Dirty Joe the Pirate: A True Story by Bill Harley, pictures by Jack E. Davis, for children ages 5-8, Harper Collins, $16.99

Harley, a Grammy award winner who lives in Seekonk, will thrill kids with his charming rhymed adventure tale of Dirty Joe, a remorseless pirate who roams the high seas seeking to plunder dirty socks from his captives. He meets his match, however, in Stinky Annie, a frightening lady pirate who plunders too, but undergarments are her flags of choice. The story is sufficiently and benignly gross to delight young readers as well as their on-looking parents. The illustrations are pure, delightful fantasy. No political correctness here, nor a big social message, the book is just silly fun. Boys with older sisters may find the book’s one message disconcerting: “If you’ve got an older sister, then I feel bad for you, Cause just as long as she’s alive, she’ll tell you what to do.” Amen to that.

Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power by John Harwood and Gerald F. Seib, Random House, Current Events, 260 pp., $26

This is an entirely accessible look at who’s who and what’s what on Pennsylvania Avenue where big money has moved in with big power. There are profiles of some of the big players like Brendan Daly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s communications director who once worked for the Patriot Ledger. Most names will not be of the household variety unless you’re an avid viewer of cable news shows, but average Americans paying nearly $100 for a fill up at the gas station probably will conclude that no matter who is responsible for making decisions in Washington, they can’t be very good at it. The cost of everything has risen wildly, and it is the lobbyists’ job to perpetuate the trend, to cover the lending deficits by raising the prices of everything. The authors appear to be evenhanded, though their treatment of the Dubai Port deal rankles. Harwood and Seib say that the Dubai company, which attempted to buy some American ports, is run by Westerners, but ‘run’ is not ‘owned’. Even so, this is a fascinating look at the people in Washington’s power structures, some of whom are actually trying to bridge the black hole between both major political parties who at their peril ignore the needs of working class Americans. In the end, it’s all about the money, and there’s nothing new about that no matter what street you work on. How unfortunate for us all.

 

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny, St. Martin’s Minotaur, cozy mystery, 311 p., $23.95

This is the third stellar installment in Penny’s Three Pines series set in a nearly hidden tiny village south of Quebec populated by kindhearted, generous, intelligent people who look after each other, and more importantly, allow their neighbors to be exactly who they are. There is the famous poet, Ruth Zardo, usually nasty and cantankerous, yet deeply caring. Clara and Peter Morrow are both artists, he the more famous, and she, the more talented. Gabri and Olivier, a gay couple, run the B&B and a bistro that sounds perfectly divine. Myrna is a psychologist who owns the local bookstore.And there is Armand Gamache, a high ranking inspector of the Surete, who has come to Three Pines for the third time to investigate a murder, a woman frightened to death during a seance. Gamache is a compelling character, rich in wisdom and compassion who is tortured by his notorious investigation into corruption and murder at the highest levels of law enforcement, the effects of which have not begun to subside. Penny is a thoughtful, elegant writer, and I believe she is the best traditional mystery writer to come along in decades. Her prose is meaningful, poetic, and piercingly beautiful. She explores the nuances of relationships with a sure but gentle hand. Please read the first two books in the series, Still Life and A Fatal Grace and then this one, and prepare to be completely enchanted.

 

Cross by Ken Bruen, St. Martin’s Minotaur, Mystery, 288 p., $23.95

Ken Bruen writes like his soul’s on fire.

This is the sixth novel in the Jack Taylor series set in Galway, and it’s dark, and once again, brilliantly done. Taylor is a former Galway cop, an alcoholic and drug addict whose morning prayer to God, with whom he has a contentious relationship, is “Do your worst and let’s see how I take it.” He is a man who lights candles for the dead, yet still manages to kill. The more tragedy piles itself around him, the stronger he gets, tempting himself unmercifully by having a pint and a shot of Jameson’s set before him in pubs. Life, for him, is a daily round of Russian roulette. Jack has much to mourn. He was responsible for the death of a small child, and his surrogate son, Cody, was shot as someone tried to kill Jack. His beloved city is beset by urban gentrification and an influx of immigrants who don’t know a pint from a pony. He’s had it with the Catholic Church, and he’s going deaf to boot. A young man has been crucified and a young girl burned to death. Jack investigates with the dour assistance of a lesbian policewoman who functions somewhat as a friend. I love this series. Bruen’s humor is as dry and brittle as old bones. If you don’t mind a journey to the dark and grim with side trips to the absurdly funny, you’ll love it, too.

 

Executive Privilege by Phillip Margolin, Harper Collins, Mystery, 358 p., $25.95

Margolin, a former criminal defense lawyer from Oregon and very successful novelist, delivers another knockout punch with his latest legal thriller. Three young former lovers of the President of the United States have been killed, two of their deaths ascribed to serial killers. Is the president himself a serial killer? A lowly associate at a Portland white shoe firm and a female former DC cop are on the trail. Enter a smart and savvy FBI agent, a formidable first lady, a ruthless political operative, and the chase is on to uncover a high ranking and remorseless killer. I couldn’t race through the pages quickly enough.

 Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer, Ballantine Books, Chick Lit, 299 p., $24

Ladies, if you’ve read Nancy Thayer before, you know that she can bring out the girl in a woman of any age, and she does it once again. Set on glorious Nantucket, this is the story of two childhood friends who are separated emotionally for years when Lexi abandons the island for marriage to a rich and powerful man leaving her friend Clare behind. Clare finishes college and culinary school, opens a chocolate shop on the island, and prepares to marry her first love, Jesse. Then Lexi returns alone. Thayer brings the island to the reader with every page. This story of love, loss, hope, and forgiveness is just the thing for the beach or your favorite cozy chair. Tissues sold separately. I loved it.

 

Summer Blowout by Claire Cook, Voice/Hyperion, Chick Lit, 242 pp., $23.95

Scituate’s own Claire Cook has whipped up something funny and frothy for a satisfying summer read. Lucky Larry Shaugnessy fell in love with all things Italian on his first honeymoon in Tuscany. He named his Irish children with various wives Bella, Mario, Sophia, and Tulia, and strangely, they all followed him into the beauty trade and work together in ‘Marhsbury’, Massachusetts. Poor Bella is still smarting since Sophia walked off with her husband, but family endures for the Shaughnessys no matter the assaults against it. Mario is gay and has been living with Todd for years. Their son Andrew is getting married in Atlanta in two weeks. Everybody’s in an uproar. Bella meets a nice guy, but there are complications. She gets stuck with a dog, but then doesn’t want to give it back, so she disguises it. Pack this one in the beach tote now. It is absolutely delightful.

 More books...

 

Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon by Dr. Nick Trout, Broadway Books, Memoir, 286 pp., $22.95

Trout, who was educated in Britain, is a witty animal surgeon at Boston’s own Angell Animal Medical Center. His recollections range from very funny to sad. There is Taco, the man-hating chihuahua and Sage, the gentle and much loved companion of a recent widower. There is the tale also of the pre-surgical patient who ran away, but was later located in the red light district. A great read for animal lovers.

Cheating at Solitaire by Jane Haddam, St. Martin’s Minotaur, Mystery, 336 pp., $24.95

 This 22nd installment in the Gregor Demarkian series set in Philadelphia is particularly satisfying, skewering undeserved celebrity as a Paris Hilton type comes to the island of Margaret’s Harbor (the Vineyard) with her pantyless pals, one of whom is suspected of murdering a boy toy. The Armenia-American Hercule Poirot solves the crime, of course, but not without Haddam’s trademark social commentary which is dead on as always.

Trick of the Mind by Cassandra Chan, St. Martin’s Minotaur, Mystery, 338 pp., $24.95

 This book is so British I craved tea for days, but it’s written by an American. Jack Gibbons, a London police investigator is shot on a street in a bad part of town and is left for dead. Happily, he survives, but can’t remember anything of the event. Enter his best friend, the independently wealthy Phillip Bethancourt, who saves the day working in tandem with the police. Suspenseful and very well done.

Holy Moly by Ben Rehder, St. Martin’s Minotaur, Mystery, 339 p., $24.95

Rehder takes a big poke of fun at Houston preacher Joel Osteen in this wild and crazy tale of murder and the skeletal remains of a dinosaur head that a worker stumbles upon on the site of a big new church ‘Pastor Pete’ is building. Victoria Osteen takes a beating as the blonde and beautiful adultress with a heart of goad. This is funny stuff.