PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Off the Menu by Stacy Ballis. I've been seeing Ballis' name for years. She's popular readers with people who enjoy light, funny chick-lit. I've been reading dark, heavy books lately, so it seemed now is the time to give her a try.
Alana is a single fortysomething with an important behind-the-scenes job with a celebrity Chicago chef. Her job is all stress, but it's coveted within the foodie universe. She's vaguely dissatisfied with her life, but she doesn't have the time or motivation to change things. And then she meets ... HIM. (There's always a HIM in books like this.)
It feels rather formulaic so far, but I'm not sure I care. I like how Chicago this book is. I also like that Alana dotes on her mutt, Dumpling. However, her banter with her BFFs hits me as less funny than cruel. Maybe I've become humorless.
2. What did you recently finish reading? And Never Let Her Go by Ann Rule. This true story tugged at my heart. Ann Marie Fahey was the youngest of a big Irish-Catholic family. Her mom died when she was a very little girl and, as her older siblings got married and moved away, she was left home alone with a drunk, overwhelmed and heartbroken father who took out a lot of his frustration on her. This left her believing she was unlovable, that everything was her fault. She was working on this at church and in therapy.
She had a good job, working for the governor of Delaware. She had a wide circle of friends. Finally she had a boyfriend she wanted to settle down with. And then she disappeared. It was when the police started looking for her that her secret life came to light: she'd been having an ongoing affair with a powerful older man.
That man was Tom Capano. He had a sonar for women like Anne Marie. He knew exactly which buttons to press: she felt unattractive, so he told her she was the most desirable woman he knew; she felt like superfluous, so he told she was the only one who understood him; she had trouble with money, so he whenever they went out to dinner he over-ordered to send her home with gourmet doggie bags from expensive restaurants. He was also controlling and jealous – rich because he was also sleeping with his wife (Anne Marie knew about this) and a long-term mistress (Debbie and Anne Marie knew nothing about each other). When Anne Marie gained strength and realized she wanted/needed/deserved more than Tom could give her, he killed her. The way he tried to beat the rap was breathtakingly cruel. I won't give anymore away, in case you want to read this book.
Ann Rule did right by Anne Marie Fahey. She comes alive on these pages. I liked her, and I mourn her.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
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