West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan

As a lover of The Great Gatsby, and the whole era including Fitzgerald, Hemingway, et al., and being a fellow Pittsburgher, I looked forward to reading this new book from Stewart O’Nan. It is a “fictionalized biography” that recounts the final years of F. Scott Fitzgerald, when he is struggling with alcoholism and struggling to hold down a job in the film industry in Hollywood. His wife, Zelda, is in a mental institution back east, and his daughter, Scottie, is in school back east. He only sees them once or twice a year for holidays or vacation. Scott becomes friends with some big Hollywood names and begins an affair with Sheilah Graham, a gossip columnist. Throughout the book, he is on a downward spiral, and it’s sad to see a man with such talent go down the tubes and lose the respect of pretty much everyone, including himself.

I have to say this book is very well written, and O’Nan obviously put in an extensive amount of time on research. His writing is almost poetic at times, especially in the first chapter. However, I am giving it four stars because I was not engaged emotionally by the characters. It is a good story with lots of ups and downs, but it didn’t grab me by the heart. Even his relationship with Sheilah seemed lackluster. I’m not sure what it was, but for me it had an almost clinical aspect, like reading a news report instead of a novel. Just the facts, ma’am. I don’t know; maybe it’s just me. All in all, though, I learned a lot about Fitzgerald that I didn’t know, and it’s well worth the read.

Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant

I bought this book as part of the Indie Power Pack 3-book bundle for self-publishing authors. It is written by two guys who are prolific authors and publish books in several genres, as well as hosting a podcast and blogging about writing. The book contains a lot of good information for indie authors, but I felt it was a bit too long. There was a lot of repetition, and a lot of plugging of their fiction works. Really a lot. I think they could have gotten the same messages across in half the words. But overall, I would say it is a valuable resource for indie authors who are just starting out.

One of Us by Tawni O'Dell

One of Us takes place in a Pennsylvania coal town, where the Nellie O’Neills (fictional name for the real Molly Maguires) were hung for standing up against cruelty by the mine owners in the 1800s. Danny Doyle, great-great-grandson of one of the Nellies, grew up poor, his mother mentally ill, his baby sister dead of mysterious causes, and his father abusive. His grandfather Tommy, however, loved and nurtured him, and Danny grew up and became a famous forensic psychologist in Philadelphia. He returns to his home town to check on his sick grandfather, and discovers the body of Simon Husk at the gallows.

Coincidentally, Scarlet Dawes, great-great-granddaughter of the mine owner who hung the Nellies, also returns to her home town around the same time. It is revealed early on that Scarlet is a psychopath and an evil murderer. Of course, she and Danny cross paths.

The town’s only detective and lifelong friend of Danny’s, Rafe Malloy, proceeds to investigate the murder of Simon Husk and another woman who is killed in her home, while Danny faces his demons. The dark secrets of the small town are slowly revealed in the story.

While it is a good story, there were several things that bothered me. I found it implausible that both Danny and Rafe knew Scarlet killed Marcella, but instead of bringing her in for questioning, Danny goes to lunch with her and asks her why she did it. It just wouldn’t happen that way in real life. And then there is the distraction of the “Ghost Sniffers” who are in town doing a TV show about the gallows. They are a strange and colorful bunch of characters with a supposed ghost-detecting fox terrier named Wade who is treated like a person. I found them to be silly and not really fitting into the story, and they served no real purpose. Also distracting was the overuse of designer names worn by both Danny and Scarlet.

The book is written in the first person, switching back and forth between Danny and Scarlet. There are twists and turns in the story that keep you turning the pages, and I didn’t see the ending coming. However, there are some questions left unanswered. I am giving this book four stars because I liked O’Dell’s Coal Run much better.