Late Weedwhacker Wednesday entry
(I meant to do this on Wednesday but technical difficulties prevented me from doing it.)
Another thing I've been meaning to do on this site is add links to books or music I'm enjoying lately. So here's one now. Earlier this year I reread Peter Straub's "Ghost Story," and now I'm rereading another one of his marvelous books, "Mystery."
This book is part of Straub's "Blue Rose" trilogy, and is a unique (to my knowledge) coming-of-age story in the form of a murder mystery. It's a little slack in places, but the evocation of the story's settings (a Caribbean island and a Wisconsin lake resort) are masterful and the mystery is thrilling. And it has a bonus in the form of one of those fictional females you just fall headlong in love with, the strong and beautiful and, yes, plucky Sarah Spence.
Although it doesn't have many of Straub's patented "grab-you-by-the-throat-and-squeeze" moments, it's a masterful and satisfying read. And it really whets my appetite for the other books in the trilogy, "Koko" and "The Throat."
(To give proper due, the opening of the book contains one of the most amazing set pieces I've ever read, but to reveal it here would be completely unfair to future readers.)
I'll probably finish it this weekend and I will report back if my throat gets grabbed and squoze. Even without that, I highly recommend this book.