Fiction/Literature
We meet Corrigan, an immigrant from Ireland who studies his religion closely, but is struggling between his religion and the woman he loves. Corrigan helps prostitutes that work near his home in the projects, including mother and daughter team Tillie and Jazzlyn. McCann also introduces us to the artist Lara and the grieving mother Claire who lost her son in the war. These characters all heard of or saw the man walking across the tightrope and after this, their lives start to weave together.
I hadn't read what this book was about before I started it because I was reading it for a book club. Because of this, it took me a while to figure out what the point of the novel was. Was it about the tightrope walker or about the characters McCann was narrating. Once I figured it out and settled in, I found parts of this book really interesting. I enjoyed reading about Corrigan and Tillie's stories. When it got to Claire and her husband though, I found them monotonous and had trouble getting through those parts. Due to this, I don't think I would recommend this book to others.
First Line: "Those who saw him hushed."
Rating:
(3.5/5)
It took me a while to get around to reading this one but I'm glad I finally picked it up. This is the story of the Bennet family and the five girls in that family. Mrs. Bennet is trying to find suitors for her girls in early 19th-century England because there are no male heirs to the Bennet estate, if Mr. Bennet dies the girls will be left without a house or income. 
The year is 1962. The place is Jackson, Mississippi. A place where black maids are good enough to raise white children but are considered the 'scum' of the earth.
The four Weber sisters were brought up with music. The eldest two, Josefa and Aloysia, are singers that sometimes compete for both singing roles and affection. The younger sisters Constanze and Sophie stick together and are less musical. In 1770 Austria, the family meets a young struggling musician named Mozart, whose eye is caught by Aloysia Weber. However Mrs. Weber has other plans for her children and carefully plots which fabulous men they should be betrothed to. 
A Pale View of Hills tells the story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living in England.
This is the sixth book in the Tony Hills series. The premise of each is somewhat the same, Tony Hill is vulnerable in his life and his job, Carol Jordan and her team have to prove themselves and the dynamics between the two are complex and in turmoil. Does this make a ho-hum read. Definitely not!!!! McDermid has out-done herself with the best in the series.
It's 1939 in Nazi-occupied Vienna and the residents of an apartment building are uneasy. One resident, retired Professor Speckstein is obviously spying on other residents for the Nazis, which has everyone being very careful about their actions. When Speckstein's dog is murdered, he asks Dr. Beer, a general physician with a background in forensic psychology to help investigate. This brings Dr. Beer closer with Speckstein's niece Zuzka who believes herself sick even though she is not, Anneliese a young girl with a humpback and drunk father, and Otto Frei the mime. 
Jude Farraday has raised her two children, twins Mia and Zach, by being very involved in their upbringing. She has been there for every step and has helped plan their every move. The twins are bright, smart and Zach is popular. Mia is a little shyer and but when she enters high school she meets Lexi Baill, a former foster child. They become inseparable and when Lexi and Zach fall in love, everything is perfect.
Harry Bosch is still retired from the LAPD when he gets a call from his old friend Terry McCaleb's wife after McCaleb passed away. McCaleb was the character in Connelly's Blood Work. His wife found out that McCaleb's pills had been swapped out to placebos and she suspects her husband may have been murdered. She asks Bosch to investigate. As Bosch goes through all of McCaleb's stuff he finds many old cases that McCaleb was working on, including a string of 6 murders out in Nevada. 
There are four Weber sisters- Josefa, plain with a good voice; Aloysia, beautiful with a voice to match; Sophie, bookish and religious; and Constanze, quiet. Their father Fridolin is a music copyist and teacher and full of fun struggling to meet all his family's needs. Their mother Marie Caecilia is socially ambitious especially for her daughters even to the point of keeping a book with all marriage prospects in it.