This novel is dark and disturbing, yet a delightfully addictive read. An international best seller, The Dinner has been called the "European Gone Girl."
On a summer night in Amsterdam two couples, Paul and Claire and Serge and Babette meet in a chic restaurant to talk about their children. Each has a fifteen-year old son, and together the teens commit an unspeakable crime. Between entrees we learn that Paul, the father of Michel, has a dark past. Paul's disturbing secrets slowly unfold, chilling this reader to the bone. Serge, the father of the other boy is a prominent politician soon to become the Netherlands' prime minister. The mothers of the teens, Claire and Babette, have their own ideas of how to deal with the situation.
What's a parent to do? What would you do if you loved someone who committed a horrific crime?
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Alan Bradley’s first novel introduces us to 11 year old
Flavia de Luce. Living in a run-down
English estate in the 1950’s with her father and two sisters, Flavia fancies
herself a detective. She has a well-equipped
chemistry lab to aid in her investigation. Here she also loves to experiment with
poisons, dreaming up ways to retaliate against the older sisters who torment
her. When a dead bird with a stamp on
its beak appears on the family’s doorstep and a stranger is found murdered in
the cucumber patch, Flavia sets out to investigate. When it appears that Flavia’s stamp-collecting
father may be involved, Flavia tries even harder to solve this case, despite
resistance from the local police.
Flavia
is an endearing, intelligent character. Author
Bradley has received numerous awards for this book including the Crime Writers’
Association Debut Dagger Award. There
are currently 5 books in this series with a sixth due out in January.
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