The light in the ruins, by Chris Bohjalian

 

The Light in the Ruins takes us to 1943-1944 rural Tuscany where the Nazis were making a last stand against the allies as they invaded Sicily and then began making their way north. The wartime period is juxtaposed by 1955 when a serial killer begins killing members of the Rosati family, whose estate was used by the Nazis near the end of the war. As Nazis plundered art work and antiquities from Italy, the Rosati estate comes to their attention when they learn of the Etruscan burial site that has been unearthed. One of the Nazis begin a romance with Christina Rosati, as Vittore Rosati works reluctantly with the Nazi officers who are identifying the antiquities they want to take. The Rosati parents walk a fine line trying to appease the Nazis without becoming targets of the partisan resistance fighters in the area. The Rosati family pays a heavy price for being at the center of this struggle, and they're trying to move on. But who is now targeting them? Serafina Bettini is a detective investigating the murders, which take her back to her own connection with the family when she was one of the partisan fighters who sought refuge at their estate near the end of the war. This was a well-written book that keeps you guessing until the end.

The law of similars, by Chris Bohjalian

 

Reading The Law of Similars was like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Leland is a recently-widowed lawyer whose tendency to hypochondria is put into overdrive as he tries to keep himself together as a single father. He gives homeopathic treatments a try and begins to fall for the homeopath who's helping him. As one of her other patients dies after her treatment, Leland's law firm is asked by the patient's wife to represent her, and Leland is forced to face not only his hypochondria, but also ethical dilemmas that have far-reaching repercussions for others. The writing is excellent and the plot pulls you along, even while you're silently screaming "No!" "Stop!" "Don't do that!" to Leland.

Then she was gone, by Lisa Jewell

 

I enjoyed this page-turner of a thriller by Lisa Jewell. Laurel's daughter goes missing, and 10 years later her remains are found. But Laurel is still haunted by her daughter's disappearance. When Laurel begins a new relationship with Floyd, she is surprised by the resemblance between his younger daughter and her missing daughter. As she begins to pick up on clues, she learns what really happened to her daughter 10 years ago.

Vox, by Christina Dalcher

 

I have mixed feelings about this novel. It has been compared to The Handmaid's Tale, but the writing is nowhere near as good. The premise is completely silly as well. I think there are plenty of men out there who are misogynistic enough to try to limit women's speech to 100 words a day, but not nearly enough of them to actually pull something like this off, so I had a hard time setting aside my disbelief as I read the story. Just the scale of it would be impossible: manufacturing 150 million or more "bracelets" (i.e., word counters) that give an increasingly strong electric shock for every word spoken that exceeds the 100 permitted. Apparently, this just happened overnight, with women seized and fitted with the device. Too far-fetched to believe. The story wraps up fairly quickly when the main character finishes her research, and with the help of three men (really?) defeats the reigning leaders of the government.

Disappearing earth, by Julia Phillips

 

I really loved this novel about two girls who are abducted from their town on the Kamchatka Peninsula, part of Russia that is very remote where many indigenous people live. The story is told from more than a dozen viewpoints, showing how the girls' disappearance has affected the entire community. The writing is excellent, and the look inside the Kamchatka Peninsula culture is fascinating.