WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW.WEDNESDAY asks us three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.
 

1. What are you currently reading?  

Silent Night by Robert B. Parker with Helen Brann. How did I miss this volume? A Spenser book actually written by Robert B. Parker! No offense to Ace Atkins, who has done a wonderful job with the franchise since Parker's death, but I look forward to spending a little time with the old master. I've learned this is the book he was actually finishing at the time of his death, which makes it all the more poignant.

It's Christmastime in Boston. For Spenser, that means snow, strong and bracing drinks at the bar in what used to be the Ritz, homecooked dinners for his beloved Susan ... and the unexpected appearance of an 11-year-old boy who is frightened (with good reason) and needs help.

2. What did you recently finish reading?  

Y Is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton. The last book in the "alphabet series" is dark. Unlikable teens get involved in a cheating scandal that spirals out of control. Ten years later, the effects are still being felt. Kinsey is brought in to try to make sense of it. (There! I told it without spoilers!) The thing is, they grew up to be equally unlikable young adults. While I'm sure private investigators get cases like this, which pay the bills but are really unpleasant, it is hard for us readers. There really is no one to root for.

One thing about this volume that is unusual for the series and disturbing: animals in peril. There's Killer, a fierce-looking dog who has his sweet side, and Butch, a gentle canine giant who is heartbreakingly devoted to one of the students, and Ed, the cat who adopted Henry. All the while I was reading I was nervous for these dear furry souls. 

So I guess I have to say I didn't really like this book. But I did savor it. This was our last encounter with Kinsey, and I will miss her.

3.  What will you read next?  
Fiction? A biography? NOT a mystery!