eleanor_t's reviews
356 reviews

Solid contemporary British murder mystery series, starting in the 1990s. The characters are well developed, although the author tends to save all her characters in that even the murderer can be seen as sympathetic at times. It's great escapist reading, but not literary. The plots are fairly tight and keeps the reader's interest. 

This is a lovely book; Barry is a good writer. I especially enjoyed the dives into the histories of the places they visited on their travels. I learned quite a bit (not all of it comfortable or comforting) of American history that we should all know more about.
Thing is, this book already feels like a sepia-saturated nostalgia trip. His premise was to somehow breach the political divisions in this nation by highlighting commonalities and "explaining" conservative thought (he doesn't spend any time explaining liberal thought, which is odd, but I digress. To think that liberal is the default is a bit clueless nowadays). If the 2024 election had turned out differently, I would have embraced this book and recommended it to all my friends. It is still worthy of a read, but it feels hopelessly naive now. Read it for the history, especially of Lincoln and the figures who touch him in surprising ways. Lincoln is still teaching us; I hope we are willing to learn.