Dark and Shallow Lies

Finished September 27

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

This young adult novel is set in a small town in Louisiana, La Chachette. It is known as the Psychic Capital of the world, and is accessible only by boat. The main character, Grey, who is seventeen, has spent her summers there for years. After her mother's death when she was eight, she has lived with her father during the rest of the year, and come to stay with her grandmother Honey in the summer.  When she returns this summer, she knows that her best friend Elora, who was born on the same day, in the same room as her, disappeared six months earlier. She is worried about the rest of her friends there and how they are reacting to the situation. She also finds it strange that none of the local psychics have been able to discover what happened to Elora. 

As the summer goes on, she feels that everyone there has secrets and some of them are more worrying than others. She also makes a new friend, a teen that also met Elora, and is aware of the close relationship that Elora and Grey had. 

As Grey grew up she knew that she and Elora were part of a group of children born that summer, known as the Summer Children. There were ten of them, born to eight different families. With the new boy, that makes eleven, a number Grey feels is unlucky. As she discovers the truth about the death of two of the group when they were very young and what the stories told then signify, she finds a need to get to the truth, for all of them. 

This is a very engaging book, about friendship and love, about finding one's one place in the world. It is a coming-of-age tale in a very unusual place. I really enjoyed the read. 

A Better Man

Finished October 1
A Better Man by Louise Penny,

As the book begins, Armand Gamache is back in the role of Head of Homicide, but he overlaps for a couple of weeks with Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and that is just one of the adjustments that must be made. The relatively recently-added homicide agent, Lysette Cloutier brings the squad's attention to a missing person, and Armand agrees to investigate the case with her. The missing woman Vivienne Godin, has been a victim of domestic abuse by her husband in the past, but charges were never laid, and the two were still living together when she went missing. Her father says that she called him, saying that she was leaving, but not wanting his presence. As Armand digs deeper into the case, more information and characters come along, including an ex-CFL player turned police officer.
Back home in Three Pines, Clara is going through a bad time. Her latest series of work, a collection of miniatures has been panned, with the result that her entire career's work is called into question. Her friends try to offer support, but not always with the results they expect.
In the larger world, Quebec is facing severe flooding, and decisions must be made on how to deal with the rising water, the threat of rivers overflowing their banks, and the aging dams upriver. Armand is brought into the consultation, but politics play a role in whether he will be listened to or not. There is also a larger reputation issue going on for him online, with rumours and misinformation being widely shared and emotions becoming heated.
All the usual characters are back: Ruth, Myrna, Billy Williams, and Annie among them. There are also new characters from the ex-CFL player to a New York art critic than bring new storylines with them. As enjoyable as ever.

The Flooded Earth

Finished August 10
The Flooded Earth by Mardi McConnochie

This middle grade novel falls into the dystopian subset of climate fiction, fiction, known as clifi, that takes place after the world's climate has caused catastrophic changes. The main characters in the novel are Will and Annalie, twins, and the children of a man, Spinner, who had previously worked for the government trying to find solutions for problems facing the world's inhabitants.
As the book opens, it is forty years after a devastating flood that flooded entire countries, devastated coastal communities and had a huge economic effect. Many countries redefined themselves, opting not to repopulate some areas even after flood waters receded. Refugees found themselves in horrific camps, or living in the abandoned areas of the world.
Annalie was encouraged by her father to apply to the prestigious government boarding school in their country, Dux, and was accepted, but she feels like an outsider. She and Will were raised by their father in one of the abandoned areas and lived off the grid until now. During the flood the military took charge of the government and is still in charge. They are known as The Admiralty. When the authorities come unexpectedly for Spinner, he sends Will to a friend's place and goes for an escape. He doesn't make it to his boat, which The Admiralty has taken custody of, but he does disappear. And the authorities now come to Annalie, asking her questions about her father and making her feel unnerved. After talking to Will, she decides to leave school and go home to join Will and try to find their father. Her only school friend, Essie, daughter of a senior government official who has fallen to scandal, decides to come with her.
As the twins and Essie set off on a sea voyage after Skinner, along with Skinner's enhanced talking parrot, Graham, they are in for a big adventure. The must dodge the government officials that are trying to find them, avoid the pirate ships that prey on boats where they can, and try to decide who to trust as they follow their instincts and carefully choose ports to stop in for supplies. This is obviously the first in a series of books following the children, and I am dying to find out the next adventures for them. The author is well-known for both children's and adult fiction in Australia, and I am pleased to discover her.