Timely Book Recommendations

Today is National Book Lover’s Day! Incidentally, it is totally a coincidence that I have a couple books to share with you. With all that’s going on this way, I haven’t really planned that much ahead. I recently finished two books that I really enjoyed and wanted to share with the other book lovers who follow my blog and often recommend books to me.

Nine Lives – Peter Swanson

Nine Lives is the second book I have read by Peter Swanson. The First was Eight Perfect Murders. I wrote about that one here:

Book Recommendation – Eight Perfect Murders By Peter Swanson

I really enjoyed this book. Much like Eight Perfect Murders, the basic idea is what interested me. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor.

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next….

The book itself was actually very good. I want to say so much about the story, but every thing I want to mention would be a spoiler, so I will just leave you with the above synopsis and hope that it peaked your interest as much as it did mine.

No Rest For The Dead – Various Authors

This book is one I got for one reason and one reason only – the amount of authors involved. Take a look at the cover. There are some really big authors involved in this book. Each wrote a chapter or two for the story.

Before I even opened it, I wondered just how this would flow. Then I began to wonder if they all got together in a room to decide the story line and who would write what. I mean, really, it is hard to write one entire book, but at least if you are in total control of it – you know where you are going with it. Did they write the ending first? Did each author read the pervious one’s chapter and write from there? I still don’t know.

What I can tell you was that it flowed pretty well. I never got the sense that a different author was writing this chapter or anything like that. As a bonus, the story was actually one that came together nicely.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

When Christopher Thomas, a curator at San Francisco’s Museum of Fine Arts, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in Berlin, his wife Rosemary Thomas is the prime suspect. Long suffering under Christopher’s unfaithful ways, Rosemary is tried, convicted and executed.

Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, becomes convinced that the wrong person was put to death. Along with financier Tony Olsen, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth about what happened that fateful evening.

Could it have been the ne’er do well brother Peter Hausen, interested in his sister’s trust fund having got through his own; the curatorial assistant Justine Olengard, used and betrayed by Christopher; the artist Belle who turned down his advances only to see her career suffer a setback; or someone else all together? No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only the very best thriller writers could achieve.

Happy National Book Lover’s Day!

Book Thoughts

If you are watching a movie or a TV show, you can turn it off or walk out if you are done with it. In the same way, you can just stop reading a book. That doesn’t happen often for me, but I almost stopped reading both of them. Both of them just seemed slow to me.

That being said, it may have seemed slow because of my schedule change. I find myself not reading as many pages a day as I was. When I get home now, I usually go right to bed. If I do stay up and read it is usually a chapter and then I call it a night. So maybe the issue is that “I” was reading slower.

Both stories weren’t bad. They both had satisfying conclusions, one of them was a complete surprise. I thought I would write about them in case one of them (or both) peaked your interest.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

This is a fictional tale woven into historic events. It takes place during the time the Oxford English Dictionary was being compiled.

Here is the Goodreads Synopisis:

In 1901, the word ‘Bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the ‘Scriptorium’, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word ‘bondmaid’ flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it.

One of the real people in the book is Dr. James Murray, who was one of the main people responsible for the Oxford English Dictionary. The book goes deep into the process of writing words on slips of paper with definitions and sentences with the word being used. You can see the slips in pigeon holes behind the real Dr. Murray below.

The fictional story of Esme is woven between real events and the historical timeline. I was amazed at how much time it took to put the dictionary together! It wasn’t a bad story, but it just wasn’t my normal read.

The Only Survivors

I was intrigued by the title of this book. I wasn’t sure if it was a mystery or a thriller. It was a story full of secrets.

Here is the Amazon Synopisis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and “master of suspense, Megan Miranda” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl), a thrilling mystery about a group of former classmates who reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident—only to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy.

Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save?

A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravine—a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.

To keep one another safe.
To hold one another accountable.
Or both.

Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy and from the other survivors. She’s changed her mobile number. She’s blocked the others’ email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven—and Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with grief—and suspicion.

Almost immediately, something feels off this year. Cassidy is the first to notice when Amaya, the annual organizer, slips away, overwhelmed. This wouldn’t raise alarm except for the impending storm. Suddenly, they’re facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters…again. Then Amaya stops responding to her phone. After all they’ve been through, she wouldn’t willfully make them worry. Would she?

And—as they promised long ago—each survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Won’t they?

This book moves between the present and the past and how they all tie in together. As the story progresses, you get bits and pieces of the story and get a sense of the distrust that the survivors have for each other. I found myself suspecting that each of them were hiding things from each other. There were plenty of twists and an ending that was a complete surprise.

I’d love to hear your book thoughts. What are you reading? Did you read either of these? What can you recommend to me?

Book Recommendation: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murders

I just finished listening to the audio version of this book by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I guess this is what folks refer to as a “cozy mystery.” I really don’t know what that means, but I will tell you that I liked it.

As someone who reads a lot of mysteries, this one kept coming up as a suggestion in my Goodreads feed. Before adding it to my “Want to Read” list, I always read some of the reviews. They were mixed, but the thing that sold me on it was that people said that it made them laugh out loud. So I took a chance on it and loved it.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…

Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

As I prepared to write this blog, I found out that this book was one that the author’s editor had her rush to write it. They had her put all her other projects on hold and get this book out. According to one review, the book was “sloppily thrown together,” but I never thought that. Another review noticed that the author used a line (or a similar line) twice, which they found annoying. Uh, ok. I never noticed.

I was hooked from the first line of the book:

“Vera Wong was born a rat, but she should have been a rooster-that is according to the characteristics of the signs in the Chinese horoscope!“

I admit to having laughed out loud quite a few times while listening. There were also times where I really felt for some of the characters. Vera certainly is the main character, but the supporting characters were just as important to the story. While there was some predictability to some of the story arcs, I was surprised to find out who the murderer was. I never saw it coming.

I can see the Vera character being one that could easily be a protagonist that could carry a series of stories. Honestly, I hope that is the case. She’s a bit Columbo and a bit Sophia from the Golden Girls. It was a joy to read (listen to).

Some Books I’ve Read

It’s been a bit since I offered up some thoughts on my recent reads, so I thought I would share a few with you. (The one I am currently reading is very good and will review separately when I finish.)

I really enjoyed this book. I certainly gained some insight into Abraham Lincoln and learned a LOT about Frederick Douglass.

From Goodreads:

The New York Times bestselling author of George Washington’s Secret Six and Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates turns to two other heroes of the nation: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Upon his election as President of the troubled United States, Abraham Lincoln faced a dilemma. He knew it was time for slavery to go, but how fast could the country change without being torn apart?

Many abolitionists wanted Lincoln to move quickly, overturning the founding documents along the way. But Lincoln believed there was a way to extend equality to all while keeping and living up to the Constitution that he loved so much–if only he could buy enough time.

Fortunately for Lincoln, Frederick Douglass agreed with him–or at least did eventually. In The President and the Freedom Fighter, Brian Kilmeade tells the little-known story of how the two men moved from strong disagreement to friendship, uniting over their love for the Constitution and over their surprising commonalities. Both came from destitution. Both were self-educated and self-made men. Both had fought hard for what they believed in. And though Douglass had had the harder fight, one for his very freedom, the two men shared a belief that the American dream was for everyone.

As he did in George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade has transformed this nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out how these two heroes, through their principles and patience, not only changed each other, but made America truly free for all.

The first of two Mitch Albom books I read. These are easy reads and I read both of them in a day. He’s really a fantastic story teller.

From Goodreads:

Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet.

Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and “The First Phone Call from Heaven”. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, “The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.”

The second Albom book. This one speaks of time. I’d rate both about the same. They were entertaining and made you think.

From Goodreads:

In this fable, the first man on earth to count the hours becomes Father Time.

The inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world – now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began – and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

I saw mixed reviews on this one, and while I thought it was a bit slow to start, I really enjoyed it and how it ended. I listened to the audio book, which was performed by a few people – each main character was voiced by someone. I’m sure that made it much easier for me to follow.

From Goodreads:

A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.

The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Have you read anything you think I’d enjoy? What book have you read recently that was one you couldn’t put down?

Book Recommendation – When All Is Said by Anne Griffin

When All Is Said by Anne Griffin is a simple and well told story. I found myself not wanting to put it down and read it easily in about two days. It was one that came up as a suggestion and after reading what it was about, I decided to read it. I admit that it became clear where the story was heading early on in the book, but that only made me want to read more.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

A tale of a single night. The story of a lifetime.

If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said and done?

This is the story of Maurice Hannigan, who, over the course of a Saturday night in June, orders five different drinks at the Rainford House Hotel. With each he toasts a person vital to him: his doomed older brother, his troubled sister-in-law, his daughter of fifteen minutes, his son far off in America, and his late, lamented wife. And through these people, the ones who left him behind, he tells the story of his own life, with all its regrets and feuds, loves and triumphs.

Beautifully written, powerfully felt, When All Is Said promises to be the next great Irish novel.

I’m not sure exactly what they mean by “the next great Irish novel,” but I can tell you that it was a very good story. When it was over, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what else happened. I could see where a second book could pick up the story with a secondary character, but it is find exactly how it is.

In a sense, it is a love story – well, five love stories. But as you can probably tell from the synopsis, there are moments of sadness throughout the story. Each of these five people and how they fit into Maurice’s story and how they helped shape his life will bring laughs and tears.

The initial question asked by Goodreads was enough to hook me. It even had me trying to answer that question. Which five people would sum up my life? Who would I toast? Why only five? I am still struggling with the answers to these questions.

You might enjoy it. If you do read it, I’d love to know your thoughts….

Book Recommendation: Murder Your Employer – Rupert Holmes

This was a book that kept popping up in my Goodreads feed as well as in blogs that I follow. Almost all of the reviews I read praised it for being clever, witty, a bit dark and creative. Now that I have finished it, I can say that those reviews were accurate.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. Is it a murder mystery? Not really. It is far from a Whodunit, but it was very entertaining. The premise itself is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

A devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.

Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.

Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A delightful mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue, Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.

I put the book on hold at my library and when I picked it up, I noticed the author’s name – Rupert Holmes. The only Rupert Holmes I knew was the guy who sang “Escape,” otherwise known as “The Pina Colada Song!” You know it, of course:

“If you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. If you’re not into yoga. If you have half a brain….”

My first thought was, “This cannot be the same guy!” Well, I was wrong. It is the same guy!

He is quite a successful author and has won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. Who knew?

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and enjoyed the way it all came together at the end. Check it out and let me know what you think….

Book Recommendation: The Museum of Ordinary People

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I’m a mystery guy and this is not a mystery. It is a wonderful novel that I connected to on so many levels. Let me give you the Goodreads synopsis first and then I will explain.

From Goodreads

Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she’s ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold. As she sorts through a lifetime of memories, everything comes to a halt when she comes across something she just can’t part with: an old set of encyclopedias. To the world, the books are outdated and ready to be recycled. To Jess, they represent love and the future that her mother always wanted her to have.

In the process of finding the books a new home, Jess discovers an unusual archive of letters, photographs, and curious housed in a warehouse and known as the Museum of Ordinary People. Irresistibly drawn, she becomes the museum’s unofficial custodian, along with the warehouse’s mysterious owner. As they delve into the history of objects in their care, they not only unravel heart-stirring stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long-buried secrets that lie closer to home.

Inspired by an abandoned box of mementos, The Museum of Ordinary People is a poignant novel about memory and loss, the things we leave behind, and the future we create for ourselves.

I could totally relate to the grief felt by the main character in losing her mother. As she was cleaning out her mother’s house and shares her thoughts about things to keep and things to discard, you can tell just how difficult a task it is for her. The memories that each of the various items invoke are similar to what I feel with many things I have at my home from loved ones who have passed away.

While I don’t consider myself a hoarder like the ones you see on TV, I do tend to keep a lot of things. They are probably things that mean nothing to anyone but me. Physical reminders of a special day, special memory or a special person. As I read this book, there were so many instances where I felt exactly like the main character about an item. I have things at home that are absurd to others: a nickel plated railroad spike, a chipped ceramic baseball glove, a never used Zippo lighter, and many other small things. Each item holds some special connection for me.

In the book, the “museum” is filled with things an old wedding dress, a worn out work bench, a tin filled with letters, a suitcase filled with letters and old birthday cards, and other items that were brought there by people hoping that the items would be cared for. I have to admit that I found myself wondering what “item” of mine I’d want to have placed in this “museum.” I’m still thinking about that. What would represent you?

I found myself really wrapped up in the story. I connected with the characters and there were plenty of surprises along the way. Toward the end, one of those surprises made me say, “No way!” out loud. I enjoyed it a lot, maybe you will, too.

Book Recommendation – Eight Perfect Murders By Peter Swanson

I recently finished another book that was on my “To Read” list. It was one that I actually listened to the audiobook while driving to and from work. To be honest, I hoped for a bit more, but it was still a very good book.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

A chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne’s Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox’s Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald’s The Drowner, and Donna Tartt’s A Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.

My Thoughts

I love a good mystery and the books on Malcom’s list are classics. I will warn you that if you are unfamiliar with any of them, there are spoilers referenced in regard to each book. If you are planning on reading them, do it before reading Eight Perfect Murders.

The story is told from Malcom’s perspective – his narrative. There are times where you wonder what, if any, involvement he has in any of the murders and just what secrets he is hiding. He has a sense of mystery about him, at least that is how I felt about him.

I loved the whole idea that someone could find this list on a blog and then begin copying the plots from these books. I should have seen the ending coming, but didn’t. It was a satisfying read.

Book Recommendation: The Sherlockian – Graham Moore

I just finished Graham Moore’s The Sherlockian. I don’t recall if I stumbled on it because of other Sherlock Holmes themed books I have read or if it was something I saw on Goodreads. I picked it up Friday at the library and found it hard to put down.

Here is a synopsis from Goodreads:

In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective’s next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning — crowds sported black armbands in grief — and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.

Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had “murdered” Holmes in “The Final Problem,” he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.

Or has it?

When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he’s about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world’s leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold – using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories – who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

In the acknowledgements of the book, the author states that the book is loosely based on real events. Many characters in the story are real (Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde) while others are compilations, in a sense of many people.

What I really enjoyed about the story is the back and forth from present day to Doyle’s England. The intertwining of the past and present really made the book a fun read.

I had no idea that Bram Stoker (who wrote Dracula) and Arthur Conan Doyle were friends in real life! I did know that Doyle hated his Sherlock Holmes character so much that he killed him off.

Whether you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or just love a good mystery, I think you’ll enjoy The Sherlockian.

Book Recommendation: The Wager – David Grann

I came across this book while scrolling through a Good Reads list. When I saw the subtitle of I assumed this was fiction book, but it is actually a true story. I had never heard of The Wager before and by the time I read the synopsis, I added it to my “Want To Read” list.

From Good Reads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on The Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then … six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death–for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann’s recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O’Brian, his portrayal of the castaways’ desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann’s work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.

I recently finished listening to the audio version of this book, and I really enjoyed it. I understand that the book might be for everyone. As a lover of history and true stories of survival, I couldn’t wait to read it.

It was the perfect audio book for the drive to and from work. There were times that I was amazed that they survived as long as they had. It was no Gilligan’s Island, that’s for sure. It was a unique and eye opening read.