The Literate Kitty

Everyone’s familiar with the saying, “blood is thicker than water”... but is it,   really? Norwegian suspense author Jo Nesbø puts that idea to the test in his latest tale,  Blood Ties  (giving big-time Cain-&-Abel energy).     One thing you can count on, living in a really small town? That  everyone  else knows your business.  Your family. Your history. Everything you ever did. Basically, all the dirt.   If your family’s respected (and respectable), you’ve got a lot to live up to... but your fellow townsfolk probably give you the benefit of the doubt if one of you does something to raise eyebrows.   But if your family’s always been a little bit “off”, well... the town doesn’t cut you as much slack.   Brothers Carl and Roy Opgard grew up in tiny Os, moved away for a spell, then made their ways back... and made good, in middle-age.    Carl manages the town’s biggest draw—the chic Os Spa and Hotel—and has grand plans for...

There are friends... and then there are your Ride-or-Dies, The People Who Have Your Back (No Matter What). One thing I’ve learned, over the years, is that it doesn’t matter how many “friends” or “followers” you have, or how many “likes” you get, on whatever social platform.    What does matter is what happens when you’re at your lowest. Your ugliest. Your neediest (or, your I-absolutely-don’t-need-anyone-iest, which of course, is when you absolutely-really- do ).   Because the people who show up for you then, in all your  whateverness?  They’re the ones worth holding onto, listening to, and sharing your best—and your worst—with, forever.   Deanna Raybourn’s newest spy thriller,  Kills Well With Others , gives us a masterclass in the why... and does so, in surprisingly poignant--and frequently hilarious--fashion.     They’re a foursome, alright... but definitely not your killer  Sex-and-the-City  kind of quad (not even the  and...