Books Set in the United States: Vermont

The Sleepwalker, by Chris Bohjalian (2017)

I generally like books by Chris Bohjalian. This one, however, is not one of his better novels. 

Annalee Ahlberg has a genetic condition that makes her prone to sleepwalking. It has gotten mostly under control, but is apt to happen when her husband is away and she is alone at night. When she goes missing when her husband is away, her two daughters become worried. 

As the police begin their investigation, the older daughter, Lianna begins to fall for Gavin, one of the detectives. He is about 12 years older, and was friends with Annalee because he, too, was a sleepwalker. 

At first there is no body. Since Annalee disappear at night, she is believed to have been sleepwalking. She is believed to have fallen into the river and drowned. When her body is found, the coroner determined drowning was not the cause. Was it an accident or murder. 

*****spoiler alert*****

This probably was not the book to read so soon after my mother died, especially in a car accident. 

Read:  March 22, 2017

2.5 Stars. 

Books Set in the United States: New York State

Lost Girls, by Robert Kolker (2013)

I am not sure what possessed me to pick up this book.  True crime stories are the sort of book I typically read.  This book follows the lives of 5 young women who were leading lives in the internet world of sex and drugs.  They found they could make a lot of money working on their own by advertising as escorts on such sites as Craigslist and Backpage.  The disappearance of Shannon Gilbert on Long Island leads the police on a search.  Instead, they find the bodies of four other women, all of whom were wrapped in burlap and buried in the marsh.  These women had been missing for several years, but no serious search had been performed, in part, perhaps to the fact that they were known sex-workers.

The book kept my interest, but mostly because I was on an airplane and it was the reading material available.  The book was not really well written, although it was in interesting look into this aspect of life.

Read: March 1, 2017

3 Stars