pretty good idea of the atmosphere.

The protagonist and point of view character is Doctor Faraday, who from his youth has been fascinated by Hundreds Hall, an estate in the English countryside where his mother worked as one of the maids. When he is an adult with his own medical practice in the area, he is called in by the family to treat the minor illness of one of the young housemaids; from there, his friendship with the family takes off until he is practically one of them. But peculiar things begin to happen at Hundreds. The friendly family dog savages a child during a house party. The son, who was injured in World War II and still suffering somewhat from PTSD, begins to have terrifying hallucinations—are they hallucinations?—and has to be committed to a mental institution. There are strange noises: sounds of breathing over the old pneumatic speaking tube that was once used for summoning servants from downstairs, mysterious flutterings as if a bird were trapped in one of the chimneys. Dark, smoky markings appear at random on the walls. As tensions mount and incidents increase, changing from peculiar or mysterious to destructive and terrifying, Doctor Faraday watches in dismay, wondering how . . . or if . . . he can assist the family.

Choosing the audio version of this novel was a good decision for me. Simon Vance is an excellent reader and his perfect “received pronunciation” voice and diction were a perfect fit for a novel set in the English countryside. He manages all the character voices well, male and female, but he was especially effective in conveying the pathos and helplessness of Doctor Faraday as he is caught up in the fate of Hundreds Hall. Listening to the audio also made it impossible for me to skim over any parts of the novel that I might have wanted to skip, and kept me from turning to the end—and this is one of those books where nothing is certain until the very last page. So if you’d like a change from “house that dripped blood because of the mad slasher” novels and would prefer something more quietly creepy, try The Little Stranger.

Mary Anne, Central-Southern History

Song of Kali by Dan Simmons

In the world of scary plots, it seems that every once in a while someone should listen when they’re warned away from a certain person, place, or thing. Don’t speak to him—don’t go there—don’t touch that. But horror novels are full of people who can’t take this advice, and the protagonist of Song of Kali is no exception. Robert Luczak, a writer for Harper’s magazine, accepts an assignment to travel to Calcutta, India, in hopes of locating an Indian poet who has been missing and believed dead for several years. His former boss warns him away from Calcutta in the strongest possible terms, but Bobby, in the great tradition of protagonists who don’t listen, goes to Calcutta, taking along his wife and baby daughter. What develops from there is an extremely tense novel that was not exactly the nail-biting terror-fest the reviews had led me to believe, but was disturbing in that quiet way that makes you keep thinking about it long after you’ve finished. I had listened to audio versions of some of Simmons’ longer novels (Hyperion and The Terror) and I was curious to see if he could bring the unease in a shorter novel. He does not disappoint; from the moment I learned that one of the earlier names for Calcutta was Kaliksetra—“the place of Kali”—I knew that Bobby Luczak was in for a world of trouble and should have stayed at home. If you’re planning a vacation in Calcutta you might want to read Song of Kali first so you can be the protagonist who actually listens to good advice.

Mary Anne, Central-Southern History

The Terror by Dan Simmons

(powells) The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape. A haunting, gripping story based on actual historical events, The Terror is a novel that will chill you to your core.
Jon, Avondale

GENERAL DISCUSSION:

-history.com, “Ship From Doomed Arctic Expedition Found After 170 Years”

-ottawacitizen.com, “Franklin ship discovery solves ‘one of Canada’s great mysteries’”

-cbc.ca, “Franklin shipwreck divers offer video tour of HMS Erebus”

The Cut by George Pelecanos

(powells) Since he got home from Iraq, Spero Lucas has carved out a good life for himself, enjoying his youth and his independence, and making a name as the kind of person who gets jobs done quietly and effectively, usually just on the right side of the law. A quick case for a criminal defense attorney leads him into the world of a high-profile marijuana dealer, currently in prison but with a long reach, who wants to find out who's been stealing from his dealers. Soon Lucas uncovers a tangle of connections that lead dangerously close to some people in high places — and to Lucas's own family.
Jon, Avondale

Epitaph: A Novel of the OK Corral by Mary Doria Russell

(powells) Mary Doria Russell has unearthed the Homeric tragedy buried beneath 130 years of mythology, misrepresentation, and sheer indifference to fact. Epic and intimate, Epitaph gives voice to the real men and women whose lives were changed forever by those fatal thirty seconds in Tombstone. At its heart is the woman behind the myth: Josephine Sarah Marcus, who loved Wyatt Earp for almost half a century and who carefully chipped away at the truth until she had crafted the heroic legend that would become the epitaph she believed her husband deserved.
Jon, Avondale

Notes From the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone

(powells) When the Internet suddenly stops working, society reels from the loss of flowing data and streaming entertainment. Addicts wander the streets talking to themselves in 140 characters or forcing cats to perform tricks for their amusement, while the truly desperate pin their requests for casual encounters on public bulletin boards. The economy tumbles and the government passes the draconian NET Recovery Act.

For Gladstone, the Nets disappearance comes particularly hard, following the loss of his wife, leaving his flask of Jamesons and grandfathers fedora as the only comforts in his Brooklyn apartment. But there are rumors that someone in New York is still online. Someone set apart from this new world where Facebook flirters "poke" each other in real life and members of Anonymous trade memes at secret parties. Where a former librarian can sell information as a human search engine and the perverted fulfill their secret fetishes at the blossoming Rule 34 club. With the help of his friends---a blogger and a webcam girl, both now out of work---Gladstone sets off to find the Internet. But is he the right man to save humanity from this Apocalypse?

For those of you wondering if you have WiFi right now, Wayne Gladstone's Notes from the Internet Apocalypse examines the question "What is life without the Web?"
Samuel, Springville Road

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

(powells) NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it's across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing — and terrifying — playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble — and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx's unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. Hes on the road again and he's picked up a new passenger: Vic's own son.
Samuel, Springville Road

This Green Hell by Greig Beck (#3 in the Arcadian Genesis series)

(powells) Deep in the steaming jungles of Paraguay, Aimee Weir is in trouble. The petrobiologist has found what she was looking for, a unique microorganism in a natural gas deposit, but it proves to be more destructive than anyone could have imagined. A contagion is striking down all in its wake. The camp is quarantined, but workers start to vanish in the night. Alex Hunter, code name Arcadian, and his Hotzone All-Forces Warfare Commandos must be dropped in to the disaster area to do whatever it takes to stem the outbreak. It has been a year since Aimee has seen Alex; she thought she had left him for good. Now she needs him more than ever. But can he survive long enough to confront the danger that threatens the very survival of mankind?

Samuel, Springville Road

Death of a Pirate King by Josh Lanyon (#4 in the Adrien English series)

(joshlanyon.com) Gay bookseller and reluctant amateur sleuth Adrien English's writing career is suddenly taking off. His first novel, Murder Will Out, has been optioned by notorious Hollywood actor Paul Kane. When murder makes an appearance at a movie studio dinner party, who should be called in but Adrien's former lover, handsome closeted detective Jake Riordan now a Lieutenant with LAPD.  This may just drive Adrien's new boyfriend, sexy UCLA professor Guy Snowden, to commit a murder of his own.
Samuel, Springville Road

Mile 81 by Stephen King

Well, you expect “creepy as all hell” from King, and he doesn’t disappoint with this simple little tale of a young lad being where he’s not supposed to be and a strange vehicle that gobbles Good Samaritans like cheese puffs.    Combine a young boy who’s been told he’s not old enough to tag along with his brother’s ‘gang’,  a derelict highway food strip just itching to be daringly explored, and an old, muddy car that pulls into the breakdown lane with King’s evil genius and you’ve got  the makings for a bloody disaster and an unlikely set of heroes.  This is a good read for when you aren’t planning a road trip where you might have to stop at abandoned rest areas in the foreseeable future. 
Kelly, Springville Road

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

Vampires are unliving in the tunnels beneath Manhattan in the 1970’s, and they have a pretty tight confederation, ruled by the autocratic Irishwoman, Margaret.  Her one-time victim Joey Peacock, whom she turned several decades before when he was 14, is now her ally.   One of Margaret’s rules is that the group is to “fly under the radar” and avoid conflict with the living; therefore they seldom kill their victims.  Another rule is absolute intolerance of anything that threatens the group.  

One night, Joey happens upon a bunch of little undead kids.   They’re using vampiric charm on a father-looking fellow, who unwisely follows them off the train.   They don’t seem to understand that leaving dead, drained bodies around and calling attention to themselves is a bad thing, and Joey assumes they just need to learn the ropes.    He tries to intercede and to convince the other vampires that they should be adopted and brought up in the way they should go, but things go seriously wrong in his plan.
Kelly, Springville Road

The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz (#4 in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series)

(powells) She is the girl with the dragon tattoo — a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.

Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker — a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it...

The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl WhoKicked the Hornet's Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller.
David, Central-Fiction

GENERAL DISCUSSION: David created a blog post, complete withpictures from his trip to Stockholm of some of the Millennium series actionlocations from the books, on the Birmingham Public Library’s blog.

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman

(amazon) In this stunning new novel, the acclaimed author of The Plum Tree merges the past and present into a haunting story about the nature of love and loyalty--and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.

Ten years ago, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother's apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at the local museum, have enlisted Izzy's help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades-old journal, and a window into her own past.

Clara Cartwright, eighteen years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara's father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care--and Clara is committed to the public asylum.

Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara's story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother's violent act? Piecing together Clara's fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices--with shocking and unexpected results.

Illuminating and provocative, What She Left Behind is a masterful novel about the yearning to belong--and the mysteries that can belie even the most ordinary life.
Terri, Vestavia

Live Bait by Cameron Pierce

Live Bait is a novella about the strangest apocalypse I have ever read about. I quite enjoyed it but I may never go fishing again, and I certainly will never go fishing with a drunk or while drunk or with a crazy person.
Mondretta, Leeds

GENERAL DISCUSSION: We all agreed that is best to follow up scary and disturbing with a chaser of funny.  Here are some nonfiction books that deal with weighty topics with just the right touch of humor while still being respectful of the subject.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess)

(powells) When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it.

In the irreverent Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson's long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments — the ones we want to pretend never happened — are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives.

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

(powells) In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson baffled readers with stories about growing up the daughter of a taxidermist. In her new book, Furiously Happy, Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

According to Jenny: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos."

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. Furiously Happy is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways — and who doesn't need a bit more of that?

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir by Roz Chast

(powells) In her first memoir, Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears, Chast's memoir is both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents.

When it came to her elderly mother and father, Roz held to the practices of denial, avoidance, and distraction. But when Elizabeth Chast climbed a ladder to locate an old souvenir from the “crazy closet” — with predictable results — the tools that had served Roz well through her parents seventies, eighties, and into their early nineties could no longer be deployed.

While the particulars are Chast-ian in their idiosyncrasies — an anxious father who had relied heavily on his wife for stability as he slipped into dementia and a former assistant principal mother whose overbearing personality had sidelined Roz for decades — the themes are universal: adult children accepting a parental role; aging and unstable parents leaving a family home for an institution; dealing with uncomfortable physical intimacies; managing logistics; and hiring strangers to provide the most personal care.

An amazing portrait of two lives at their end and an only child coping as best she can, Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant will show the full range of Roz Chast's talent as cartoonist and storyteller.