Review of "Like Mother, Like Daughter: A Novel of Suspense" by Kimberly McCreight

The mother-daughter relationship can be fraught, especially when the parent is a worrier and the grown child wants to establish her independence. This family bond is at the heart of this novel.

*****

Katrina (Kat) McHugh......



......and her lookalike daughter Cleo, a student at New York University, have had a tense relationship for months.



The rift occurred when Kat broke up Cleo's relationship with her drug-dealing boyfriend Kyle, a 'bad boy' Cleo met at college.



In an effort to mend fences, Kat beseeches her daughter to come to dinner, and Cleo reluctantly agrees. However, when Cleo arrives at the family home in Brooklyn, she finds a blackened pot sizzling on the hot stove; chicken burning in the oven; and Kat's bloody shoe under the sofa.



In short, Kat is missing, and it looks like she was suddenly abducted.

Cleo calls her dad, documentary filmmaker Aiden McHugh, who's just getting off a plane.....and they inform the police.



The cops arrive to take pictures, swab for DNA, and lift fingerprints, and Detective Wilson - a no-nonsense woman in charge of the investigation - urges Kat and Aiden to stay calm and optimistic.



The rest of the book alternates between two timelines: Kat's narrative, starting eight days before her disappearance; and Cleo's story, describing what she does to help find her mother.

In Kat's chapters we learn that she's an attorney at a classy law firm called Blair, Stevenson, which represents high power corporate clients.



Blair, Stevenson is currently defending Darden Pharmaceuticals, which makes a seizure medication called Xytek. A lawsuit alleges that Darden knew of and disregarded Xytek's risks to pregnant patients and their unborn children, and Kat is working on the case.



To complicate matters, Kat - who's in the midst of divorcing her cheating husband Aiden - is dating Doug Sinclair, who happens to be a senior executive at Darden Pharmaceuticals. Fraternizing with a client is a no-no, but Kat figures no one has to find out......until a tragic incident occurs.



In the midst of all this turmoil, Kat suspects Cleo is secretly back with drug dealer Kyle, and she takes additional steps to terminate the association.



In Cleo's sections, she admits to feeling guilty about being estranged from her mother. Cleo decides to search for Kat herself, and in furtherance of this goal, Cleo finds her mother's diaries. These describe Kat's terrible childhood in a group home, and a crime that occurred there.

Cleo also finds Kat's personal computer, with messages from men on dating sites. Cleo withholds all this information from Detective Wilson, and follows up these 'clues' herself.



For me, this part of the book stretches credulity too much. Firstly, only in fiction would a college student - whose mother has disappeared - withhold important information from the authorities. Moreover, each time Cleo tracks down a person of interest, they immediately confide important information......and even offer to help her. This just seems a bit too convenient.

Despite my reservations, the book is a compelling thriller, with the appropriate red herrings and surprise twists. One minor story thread remains unresolved at the end of the book, but this may have been deliberate on the part of the author.

All in all, I'd mildly recommend the book to mystery fans.



Thanks to Netgalley, Kimberly McCreight, and Knopf for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "All The Way Gone: A Detective Annalisa Vega Novel" by Joanna Schaffhausen

3.5 stars

In this 4th book in the 'Annalisa Vega' series, the detective investigates a suspicious death. The book works fine as a standalone, though familiarity with the characters is a bonus.

*****

Annalisa Vega and her ex-husband Nick Carelli were detective partners in the Chicago Police Department (CPD) until just lately, when Annalisa left the CPD to open her own private investigation agency.





In their personal lives, Annalisa and Nick have remarried, and become involved in the life of Nick's 16-year-old biological daughter, Cassidy Weaver, who recently showed up in Nick's life.



Annalisa is still setting up her PI office when she gets her first big case. A psychology professor, Dr. Mara Delaney, comes in with a unique problem.



Dr. Delaney has written a book called 'The Good Sociopath' about a Chicago neurosurgeon named Dr. Craig Canning.



Delany contends that Canning's sociopathic personality - with traits like antisocial behavior and lack of empathy and remorse - makes him a good doctor because "it takes a certain kind of nerve to cut into another human being - to crack open their skull and muck around in their blood and brain matter."

'The Good Sociopath' is about to be published but there's a fly in the ointment. A pretty young socialite called Victoria (Vicki) Albright, who lives in Dr. Canning's building, plunged off her balcony and was killed.



Delany fears Canning may have engineered the incident, and if he turns out to be a killer, Delaney's entire project, including the book launch, would be ruined. So Delaney hires Annalisa to look into Vicki's death.

In Annalisa's experience as a cop, sociopaths are violent predators to be eliminated at all costs, so she wouldn't be shocked if Canning was guilty. However Annalisa's husband Nick, who investigated Vicki's demise for the CPD, found the girl's death to be an accident.



Regardless, Annalisa goes full steam ahead, looking for evidence to prove Canning murdered Vicki.



This irritates the neurosurgeon, who fears for his professional reputation, and he counters with pushback and threats.



In the meantime, Annalisa's stepdaughter Cassidy - who's made herself a part-time assistant in Annalisa's PI agency - suggests another case. Cassidy's friend Naomi desperately needs a kidney transplant, and a suitable donor can't be found.



The only possibility might be Naomi's biological mother, Elizabeth Johnson, who deserted the family when Naomi was a small child. Cassidy wants Annalisa to search for Elizabeth, and when Annalisa doesn't move fast enough, Cassidy decides to look for the woman herself.



Annalisa and Cassidy are not related by DNA, but they both have the same tendency to recklessly plunge into dangerous situations. Thus there's plenty of edge-of-your-seat excitement in the book, as well as intriguing twists and turns.

Additional characters add interest to the story, including Vicki's elderly neighbor Ruth - who saw Vicki fall from the balcony;



Mara Delaney's husband Paul - who disapproves of the 'good sociopath' project;



Professor Miles Dupont - who's angry because his book launch was postponed to promote Mara's tome;



Summer Weaver - Cassidy's mother, who's dying of ALS; and more.



I liked the book, my major quibble being that the plot gets over-complicated. Nevertheless, I'd rcommend the novel to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially fans of Annalisa Vega.

Thanks to Netgalley, Joanna Schaffhausen, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" by Ruth Reichl

Ruth Reichl (b. 1948) is an American chef, restaurant critic, editor, and writer. Reichl has penned numerous cookbooks and memoirs, and this book covers Ruth's stint as food critic for the New York Times (NYT) from 1993 to 1999.

Author Ruth Reichl

Reichl was a long-time restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times when she was lured away by the NYT. Reichl moved across the country with her husband and son, and New York restaurants pinned up her picture, to make sure Ruth got A+ service when she came in.


Ruth Reichl dining out

Reichl knew she had to be anonymous to ensure 'customary' treatment, and she came up with a solution. Ruth decided to don disguises, so she could dine out incognito. Ruth got acting coach Claudia Banks to assist with creating new personas, which included new names, new outfits, wigs, different kinds of make-up, and novel personalities. Reichl explains that her demeanor and behavior morphed to coincide with the costume she donned.






Some of Ruth Reichl's disguises

Reichl's first portrayal was Molly Hollis - a humdrum, stocky, mid-western high school English teacher. To disguise herself as Molly, Ruth bought a dowdy Armani suit that was too big, and a brown bob wig. Masquerading as Molly, Ruth and a companion dined at Le Cirque, where they got terrible service. Ruth recalls, "I felt frumpy and powerless, and I did not like paying to be humiliated." Though Le Cirque's food was good, Ruth's restaurant review was uncomplimentary, and she took away Le Cirques's fourth star.

Le Cirque Restaurant

In another instance, Reichl dressed up as her mother, Miriam Brudno Reichl. For this impersonation, Reichl donned a blue silk dress, pearls, and Miriam's distinctive eye makeup. Wearing this outfit, Ruth 'became her mother' as a restaurant customer at the 21 Club. Miriam always sent everything back and insulted the waiter, so Ruth did exactly that. She writes, 'I was not a fan of the oysters or the soup, and I sent them back. The Caesar salad was too fishy for me. The onion rings were cold, so I sent them back.' In fact Ruth was so unpleasant that her dinner companion scolded her for going overboard.


21 Club Restaurant

Reichl describes other impersonations as well, such as a blonde bombshell; a bohemian aging hippie; a tweed woman; and so on.



Ruth's food review philosophy differed from her predecessor at the NYT, Bryan Miller.


Bryan Miller - former food critic for the New York Times

Bryan Miller critiqued only toney high end restaurants while Ruth also wrote up more ethnic eateries, like Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Asian, and Indian restaurants, as well as sushi bars. For example, Ruth reviewed the Japanese Honmura An restaurant in Soho, which had delicious soba.


Honmura An Restaurant in Soho

Soba are fine noodles, best eaten cold. They're served on a square lacquered tray with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, rice wine, kelp, dried bonito flakes and sugar. Reichl observes, 'The Japanese love soba noodles, made of buckwheat. They say it takes a year to learn to mix the dough and another year to learn to roll it.'


Soba noodles with dipping sauces

Though Bryan Miller had chosen to give up the NYT restaurant critic job, he resented no longer being 'the Prince of New York', and stopped speaking to Reichl. Bryan also wrote nasty letters about Ruth to the NYT editorial board - criticizing her choice of restaurants to review and suggesting she was ruining his previous hard work. Bryan's laments showed up on the Page Six gossip column, but Ruth had no comment.

In the course of her narrative, Reichl describes a treasure trove of restaurants she ate in and/or reviewed, such as: The Four Seasons, Sparks, Lespinasse, Tavern on the Green, Caravelle, Michael's, Windows on the World, The Box Tree, etc. It's fun to vicariously join Ruth on these dining expeditions, and to read about the food and wines she sampled.


The Four Seasons Restaurant


Tavern on the Green Restaurant


Windows on the World Restaurant

For example, Reichl writes about restaurant Daniel: "I remember the nine-herb ravioli, the wild hare stew, and the pumpkin soup. I also remember the lobster consommé, the skate, and the quail salad. I was served a wonderful bottle of Chassagne-Montrachet followed by a wonderfully plummy Bon Pasteur.


Skate


Quail Salad

And speaking about restaurant Union Pacific, Reichl notes, 'The restaurant's desserts are as interesting as its main courses. The strawberry charlotte with pistachio ice cream is deeply flavored. Raspberries are set onto a tart with lavender, and the crème brûlée is laced with passion fruit essence.


Strawberry Charlotte


Crème Brûlée

Reichl's job at the NYT had its ups and downs, and Ruth writes about her interactions (good and bad) with co-workers, editors, publishers, and diners who won a meal with her in an auction. (This chapter is pretty entertaining. LOL)

In time, Reichl decided she needed a change. She notes, "I had begun to wonder if I was pretending to be other people because I no longer liked the person I had become. I had started my career at the Times by insisting there was no right or wrong in matters of taste, but had turned into a fatuous food snob." In addition, Reichl's son Nicky lamented his mom's absence at meals, and wished his mom could be home to cook dinner in the evenings. Perhaps spurred on by this, Reichl left the NYT in 1999, and became editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. That's the subject of another memoir.


Ruth Reichl in the test kitchen at Gourmet magazine

Reichl includes some of her restaurant reviews in the book, which make interesting reading. Reichl also provides a smattering of recipes, such as: cheesecake, risotto, mussels, hash browns, gougères, roasted chicken, matzo brie, scallion dumplings, leg of lamb, and more.


Mussels


Gougères (French cheese puffs)


Scallion Dumplings

I liked the book, but some of Reichl's tales are clearly embellished and novelistic, to the point they approach fiction. That said, I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in the subject of food and restaurants.

Rating: 4 stars