A Feast of Literary Mystery

‘Feast’

A feast for all the senses is the debut novel by Catherine Kurtz entitled Feast. I have never read anyone who describes food in such a visceral, gorgeous, creative way, not even from renowned food critics. Kurtz is a painter and food writer and sets her debut novel in 1880s London. Minah has an unusual gift. Her sense of taste begins in her nose. She is able to identify exactly where the fruit tree is that bares the peach that inhabits the pie. She can taste the most minute spice or the acidic soil of the vegetable. Her gift is also a curse. Her childhood has not been easy, and when she escapes to France, she manages to secure employment at a castle as a lowly servant, but soon comes to the Duc’s attention when she smells that his meal has been poisoned. Grateful, the Duc makes Minha his personal poison taster. She resides in the castle which becomes more like a prison every day. As a poor mixed-race girl without any family or friends, her gift sows distrust amongst the other servants and amusement amongst the Duc and his decadent friends who feast until they can burst, forcing Minah to taste dish after dish, reciting all the ingredients until she is ill. Her life changes when she helps rescue a starving stranger, stealing food for him and falling in love. This book is so gorgeously written that foodies and non-foodies alike will fall in love with the details of taste.

‘The Dark Library’

Estella can’t seem to escape home and a father who is, to say the least, demanding. When her father dies and her mother goes missing, she returns to the Hudson Valley to teach at a small university. She can barely afford to remain in the family home, with its dark memories and clues to secrets her father was keeping. Mary Anna Evans brings a compelling mystery to The Dark Library a story about family secrets and second chances. I enjoyed the slower, atmospheric pace and the longings of a woman who can’t seem to leave her past or the influence of her overbearing father behind. Labeled as a gothic historical mystery, it is set in the 1940s during WWII. The house is forbidding enough, and then there is the mystery of what happened to her vanished mother, a disappearance for which father may be responsible. Footsteps, a figure in the dark spying, an open window.

‘Catch the Devil’

Do not miss the extraordinary Catch the Devil by journalist Pamela Colloff. This true story is about a predatory con man of many decades and the destruction he leaves in his wake. Not only is it a page-turner but an important story about how the court system was used to benefit one man and send others to harsh sentences, including death row. It is a true tale of crime, with serious consequences that are still being decided today. Colloff does an up close and personal dive into the story, interviewing the con man himself. She does a granular deep dive into a little-known story about Gulf Coast man Paul Skalnik – serial husband, grifter, and State’s informant – who helped send dozens to prison and death row; locked away men prosecutors in Florida were determined to punish whether they were guilty or not. This is a riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately shocking read about a con man who exploited a system that rewarded self-serving informants offering little to no evidence. 

‘Somebody Worth Killing’

Don’t forget to throw Jessica Payne’s Somebody Worth Killing into your beach bag.  Like most moms, Nadia tries to balance school pickups and PTA meetings with the demands of her job. It isn’t easy, especially when you are a hired assassin and admitted psychopath, two traits Nadia does her best to keep from her loving family. When she gets orders to take out a big shot bad guy, she considers it the assignment of a lifetime. Until learning the target is her very own husband. 

Though a bit far-fetched for me, this was just the escapist read I needed and I enjoyed every hilarious moment.