The Spectacular, by Fiona Davis

Author Fiona Davis sets all her novels at NYC landmarks. This one is set at Radio City Music Hall, where we learn the history and inner-workings of the Rockettes. The bulk of the book is set in 1956, though it starts 37 years later, with an older Marion Brooks (protagonist). 

In 1956, Marion was a dance teacher, just 19 yrs old. She and her sister Judy were raised by their single dad, after their mother was killed when they were 7 (Marion) and 10 (Judy). 

Marion had a boyfriend, of whom her domineering dad approved. A marriage proposal was assured. But when Marion auditions for the Rockettes, her life gets turned upside down - in so many ways. Her dad hates that she has deviated from the plan he had in his head for her. 

This book was a page turner, and Davis is a really good writer. There's danger. Romance. A strong woman character. 

Without giving spoilers, I enjoyed finding out - after the book was done - how much of the book was historically true. 

Highly recommend!

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

We read this as a precursor to watching the movie. 

While it's YA, its topics apply to adults. Family, faith, feeling different or apart (less than) one's peers. First published in 1962, L'Engle seems to have been a trend setter for the rise of sci-fi. 

Meg and her little brother Charles Wallace, (plus a friend Calvin), set out to find their father. Three eccentric ladies - the 3 Mrs. W's (Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, Mrs Which) help them. There's time travel, called tessering, and the ladies (or aliens [or angels] we never quite learn what they are) "tesser" the kids to find their dad. Then they find a battle with "evil." There's always evil to be battled, isn't there? 

The wrinkle in time is the analogy for taking a piece of fabric and folding it so that two faraway spots come together. There's talk of physics and math in this book; some feel that if this book had been widely read by more young females in the 1960s, 70s, etc, that there'd be more females in STEM careers today. 

Meg's belief in a parent's ability to solve any problem is both sweet and heartbreaking. This begs the question -- when does a parent's "shield" begin to crack in the eyes of their kid(s)? Following that line of thinking, when does a parent finally admit they cannot fix the world for their kid, ie, protect them from all evil?

Note that this book was banned because of a passage that appears to put Jesus, Buddha and other spiritual leaders on the same level. How strange for that to be a reason to ban this book. 

The writing, while for a YA audience, is beautiful. Its theme of love conquering all exudes from each syllable. 

The Starved Rock Murders, by Steve Strout

I read this book on my own - in just 2 days. "L" did not. 

March 14, 1960 -- three "suburban housewives" (from Chicago suburb of Riverside) were murdered at St. Louis canyon, part of Starved Rock State Park. The author is local to the area. Book pubbed 1982. 

It took 8 months for a grand jury to deliver indictment for Chester Weger, a former dishwasher at Starved Rock Lodge & Restaurant. 

This all took place before "Miranda," and when juries decided the sentence. Rather than the chair, the jury chose life in prison. The jury was shocked to learn -- after their decision on the sentence -- that Chester Weger would be eligible for parole after serving 20 years. 

Weger was released in Feb. 2020. Now age 84 (@Nov 2024), he is fighting for his case to be overturned. He has maintained that the LaSalle County sheriffs coerced a confession. The confession was quite elaborate -- on-the-scene (at the murder site), Weger detailed how he accidentally killed one of the women, then killed the other two so they couldn't identify him. He even detailed how a small plane flew overhead and he dragged the body under the overhang of the cliff. There were indeed drag marks in the dirt. And a nearby small airport indicated the exact color plane was flying during time of murders (about 3:30 pm). 

DNA in a hair found in the glove of one of the women points to one of 3 brothers who lived in the area - last name Bray. This fact, of course, is new. There were no DNA results in 1960. All 3 Bray brothers would have been aged mid-50s to about 60 at the time of the murders. 

DNA does not lie. And we know that confessions have been coerced. LaSalle County sheriffs were torched in the media for bumbling the crime scene. Mishandling of evidence. The states attorney was voted out because of the mishandling. So was there pressure on the sheriffs to produce the culprit? Yes. 

Meanwhile, Weger is 84 yrs old and fighting for his name to be cleared. Is he innocent? Or was he somehow an accomplice with one of the Bray brothers? One of whom died just two days after the murders. Of a heart attack. Suspicious? Yep. 

If Chester Weger is completely innocent, then this was a huge miscarriage of justice. NOT the first or last. 

The book was well-written, but I skipped certain parts of testimony that seemed redundant.