The silent world of Nicholas Quinn, by Colin Dexter

This is the third book in the Inspector Morse series of detective novels and I have to say it is the least believable. The Inspector Morse character solves the crime through random experiences of epiphany that he later explains in great detail to his sidekick Lewis. I'm used to twists and turns and false leads, but this book takes it to another level, so much so the reader can only understand what happened after Morse explains it in meticulous detail. While entertaining, it still seems like a bit of a flaw in the writing or plotting that it is nearly incomprehensible to the reader. Either way, I do plan to continue with the series.
 

Sunset Park, by Paul Auster

 

This 2010 novel brings together an eclectic group of twenty-somethings during the period after the 2008 economic crisis. Miles is running away from his past and the truth about an accident that caused the death of his half-brother. He has dropped out of college and traveled all over the country doing odd jobs and menial labor, which he has come to enjoy and appreciate. He's fallen in love with a young Cuban American girl (she's only 17) and to avoid threats from her family, he decides to move back to New York temporarily, living in an abandoned home with the only friend he's maintained contact with (Bing) and two of his friends. I loved the writing and the characters in this book; it was looking to be a reaffirming and uplifting story of redemption before (spoiler alert) something happens at the end to derail everything and which leaves everything up in the air. I could have done without the ending; it just seems so unnecessary. In the end, I liked everything about the book except the ending.

Last seen wearing, by Colin Dexter

 

This is the second mystery in the Inspector Morse series and is similarly entertaining. If possible it has even more false leads than the first. Morse has multiple epiphanies throughout about who the culprit is, but they all turn out to be wrong. Very entertaining; I've already ordered the third one.

Last bus to Woodstock, by Colin Dexter

 

I've been watching the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavor on Prime, and was hoping to watch Inspector Morse as well; however, I can't do so without yet another streaming service, so I decided to go to the source and read all the books instead. This is the first one in the series and is a lot of fun. It's pretty dated, having been published in 1975; for example, Morse asks another character what he thinks of women's lib. There are a lot of false leads and twists and turns, but the characters are interesting and funny. I'm definitely going to keep on with the series.

The white devil, by Justin Evans

 

This was a marginally satisfying gothic thriller about a high school student who has been pushed by his father to go into a British prep school for his final year before college so that he can qualify for the better schools. Andrew is out of his element in the new school, a condition made worse by his being targeted by a ghost of someone who was a student in the early 19th century who knew Byron. Andrew has an uncanny resemblance to Byron leading to this ghost trying to kill anyone Andrew has affection for. It's a little silly but does keep the pages turning.