“48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister” by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious Press, 312 pages, $26.95). March 14 — Joyce Carol Oates is one of our most prolific writers. She writes poetry, essays, short stories, and has averaged more than a novel a year since she published her first book 50 years ago. Her latest is the story of two sisters. When the lovely Marguerite vanishes it is left to her younger sister Gigi to gather clues and figure out if this was done by design to escape from a suffocating existence, or was foul play involved?
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“Charles Portis-collected works” by Charles Portis (Library of America, 1216 pages, $45). April 4 — Charles Portis is most renowned for writing “True Grit.” His other work is less known but quite good and very funny. This collection contains “True Grit” and his novels “Norwood” (1966), “The Dog of the South” (1979), “Masters of Atlantis” (1985), and “Gringos” (1991). There’s also a generous serving here of non-fiction from his journalism days.
“City of Dreams” by Don Winslow (William Morrow, 330 pages, $29.99). April 18 — Don Winslow’s second book in his final trilogy of novels picks up where the last one ended following a war between rival crime families, one Irish, the other Italian. In the aftermath one of the losing parties, Danny Ryan, heads west to seek new fortunes in Hollywood.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“Swamp Story” by Dave Barry (Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, $28.99). May 2 — Humorist Dave Barry is an amusing fellow. His latest madcap novel features: “Ken Bortle of Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer, who has hatched a scheme to lure tourists to his failing store by making viral videos of the ‘Everglades Melon Monster.’ The Monster is in fact an unemployed alcoholic newspaperman named Phil wearing a Dora the Explorer costume head. Incredibly, this plan actually works...”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“Independence Square” by Martin Cruz Smith (Simon & Schuster, 224 pages, $26.99). May 9 — Detective Arkady Renko returns for one more story in this classic series. As Russia was poised to invade Ukraine, Renko’s corrupt boss sends him there to find an activist who had been critical of Vladimir Putin. Renko is aging in real time; he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a condition the author knows well as he’s in that situation too.
“Central Park West” by James Comey (Mysterious Press, 336 pages, $30). May 30 — James Comey, the former director of the FBI, knows a lot about organized crime. In his first crime novel he mines that knowledge to write a page turner about how “a shocking turn of events reveals possible ties between the Mafia and the headline-making murder of a local politician.”
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit www.wyso.org/programs/book-nook. Contact him at vick@vickmickunas.com.
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