Portrait of a Spy: A Gabriel Allon story by Daniel Silva. One of the better books in this series about the former Israeli agent Gabriel Allon. Interesting characters, fast-paced drama. Fun to read.
Cartwheel: A LibraryThing Early Reviewer selection by Jennifer Dubois. This is inspired by the Amanda Knox story. A young woman is arrested for murder while studying abroad. It is interesting from the start. The central question, of course, is whether Lily Hayes did in fact murder her roommate. Lily’s case is not helped by her odd behavior. Or is the problem that her behavior is misinterpreted due to language and cultural barriers? It’s hard to discuss this too thoroughly without giving alot away. But there remain interesting ambiguities in the story and this is a worthwhile read.
The River of Doubt: Candice Millard’s portrait of Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition into the South American interior. After TR’s defeat in the 1912 Presidential campaign, he embarked on an epic trip to South America. This book depicts Roosevelt’s reason for making this trip, as well as the egos involved in the trip and the serious blunders that occurred along the way. Like many well-written expedition tales, even though the reader knows how the story ends, it is still an interesting and gripping drama.
I think I read a few other books since I last blogged, but none of them are memorable enough to write about. So now I’m all caught up!
La Bibliofille 