Almost Home
by Pam Jenoff is a novel of international intrigue, significant struggle, and humiliating heartbreak. Jordan Weiss is a Foreign Service Officer working in Washington, D.C., who receives a letter from her college friend Sarah asking her to return to London as Sarah struggles with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). Once in London, a place Jordan never expected to see again after her tragic last semester, she takes a job as a investigative diplomat working to uncover financial connections between companies and the Albanian mob.
“Chris pulls out my chair and I sit down awkwardly, conscious of his presence, the way he hovers a second too long behind me as though afraid I will flee.” (Page 64)
Jenoff really knows how to set the mood. Almost Home is full of dark imagery, fast-paced chases, and tension as thick as butter. Readers will be kept guessing as to who is on the wrong side of the equation. Jordan is likable and draws readers into the story, sweeping readers into her grief over the decades ago loss of her college sweetheart, Jared, and the mystery surrounding his death. There is tension between Jared and Jordan when they first meet as part of a rowing team, but eventually their mutual love of the river and the team gives way to their own passions.
“Trafalgar Square on a Monday morning is a swarming mass of activity. Cars and buses move along the roadway in fits and starts, jamming up at the traffic lights, filling the air with thick exhaust. Swarms of commuters, invisible beneath a sea of black umbrellas, jostle as they make their way from the buses to the city, from Charing Cross Tube station to Whitehall.” (Page 131)
Tension and suspense are dominant atmospheres in Almost Home, but the novel is more than just a political thriller, it deals with deep grief and healing. There also are lighter moments between Jordan and Sarah that illustrate a part of Jordan that has been dormant since the tragic loss of Jared. The dynamic between the two is strong and full of sisterly love, which can transcend any situation.
Jenoff’s experience as a diplomat is clearly present in the novel as Jordan deals with bureaucracy and cloak-and-dagger tactics. There are some points in the novel where Jordan appears to be out of her element and a novice diplomat, but given the recent debacle in Liberia and the death of a colleague; her flight to London to be with her sick friend; and all that is uncovered about the death of Jared, her mistakes and bad judgment should be expected. The pressures she feels and the memories that haunt her are too much for any one person to deal with a high-stress position with government. Jordan is a complex character dealing with new grief, renewed old grief, and a demanding job in a city she once abandoned. Overall, Almost Home
is a fast-paced, highly emotional, well-written novel.
This is my 13th new-to-me author for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.
I’m considering this for my 3rd book, a mix of the political and mob thriller , for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge.
FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of Almost Home by Pam Jenoff from the author. Clicking on title links or images will bring you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary.
is a book of poems I would recommend to those who enjoy reading sonnets, who love poetry, and those who are just starting to read poetry. Wareham includes the classic sonnets of William Shakespeare and William Yeats, but he also crafts new sonnets from the words (available in the public domain) of famous figures, like 
by Jane Austen and 
, which merely inserts new sentences to achieve the goal of making the Bennets zombie slayers, Winters creates a story nearly all his own, but using Austen’s Dashwood sisters.
— and mixes it with ramped up social commentary a la Jane Austen. The latter half of the novel is the most action packed and is almost hurried along. But by the end, readers get swept up in adventure, myth, and outrageous challenges and have nothing to do but enjoy the ride. 
is a pot of water on the stove that takes a long time to boil. Henry Lee is the main protagonist, but really his story happens nearly 45 years in the past, and those are the chapters that breathe and live. Much of the present day (1986) life of Henry Lee is somber and lifeless.
, is a thrill ride in a small, shoreline town in Massachusetts — Shoreham — as Holly Barrett meets the man of her dreams on a bus. Jack Dane is dashing, charming, and British — an accent to die for — but there is something below the surface that is not so inviting.
by Lisa See examines the relationship between sisters, May and Pearl, their immigration story from Shanghai, China, to Los Angeles, Calif., and the political changes between the 1930s and 1950s. Pearl was born under the sign of the Dragon, and May was born under the sign of the Sheep. Do these signs define who they are? Will they guide their fate?
, 
, 
(an Edgar Award nominee), 
, and 
, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir 
. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Please check out her 
, and a zombie conflict. Grahame-Smith effectively weaves in the zombie attacks and how the Bennet clan dispatches them with skill. A majority of this novel is Austen’s words, but the dialogue and descriptions that are modified to accommodate zombies are done with aplomb.
is a beautifully written novel about pivotal decisions and their unexpected consequences. Told from the point of view of Officer Jessica Villareal and Melinda aka Lindy Wiggs, the novel shifts from the legal ramifications of Villareal’s decision not to split up Melinda from her family and Melinda’s experiences with her Iraq War veteran father, her drug addicted mother, and her new home. The novel is peppered with beautiful imagery and a number of passages with birds, which emphasize flight and escape.
, the girls read a book about ballet and decide that they should take ballet, so they can become ballerinas in 
, Book 2. 
, Book 3.
