NC Stories

Terrific historical mystery set in Berlin as the Nazis consolidate power. Great descriptions and excellent character development from the late, great Philip Kerr. The book starts with a street level view of Berlin as the Nazis consolidate power. Powerful descriptions and a great character.

Really unusual and good. More readable than Faulkner. A classic, with interesting characters and a dark, absorbing plot. Shelby Foote was a master.

This was an extraordinary little book of historical fiction. It did contain a fascinating mystery but I would term it more a coming of age story. The main character is a bright boy from the backwoods who wants to better himself, but the tide keeps turning against him. He finally seeks redemption for what he believes was a huge error in his life and this keeps the plot wheel turning nicely. This story is populated with interesting characters, the women nearly as well drawn as the men.. in some cases, better. I have seen When Saigon Surrendered compared to fiction by Mark Twain and I would have to say there were some interesting parallels...updated to 1975, of course. Two thumbs up for this author.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A bit of an environmental mystery, some ironic weaving through history and a road trip into the Appalachian mountains. The environmental damage from mountaintop removal mining is huge and the story touches on this in a poignant, graphic way. I also enjoyed the main character, a young reporter dealing with what would become the first wave of big media mergers and job loss. This book should be especially appealing to news people and environmentalists. A tale well told, overall.