notanotherbookreview

Captivity amid luxury, perversely oppressive or liberation?  That question drives the engrossing stories of two entertaining and revealing novels. In The Woman in Cabin 10, Ruth Ware's captivating mystery (pardon pun), aspiring travel writer Laura Blacklock gets the break of her career--a dream assignment to cover the launch of a "boutique" cruise ship. Laura knows she must focus on this opportunity but she's sleepless and hyper, after an unexplained break-in at her flat. A parting argument with her beloved boyfriend, didn't help her jangled nerves.. After the mayhem in her dingy flat, the small cruise ship is especially gorgeous. From the dizzying reflections of white walls and polished wood made by a show stopping chandelier to spacious diningrooms and cabins  that allow natural light, the ship is designed for maximal beauty. The attractive staff is impeccable, as are the chic meals, though the food is unidentifiable. There is even a luxury spa. Laura beg...

The New York/Tri State Chapter of Sisters in Crime published this second Murder New York Style anthology, gathering 22 stories set in the five boroughs for FRESH SLICES. The flavor is delightfully unsavory--from Lina Zeldovich's tough action story, The Brighton Beach Mermaid, about a sex slave who uses her brains, Triss Stein's poignantly enigmatic The Greenmarket Violinist, Leigh Neely's shockingly satirical A Vampire in Brooklyn, to the gritty East Village saga The Understudy, where two lookalike good time girls, lost in addiction, trade places. My favorites were a study in contrasts, Tear Down by Anita Page and Susan Chalfin's Remember You Will Die. In Page's story, an octogenerian in a lower middle class neighborhood,relives the crisis of her youth and a horrific secret. I loved the cranky character and her irony-laced wisdom, a bit like Flannery O'Connor. In a similar way, I was surprised how the voice of Susan Chalfin's moneyed mogul had a touch of Roa...