"Mystery" by Jonathan Kellerman

As usual for this author, it was an easy book for me to read. But I'm not sure if it's one of his best. The plot seemed quite convoluted, and I don't think things were laid out clearly enough. There were too many names to follow, and the dieing Madame with the wonderful young son seemed unnecessary to the overall plot. I am rusty about Kellerman's writing style because it's a number of years since I've read him.... I gave up on him when he dumped the girlfriend, Robin, but she's back now, hence I'm reading Kellerman again. I wonder if he's losing his touch, since I seem to remember he's also cowriting stuff with a son.

"The Ghost Light" by Frtiz Leiber

I've had this book of Fritz Leiber stories lying around for decades, and I was finally in the mood to give them a try. The stories were much grittier than I expected, which is good. But I also found his writing style to be much too obscure and abstract for my taste, with a liberal sprinkling of uber "intelligent" musings that do not make for readability. I became so sick of his writing style that I was unable to complete the last story, and never even contemplated reading his autobiographical essay, which is the last item in this collection.

"The Green Road" by Anne Enright

There were too many passages in the book that I did not quie understand because they were vague. And I found the beginning half, that explored the lives of the four children, rather slow. My interest perked up when the book reached the mother, Rosaleen, because I could relate some of her behaviour to my mother. Poor mothers, trapped in the role of "Mother" and not seen as just "people" by their children. Poor children, forever trying to reach their mothers and fighting against how they think they're seen. All in all, I am glad I read this book. Oh, and I would have to say that much of Enright's writing gives me a feeling of dreary fog, similar to the weather in Ireland. And yet, she also always manages to find bits of joy in the fog.