What Jan read the summer of 2013

Howard Cunnell - Marine Boy
Well, it started really good - bleak, dark, southern England. Then I forgot the book on a ferry in Greece... In my defense the boat *was* rocking quite heavily.

Daniel O'Malley - The Rook
This was super entertaining. Starts with a woman without memory waking up in a body she doesn't recognize in a private park in London with a dozen dead people on the ground around her all wearing rubber gloves ... And it only gets better.

Max Barry - Lexicon
Very exciting, made me think of The Magicians and The Secret History, but with more of an action feel to it. Good idea, good read.

Anton DiSclafani - The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls
I really enjoyed this; the tale of a girl in 1930 messing up and being sent off to a girl's riding camp where she becomes embroiled in further problems. What I really liked about it is how Thea is a modern character in an old-fashioned time. It's a sad story but it feels fresh.

Garcia & Stohl - Beautiful Creatures
We all read this and then saw the film. Nice southern feel to it, and I love all the Bukowski references!

Scott Lynch - Republic of Thieves
YAY - Locke and Jean are back! This is not really published until October, but rest assured this is a great book, well worth the wait.

Helen Fitzgerald - The Cry
This is a great Helen book, one of her very best. It was creepy, funny, shocking and, yes; redemptive. Wow.

Linwood Barclay - A Tap on the Window
This is Mr Barclay back on form - a terrific thriller in an upstate NY small town.

Helen Fitzgerald - Deviant
A new YA novel from Helen about Abigail - a terrific character, a homeless teen who finds out the terrible secret of her origins.

Alissa Nutting - Tampa
This is new and very talked-about: the reviews often mention Humbert from Lolita and that the main character of this novel is a sort-of female version. Breathtakingly beautiful Celeste Price is sexually obsessed by 14-year-old boys and her whole life is focused on seducing them. So she becomes an eighth-grade teacher and things start spiraling out of control. An uncomfortable but interesting read.

Doug Johnstone - Gone Again
Scottish dad-lit & gruesome thriller. Had me glued.

Ken Bruen's latest Jack Taylor novel Purgatory
One of the best ones, you want to quote every sentence! Read!

And now I finally started reading Donna Tartt's new novel The Goldfinch. Boy can she write! It won't actually be published for another couple of months though...