Storm Prey   John Sandford
This novel reminded me why I stopped reading these prey books a long time ago. I don’t really like Davenport, found the criminals to be caricatures, and a few too many thriller clichés. Glad it didn’t take too long. Now I’m really done.

Countdown City   Ben H. Winters
Sequel to The Last Policeman. As the countdown to the end of the world continues, Henry tries to find the missing husband of his old babysitter. Well written, good characters, and very entertaining. A little quirkier this time. Still, couldn’t put it down.

The Last Policeman   Ben Winters
Very entertaining mystery novel about a policeman trying to solve a murder with only six months until an asteroid crashes into the earth. Really well written, great characters, plenty of twists, and a satisfying ending. Couldn’t put it down.

Descartes’ Loneliness   Allen Grossman
More beautiful poems about mind in the world, and the fundamental loneliness of thinking and human existence. Really liked them. Wish I could write poetry this good.

The Bright Nails Scattered on the Ground: Love Poems   Allen Grossman
Beautiful, intellectual poems about a man and woman in an unsanctioned love. Mythic, cosmic, symbolic. Wish I had discovered Grossman sooner. Very good.

Storm Front   John Sandford
Complicated, deeply entertaining and satisfying novel set in Mankato about a BCA agent who gets caught up in international smuggling. Pretty good characters, swift prose, and an engaging, and mostly convincing, plot. Good enough to be plenty of fun.

The Salinger Contract   Adam Langer
Entertaining, though implausible, thriller about a writer hired to write a novel that only one person will ever read. Some interesting twists, and good practical moral ambiguity in the characters. And, as would, no doubt, be the case, no really happy ending. Beautiful prose which is what kept me going.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II   Iris Chang
A good history of the massacre that occurred in Nanking in December 1937 when the Japanese took the city. Unfortunately, not really a balanced account. Chang’s writing uses too many adjectives instead of letting the innate horror of the action speak for themselves. Also, she talks too much about herself, and writes as if raping a woman is far worse than torturing and mutilating a man. The basic information, especially about the subsequent cover-up, is good. Too bad her intentionally inflammatory language, and her obvious personal dislike of the Japanese, taints the work.

Work Done for Hire   Joe Haldeman
Entertaining thriller about a former military sniper who is recruited to kill someone after he has been back from the war and is a successful writer. Good until the clumsy, rushed ending. But a quick read.

Mortality   Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens’ last book written while he was dying of cancer of the esophagus. Everything in it that I loved about his other work, insight, humor, and stiletto-sharp reason. Sad but really good.

The Rosie Project   Graeme Simsion
Absolutely delightful comic novel about a genetics professor with Asperger’s who creates a scientific project to find a woman with whom he is compatible. Laughed out loud, and wasn’t even disappointed with the clumsy, predictable ending. Couldn’t put it down, read the whole thing in one sitting.

Peeling the Onion   Günter Grass
Grass’ moving, honest, guilt-ridden, and literary memoir of his war and post-war years up to the publication of The Tin Drum. I wish he had kept going, but it is nearly perfect as it is. Really liked it.

Decoded   Mai Jia
Jia’s novel about a math genius who works as a cryptographer for Chinese intelligence. Like a dog repeatedly circling a spot before it lies down, Jia doesn’t get to the plot for the first 300 pages. Nice prose translation, but tedious and full of what seems to me extraneous information. Kind of a waste for me.