The Virgin's Knot by Holly Payne

I listened to the audio book version of The Virgin's Knot by Holly Payne. Before I write anything else, I have one thing to say.

Wow.

Double wow.

If I had to lump this novel into a category, I'd categorize it as literary fiction, but it was so much more than the label can capture. Payne is a master with words. She paints a verbal picture so vivid in this book that I could taste, see, smell, hear, and feel the characters and setting of The Virgin's Knots.

The symbolism in the novel alone could take up volumes essays.

This was one novel that I'd listen to again in a heartbeat. I know I'd get more out of it upon a second listen. Payne has such a way with words, that if I was a betting woman (and I am btw), I'd wager she spoke every word aloud prior to committing it to the final draft of the manuscript. I don't know this for sure; I don't know the author, but I'd still make the wager. Every word seemed crafted.

The Virgin's Knot tells the story of a Turkish weaver named Nurdane. She is crippled by polio at a young age but grows into a woman famed for her weaving bridal prayer rugs. Set in Turkey and intermingling two separate brands of monotheism, I was enchanted by the novel. I give it five stars. *****

What I liked the most about Payne's novel is that I was able to believe in multiple truths. There was not only one correct way to view reality. There are multiple truths in the character's lives. I was enriched by reading this book.

Thicker Than Water by P.J. Parrish

Thicker Than Water by P.J. Parrish was a delightful read. It was everything I look for in a good murder mystery. It is the fourth book in the Louis Kincaid series. I couldn't put my mass market paperback down. There was no stopping the pages turning. I had to find out what happened, who the killer was, and how the two cases connected.

Louis works as a P.I. and is hired to investigate the murder of which Jack Cade is accused of committing. Louis digs up a different murder, the original one in which Jack Cade was convicted of killing Kitty Jagger. After Jack Cade is released from prison, Cade's attorney, Duvall, is murdered. Jack Cade is the primary suspect. Ronnie Cade, Jack's son, hires Louis to investigate. The deeper Louis digs, the more complicated the original murder of Kitty Jagger becomes, and the more relevant it is to the murder of Duvall.

I think one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Thicker Than Water was that it is set in the 80s. There is no CSI effect, no easy DNA evidence. Louis has to solve the mystery the old fashioned way. I like how murder mysteries and thrillers put the puzzle together piece by piece. There is a fair amount of sleuthing in the novel, and the reader is able to sleuth right along.

Another aspect of Thicker Than Water that made me smile over and over again was the love relationship between Louis and Jack Cade's new defense attorney. There is a love/hate relationship in which Benjamin (the attorney's son) plays the perfect role to bring the two together. I wasn't sure if the book would end with the two players on a positive or negative note. Unlike so many books, I wasn't sure if I wanted to root for them to hook up or to stay at a professional distance. I wasn't sure they would be good for each other, and the way they interacted with each other kept Thicker Than Water interesting.

Thicker Than Water also very much made me want to read the whole series. I read it in two days. I'm sure I'll be picking up the first book and falling in love with the rest.

I wouldn't have picked up Thicker Than Water from the bookshelf had I not known anything about the author P.J. Parrish. The author is a two sister writing team writing under a pseudonym. Both writers have made appearances at Killer Nashville. One of them critiqued the first ten pages of a manuscript I submitted in 2008.

Then, this past year at Killer Nashville 2009, I had the privilege of hearing half of the P.J. Parrish team during several panels. It was the writing advice during the panels this past August that ultimately caused me to buy Thicker Than Water. After listening to several discussions on the craft of writing, I realized upon reading Thicker Than Water how tight the writing is.

I didn't feel like any of the pages were wasted information, fluff, or an information dump. The pacing of Thicker Than Water was perfect for me as a reader. It was a quick read, but the action didn't go by so fast as to leave me confused or like I missed anything. The details were easy to keep tucked under my arm as I read from cover to cover.

The only thing I can think of as a criticism is that having the protagonist have the last name Kincaid while the man accused of murder have the last name of Cade and the son who hired Louis also have the last name of Cade, is that this is one to maybe read rather than listen to in audio book version while driving. To see in print, it was clear, but if I had been watching traffic and hearing Kincaid and Cade over and over again, the plot might have gotten a little confusing.

I give this one five stars. *****

Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

Four Blind Mice by James Patterson is the eighth book in the Alex Cross Series. Like the other novels in Patterson's series, there are multiple murders and multiple killers. This time, the pieces are connected through the military, in particular veterans of the Vietnam War. Alex swears when he helps his friend, John Sampson, that this will be his last homicide investigation.

There are several reasons I gave this book five stars. *****. The first centers around John Sampson. I've waited during the last 7 books to get to know Sampson more intimately, and Patterson doesn't disappoint. He gives a depth to Sampson that I hope to continue to see in the rest of the novels in the series. He is a good side-kick type character who normally just supports Alex Cross. Sampson in many ways is the star of Four Blind Mice.

Another thing I really liked about Four Blind Mice was the motivation behind the villains. In a typical hard boiled novel, the murders are psychopathic creeps that a regular Joe wouldn't see much of himself/herself in. The killers in Four Blind Mice were all men who killed while in war. Some of them are able to move past their demons, and others breed darker demons after returning from Vietnam.

Nana Mama also plays a more pivotal role in Four Blind Mice than in some of the earlier novels in the series. Alex has to make some serious choices about his family life and how it intersects with his professional life. Kyle Craig also reappears in Four Blind Mice, though I very much got the impression that Kyle will reappear in future books as well.