"The Big Girls" by Susanna Moore

Susanna Moore uses four voices/viewpoints to deliver the strong medicine of "The Big Girls": Helen has been incarcerated after being convicted of a ghastly crime; Louise, her prison psychiatrist; Captain Bradshaw, a prison guard; and Angie, a celebrated young actress in Hollywood. We follow Helen's and Louise's progress as they hack through the difficult - nay, torturous - thicket of Helen's life. Helping Helen find the truth behind her delusions takes a heavy toll on Louise, as Helen's celebrated case brings intense focus, welcome and unwelcome, on the two protaganists.

This book reminds us of the sickeningly common pattern of physical and sexual abuse of girls and women. With some, like Helen, it results in frightful hallucinations, a splintered personality, and a desperate, psychotic urge to protect her own children. Louise, Angie, and the guard, Ike Bradshaw all are drawn up in the powerful struggle. Even Louise's little boy is affected.

The characterizations are deep and fully realized here - no cardboard cutouts, no stereotypes. Ike, the most important male character, stands as a well-rounded, wounded person, grounded, and very considerate of Louise's feelings. He's even fairly benign toward the inmates, including the difficult ones. Ms. Moore's main success rests in her effective handling of this crippling emotional issue. This is a thought-provoking, sensitive read, and I recommend it for its deep dive into the minds and hearts of its four players.

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"Bangkok 8" by John Burdett

In "Bangkok 8," what has John Burdett wrought? We witness Sonchai Jitpleecheep, one of the very few uncorrupted cops in Bangkok, use meditation, charm, and his own subtle use of Bangkok's culture of bribery to untangle the web of drug trafficking, prostitution, art fraud, and murder which has enveloped him. But, into the bargain, Burdett presents us with an insider's look at the drastic culture shock faced by Westerners when they encounter the Thai Buddhist mindset - here Europeans and Americans are the backward, the oafish, the arrogant boors who run roughshod over Thailand's natural resources. There is a deep metaphysical pool into which we are immersed in this book - that's its difference from other mysteries.

The facts of the case are not especially remarkable on the surface. An American Marine who has bungled an attempt to join an international criminal syndicate is murdered in exotic style. All our detective's instincts and all the evidence point to a powerful, well-connected jade and jewelry dealer whom Sonchai feels he must kill to avenge the death of his partner. However, enter Fatima, the extremely sensual, beautiful result of a modern-day Pygmalion project - gone horribly wrong - and the heavy's demise is taken off our hero's hands. Or is it?

Something else that distinguishes this intriguing piece from other mystery stories is the bifurcation of our detective's personality: Fatima is really Sonchnai's alter ego, his living, breathing dark side, who takes it upon herself to deliver a brutal justice in her own way. All along, we have the ethereal, not-quite-concrete meditations on Buddha, karma, and the irreconcilable conflict between Western and Eastern morality. Along the way we have the detective's delightful entrepreneur mother, the crooked police commander Sonchai nonetheless loves, and communication with the detective's dead partner, whom he describes as his soul brother. And the master-stroke which turns the tables karmically correct is orchestrated by a holy and far-off Buddhist monk.

Read "Bangkok 8," and be transported by remarkable language and gritty similitude to another country, another morality, another state of mind. Recommended unreservedly.

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"The Feast of Love" by Charles Baxter

Three interweaved narratives populate Charles Baxter's "The Feast of Love." One involves Bradley Smith, something of a putz whose two unfortunate marriages (so far) ended badly: one wife leaves him for a woman, and the second leaves him for her long-time sex partner. That relationship ends badly for the self-absorbed cheating wife.

My favorite plot has to do with Chloe (pronounced clo-WAY). Chloe has outrageous sex with, and then marries, Oscar. A couple of months later the poor thing is widowed. Chloe has visions; she's quite young but has wisdom in worldly matters; she sees mystical things while high, but understands their import in the cold light of day. She undergoes the worst heartache in the book, but she emerges from it. She's a goddess - she even says so. You can't read this book and not fall in love with her. She's Venus with 21st century techno-patter.

"The Feast of Love" is replete with lessons: don't pick someone based solely on looks; don't blame the other person exclusively when he or she cuts and runs; don't settle; don't invest too much emotion in your partner; trust your local psychic.

This highly readable book will engage you with its characters. You will come away wiser and with an appreciative smile for the author. By all means, read "The Feast of Love."

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"Train" by Pete Dexter

Packard, a war hero returning from the Pacific Theater, joins the police force in Southern California. It seems, though, he has returned in a kind of personal fog, or limbo. Outward signs are that he's only interested in sensations, wants to test various things to see if he can feel an emotion. He golfs with some lowlifes, but meets a black caddy named Lionel - called "Train" - who, it turns out, is also a brilliant golfer.

This is a book about racial prejudice and segregation in Southern California after the War. The blurb on the back cover is true: Pete Dexter's writing cuts to the bone. There are no holds barred here. Packard takes justice into his own hands - good thing too, because it's one of the few areas where he can exercise reliable judgment. Packard, called "Miles Away Man" by Train, is finally snapped back into the human race when after a tumultuous argument with his wife, she shoots his lower leg with a shotgun, after which he finally shows emotion and breaks down into tears.

"Train" is hard-edged, honest, and deft at the same time. Dexter is a virtuoso. Pick this up and read it - I assure you you won't regret it.

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