Rina and Peter on Their Own: Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #25)

I enjoyed this latest Decker/Lazarus novel because it examined their relationship more closely, leaving out, for a change, the extended family. Faye Kellerman brought to light some of the issues facing older couples - retirement, health concerns and worries about their own very elderly parents.

As usual, there was a gruesome murder and other crimes to solve, and good detective work by Peter, Rina and Tyler McAdams (Decker's young and prickly partner). Tyler has become familiar with Judaism, kosher food and Shabbos observance, and enjoys being a frequent visitor to his mentor's home.

I also enjoy Kellerman's very visual descriptions of the locales, the appearances of the characters, and especially Rina's wardrobe, in which she manages to follow Orthodox conventions but still look contemporary and fashionable.

There was a good tease at the end about what's next for Peter and Rina, and I'm looking forward to it!

Not a Hit Tune: Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Not Trigiani's best work, unfortunately. Too many cliches and anachronisms. I liked the heroine, Chi Chi Donatelli, until she became Tony's wife. It was all downhill after that - I just could not understand why such an intelligent, ambitious and talented woman would marry a womanizer that she didn't even love, even though they were good friends. She should have kept it that way and married the nice guy who would have supported her in her musical career. 

I found a lot of the references to characters and locations in Trigiani's other books to be somewhat forced as well. Big Stone Gap and Roseto, PA seemed very out of place in this book set on the Jersey shore. And then there was the transistor radio - these radios were not out until the 1950s, but in this book they appeared in the 1930s. How did Trigiani get that so wrong, and where was her editor? 

What a shame... Tony's Wife was just not up to Trigiani's best books, including Lucia, Lucia, Very Valentine and of course, Big Stone Gap. Hopefully, her next book will be a winner.

Not Forgotten: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

So beautifully written and moving... a novel that examines the AIDS crisis in 1980s Chicago and also its aftermath, through the life of one particular gay man, and through eyes of his friend, a woman whose brother was one of the early victims. It's a book about hate, and a book about love. A book about fear, and a book about bravery and compassion.

It took me straight back to that period in my own life, working in the fashion business in New York – when so many men I knew were cut down in their 20s and 30s... a neighbor down the hall in my apartment building, the partner of a co-worker, and so many others. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and suddenly there was an epidemic and death was everywhere in the gay community, and touching the friends of those of us on its periphery. It was a complete and utter tragedy that changed so much of life in the city and decimated a large component of my generation.

Despite the sadness of the story, I'm very glad to have read this important work. It's far too easy to forget what those bad times were really like - just 30 or so years ago - and to think what the victims might have accomplished had they not been struck down in their prime. So sad.