29. Crosstalk

By Connie Willis (512 pp, ebook)

I can't tell you how much it pains me to pan a Connie Willis book. I loved the Blackout/All Clear duology and I re-read The Doomsday Book during the pandemic. I loved To Say Nothing of the Dog and I enjoyed reading Passage, even if I had problems with it. I found this one a slog. It's about a young woman who works in technology. Her partner convinces her to get a medical treatment that will make them more emotionally connected and instead it makes her telepathic. With everyone. There were too many missed calls and misheard communications and the main character's family barging in with goofy problems. It wasn't that funny or romantic. But it had moments. I think it would have worked as a 300 page story.

28. The Ferryman

By Justin Cronin (560 pp, ebook)

I LOVED the Passage books. If I didn't have 300 books in my to read pile I might read them again. This one is about a utopian island where when a person's well-being breaksdown they go across the water to be remade. The Ferryman is the guy that guides them on this journey. But there is a lot going on in this world and it starts to unravel. I enjoyed reading it but didn't love it like the Passage books.

27. Slow Horses

By Mick Herron (366 pp)

I read about this writer in the New Yorker last year and started the TV series and got this book. It's another crime book with MI5 spies that made mistakes and have been sent down to Slough House where they have nothing important to do. A young man is kidnapped and the kidnappers announce they will execute him live on the Internet. It's hard to summarize in a few sentences because there are all kinds of twists and surprises. I really enjoyed it -- great characters! I love the TV series. Gary Oldman is incredible. My only issue is I had a little bit of character fatigue. It takes a lot of characters for stories like this and if I can't pick up the book for a couple days I have trouble keeping track.