The Lake House by Kate Morton

This author always satisfies me when I need a mix of mystery and romance, and her latest book The Lake House, is a great addition to my list of favorites.  Morton sets the the story in the beautiful Cornish countryside, and uses a suspected kidnapping as bait for a multigenerational saga. Detective Sadie Sparrow works to  solve the cold case of a missing toddler, seventy years after the incident.

Related Reviews of Kate Morton Books: The Secret Keeper (with links to other reviews)

The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray

Although the movie, The Big Short, was categorized as a comedy, it seemed more like a horror story to me.  Paul Murray uses the same theme of banker corruption in his book The Mark and the Void, focusing on the European financial crisis. NPR’s Jason Sheehan calls it “the funniest banking book of the year” but to me, it was just scary thinking there are so many crazy people out there.

New York Times Review: The Mark and the Void

The Objects of Her Affection by Sonya Cobb

Maybe the financial crisis and the housing market were still on my mind when I read Sonya Cobb’s art heist mystery.  Despite the angst of her heroine, who steals precious artifacts from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where her husband is a curator, I could only focus on her attempt to pay off her mortgage.  The timeframe of the story would be about the time of the great real estate debacle when so many unsuspecting home owners were suddenly swept away under growing interest rates, and homes they could not afford in the first place.

On a more serious note:

Life Lessons by Elizabeth Kubler-Rosss and David Kellser caught my eye.  You may remember Kubler-Ross for the famous categorizing of the five stages of grief –  from denial to acceptance?  This book focuses on managing life, with chapters on guilt, anger, fear, and patience – pick your poison and learn a few management skills.

How To Keep People From Pushing Your Buttons by Albert Ellis and Arthur Lange in next on my bedside pile.